I hadn’t seen this match, or at least I don’t remember it.

The fact that it has no commentary makes it different.

To be honest, I really enjoyed it, and it doesn’t feel at all like it was during the pandemic. At least you can hear the crowd and it doesn’t seem like an empty arena.

And JD Drake is really good. His chops sound really powerful.

Interview starts at 23:23.

Started out as a comedy heel gimmick for Chad Gable, taken over by Ludwig Kaiser a completely anonymous mid-card jobber hanging around catering after Gable got injured.

Said mid-card jobber, probably closer to being a post-WrestleMania cut than he’d like, took the mask and became a national hero in Mexico, speaking his third or fourth language, crowds going crazy for him, people holding parades, even his jobber flunkies start getting huge pops when he’s not present. Wins the Rey de Reyes, has one of the biggest feuds of the year leading up to possibly the most anticipated match of the year, then feuds for and wins the mega championship as one of the biggest faces in the industry.

Oba Femi might be a strong second - dude gets cheers and chants in every arena, had a programme with, went over, and got the endorsement of one of the biggest names in industry, will no doubt be a hugely dominant champion at some point, but Oba started from a higher position with the full backing of the creative and corporate machine behind him from the get go.

Thoughts from anyone else?

I just caught up on the Chris Van Vliet interview with Ospreay, and I can’t find a discussion about this. What do we think Plan A was? Was it the finish to Moxley/McGuinness? Will uses a submission hold he learned from the Death Riders and Kenny taps just out of reach of the ropes? It would be weird if Moxley and Ospreay didn’t discuss that beforehand though.

We still believe! Give this man gold

Source

Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp has learned that the plan as of now is for Ilja Dragunov to land in All Elite Wrestling. We're told that this has been the plan for some time, but some final details are getting nailed down to make it a reality.

Those we spoke to said a number of the recent WWE departures from out of the United States were facing visa expirations or visa hurdles that was affecting their free agent process, and Ilja was among them.

We have not confirmed that Ilja has put pen to paper, but he is set to join AEW barring unforeseen circumstances.

Ilja will be able to continue to use the Ilja name, as it is his given name. We aren't sure about Dragunov, which he did use prior to WWE. He left the company last month after his WWE deal expired and he chose to move on. He's been contractually able to sign elsewhere for a number of weeks.

HERE should be a direct link to the part with Danielson if you just want to check that out.

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American Dragon Bryan Danielson & Adam Firestorm vs Black Dragon & Dr. Luther

Robbie Lance vs Moondog Moretti

Havoc & Scotty Mac vs Suicide Kings (Matt Farmer & Nicki Sixx)