I can see that mindset. It was pretty much NJPW's strategy when they were there. The only matches they had that were actually singles were usually title matches and maybe one or two others.

If MJF doesn’t show up, we riot.

Gotta think he shows up tomorrow or at Grand Slam on the 21st. I think a rubber match happens between Punk and Mox at Grand Slam and MJF makes his return to close the show.

15 matches is way too goddamn many.

Pac/Sabian, Hook/Parker and Cargill/Athena are Rampage main events. The mixed tag isn't even that.

The House of Black six-man is a pre-show match, and the FTR six-man shouldn't even be happening.

That said, there is a lot to like here. I just hope I don't get bored.

Khan feels like everyone always needs to appear on these things, so you get a bunch of pointless tags just so he can say so and so worked the card.

I'm kinda excited about Jade/Athena tbh. It's the first real challenger Jade has had and Jade is one of the few champs they actually book well. Unfortunately, she still sucks in the ring, so I doubt this match will be anything, but Athena is legit, so maybe she can get a decent match out of Jade.

I'd cut:

Mixed tag
FTR tag
Kingston v. Ishii
House of Black
Danielson v. Jericho (this one is arguable I suppose since they're both stars, but I don't understand why this match is needed)

Then you'd have 10 matches with 2-3 of those on the pre-show and almost all of them having had a good build or at least a solid reason for taking place on this PPV, and the PPV could come in at a tidy 2h50 or 3h. I don't know why WWE/AEW think we need or want a 5 hour show. Just cut out the garbage and give us a great 3h instead.

Gonna be a long haul, for sure. I already took one nap today and may take another before showtime, lol.

Though I will say, I’ve certainly never felt cheated for my money’s worth. Worst case, I can always finish watching on the morrow.

Almost here and I'm ready for it.

I think it's unfair to call it "garbage"; I'd just rather see a lot of it on Dynamite or Rampage.

Otherwise I mostly agree.

I think Ruby just ate that knee hard.

Her ass definitely ate the floor.

This pre-show has sucked so far.

wtf was Claudio trying to do

LOL that finish. What on earth.

Shirt off Kenny is god.

They could revitalize the House of Black by having Julia Hart be the new leader of it. Her new look is incredible, and I can't think of many factions ruled by women (if any?).

Anyone else watch PPVs through illicit means? (I don't own a television.) The cat and mouse chase of AEW shutting the streams down has been intensified over the last few months. One thing I find interesting is that the streams will get nuked by copyright claims at the exact end of matches. lol It's literally happened at the exact finish of every match on the card so far.

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In a perfect world, Lethal and the Motor City Machine Guns would win this match, but it's obvious that Wardlow and FTR will win. (Am I the only one in the world who doesn't like Wardlow?) Probably biased toward Lethal and MCMG because I was an avid TNA watcher during its heyday.

I dunno how you can’t like Wardlow. Dude has it all.

I personally don't like him from a content standpoint, but I totally understand why he's booked the way he is. He needs a lot of coaching on the mic, but he's lucky in that he doesn't need to rely on talking. (I also think he needs a look adjustment, especially with his hair.)

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A non-TNA PPV with 5 TNA talents from the TNA heyday. Nice!!!

Has Starks worn tights and gloves before? It looks really good.

Hobbs is deceivingly good on the mic. They should have had him interact with Punk more during their mini-program, especially since I don't remember their program at all. Hobbs is way too good on the mic.

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Wow, squash match!!!!

Holy ****, did not see that coming. Ricky came out looking like a prince.

Acclaimed wins or we riot.

Hopefully The Acclaimed win this match. They're way more marketable than "Swerve In Our Glory" (worst ****ing tag team name of all time, even though each individual is awesome).

This ref is a cop.

lmao They muted the crowd booing when Swerve/Glory won.

Hayter’s gear is ****ing boss. I don’t expect her to win, but I want her to. Love her entrance theme so much.

If I were booking this match, I would book Hayter to win for the infinite booking possibilities thereafter. With that said, I'm going to guess that TK selects Shida to win.

That would definitely mirror Mox with his interim belt. I would not hate that result.