[M-A-G]

Originally Posted by Evil Vito Second night of C and D blocks coming in hot. D Block: Claudio Castagnoli vs. "The Spanish God" Sammy Guevara Blackpool Combat Club vs. Jericho Appreciation Society action to kick us off as the crowd is red hot for Claudio. They have themselves a fine opener to start off the evening, I'm laughing imagining Sammy's facial expressions when the time comes to sell the giant swing. Sammy eventually starts to take control and attempts to springboard off the ropes but it results in a stiff uppercut. Neutralizer finishes it off, Claudio continues his early AEW winning streak as the JAS falls to 0-6 in the tournament. Winner: Claudio Castagnoli Time: 10:51 Rating: 83% ---

Jericho could've called his crew the Jericho's Appreciative People Society. Then the acronym could be...um...

And don't tell me Cesaro is another victim of the WWE exodus/purging?

C Block: Frankie Kazarian vs. "The Redeemer" Miro Perhaps he was up until the wee hours of the morning having riotous sex with Lana, but Miro just looked completely off his game here and never got out of the box against an opponent he would've been viewed as a considerable favorite over. Kazarian controls the pace throughout as Miro struggles to really do anything, winning with a Northern Lights Suplex in the worst match of the tournament thus far. Miro will need to live up to his nickname and redeem himself soon. Winner: Frankie Kazarian Time: 7:56 Rating: 58% ---

Yeah, short of post-coitus exhaustion or congenital heart failure, no way some scrub like Kazarian could take a dude like Miro in a fight.

D Block: Adam Cole vs. "Limitless" Keith Lee OK, these two have chemistry together from their time in NXT so it should serve as a nice palate cleanser after that stinker of a match that preceded it. Tough draw for Cole having to face the two largest competitors in the block back-to-back, but he had a better strategy in this one as he attempted to use a ground game to work on one of Lee's knees. Later in the match, Lee picks Cole up for the Spirit Bomb but his knee gives out! Down to one knee in pain, Lee has no way to see Cole bounce off the ropes behind him and lay down The Boom! The knee to the back of the head puts Lee down for the count and gets Cole on the board. Winner: Adam Cole Time: 12:17 Rating: 84% ---

The Limitless moniker has potential. I'm going through my head to pin down somebody from history that could have carried it but I'm drawing a blank right now.

C Block: Brody King vs. "Absolute" Ricky Starks What a tough act to follow that match was, thankfully in Fire Pro we don't have to worry about matches being downgraded solely because they came after a banger! King and Starks were up to the task though, continuing the night's theme of large man vs. smaller opponent. Starks wrangles his way out of a gorilla press, impressively gets the big Brody up for a flash Fisherman's Suplex to grab 2 more points. Starks is off to a great start in his tournament. Winner: Ricky Starks Time: 12:37 Rating: 87% ---

Yeah, that EWR tendency to fuck you for putting less over guys after a fire of a match can suck but logically you're supposed to be progressively building up the show to the most over people you've got for your main event.

D Block: Buddy Matthews vs. Kenny Omega Matthews just watched his House of Black teammate get off to an 0-2 start and doesn't want to do the same, meanwhile Omega comes off of a surprise loss in his return match. Plenty of matches in this tournament are ones I'd actually want to see in real life, but this one might be near the very top of the list based on stylistic similarities. Both men were working at a breakneck pace throughout, sometimes quite literally with the number of suplex variants being handed out. They also both need to be checked for concussions from how often they kneed each other in the face. Omega gets Buddy up in a Fireman's Carry, slams him down and then connects with a Moonsault to win. Winner: Kenny Omega Time: 12:20 Rating: 87% ---

Buddy Matthews sounds like a character from some '50s TV show.

C Block: Penta Oscuro vs. Jon Moxley As JR would say, this match was bowling shoe ugly. Both men brought out the hardcore brawler in each other as this match went out to the floor numerous times with a chair being introduced into the mix. It's more of a shock that somebody didn't draw blood. Penta reverses out of the Paradigm Shift on two separate occasions, forcing Mox to dig further into his bag of tricks to pull out another move. The Hook and Ladder, a move he rarely uses to finish matches anymore, ends up putting Penta down for the count. Winner: Jon Moxley Time: 9;14 Rating: 68% ---

I'm awaiting the day when Jim Ross going completely off the deep end and mixes up all of his trademarks and calls a match like this by screaming "BOWLING SHOE!!! BOWLING SHOE!!! IT'S BOWLING SHOE UGLY, BAH GAWD!!!"

D Block: Christian Cage vs. "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy Much like the last contest, the D Block main event featured two men who got off to winning starts in the tournament, and you can't really find two polar opposites in terms of crowd reaction. The crowd hates Christian's guts, and he made sure to soak in every ounce of heat as he tried a ground and pound approach on Cassidy. Cassidy wouldn't yield though, and Christian's unrepentant dickery eventually caused the normally aloof Cassidy to come alive and start mounting a big comeback. Cassidy goes for the Stun Dog Millionaire, Christian blocks. Christian goes for the Killswitch, Cassidy blocks. Cassidy connects with an Orange Punch and gets the dub to a huge pop. Winner: Orange Cassidy Time: 12:58 Rating: 82% ---

I honestly don't know how to feel about Christian still rocking the tights. He's most certainly not as banged up as Edge but I still question his choice.