November 24th, 2021
Chicago, Illinois
THE DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING EXTRAVAGANZA. LETS GOOO.
And what a way to start it off with CM Punk in a 20 minute verbal exchange with MJF. This is the longest promo (I guess that’s the word) segment in company history and it is well deserved. Both of these guys truly showed the rest of the locker room exactly how to grab every person in the room AND everyone watching at home by the collar of the shirt. They kept everyone on the edge of their seat and hanging on every word for 20 minutes and guess what? I think most of us still want more! The references and punchlines here are too many to try to name or list. Punk calling MJF a less famous Miz and saying he had been replaced in the Four Pillars by Britt Baker cannot go unmentioned though. Just phenomenal stuff and MJF proved he can more than hang with someone the caliber of Punk, if there was ever any doubt otherwise.
1) CM Punk vs. QT Marshall
This felt like the cool down match after a barnburner at a PPV. Except it’s the cool down match after a PROMO that tore the house down and it includes one of the participants in said promo. So yeah, all that really matters from this is the comeback finishing run from Punk. QT works on him and they go back & forth through a commercial break then knee to face, elbow drop, GTS and that’s all she wrote. Great 30 minutes in Chicago for Punk and I can’t say I didn’t love it as well, this match could've definitely went a little shorter though.
Match rating - **
Backstage, it’s Jurassic Express & Christian Cage. Christian says JB & Luchasaurus are #1 contenders to the tag titles and he’s gonna make sure they use the momentum they have to win them.
Eddie Kingston is in the back eating some cake at a table. 2.0 and Daniel Garcia show up and taunt him. They throw a drink in his face and King goes nuts after them. Security shows up and King flips the table. Pretty awesome honestly. It’s Kingston vs. Garcia on Rampage this Friday!
2) The Gunn Club (Billy Gunn & Colten Gunn (w/ Austin Gunn) vs. Bear Country
I guess TK saw the praise big Billy Gunn got for his match against Darby on Rampage cause we get some more Gunn Club action here. It’s a squash. Colten gets the win for his team with Colt 45.
Match rating - *1/4
Post match, Darby’s music hits and Sting hits the stage. The Gunn Clubb had the upper hand on Rampage so I’m assuming payback is coming. Austin Gunn charges Sting at the stage, but DARBY RUNS OUT OF THE TUNNEL TURNS GUNN INSIDE OUT HOLY FUCK THAT RULED HAHAHAHA.
Backstage, Adam Cole is pissed. He’s with Bob. He says the Bucks are out injured and talks about how they & Bobby are his best friends. Chuck Taylor, Orange Cassidy, & Wheeler Yuta walk up. Cole questions all of their friendships and this sets up Cole & Fish vs. Orange & Yuta for Rampage.
Tony Schiavone has Team Taz and Lio Rush & Dante Martin at a table backstage. It’s time for Dante to make his big decision on signing with Team Taz.. and he does?? What the fuck. Lio is as shocked as I am.. damn this.. sucks. Team Taz is a virtually dead angle and Dante Martin is so hot right now. I’m worried about what’s next.
3) Thunder Rosa vs. Jamie Hayter
It’s honestly unbelievable how great both these women are. I really was hoping for them to get a little more time than what they got, along with the opportunity to go all out. BUT can’t always go that route. And what we did get just adds more depth to what I feel like could be a future potential Women’s World Title feud. Just excellent and crisp work. The opening lock up and brawl around the outside fucking RULED. God, this really had potential to be something special. Hayter ends up getting a control segment and Rosa’s comeback rocks. Then they run the finish. Off a Rebel distraction, Britt tries to super kick Rosa, misses and hits Hayter and it costs her protege the match. I wanted more, but that finish was executed well and got a nice pop so I really can’t complain. Need more from these two ladies for sure, though.
Match rating - ***
Backstage, Chris Jericho is set up for an interview. Daniel Garcia and 2.0 walk by and sort of interrupt. Jericho jaws at them and talks about how Eddie Kingston is beat their ass and stuff.
4) Bryan Danielson vs. Colt Cabana
Danielson leans more and more into his role as a heel each week and it’s so tremendous. This was fiery and vicious. No punches pulled. Danielson had one mission and that was to embarrass Colt Cabana in his hometown and kick his head in. He does just that despite a couple of flurries from Cabana, even seemingly kicking a tooth out of Cabana’s mouth and picking it up off the canvas post match. Insane shit.
Match rating - **3/4
After the match, Danielson speaks. He says he did exactly what he said he was gonna do and mocks the fact that Chicago was cheering him last time he was here when he debuted, but now they boo. Danielson says next week he wants one of the remaining Dark Order members to step up for their head kicking and that all this is leading up to the ULTIMATE head kicking in the form of HangmaN ISNSSJEI HES HERE. AEW World Champion Hangman Page comes out and damn he looks good with that belt !!! Page does the vintage babyface thing and tries to get Danielson to fight him tonight for the title. Danielson does the typical heel thing and refuses, and says Hangman challenging after he already had a match is COWARD shit, not Cowboy shit. AHHHH. Page says well… he’s not leaving without a fight and gives Bryan the first strike and BRYAN OBLIGES WITH A TOUGH ASS SLAP AND THEY START THROWING BLOWS FUCK YES. Hangman gets thrown to the apron and teases a buckshot and it’s amazing. God this feud is a heater. Danielson is at the top of his game as a cocky ass beating grappler and Hangman is the ultimate babyface champion. Fantastic stuff.
On Rampage - the Black Friday edition:
- Eddie Kingston vs. Daniel Garcia
- Britt Baker vs. Riho
- Adam Cole & Bobby Fish vs. Orange Cassidy & Wheeler Yuta
5) Cody Rhodes, PAC, Penta El Zero Miedo, & Rey Fenix (w/ Arn Anderson & Alex Aberhantes) vs. Andrade El Idolo, Malakai Black, & FTR (w/ Tully Blanchard)
I won’t lie.. I’m so uninterested in these pairings (besides Andrade/PAC - I could watch them wrestle every week). With that in mind, it took a while for me to really be into this, honestly until the very final few minutes where everyone started hitting their shit, and even then, the highlight to me was PAC and Andrade. I mean, Andrade charging PAC off the accidental Cody superkick and getting caught in that belly to belly throw into the turnbuckleS AHHHHH! I was screaming. So yeah, fun final few minutes no thanks to Cody or FTR. Everyone else killed it. The formula they had made sense and was fine, but not compelling whatsoever so yeah. Three boy. Andrade scoops the win for his team with some help from Malakai Black.
Match rating - ***
Show closes with the heels celebrating their win and JR plugging Rampage. Goodnight.
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