Weekly Watchlist 057 - July 13 2025

Whats the craic, enthusiasts of exaggerated elbow-drops?

Back at it again with another Weekly Watchlist! I'm not gonna keep telling you guys "oh sorry for not doing two matches this week." If I'm only doing one a week, assume I'm doing the best I can to pump one out. I'm KT taped so much right now you'd think I'm running an injury angle at home. We're working day-to-day here.

In other news! The newest 5 Star Fridays post is live! Another favourite of mine this month as I go over Sheamus vs. GUNTHER from WWE Clash at the Castle 2022. Certified banger. It'll be at the top of my blog until next month if you're looking for it.

But, enough of that. Onto this months offering! 

 

WWE

Weekly Roundup

Here's what I watched for the week;

AEW All In Texas

This was the show I was most looking forward to this year. After giving up modern WWE cold turkey after 'Mania 41, I've been all aboard the AEW train. Haven't missed an episode of Dynamite or Collision yet and this Hangman story has had me on the edge of my seat for months. When I say I was emotionally invested in the outcome of this show, I mean it. 

 

The Opps vs. Death Riders & Gabe Kidd

Well, this was an interesting start to the show. Let me put it that way.  I don't know if it was just because of the arena they were in, but this crowd felt kinda cold for this one. The Death Riders (and Gabe Kidd) enter first and The Opps charge the ring to try and get the jump on them. You aren't going to see anything you haven't seen from any iteration of these guys over the past few months. All I could think during this match was how AEW was months late introducing the trios title when they had this huge influx of trios on their shows, and since they've been introduced, they haven't really meant a damn thing. I feel like they get forgotten about majority of the time. The finish both made sense and confused me at the same time, somehow. Let me explain my thought process. The Opps retain the titles but the Death Riders jump them, ultimately laying out Joe so bad they stretcher him out. I feel like this was done to plant seeds of doubt and cast a "Death Riders" coloured cloud over the show leading to the main event. I know this was done so Joe could do some media stuff for "Twisted Metal" so he's gonna be gone for a couple of weeks at the very least. Which leads me to ask, why not just have The Opps drop the titles? You could still have them lay out The Opps, still write Joe off TV, but now we don't have the titles gathering dust before they can be defended again. Just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. 

Men's Casino Gauntlet Match

Initially, I considered listing every entrant but I don't have time for that and stop making meticulous notes by the time we got to the Bucks tag match. Mistico gets his song played even when he's in the ring, with MVP berating MJF on commentary for letting it go on. Like, he's just standing there watching him. With Briscoe and MJF being 1 and 2 respectively, they're the through line story for this match, and we get the "long awaited return" of vocal MJF. That's right folks, we get plenty of "oh shit!" and "what the fuck!" screams out of Max here. God, I hate it when he does that. Honestly. He did it in that 4 Pillars match years ago that made me question my love for the sport and it didn't do anything to help this match along. Not like this was a bad gauntlet match, I enjoyed it! Everyone was more than enjoyable and felt like they actually mattered in the match. Well, maybe except Max Caster. He was there for his entrance and to interact with Bowens and that's about it. MJF gets the win and, honestly, I wish they'd pull the trigger on "this match can end at any time" thing. Have a guy get pinned during another guys entrance! I know they want to give a gauntlet match time and let everyone get their shine, but make me feel like it can end at any time by doing exactly that. 

Dustin Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Kyle Fletcher vs. Daniel Garcia

This was initially meant to be Kyle Fletcher challenging Adam Cole for the TNT title but Cole isn't cleared to wrestle. Prior to the match, he comes down and says he's hurt pretty bad and it may be the last time he's in front of everyone. He says he doesn't want to straight up say "I'm retiring" but he implies that may be necessary.  Story goes is that he got a nasty concussion the during his match with the Don Callis Family on Collision prior to All In and wasn't cleared to wrestle. Must be a couple injuries nagging him or a really bad concussion that's got him in such a bad way. Best wishes to Adam Cole. The match they set up as a replacement is good enough, considering this probably these guys probably didn't know it was going to happen until a few hours before the show. It's enjoyable but all it does is remind me that I can't stand Sasmmy, Fletcher is a star, and Dustin can somehow still move like that at his age. They pull the proverbial rug out from under us with Rhodes winning his first piece of singles gold in AEW instead of having Fletcher win, which just about everyone was certain would happen. But it's a feel good moment for a Texas boy in Texas. I have no complaints.

Swerve Strickland & Will Ospreay vs. The Young Bucks

I think we all knew what we were in for when this match was announced. The Bucks have been feeling more and more like The Bucks of old lately with their tag matches, and their EVP shtick has just about run its course with them cosplaying the literal founding fathers as of late. It was a great tag match for the first two thirds, and then they kicked it into PWG mode for the last third. My lord, they cranked it up like mad near the end with the creative setups and spots galore. I was fairly certain Swerve and Ospreay were gonna pick up the win here but wasn't going to put it past them to keep this dark cloud over the show with The Bucks association with the Death Riders. A really satisfying and not-quite-so-overt "can these two get along" story, cause Swerve and Ospreay seem like they actually like each other! They matched colours for their gear and everything!

Women's Casino Gauntlet Match

You can say just about the same thing for this match as you can the men's. This one did feature the debut of Syuri and one of the first proper appearances for Alex Windsor. I guess Syuri has been a rumoured signing for a while now and is a pretty big get from Stardom, but I can't say I've ever heard of her, but that doesn't always mean much.  I have a whole lot less to say about this match because there wasn't an annoying doofus in there making a goof of himself and these ladies were actually putting a good shift in! Had some Statlander/Willow interaction, Bayne looked impressive, Thekla was a star, Windsor and Aminata did well and Athena got a big 'ol pop. And she won the whole damn thing too! Wonder when she'll "cash in" her title match and who it will be against. The forever champion Athena looking to get some AEW gold will be a fun match.

The Hurt Syndicate vs. JetSpeed vs. The Patriarchy

Well, this was a match. I honestly was kinda checked out at this point. I love JetSpeed as a team, the Patriarchy always make me chuckle when Christian's graphic says "FATHER" like claiming he's someone's dad is an accomplishment. Fuckin' love Christian. And then the Hurt Syndicate... I feel like I should enjoy them more than I do, but they aren't lighting my ass on fire, honestly. Yeah, they're a couple ass beaters and they're "over" with me, but I can't say I've watched a match of theirs that has left me saying "that's our champs right there!" I think I just like MVP a whole lot, that may be the answer. A serviceable three way match that was totally inoffensive and did what it needed. That's all.

Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Mone

Match one of the "triple main event" has Mercedes challenging Toni for her women's world title. The Timeless one vs. the unbeaten belt collector. There was a whole lot riding on this match going into it, with Storm almost intimating that this would be her last match if she lost. It had a bit of a slow start, from my point of view, but they kicked it up a couple notches after the halfway point and really gave it to each other. They kicked out of some of their biggest and best moves and hit each other with some serious bombs. Either Toni is a fantastic salesman or she was getting seriously smacked in there. The finish was more than satisfying and felt like the killshot of all killshots required to put Mone away. Built up to a fever pitch just perfectly. Well done ladies.  

Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada

What happens when you revisit one of the best rivalries with some of the best matches ever several years later and on American soil? A fantastic match., honestly! I saw a lot of chatter online that was worrying about Don Callis' involvement in this angle, with people hoping that we wouldn't get too much manager involvement and they could let Kenny and Okada just go at each other like they did in Japan. We had one little Callis interference on the outside but aside from that, they were left to create magic in the ring all on their own. Obviously we're years removed from their last encounter and Okada is a newly minted heel, so that adds a different spin on it and honestly, this really just feels like an Americanized version of what they'd try to put on in Japan. If they were in the Tokyo Dome for this, they'd do a totally different match for that audience, but they knew what was required to get over here and they played to it perfectly. Several unreal kickouts are a prerequisite for a match between these two until Okada finally put Omega away. I can't say that this was as good as their previous encounters, but it wasn't bad by any stretch. Just fantastic wrestling. 

Jon Moxley vs. Adam Page -Texas Death Match 

I legitimately do not have the words to tell you guys how I felt about this match. Maybe one day I'll be able to craft a sentence or twenty to describe what happened here but right now, I'm just gonna shove a couple of the puzzle pieces together and do my best to make sense. Ghost Town Triumph is back, I screamed. The camera snapped from the heel tunnel to the face tunnel as Hangman entered, I yelled. The flames on his pants slowly turned to embers week after week, and now they're gone completely. Replaced by a beautiful sunset. My heart. He made Moxley bleed with a fucking fork. I was howling. This was violent and beautiful in all the right ways. Hangman took everything Moxley and the Death Riders could possibly throw at him and he just kept going. The odds were helplessly stacked against him but he never gave in, he fought through the odds. And then, good lord, the finish. Ospreay comes out, gets killed. Stretchered out. Denielson shows up in a mask. Darby descends from the ceiling (my fiance literally screamed). They chase off the Death Riders. It's Hangman and Mox, but then, BUT THEN. Swerve! Swerve comes out! He's got the chain in hand! The same chain he used to choke out Hangman! The same chain Hangman gave to him when he tried to finally mend fences. He gives the chain to Hangman! Hangman nearly loses a fucking eye after getting DDT'd into a bed of nails but he recovers and hangs Moxley with the chain! We've seen this happen once before, and we see it again! Moxley taps out! (I'm welling up again as I write this. Good lord.) Hangman keeps his fucking promise, he beat Moxley and frees the championship from the briefcase as tears stream down his bloodied face. The new AEW Men's World Champion. I was tearing up, I was grinning like a fucking idiot. It was euphoric. I never knew wrestling could make you feel this good. I think I need to go for a walk again after this, I still can't get over this match. I don't think I ever will. Hangman didn't ever give up. He kept his promise. The heart and soul of AEW is on top once again. 

 

 •  •  •  •  •

 

Ilja Dragunov vs. Dijak - Last Man Standing - NXT Battleground 2023 - 05/28/2023 

This is gonna hurt. WWE

It really should come as no surprise that these two insane bastards are capable of putting on a fantastically brutal match. I've given both of them their flowers in seperate posts here on the blog, with Dijak being featured in post 025 when he took part in WarGames, and Ilja in post 011, a veritable snuff film against WALTER. It's safe to say that I'm a big fan of both men and think they're deserving of the world. Dijak drew such a short straw with Retribution years ago. It could have, no, should have been so much better, but Vince was sipping some 50 proof stupid juice during the pandemic era. T-Barr was such a joke. Going back to NXT and having new life breathed into him with a new character and fresh, talented guys to work with gave Dijak the boost he desperately needed, proving he can more than hang with some of the best on the roster. Ilja has had a fantastic run too! NXT UK Champion after dethroning WALTER, NXT Champion, a great little run on the main roster... until he got injured. I miss my boy. 

This kind of match environment is perfect for both of these guys. Dijak's "Terminator," fist of vengeance repackaging has him showing a far more vicious, cold edge than ever before. And Ilja has more heart in him than brains, constantly pushing himself further and further than any man should rightly be able to go. His signature phrase of "unbesiegbar" is the German word for "invincible," and if there's anyone on the roster that embodies that, it's Dragunov. So why not put them in a match where they can beat themselves black and blue and only lose by being unable to stand? Sounds perfect to me!

The buildup for this match does a perfect job of establishing both men. Dijak is a killing machine. Ilja refuses to quit. The unstoppable force meets to immo- wait, that's been done before. You get my point. What happens when these unstable elements collide? Better shield your eyes, cause its gonna be bright and hot, I can assure you of that. Commentary makes the eloquent point that "it's not a test of skill, it's a test of human will," so we'll see who's willpower comes out on top in this match. Ilja also makes a point of saying that "pain makes me feel alive," with Dijak replying "I'm going to make you immortal." 

Dijak is out first, the black and white filter takes over the screen. I wasn't watching a lot of NXT during this era, everything after Black and Gold was really, really hard to watch. 2.0 nearly killed my love for wrestling. So I didn't realize that Dijak's entrance caused the camera's aspect ratio to change! On the shot of Dijak's back, we go from full screen to letter boxed, it's a really cool touch. Really makes him feel like a movie-type killer. He marches to the ring and stops near the steps, telling his actual wife and children to leave. 

"Take them out of here! They don't need to see this!"

I remember hearing him talk about this moment on an interview somewhere. Probably an IG reels thing so good luck ever finding it again. He said this was a really special moment for him, getting to interact with his family. I can't remember if he said this was the only time his kids have seen him wrestle, but I know this meant something to him. A nice moment.  

Also, Dijak's theme lowkey rips. Goes great on my 2K24 CAW. 

Ilja is out next, conducting his symphony of madness. I can never decide if I love or hate this presentation for him. I adore Dragunov and can't help but feel like a more straightforward presentation for him would do a lot better. His wild arm swinging kinda turns me off. Thankfully I forget all about it when the bell rings. 

Goodbye, head! WWE

They're coiled and ready to go before the bell even rings, both men waiting for the exact second this match starts to lay into each other. And that's exactly what they do, they crash together in the centre with a mad flurry of strikes, with Dijak's size and power overtaking Dragunov as he backs him into the corner. He clubs and chops him over and over with Dragunov fighting out with chops of his own. He nearly mounts an early comeback but a discus lariat thwarts his efforts quickly. Ilja may very well be one of the very best sellers in wrestling. Like, hard stop. The way he folds himself off a lariat is perfect. It looks like he's been shot. He's better than anyone at getting the crowd behind him. 

He gets a waistlock on Dijak and tries for a German, but Dijak fights out and switches to a waistlock himself. He shoves Ilja into the ropes; but Dragunov is quick on his feet. He grabs the middle and top rope and twists through the strands, trying for the Constantine Special but Dijak has him scouted, crushing him with a boot to the gut that sends Dragunov to the floor. Dijak starts helping the ring crew by tearing the top of the steel steps off and tossing them into the ring, rolling Dragunov in right after. His efforts don't mean a whole lot, as Ilja gets right back to his feet and knees Dijak in the face as he climbs in the ring, sending him to the floor this time. 

Ilja climbs out and assaults Dijak with forearms to the back and a jumping kick to the face. He drags the bottom half of the steps and lines Dijak up, charging and jumping off the steps to get extra height for his H-Bomb. Meanwhile, Dijak was lying in wait, catching Ilja under the jaw with his boot as he falls back to earth. A release vertical suplex on the steps clatters the spine of Dragunov as Dijak hunts under the ring for his next implement of destruction. He finds a table underneath (it's convenient that they always keep like, a dozen under there, isn't it?) and starts to prop it up. Even this early in the match, the shots these two have delivered would cripple an ordinary men, and Dijak is starting to show the wear of the war. He holds the table at a 45 and catches his breath, but this lag costs him, with Dragunov fucking flying in from screen right with a Torpedo Moscow headbutt through the table and into Dijak. My lord.

Don't invite Ilja to bingo night. WWE

We get our first view of Ilja's face after catching the boot and he's bleeding from the chin. I was initially worried he broke his jaw or a tooth, but it just looks like the tip of his chin got busted open. Not as bad as I was thinking. Dijak pulls himself to his feet and holds himself vertical with the ropes, struggling to roll inside the ring. If I had one complaint about this match, it's the referee. He makes some questionable calls about when and when not to start his count, and his 10 count is so damn fast. Like, think of the usual cadence a referee has during a normal match when a double down happens. Or when someone is on the outside. That's the cadence I expect for all 10 counts. But this ref, it's like someone told him "just count to 10, don't waste any time. We're short on time." It's insanely quick and really kills the weight of a lot of these big moves when getting up at 9 feels like getting up at 4 or 5. 

Anyways, both men are inside the ring and are taking it to each other again. Dijak tries for a chokeslam but Ilja catches him in the skull with an enziguiri, dropping him to all fours. With unreal strength, Ilja is able to deadlift Dijak off the canvas as he attempts a German, but Dijak plants his feet and goes for the ropes. He holds tight as Ilja keeps trying to get him up. Dijak has shifted along the ropes inch by inch, positioning himself so his back is to the top set of ring steps, previously slid in the ring. Knowing this, he gives Ilja just enough momentum to make him think he's going for the ride, but holds fast. Ilja fully commits to the suplex, snapping back with all the force required to get the bigger man to fly, but he's all on his own here. He snaps back and lands square on the steps, landing with horrific impact. 

Good snap. WWE

Dragunov is down as the referee starts his count but Dijak doesn't care, he snatches Ilja by the throat and pulls him back to his feet, wanting to make sure he's out for the count and then some. Ripping Ilja off the canvas for a chokeslam, Dragunov shifts his position in mid air, catching Dijak in a front facelock as he falls back to the canvas, spiking Dijak with a DDT on the steps! Both men are down as the fast-forwarded 10 count begins, with Ilja on his feet first and dragging Dijak to the corner. Ilja retrieves the steps and picks them up, hurling them at Dijak as he sits in the corner, barely alive. 

He's glassy eyes and limp, but Ilja still wants more. He leans them against Dijak's body and makes his way to the neighbouring corner, crawling the last few feet as exhaustion catches up with him. He climbs to the top and blows Dijak a kiss, flying across the ring and dropkicking the steps into the body of Dijak. Coast to coast baybee. This is another moment where the fast 10 count is really egregious. I mean they do a highlight package and the referee is at 9 for fucks sake. Slow down! Make these moves mean something! Ilja is on his feet and Dijak bridges his torso on the bottom rope, both his feet flat on the canvas so he's technically on his feet. 

With Dijak struggling to stand as he uses the ropes for help, Ilja crushes his chest with chop after chop, rapid fire into the sternum. Dijak is able to respond with a mitt of his own, catching Ilja under the jaw with a superkick that sends him staggering back. But Dragunov stays on his feet, going back in and chopping Dijak down to his knees, over and over into his chest, with a wound up chop dropping both men to the canvas. But they aren't still for long. From prone, Ilja keeps chopping Dijak! Over and over, he continues to assault him, even falling into a chop to really drive the point home. You can tell this guys been chopped a few times before and knows just how bad they feel. 

Watch the nose! WWE

With Ilja up before the count, he goes behind Dijak and grabs a waistlock, helping his adversary to his feet before taking him up and over with a German suplex, dropping Dijak on his face! But Dijak refuses to be put down that easily! Bellowing like a pissed off bear, Dijak fights to his knees, and then to his feet. Ilja responds in kind, the mad dragon ready to breathe fire.  Dijak snatches the throat of Ilja for a chokeslam, but Dragunov painbrushes him in the face with slap after slap. Refusing to give an inch, Dijak pulls Ilja to the ropes and pushes him over, never once breaking his grip. Ilja stands and tries to chop Dijak off of him, but his efforts are useless. Ripping Ilja off the apron, he drives him down with a disgusting chokeslam, sending him flailing to the floor. 

Dragunov gets to his feet with the help of the apron, meeting Dijak eye to eye as he lays back down on the canvas to mad dog his adversary. Pulling Ilja in the ring, he takes him on his shoulders in the torture rack position, setting him up for Feast Your Eyes. He lands it as Ilja staggers and stumbles, on his feet long enough to stumble across the ring and collapse in the corner, saving himself from certain defeat. He's laying on the middle rope with his feet barely on the canvas, certainly unable to respond to even a 20 count after a shot like that. Dijak spots him and bellows in disbelief, rolling to the outside before retrieving a singapore cane (can we call them that anymore? kendo stick? shinai?).

Don't think you're gonna get through to this guy. WWE

He stabs it into the throat of Ilja before asking him just how much he likes pain. He clatters the cane across the chest of Ilja over and over again, asking him if he feels alive. Ilja howls as he holds himself up by the middle rope, shouting back in defiance.

"Not even close!"

Again and again, Dijak clatters him, even taking a second wipe some of Ilja's trickling chin blood on the cane. A few strikes later and the cane explodes into splinters, but Ilja is still on his feet. Dijak goes back under the ring and retrieves a chair, clattering Ilja across the back with a disgusting chair shot. Dijak is in Ilja's face the whole time, telling him "you've forced my hand!" 

Dijak marches across the ring with his chair, lining up Ilja before charging out, only to get caught under the jaw with Torpedo Moscow! Ilja just throws himself out of the corner, colliding with Dijak in a desperate shot to stay alive. He struggles to his feet as Dijak writhes around in pain, jumping in the air and crushing Dijak across the throat with an H-Bomb to keep him down.  But somehow, Dijak is still moving. He's on his stomach and grabs the chair, maybe only on autopilot as he tries to save himself from whatever comes next. Meanwhile, Ilja sets the stairs up on their end so that the steps are pointing straight up. He climbs and holds himself steady with the top rope, bellowing "smash!" before leaping into the sky, crashing forearm first into the base of Dijak's skull, driving him face first into the steel chair. An H-Bomb from orbit. 

That's not how chairs are supposed to be used, guys. WWE

Ilja struggles to rise before the 10 count, which I must point out is going at an unreal pace. Slow the fuck down, man! He gets to his feet at 9 and stays vertical for 10, collapsing back to the canvas when the bell finally rings. Dijak's body twitching in the centre of the ring.

I know I kept complaining about the referee's count in this match, but it wasn't bad enough that it took away from the quality of this match. It was exceptional. For being seconds under 16 minutes, they pack a lot in and go hell for leather right from the word go. Dijak loves being in matches with really creative spots and this one was chock full of them. He's talked in interviews about how he loves that kind of pressure. Making sure everything is in the right spot at the exact right time to make something go off without a hitch. He's incredible under pressure and there's nobody better at applying diamond-creating pressure than Ilja. Two heavy handed bastards and a mad dragon who's willing to do everything short of completely mutilating himself to get a match over. Bravo gents, bravo.  

 

•  •  •  •  •

 

Another week in the can. I really tried to put a second match review together but in all honestly, just writing the intro and outro on Friday morning was jacking my wrists up. Not fun. So, until next week, you guys know how to find me. cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com

Take it easy friends.