SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
ROAD TO DOUBLE OR NOTHING
POSTED ON YOUTUBE.COM
MAY 18, 2020
REPORT BY ZACH GRAHAM, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Watch it HERE.
– A Road to Double or Nothing graphic was shown.
– Tony Schiavone was sitting in a chair and said for months we were told by Evil Uno that the Exalted One was on his way and would arrive. Brodie Lee was sitting across from Schiavone for a sit down interview. Schiavone asked what he should address Brodie Lee as, should it be “Exalted One,” Mr. Brodie Lee, or something else? Lee responded that it’s Mr. Brodie. Schiavone said there is no question that he’s made a profound impact since his arrival in AEW and asked Lee if this what he wanted to do? Lee sarcastically repeated the question and hypothetically asked Schiavone why one comes to AEW. Schiavone said to be successful. Lee repeated Schiavone’s words “to be successful, to be powerful, is that not what I have done?” Schiavone assured Lee that he’s done exactly that. Lee sarcastically responded and asked if he would say that’s exactly what he wanted to do then?
Lee then asked Schiavone if he’s answered his question, Schiavone shifted in his chair uncomfortably and said yes he answered the question. Schiavone asked Lee to tell him about the Dark Order as video of last week’s video package on the group was shown. Lee said that the Dark Order is an organization that enriches lives and makes them extraordinary. He said it makes winners out of losers. He said the Dark Order is 5-0 in the tag team division, he is undefeated in singles competition. Schiavone said yes you are, Lee repeated him “yes, I am.” Lee said maybe that’s what the Dark Order is, it’s an organization with a wonderful leader, that comes from the top down. They make everything better and enrich lives. Schiavone asked Lee to validate that Dark Order is not a cult, right? Lee just stared at Schiavone unamused by the question. Schiavone decided to just skip over that question and began to ask Lee another question, but Lee stood up and walked off the set. Off camera you could hear Brodie Lee ask someone “who the f— does he think he is? We told him not to use that f—ingg word. Do you understand me? My time is valuable and you just wasted a whole bunch of it.”
– QT Marshall was walking along the side of a house holding his phone that was ringing. DDP answered and told Marshall to just come around the back. Marshall did, just like before, and grabbed the chair so they could talk through the window again. Marshall asked if DDP watched it (his match with Lance Archer) and admitted he was a little sore. DDP said yes he watched it. DDP said let’s watch it and Marshall said “again?” not wanting to relive it again. DDP said he used to watch his matches over and over and over again because that’s how you win, especially when he got his ass kicked. Highlights of the match, including commentary were shown as DDP occasionally looked over at Marshall with a “what were you thinking” look on his face. DDP tried to explain himself, but DDP cut him off and told him to stop as he continued to watch the match.
Marshall said the slam on the apron by Archer hurt so bad he thought he broke his ribs and now he doesn’t know if he can wrestle. DDP told him that he’s going to tape them up. DDP also said he’d tell him not to be a girl, but the girls are all tougher than the guys “so don’t be a pussy.” The finish of the match was shown and DDP said he doesn’t need to watch any more of that. He asked Marshall why he went to the top rope and Marshall said he only has one singles win in AEW. DDP asked if that justifies going to the top rope, then asked if Marshall has seen the top rope guys AEW has, then said Marshall isn’t one of them. He said Marshall is a ground warrior and told him to come back when he has a real finish because a real finish will change your life. Marshall said thank you and DDP told him to work on it as he got up and left.
– Angelico said now that they’re becoming reacquainted, they want to set one thing straight: TH2 are not delusional. To the contrary, you can take everything they say as fact. For example, they are the conquerors and conjurers of a unique style of lucha libre. He said there is a conscious bias and favoritism within AEW. He said they never lost to Private Party. Jack Evans jumped in and told Angelico to not even say the name Private Party because it’s heresy. Evans said they did not lose and you can go back and check. The finish of the match was shown with Angelico’s shoulder clearly off the mat as the official counted three. Evans said it was within clear vision of the official, who purposefully ignored it to give a win to “those unscrupulous, unsavory, undeserving, unknown underdogs who now lovingly live a lascivious lifestyle.”
Evans said he won’t have this and these heretics desire remission from sin. Evans said they shall purify their malefaction with their exonerating flame. He said the heretics shall burn, or at least their colons will burn as their alcohol soaked livers are ejected from their bodies via the meteoric impact of a 630 “blowing their ass out, blood, bile, and all.” Evans said vengeance is theirs and they shall repay. Angelico said repay they will because it is their duty to the world to show that “when it comes to talent, there are many, when it comes to the best, there are few, but when you talk about the greatest, there’s only TH2.”
– Jenn Decker said hello and said it was time for her Road to Double or Nothing update. She said this is the final episode of Dynamite before Saturday’s Double or Nothing Pay-Per-View and it’s promising to be an action packed card. Decker said last week Orange Cassidy was brutally attacked by Rey Fenix with a dragon kick to the face. Decker said it’s been two months since Rey Fenix has been in action and he wasted no time picking up where he left off for “the trio.” A video package aired on the Rey Fenix and Pentagon Jr as well as Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends. Clips from AEW Dynamite commentary aired as well as clips from Rey Fenix matches and Orange Cassidy matches including with Pac announcing Death Triangle after beating Orange Cassidy at AEW Revolution. The final clip was the clip of Fenix kicking Cassidy in the head last week on Dynamite. Decker said these two will face off in Saturday’s Casino Ladder Match, but first they’ll meet on Wednesday on Dynamite.
Decker then said Marko Stunt is set to take on MJF on Wednesday after Wardlow threw Marko into the fence at ringside last week. Decker said that, while this is the first time Stunt has face MJF in AEW, the two have encountered each other twice on the independent scene, specifically in AAW and Glory Pro, where Marko actually won when the fought at Glory Pro Wrestling. Decker said she knows everyone discounts Marko because of his size, but you can’t discredit his durability as he’s able to take a beating and still get up. She said that’s a perk of only being 23 years old. Decker said MJF will try to make an example out of Marko and, since Marko won’t have Jungle Boy or Luchasaurus in his corner, his odds don’t look ideal. Decker said regardless, Jungle Boy gets his shot at MJF at Double or Nothing and, if their match back in February was any indication, we’re all in for a treat on Saturday.
Decker then noted the other matches announced for Dynamite including Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara, and a face to face interview between Arn Anderson and Jake Roberts ahead of the Cody vs Archer match on Saturday for the TNT Championship.
– MJF, sitting on a throne style chair and holding a glass of wine, took a deep breath and said “everybody seems to love you, ‘Happy Jack.’ You’re everybody’s favorite quiet, brooding, little hero.” MJF called him an underdog and sarcastically asked who doesn’t love an underdog story like David vs. Goliath, Rudy, or Buster Douglas vs. Mike Tyson. MJF said since the dawn of time people have loved hearing stories like these because who doesn’t want to see the underdog get their just due. MJF scoffed and took a sip of wine.
He said not everyone is as they seem. Some people portray themselves as the beach, when in reality they’re quicksand. MJF said he’s a very inquisitive guy and he can’t help but ask Jack Perry what exactly makes him an underdog? Being born into money and fame? Beguiling good looks, long flowing dirty blonde hair, a freak athlete, total chick magnet, having all the “it factor” in the world, and to top it off he’s clearly the breakout star in the quartet of his “play wrestlers” as MJF called them. MJF asked again, what makes Jack Perry the underdog and MJF the big, bad, mean bully? MJF said if you ask the internet marks, they’ll tell you it’s that Jungle Boy is humble, he chuckled and took another sip of wine, while he is a braggart.
MJF said that in reality Jungle Boy has had everything handed to him on a silver platter since birth and, to make matters worse, Jungle Boy’s silence helped him masquerade as if he’s “one of them” when he clearly is not. MJF said “Jackie Boy, me and you are one in the same.” MJF said the only differences between them are that he’s not afraid to tell the world who he is, he’s the best and the guy who’s single-handedly going to be leading the future of professional wrestling forward and he doesn’t need to be fake humble in order to do so. MJF said he’s damn sure he doesn’t have to be fake humble in order to be the better wrestler and at Double or Nothing he will out wrestler Jungle Boy and quiet all the chatter that he and Jungle Boy are on the same level because they are not. He was very angry as he emphasized they are not on the same level. He took a pause to calm himself and took another sip of his wine.
He said after “Dino Douche and your vertically challenged friend ‘Marko Stunted Growth’ can throw your mangled body on a plane back to beautiful California.” MJF said there Jungle Boy can hang his head in shame and live off of his father’s inheritance money until his dying days. MJF said every time Jungle Boy sees him on his TV set it will be a constant reminder “that I’m better than you …” he kissed his AEW diamond ring, “and you know it.”
– Jon Moxley said the identity of the Exalted One was not on his radar at all, but he was excited to see Brodie Lee because he’s a world-class competitor, he’s dangerous, and he’s been top of the food chain and he’s been proving it all over the world for years. Moxley said he wanted to see what he would do in AEW and, as much as he’s pissed off, he’s actually a little bit more disappointed that he chose to go this route.
Clips of Dark Order minions attacking Moxley aired. Moxley said he’s chosen to go the gang beat down route and he’s chosen to surround himself with a bunch of creepy dudes wearing socks on their heads. He asked if Lee has any more respect for himself than that than to surround himself with these idiots.
Moxley said he just got done running through every member of Inner Circle one by one including getting jumped every week and getting his eyeball stabbed out. He said he’s pretty used to getting overwhelmed by numbers. He asked if Lee knew why he’s been running rough shot over professional wrestling for a year. He said it’s because he refuses to lose and when he goes to the ring he knows he’s going to win or he’s not walking out of the ring. He said the best he can do as world champion in these circumstances is to be an example of refusing to lose.
– The AEW logo flashed on the screen and slowly faded out.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was an absolutely sensational Road To episode. I thought the Schiavone-Brodie Lee interview was good. I’m not sure we learned much about Brodie Lee apart from him hating the idea of Dark Order being a cult. As for his character, I’m not sure this did much apart from display his confidence.
The QT Marshall segment was fine, more than anything I love the idea of using wrestling legends as people guys look to for advice, just like coaches back stage. I think the interaction there is cool even if QT Marshall isn’t a guy that they’re going to push to a prominent position specifically.
The biggest negative on this show is the TH2 promo. Don’t let Paul Heyman see Jack Evans’ portion of the promo because he will be salivating at the mouth at the number of words Evans managed to string together that all start with the same letter. He did the same thing two weeks ago, he just babbles a bunch of nonsensical big words together and, while they do make some sense, it’s just way too much and infinitely weird. On top of this being an awful promo by Evans, it was clearly cut up as part of it just skips to him in different poses like this was the edited version. Evans also speaks so fast I had to watch it a dozen times just to try and catch half of what he was attempting to say. I don’t understand the promo style at all, hopefully some people liked it because all I got was a headache and a wrist cramp trying to keep up.
I love the Jenn Decker segments. I love how they feel like analysis you’d find on any sports network. I’ve discussed this before so I won’t harp on the same points there. It’s solid, but it’s not the highlight of this episode.
For me the highlights are the final two interviews. First, MJF absolutely nailed this. He is so good it’s incredible. He spoke some truths about Jungle Boy coming from a wealthy family like him, but he’s such a scumbag about it you don’t care one bit you still have MJF. Even if you didn’t hate him for that and found validity in his points, he went on to degrade Jungle Boy and the rest of Jurassic Express just to ensure everyone still hates him. If this doesn’t get aired on Dynamite on Wednesday I’m going to be very upset. This was absolute gold and I can’t praise it enough.
The Moxley promo was also good, but very short. It’s nice to have him talk about Lee, but he didn’t really mention his title being stolen, though we saw it through the highlights being displayed as he spoke. He called Lee a coward and talked about how he never backs down from a challenge. Some solid baby face material here and I loved his closing line about doing the best he can right now which is being an example of refusing to lose during these times in the world.
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