Popcorn Culture
Ruminations on TV Shows, Comics, And Music
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When I originally started this project during the pandemic of 2020, the intention was to focus on WWE storylines while also showing the WCW/ECW/ROH/Impact stories that fed into the WWE storylines. So you'd know who Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, etc. were before their first appearances in WWE. As I fleshed out my ideas for seasons, though, I realized there were too many great WCW matches that I'd never bothered with because I didn't know the wrestlers because they'd never crossed over into WWE. So I had the first two seasons pretty much split evenly between WWE and WCW. ECW has some fun stuff, and is hugely important to the evolution of wrestling but it didn't have the quality production or the consistently good matches of the other two companies, so I only infused a few episodes. Eventually, both WCW and ECW were bought out by the WWE, and there's an entire season of almost all WWe matches. Then, Ring of Honor and Impact/TNA showed up. While Ring Of Honor originally was filmed in high school gyms with poor lighting and probably just one or two camers, their matches were fantastic, so slotting them in to the vacant WCW slots made sense. But then Impact had a pay-per-view ever week and had almost WWE-quality production with a ton of rising, homegrown stars to balance out their Should Be Retired WWE Dinosaurs, so they also got slotted in, and it felt like a golden age. While Impact and ROH still exist, Impact has slowly been transitioning into a WWE farm league, and ROH is actually owned by AEW and used as a legitimate farm league. AEW, meanwhile had a brief window where it totally eclipsed WWE in match quaity and star power in a way that even WCW hadn't achieved during the Monday Night Wars. While that era started last season, it dominates this season as the dementia riddled tyrant of the WWE, Vince McMahon made bad decision after bad decision leading to one of WWE's many lean times. Luckily, WWE's resurgence is on the horizon but most of this season is AEW, and it's a joy to watch. Season 22: |
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When The Undertaker zombied his way to the ring for the first time at the 1990 Survivor Series, he was a revelation. He destroyed everyone and everything in his path but got distracted by some outside interference and was counted out during his first match: a ten person tag team event. It was fine, he spent the next few months squashing every wrestler who got in the ring with him. It was beautiful. He was slow, deliberate, and unstoppable as The Undertaker. After defeating one aging murderer (Jimmy Snuka) and having a surpsingly dull match against the incredibly talented Jake The Snake Roberts, The Undertaker was ready for The Big Time, and he entered a feud with Terrible Terry Six Moves (sometimes referred to as Hulk Hogan). It was boring. The story was dull and the wrestling was tedious. A slow and deliberate killer against a fast moving athlete is awesome. A slow and deliberate killer against an overacting steroid user who can't actually wrestle doesn't make for tittilating entertainment.
I lost interest in The Undertaker until his weirdly chaotic battle with Yokozuna where every villain in the then World Wrestling Federation came out to the ring to eventually close The Undertaker in a casket where he "died" and went off television for a few months.
I lost interest in The Undertaker until his weirdly chaotic battle with Yokozuna where every villain in the then World Wrestling Federation came out to the ring to eventually close The Undertaker in a casket where he "died" and went off television for a few months.
Meanwhile, in World Championship Wrestling, a disturbing maniac who didn't look like anyone else in the business, Mick Foley, was having fascinating matches with superstars like Vader and Abdullah The Butcher. Was he a great wrestler? It was hard to tell. He was definitely better than Hulk Hogan. But he wasn't one of the new high flying cruiserweights, he wasn't a body builder with bulging veins, he wasn't some skinny gymnast or a beefy giant. He was just a pretty big guy with a unique look. He lost an ear during a match against Vader. His hair was...somehow both stereotypically long, wrestling locks, and not at all sterotypically long, wrestling locks. He said "Bang bang" a lot, and went by the name Cactus Jack. He was an anomoly but not a star. His stories were kind of basic and never really went anywhere.
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After a few years, Cactus Jack moved to Extreme Championship Wrestling while also fighting in Japan. His matches were wild. In Japan he, Terry Funk, and Mike Awesome were a trio of unassociated Americans fighting in Exploding Barbed Wire Matches where they'd end up bloody and...well...covered in smoke from all the explosions. It was amazing, and each of them brought a bit of that hardcore violence back with them to ECW. Cactus's promos evolved into squealing, passionate declarations about how disappointed he was in the fans. Not because they were fat, gross, or stupid, which was the usual heel promo against fans, but because the fans encouraged such dangerous violence. After ECW fans heckled a wrestler who'd fell nearly to his death and hit his head on the concrete, Cactus Jack lost all faith in the fandom. It was weird, and incredible to watch. But he still wasn't on TV enough for me to consider him a star.
Apart from the occasional casket match, The Undertaker was boringly slogging through matches in the WWF. This wasn't his fault. There was a dearth of talent at the time, and the writing was awful. Eventually, WWF talent relations director and legendary announcer, Jim Ross, convinced Vince McMahon (the world's creepiest sex offender, and owner of the WWF) to hire Mick Foley. But Vince didn't like the Cactus Jack character so they slapped a white button-up shirt or black t-shirt with a red flannel vest, and a leather mask on Foley's face and rechristened him Mankind. This was an inspired decision.
Apart from the occasional casket match, The Undertaker was boringly slogging through matches in the WWF. This wasn't his fault. There was a dearth of talent at the time, and the writing was awful. Eventually, WWF talent relations director and legendary announcer, Jim Ross, convinced Vince McMahon (the world's creepiest sex offender, and owner of the WWF) to hire Mick Foley. But Vince didn't like the Cactus Jack character so they slapped a white button-up shirt or black t-shirt with a red flannel vest, and a leather mask on Foley's face and rechristened him Mankind. This was an inspired decision.
Watching The Undertaker dismantle a normal person was pretty boring. Of course, Joe Skimpytrunks couldn't defeat a zombie giant. A four hundred pound sumo wrestler couldn't defeat The Undertaker unless every other wrestler in the company helped him cheat. The creepy, androgynous guy dressed like an Oscar statue couldn't defeat The Undertaker, either. What chance did normal humans have?
Mankind was not a normal human. The basement dwelling, squealing monster almost immediately began interfering in The Undertaker's matches. They battled on the regular, weekly TV show, Superstars, and it was okay. They wrestled at The King Of The Ring, and it was one of the better matches of the night, even though it wasn't exceptional. Still, there was something there. Chemistry. The Undertaker's looming deliberation, and Mankind's insane energy and willingness to let his body get wrecked was a surprisingly good combination.
Mankind was not a normal human. The basement dwelling, squealing monster almost immediately began interfering in The Undertaker's matches. They battled on the regular, weekly TV show, Superstars, and it was okay. They wrestled at The King Of The Ring, and it was one of the better matches of the night, even though it wasn't exceptional. Still, there was something there. Chemistry. The Undertaker's looming deliberation, and Mankind's insane energy and willingness to let his body get wrecked was a surprisingly good combination.
During the summer of 1996, Mankind and The Undertaker battled in the first ever Boiler Room Brawl. Basically, they started in an arena basement, which was filled with ladders and lead pipes and chairs and other weapons that weren't common to see in WWF/E matches at the time. The object was just to get the hell out of the basement and into the ring and pin your opponent. It wasn't wrestling, it was a horror movie. And it was a joy to experience for the first time. The two of them destroyed each other, got in the ring, and then had a fantastic twist ending to their fight that demanded there be some sort of rematch.
The rematch? WWF/E's first ever Buried Alive Match. Mankind and The Undertaker had to battle in the ring until one of them could take the other to a grave that had been dug in the arena, and then one of them had to throw the other in the grave and cover them with dirt until they were buried alive. There was a bit more wrestling in this one but it was still more about the gimmick than the athleticism. And that was ok. It's a zombie mortician vs an insane, mask-wearing weirdo, the story is always going to be more important than the actual wrestling.
The two of them continued having mostly great mathes for the next three years. While Mankind had several entertaining feuds, The Undertaker's opponents, apart from Shawn Michaels, never really lived up to the presence of The Undertaker. Even Kane, a character designed to be The Undertaker's greatest foe, never had a good match with The Undertaker, mainly because, as a wrestler, Kane is tall and that's about it. Take away the fancy mask and the superhero bodysuit and Glenn Jacobs (who played Kane) was boring and only entertaining to watch when writers paired him with small, athletic weirdos like Daniel Bryan and Rob Van Dam. On his own and with The Undertaker, Kane was a bread sandwich with room temperature milk. So, time and time again, to spice things up, the WWF had to throw Mankind into pretty much any feud The Undertaker was in. It always made for great TV.
We'll get to Shawn Michaels feud with The Undertaker later but I need to mention that the highlight of their first feud was the first ever Hell In A Cell Match where Shawn and The Undertaker annihilated each other in a spectacular match where they were locked inside a giant cage.
The second ever Hell In A Cell Match was The Undertaker vs Mankind, and Mick Foley (an mankind) decided that the two of them should start the match on top of the cage instead of inside it. This led to the first and most spectacular spot ever where someone (Mankind) was thrown off the top of the cage. It destroyed Foley's body, and yet he got back up, climbed back on the cage and they started throwing punches again, and then....well, you should watch the match, it's a train wreck. It's very short but it feels like it's hours long because so many intense things happen. It's one of the greatest spectacles in wrestling history.
We'll get to Shawn Michaels feud with The Undertaker later but I need to mention that the highlight of their first feud was the first ever Hell In A Cell Match where Shawn and The Undertaker annihilated each other in a spectacular match where they were locked inside a giant cage.
The second ever Hell In A Cell Match was The Undertaker vs Mankind, and Mick Foley (an mankind) decided that the two of them should start the match on top of the cage instead of inside it. This led to the first and most spectacular spot ever where someone (Mankind) was thrown off the top of the cage. It destroyed Foley's body, and yet he got back up, climbed back on the cage and they started throwing punches again, and then....well, you should watch the match, it's a train wreck. It's very short but it feels like it's hours long because so many intense things happen. It's one of the greatest spectacles in wrestling history.
They had other matches after that. Most of them were good to great but there was no way to top the Hell In A Cell match, so they eventually drifted to other feuds. Mick Foley even changed his gimmicks after that, sometimes wrestling as a Shawn Michaels wannabe called Dude Love, and sometimes resurrecting the Cactus Jack character.
While The Undertaker will appear one more time on my list of best feuds, this was definitely Mick Foley's best. He also had memorable short feuds with Randy Orton, Ric Flair, The Rock, and The Edge but his gimmick matches with The Undertaker were some of the best ever contended in WWF/E history.
While The Undertaker will appear one more time on my list of best feuds, this was definitely Mick Foley's best. He also had memorable short feuds with Randy Orton, Ric Flair, The Rock, and The Edge but his gimmick matches with The Undertaker were some of the best ever contended in WWF/E history.
I'm not going to fight with anyone over this list. I had a difficult but enjoyable time selecting my Top Ten Favorite Wrestling Feuds, and it spilled over to include ten other feuds that I loved just not as much as my Top Ten Favorites.
I've tried to include most of the wrestling promotions and draw from all of the eras that I was alive for. I haven't included anything from the 1970s or before because I wasn't alive then, and I'm less interested in what is, for me, wrestling pre-history, and more interested in the characters I grew up watching, as well as the characters currently making wrestling so much fun to experience. Some of these near-misses are going to people's absolutely favorite feuds, and I totally understand why people might shout at their computers "WHAT ON EARTH WAS BETTER THAN THAT?"
Well...wait a bit, I'll tell you.
I've tried to include most of the wrestling promotions and draw from all of the eras that I was alive for. I haven't included anything from the 1970s or before because I wasn't alive then, and I'm less interested in what is, for me, wrestling pre-history, and more interested in the characters I grew up watching, as well as the characters currently making wrestling so much fun to experience. Some of these near-misses are going to people's absolutely favorite feuds, and I totally understand why people might shout at their computers "WHAT ON EARTH WAS BETTER THAN THAT?"
Well...wait a bit, I'll tell you.
15. Jake Roberts vs Randy Savage. Randy Savage had spent months as a WWE commentator after losing a retirement match to The Ultimate Warrior. Randy Savage was in the beginning of a potentially amazing feud with The Ultimate Warrior when Warrior was let go for extortion and general jackassery, so the WWE decided to have Jake Roberts, who people were desperate to see in the ring, as his promos from this era were creepy and incredible, goad Savage back into in-ring competition. Roberts's calling card was his giant Burmese Python, Damian. After matches, Jake would pull out his python, and it would crawl all over his terrified opponents. But, in 1991, Earthquake squashed the snake to death (in kayfabe, the wrestler did not really kill a snake) on TV, so Jake The Snake Roberts no longer had his reptilian buddy to torture his opponents. Enter, Motherfucker (his name was never said in the WWE for obvious reasons, but that was the snake's name), a de-venomized King Cobra that chewed on Savage's arm for an extremely uncomfortable amount of time. This attack, in addition to Jake Roberts slapping Savage's wife, Miss Elizabeth, across the face, fueled Savage's return to the ring. If this feud had gone a bit longer, or if the work Roberts did with Warrior had been transposed to his work with Savage, this would definitely have been a top ten feud.
14. Chris Jericho vs Dean Malenko. The cruiserweights in mid-1990s WCW were way more talented, athletic, and interesting to watch than Terrible Terry Five Moves and the rest of the main eventers with their awful wrestling and toothless storylines. Unfortunately, the cruiserweights rarely got amazing stories to tell. When Chris Jericho went heel in 1997, he became The Most Interesting Wrestler In The Promotion. His unmasking of Juventeud Guerrera was part of an incredible feud but his battle with Malenko was better. Malenko was The Man Of A Thousand Holds, so after Jericho soundly defeated him, he began cutting promos as The Man Of A Thousand And Four Holds, which was brilliant. He had dozens of fantastic promos insulting other wrestlers but they all included digs at Malenko, who took a break from wretling after his loss. Months later, Jericho held a Battle Royal to determnine his next opponent. Again, he insulted every wrestler as they entered the match. And at the end, the unmasked Guerrera found himself face to face with the completely forgettable masked cruiserweight wrestler, Ciclope. Clearly, it was time for Guerrera's revenge. And yet, Guerrera stood nose to nose with Ciclope, laughed, and then eliminated himself from the match. Jericho came down to further insult the winner, only for Ciclope to unmask and reveal himself as Dean Malenko. It is unsurprising that their matches after this incident were also fantastic. At the time, this was in my Top Ten Feuds Ever but I didn't want to repeat many wrestlers in my Top Ten list, and Jericho has had several fantastic feuds in the thirty years since his battles with Malenko, and there may be more in his future, as Jericho is still one of the most famous active wrestlers in the world.
13. Bret Hart vs Owen Hart. Bret Hart is acknowledged as one of the best wrestlers who ever lived. His catchphrase was even "I'm The Best There Is, The Best There Was, And The Best There Ever Will Be." His brother, Owen, also became one of the most decorated wrestlers of his era and, if not for his untimely death under the negligent watch of Vince McMahon and Vince Russo, he might have eventually eclipsed Bret's fame. While Bret was originally shown as the cool, level-headed champion of early to mid-90s wrestling, Owen was a whiny "nugget" who constantly cried about being overlooked in favor of his brother. As a feud of promos, this probably wouldn't have made my top twenty matches. But if we're going by pure wrestling, it would probably be in the very top stop. Every match between these two was gold. Forget the silly run-ins, the involvement of their stepbrother/Bret's former tag team partner, Jim Neidhart, and the involvement of all forty-thousand members of Bret and Owen's immediate family. All of those were fine, is a bit uninspired. The wrestling was Top Tier. Every battle between these two was a banger worth several rewatches
12. Rhea Ripley vs Liv Morgan. This feud is still happening. While I'm ready for it to be over, or at least put on hold for a bit, there's a solid possibility that this feud will get even better and crack the top ten. Rhea Ripley has been an absolute beast since her career began. People always cheered her whether she was the loveable underdog or the dastardly villain. When she became the Mami of The Judgement Day, her stock only rose. Everything she did was captivating. Liv Morgan, on the other hand, seemed pretty bland. Her matches were fine. Her stories were forgettable. She had a title reign where she beat Ronda Rousey twice, and both matches were pretty bad both athletically and narratively. When Rhea Ripley had to vacate her title due to a backstage attack by Live Morgan, I don't think anyone expected that it was the beginning of a fantastic feud. But Morgan took over not only as champion but as Dominik Mysterio's new love interest. When Ripley returned, Mysterio sided with Morgan, and they've been putting on mostly inredible matches. I was considering putting this somewhere in the top ten but their match at Bad Blood was terrible and had me wishing they'd both move on to new stories.
11. Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels. You couldn't really tagline any of their matches with "This time, it's personal" because all of their matches seemed personal. These two had epic storyline after epic storyline, and some of the most iconic matches of all-time. They had the first ever Iron Man match, a sixty minute slog at Wrestlemania. They had the most controversial match of all time when Michaels beat Hart for the title in Hart's last real match in WWE. Dubbed The Montreal Screwjob, the match ending served as inspiration for hundreds of inferior matches ever since. If you're choosing Who Was The Best Technical Wrestler Who Was Also A Great Storyteller In The 90s, your answer has to be one of these two men. I don't think you can argue that one of them was the best and the other was almost the best but you can argue over which of them you prefer. So why isn't this in the Top Ten? I didn't want to repeat many people and Michaels has one feud that definitely tops this, despite how many promos Michaels did about Hart, years after Hart had left for another promotion. Even after Hart had been forced to retire due to injury, Michaels would make promos teasing Hart's return. These two superstars' genuine disrespect for each other made for some of the best wrestling TV of the 20th century. It's also great that they did eventually make up. Their interviews together in the last decade or so are just as entertaining to watch as their antagonistic promos were thirty years ago.
While modern wrestling can be a blast to watch for the athletecism and gymnastic abilities of its biggest stars, for decades the actual grappling took the backseat to soap opera storytelling disguised as a sport. One of America's biggest con-man, carny rapist, sex trafficer, and someone in contention for one of the worst profiteering dirtbags ever born: Vince McMahon didn't even want his WWE (then WWF) referred to as wrestling, he wanted it known as sports entertainment. The 1980s were one of wrestling's biggest boom times behind the personality of Hulk Hogan: a guy who could do four of five moves in the ring and was, without his storylines, boring to watch, as he just put on the same basic match for thirty years.
I loved the stories. I'm in the midst of a weekly watchthrough with friends we're were currently enjoying the 1990s WWE, WCW, and ECW. I'm editing future seasons of our watchthrough, which now involves putting together supercards from 2022 Impact and AEW. I feel absolutely drenched in great storylines, as well as some epic missed opportunities.
For the next few weeks, I"ll be writing about my ten favorite wrestling feuds based on match qualilty, storytelling, and generally how much fun it was to experience. It will be completely North American based wrestling because I'm not as familiar with other products. I've seen my fair share of Americans wrestling in Japan, and I've been privileged enough to see most of the well-known battles between Japanese wrestlers but I've never been knowledgable enough to speak about best feuds in New Japan, All Japan, Noah, Stardom, Dragongate, FMA, or other organizations.
When coming up with this list, I tried not to repeat too many wrestlers. I also didn't include great storytelling feuds where the matches weren't actually very good, so no Flair/Hogan, no Million Dollar Man vs Virgil, no Shawn Michaels vs Marty Janetti, nothing with Jeff Jarrett or his spritual soulmate, The Honkey Tonk Man. There aren't a ton of Impact, Ring Of Honor, WCW, or AEW feuds (though there are at least one from each) because those companies tended to put more emphasis on actual wrestling than storytelling or else they put Vince "Car Crash" Russo in charge and none of the stories made any logical sense or had any compelling characters.
Before I get to my favorite ten feuds, though, here are the first five of my ten Honorable Mentions, and why they didn't make the list:
I loved the stories. I'm in the midst of a weekly watchthrough with friends we're were currently enjoying the 1990s WWE, WCW, and ECW. I'm editing future seasons of our watchthrough, which now involves putting together supercards from 2022 Impact and AEW. I feel absolutely drenched in great storylines, as well as some epic missed opportunities.
For the next few weeks, I"ll be writing about my ten favorite wrestling feuds based on match qualilty, storytelling, and generally how much fun it was to experience. It will be completely North American based wrestling because I'm not as familiar with other products. I've seen my fair share of Americans wrestling in Japan, and I've been privileged enough to see most of the well-known battles between Japanese wrestlers but I've never been knowledgable enough to speak about best feuds in New Japan, All Japan, Noah, Stardom, Dragongate, FMA, or other organizations.
When coming up with this list, I tried not to repeat too many wrestlers. I also didn't include great storytelling feuds where the matches weren't actually very good, so no Flair/Hogan, no Million Dollar Man vs Virgil, no Shawn Michaels vs Marty Janetti, nothing with Jeff Jarrett or his spritual soulmate, The Honkey Tonk Man. There aren't a ton of Impact, Ring Of Honor, WCW, or AEW feuds (though there are at least one from each) because those companies tended to put more emphasis on actual wrestling than storytelling or else they put Vince "Car Crash" Russo in charge and none of the stories made any logical sense or had any compelling characters.
Before I get to my favorite ten feuds, though, here are the first five of my ten Honorable Mentions, and why they didn't make the list:
20: Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair. These were the two best women wrestling in the 2010s. And while I was less enamored of Charlotte each time she won a title, I still love every moment that Becky Lynch steps in the ring (apart from the squash of Bianca Belair). These two had some incredible matches, including the first ever all-woman headlining match at Wrestlemania, which had Ronda Rousey thrown into the mix. Why doesn't it make the list? Charlotte. She's extremely talented but I don't enjoy seeing her on-screen. Apart from Lynch and Flair's astounding Last Woman Standing Match at the Revolution Pay-Per-View in 2018, I have no distinct memory of any Charlotte Flair spots, apart from putting her impressive Figure Eight Leglock on several opponents. Mostly, I just think of how deflated I get every time she returns and WWE throws a belt on her.
19. Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns. Until their feud was turned on its head by Roman Reigns being the tyrranical champion with a supportively cheating stable, and Brock Lesnar was some sort of Viking Cowboy who flipped a wrestling ring over with a tractor, most of their interactions in the ring were boring. In fact, until the 2021 Lesnar return, the most exciting part of the Lesnar/Reigns feud was when Seth Rollins cashed in Money In The Bank in the middle of their Wrestlemania 31 headlining match. Both Lesnar and Reigns can tell incredible stories in the ring but, for some reason, when you put the two of them together, it was a snoozefest of power moves that looked more like they were action figures being smooshed together by children's hands than two athletes in a choreographed battle. It's a pity there weren't more tractors in their matches.
18. Ric Flair vs Randy Savage. If their feud had started when they were five years younger, it probably would have been in my top ten. The Flair/Savage feud in WCW wasn't interesting to me. It was too similar to Savage/Hogan's 80s storytelling. I just didn't care about two old men fighting over women who were clearly too good for them. On the other hand, Ric Flair's "Damaged Goods" promos from the 1980s were a masterpiece. Flair and Mr. Perfect used doctored photos to try and convince the world that Flair had been in a relationship with Savage's wife, Elizabeth, who was the most famous woman in the wrestling industry at the time. Savage and Flair had a pretty good blowoff match, and then a year later, Savage used babyface mind games to convince Mr. Perfect to be his tagteam partner against Ric Flair and the up-and-coming Razor Ramon. Two excellent storybeats paced well apart, made this a feud for the ages. But not one of the seventeen best feuds.
17. Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuinness. There's only one feud from Ring Of Honor that makes my top ten. ROH was more about wrestling than storytelling. Bryan Danielson is simply one of the best wrestlers of his generation but, apart from his epic Yes Movement storyline in 2014, most of his storylines have been mid-card okay at best. Bryan Danielson (then wrestling as Daniel Bryan) and Kane as Team Hell No was fun. Danielson's role in AEW's Blackpool Combat Club was okay. His performance as the heel Hemp champ vs Kofi Kingston was solid storytelling. None of them were Great Stories, though. And neither was his feud with the then up-and-coming Nigel McGuinness. The storyline was pretty basic but the matches were excellent. They were both champions when they first battled in Ring Of Honor in 2006, and each of their following battles was bloodier and more violent until their titles were unified when the then Pure Champion, McGuinness, beat the ROH World Champion, Danielson, in 2011. McGuinness retired from the ring not too long after that but returned in 2024 so that he could get a shot at Danielson, who was then the AEW Heavyweight Champ.
16. Sasha Banks vs Bayley. These two frenemies were both members of The Four Horsewomen (along with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair) that elevated womens' wrestling in NXT and the WWE in the 2010s. They were the first ever womens' tag team champions, and they had solid matched whenever one of them would betray the other in order to try and win a title. While their matches against each other were always between good and great (especially their epic Hell In A Cell match in 2020), I enjoyed them more as a tag team, and was always a little bummed when they were split up and pitted against each other.
ACDC Reimagined Discography For People Who Only Really Know ACDC From Soundtracks Or Osmosis
12/9/2024
A coworker in his sixties once lamented to me that his eleven year old son had just "discovered" ACDC. This was around 2015. He was a big funk, R&B, and early hip-hop fan who was also pretty knowledgable about the classic 80s and 90s rock but, despite his love of George Clinton bands, he couldn't get on board with ACDC's amateurish innuendo lyrics.
I understand that. I was probably also around eleven when my family was spending a couple of days with one of my mom's coworkers. The coworker had two kids who were slightly older than me but not so much older that I felt the need to look up to them, nor did they find me annoying. While our parents drank, we were in the basement, which doubled as their bedroom, watching A Clockwork Orange, which none of our parents would have approved of.
We must have been eating and drinking solid sugar because the two of them were actually bouncing when the movie was over, and they put on Back In Black. I had probably heard a couple of ACDC songs on MTV or at a friends' house but my parents definitely didn't then, and still don't, listen to Stephen King's favorite rock band. I thought some of the songs were really good and when I, at around age thirteen, scammed Columbia House for cheap albums, I got two or three ACDC albums. I hated them.
I'm definitely a Greatest Hits fan of ACDC, not a true fan. Many of their songs have the same effect on me and I don't think they evolved in any interesting way between when I first encountered Back In Black and when I stopped seeing their more modern songs on MTV in the late 90s/early 2000s. So this is a very mainstream radio friendly One Album Discography of a band that I'm not super into but which was very important to rock history and who have a few unignorable bangers.
I understand that. I was probably also around eleven when my family was spending a couple of days with one of my mom's coworkers. The coworker had two kids who were slightly older than me but not so much older that I felt the need to look up to them, nor did they find me annoying. While our parents drank, we were in the basement, which doubled as their bedroom, watching A Clockwork Orange, which none of our parents would have approved of.
We must have been eating and drinking solid sugar because the two of them were actually bouncing when the movie was over, and they put on Back In Black. I had probably heard a couple of ACDC songs on MTV or at a friends' house but my parents definitely didn't then, and still don't, listen to Stephen King's favorite rock band. I thought some of the songs were really good and when I, at around age thirteen, scammed Columbia House for cheap albums, I got two or three ACDC albums. I hated them.
I'm definitely a Greatest Hits fan of ACDC, not a true fan. Many of their songs have the same effect on me and I don't think they evolved in any interesting way between when I first encountered Back In Black and when I stopped seeing their more modern songs on MTV in the late 90s/early 2000s. So this is a very mainstream radio friendly One Album Discography of a band that I'm not super into but which was very important to rock history and who have a few unignorable bangers.
It is creepy that the most recognizable member of the group of a bunch of old, creepy, innuendo screeching Australians looks and dresses like a little boy.
1. For Those About To Rock
When I shared this reimagined album description with some friends, I was advised that the beginning of this song is not an amazing synthesizer riff but, in fact, someone finger-picking a guitar. This is an astounding feat of intrumental camouflage but not the only one you'll find on this reimagined album.
This gets opening track credit for its amazing slow build to the heavier portion of the song. This is precisely the type of song I look for when putting together most of these reimagined albums. Neither their best nor their loudest song, I just love the chorus, and how it has a more jangly sound than anything that follows. The weird repeated breakdown/canon fire section about 2/3rds of the way through is late 70s/early 80s metal gold.
2. It's A Long Way To The Top
There's almost a country rock vibe at the beginning of this track. It was years before I realized this was an ACDC song. I don't know who I thought it was or why I didn't recognize it. I had heard quite a few of the Bon Scott-era songs but I just couldn't place the vocalist, probably because I was so distracted by how a country sounding metal song is suddenly invaded by relentless bagpipes. I do feel like these first two tracks are kind of a cheat, since they're both about rock and roll and contain almost no middle-school innuendo but, and this is rare for me, I prefer their self-referential songs to their dick jokes.
3. You Shook Me All Night Long
Here comes the sex songs! This is an absolutely basic classic rock radio staple. This has been in so many movies, TV shows, commercials, and it's been played so many times while I've shopped in stores that I'm not sure whether I like it or I'm just accustomed to it.
4. Thunderstruck
I'm certain I enjoy Thunderstruck. The wild guitar lick while a chorus of men do a little sport chant until the lead vocals come in is First Class 70s/80s Arena Rock, so imagine my surprise to find that this is from 1990. The middle of the song is just standard classic rock but that opening minute is worth the price of admission.
5. TNT
Prime 1970s radio metal. The main guitar riff is just a clean riff you might hear in a Joan Jett song. The verses are typical braggadocio about how good at sex the singer is but, honestly, it's top tier sex braggadocio. It's not clever, it's just catchy and not terrible. And the underlying ois are so sing-alongable. The descent into guitar madness at the end works in the song's favor, too.
6. Who Made Who
Stephen King has been singing the praises of ACDC for decades. Rightfully, so. This song, the title track from an album that doubled as the soundtrack for one of King's more memorable, if not necessarily good, movies: Maximum Overdrive. This is another case of a song that I know many of the words to, and bop my head along to but I'm not sure if I like it or if it just happened to play on the radio frequently when I was just getting into harder rock.
7. Highway To Hell
How do you not bop your head to the guitar riffs on this song? The catchy, adolescent rebellion chorus is a classic for a reason. It also descends into guitar madness near the end before we get one more Highway To Hell.
8. Hard As A Rock
I'd guess this isn't on many peoples' Best Of ACDC list. It's a typical innuendo-based song with a solid but not Earth-shattering riff. It just happened to come out when I was watching a lot of MTV. It's not a legendary track but it's better than just album-filler. I do like the somewhat jangly riff that is mostly under the surface of the main crunch for most of the song.
9. Hell's Bells
The title-necessitated bells. The lead guitar could have made this a hit without any vocals. When the vocals come in, they're great, but this one is driven mostly the Young brothers, and whoever rang those bells.
10. Dirty Deeds Done Cheap
Decades ago, a friend who was the lead singer of a hardcore band told the story about hearing this song when he was really young, and how he used to wail "Dirty deeds and the Dunder Chief!" I can definitely hear that interpretation. This is one of the band's all-time best. John Popper of Blues Traveler used to play the harmonica so blisteringly, you'd swear it was a guitar. The guitar in the middle of this track, conversely, is so blistering, you'd swear it was a harmonica. The chanting on the way to the outro is also magic.
11. Let There Be Rock
I thought I closed out this reimagineed album with a great counterpoint to the opening track. Another rock song about rock. This one is a bit heavier with a couple of epic breakdowns scattered through its six minute length. Along with "Devil Went Down To Georgia", this has to be one of the best ever songs presenting lyrics as a religious fable. As much as I loved it, I realized there was a better closer.
12. Back In Black
The clicky intro, the strummy, percussive guitar parts, the way Brian Johnson makes the word back have five syllables. I tend to end rock albums with ballads but I can't think of an ACDC ballad that works as well as a closer than this absolute scorcher of a finisher.
I think this album contains all the songs I'd reasonably listen to when I'm in the mood for ACDC. But were I to make a second album, I couldn't really go in-depth about my choices but it would probably be:
1. If You Want Blood (You've Got It)
2. Whole Lotta Rosie
3. Demon Fire
4.Sink The Pink
5. Touch Too Much
6. Kick You When You're Down
7. Nervous Shakedown
8. Livewire
9. Rock & Roll Train
10. Have A Drink On Me
11. The Jack
When I shared this reimagined album description with some friends, I was advised that the beginning of this song is not an amazing synthesizer riff but, in fact, someone finger-picking a guitar. This is an astounding feat of intrumental camouflage but not the only one you'll find on this reimagined album.
This gets opening track credit for its amazing slow build to the heavier portion of the song. This is precisely the type of song I look for when putting together most of these reimagined albums. Neither their best nor their loudest song, I just love the chorus, and how it has a more jangly sound than anything that follows. The weird repeated breakdown/canon fire section about 2/3rds of the way through is late 70s/early 80s metal gold.
2. It's A Long Way To The Top
There's almost a country rock vibe at the beginning of this track. It was years before I realized this was an ACDC song. I don't know who I thought it was or why I didn't recognize it. I had heard quite a few of the Bon Scott-era songs but I just couldn't place the vocalist, probably because I was so distracted by how a country sounding metal song is suddenly invaded by relentless bagpipes. I do feel like these first two tracks are kind of a cheat, since they're both about rock and roll and contain almost no middle-school innuendo but, and this is rare for me, I prefer their self-referential songs to their dick jokes.
3. You Shook Me All Night Long
Here comes the sex songs! This is an absolutely basic classic rock radio staple. This has been in so many movies, TV shows, commercials, and it's been played so many times while I've shopped in stores that I'm not sure whether I like it or I'm just accustomed to it.
4. Thunderstruck
I'm certain I enjoy Thunderstruck. The wild guitar lick while a chorus of men do a little sport chant until the lead vocals come in is First Class 70s/80s Arena Rock, so imagine my surprise to find that this is from 1990. The middle of the song is just standard classic rock but that opening minute is worth the price of admission.
5. TNT
Prime 1970s radio metal. The main guitar riff is just a clean riff you might hear in a Joan Jett song. The verses are typical braggadocio about how good at sex the singer is but, honestly, it's top tier sex braggadocio. It's not clever, it's just catchy and not terrible. And the underlying ois are so sing-alongable. The descent into guitar madness at the end works in the song's favor, too.
6. Who Made Who
Stephen King has been singing the praises of ACDC for decades. Rightfully, so. This song, the title track from an album that doubled as the soundtrack for one of King's more memorable, if not necessarily good, movies: Maximum Overdrive. This is another case of a song that I know many of the words to, and bop my head along to but I'm not sure if I like it or if it just happened to play on the radio frequently when I was just getting into harder rock.
7. Highway To Hell
How do you not bop your head to the guitar riffs on this song? The catchy, adolescent rebellion chorus is a classic for a reason. It also descends into guitar madness near the end before we get one more Highway To Hell.
8. Hard As A Rock
I'd guess this isn't on many peoples' Best Of ACDC list. It's a typical innuendo-based song with a solid but not Earth-shattering riff. It just happened to come out when I was watching a lot of MTV. It's not a legendary track but it's better than just album-filler. I do like the somewhat jangly riff that is mostly under the surface of the main crunch for most of the song.
9. Hell's Bells
The title-necessitated bells. The lead guitar could have made this a hit without any vocals. When the vocals come in, they're great, but this one is driven mostly the Young brothers, and whoever rang those bells.
10. Dirty Deeds Done Cheap
Decades ago, a friend who was the lead singer of a hardcore band told the story about hearing this song when he was really young, and how he used to wail "Dirty deeds and the Dunder Chief!" I can definitely hear that interpretation. This is one of the band's all-time best. John Popper of Blues Traveler used to play the harmonica so blisteringly, you'd swear it was a guitar. The guitar in the middle of this track, conversely, is so blistering, you'd swear it was a harmonica. The chanting on the way to the outro is also magic.
11. Let There Be Rock
I thought I closed out this reimagineed album with a great counterpoint to the opening track. Another rock song about rock. This one is a bit heavier with a couple of epic breakdowns scattered through its six minute length. Along with "Devil Went Down To Georgia", this has to be one of the best ever songs presenting lyrics as a religious fable. As much as I loved it, I realized there was a better closer.
12. Back In Black
The clicky intro, the strummy, percussive guitar parts, the way Brian Johnson makes the word back have five syllables. I tend to end rock albums with ballads but I can't think of an ACDC ballad that works as well as a closer than this absolute scorcher of a finisher.
I think this album contains all the songs I'd reasonably listen to when I'm in the mood for ACDC. But were I to make a second album, I couldn't really go in-depth about my choices but it would probably be:
1. If You Want Blood (You've Got It)
2. Whole Lotta Rosie
3. Demon Fire
4.Sink The Pink
5. Touch Too Much
6. Kick You When You're Down
7. Nervous Shakedown
8. Livewire
9. Rock & Roll Train
10. Have A Drink On Me
11. The Jack
Having been watching Doctor Who on and off but mostly off for the last forty years, I am excited by the current re-re-rebooted series featuring the fourteenth and fifteenth doctors. After a divisive Twelfth Doctor, and a Thirteenth Doctor who was, herself, very interesting and entertaining, but whose overall storyarc was less than satisfying, I'm relieved to be optimistic about the show, even if it still had a couple of clunker episodes.
I've already done a How To Watch Doctor Who project that focuses just on the great episodes, and how to watch them in order for most enjoyment.
This is something different.
If you love continuity, you're going to either want to skip this one or watch it very, very closely. This is Doctor Who told incredibly out of order. Each series will have a theme and/or a complex storyline. Each season will use multiple Doctors and companions, and will rarely (but not never) follow their adventures in such a way that you see a companion's growth as a character.
I did this, not just because I think it's fun to try and experience the series in a new way but I offer this to people who haven't watched Doctor Who, who would like to see some of the old episodes but can't stomach watching the 20th century episodes for several months in order to get to the modern stuff. We start modern and bop around so that you're never stuck in the black and white era or the 4,000 minute long serial era for very long.
The first season is all about learning who The Doctor is. He's a seemingly somewhat immortal time traveler, and when he gets really ill, he regenerates into an entirely different looking/behaving person who tend to have a sort of temporary amnesia. We're going to be introduced to the first thirteen Doctors (except 4) in this season, out of order, usually including their first episodes where they are unsure what kind of person they are and struggle to get a handle on their new personas.
I've already done a How To Watch Doctor Who project that focuses just on the great episodes, and how to watch them in order for most enjoyment.
This is something different.
If you love continuity, you're going to either want to skip this one or watch it very, very closely. This is Doctor Who told incredibly out of order. Each series will have a theme and/or a complex storyline. Each season will use multiple Doctors and companions, and will rarely (but not never) follow their adventures in such a way that you see a companion's growth as a character.
I did this, not just because I think it's fun to try and experience the series in a new way but I offer this to people who haven't watched Doctor Who, who would like to see some of the old episodes but can't stomach watching the 20th century episodes for several months in order to get to the modern stuff. We start modern and bop around so that you're never stuck in the black and white era or the 4,000 minute long serial era for very long.
The first season is all about learning who The Doctor is. He's a seemingly somewhat immortal time traveler, and when he gets really ill, he regenerates into an entirely different looking/behaving person who tend to have a sort of temporary amnesia. We're going to be introduced to the first thirteen Doctors (except 4) in this season, out of order, usually including their first episodes where they are unsure what kind of person they are and struggle to get a handle on their new personas.
The first 13 doctors, art by @Aaroonio
101. Blink
(10, Martha, Weeping Angels)
Some argue that this a terrible introduction to Doctor Who because The Doctor is hardly in it. That's why I enjoy it as an entryway. This is a fun sci-fi/horror story with a mysterious character who we're soon going to get to know. And there are really imaginative monster antagonists.
102 & 103. The Family Of Blood / Human Nature
(10, Martha)
Now we find out who The Doctor i---oh, The Doctor has to go into hiding during World War One. His companion is there watching over him but racism is making things difficult. As are aliens.
104. Time Heist
(12, Clara)
An entirely different face of The Doctor and a new companion find themselves in the middle of a bank heist with no memory of how they got involved and what their aims are. They puzzle it out as shenanigans unravel around them.
105. The Woman Who Fell To Earth
(13, Ryan, Yasmin, Graham)
Another another face for The Doctor. This time a woman who acknowledges she was just a raving Scotsman. She meets a new crew of potential companions tracking down a monster who appears to be hunting humans for...teeth?
106. The Invasion (episodes 2, 7 & 8)
(2, Jamie, Zoe, Brigadier, Cybermen)
It's Cybermen vs UNIT (we are meeting both for the first time), as a black and white era Doctor must make military alliances on Earth to keep it from being destroyed.
107. War Games (episodes 1, 9 & 10)
(2, Jamie, Zoe, Timelords)
Yet another face of The Doctor and a couple of his companions find themselves in the midst of a very confusing war. Just as they begin to sort everything out and plot their escape they're taken to The Doctor's home planet where they are separated, and we learn a little bit about how The Doctor's face keeps changing.
108. Spearhead From Space
(3, Brigadier, Liz, Autons)
Picking up from the previous episode for the first time, we meet a new and confused face of The Doctor and see him interact with someone who was familiar with a previous face. We also meet the Autons, an odd race of mannequins.
109. Terror Of The Autons
(3, Brigadier, Jo, Mike, Autons, The Master)
More mannequins! More Brigadier! The introduction of a very important villain who also appears to be a Time Lord.
110. Rose
(9, Rose, Mickey, Jackie, Autons)
This is probably the last time we'll see The Autons. It's much further down The Doctor's timeline, and they're targeting London. Once again, there's a new face of The Doctor, and he's trying to get a hold on who he is.
111. The Christmas Invasion
(10, Rose, Mickey, Jackie, Harriet Jones)
Oh, hey, we're back to the very first face of The Doctor we met this season. Only, oooh, this is his first adventure. Is it those damned mannequins again? Luckily, we have three companions from the last episode to help a seemingly exhausted Doctor remember who he is and what he should be doing: saving Earth from aliens!
112. The Eleventh Hour
(12, Amy, Rory)
Another another another face of The Doctor, also confused, lands on Earth and discovers cracks on a young girl's wall. We also see for the first time several of the faces he's already had on this weird journey.
113. & 114. The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood
(12, Amy, Rory, Silurians)
The Doctor's companions from the last adventure join him on a drilling expedition where they go too far beneath The Earth's surface and get involved in interspecies warfare.
115. Vincent & The Doctor
(12, Amy)
After the previous episode's events, The Doctor takes Amy to visit one of Earth's greatest painters.
116 & 117. Silence In The Library / Forest Of The Dead
(10, Donna, River)
Back to our original Doctor. He and a friend are drawn to a library where an expedition has arrived to research why there are no people there. One of the members of the expedition seems to know The Doctor but he has no idea who she is.
118. Time Crash / Castrovalva
(10, 5, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan, The Master)
This is a fun, weird continuity floof. Our friend the 10th Doctor runs into a face we haven't met yet (The Fifth Doctor), and they suss each other out. Then we follow The Fifth Doctor into his first adventure where he wakes up surrounded by companions who know him but, as we're becoming accustomed to, he isn't sure who he is or what he should be doing. Oh, and The Master is around, which is annoying.
119. The Enemy Within
(7, 8, The Master)
Two new faces in one! The Seventh Doctor has The Master's remains, and is trying to determine what to do with them when, of course, something goes awry that ends up causing The Doctor to regenerate in America where everything is a teensy bit darker and more violent.
120. The Fugitive Of The Judoon
(13, Yasmin, Ryan, Graham, Judoon, Fugitive)
And now we're back to the Steampunk Doctor. A military alien race has quarantined Earth as they search for a criminal who, you're never going to believe this, turns out to be Another face of The Doctor.
121. The Two Doctors
(6, 2, Jamie, Peri, Sontarans)
Another multiple Doctor affair sees some Sontarans and some Earthlings and some other rogue aliens teaming up. One of the alien races is always searching for new and more refined culinary experiences and they bring a very silly element to an otherwise grave situation.
122. War Of The Sontarans
(13, Yasmin, Dan, Sontarans)
There's not a silly culinary alien in sight when The Sontarans due to some weird timey-wimey scenario, end up on Earth during World War One and therefore on Earth for the entirety of the 20th and 21st century? Steampunk Doctor must try and correct a very jumbled history.
123. & 124. The Time Meddler
(1, Vicki, Steve)
Reaching way back into the black and white era, we see The Doctor and his companions have to deal with The Monk, another time traveler who is messing up history by exposing ancient civilizations to twentieth century technology.
125. Heaven Sent
(12)
It's just The Doctor. Trapped in a puzzle, he must figure out not only how to escape but why he's there but every time a mysterious entity reaches him, he is dissolved and has to start the quest over. It's a phenomenal episode and shows exactly who The Doctor is when he's focused and against insurmountable odds.
(10, Martha, Weeping Angels)
Some argue that this a terrible introduction to Doctor Who because The Doctor is hardly in it. That's why I enjoy it as an entryway. This is a fun sci-fi/horror story with a mysterious character who we're soon going to get to know. And there are really imaginative monster antagonists.
102 & 103. The Family Of Blood / Human Nature
(10, Martha)
Now we find out who The Doctor i---oh, The Doctor has to go into hiding during World War One. His companion is there watching over him but racism is making things difficult. As are aliens.
104. Time Heist
(12, Clara)
An entirely different face of The Doctor and a new companion find themselves in the middle of a bank heist with no memory of how they got involved and what their aims are. They puzzle it out as shenanigans unravel around them.
105. The Woman Who Fell To Earth
(13, Ryan, Yasmin, Graham)
Another another face for The Doctor. This time a woman who acknowledges she was just a raving Scotsman. She meets a new crew of potential companions tracking down a monster who appears to be hunting humans for...teeth?
106. The Invasion (episodes 2, 7 & 8)
(2, Jamie, Zoe, Brigadier, Cybermen)
It's Cybermen vs UNIT (we are meeting both for the first time), as a black and white era Doctor must make military alliances on Earth to keep it from being destroyed.
107. War Games (episodes 1, 9 & 10)
(2, Jamie, Zoe, Timelords)
Yet another face of The Doctor and a couple of his companions find themselves in the midst of a very confusing war. Just as they begin to sort everything out and plot their escape they're taken to The Doctor's home planet where they are separated, and we learn a little bit about how The Doctor's face keeps changing.
108. Spearhead From Space
(3, Brigadier, Liz, Autons)
Picking up from the previous episode for the first time, we meet a new and confused face of The Doctor and see him interact with someone who was familiar with a previous face. We also meet the Autons, an odd race of mannequins.
109. Terror Of The Autons
(3, Brigadier, Jo, Mike, Autons, The Master)
More mannequins! More Brigadier! The introduction of a very important villain who also appears to be a Time Lord.
110. Rose
(9, Rose, Mickey, Jackie, Autons)
This is probably the last time we'll see The Autons. It's much further down The Doctor's timeline, and they're targeting London. Once again, there's a new face of The Doctor, and he's trying to get a hold on who he is.
111. The Christmas Invasion
(10, Rose, Mickey, Jackie, Harriet Jones)
Oh, hey, we're back to the very first face of The Doctor we met this season. Only, oooh, this is his first adventure. Is it those damned mannequins again? Luckily, we have three companions from the last episode to help a seemingly exhausted Doctor remember who he is and what he should be doing: saving Earth from aliens!
112. The Eleventh Hour
(12, Amy, Rory)
Another another another face of The Doctor, also confused, lands on Earth and discovers cracks on a young girl's wall. We also see for the first time several of the faces he's already had on this weird journey.
113. & 114. The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood
(12, Amy, Rory, Silurians)
The Doctor's companions from the last adventure join him on a drilling expedition where they go too far beneath The Earth's surface and get involved in interspecies warfare.
115. Vincent & The Doctor
(12, Amy)
After the previous episode's events, The Doctor takes Amy to visit one of Earth's greatest painters.
116 & 117. Silence In The Library / Forest Of The Dead
(10, Donna, River)
Back to our original Doctor. He and a friend are drawn to a library where an expedition has arrived to research why there are no people there. One of the members of the expedition seems to know The Doctor but he has no idea who she is.
118. Time Crash / Castrovalva
(10, 5, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan, The Master)
This is a fun, weird continuity floof. Our friend the 10th Doctor runs into a face we haven't met yet (The Fifth Doctor), and they suss each other out. Then we follow The Fifth Doctor into his first adventure where he wakes up surrounded by companions who know him but, as we're becoming accustomed to, he isn't sure who he is or what he should be doing. Oh, and The Master is around, which is annoying.
119. The Enemy Within
(7, 8, The Master)
Two new faces in one! The Seventh Doctor has The Master's remains, and is trying to determine what to do with them when, of course, something goes awry that ends up causing The Doctor to regenerate in America where everything is a teensy bit darker and more violent.
120. The Fugitive Of The Judoon
(13, Yasmin, Ryan, Graham, Judoon, Fugitive)
And now we're back to the Steampunk Doctor. A military alien race has quarantined Earth as they search for a criminal who, you're never going to believe this, turns out to be Another face of The Doctor.
121. The Two Doctors
(6, 2, Jamie, Peri, Sontarans)
Another multiple Doctor affair sees some Sontarans and some Earthlings and some other rogue aliens teaming up. One of the alien races is always searching for new and more refined culinary experiences and they bring a very silly element to an otherwise grave situation.
122. War Of The Sontarans
(13, Yasmin, Dan, Sontarans)
There's not a silly culinary alien in sight when The Sontarans due to some weird timey-wimey scenario, end up on Earth during World War One and therefore on Earth for the entirety of the 20th and 21st century? Steampunk Doctor must try and correct a very jumbled history.
123. & 124. The Time Meddler
(1, Vicki, Steve)
Reaching way back into the black and white era, we see The Doctor and his companions have to deal with The Monk, another time traveler who is messing up history by exposing ancient civilizations to twentieth century technology.
125. Heaven Sent
(12)
It's just The Doctor. Trapped in a puzzle, he must figure out not only how to escape but why he's there but every time a mysterious entity reaches him, he is dissolved and has to start the quest over. It's a phenomenal episode and shows exactly who The Doctor is when he's focused and against insurmountable odds.
How To Watch The WWE In A Focused, Fun Manner Whether You're New Or A Long Time Fan, 20: Thunderdome
10/1/2024
2020 was a serious drag. Pandemic, another terrible American election, Brexit kept getting somehow worse, it might have made you want to lock yourself in your house, if you weren't in fact mandated to stay in your house because of a plague.
The Thunderdome era featured WWE piping in fan noise and having walls of iPads showing fans who were watching online. NXT, AEW, and Impact just had very limited audiences, usually made up of non-competing wrestlers and personalities.
While this was a bit of a bummer, most of the companies found creative ways to entertain, including cinematic matches, and a ton of stipulations.
The biggest story to come out of this is The Bloodline Saga, which is somehow still going on, over four years later.
The Thunderdome era featured WWE piping in fan noise and having walls of iPads showing fans who were watching online. NXT, AEW, and Impact just had very limited audiences, usually made up of non-competing wrestlers and personalities.
While this was a bit of a bummer, most of the companies found creative ways to entertain, including cinematic matches, and a ton of stipulations.
The biggest story to come out of this is The Bloodline Saga, which is somehow still going on, over four years later.
Season 20:
Thunderdome
Starring: Roman Reigns, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley), Chris Jericho, Rhea Ripley, MJF, Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes, Asuka, Io Sky, Rey Mysterio, Kenny Omega, Hikaru Shida, FTR, Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Hangman Page, Daniel Bryan, Darby Allin, AJ Styles, Shaemus, Brodie Lee
2001. The Silent Wrestlemania
The first live sporting event during the pandemic era was Wrestlemania. Bookended by a couple of cinematic matches, we have a series of matches without an audience. It's a huge departure from typical WWE production but it was a welcome distraction when everyone was stuck at home. Both of these cinematic matches were wild, and they're very different tones from one another. The Firefly Funhouse Match being more of a skit than a match while The Boneyard Match was a stunt-focused brawl. Usually I end one of these fictional seasons with a superstar's final match, but this season we begin with what is, hopefully, the last ever Undertaker match. It was the perfect sendoff for him.
Announcers: Michael Cole, JBL, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Titus O'Neill, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome
1. Bray Wyatt (as The Fiend) vs John Cena in a Firefly Funhouse Match
2. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Shayna Baszler
3. Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins in a No DQ Match
4. Miz & Morrison (Smackdown Tag Champs) vs Heavy Machinery
5. Goldberg (WWE Universal Champ) vs Braun Stroman
6. Bayley (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Sasha Banks vs Naomi vs Tamina vs Lacey Evans
7. Dolph Ziggler vs Otis
8. Brock Lesnar (WWE Champ) vs Drew McIntyre
9. Undertaker vs AJ Styles in a Boneyard Match
The first live sporting event during the pandemic era was Wrestlemania. Bookended by a couple of cinematic matches, we have a series of matches without an audience. It's a huge departure from typical WWE production but it was a welcome distraction when everyone was stuck at home. Both of these cinematic matches were wild, and they're very different tones from one another. The Firefly Funhouse Match being more of a skit than a match while The Boneyard Match was a stunt-focused brawl. Usually I end one of these fictional seasons with a superstar's final match, but this season we begin with what is, hopefully, the last ever Undertaker match. It was the perfect sendoff for him.
Announcers: Michael Cole, JBL, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Titus O'Neill, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome
1. Bray Wyatt (as The Fiend) vs John Cena in a Firefly Funhouse Match
2. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Shayna Baszler
3. Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins in a No DQ Match
4. Miz & Morrison (Smackdown Tag Champs) vs Heavy Machinery
5. Goldberg (WWE Universal Champ) vs Braun Stroman
6. Bayley (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Sasha Banks vs Naomi vs Tamina vs Lacey Evans
7. Dolph Ziggler vs Otis
8. Brock Lesnar (WWE Champ) vs Drew McIntyre
9. Undertaker vs AJ Styles in a Boneyard Match
2002. Money On The Roof
Some solid matches sans audience, including a surprise cinematic tag team match, and two Money In The Banks matches happening simultaneously in WWE headquarters. The cinematic matches are pretty silly but entertaining.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome, Howard Finkel
1. Bayley (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Tamina
2. Jeff Hardy vs Cesaro
3. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Seth Rollins
5. Street Profits (Raw Tag Team Champs) vs Viking Raiders
6. Edge vs Randy Orton
7. Womens Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Asuka, Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Carmella, Lacey Evans, Dana Brooke
8. Mens Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Rey Mysterio vs Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles vs Malakai Black (as Aleister Black) vs Baron Corbin vs Otis
Some solid matches sans audience, including a surprise cinematic tag team match, and two Money In The Banks matches happening simultaneously in WWE headquarters. The cinematic matches are pretty silly but entertaining.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome, Howard Finkel
1. Bayley (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Tamina
2. Jeff Hardy vs Cesaro
3. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Seth Rollins
5. Street Profits (Raw Tag Team Champs) vs Viking Raiders
6. Edge vs Randy Orton
7. Womens Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Asuka, Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Carmella, Lacey Evans, Dana Brooke
8. Mens Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Rey Mysterio vs Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles vs Malakai Black (as Aleister Black) vs Baron Corbin vs Otis
2003. NXT In Your House
The first pandemic-era NXT show is a super throwback to the early 90s cheese that was In Your House. The matches, however, are totally 2020 barn burners. The women in this match are the future (or in Charlotte's case, the present) of the WWE main roster, while most of the men in this episode will be AEW bound in the not so distant future.
Announcers: Todd Pettingill, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips, Alicia Taylor
1. Mia Yim, Shotzi Blackheart & Tegan Nox vs Dakota Kai, Candace LeRae & Raquel Gonzalez
2. Finn Balor vs Damien Priest
3. Keith Lee (NXT North American Champ) vs Johnny Gargano
4. Charlotte Flair (NXT Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley vs Iyo Sky (as Io Shirai)
5. Finn Balor vs Cameron Grimes
6. Roderick Strong vs Johnny Gargano vs Bronson Reed
7. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Keith Lee (NXT North American Champ)
The first pandemic-era NXT show is a super throwback to the early 90s cheese that was In Your House. The matches, however, are totally 2020 barn burners. The women in this match are the future (or in Charlotte's case, the present) of the WWE main roster, while most of the men in this episode will be AEW bound in the not so distant future.
Announcers: Todd Pettingill, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips, Alicia Taylor
1. Mia Yim, Shotzi Blackheart & Tegan Nox vs Dakota Kai, Candace LeRae & Raquel Gonzalez
2. Finn Balor vs Damien Priest
3. Keith Lee (NXT North American Champ) vs Johnny Gargano
4. Charlotte Flair (NXT Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley vs Iyo Sky (as Io Shirai)
5. Finn Balor vs Cameron Grimes
6. Roderick Strong vs Johnny Gargano vs Bronson Reed
7. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Keith Lee (NXT North American Champ)
2004. Stadium Stampede
AEW begins the season in style with their version of Money in The Bank, followed by some killer individual matches, leading up to the absolute mayhem of the ten person, no rules match taking place in an empty football stadium. It's bananatown. Plus, Mike Tyson returns for the first time in fifteen years. Luckily for all involved, he doesn't wrestle this time, either.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Justin Roberts
1. Casino Ladder Match
Darby Allin, Colt Cabana, Orange Cassidy, Joey Janela, Scorpio Sky, Kip Sabian, Frankie Kazarian, Brian Cage, and Luchasaurus
2. MJF vs Jack Perry (as Jungle Boy)
3. Cody Rhodes vs Lance Archer for inaugural TNT Championship
4. Nyla Rose (AEW Womens Champ) vs Hikaru Shida
5. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs Brodie Lee
6. The Elite vs The Inner Circle in a Stadium Stampede Match
AEW begins the season in style with their version of Money in The Bank, followed by some killer individual matches, leading up to the absolute mayhem of the ten person, no rules match taking place in an empty football stadium. It's bananatown. Plus, Mike Tyson returns for the first time in fifteen years. Luckily for all involved, he doesn't wrestle this time, either.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Justin Roberts
1. Casino Ladder Match
Darby Allin, Colt Cabana, Orange Cassidy, Joey Janela, Scorpio Sky, Kip Sabian, Frankie Kazarian, Brian Cage, and Luchasaurus
2. MJF vs Jack Perry (as Jungle Boy)
3. Cody Rhodes vs Lance Archer for inaugural TNT Championship
4. Nyla Rose (AEW Womens Champ) vs Hikaru Shida
5. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs Brodie Lee
6. The Elite vs The Inner Circle in a Stadium Stampede Match
2005. An Eye For An Eye, 2020
The stipulation for the second match on this card is ludicrous but the match before it is great. We also see Asuka get two shots at two different womens titles, and it turns out that the climax to the Otis/Ziggler feud is actually Mandy Rose vs Sonya Deville. Plus, Baby Bastard Dominik Mysterio gets his first singles match, fifteen years after he debuted on Raw (as a child/prop).
Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome
1. Apollo Crews (US Champ) vs Andrade
2. Seth Rollins vs Rey Mysterio in an Eye For An Eye Match
3. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Dolph Ziggler
4. Mandy Rose vs Sonya Deville in a Loser Leaves WWE Match
5. Bayley (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Asuka
5. Seth Rollins vs Dominik Mysterio in a Street Fight
6. Sasha Banks (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Asuka
7. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Randy Orton
The stipulation for the second match on this card is ludicrous but the match before it is great. We also see Asuka get two shots at two different womens titles, and it turns out that the climax to the Otis/Ziggler feud is actually Mandy Rose vs Sonya Deville. Plus, Baby Bastard Dominik Mysterio gets his first singles match, fifteen years after he debuted on Raw (as a child/prop).
Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome
1. Apollo Crews (US Champ) vs Andrade
2. Seth Rollins vs Rey Mysterio in an Eye For An Eye Match
3. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Dolph Ziggler
4. Mandy Rose vs Sonya Deville in a Loser Leaves WWE Match
5. Bayley (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Asuka
5. Seth Rollins vs Dominik Mysterio in a Street Fight
6. Sasha Banks (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Asuka
7. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Randy Orton
2006. All Under One Roof, 2020
The Thunderdome era really kicks off with the return of Roman Reigns and the seeds of The Bloodline storyline which will dominate the WWE for over four years. We also build the Mysterio storyline which is super tame at this point but is going to get wild down the line. This also marks the last time we'll see The Fiend, and the last time that we'll see Braun Stroman for quite a while. Both had matches after the one in this episode but none ended up being worth a watch.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, Samoa Joe, Charly Caruso, Kayla Braxton, Greg Hamimlton, Mike Rome
1. Big E vs Sheamus
2. The Golden Role Models (WWE Womens Tag Champs) vs Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax
3. Rey & Dominik Mysterio vs Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy
4. Bray Wyatt (as The Fiend) (WWE Universal Champ) vs Roman Reigns & Braun Stroman
5. Rhea Ripley vs Mercedes Martinez in a Steel Cage
6. Iyo Sky (as Io Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Shotzi Blackheart
7. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Randy Orton in an Ambulance Match
The Thunderdome era really kicks off with the return of Roman Reigns and the seeds of The Bloodline storyline which will dominate the WWE for over four years. We also build the Mysterio storyline which is super tame at this point but is going to get wild down the line. This also marks the last time we'll see The Fiend, and the last time that we'll see Braun Stroman for quite a while. Both had matches after the one in this episode but none ended up being worth a watch.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, Samoa Joe, Charly Caruso, Kayla Braxton, Greg Hamimlton, Mike Rome
1. Big E vs Sheamus
2. The Golden Role Models (WWE Womens Tag Champs) vs Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax
3. Rey & Dominik Mysterio vs Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy
4. Bray Wyatt (as The Fiend) (WWE Universal Champ) vs Roman Reigns & Braun Stroman
5. Rhea Ripley vs Mercedes Martinez in a Steel Cage
6. Iyo Sky (as Io Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Shotzi Blackheart
7. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Randy Orton in an Ambulance Match
2007. You've Got To Fyte For Your Ryte To Party, 2020
Don't think that because we've had five WWE-centric matches, and this is only our second AEW match that this speaks to the quality of either company. WWE just never took a break when the pandemic hit, whereas AEW took a month to figure out what to do. When they came back, every one of their weekly shows was a monster. Pay-per-view level shows on a weekly basis. Very little story but a lot of great wrestling. FTR (the Revival from NXT and WWE) show up and suddenly AEW has every good tag team in the US besides New Day and The Usos. The title scenes were all banging, too.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Justin Roberts
1. FTR vs The Butcher & The Blade
2. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Marq Quen
3. MJF & Wardlow vs Jurassic Express
4. Hikaru Shida (AEW Womens Champ) vs Penelope Ford
5. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Jake Haeger
6. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Private Party
7. Young Bucks & FTR vs Lucha Bros & The Butcher & The Blade
8. Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy
Don't think that because we've had five WWE-centric matches, and this is only our second AEW match that this speaks to the quality of either company. WWE just never took a break when the pandemic hit, whereas AEW took a month to figure out what to do. When they came back, every one of their weekly shows was a monster. Pay-per-view level shows on a weekly basis. Very little story but a lot of great wrestling. FTR (the Revival from NXT and WWE) show up and suddenly AEW has every good tag team in the US besides New Day and The Usos. The title scenes were all banging, too.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Justin Roberts
1. FTR vs The Butcher & The Blade
2. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Marq Quen
3. MJF & Wardlow vs Jurassic Express
4. Hikaru Shida (AEW Womens Champ) vs Penelope Ford
5. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Jake Haeger
6. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Private Party
7. Young Bucks & FTR vs Lucha Bros & The Butcher & The Blade
8. Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy
2008. Mimosa Mayhem
A ridiculous stipulation match gives its name to this episodes but this is mainly about John Moxley's title run in AEW, as well as continuing to see the rise of MJF. And, as is usual for 2019/2020/2021 AEW, a bunch of excellent tag team matches.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Tazz, Justin Roberts
1. The Elite vs Jurassic Express
2. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Eddie Kingston
3. Dean Ambrose (as John Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs Darby Allin
4. Young Bucks vs Jurassic Express
5. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs FTR
6. Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy in Mimosa Mayhem
7. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs MJF
A ridiculous stipulation match gives its name to this episodes but this is mainly about John Moxley's title run in AEW, as well as continuing to see the rise of MJF. And, as is usual for 2019/2020/2021 AEW, a bunch of excellent tag team matches.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Tazz, Justin Roberts
1. The Elite vs Jurassic Express
2. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Eddie Kingston
3. Dean Ambrose (as John Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs Darby Allin
4. Young Bucks vs Jurassic Express
5. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs FTR
6. Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy in Mimosa Mayhem
7. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs MJF
2009. Top Tier, 2020
The birth of the Bloodline storyline gets all the headlines this season but the Smackdown Women's Championship is also a highlight. We get two matches between the former Golden Role Model teammates, and then a preview of future title contenders. Plus, the second of two incredible stipulation title matches between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Kayla Braxton, Charly Caruso, Mike Hamilton, Greg Rome
1. Jeff Hardy (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn
2.Bayley (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Sasha Banks in Hell In A Cell
3. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Jey Uso in an I Quit Match
4. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Randy Orton in Hell In A Cell
5. Sasha Banks (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Bayley
The birth of the Bloodline storyline gets all the headlines this season but the Smackdown Women's Championship is also a highlight. We get two matches between the former Golden Role Model teammates, and then a preview of future title contenders. Plus, the second of two incredible stipulation title matches between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Kayla Braxton, Charly Caruso, Mike Hamilton, Greg Rome
1. Jeff Hardy (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn
2.Bayley (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Sasha Banks in Hell In A Cell
3. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Jey Uso in an I Quit Match
4. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Randy Orton in Hell In A Cell
5. Sasha Banks (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Bayley
2010. Championship Horror Show
The Bloodline story continues, as Jey Uso struggles to maintain his position in the family. Plus, several excellent tag team matches, and Sasha Banks's spectacular run as Smackdown Womens Champion.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe, Pat McAfee, Tom Phillips, Kayla Braxton, Mike Rome, Greg Hamilton
1. Street Profits (Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs New Day (Raw Tag Team Champs)
2. Sasha Banks (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Asuka (Raw Womens Champ)
3. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ)
4. Sasha Banks (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Carmella
5. Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs Kevin Owens & Otis
6. New Day (Raw Tag Team Champs) vs The Hurt Business
5. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Kevin Owens in a TLC Match
The Bloodline story continues, as Jey Uso struggles to maintain his position in the family. Plus, several excellent tag team matches, and Sasha Banks's spectacular run as Smackdown Womens Champion.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe, Pat McAfee, Tom Phillips, Kayla Braxton, Mike Rome, Greg Hamilton
1. Street Profits (Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs New Day (Raw Tag Team Champs)
2. Sasha Banks (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Asuka (Raw Womens Champ)
3. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ)
4. Sasha Banks (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Carmella
5. Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs Kevin Owens & Otis
6. New Day (Raw Tag Team Champs) vs The Hurt Business
5. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Kevin Owens in a TLC Match
2011. Halloween Havoc Rises From The Grave
The Pandemic Era of NXT took a while to get to interesting stories but they wasted no time with high quality matches. Finn Balor returned to NXT, Iyo Sky (as Iyo Shirai) absolutely dominated the women's division, and Damien Priest and Gunther (as Walter) continued their inevitable ascents to the main roster.
Announcers: Corey Graves, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barret, Vic Joseph, Alicia Taylor
1. Finn Balor vs Timothy Thatcher
2. Iyo Sky (as Iyo Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Shotzi Blackheart
3. Bronson Reed vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Damien Priest vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Johnny Gargano in a Ladder Match for the North American Championship
4. Iyo Sky (as Iyo Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Candace LeRae in a TLC Match
5. Finn Balor (NXT Champ) vs Kyle O'Reilly
6. Iyo Sky (as Iyo Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley
7. Gunther (as Walter) vs Ilja Dragunov
The Pandemic Era of NXT took a while to get to interesting stories but they wasted no time with high quality matches. Finn Balor returned to NXT, Iyo Sky (as Iyo Shirai) absolutely dominated the women's division, and Damien Priest and Gunther (as Walter) continued their inevitable ascents to the main roster.
Announcers: Corey Graves, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barret, Vic Joseph, Alicia Taylor
1. Finn Balor vs Timothy Thatcher
2. Iyo Sky (as Iyo Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Shotzi Blackheart
3. Bronson Reed vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Damien Priest vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Johnny Gargano in a Ladder Match for the North American Championship
4. Iyo Sky (as Iyo Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Candace LeRae in a TLC Match
5. Finn Balor (NXT Champ) vs Kyle O'Reilly
6. Iyo Sky (as Iyo Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley
7. Gunther (as Walter) vs Ilja Dragunov
2012. Late Night Dynamite
Luke Harper of the Wyatt Family moved to AEW and became Mister Brodie Lee. We see a trio of matches involving him here. Also, MJF continues to be a turd, and Proud & Powerful and The Best Friends go to war over a van owned by one of The Best Friends' mom.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Taz, Excalibur, Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, Justin Roberts
1. The Elite & FTR vs The Dark Order
2. Hangman Page vs Frankie Kazarian
3. Best Friends vs Proud & Powerful in a Parking Lot Brawl
4. Cody Rhodes (TNT Champ) vs Luke Harper (as Brodie Lee)
5. Darby Allin vs Ricky Starks
6. FTR (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs SoCalU
7. Luke Harper (TNT Champ) vs Cody Rhodes
8. Wardlow vs Hangman Page
Luke Harper of the Wyatt Family moved to AEW and became Mister Brodie Lee. We see a trio of matches involving him here. Also, MJF continues to be a turd, and Proud & Powerful and The Best Friends go to war over a van owned by one of The Best Friends' mom.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Taz, Excalibur, Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, Justin Roberts
1. The Elite & FTR vs The Dark Order
2. Hangman Page vs Frankie Kazarian
3. Best Friends vs Proud & Powerful in a Parking Lot Brawl
4. Cody Rhodes (TNT Champ) vs Luke Harper (as Brodie Lee)
5. Darby Allin vs Ricky Starks
6. FTR (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs SoCalU
7. Luke Harper (TNT Champ) vs Cody Rhodes
8. Wardlow vs Hangman Page
2013. Takeover Vengeance Day
Stipulations abound in this satisfyingly violent episode. The Cameron Grimes/Dexter Lumis feud is a weird blast, and we get two War Games matches. Oh yea, and a rematch between Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley.
Announcers: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barret, Alicia Taylor
1. Cameron Grimes vs Dexter Lumis in a Blindfold Match
2. Iyo Sky (as Io Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley
3. Womens War Game Match
Toni Storm, Dakota Kai, Candace LeRae, and Raquel Gonzalez vs Iyo Sky, Rhea Ripley, Ember Moon, and Shotzi Blackheart
4. Cameron Grimes vs Dexter Lumis in a Strap Match
5. Mens War Game Match
The Undisputed Era vs Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan
Stipulations abound in this satisfyingly violent episode. The Cameron Grimes/Dexter Lumis feud is a weird blast, and we get two War Games matches. Oh yea, and a rematch between Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley.
Announcers: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barret, Alicia Taylor
1. Cameron Grimes vs Dexter Lumis in a Blindfold Match
2. Iyo Sky (as Io Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley
3. Womens War Game Match
Toni Storm, Dakota Kai, Candace LeRae, and Raquel Gonzalez vs Iyo Sky, Rhea Ripley, Ember Moon, and Shotzi Blackheart
4. Cameron Grimes vs Dexter Lumis in a Strap Match
5. Mens War Game Match
The Undisputed Era vs Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan
2014. An Actual November Worth Remembering
Several stellar matches lead up to the biggest return in wrestling up to this point in history. I was going to say "ever" but there is a bigger return on the horizon. This one was still pretty cool, though.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Tazz, Excalibur, Don Callis, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, Justin Roberts
1. Hangman Page vs Kenny Omega
2. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Darby Allin
3. FTR (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Young Bucks
4. Chris Jericho vs MJF
5. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs Eddie Kingston in an I Quit Match
6. Team Taz vs Cody Rhodes & Darby Allin
Several stellar matches lead up to the biggest return in wrestling up to this point in history. I was going to say "ever" but there is a bigger return on the horizon. This one was still pretty cool, though.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Tazz, Excalibur, Don Callis, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, Justin Roberts
1. Hangman Page vs Kenny Omega
2. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Darby Allin
3. FTR (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Young Bucks
4. Chris Jericho vs MJF
5. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs Eddie Kingston in an I Quit Match
6. Team Taz vs Cody Rhodes & Darby Allin
2015. Head Of The Tables, Ladders & Chairs
Sami Zayn reenters the headlining scene in this episode as a conspiracy theorizing madman desperate for a title. We also see Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns continuing their epic rivalry. The highlight, though, is the Women's Royal Rumble, which put the men's version to shame. This is also the last time we may ever see Big E wrestle, as he had his neck broken in a botched move not too long after this match.
Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome
1. Drew McIntyre vs AJ Styles in a TLC Match
2. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Kevin Owens in a Cage Match
3. The Dirty Dawgs (Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs Daniel Bryan & Caesaro
4. Big E (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Sami Zayn vs Apollo Crews
5. Womens Royal Rumble Match
Bayley, Naomi, Bianca Belair, Billie Kay, Shotzi Blackheart, Shayna Baszler, Toni Storm, Jillian Hall, Ruby Riott, Victoria, Peyton Royce, Santana Garrett, Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, Dana Brooke, Torrie Wilson, Lacey Evans, Mickie James, Nikki Cross, Alicia Fox, Mandy Rose, Dakota Kai, Carmella, Tamina, Lana, Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon, Nia Jax, Natalya
Sami Zayn reenters the headlining scene in this episode as a conspiracy theorizing madman desperate for a title. We also see Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns continuing their epic rivalry. The highlight, though, is the Women's Royal Rumble, which put the men's version to shame. This is also the last time we may ever see Big E wrestle, as he had his neck broken in a botched move not too long after this match.
Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome
1. Drew McIntyre vs AJ Styles in a TLC Match
2. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Kevin Owens in a Cage Match
3. The Dirty Dawgs (Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs Daniel Bryan & Caesaro
4. Big E (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Sami Zayn vs Apollo Crews
5. Womens Royal Rumble Match
Bayley, Naomi, Bianca Belair, Billie Kay, Shotzi Blackheart, Shayna Baszler, Toni Storm, Jillian Hall, Ruby Riott, Victoria, Peyton Royce, Santana Garrett, Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, Dana Brooke, Torrie Wilson, Lacey Evans, Mickie James, Nikki Cross, Alicia Fox, Mandy Rose, Dakota Kai, Carmella, Tamina, Lana, Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon, Nia Jax, Natalya
2016. Universal Contenders
The pandemic road to Wrestlemania wasn't one of the all-time greats. There was pretty much one story and it was Roman Reigns can't be beat. The Rumble had some fun moments but it's not at all an all-timer, and the Elimination Chamber was a buildup to the absolute squash that was one of the final stops on Daniel Bryan's road to AEW.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Samoa Joe, Greg Hamilton
1. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing Match
2. Mens Royal Rumble
Edge, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Mustafa Ali, Jeff Hardy, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura, Carlito, Xavier Woods, Big E, John Morrison, Ricochet, Elias, Damian Priest, The Miz, Matt Riddle, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Baron Corbin, Otis, Dominik Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, The Hurricane, Christian, AJ Styles, Rey Mysterio, Sheamus, Cesaro, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman
3. Nia Jax vs Lana in a Tables Match
4. WWE Universal Contenders Elimination Chamber
Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin
5. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
The pandemic road to Wrestlemania wasn't one of the all-time greats. There was pretty much one story and it was Roman Reigns can't be beat. The Rumble had some fun moments but it's not at all an all-timer, and the Elimination Chamber was a buildup to the absolute squash that was one of the final stops on Daniel Bryan's road to AEW.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Samoa Joe, Greg Hamilton
1. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing Match
2. Mens Royal Rumble
Edge, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Mustafa Ali, Jeff Hardy, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura, Carlito, Xavier Woods, Big E, John Morrison, Ricochet, Elias, Damian Priest, The Miz, Matt Riddle, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Baron Corbin, Otis, Dominik Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, The Hurricane, Christian, AJ Styles, Rey Mysterio, Sheamus, Cesaro, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman
3. Nia Jax vs Lana in a Tables Match
4. WWE Universal Contenders Elimination Chamber
Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin
5. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
2017. Hard To Kill
Watching TNA during the pandemic was rough. Their recently crowned First Ever In The World woman as Heavyweight Champ disappeared in a cloud of controversy, unlike AEW and WWE, their set ended up looking like a set of bleachers in a middle school, and their roster just didn't rise to the occasion the way the larger companies did. But it wasn't all bad, and while this was another bumpy era for them, it does provide continuity before they started getting back on the right track.
Announcers: Don Callis, Josh Phillips, Madison Rayne, Matt Stryker, D-Lo Brown, David Penzer
1. The Rascalz vs Motor City Machine Guns
2. Impact Knockout Gauntlet For The Gold
Kylie Rae, Tasha Steelz, Johnny Bravo, Kimber Lee, Kiera Hogan, Susie, Katie Forbes, Madison Rayne, Havok, Taya Valkyrie, Alisha Edwards, Nevaeh, Rosemary,
3. Eric Young vs Ace Austin vs Trey vs Eddie Edwards vs Rich Swann for vacant Impact Championship
4. Deanno Purrazo (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Su Young
5. TJ Perkins (as Manik) (Impact X Champ) vs Chris Bey vs Rohit Raju
6. Eddie Edwards vs Sami Cahill in a Barbed Wire Match
7. Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers vs Chris Sabin, Rich Swann & Moose
Watching TNA during the pandemic was rough. Their recently crowned First Ever In The World woman as Heavyweight Champ disappeared in a cloud of controversy, unlike AEW and WWE, their set ended up looking like a set of bleachers in a middle school, and their roster just didn't rise to the occasion the way the larger companies did. But it wasn't all bad, and while this was another bumpy era for them, it does provide continuity before they started getting back on the right track.
Announcers: Don Callis, Josh Phillips, Madison Rayne, Matt Stryker, D-Lo Brown, David Penzer
1. The Rascalz vs Motor City Machine Guns
2. Impact Knockout Gauntlet For The Gold
Kylie Rae, Tasha Steelz, Johnny Bravo, Kimber Lee, Kiera Hogan, Susie, Katie Forbes, Madison Rayne, Havok, Taya Valkyrie, Alisha Edwards, Nevaeh, Rosemary,
3. Eric Young vs Ace Austin vs Trey vs Eddie Edwards vs Rich Swann for vacant Impact Championship
4. Deanno Purrazo (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Su Young
5. TJ Perkins (as Manik) (Impact X Champ) vs Chris Bey vs Rohit Raju
6. Eddie Edwards vs Sami Cahill in a Barbed Wire Match
7. Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers vs Chris Sabin, Rich Swann & Moose
2018. Make Your Moment, 2021
Thunderdome isn't quite over but we do get our first live event of the season for WWE, as Wrestlemania goes to Tampa Bay, and we see two matches in front of an audience of fans for the first time this season. There's a lot of interference and shenanigans in the first two matches but the last three are pure one-on one battles.
1. WWE Championship Elimination Chamber
Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs AJ Styles vs Randy Orton vs Shaemus vs Kofi Kingston vs Jeff Hardy
2. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
3. Shaemus vs Drew McIntyre in a No Holds Barred Match
4. Seth Rollins vs Caesaro
5. Sasha Banks (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Bianca Belair
Thunderdome isn't quite over but we do get our first live event of the season for WWE, as Wrestlemania goes to Tampa Bay, and we see two matches in front of an audience of fans for the first time this season. There's a lot of interference and shenanigans in the first two matches but the last three are pure one-on one battles.
1. WWE Championship Elimination Chamber
Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs AJ Styles vs Randy Orton vs Shaemus vs Kofi Kingston vs Jeff Hardy
2. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
3. Shaemus vs Drew McIntyre in a No Holds Barred Match
4. Seth Rollins vs Caesaro
5. Sasha Banks (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Bianca Belair
2019. Reigning Champions, 2021
The Bloodline continues to dominate. Rhea Ripley climbs to the top of the women's division, and we even see a rare, entertaining Baron Corbin match.
1. Baron Corbin vs Sami Zayn
2. Riddle (WWE US Champ) vs Shaemus
3. Asuka (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley
4. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan vs Edge
5. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
6. Rhea Ripley (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair vs Asuka
The Bloodline continues to dominate. Rhea Ripley climbs to the top of the women's division, and we even see a rare, entertaining Baron Corbin match.
1. Baron Corbin vs Sami Zayn
2. Riddle (WWE US Champ) vs Shaemus
3. Asuka (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley
4. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan vs Edge
5. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
6. Rhea Ripley (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair vs Asuka
2020. Ten Bells For Brodie Lee, 2021
Sadly, John Huber (aka Brodie Lee, aka Luke Harper) was hospitalized for a lung infection shortly after his dog collar match to Cody Rhodes. He never recovered. This episode is bookended by matches where his Dark Order teammates, as well as his former Wyatt Family teammate, Eric Rowan, break from storylines to put on matches that Brodie's son wanted to see. It's very touching. Less touching is that Don Callis from TNA invades AEW bringing several wrestlers from various promotions with him, in order to take down John Moxley.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Tazz, Don Callis, Chris Jericho, Justin Roberts
1. Hangman Page & Dark Order vs Inner Circle
2. Dean Ambrose (as John Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs Kenny Omega
3. Hangman Page vs John Silver
4. Kenny Omega (AEW Champ) vs Rey Fenix
5. Dax Harwood vs Jack Perry (as Jungle Boy)
6. Britt Baker (AEW Womens Champ) vs Thunder Rosa
7. Bullet Club vs. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) & Death Triangle
8. Brodie Lee's Dream Team vs Team Taz
Sadly, John Huber (aka Brodie Lee, aka Luke Harper) was hospitalized for a lung infection shortly after his dog collar match to Cody Rhodes. He never recovered. This episode is bookended by matches where his Dark Order teammates, as well as his former Wyatt Family teammate, Eric Rowan, break from storylines to put on matches that Brodie's son wanted to see. It's very touching. Less touching is that Don Callis from TNA invades AEW bringing several wrestlers from various promotions with him, in order to take down John Moxley.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Tazz, Don Callis, Chris Jericho, Justin Roberts
1. Hangman Page & Dark Order vs Inner Circle
2. Dean Ambrose (as John Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs Kenny Omega
3. Hangman Page vs John Silver
4. Kenny Omega (AEW Champ) vs Rey Fenix
5. Dax Harwood vs Jack Perry (as Jungle Boy)
6. Britt Baker (AEW Womens Champ) vs Thunder Rosa
7. Bullet Club vs. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) & Death Triangle
8. Brodie Lee's Dream Team vs Team Taz
Last season, we learned some things about the Cardassians and the Ferenghi, as well as meeting the crew of the Cerritos on Lower Decks, and the crew of Voyager. Now we find out that the real problem for The Federation is actually on the other side of the wormhole as The Founders and the Jem'Hadar enter the fray. Plus, transporter accidents, espionage, and the introduction of the Pakleds!
This is an intensely fun season of stories that weave together seamlessly.
This is an intensely fun season of stories that weave together seamlessly.
Season 9:
Defiant
TOS - The Original Series, 1963-1967 TNG - The Next Generation, 1987-94
DS9 - Deep Space Nine, 1993-99 VOY - Voyager, 1995-2001
LD - Lower Decks, 2020-24
DS9 - Deep Space Nine, 1993-99 VOY - Voyager, 1995-2001
LD - Lower Decks, 2020-24
901: Jem'Hadar (DS9)
(Sisko, Jake, Quark, Nog, Odo, Kira, Dax, O'Brien, Bashir)
A father/son bonding trip between Sisko and Jake (as well as Quark and his nephew Nog) goes horribly awry when they are kidnapped by the new Big Bad of Deep Space Nine. Forget the Cardassians, the Jem'Hadar are nonfuckwithable warriors from the other side of the wormhole, and they're about to change the whole feel of the series.
902: A Piece Of The Action (TOS)
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Uhura, Chekov)
"City On The Edge Of Forever" took place in New York City, during the Depression. This episode takes place on an alien world, but an alien world that has based their system of government on 1930s Chicago gangster rule. Kirk does a hilariously and probably intentionally bad gangster accent for most of the episode. This is a truly silly episode that encapsulates some of the potential that most of The Original Series aspired to but didn't quite reach.
903: Second Chances (TNG)
(Riker, Laforge, Crusher, Data, Worf, Troi, Picard)
A transporter accident splits a crew member into two distinct entities which is going to have minor but long-reaching consequences for the entire universe.
904: Cupid's Errant Arrow/Much Ado About Boimler (LD)
(Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, Mariner, Freeman, Ransom, T'ana, Ramsey, Docent, Barbara)
Mariner suspects Boimler's girlfriend has ulterior motives for liking him. A stressed captain from another ship wishes to transfer to the more borning Cerritos. And sure, some transport accidents give you a cool clone with fake sideburns, but in Lower Decks they make it so that Bornier is slightly out of phase, so he's sent to The Farm for ... a better life?
905 & 906: The Search (DS9)
(Sisko, Odo, Quark, Kira, Bashir, Dax, O'Brien, Garak)
So, it turns out the Jem'Hadar are just soldiers who work for The Founders, and they are the unfuckwithable adversaries for the season. Starfleet uses their newest ship, The Defiant, to try and track them down. But the Jem'Hadar have other plans. Oh, and Odo ends up finally meeting aliens just like him.
907: The Defiant (DS9)
(Riker, Kira, Sisko, Dukat, Bashir, Dax, O'Brien, Quark)
Here's some consequences from "Second Chances" that I wouldn't have predicted: Starfleet has their first cloakable ship and it's been hijacked by one of their own. Erm. Sort of one of their own.
908. Worst Case Scenario / Crisis Point (VOY)/(LD)
(Paris, Tuvok, Janeway, Torres, Seska, Doctor, Neelix, Les, Kim)
A Holodeck program pits the Starfleet members of Voyager against the Maquis members, and a few members of the crew find themselves trapped in the program.
On the Cerritos, a Holodeck adventure teaches Boimler something the audience has known for a while but will change the relationships between the Lower Decks crew.
909 & 910: Improbable Cause/Die Is Cast (DS9)
(Garak, Odo, Bashir, Sisko, O'Brien, Dax, Kira, Eddington)
It has been inferred since the beginning of Deep Space Nine, that Garak, a Cardassian tailor, is actually a high ranking spy. So when his shop is blown up under mysterious circumstances, Bashir and Odo delve into his past.
911: The Adversary (DS9)
(Sisko, Dax, O'Brien, Eddington, Jake, Quark, Kira, Odo, Bashir)
Like Odo, The Founders are all changelings, so imagine the damage they could do if they infiltrated Starfleet and Deep Space Nine. Oh, shit, did that already happen?
912: Doomsday Machine/Veritas (TOS)/(LD)
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Sulu)
(Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, Freeman, Ransom, Shaxs, Tana, Billups, Q)
After discovering several ravaged star systems, Enterprise encounters The Constellation, another Federation ship, but one that's been badly damaged. Like every Starfleet Captain they encounter, Constellation's has gone cuckoo pants. When the planet killing machine that damaged The Constellation starts to follow The Enterprise, Captain Cuckoo Pants takes over the ship before Kirk can get back on board. The planet killer is deduced to be from an alternate dimension. Wait...so...there are other Star Trek dimensions?
The Cerritos lower decks crew is put on trial to defend the actions of the bridge crew but something is very, very amiss.
913 & 914: Descent (TNG)
(Data, Picard, Riker, Crusher, Worf, LaForge, Troi, Lore, Hugh)
The Borg are back, and a couple of characters we haven't seen for a while resurface and threaten the Federation with imminent destruction.
915. The Samaritan Snare (TNG)
(Riker, Laforge, Troi, Picard, Wesley, Data, Pulaski, Worf)
Introducing, the Pakleds, an unevolved race that seeks the immediate satisfaction of technology and weapons. But, alas, Picard is away getting surgery, so it's up to Riker, Data, Troi, Worf, and Pulaski to rescue Laforge when the Pakleds take him hostage.
916. Return Of The Archons / No Small Parts (TOS)/(LD)
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Uhura)
We go all the way back to OG Kirk/Spock times as the most familiar crew of The Enterprise ends up on a planet where a cult is all prim and proper during the day but at night it's All Purge All The Time. How is this connected to a previous Starfleet mission?
On the Cerritos, we travel from "Return Of The Archons" to "The Samaritan Snare" to "Second Chances" references in this delightful episode where Boimler accidentally reveals a secret he shouldn't know.
917. The Chase (TNG)
(Picard, Riker, Worf, Crusher, Troi, Data, Laforge)
It's all about unity when the Federation, The Klingons, The Romulans, and The Cardassians chase down an ancient artifact on a strange planet.
918. Deadlock (VOY)
(Janeway, Torres, Kes, Doctor, Chakotay, Paris, Neelix)
Two Voyagers? This seems like it could be a problem. Can one Janeway see through the rift in time and save her crew where the other Janway failed?
919 & 920. All Good Things (TNG)
(Picard, Crusher, Troi, Laforge, Worf, Data, Riker, Q, Yar, O'Brien)
Picard is having memory problems causing us to bounce around the Star Trek timeline a bit more than usual.
(Sisko, Jake, Quark, Nog, Odo, Kira, Dax, O'Brien, Bashir)
A father/son bonding trip between Sisko and Jake (as well as Quark and his nephew Nog) goes horribly awry when they are kidnapped by the new Big Bad of Deep Space Nine. Forget the Cardassians, the Jem'Hadar are nonfuckwithable warriors from the other side of the wormhole, and they're about to change the whole feel of the series.
902: A Piece Of The Action (TOS)
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Uhura, Chekov)
"City On The Edge Of Forever" took place in New York City, during the Depression. This episode takes place on an alien world, but an alien world that has based their system of government on 1930s Chicago gangster rule. Kirk does a hilariously and probably intentionally bad gangster accent for most of the episode. This is a truly silly episode that encapsulates some of the potential that most of The Original Series aspired to but didn't quite reach.
903: Second Chances (TNG)
(Riker, Laforge, Crusher, Data, Worf, Troi, Picard)
A transporter accident splits a crew member into two distinct entities which is going to have minor but long-reaching consequences for the entire universe.
904: Cupid's Errant Arrow/Much Ado About Boimler (LD)
(Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, Mariner, Freeman, Ransom, T'ana, Ramsey, Docent, Barbara)
Mariner suspects Boimler's girlfriend has ulterior motives for liking him. A stressed captain from another ship wishes to transfer to the more borning Cerritos. And sure, some transport accidents give you a cool clone with fake sideburns, but in Lower Decks they make it so that Bornier is slightly out of phase, so he's sent to The Farm for ... a better life?
905 & 906: The Search (DS9)
(Sisko, Odo, Quark, Kira, Bashir, Dax, O'Brien, Garak)
So, it turns out the Jem'Hadar are just soldiers who work for The Founders, and they are the unfuckwithable adversaries for the season. Starfleet uses their newest ship, The Defiant, to try and track them down. But the Jem'Hadar have other plans. Oh, and Odo ends up finally meeting aliens just like him.
907: The Defiant (DS9)
(Riker, Kira, Sisko, Dukat, Bashir, Dax, O'Brien, Quark)
Here's some consequences from "Second Chances" that I wouldn't have predicted: Starfleet has their first cloakable ship and it's been hijacked by one of their own. Erm. Sort of one of their own.
908. Worst Case Scenario / Crisis Point (VOY)/(LD)
(Paris, Tuvok, Janeway, Torres, Seska, Doctor, Neelix, Les, Kim)
A Holodeck program pits the Starfleet members of Voyager against the Maquis members, and a few members of the crew find themselves trapped in the program.
On the Cerritos, a Holodeck adventure teaches Boimler something the audience has known for a while but will change the relationships between the Lower Decks crew.
909 & 910: Improbable Cause/Die Is Cast (DS9)
(Garak, Odo, Bashir, Sisko, O'Brien, Dax, Kira, Eddington)
It has been inferred since the beginning of Deep Space Nine, that Garak, a Cardassian tailor, is actually a high ranking spy. So when his shop is blown up under mysterious circumstances, Bashir and Odo delve into his past.
911: The Adversary (DS9)
(Sisko, Dax, O'Brien, Eddington, Jake, Quark, Kira, Odo, Bashir)
Like Odo, The Founders are all changelings, so imagine the damage they could do if they infiltrated Starfleet and Deep Space Nine. Oh, shit, did that already happen?
912: Doomsday Machine/Veritas (TOS)/(LD)
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Sulu)
(Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford, Freeman, Ransom, Shaxs, Tana, Billups, Q)
After discovering several ravaged star systems, Enterprise encounters The Constellation, another Federation ship, but one that's been badly damaged. Like every Starfleet Captain they encounter, Constellation's has gone cuckoo pants. When the planet killing machine that damaged The Constellation starts to follow The Enterprise, Captain Cuckoo Pants takes over the ship before Kirk can get back on board. The planet killer is deduced to be from an alternate dimension. Wait...so...there are other Star Trek dimensions?
The Cerritos lower decks crew is put on trial to defend the actions of the bridge crew but something is very, very amiss.
913 & 914: Descent (TNG)
(Data, Picard, Riker, Crusher, Worf, LaForge, Troi, Lore, Hugh)
The Borg are back, and a couple of characters we haven't seen for a while resurface and threaten the Federation with imminent destruction.
915. The Samaritan Snare (TNG)
(Riker, Laforge, Troi, Picard, Wesley, Data, Pulaski, Worf)
Introducing, the Pakleds, an unevolved race that seeks the immediate satisfaction of technology and weapons. But, alas, Picard is away getting surgery, so it's up to Riker, Data, Troi, Worf, and Pulaski to rescue Laforge when the Pakleds take him hostage.
916. Return Of The Archons / No Small Parts (TOS)/(LD)
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Uhura)
We go all the way back to OG Kirk/Spock times as the most familiar crew of The Enterprise ends up on a planet where a cult is all prim and proper during the day but at night it's All Purge All The Time. How is this connected to a previous Starfleet mission?
On the Cerritos, we travel from "Return Of The Archons" to "The Samaritan Snare" to "Second Chances" references in this delightful episode where Boimler accidentally reveals a secret he shouldn't know.
917. The Chase (TNG)
(Picard, Riker, Worf, Crusher, Troi, Data, Laforge)
It's all about unity when the Federation, The Klingons, The Romulans, and The Cardassians chase down an ancient artifact on a strange planet.
918. Deadlock (VOY)
(Janeway, Torres, Kes, Doctor, Chakotay, Paris, Neelix)
Two Voyagers? This seems like it could be a problem. Can one Janeway see through the rift in time and save her crew where the other Janway failed?
919 & 920. All Good Things (TNG)
(Picard, Crusher, Troi, Laforge, Worf, Data, Riker, Q, Yar, O'Brien)
Picard is having memory problems causing us to bounce around the Star Trek timeline a bit more than usual.
How To Watch The WWE In A Focused, Fun Manner, Whether You're New Or A Long Time Fan, 19: All Elite
8/2/2024
2019 was an absolutely crucial year for wrestling, and we didn't really appreciate it. Yes, AEW's arrival and first year as a full fledged rival to WWE was always going to be important, and they did a great job of quicky becoming the most competitive alternative to WWE since WCW started circling the drain in 1999. It did help that 2019 was an atrocious year for WWE's Raw, Smackdown, and main roster Pay-Per-Views as nobody's favorite demented grandpa, Vince McMahon was chock full of terrible ideas and unwilling to listen to his employees, all of whom could have done a better job booking.
What we couldn't have known was just how bad 2020 was going to be. Not because of wrestling but because, you know, a worldwide pandemic shut pretty much everything down. The NBA and NHL were the first sports organizations to announce the cancellation of their seasons, and Major League Baseball ended up delaying their season four months due to COVID-19.
WWE didn't even take a week off. We'll get to that next season.
I mention it because I usually end these seasons with a major retirement or the ending to a major storyline. The retirement of Ric Flair, the retirement of Shawn Michaels, the end of The Undertaker's streak. This season ends with the last match in 2020 with fan attendance. This unfortunate break will mean that next season looks very different for WWE, for NXT, for AEW, for ROH, for Impact, and for the NWA.
This season also features NXT being recognized not just as the minor leagues of WWE but as a third brand. Due to the Saudi Arabian government pulling some morally questionable shenanigans (surprise!) after WWE's Crown Jewel event (which absolutely sucked), Vince McMahon and most of the Smackdown roster were stuck in Saudi Arabia. So what did WWE do? Triple H and Shawn Michaels brought NXT's hardest hitters to Smackdown for a mini-invasion, which leaked over into Survivor Series where all three brands battles for all sorts of titles. And that's just how we start the season for WWE and NXT.
Meanwhile, AEW fires on all cylinders, and wastes no time snagging any WWE wrestler disappointed in Vince McMahon's creative direction. (It is episode 8 before we see a WWE episode this season that isn't focused on NXT.) So, despite the terrible WWE mainstream shows, 2019 was truly the best year wrestling had seen for many years.
What we couldn't have known was just how bad 2020 was going to be. Not because of wrestling but because, you know, a worldwide pandemic shut pretty much everything down. The NBA and NHL were the first sports organizations to announce the cancellation of their seasons, and Major League Baseball ended up delaying their season four months due to COVID-19.
WWE didn't even take a week off. We'll get to that next season.
I mention it because I usually end these seasons with a major retirement or the ending to a major storyline. The retirement of Ric Flair, the retirement of Shawn Michaels, the end of The Undertaker's streak. This season ends with the last match in 2020 with fan attendance. This unfortunate break will mean that next season looks very different for WWE, for NXT, for AEW, for ROH, for Impact, and for the NWA.
This season also features NXT being recognized not just as the minor leagues of WWE but as a third brand. Due to the Saudi Arabian government pulling some morally questionable shenanigans (surprise!) after WWE's Crown Jewel event (which absolutely sucked), Vince McMahon and most of the Smackdown roster were stuck in Saudi Arabia. So what did WWE do? Triple H and Shawn Michaels brought NXT's hardest hitters to Smackdown for a mini-invasion, which leaked over into Survivor Series where all three brands battles for all sorts of titles. And that's just how we start the season for WWE and NXT.
Meanwhile, AEW fires on all cylinders, and wastes no time snagging any WWE wrestler disappointed in Vince McMahon's creative direction. (It is episode 8 before we see a WWE episode this season that isn't focused on NXT.) So, despite the terrible WWE mainstream shows, 2019 was truly the best year wrestling had seen for many years.
Season 19:
All Elite
Starring: Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, Young Bucks, Jon Moxley, Pac, Adam Cole, Lucha Bros, Tessa Blanchard, FTR, Tomasso Ciampa, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Finn Balor, Rhea Ripley, Cody Rhodes, Shayna Baszler, Daniel Bryan, Sami Callihan
1901. All Out, 2019
We kick off the season with AEW for the first time, as they put on one of their best ever (and I don't mean so far, this was only their second ever...this still stands as one of their best ever) pay-per view events. We don't even get the Kenny Omega/Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) match yet, instead they're each in two incredible matches where the other one...might show up. Plus, the first ever AEW Heavyweight champ is crowned...erm...belted?
Announcers: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Goldenboy, Justin Roberts
1. SoCalU vs Jurassic Express
2. Pac vs Kenny Omega
3. Darby Allin vs Joey Janela vs Jimmy Havoc
4. Cody Rhodes vs Shawn Spears
5. Lucha Bros (AAA Tag Team Champs) vs Young Bucks in a Ladder Match
6. Chris Jericho vs Hangman Page for inaugural AEW Championship
We kick off the season with AEW for the first time, as they put on one of their best ever (and I don't mean so far, this was only their second ever...this still stands as one of their best ever) pay-per view events. We don't even get the Kenny Omega/Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) match yet, instead they're each in two incredible matches where the other one...might show up. Plus, the first ever AEW Heavyweight champ is crowned...erm...belted?
Announcers: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Goldenboy, Justin Roberts
1. SoCalU vs Jurassic Express
2. Pac vs Kenny Omega
3. Darby Allin vs Joey Janela vs Jimmy Havoc
4. Cody Rhodes vs Shawn Spears
5. Lucha Bros (AAA Tag Team Champs) vs Young Bucks in a Ladder Match
6. Chris Jericho vs Hangman Page for inaugural AEW Championship
1902. A Little Bit Of The Bubbly, 2019
Now that we have a Mens' Heavyweight Champion (and a Womens' Champ, we'll see her in action soon), it's time to figure out who's going to wear AEW's first ever tag team belts via an old-fashioned tournament which runs throughout this episode. Also, Chris Jericho loses the belt immediately after winning the title. Oh, he doesn't get defeated, a non-wrestler literally steals the belt during Jericho's celebration, and AEW ends up having to make a new one for him. And, hey! Tony Schiavone is back on commentary for the first time in many seasons, pairing with Jim Ross for the first time since Season Two.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Tazz, Justin Roberts
1. Cody Rhodes vs Sammy Guevara
2. Young Bucks vs Private Party
3. Kenny Omega vs Joey Janela in a Lights Out Hardcore Match
4. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) & Pac vs Kenny Omega & Hangman Page
5. The Elite vs Cima, T-Hawk & Private Party
6. Lucha Bros vs Private Party
7. Kenny Omega vs Joey Janela
8. Lucha Bros vs SoCalU for the AEW Tag Team Championship
Now that we have a Mens' Heavyweight Champion (and a Womens' Champ, we'll see her in action soon), it's time to figure out who's going to wear AEW's first ever tag team belts via an old-fashioned tournament which runs throughout this episode. Also, Chris Jericho loses the belt immediately after winning the title. Oh, he doesn't get defeated, a non-wrestler literally steals the belt during Jericho's celebration, and AEW ends up having to make a new one for him. And, hey! Tony Schiavone is back on commentary for the first time in many seasons, pairing with Jim Ross for the first time since Season Two.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Tazz, Justin Roberts
1. Cody Rhodes vs Sammy Guevara
2. Young Bucks vs Private Party
3. Kenny Omega vs Joey Janela in a Lights Out Hardcore Match
4. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) & Pac vs Kenny Omega & Hangman Page
5. The Elite vs Cima, T-Hawk & Private Party
6. Lucha Bros vs Private Party
7. Kenny Omega vs Joey Janela
8. Lucha Bros vs SoCalU for the AEW Tag Team Championship
1903. Takeover Smackdown, 2019
Sure, we've had a number of Raw, Smackdown, and NXT TV matches sprinkled throughout the pay-per-view top tier matches but this episode, for the first time, is All Free TV matches. October 2nd, 2019 was probably the best ever NXT episode. The next few episodes also had some excellent matches. Then, Crown Jewel happened, and most of the Smackdown roster got stuck in Saudi Arabia...so what could the WWE do? NXT invaded Smackdown and put on a couple banger matches including the first ever battle between Daniel Bryan and Adam Cole.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips, Renee Young, Pat McAfee, Cathy Kelley, Kayla Braxton
1. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Riddle
2. Mia Yim vs Iyo Sky
3. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Candace LeRae
4. reDRagon (as The Undisputed Era) (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Street Profits
5. Pete Dunne vs Damien Priest
6. Bayley (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Nikki Cross
6. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
Sure, we've had a number of Raw, Smackdown, and NXT TV matches sprinkled throughout the pay-per-view top tier matches but this episode, for the first time, is All Free TV matches. October 2nd, 2019 was probably the best ever NXT episode. The next few episodes also had some excellent matches. Then, Crown Jewel happened, and most of the Smackdown roster got stuck in Saudi Arabia...so what could the WWE do? NXT invaded Smackdown and put on a couple banger matches including the first ever battle between Daniel Bryan and Adam Cole.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips, Renee Young, Pat McAfee, Cathy Kelley, Kayla Braxton
1. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Riddle
2. Mia Yim vs Iyo Sky
3. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Candace LeRae
4. reDRagon (as The Undisputed Era) (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Street Profits
5. Pete Dunne vs Damien Priest
6. Bayley (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Nikki Cross
6. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
1904. Rise Of The Knockouts, 2019
Tessa Blanchard was the story of 2019/2020, and then fell hard from wrestling grace. Here she rises from rookie Knockout to challenging for the Heavyweight Championship. Not the Women's Heavyweight Championship, THE Impact Heavyweight Championship. There's also some killer tag team matches, Johnny Nitro having a resurgence, and an amazing Monster's Ball Match for the Knockout Title.
Announcers: Don Callis, Josh Matthews, Jeffrey Scott
1. Gail Kim vs Tessa Blanchard
2. Lucha Bros (Impact Tag Team Champs) vs LAX
3. Taya Valkyrie vs Jessicka Havok vs Rosemary vs Su Yung in a Monster's Ball Match for the Impact Knockout Championship
4. Rich Swann (Impact X Champ) vs Johnny Nitro (as Johnny Impact)
5. Brian Cage (Impact Champ) vs Michael Elgin
6. Lucha Bros vs Proud & Powerful
7. Tessa Blanchard vs Sammy Callahan
Tessa Blanchard was the story of 2019/2020, and then fell hard from wrestling grace. Here she rises from rookie Knockout to challenging for the Heavyweight Championship. Not the Women's Heavyweight Championship, THE Impact Heavyweight Championship. There's also some killer tag team matches, Johnny Nitro having a resurgence, and an amazing Monster's Ball Match for the Knockout Title.
Announcers: Don Callis, Josh Matthews, Jeffrey Scott
1. Gail Kim vs Tessa Blanchard
2. Lucha Bros (Impact Tag Team Champs) vs LAX
3. Taya Valkyrie vs Jessicka Havok vs Rosemary vs Su Yung in a Monster's Ball Match for the Impact Knockout Championship
4. Rich Swann (Impact X Champ) vs Johnny Nitro (as Johnny Impact)
5. Brian Cage (Impact Champ) vs Michael Elgin
6. Lucha Bros vs Proud & Powerful
7. Tessa Blanchard vs Sammy Callahan
1905. Takeover Toronto, 2019
1. Lio Rush (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Angel Garza (NXT 11/13/19)
2. Dolph Ziggler & Bobby Roode vs Chad Gable & Mustafa Ali (Smackdown 11/15/19)
3. reDRagon (as Undisputed Era) (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs FTR (as The Revival)
4. Team Ripley vs Team Baszler in a War Games Match
Rhea Ripley, Dakota Kai, Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox vs Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Iyo Sky, Alba Fyre (as Kay Lee Ray)
5. Finn Balor vs Riddle
6. The Undisputed Era vs Team Ciampa
Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly vs Tomasso Ciampa, Kevin Owens, Keith Lee, Dijak
1. Lio Rush (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Angel Garza (NXT 11/13/19)
2. Dolph Ziggler & Bobby Roode vs Chad Gable & Mustafa Ali (Smackdown 11/15/19)
3. reDRagon (as Undisputed Era) (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs FTR (as The Revival)
4. Team Ripley vs Team Baszler in a War Games Match
Rhea Ripley, Dakota Kai, Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox vs Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Iyo Sky, Alba Fyre (as Kay Lee Ray)
5. Finn Balor vs Riddle
6. The Undisputed Era vs Team Ciampa
Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly vs Tomasso Ciampa, Kevin Owens, Keith Lee, Dijak
1906. Full Gear, 2019
The first AEW pay-per-view that benefitted from being built up in weekly shows sees Le Champion take on one of the founders of AEW, a few more excellent tag team matches, and our first glimpse at the AEW Womens' Champ, Riho, as she takes on her mentor, Emi Sakura.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Dean Malenko, Arn Anderson, The Great Muta, Justin Roberts
1. Young Bucks vs Best Friends
2. Pac vs Hangman Page
3. Young Bucks vs Proud & Powerful
4. SoCalU (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Lucha Bros vs Private Party
5. Riho (AEW Womens Champ) vs Emi Sakura
6. Chris Jericho (AEW Champ) vs Cody Rhodes
The first AEW pay-per-view that benefitted from being built up in weekly shows sees Le Champion take on one of the founders of AEW, a few more excellent tag team matches, and our first glimpse at the AEW Womens' Champ, Riho, as she takes on her mentor, Emi Sakura.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Dean Malenko, Arn Anderson, The Great Muta, Justin Roberts
1. Young Bucks vs Best Friends
2. Pac vs Hangman Page
3. Young Bucks vs Proud & Powerful
4. SoCalU (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Lucha Bros vs Private Party
5. Riho (AEW Womens Champ) vs Emi Sakura
6. Chris Jericho (AEW Champ) vs Cody Rhodes
1907. Crossover Appeal, 2019
It's the first ever Raw vs Smackdown vs NXT pay-per-view. All titles on display.
Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Aiden English, Kayla Braxton, Cathy Kelley, Sarah Schreiber, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome, Alicia Taylor
1. New Day (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs Viking Raiders (WWE Raw Tag Team Champs) vs reDRagon (as Undisputed Era) (NXT Tag Team Champions)
2. AJ Styles (WWE US Champ) vs Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Roderick Strong (NXT North American Champ)
3. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Pete Dunne
4. Bray Wyatt (as The Fiend) (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
5. Team Smackdown vs Team Raw vs Team NXT in a Survivor Series Match
Roman Reigns, Braun Stroman, Mustafa Ali, Baron Corbin, Chad Gable vs Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, Ricochet vs Tomasso Ciampa, Gunther, Riddle, Damien Priest, Keith Lee
6. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Bayley (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ)
It's the first ever Raw vs Smackdown vs NXT pay-per-view. All titles on display.
Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Aiden English, Kayla Braxton, Cathy Kelley, Sarah Schreiber, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome, Alicia Taylor
1. New Day (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs Viking Raiders (WWE Raw Tag Team Champs) vs reDRagon (as Undisputed Era) (NXT Tag Team Champions)
2. AJ Styles (WWE US Champ) vs Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Roderick Strong (NXT North American Champ)
3. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Pete Dunne
4. Bray Wyatt (as The Fiend) (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
5. Team Smackdown vs Team Raw vs Team NXT in a Survivor Series Match
Roman Reigns, Braun Stroman, Mustafa Ali, Baron Corbin, Chad Gable vs Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, Ricochet vs Tomasso Ciampa, Gunther, Riddle, Damien Priest, Keith Lee
6. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Bayley (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ)
1908. Stadium Starcadium, 2019
It's tough to even make storylines out of the 2019 main roster WWE stuff. The only multi-episode story is the Bray Wyatt/Daniel Bryan feud which, in this episode, manages to pull in The Miz, who has never been known as a friend to either of them. We also get a one episode story where New Day and FTR clash because FTR doesn't like "flippy wrestling." Eh.
Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe
1. FTR (as The Revival) vs Heavy Machinery vs Chad Gable & Mustafa Ali vs Gran Metallik & Lince Dorado
2. Lio Rush (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Angel Garza
3. Street Profits vs Good Brothers
4. Kabuki Warriors (WWE Womens Tag Team Champs) vs Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair vs Boss & Hug Connection vs Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
5. New Day (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs FTR (as The Revival) in a Ladder Match
6. Buddy Murphy vs Malakai Black (as Aleister Black)
7. Bray Wyatt (WWE Universal Champ) vs The Miz
It's tough to even make storylines out of the 2019 main roster WWE stuff. The only multi-episode story is the Bray Wyatt/Daniel Bryan feud which, in this episode, manages to pull in The Miz, who has never been known as a friend to either of them. We also get a one episode story where New Day and FTR clash because FTR doesn't like "flippy wrestling." Eh.
Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe
1. FTR (as The Revival) vs Heavy Machinery vs Chad Gable & Mustafa Ali vs Gran Metallik & Lince Dorado
2. Lio Rush (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Angel Garza
3. Street Profits vs Good Brothers
4. Kabuki Warriors (WWE Womens Tag Team Champs) vs Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair vs Boss & Hug Connection vs Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross
5. New Day (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs FTR (as The Revival) in a Ladder Match
6. Buddy Murphy vs Malakai Black (as Aleister Black)
7. Bray Wyatt (WWE Universal Champ) vs The Miz
1909. Into The Fire, 2019/2020
NWA picks a truly cursed time to start running their own promotion, as a bunch of ROH and Impact stars unite with some people on the indies to put on some stellar matches just in time for Covid to hit and put everything on pause.
Announcers: Jim Cornett, Tony Schiavone, Joe Galli, Ian Riccaboni, Cyrus Fees, Nigel Sherrad, Gilbert, Caprice Coleman
1. Jazz (NWA Womens' Champ) vs Penelope Ford
2. Willie Mack vs Sam Shaw for NWA National Championship
3. Nick Aldis (NWA Heavyweight Champ) vs James Storm
4. Flip Gordon & Bandido vs Guerrero Maya Jr & Stuka Jr
5. The Briscoes vs Rock & Roll Express
6. Villain Enterprises vs Satoshi Kojima & Yugi Nagata
7. Willie Mack (NWA National Champ) vs Colt Cabana
8. Nick Aldis (NWA Heavyweight Champ) vs Marty Skrrul
NWA picks a truly cursed time to start running their own promotion, as a bunch of ROH and Impact stars unite with some people on the indies to put on some stellar matches just in time for Covid to hit and put everything on pause.
Announcers: Jim Cornett, Tony Schiavone, Joe Galli, Ian Riccaboni, Cyrus Fees, Nigel Sherrad, Gilbert, Caprice Coleman
1. Jazz (NWA Womens' Champ) vs Penelope Ford
2. Willie Mack vs Sam Shaw for NWA National Championship
3. Nick Aldis (NWA Heavyweight Champ) vs James Storm
4. Flip Gordon & Bandido vs Guerrero Maya Jr & Stuka Jr
5. The Briscoes vs Rock & Roll Express
6. Villain Enterprises vs Satoshi Kojima & Yugi Nagata
7. Willie Mack (NWA National Champ) vs Colt Cabana
8. Nick Aldis (NWA Heavyweight Champ) vs Marty Skrrul
1910. Takeover Blackpool, 2019/2020
While NXT US has been dominated by Adam Cole Baybay and The Undisputed Era, NXT UK has been at the mercy of Gunther (as Walter) and Imperium. We see matches from both sides of the pond on this episode, culminating with a 4 on 3 match between the two hottest factions of 2019 and 2020.
Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips, Beth Phoenix, Alicia Taylor
1. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Finn Balor
2. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley
3. Buddy Murphy vs Malakia Black (as Aleister Black)
4. Alba Fyre (as Kay Lee Ray) (NXT UK Womens Champ) vs Toni Storm vs Piper Niven
5. Tyler Bate vs Jordan Devlin
6. Broserweights vs Mark Andrews & Morgan Webster
6. The Undisputed Era vs Imperium
While NXT US has been dominated by Adam Cole Baybay and The Undisputed Era, NXT UK has been at the mercy of Gunther (as Walter) and Imperium. We see matches from both sides of the pond on this episode, culminating with a 4 on 3 match between the two hottest factions of 2019 and 2020.
Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips, Beth Phoenix, Alicia Taylor
1. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Finn Balor
2. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley
3. Buddy Murphy vs Malakia Black (as Aleister Black)
4. Alba Fyre (as Kay Lee Ray) (NXT UK Womens Champ) vs Toni Storm vs Piper Niven
5. Tyler Bate vs Jordan Devlin
6. Broserweights vs Mark Andrews & Morgan Webster
6. The Undisputed Era vs Imperium
1911. TNT, 2019/2020
The Elite have had a surprisingly poor showing since they birthed AEW. I mean, their matches are all excellent, and the fans love them but they can't seem to get their hands on any titles. Can they turn things around as we begin a new year of storylines?
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Tazz, Excalibur, Adam Page, Justin Roberts
1. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) vs Kenny Omega in a Lights Out Hardcore Match
2. Pac vs Hangman Page
3. Nick Jackson vs Rey Fenix
4. Kenny Omega vs Kip Sabian
5. Young Bucks (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Proud & Powerful in a Hardcore Match
6. Cody Rhodes vs Darby Allin
7. Bullet Club vs Pac & Lucha Bros
The Elite have had a surprisingly poor showing since they birthed AEW. I mean, their matches are all excellent, and the fans love them but they can't seem to get their hands on any titles. Can they turn things around as we begin a new year of storylines?
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Tazz, Excalibur, Adam Page, Justin Roberts
1. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) vs Kenny Omega in a Lights Out Hardcore Match
2. Pac vs Hangman Page
3. Nick Jackson vs Rey Fenix
4. Kenny Omega vs Kip Sabian
5. Young Bucks (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Proud & Powerful in a Hardcore Match
6. Cody Rhodes vs Darby Allin
7. Bullet Club vs Pac & Lucha Bros
1912. Worlds Keep On Colliding, 2019/2020
After all the success of NXT vs WWE's Main Roster, it's time for NXT vs NXT UK. Sadly, NXT UK didn't last for too long but you do see most of the wrestlers in this episode popping up again in the American version of NXT. There are some solid matches here, and we get to see our debut of future AEW star, Swerve Strickland.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips, Beth Phoenix, Alicia Taylor, Andy Shepherd
1. Alba Fyre (as Kay Lee Ray) vs Mia Yim
2. Finn Balor vs Ilja Dragunov
3. Angel Garza (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Swerve Strickland (as Isaiah Swerve Scott) vs Jordan Devlin vs Travis Banks
4. Dakota Kai vs Tegan Nox in a Hardcore Match
5. DIY vs Moustache Mountain
6. Rhea Ripley (NXT Womens Champ) vs Toni Storm
7. Broserweights vs Grizzled Young Vets
After all the success of NXT vs WWE's Main Roster, it's time for NXT vs NXT UK. Sadly, NXT UK didn't last for too long but you do see most of the wrestlers in this episode popping up again in the American version of NXT. There are some solid matches here, and we get to see our debut of future AEW star, Swerve Strickland.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips, Beth Phoenix, Alicia Taylor, Andy Shepherd
1. Alba Fyre (as Kay Lee Ray) vs Mia Yim
2. Finn Balor vs Ilja Dragunov
3. Angel Garza (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Swerve Strickland (as Isaiah Swerve Scott) vs Jordan Devlin vs Travis Banks
4. Dakota Kai vs Tegan Nox in a Hardcore Match
5. DIY vs Moustache Mountain
6. Rhea Ripley (NXT Womens Champ) vs Toni Storm
7. Broserweights vs Grizzled Young Vets
1913. Two Many Rumbles, 2020
The payoff match to the Daniel Bryan/Fiend feud serves as a sorbet between the two rumbles. The mens' rumble, in particular, is one of the last great WWE matches before the pandemic.
Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T, Tom Phillips
1. Womens Royal Rumble
Alexa Bliss, Bianca Belair, Molly Holly (as Mighty Molly), Nikki Cross, Lana, Mercedes Martinez, Liv Morgan, Mandy Rose, Candice LeRae, Sonya Deville, Kairi Sane, Mia Yim, Dana Brooke, Tamina, Dakota Kai, Chelsea Green, Charlotte Flair, Naomi, Beth Phoenix, Toni Storm, Kelly Kelly, Sarah Logan, Natalya, Xia Li, Zelina Vega, Shotzi Blackheart, Carmella, Tegan Nox, Santino Marella (as Santina Marella), Shayna Baszler
2. Bray Wyatt (as The Fiend) (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan in a Strap Match
3. Mens Royal Rumble
Brock Lesnar, Elias, Erick Rowan, Robert Roode, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio, Big E, Cesaro, Shelton Benjamin Raw, Shinsuke Nakamura, MVP, Keith Lee, Braun Strowman, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, The Miz, AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Karl Anderson, Edge, King Corbin, Matt Riddle, Luke Gallows, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, Malakai Black (as Aleister Black), Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins
The payoff match to the Daniel Bryan/Fiend feud serves as a sorbet between the two rumbles. The mens' rumble, in particular, is one of the last great WWE matches before the pandemic.
Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T, Tom Phillips
1. Womens Royal Rumble
Alexa Bliss, Bianca Belair, Molly Holly (as Mighty Molly), Nikki Cross, Lana, Mercedes Martinez, Liv Morgan, Mandy Rose, Candice LeRae, Sonya Deville, Kairi Sane, Mia Yim, Dana Brooke, Tamina, Dakota Kai, Chelsea Green, Charlotte Flair, Naomi, Beth Phoenix, Toni Storm, Kelly Kelly, Sarah Logan, Natalya, Xia Li, Zelina Vega, Shotzi Blackheart, Carmella, Tegan Nox, Santino Marella (as Santina Marella), Shayna Baszler
2. Bray Wyatt (as The Fiend) (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan in a Strap Match
3. Mens Royal Rumble
Brock Lesnar, Elias, Erick Rowan, Robert Roode, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio, Big E, Cesaro, Shelton Benjamin Raw, Shinsuke Nakamura, MVP, Keith Lee, Braun Strowman, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, The Miz, AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Karl Anderson, Edge, King Corbin, Matt Riddle, Luke Gallows, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, Malakai Black (as Aleister Black), Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins
1914. AAA Impact, 2020
Just before the pandemic hit, AAA did a massive show at Madison Square Garden. The video here is without commentary, it's just pure wrestling. This is followed by the last hour of Impact stories before Covid times, which sees a massive title change.
Announcers: Don Callis, Josh Matthews, Jeffrey Scott, Gabby Loren
1. Tessa Blanchard (AAA Reina de Reinas Champ) vs Taya Valkyrie
2. Puma King (DDT Iron Man Heavymetal Champion) vs Daga vs Aerostar vs Flamita
3. Lucha Bros (AAA Tag Team Champs) vs Proud & Powerful
4. Brian Cage, Cain Velasquez and Psycho Clown vs Los Mercenarios
5. Dr Wagner Jr vs Blue Demon Jr in a No DQ Match
5. Jake Crist (Impact X Champ) vs Tessa Blanchard vs Daga vs Ace Austin vs Acey Romero in a Ladder Match
6 Brian Cage vs Sami Callahan in a No DQ Match
7. Eddie Edwards vs Michael Elgin
8. Sami Callahan (Impact Champ) vs Tessa Blanchard
Just before the pandemic hit, AAA did a massive show at Madison Square Garden. The video here is without commentary, it's just pure wrestling. This is followed by the last hour of Impact stories before Covid times, which sees a massive title change.
Announcers: Don Callis, Josh Matthews, Jeffrey Scott, Gabby Loren
1. Tessa Blanchard (AAA Reina de Reinas Champ) vs Taya Valkyrie
2. Puma King (DDT Iron Man Heavymetal Champion) vs Daga vs Aerostar vs Flamita
3. Lucha Bros (AAA Tag Team Champs) vs Proud & Powerful
4. Brian Cage, Cain Velasquez and Psycho Clown vs Los Mercenarios
5. Dr Wagner Jr vs Blue Demon Jr in a No DQ Match
5. Jake Crist (Impact X Champ) vs Tessa Blanchard vs Daga vs Ace Austin vs Acey Romero in a Ladder Match
6 Brian Cage vs Sami Callahan in a No DQ Match
7. Eddie Edwards vs Michael Elgin
8. Sami Callahan (Impact Champ) vs Tessa Blanchard
1915. Takeover Portland, 2020
Our final NXT episode of the season gives us our first meeting between the future of WWE's women division, and we get a climax to most of the main events of the last couple of seasons.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo, Cathy Kelley, Alicia Taylor
1. Keith Lee vs Dijaak
2. Finn Balor vs Johnny Gargano
3. Rhea Ripley (NXT Womens Champ) vs Bianca Belair
4. reDRagon (as Undisputed Era) (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Broserweights
5. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Tomasso Ciampa
Our final NXT episode of the season gives us our first meeting between the future of WWE's women division, and we get a climax to most of the main events of the last couple of seasons.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo, Cathy Kelley, Alicia Taylor
1. Keith Lee vs Dijaak
2. Finn Balor vs Johnny Gargano
3. Rhea Ripley (NXT Womens Champ) vs Bianca Belair
4. reDRagon (as Undisputed Era) (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Broserweights
5. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Tomasso Ciampa
1916. Year Without Honor, 2020
Our final check-in with ROH this season sees Jean-Pierre Lafite, the guy who stole Bret Hart's jacket back in season two, have a run as the ROH champion. There's also a slew of tag matches, which is where ROH really shined in their final days before becoming part of AEW.
Announcers: Ian Riccobani, Caprice Coleman, Nick Aldis, Bobby Cruise
1. Villain Enterprises (ROH 6Man Tag Champs) vs Rey Horus & Mexablood
2. Jean-Pierre Lafite (as PCO) (ROH Champ) vs Rush
3. The Briscoes vs Mexablood
4. Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham (ROH Tag Champs) vs 2 Guys 1 Tag
5. Jean-Pierre Lafite (as PCO) (ROH Champ) vs Dragon Lee
6. Angelina Love vs Martina
7. Jean-Pierre Lafite (as PCO) (ROH Champ) vs Rush vs Mark Haskins
Our final check-in with ROH this season sees Jean-Pierre Lafite, the guy who stole Bret Hart's jacket back in season two, have a run as the ROH champion. There's also a slew of tag matches, which is where ROH really shined in their final days before becoming part of AEW.
Announcers: Ian Riccobani, Caprice Coleman, Nick Aldis, Bobby Cruise
1. Villain Enterprises (ROH 6Man Tag Champs) vs Rey Horus & Mexablood
2. Jean-Pierre Lafite (as PCO) (ROH Champ) vs Rush
3. The Briscoes vs Mexablood
4. Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham (ROH Tag Champs) vs 2 Guys 1 Tag
5. Jean-Pierre Lafite (as PCO) (ROH Champ) vs Dragon Lee
6. Angelina Love vs Martina
7. Jean-Pierre Lafite (as PCO) (ROH Champ) vs Rush vs Mark Haskins
1917. Back To The Beach, 2020
Before the pandemic hit, AEW Dynamite was a weekly Must Watch show. Unlike WWE, which mainly holds back their biggest matches for Premium Live Events, AEW put on banger after banger, at least one per show, to make up for the fact that their premium events were quarterly as opposed to monthly (or sometimes every three weeks). Every match and promo from this episode is from AEW Dynamite in February of 2020.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Tazz, Excalibur, Brandy Rhodes, Justin Roberts
1. Best Friends vs Young Bucks vs Proud & Powerful vs Adam Page & Kenny Omega
2. The Elite vs. Lucha Bros, The Butcher & The Blade
3. Riho (AEW Womens Champ) vs Nyla Rose
4. Jungle Boy vs MJF
5. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) vs Jeff Cobb
6. Adam Page & Kenny Omega (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Lucha Bros
7. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Wardlow in a Steel Cage Match
Before the pandemic hit, AEW Dynamite was a weekly Must Watch show. Unlike WWE, which mainly holds back their biggest matches for Premium Live Events, AEW put on banger after banger, at least one per show, to make up for the fact that their premium events were quarterly as opposed to monthly (or sometimes every three weeks). Every match and promo from this episode is from AEW Dynamite in February of 2020.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Tazz, Excalibur, Brandy Rhodes, Justin Roberts
1. Best Friends vs Young Bucks vs Proud & Powerful vs Adam Page & Kenny Omega
2. The Elite vs. Lucha Bros, The Butcher & The Blade
3. Riho (AEW Womens Champ) vs Nyla Rose
4. Jungle Boy vs MJF
5. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) vs Jeff Cobb
6. Adam Page & Kenny Omega (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Lucha Bros
7. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Wardlow in a Steel Cage Match
1918. A Healthy Climax, 2020
Apart from Omega/Tanahashi, we don't get any stories here, just incredible matches from New Japan in 2019. A bunch of NJPW stars who ended up in AEW, and a few who would end up there in a few years, square off in this incredible card. Plus, a bunch of senior NJPW stars fill out an eight man tag match for the retirement of Jushin Thunder Liger, who had to be 210 at the time of recording.
Announcers: Don Callis, Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, Rocky Romero, Makoto Abe
1. Hirosha Tanahashi (IWGP Champ) vs Kenny Omega
2. Kota Ibushi (IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champ) vs Will Ospreay
3. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) vs Tomohiro Ishii
4. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask vs. Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Ryusuke Taguchi
5. Kota Ibushi (IWGP Intercontinental Champ) vs Jay White
6. Chris Jericho vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
Apart from Omega/Tanahashi, we don't get any stories here, just incredible matches from New Japan in 2019. A bunch of NJPW stars who ended up in AEW, and a few who would end up there in a few years, square off in this incredible card. Plus, a bunch of senior NJPW stars fill out an eight man tag match for the retirement of Jushin Thunder Liger, who had to be 210 at the time of recording.
Announcers: Don Callis, Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, Rocky Romero, Makoto Abe
1. Hirosha Tanahashi (IWGP Champ) vs Kenny Omega
2. Kota Ibushi (IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champ) vs Will Ospreay
3. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) vs Tomohiro Ishii
4. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask vs. Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Ryusuke Taguchi
5. Kota Ibushi (IWGP Intercontinental Champ) vs Jay White
6. Chris Jericho vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
1919. Don't You Dare Be Sour, 2020
This Go Home episode should be leading to Wrestlemania as the final episode. Unforunately...pandemic. Because the feel of the audienceless shows is so vastly different from the usual wrestling fare, it didn't seem right to include Wrestlemania in this season. So you have to wait next season when the storylines that carry over end up getting cinematic matches for a very different but not unwelcome experience. For now, we end on one of the best ever Elimination Chamber matches. It's a shame they never pushed the winner as hard again after this episode because it looked like she was going to be the Brock Lesnar of the womens' division.
Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome
1. New Day (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs MnM
2. Daniel Bryan vs Drew Gulak
3. Andrade vs Humberto Carrillo
4. Tag Team Elimination Chamber
MnM (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs New Day vs The Usos vs Heavy Machinery vs Lucha House Party vs Dolph Ziggler & Bobby Roode
5. AJ Styles vs Malakai Black (as Aleister Black) in a No DQ Match
6. Womens Elimination Chamber
Asuka vs Natalya vs Shayna Baszler vs Ruby Soho vs Liv Morgan vs Sarah Logan
This Go Home episode should be leading to Wrestlemania as the final episode. Unforunately...pandemic. Because the feel of the audienceless shows is so vastly different from the usual wrestling fare, it didn't seem right to include Wrestlemania in this season. So you have to wait next season when the storylines that carry over end up getting cinematic matches for a very different but not unwelcome experience. For now, we end on one of the best ever Elimination Chamber matches. It's a shame they never pushed the winner as hard again after this episode because it looked like she was going to be the Brock Lesnar of the womens' division.
Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome
1. New Day (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs MnM
2. Daniel Bryan vs Drew Gulak
3. Andrade vs Humberto Carrillo
4. Tag Team Elimination Chamber
MnM (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs New Day vs The Usos vs Heavy Machinery vs Lucha House Party vs Dolph Ziggler & Bobby Roode
5. AJ Styles vs Malakai Black (as Aleister Black) in a No DQ Match
6. Womens Elimination Chamber
Asuka vs Natalya vs Shayna Baszler vs Ruby Soho vs Liv Morgan vs Sarah Logan
1920. Final Bow For Now, 2020
Now it's time for AEW's final episode before the pandemic. It's Revolution, and it is filled with killer matches from the biggest names in the promotion.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Justin Roberts
1. Kenny Omega vs Pac in an Iron Man Match
2. Darby Allin vs Sammy Guevara
3. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Young Bucks
4. Cody Rhodes vs MJF
5. Pac vs Orange Cassidy
6. Chris Jericho (AEW Champ) vs Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley)
Now it's time for AEW's final episode before the pandemic. It's Revolution, and it is filled with killer matches from the biggest names in the promotion.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Justin Roberts
1. Kenny Omega vs Pac in an Iron Man Match
2. Darby Allin vs Sammy Guevara
3. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Young Bucks
4. Cody Rhodes vs MJF
5. Pac vs Orange Cassidy
6. Chris Jericho (AEW Champ) vs Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley)
The first seven seasons of this continuity have been about space travel. We've followed the crews of various Enterprises (and a couple of Birds Of Prey) as they've traveled the galaxy boldly going where plots determined they should go. But now is the time in continuity where we focus on a space station where alien races come and go while the crew mainly stays in orbit over Bajor, guarding a wormhole. While the crew of The Enterprise deals with time related problems, the crew of Deep Space Nine deals with various aspects of the Cardassian/Bajoran conflict. And Voyager joins our continuity as a ship lost in the far-off Delta Quadrant.
A main theme of this season, though, is breaks with reality. Not that sci-fi trope where the whole world branches off from reality. In this case, it's various Star Trek officers on various ships each experiencing an event where they question whether they're losing their minds. We also get a brief trip back to the mirrorverse!
A main theme of this season, though, is breaks with reality. Not that sci-fi trope where the whole world branches off from reality. In this case, it's various Star Trek officers on various ships each experiencing an event where they question whether they're losing their minds. We also get a brief trip back to the mirrorverse!
Art by Rachel Stott, from the cover of the Star Trek 2023 Annual issue put out by IDW comics
Season 8:
Disassociation
TOS - The Original Series, 1963-1967 TNG - The Next Generation, 1987-94
DS9 - Deep Space Nine, 1993-99 VOY - Voyager, 1995-2001
LD - Lower Decks, 2020-24
DS9 - Deep Space Nine, 1993-99 VOY - Voyager, 1995-2001
LD - Lower Decks, 2020-24
801 & 802. The Caretaker (VOY)
(Janeway, Kim, Paris, Chakotay, Torres, Tuvok, Neelix, Doctor, Kes, Quark)
The Maquis situation is out of control, and The Federation has called in Voyager to handle it. Our new cast of officers follows our new cast of villains through a wormhole and end up waaaaaaaaaaaaay far away from home, and might even have to work together to survive. Cool concept, right? Well, it will go out the window pretty shortly, so enjoy the tension while it lasts.
803. First Contact (TNG)
(Picard, Riker, Troi, Crusher, Data, Worf)
Prime Directive episodes are usually tedious interactions where different crew members argue over whether or not to help some world that they probably imperiled in the first place. I've spared you from most of them. In this episode, they've pretty much been caught violating The Prime Directive, despite their best efforts to blend in to an alien populace. This is a damage control episode where the crew tries to work diplomatically to rescue Riker, who was undercover as a Malcorian. There's a lot of American political allegory that is still, sadly, relevant, twenty-six years after this episode aired, but it's not as heavy handed as Star Trek allegory often is.
804. Second Contact / Envoys (LD)
(Boimler, Mariner, Tendi, Rutherford, Freeman, Ransom, T'ana, Barnes)
In this episode, we meet the crew of the Cerritos, whose mission is to visit planets that have had some limited contact with The Federation. Instead of the bridge crew, we spend more time seeing things through the eyes of the less-experienced crew. Then we watch ensign Boimler worry that Mariner is better at everything than he is.
805. Timescape (TNG)
(Picard, Data, Troi, Laforge, Crusher, Riker, Worf)
While several key officers are on an away mission, The Enterprise attempts to rescue some Romulans and everything goes wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey. The away team thinks they've figured out a way to overcome the time problems, but can they fix The Enterprise or the Romulan vessel before either or both of them explode?
806. Crossover (DS9)
(Kira, Bashir, Sisko, Odo, Dax, O'Brien, Quark, Garak)
It's really a Golden Age of Star Trek. Next Gen overlaps with Deep Space Nine, which then overlaps with Voyager. Such good times. So why not have a crossover. But let's have Deep Space Nine crossover with, oh, I don't know, THE MIRRORVERSE DEEP SPACE NINE. Dun dun dun. Any timeline with Smiley O'Brien in it, seems like a fine timeline to me.
807. Learning Curve (VOY)
(Janeway, Tuvok, Torres, Chakotay, Neelix, Doctor, Kes, Paris, Kim)
One of the rare Voyager episodes that spent time dealing with the differences between Starfleet and The Maquis. Also, Neelix accidentally causes some unique chaos.
808. Lower Decks (TNG)
(Picard, Worf, Crusher, Riker, Laforge, Troi, Data, a bunch of people you'll never see again)
Did you know there are other people on the Enterprise besides the usual crew? In this episode we watch a bunch of ensigns vying for promotion on the ship. It's a cool way to explore the relationship between the senior staff, and how they've grown over the duration of the show.
809. Relics (TNG)
(Scott, Laforge, Picard, Riker, Crusher, Worf, Data)
One of the best episodes of the series, the crew of The Enterprise finds Commander Scott from TOS trapped in a transporter loop. Not only is this the best episode featuring Scott of the series, it's one of the best Laforge episodes, too. That's three "best"s in one paragraph. It seems as though I enjoyed this treatise on how quickly technology makes the old seem obsolete.
810. I Borg (TNG)
(Picard, Crusher, Laforge, Guinan, Data, Riker, Troi, Worf)
The Borg are interesting villains in that they don't care to kill or acknowledge individuals, they are only interested in assimilating entire species at once. So when the crew of The Enterprise rescues a single Borg, against the wishes of Picard, Guinan, and most of the crew, everyone has to reevaluate their position on TNG's biggest bad. This episode gave me one the most positive visceral reactions to a Star Trek episode I've ever had.
811. Changeling (TOS)
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Uhura, Sulu, Chapel)
It's the original series cast vs. Wall-E, as a friendly little Starfleet droid threatens to destroy the entire universe if it doesn't get its way.
812. Dreadnought (VOY)
(Torres, Janeway, Chakotay, Doctor)
There isn't enough of the Maquis storyline in Voyager, given its pilot episode. This is a nice glimpse of what might have been as Torres encounters a Cardassian weapon she reprogrammed when she was a part of the Maquis. Can she stop it from destroying a completely innocent planet full of life?
813. Whispers (DS9)
(O'Brien, Keiko, Sisko, Bashir, Odo, Jake, Quark)
Is O'Brien having memory problems? Or is he just fine, and the entire crew of Deep Space Nine, including his wife, has turned evil? This is a fun twist on the alternate universe trope in Star Trek.
814. Flashback (VOY)
(Tuvok, Janeway, Sulu, Rand, Neelix, Kes, Doctor, Chakotay, Kim, Kang)
On Voyager, Tuvok seems to be having an emotional response to a memory. In order to determine the cause, he mind melds with Janeway and they go back to his most important memory, when he served under Captain Sulu, during the plot of "The Undiscovered Country", way back in season three of this continuity. I think this would have been a solid episode, even if it didn't feature cast members from TOS, but seeing Sulu and Rand again is an absolute blast. Plus, Kang from a terrible TOS epsode, "Day Of The Dove," is back again (and yes, he is the basis for the Treehouse Of Horror alien from The Simpsons).
815. Frame Of Mind (TNG)
(Riker, Picard, Crusher, Worf, Data, Laforge)
Is Riker insane? While practicing a play about losing his mind, Riker wakes up in solitary confinement. Uh-oh.
816. Eye Of The Needle (VOY)
(Janeway, Torres, Tuvok, Paris, Kim, Doctor, Neelix, Kes)
Is the crew of Voyager saved already? They find a wormhole back to the Alpha Quadrant. Ok, it's too small to fit a ship through, but they can send a message and get rescued, right?
817. A Matter Of Perspective (TNG)
(Riker, Picard, Laforge, Troi, O'Brien, Worf, Crusher, Data, Wesley)
Guilty until proven innocent is the law of the land for a planet where Riker is accused of murder. It's a court drama episode that's mainly hear as a comparison for the next episode
818. Ex Post Facto (VOY)
(Tuvok, Paris, Janeway, Chakotay, Tprres, Kes, Neelix, Doctor, Kim)
Now it's Paris's turn to be accused of murder, and it's up to Tuvok to save him, which involves a good, old-fashioned Vulcan mind meld!
819 & 820. Chain Of Command (TNG)
(Picard, Worf, Crusher, Riker, Troi, Laforge, Data)
There are FOUR lights, and they all point to a war with the Cardassians on the horizon.
(Janeway, Kim, Paris, Chakotay, Torres, Tuvok, Neelix, Doctor, Kes, Quark)
The Maquis situation is out of control, and The Federation has called in Voyager to handle it. Our new cast of officers follows our new cast of villains through a wormhole and end up waaaaaaaaaaaaay far away from home, and might even have to work together to survive. Cool concept, right? Well, it will go out the window pretty shortly, so enjoy the tension while it lasts.
803. First Contact (TNG)
(Picard, Riker, Troi, Crusher, Data, Worf)
Prime Directive episodes are usually tedious interactions where different crew members argue over whether or not to help some world that they probably imperiled in the first place. I've spared you from most of them. In this episode, they've pretty much been caught violating The Prime Directive, despite their best efforts to blend in to an alien populace. This is a damage control episode where the crew tries to work diplomatically to rescue Riker, who was undercover as a Malcorian. There's a lot of American political allegory that is still, sadly, relevant, twenty-six years after this episode aired, but it's not as heavy handed as Star Trek allegory often is.
804. Second Contact / Envoys (LD)
(Boimler, Mariner, Tendi, Rutherford, Freeman, Ransom, T'ana, Barnes)
In this episode, we meet the crew of the Cerritos, whose mission is to visit planets that have had some limited contact with The Federation. Instead of the bridge crew, we spend more time seeing things through the eyes of the less-experienced crew. Then we watch ensign Boimler worry that Mariner is better at everything than he is.
805. Timescape (TNG)
(Picard, Data, Troi, Laforge, Crusher, Riker, Worf)
While several key officers are on an away mission, The Enterprise attempts to rescue some Romulans and everything goes wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey. The away team thinks they've figured out a way to overcome the time problems, but can they fix The Enterprise or the Romulan vessel before either or both of them explode?
806. Crossover (DS9)
(Kira, Bashir, Sisko, Odo, Dax, O'Brien, Quark, Garak)
It's really a Golden Age of Star Trek. Next Gen overlaps with Deep Space Nine, which then overlaps with Voyager. Such good times. So why not have a crossover. But let's have Deep Space Nine crossover with, oh, I don't know, THE MIRRORVERSE DEEP SPACE NINE. Dun dun dun. Any timeline with Smiley O'Brien in it, seems like a fine timeline to me.
807. Learning Curve (VOY)
(Janeway, Tuvok, Torres, Chakotay, Neelix, Doctor, Kes, Paris, Kim)
One of the rare Voyager episodes that spent time dealing with the differences between Starfleet and The Maquis. Also, Neelix accidentally causes some unique chaos.
808. Lower Decks (TNG)
(Picard, Worf, Crusher, Riker, Laforge, Troi, Data, a bunch of people you'll never see again)
Did you know there are other people on the Enterprise besides the usual crew? In this episode we watch a bunch of ensigns vying for promotion on the ship. It's a cool way to explore the relationship between the senior staff, and how they've grown over the duration of the show.
809. Relics (TNG)
(Scott, Laforge, Picard, Riker, Crusher, Worf, Data)
One of the best episodes of the series, the crew of The Enterprise finds Commander Scott from TOS trapped in a transporter loop. Not only is this the best episode featuring Scott of the series, it's one of the best Laforge episodes, too. That's three "best"s in one paragraph. It seems as though I enjoyed this treatise on how quickly technology makes the old seem obsolete.
810. I Borg (TNG)
(Picard, Crusher, Laforge, Guinan, Data, Riker, Troi, Worf)
The Borg are interesting villains in that they don't care to kill or acknowledge individuals, they are only interested in assimilating entire species at once. So when the crew of The Enterprise rescues a single Borg, against the wishes of Picard, Guinan, and most of the crew, everyone has to reevaluate their position on TNG's biggest bad. This episode gave me one the most positive visceral reactions to a Star Trek episode I've ever had.
811. Changeling (TOS)
(Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Uhura, Sulu, Chapel)
It's the original series cast vs. Wall-E, as a friendly little Starfleet droid threatens to destroy the entire universe if it doesn't get its way.
812. Dreadnought (VOY)
(Torres, Janeway, Chakotay, Doctor)
There isn't enough of the Maquis storyline in Voyager, given its pilot episode. This is a nice glimpse of what might have been as Torres encounters a Cardassian weapon she reprogrammed when she was a part of the Maquis. Can she stop it from destroying a completely innocent planet full of life?
813. Whispers (DS9)
(O'Brien, Keiko, Sisko, Bashir, Odo, Jake, Quark)
Is O'Brien having memory problems? Or is he just fine, and the entire crew of Deep Space Nine, including his wife, has turned evil? This is a fun twist on the alternate universe trope in Star Trek.
814. Flashback (VOY)
(Tuvok, Janeway, Sulu, Rand, Neelix, Kes, Doctor, Chakotay, Kim, Kang)
On Voyager, Tuvok seems to be having an emotional response to a memory. In order to determine the cause, he mind melds with Janeway and they go back to his most important memory, when he served under Captain Sulu, during the plot of "The Undiscovered Country", way back in season three of this continuity. I think this would have been a solid episode, even if it didn't feature cast members from TOS, but seeing Sulu and Rand again is an absolute blast. Plus, Kang from a terrible TOS epsode, "Day Of The Dove," is back again (and yes, he is the basis for the Treehouse Of Horror alien from The Simpsons).
815. Frame Of Mind (TNG)
(Riker, Picard, Crusher, Worf, Data, Laforge)
Is Riker insane? While practicing a play about losing his mind, Riker wakes up in solitary confinement. Uh-oh.
816. Eye Of The Needle (VOY)
(Janeway, Torres, Tuvok, Paris, Kim, Doctor, Neelix, Kes)
Is the crew of Voyager saved already? They find a wormhole back to the Alpha Quadrant. Ok, it's too small to fit a ship through, but they can send a message and get rescued, right?
817. A Matter Of Perspective (TNG)
(Riker, Picard, Laforge, Troi, O'Brien, Worf, Crusher, Data, Wesley)
Guilty until proven innocent is the law of the land for a planet where Riker is accused of murder. It's a court drama episode that's mainly hear as a comparison for the next episode
818. Ex Post Facto (VOY)
(Tuvok, Paris, Janeway, Chakotay, Tprres, Kes, Neelix, Doctor, Kim)
Now it's Paris's turn to be accused of murder, and it's up to Tuvok to save him, which involves a good, old-fashioned Vulcan mind meld!
819 & 820. Chain Of Command (TNG)
(Picard, Worf, Crusher, Riker, Troi, Laforge, Data)
There are FOUR lights, and they all point to a war with the Cardassians on the horizon.
It's been a few days since the last diss track was released so it seems as if we've at least reached a pause in the Drake/Kendrick beef. Articles have gone from Check Out This Amazing Creative Run Of Songs By These Major Artists Targeting Each Other to People Need To Stop Giving These Misogynists Attention How Dare They Release These Songs While We Clutch Our Pearls Standing At The Fire We've Spent The Last Month Pouring Gasoline On.
I'm not here to dissect the lyrics nor to point out that collateral damage to most beefs be it rap or rock and roll has almost always been women and queer men. I just think there was some solid music released that I enjoyed listening to, even if you won't see me singing these at karaoke in the near or distant future.
I'm giving the last word to Mackelmore, which I feel weird about because this was a feud that sometimes centered on the valildity of the Blackness of the artists. But. In addition to the more positive Free Palestine/criticism of how the American media and Biden's administration of "Hind's Hall" , I feel like it sums up the media's quick turn of Why Are We Paying Attention To Drake? So it's hopefully not like ending a mix about the Dr. Dre/Eazy-E feud with "Thrift Shop".
I'm not here to dissect the lyrics nor to point out that collateral damage to most beefs be it rap or rock and roll has almost always been women and queer men. I just think there was some solid music released that I enjoyed listening to, even if you won't see me singing these at karaoke in the near or distant future.
I'm giving the last word to Mackelmore, which I feel weird about because this was a feud that sometimes centered on the valildity of the Blackness of the artists. But. In addition to the more positive Free Palestine/criticism of how the American media and Biden's administration of "Hind's Hall" , I feel like it sums up the media's quick turn of Why Are We Paying Attention To Drake? So it's hopefully not like ending a mix about the Dr. Dre/Eazy-E feud with "Thrift Shop".
1. Family Matters by Drake
2. Can You Say Yeah? by Andrew Wartts & Gospel Storytellers
3. Meet The Grahams by Kendrick Lamar
4. I Believe To My Soul by Monk Higgins
5. Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar
6. Prove It by Aretha Franklin
7. The Heart Part 6 by Drake
8. BBL Drizzy by Metro Boomin
9. Ana La Habibi by Fairouz
10. Hind's Hall by Mackelmore
2. Can You Say Yeah? by Andrew Wartts & Gospel Storytellers
3. Meet The Grahams by Kendrick Lamar
4. I Believe To My Soul by Monk Higgins
5. Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar
6. Prove It by Aretha Franklin
7. The Heart Part 6 by Drake
8. BBL Drizzy by Metro Boomin
9. Ana La Habibi by Fairouz
10. Hind's Hall by Mackelmore
| whats_beef_family_matters.mp3 |
I thought this was going to be the conclusion (as of May 7th, 2024) of the Drake/Kendrick Lamar beef. But an important part of the most recent release in the feud is that Drake had written a Part 6 for a series of songs written by Kendrick Lamar. It's not good. But it's definitely an important part of the feud, and it hinges on knowing some of Lamar's "The Heart Part" songs. I decided to include 2-5 on this album, which includes an incredible but also incredibly long track by 24 Carat Black. So this album is already stretched to an hour, and I just couldn't justify going for another 45 minutes or so.
So there will be a What Beef 5 posted later today. There aren't really many features on this album, as the actual Kendrick and Drake songs all came out in the last week, and they didn't have time to get collaborators. Also, if I were anywhere near this feud I would have also backed out this week. As Kendrick's songs get tighter and more specific, Drake's get limper and eventually, for all their personal barbs, they sound more like a white mom with no writing skills was writing an angry Youtube comment than the verse of a professional rapper with twenty years in the business. His song on this album is okay. But I don't think it's much of a surprise that he's not the rapper on this album that has a Pulitzer Prize and a bunch of Grammys.
So there will be a What Beef 5 posted later today. There aren't really many features on this album, as the actual Kendrick and Drake songs all came out in the last week, and they didn't have time to get collaborators. Also, if I were anywhere near this feud I would have also backed out this week. As Kendrick's songs get tighter and more specific, Drake's get limper and eventually, for all their personal barbs, they sound more like a white mom with no writing skills was writing an angry Youtube comment than the verse of a professional rapper with twenty years in the business. His song on this album is okay. But I don't think it's much of a surprise that he's not the rapper on this album that has a Pulitzer Prize and a bunch of Grammys.
1. Taylor Made by Drake
2. Euphoria by Kendrick Lamar
3. You're My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration by Teddy Pendergrass
4. The Heart Part 2 by Kendrick Lamar Ft. Dash Snow
5. The Heart Part 3 by Kendrick Lamar
6. Poverty's Paradise by 24 Carat Black
7. Don't Tell A Lie About Me & I Won't Tell The Truth About You by James Brown
8. The Heart Part 4 by Kendrick Lamar
9. What A Wonderful Thing Love Is by Al Green
10. The Blacker The Berry by Kendrick Lamar Ft. Assassin
11. The Heart Part 5 by Kendrick Lamar
12. 6:16 In LA by Kendrick Lamar
2. Euphoria by Kendrick Lamar
3. You're My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration by Teddy Pendergrass
4. The Heart Part 2 by Kendrick Lamar Ft. Dash Snow
5. The Heart Part 3 by Kendrick Lamar
6. Poverty's Paradise by 24 Carat Black
7. Don't Tell A Lie About Me & I Won't Tell The Truth About You by James Brown
8. The Heart Part 4 by Kendrick Lamar
9. What A Wonderful Thing Love Is by Al Green
10. The Blacker The Berry by Kendrick Lamar Ft. Assassin
11. The Heart Part 5 by Kendrick Lamar
12. 6:16 In LA by Kendrick Lamar
| whats_beef_4_the_heart.mp3 |
The Drake vs Kendrick Lamar beef had a slow build. First it enveloped J Cole but then Future's collaborative albums, We Don't Believe You and We Still Don't Believe You upped the game a bit. It dared Drake to respond. So Drake responded.
These are pretty much the slapping of a 19th century dueling glove. Yea, there's a little bit of sting here but as far as personal attacks go, it's got nothing on part four. But musically, this has some solid steel. I debated whether to include the Temptations version of "Smiling Faces Sometimes", which has always been a favorite of mine but The Undisputed Truth's version, which appears here just fits better with Future and Drake's music.
These are pretty much the slapping of a 19th century dueling glove. Yea, there's a little bit of sting here but as far as personal attacks go, it's got nothing on part four. But musically, this has some solid steel. I debated whether to include the Temptations version of "Smiling Faces Sometimes", which has always been a favorite of mine but The Undisputed Truth's version, which appears here just fits better with Future and Drake's music.
Cover Art, "Let Me Drown" by Stormseeker on Unsplash.
1. Redemption by Snorre Tidemand
2. Look Me In The Eyes by Joe Washington and Wash
3. First Person Shooter by Drake Ft. J Cole
4. Eazy Duz It by Eazy-E
5. Like That by Future Ft. Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar
6. 7 Minute Drill by J Cole
7. Five To One by The Doors
8. Takeover by Jay-Z
9. Smiling Faces Sometimes by Undisputed Truth
10. Jumpman by Drake Ft. Future
11. We Still Don't Trust You by Future Ft. Metro Boomin and The Weeknd
12. Red Leather by Future Ft. J Cole
13. (Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below We're All Going To Go by Curtis Mayfield
14. Show Of Hands by Future Ft. A$AP Rocky and Metro Boomin
15. Push Ups by Drake and DJ Akademiks
2. Look Me In The Eyes by Joe Washington and Wash
3. First Person Shooter by Drake Ft. J Cole
4. Eazy Duz It by Eazy-E
5. Like That by Future Ft. Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar
6. 7 Minute Drill by J Cole
7. Five To One by The Doors
8. Takeover by Jay-Z
9. Smiling Faces Sometimes by Undisputed Truth
10. Jumpman by Drake Ft. Future
11. We Still Don't Trust You by Future Ft. Metro Boomin and The Weeknd
12. Red Leather by Future Ft. J Cole
13. (Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below We're All Going To Go by Curtis Mayfield
14. Show Of Hands by Future Ft. A$AP Rocky and Metro Boomin
15. Push Ups by Drake and DJ Akademiks
| whats_beef_3_show_of_hands.mp3 |
In 2018, I did a musical primer for the Drake/Meek Mills feud, complete with the songs they sampled, and the songs that inspired their feud.
It's 2024 and Drake is in a deeper feud with someone whose lyrics and musical skills put Drake's to shame. And Drake is by no means terrible. He just isn't Kendrick Lamar.
It's going to take two mixes just to take us up to May 2024. This one starts in 2010 and goes to last June. Like the original "What's Beef" primer, it's full of samples that go back to the 1970s, and it's designed to be chronological to the beef but also fun to listen to as one long mix.
I can't offer much commentary because I'm a music fan not a music journalist. But check out any site that proclaims to be about music and they'll have at least three articles about this feud. If they don't, they're either incompetent or racist.
It's 2024 and Drake is in a deeper feud with someone whose lyrics and musical skills put Drake's to shame. And Drake is by no means terrible. He just isn't Kendrick Lamar.
It's going to take two mixes just to take us up to May 2024. This one starts in 2010 and goes to last June. Like the original "What's Beef" primer, it's full of samples that go back to the 1970s, and it's designed to be chronological to the beef but also fun to listen to as one long mix.
I can't offer much commentary because I'm a music fan not a music journalist. But check out any site that proclaims to be about music and they'll have at least three articles about this feud. If they don't, they're either incompetent or racist.
1. Double Barrel by Ansel & Dave Collins
2. Biz Is Going Off by Biz Markie
3. Buried Alive Interlude by Drake ft. Kendrick Lamar
4. Poetic Justice by Kendrick Lamar ft. Drake
5. Any Time Any Place by Janet Jackson
6. El Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido by Quilapayún and Sergio Ortega
7. Get Bizy by Kendrick Lamar ft. Kurupt
8. Me Against The World by Tupac Shakur
9. Control by Big Sean ft. Kendrick Lamar
10. SRL2 by Lupe Fiasco
11. Everyone Nose (Remix) by NERD ft. Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco
12. TKO (Black Friday Remix) by Justin Timberlake ft. J Cole, A$AP Rocky, Pusha T
13. The Language by Drake
14. 100 by The Game ft. Drake
15. Feel The Fire by Peabo Bryson
16. Element By Kendrick Lamar
17. Ha by Juvenile
18. Sticky by Drake
19. PDLIF by Bon Iver
20. Hillbillies by Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar
2. Biz Is Going Off by Biz Markie
3. Buried Alive Interlude by Drake ft. Kendrick Lamar
4. Poetic Justice by Kendrick Lamar ft. Drake
5. Any Time Any Place by Janet Jackson
6. El Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido by Quilapayún and Sergio Ortega
7. Get Bizy by Kendrick Lamar ft. Kurupt
8. Me Against The World by Tupac Shakur
9. Control by Big Sean ft. Kendrick Lamar
10. SRL2 by Lupe Fiasco
11. Everyone Nose (Remix) by NERD ft. Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco
12. TKO (Black Friday Remix) by Justin Timberlake ft. J Cole, A$AP Rocky, Pusha T
13. The Language by Drake
14. 100 by The Game ft. Drake
15. Feel The Fire by Peabo Bryson
16. Element By Kendrick Lamar
17. Ha by Juvenile
18. Sticky by Drake
19. PDLIF by Bon Iver
20. Hillbillies by Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar
| whats_beef_2_double_barrel.mp3 |
Last season was all about Barry Allen and Team Flash, and Oliver Queen and Team Arrow. This season we expand to other universes as we see a pre-Batman Bruce Wayne in Gotham, as well as a few episodes from the 1990 version of The Flash where we see an alternate version of Barry Allen where he has a completely different team and different circumstances .
I didn't watch Gotham when it first came out because I just couldn't stand to watch another origin story for Bruce Wayne. So we skip the murder of his parents and the overwrought introduction of the various major players. Instead, we dive right into the meat of the first season with a focus on the Falcone/Maroni war and the tension between Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock. Bruce and Alfred are there but in the background. And then, the supervillains arrive.
Our two different versions of The Flash TV show, Barry battles with a criminal who killed one of his close relatives AND also has to deal with The Trickster (played by Original Flavor Luke Skywalker in both shows).
And on Arrow, we eventually reach a pause in the Starling City madness that started this series but not before Oliver Queen sheds the Arrow identity in order to become a supervillain.
I didn't watch Gotham when it first came out because I just couldn't stand to watch another origin story for Bruce Wayne. So we skip the murder of his parents and the overwrought introduction of the various major players. Instead, we dive right into the meat of the first season with a focus on the Falcone/Maroni war and the tension between Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock. Bruce and Alfred are there but in the background. And then, the supervillains arrive.
Our two different versions of The Flash TV show, Barry battles with a criminal who killed one of his close relatives AND also has to deal with The Trickster (played by Original Flavor Luke Skywalker in both shows).
And on Arrow, we eventually reach a pause in the Starling City madness that started this series but not before Oliver Queen sheds the Arrow identity in order to become a supervillain.
Season Two:
All-Star Team Up
201. Spirit Of The Goat (Gotham)
(Harvey Bullock, Jim Gordon, Ed Nygma, Sarah Essen, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Kean, Oswald Cobblepot, Renee Montoya, Selina Kyle, Crispus Allen, Gertrude Kapelput, Kristen Kringle)
While Bullock deals with an old case coming back to haunt him, and some members of the GCPD are convinced Jim Gordon is a killer on a different case. Also, Ed Nygma is a CSI agent but he's certainly no Barry Allen.
202. The Penguin's Umbrella (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Fish Mooney, Harvey Bullock, Oswald Cobblepot, Carmine Falcone, Sarah Essen, Barbara Kean, Renee Montoya, Victor Zsasz, Crispus Allen, Sal Maroni, Aubrey James, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Butch Gilzean)
Gotham is under mob rule in this era. Falcones vs Maronis. Penguin vs Fish. Gotham City Polics vs Major Crimes Unit. We get a great glimpse into the politics and relationships of the show.
203: Fallout (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Martin Stein, Ronnie Raymond, Wade Elling, David Singh)
Nobody went quite as boom as was expected last season but things are still tense. Also, that military guy is still hanging around, and that can't be good for anyone. He's not even cool enough to be a rogue.
204. Public Enemy (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Roy Palmer, Lauren Lance, Quentin Lance, Ray Harper, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro, Malcolm Merlyn)
The League Of Assassins new plan exposes Oliver Queen as the Arrow, shoots an arrow into Ray Palmer and the mayor, and causes even more intense drama in the Lance family. In the flashbacks, Oliver runs into Shado's twin sister.
205. Broken Arrow (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Roy Palmer, Lauren Lance, Quentin Lance, Ray Harper, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro, Malcolm Merlyn)
Roy has taken the fall for Oliver, and confessed to being The Arrow. He's a big target in prison, which worries the rest of the team. Also, Felicity struggles to save Ray from his injuries.
206. Out Of Time (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, Mark Mardon, Linda Park, David Singh, Clyde Mardon)
Time travel! Repercussions from the pilot! Relationship growth! Identity reveals! Someone is badly injured! This almost feels like a season finale.
207. The Blind Fortune Teller (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Leslie Thompkins, Fish Mooney, Jerome Valeska, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Harvey Bullock, Oswald Cobblepot, Barbara Kean, Paul Cicero, Gertrude Kapelput, Edward Nygma, Sara Essen, Selina Kyle, Victor Zsasz, Butch Gilzean, Kristen Kringle)
When a sideshow performer turns up dead, the police end up embroiled in a heated feud involving the Flying Graysons. Plus, Fish Mooney tries to take over the prison underneath The Iceberg Lounge. Bruce Wayne tries to learn more about The Wayne Foundation's connection to Arkham Asylum.
208. Pilot (Flash 1990)
(Barry Allen, Julio Mendez, Iris West, Christina McGee, Pike, Tony Bellows, Warren Garfield, Henry Allen)
It's an alternate universe version of The Flash! (straight out of the 1990s). This universe's Barry Allen lives in a world where his father is alive, he has brothers, oh and there's a biker gang terrorizing Central City. But then lightning strikes him and voila, he's The Flash. He builds a completely different Team Flash and deals with some very dated visual effects.
209. The Trickster (Flash 1990)
(Barry Allen, Christina McGee, James Jesse, Julio Mendez, Tony Bellows, Warren Garfield)
A complete psychopath is going state to state, falling in love with women and then killing them. When he stumbles on one of Barry's former coworkers, The Flash gets involved, and The Trickster begins a reign of terror in Central City, where everyone is trying to learn the identity of The Flash.
210. Tricksters (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Henry Allen, Eddie Thawne, David Singh, Eobard Thawne )
There's a new Trickster in Central City, and his whole schtick is pissing off the original Trickster who has been in prison for twenty years...which is weird because this is clearly the same Trickster, but this is a different Barry Allen and a different Central City. Oh, and we already figured out that Harrison Wells isn't who we thought he was, but he's also not who anyone else thinks he is, either.
211. All-Star Team Up (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Henry Allen, Eddie Thawne, Christina McGee, Eobard Thawne )
Someone is killing scientists using weaponized bees. Christina McGee ends up being targeted, and it's up to the troubled Team Flash to save her. Luckily, they have some help because Felicity and Ray Palmer are in town to troubleshoot issues with The Atom suit.
212. Under The Knife (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Leslie Thompkins, Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, Harvey Bullock, Oswald Cobblepot, Barbara Kean, Gertrude Kapelput, Edward Nygma, Alfred Pennyworth, Sid Bunderslaw, Sal Maroni, Butch Gilzean, Sara Essen, The Ogre, Kristen Kringle)
A serial killer called The Ogre targets the loved ones of any cop who crosses his path, so, of course, Jim Gordon deliberately gets in his way. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle kill a lead in Bruce's investigation into the corruption in Wayne Enterprises. At the Iceberg Lounge, Moroni interrupts one of The Penguin's schemes.
213. The Anvil & The Hammer (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne, Harvey Bullock, Oswald Cobblepot, The Ogre, Barbara Kean, Edward Nygma, Sal Maroni, Selina Kyle, Alfred Pennyworth, Leslie Thompkins, Butch Gilzean, Sid Bunderslaw, Lucius Fox, Kristen Kringle)
While The Ogre has Barbara, Harvey goes to an S&M club. The Penguin makes another move against Maroni. Bruce begins to learn more about Wayne Industries.
214. Who Is Harrison Wells? (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, Laurel Lance, David Singh, Quentin Lance)
Team Flash goes to Arrowtown, and they don't even bother to see how Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak are doing? Bad. Form. At least Canary can be useful. We also have a rogue of the week who can turn into anyone he touches. I bet that creates complicated social interactions.
215: The Trap (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, David Singh)
Everything starts to come together as the gang seeks to out the identity of Reverse Flash to help get Henry Allen cleared of his wife's murder.
216. All Happy Families Are Alike (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Oswald Cobblepot, Carmine Falcone, Leslie Thompkins, Barbara Kean, Fish Mooney, Selina Kyle, Harvey Bullock, Sal Maroni, Butch Gilzean, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Edward Nygma, Kristen Kringle)
The Maroni/Falcone war escalates, explodes, and further evolves, throwing everything into chaos. Plus, Barbara chooses Leslie as a trauma counselor.
217. Fast Forward (Flash 1990)
(Barry Allen, Christina McGee, Pike, Julio Mendez, Tony Bellows, Warren Garfield)
When his brother's killer is released from prison, he immediately targets The Flash, and his actions turn Central City into a dystopia. Can Barry Allen prevent that future from happening?
218. Rogue Air (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Leonard Snart, Oliver Queen, Ronnie Raymond, Mark Mardon, Eddie Thawne)
The Particle Acclerator is going to go boom again, so the heroes need to relocate all those supervillains they've been imprisoning in that vicinity. Not only does this mean another Arrow team-up, it also means thinking outside of the box, which means More Captain Cold!
219. Al Sa-Him (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Lauren Lance, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro, Malcolm Merlyn)
Oliver Queen is the new R'as, and he's in Starling City to eliminate his competition, Nyssa. Team Arrow has to side with Nyssa against the League Of Assassins.
220. This Is Your Sword (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Malcolm Merlyn, Lauren Lance, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro)
Now that Oliver Queen is set to get married and become an Al Ghul, Team Formerly Arrow needs to figure out new alliances
221. My Name Is Oliver Queen (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Malcolm Merlyn, Lauren Lance, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro, Barry Allen)
The final Arrow episode of the season brings all the drama back to Starling City. Family melodrama oozes out of every line. And in the end, the world gets the R'as Al Ghul it deserves.
222. Knock Knock (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Jerome Valeska, Barbara Kaen, Lucius Fox, Sara Essen, Theo Galavan, Harvey Bullock, Edward Nygma, Kristen Kringle, Tabitha Glavan, Leslie Thompkins, Aubrey James)
The gang war is over. It's time for the age of supervillains. A whole group of criminals has been broken out of Arkham in order to seed chaos in the streets. After announcing their name, The Maniaxx, they take down the Gotham City Police Department, the mayor, and the new commissioner. And according to their leader we "ain't seen nothing yet!"
223. The Last Laugh (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne, Jerome Valeska, Leslie Thompkins, Barbara Kaen, Theo Galavan, Harvey Bullock, Paul Cicero, Alfred Pennyworth, Oswald Cobblepot, Tabitha Galavan, Selina Kyle)
The Maniaxx begin to clear their pre-Arkham lives, and the streets of Gotham, and Jerome Valeska takes Gotham's millionaires and billionaires hostage. Luckily, there's a new hero in town to put a stop to all the madness.
224. Fast Enough (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Leonard Snart, Martin Stein, Oliver Queen, Ronnie Raymond, Henry Allen, Eddie Thawne, David Singh)
The season finale has The Flash getting into proper timeline hijinks. Our season-long arc about clearing Henry Allen's name gets ... closure ? complications ? wibbly-wobbly timey -wimey ? It's a thoroughly satisfying place to end the season, and would have even worked as a series finale if the show had been cancelled.
(Harvey Bullock, Jim Gordon, Ed Nygma, Sarah Essen, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Kean, Oswald Cobblepot, Renee Montoya, Selina Kyle, Crispus Allen, Gertrude Kapelput, Kristen Kringle)
While Bullock deals with an old case coming back to haunt him, and some members of the GCPD are convinced Jim Gordon is a killer on a different case. Also, Ed Nygma is a CSI agent but he's certainly no Barry Allen.
202. The Penguin's Umbrella (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Fish Mooney, Harvey Bullock, Oswald Cobblepot, Carmine Falcone, Sarah Essen, Barbara Kean, Renee Montoya, Victor Zsasz, Crispus Allen, Sal Maroni, Aubrey James, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Butch Gilzean)
Gotham is under mob rule in this era. Falcones vs Maronis. Penguin vs Fish. Gotham City Polics vs Major Crimes Unit. We get a great glimpse into the politics and relationships of the show.
203: Fallout (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Martin Stein, Ronnie Raymond, Wade Elling, David Singh)
Nobody went quite as boom as was expected last season but things are still tense. Also, that military guy is still hanging around, and that can't be good for anyone. He's not even cool enough to be a rogue.
204. Public Enemy (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Roy Palmer, Lauren Lance, Quentin Lance, Ray Harper, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro, Malcolm Merlyn)
The League Of Assassins new plan exposes Oliver Queen as the Arrow, shoots an arrow into Ray Palmer and the mayor, and causes even more intense drama in the Lance family. In the flashbacks, Oliver runs into Shado's twin sister.
205. Broken Arrow (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Roy Palmer, Lauren Lance, Quentin Lance, Ray Harper, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro, Malcolm Merlyn)
Roy has taken the fall for Oliver, and confessed to being The Arrow. He's a big target in prison, which worries the rest of the team. Also, Felicity struggles to save Ray from his injuries.
206. Out Of Time (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, Mark Mardon, Linda Park, David Singh, Clyde Mardon)
Time travel! Repercussions from the pilot! Relationship growth! Identity reveals! Someone is badly injured! This almost feels like a season finale.
207. The Blind Fortune Teller (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Leslie Thompkins, Fish Mooney, Jerome Valeska, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Harvey Bullock, Oswald Cobblepot, Barbara Kean, Paul Cicero, Gertrude Kapelput, Edward Nygma, Sara Essen, Selina Kyle, Victor Zsasz, Butch Gilzean, Kristen Kringle)
When a sideshow performer turns up dead, the police end up embroiled in a heated feud involving the Flying Graysons. Plus, Fish Mooney tries to take over the prison underneath The Iceberg Lounge. Bruce Wayne tries to learn more about The Wayne Foundation's connection to Arkham Asylum.
208. Pilot (Flash 1990)
(Barry Allen, Julio Mendez, Iris West, Christina McGee, Pike, Tony Bellows, Warren Garfield, Henry Allen)
It's an alternate universe version of The Flash! (straight out of the 1990s). This universe's Barry Allen lives in a world where his father is alive, he has brothers, oh and there's a biker gang terrorizing Central City. But then lightning strikes him and voila, he's The Flash. He builds a completely different Team Flash and deals with some very dated visual effects.
209. The Trickster (Flash 1990)
(Barry Allen, Christina McGee, James Jesse, Julio Mendez, Tony Bellows, Warren Garfield)
A complete psychopath is going state to state, falling in love with women and then killing them. When he stumbles on one of Barry's former coworkers, The Flash gets involved, and The Trickster begins a reign of terror in Central City, where everyone is trying to learn the identity of The Flash.
210. Tricksters (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Henry Allen, Eddie Thawne, David Singh, Eobard Thawne )
There's a new Trickster in Central City, and his whole schtick is pissing off the original Trickster who has been in prison for twenty years...which is weird because this is clearly the same Trickster, but this is a different Barry Allen and a different Central City. Oh, and we already figured out that Harrison Wells isn't who we thought he was, but he's also not who anyone else thinks he is, either.
211. All-Star Team Up (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Henry Allen, Eddie Thawne, Christina McGee, Eobard Thawne )
Someone is killing scientists using weaponized bees. Christina McGee ends up being targeted, and it's up to the troubled Team Flash to save her. Luckily, they have some help because Felicity and Ray Palmer are in town to troubleshoot issues with The Atom suit.
212. Under The Knife (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Leslie Thompkins, Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, Harvey Bullock, Oswald Cobblepot, Barbara Kean, Gertrude Kapelput, Edward Nygma, Alfred Pennyworth, Sid Bunderslaw, Sal Maroni, Butch Gilzean, Sara Essen, The Ogre, Kristen Kringle)
A serial killer called The Ogre targets the loved ones of any cop who crosses his path, so, of course, Jim Gordon deliberately gets in his way. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle kill a lead in Bruce's investigation into the corruption in Wayne Enterprises. At the Iceberg Lounge, Moroni interrupts one of The Penguin's schemes.
213. The Anvil & The Hammer (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne, Harvey Bullock, Oswald Cobblepot, The Ogre, Barbara Kean, Edward Nygma, Sal Maroni, Selina Kyle, Alfred Pennyworth, Leslie Thompkins, Butch Gilzean, Sid Bunderslaw, Lucius Fox, Kristen Kringle)
While The Ogre has Barbara, Harvey goes to an S&M club. The Penguin makes another move against Maroni. Bruce begins to learn more about Wayne Industries.
214. Who Is Harrison Wells? (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, Laurel Lance, David Singh, Quentin Lance)
Team Flash goes to Arrowtown, and they don't even bother to see how Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak are doing? Bad. Form. At least Canary can be useful. We also have a rogue of the week who can turn into anyone he touches. I bet that creates complicated social interactions.
215: The Trap (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, David Singh)
Everything starts to come together as the gang seeks to out the identity of Reverse Flash to help get Henry Allen cleared of his wife's murder.
216. All Happy Families Are Alike (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Oswald Cobblepot, Carmine Falcone, Leslie Thompkins, Barbara Kean, Fish Mooney, Selina Kyle, Harvey Bullock, Sal Maroni, Butch Gilzean, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Edward Nygma, Kristen Kringle)
The Maroni/Falcone war escalates, explodes, and further evolves, throwing everything into chaos. Plus, Barbara chooses Leslie as a trauma counselor.
217. Fast Forward (Flash 1990)
(Barry Allen, Christina McGee, Pike, Julio Mendez, Tony Bellows, Warren Garfield)
When his brother's killer is released from prison, he immediately targets The Flash, and his actions turn Central City into a dystopia. Can Barry Allen prevent that future from happening?
218. Rogue Air (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Leonard Snart, Oliver Queen, Ronnie Raymond, Mark Mardon, Eddie Thawne)
The Particle Acclerator is going to go boom again, so the heroes need to relocate all those supervillains they've been imprisoning in that vicinity. Not only does this mean another Arrow team-up, it also means thinking outside of the box, which means More Captain Cold!
219. Al Sa-Him (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Lauren Lance, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro, Malcolm Merlyn)
Oliver Queen is the new R'as, and he's in Starling City to eliminate his competition, Nyssa. Team Arrow has to side with Nyssa against the League Of Assassins.
220. This Is Your Sword (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Malcolm Merlyn, Lauren Lance, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro)
Now that Oliver Queen is set to get married and become an Al Ghul, Team Formerly Arrow needs to figure out new alliances
221. My Name Is Oliver Queen (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Andy Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Malcolm Merlyn, Lauren Lance, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro, Barry Allen)
The final Arrow episode of the season brings all the drama back to Starling City. Family melodrama oozes out of every line. And in the end, the world gets the R'as Al Ghul it deserves.
222. Knock Knock (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Jerome Valeska, Barbara Kaen, Lucius Fox, Sara Essen, Theo Galavan, Harvey Bullock, Edward Nygma, Kristen Kringle, Tabitha Glavan, Leslie Thompkins, Aubrey James)
The gang war is over. It's time for the age of supervillains. A whole group of criminals has been broken out of Arkham in order to seed chaos in the streets. After announcing their name, The Maniaxx, they take down the Gotham City Police Department, the mayor, and the new commissioner. And according to their leader we "ain't seen nothing yet!"
223. The Last Laugh (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne, Jerome Valeska, Leslie Thompkins, Barbara Kaen, Theo Galavan, Harvey Bullock, Paul Cicero, Alfred Pennyworth, Oswald Cobblepot, Tabitha Galavan, Selina Kyle)
The Maniaxx begin to clear their pre-Arkham lives, and the streets of Gotham, and Jerome Valeska takes Gotham's millionaires and billionaires hostage. Luckily, there's a new hero in town to put a stop to all the madness.
224. Fast Enough (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Leonard Snart, Martin Stein, Oliver Queen, Ronnie Raymond, Henry Allen, Eddie Thawne, David Singh)
The season finale has The Flash getting into proper timeline hijinks. Our season-long arc about clearing Henry Allen's name gets ... closure ? complications ? wibbly-wobbly timey -wimey ? It's a thoroughly satisfying place to end the season, and would have even worked as a series finale if the show had been cancelled.
I stopped posting the Buffy/Angel headcanon a few years ago, knowing there was at least one more season to go. But I'd reached the end of the actual Buffy shows, hadn't read the comics, and mistakenly thought I'd seen all of Angel, but not recently enough to properly recall it. It turned out, I had missed several episodes of the final three seasons. But I've recently fixed that, watching the last few seasons of Buffy and all of Angel together with my fiance, who hadn't seen past the first two seasons of Buffy.
Personally, I think I enjoy the last televised season of Angel more than the final televised season of Buffy. Not the final episodes (Buffy had some fantastic episodes in the final season, they were all just sort of crammed together with a bunch of filler between them, while Angel made every episode count, using different tones, not always progressing the overall story, but always giving the viewer something entertaining. I would say that it's a shame that Angel was cancelled before they got to do another season, but if the graphic novels are at all representative of what Whedon wanted to do during the next season, then television dodged a toxic, stinky bullet.
The rapey elephant that's showed up in the room between when I started creating this headcanon and now is that Whedon has been outed as a misogynist, racist, and general abuser. Even actors who work with him, and say positive things about him tell stories that they think are charming that actually expose what a complete piece of shit Joss Whedon has always been.
Normally, I'd say this brings up the argument about separating the art from the artist. But, for my two cents? I don't think Whedon wrote a single episode or comic issue that anyone ever enjoyed. I think Whedon has always been a complete hack who happens to be buoyed by an excellent writing staff and talented actors/artists. It is a shame that he gets any money for this franchise, but I think you can safely enjoy the best parts of this universe, secure in the knowledge that, while Whedon took credit for it, he probably didn't write anything you actually enjoyed. His comic work has exposed that he's not a very talented writer. His ideas can best be described as stale, his plots aimless and dull. But if you give his characters and an outline to one of his TV writers, or a storied comic writer, you can end up with gold.
This season is just the best parts of Season Five of Angel. I had a great time watching it, especially as I'd missed so many of the good episodes when I watched it in reruns on channels like TNT.
Personally, I think I enjoy the last televised season of Angel more than the final televised season of Buffy. Not the final episodes (Buffy had some fantastic episodes in the final season, they were all just sort of crammed together with a bunch of filler between them, while Angel made every episode count, using different tones, not always progressing the overall story, but always giving the viewer something entertaining. I would say that it's a shame that Angel was cancelled before they got to do another season, but if the graphic novels are at all representative of what Whedon wanted to do during the next season, then television dodged a toxic, stinky bullet.
The rapey elephant that's showed up in the room between when I started creating this headcanon and now is that Whedon has been outed as a misogynist, racist, and general abuser. Even actors who work with him, and say positive things about him tell stories that they think are charming that actually expose what a complete piece of shit Joss Whedon has always been.
Normally, I'd say this brings up the argument about separating the art from the artist. But, for my two cents? I don't think Whedon wrote a single episode or comic issue that anyone ever enjoyed. I think Whedon has always been a complete hack who happens to be buoyed by an excellent writing staff and talented actors/artists. It is a shame that he gets any money for this franchise, but I think you can safely enjoy the best parts of this universe, secure in the knowledge that, while Whedon took credit for it, he probably didn't write anything you actually enjoyed. His comic work has exposed that he's not a very talented writer. His ideas can best be described as stale, his plots aimless and dull. But if you give his characters and an outline to one of his TV writers, or a storied comic writer, you can end up with gold.
This season is just the best parts of Season Five of Angel. I had a great time watching it, especially as I'd missed so many of the good episodes when I watched it in reruns on channels like TNT.
Season 8:
Shiny, Happy People
101. Shiny Happy People
(Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Conor, Jasmine)
When we last left the gang, Cordelia was pregnant, and an apocalypse was going down. (Must have been a Tuesday.) We pick up this season with Cordelia's child having been born an adult (beats being raised in a Hell Dimension between episodes, amirite Conor?) She seems absolutely lovely. It's like there isn't even going to be any tension in this storyline.
102. Peace Out
(Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Conor, Jasmine, Lilah)
Ok, so Cordelia's kid was a total nightmare. Probably evil. Definitely not good for the city of LA, and the gang has to put her down. Who's surprised? Raise your hand.
103. Home
(Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Conor, Lilah, Knox)
Say goodbye to the hotel, Angel and the gang move up in the world as they are given the reigns to Wolfram & Hart, you know, the Big Bad that's been responsible for much of the suffering during the entire run of the show. Things are obviously about to change in a major way.
104.Just Rewards
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Fred, Knox)
Team Wolfram & Angelhart received a surprise in the mail. An amulet fell out and *poof* Spike appeared. Spike The Sort Of Friendly Ghost Vampire haunts the office and adds some much needed humor into the team. Also, Angel's receptionist is Spike's ex, and everyone's second favorite mean girl from Buffy (RIP Cordelia), Harmony!
105. You're Welcome
(Angel, Cordelia, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Fred, Lindsey, Eve)
Wait, Eve is working with Lindsey? Awww. I'm glad he's back for some closure. And, speaking of closure, this is a much needed episode involving Cordelia, who deserved better than the mommy-in-a-coma treatment that was used to write her off the show. It's not perfect here, but it's cathartic, and nice to see her on screen again.
106. Smile Time
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Fred, Knox)
Puppet Angel may be one of the highlights of this season. The overall story may be a bit of silly villain-of-the-week nonsense but it's very welcome after the last melodramatic season and a half.
107. A Hole In The World
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Fred, Knox, Eve, Drogyn)
A seemingly random delivery in this episode has dire consequences for the rest of the series (there isn't much left, I realize), as we say goodbye to one cast member and find out how many of the other characters are somehow complicit in their departure. This is probably the saddest episode in the season.
108. Origin
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Illyria, Conor, Cyvus Vall)
Conor's back? Well, earlier this season Angel made a deal with The Powers That Be so that Conor would forget everything about his life and grow up with a nice, normal family. But they didn't take away his strength or agility, so when he's unaffected by being run over by a truck, his new, normal family does some research to determine the best people to help them figure out what's wrong. So they take him to Wolfram & Hart, which not only brings up some emotional trauma for Angel, it also returns the memories of the rest of the cast who'd forgotten he existed, which means they forgot a ton of their interpersonal problems from both last season, and the beginning of this one.
109. The Girl In Question
(Angel, Spike, Darla, Druisilla, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Illyria, Andrew)
The penultimate episode of the TV portion of this headcanon is a much needed comedy break. Fred's parents, who don't know she died in the last episode, come for a visit, (that's not the funny part) and Illyria pretends to be her. The funny part? Angel and Spike are sent on a mission to Italy to stop a demon war and keep getting distracted because their old nemesis is also in Italy and is...dating Buffy. Plus, we get to see Andrew for the first time this season!
110. Power Play/Not Fade Away
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Illyria, Conor, Lindsey, Eve, Cyvus Vall)
It's the end of the TV version of this headcanon. That must mean another apocalypse is nigh, and the surviving members of the cast are off to probably meet their deaths.
(Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Conor, Jasmine)
When we last left the gang, Cordelia was pregnant, and an apocalypse was going down. (Must have been a Tuesday.) We pick up this season with Cordelia's child having been born an adult (beats being raised in a Hell Dimension between episodes, amirite Conor?) She seems absolutely lovely. It's like there isn't even going to be any tension in this storyline.
102. Peace Out
(Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Conor, Jasmine, Lilah)
Ok, so Cordelia's kid was a total nightmare. Probably evil. Definitely not good for the city of LA, and the gang has to put her down. Who's surprised? Raise your hand.
103. Home
(Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Conor, Lilah, Knox)
Say goodbye to the hotel, Angel and the gang move up in the world as they are given the reigns to Wolfram & Hart, you know, the Big Bad that's been responsible for much of the suffering during the entire run of the show. Things are obviously about to change in a major way.
104.Just Rewards
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Fred, Knox)
Team Wolfram & Angelhart received a surprise in the mail. An amulet fell out and *poof* Spike appeared. Spike The Sort Of Friendly Ghost Vampire haunts the office and adds some much needed humor into the team. Also, Angel's receptionist is Spike's ex, and everyone's second favorite mean girl from Buffy (RIP Cordelia), Harmony!
105. You're Welcome
(Angel, Cordelia, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Fred, Lindsey, Eve)
Wait, Eve is working with Lindsey? Awww. I'm glad he's back for some closure. And, speaking of closure, this is a much needed episode involving Cordelia, who deserved better than the mommy-in-a-coma treatment that was used to write her off the show. It's not perfect here, but it's cathartic, and nice to see her on screen again.
106. Smile Time
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Fred, Knox)
Puppet Angel may be one of the highlights of this season. The overall story may be a bit of silly villain-of-the-week nonsense but it's very welcome after the last melodramatic season and a half.
107. A Hole In The World
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Fred, Knox, Eve, Drogyn)
A seemingly random delivery in this episode has dire consequences for the rest of the series (there isn't much left, I realize), as we say goodbye to one cast member and find out how many of the other characters are somehow complicit in their departure. This is probably the saddest episode in the season.
108. Origin
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Illyria, Conor, Cyvus Vall)
Conor's back? Well, earlier this season Angel made a deal with The Powers That Be so that Conor would forget everything about his life and grow up with a nice, normal family. But they didn't take away his strength or agility, so when he's unaffected by being run over by a truck, his new, normal family does some research to determine the best people to help them figure out what's wrong. So they take him to Wolfram & Hart, which not only brings up some emotional trauma for Angel, it also returns the memories of the rest of the cast who'd forgotten he existed, which means they forgot a ton of their interpersonal problems from both last season, and the beginning of this one.
109. The Girl In Question
(Angel, Spike, Darla, Druisilla, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Illyria, Andrew)
The penultimate episode of the TV portion of this headcanon is a much needed comedy break. Fred's parents, who don't know she died in the last episode, come for a visit, (that's not the funny part) and Illyria pretends to be her. The funny part? Angel and Spike are sent on a mission to Italy to stop a demon war and keep getting distracted because their old nemesis is also in Italy and is...dating Buffy. Plus, we get to see Andrew for the first time this season!
110. Power Play/Not Fade Away
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Illyria, Conor, Lindsey, Eve, Cyvus Vall)
It's the end of the TV version of this headcanon. That must mean another apocalypse is nigh, and the surviving members of the cast are off to probably meet their deaths.
The CW DC Superhero Universe is like our universe, finite, but constantly expanding. Last season we added Gotham to the mix of shows, and we saw an alternate universe Barry Allen (aka the 1990s TV show) enter the canon. This season brings us the show Constantine, and brings us yet another speedster from yet another universe, Jay Garrick.
There are time jumps in every show between last season and this one. Sometimes, this is my editorial decision cutting out some of the less interesting parts of continuity but, in the case of The Flash, it's just what happened in the series.
The focus of this season is the adventures of John Constantine. After this season, he'll disappear for a long time, as his solo show only had a one season run. But the series was a solid adaptation of the comic series, and he will eventually play a role in the larger DC universe.
This season also puts together the B-Team cast from Arrow and Flash and elevates them to easily the most fun part of this continuity, a team of time traveling heroes called The Legends of Tomorrow.
There are time jumps in every show between last season and this one. Sometimes, this is my editorial decision cutting out some of the less interesting parts of continuity but, in the case of The Flash, it's just what happened in the series.
The focus of this season is the adventures of John Constantine. After this season, he'll disappear for a long time, as his solo show only had a one season run. But the series was a solid adaptation of the comic series, and he will eventually play a role in the larger DC universe.
This season also puts together the B-Team cast from Arrow and Flash and elevates them to easily the most fun part of this continuity, a team of time traveling heroes called The Legends of Tomorrow.
Season 3:
Legends
(301. Non Est Asylum (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Manny, Astra, Ritchie Simpson)
One of Constantine's dead old friends contacts him and tells him to protect his daughter, who is having A Terrible Day. A demon is involved so Constantine, Chas, and an angel named must work together to protect her.
302. Haunted (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Thea Queen, Laurel Lance, Quentin Lance, John Diggle, Constantine, Sara Lance, Damian Darkh)
There's been a massive time jump since the last time we saw Team Arrow. Oliver is himself again, and running for mayor. Thanks to the Lazarus Pits, Sara is alive again...sort of, and Oliver needs to figure out a way to stop the resurrected Sara from killing Thea, who, you know, killed her first. Plus, we meet Damian Darkh. Back on the island, Oliver has a team-up with Constantine.
303. The Man Who Saved Central City (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramone, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Martin Stein, Henry Allen, Ronnie Raymond, David Singh, Jay Garrick, Zoom)
Six months after the singularity that ended last season, Central City's mayor wants to give The Flash the key to the city, but everyone is still reeling from the betrayals and deaths from last season to think properly.
304. Flash of Two Worlds (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramone, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Martin Stein, Patty Spivot, Jay Garrick, David Singh, Zoom, Francine West, Harrison Wells II)
Jay Garrick, The Flash from another Earth, arrives and wants to help Barry catch the criminals that Zoom is bringing through breaches between the Earths. Team Flash is justifiably cautious, given the whole Harrison Wells situation.
305. A Feast Of Friends (Constantine)
(Constantine, Zed, Manny)
A hunger demon is accidentally released when one of Constantine's Newcastle friends gets caught by US customs.
306. Scarification (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepot, Butch Gilzean, Bridgit Pike, Theo Galavan, Harvey Bullock, Nathaniel Barnes, Leslie Thompkins, Edward Nygma, Kristen Kringle, Tabitha Galavan)
When GCPD targets The Penguin's empire, he reigns down revenge in fire.
307. Mommy's Little Monster (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Theo Galavan, Edward Nygma, Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepot, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Butch Gilzean, Silver St. Cloud, Harvey Bullock, Nathaniel Barnes, Leslie Thompkins, Tabitha Galavan, Victor Zsasz)
The new mayor of Gotham has quickly turned his powerful friends into powerful enemies. Butch finally has his freedom, Edward Nygma works on self-confidence, Selina and Silver St. Cloud meet, and The Penguin's target of revenge changes significantly.
308. The Fury Of Firestorm (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramone, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Martin Stein, Jefferson Jackson, Patty Spivot, Christine McGee, Francine West, King Shark, Harrison Wells II)
In order to save Professor Stein, Team Flash must find a new partner compatible with the Firestorm Matrix. Plus, Iris's mom is back in town, and nobody is happy about it.
309. Danse Vaudou (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Zed, Manny, Jim Corrigan, Papa Midnite)
In attempting to help people get closure with dead relatives, Papa Midnite accidentally resurrects ghosts who are wreaking havoc in New Orleans. Chas, Zed, and Constantine team up with Jim Corrigan to figure out how to help the ghosts find peace.
310. Enter Zoom (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Patty Spivot, Harrison Wells II, Linda Park II, Linda Park)
Dr. Light, one of the metahumans that Zoom brought through the breach, happens to be the Earth 2 counterpart of one of Iris's coworkers.
311. Legends Of Yesterday (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Harrison Wells II, Thea Queen, Kendra Saunders, Malcolm Merlyn, Vandal Savage, Patty Spivot, Carter Hall, Damian Darkh, Jay Garrick, Joe West, Samantha Clayton)
Cisco's new girlfriend is the target of the latest villain of the week, leading Team Flash to seek out Team Arrow for protection.
312. Legends Of Today (Arrow)
(Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Cisco Ramon, Kendra Saunders, Carter Hall, Malcolm Merlyn, Vandal Savage, Samantha Clayton, Caitlin Snow, Thea Queen, John Diggle, Laurel Lance)
Vandal Savage won't rest until he gets his hands on Hawkman and Hawkgirl, the two least interesting characters in the DC Superhero universe. Oh, and Oliver finally finds out about his son. Then....time shenanigans!
313 & 314. Legends Of Tomorrow (Legends)
(Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, Mick Rory, Leonard Snart, Martin Stein, Jackson Jefferson, Vandal Savage, Rip Hunter, Kendra Saunders, Carter Hall, Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, Gideon)
A rogue Time Master is out to stop Vandal Savage from destroying the world, and he assembles a team of eight characters from The Flash and Arrow to travel through time to help him. Oh, and for some reason their ship is the same computer system that Harrison Wells The First had.
315. Rage Of Caliban (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Manny)
John and Chas go on a road trip that involves a series of muders possibly involving child abuse, which, naturally, leads to some of their own childhood traumas.
317. Blessed Are The Damned (Constantine)
(Constantine, Zed, Manny, Eddie, Sara Lance, Michael)
After his successful (?) road trip with Chaz, John teams up with Zed again to investigate a snake cul with a resurrected leader. We also get our first taste that this is part of the larger universe as Black Canary appears.
318. Fail Safe (Legends)
(Sara Lance, Cisco Ramon, Leonard Snart, Ray Palmer, Mick Rory, Martin Stein, Jefferson Jackson, Ray Palmer, Kendra Saunders, Rip Hunter, Vandal Savage)
It's a prison break episode! And not just because Captain Cold and Heatwave are in it. This is a fun Bringing The Team Together episode.
319 & 320. Saint Of Last Resorts (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Zed, Eddie, Michael)
More fallout from the Newcastle Exorcism threatens Constantine's friends and associates. Team Constantine decides to reveal some truths about themselves in order to gain each others' trusts.
321. Son Of Gotham (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Leslie Thompins, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepott, Edward Nygma, Silver St Cloud, Tabitha Galavan, Theo Galavan, Harvey Dent, Nathaniel Barnes, Aubrey James, Father Creal)
Blackgate Penitentiary is just as much of a revolving door for criminals as Arkham Asylum. The Order Of Saint Dumas turns out to be a family affair that will engulf Gotham and threaten Bruce Wayne and many of those around him.
322. Star City 2049 (Legends)
(Olvier Queen, Sara Lance, Leonard Snart, Ray Palmer, Mick Rory, Conor Hawke, Martin Stein, Jefferson Jackson, Ray Palmer, Kendra Saunders, Rip Hunter, Deathstroke)
The Arrowverse future is very similar and highly related to the main time period in the show. So we see a lot of mirroring to previous storylines and a ton of drama involving the next generation dealing with the previous generations baggage. But, unlike in Arrow, instead of being bleak and shadowy, it's fun and bright.
323. Angels & Ministers Of Grace (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Zed, Manny, Linda, Jim Corrigan)
Zed has a tumor that might be responsible for her visions. Manny and Constantine switch up their techniques in hopes of impeding some of the impending doom.
324. Worse Than A Crime (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Leslie Thompins, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepott, Edward Nygma, Barbara Kean, Lucius Fox, Silver St Cloud, Tabitha Galavan, Theo Galavan, Nathaniel Barnes, Aubrey James, Father Creal, Ethel Peabody, Victor Fries)
(Constantine, Chas, Manny, Astra, Ritchie Simpson)
One of Constantine's dead old friends contacts him and tells him to protect his daughter, who is having A Terrible Day. A demon is involved so Constantine, Chas, and an angel named must work together to protect her.
302. Haunted (Arrow)
(Oliver Queen, Thea Queen, Laurel Lance, Quentin Lance, John Diggle, Constantine, Sara Lance, Damian Darkh)
There's been a massive time jump since the last time we saw Team Arrow. Oliver is himself again, and running for mayor. Thanks to the Lazarus Pits, Sara is alive again...sort of, and Oliver needs to figure out a way to stop the resurrected Sara from killing Thea, who, you know, killed her first. Plus, we meet Damian Darkh. Back on the island, Oliver has a team-up with Constantine.
303. The Man Who Saved Central City (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramone, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Martin Stein, Henry Allen, Ronnie Raymond, David Singh, Jay Garrick, Zoom)
Six months after the singularity that ended last season, Central City's mayor wants to give The Flash the key to the city, but everyone is still reeling from the betrayals and deaths from last season to think properly.
304. Flash of Two Worlds (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramone, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Martin Stein, Patty Spivot, Jay Garrick, David Singh, Zoom, Francine West, Harrison Wells II)
Jay Garrick, The Flash from another Earth, arrives and wants to help Barry catch the criminals that Zoom is bringing through breaches between the Earths. Team Flash is justifiably cautious, given the whole Harrison Wells situation.
305. A Feast Of Friends (Constantine)
(Constantine, Zed, Manny)
A hunger demon is accidentally released when one of Constantine's Newcastle friends gets caught by US customs.
306. Scarification (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepot, Butch Gilzean, Bridgit Pike, Theo Galavan, Harvey Bullock, Nathaniel Barnes, Leslie Thompkins, Edward Nygma, Kristen Kringle, Tabitha Galavan)
When GCPD targets The Penguin's empire, he reigns down revenge in fire.
307. Mommy's Little Monster (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Theo Galavan, Edward Nygma, Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepot, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Butch Gilzean, Silver St. Cloud, Harvey Bullock, Nathaniel Barnes, Leslie Thompkins, Tabitha Galavan, Victor Zsasz)
The new mayor of Gotham has quickly turned his powerful friends into powerful enemies. Butch finally has his freedom, Edward Nygma works on self-confidence, Selina and Silver St. Cloud meet, and The Penguin's target of revenge changes significantly.
308. The Fury Of Firestorm (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramone, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Martin Stein, Jefferson Jackson, Patty Spivot, Christine McGee, Francine West, King Shark, Harrison Wells II)
In order to save Professor Stein, Team Flash must find a new partner compatible with the Firestorm Matrix. Plus, Iris's mom is back in town, and nobody is happy about it.
309. Danse Vaudou (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Zed, Manny, Jim Corrigan, Papa Midnite)
In attempting to help people get closure with dead relatives, Papa Midnite accidentally resurrects ghosts who are wreaking havoc in New Orleans. Chas, Zed, and Constantine team up with Jim Corrigan to figure out how to help the ghosts find peace.
310. Enter Zoom (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Patty Spivot, Harrison Wells II, Linda Park II, Linda Park)
Dr. Light, one of the metahumans that Zoom brought through the breach, happens to be the Earth 2 counterpart of one of Iris's coworkers.
311. Legends Of Yesterday (Flash)
(Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Harrison Wells II, Thea Queen, Kendra Saunders, Malcolm Merlyn, Vandal Savage, Patty Spivot, Carter Hall, Damian Darkh, Jay Garrick, Joe West, Samantha Clayton)
Cisco's new girlfriend is the target of the latest villain of the week, leading Team Flash to seek out Team Arrow for protection.
312. Legends Of Today (Arrow)
(Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Cisco Ramon, Kendra Saunders, Carter Hall, Malcolm Merlyn, Vandal Savage, Samantha Clayton, Caitlin Snow, Thea Queen, John Diggle, Laurel Lance)
Vandal Savage won't rest until he gets his hands on Hawkman and Hawkgirl, the two least interesting characters in the DC Superhero universe. Oh, and Oliver finally finds out about his son. Then....time shenanigans!
313 & 314. Legends Of Tomorrow (Legends)
(Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, Mick Rory, Leonard Snart, Martin Stein, Jackson Jefferson, Vandal Savage, Rip Hunter, Kendra Saunders, Carter Hall, Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, Gideon)
A rogue Time Master is out to stop Vandal Savage from destroying the world, and he assembles a team of eight characters from The Flash and Arrow to travel through time to help him. Oh, and for some reason their ship is the same computer system that Harrison Wells The First had.
315. Rage Of Caliban (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Manny)
John and Chas go on a road trip that involves a series of muders possibly involving child abuse, which, naturally, leads to some of their own childhood traumas.
317. Blessed Are The Damned (Constantine)
(Constantine, Zed, Manny, Eddie, Sara Lance, Michael)
After his successful (?) road trip with Chaz, John teams up with Zed again to investigate a snake cul with a resurrected leader. We also get our first taste that this is part of the larger universe as Black Canary appears.
318. Fail Safe (Legends)
(Sara Lance, Cisco Ramon, Leonard Snart, Ray Palmer, Mick Rory, Martin Stein, Jefferson Jackson, Ray Palmer, Kendra Saunders, Rip Hunter, Vandal Savage)
It's a prison break episode! And not just because Captain Cold and Heatwave are in it. This is a fun Bringing The Team Together episode.
319 & 320. Saint Of Last Resorts (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Zed, Eddie, Michael)
More fallout from the Newcastle Exorcism threatens Constantine's friends and associates. Team Constantine decides to reveal some truths about themselves in order to gain each others' trusts.
321. Son Of Gotham (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Leslie Thompins, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepott, Edward Nygma, Silver St Cloud, Tabitha Galavan, Theo Galavan, Harvey Dent, Nathaniel Barnes, Aubrey James, Father Creal)
Blackgate Penitentiary is just as much of a revolving door for criminals as Arkham Asylum. The Order Of Saint Dumas turns out to be a family affair that will engulf Gotham and threaten Bruce Wayne and many of those around him.
322. Star City 2049 (Legends)
(Olvier Queen, Sara Lance, Leonard Snart, Ray Palmer, Mick Rory, Conor Hawke, Martin Stein, Jefferson Jackson, Ray Palmer, Kendra Saunders, Rip Hunter, Deathstroke)
The Arrowverse future is very similar and highly related to the main time period in the show. So we see a lot of mirroring to previous storylines and a ton of drama involving the next generation dealing with the previous generations baggage. But, unlike in Arrow, instead of being bleak and shadowy, it's fun and bright.
323. Angels & Ministers Of Grace (Constantine)
(Constantine, Chas, Zed, Manny, Linda, Jim Corrigan)
Zed has a tumor that might be responsible for her visions. Manny and Constantine switch up their techniques in hopes of impeding some of the impending doom.
324. Worse Than A Crime (Gotham)
(Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Leslie Thompins, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepott, Edward Nygma, Barbara Kean, Lucius Fox, Silver St Cloud, Tabitha Galavan, Theo Galavan, Nathaniel Barnes, Aubrey James, Father Creal, Ethel Peabody, Victor Fries)
I'm a Marvel fan. I came to comics through the X-Men. And while I did enjoy the Tim Burton Batman movies, it wasn't until the X-Men movies that I loved comic movies, and it wasn't until the Marvel Cinematic Universe that I Loved comic movies. Yea, I liked the first two Nolan Batmans, but that's pretty much it. The DC Cinematic Universe is not for me. And that's ok. I have loved several seasons of their cartoon properties. Teen Titans was amazing. Batman The Animated Series was wildly inconsistent, but the good epiodes were years beyond other comics-based cartoons. Batman: The Brave & The Bold was a blast. Both incarnations of The Justice League, and the Young Justice cartoons are about as perfect as you can get. But the live action shows?
Obviously the 1966 Batman show was iconic and necessary, even if it's complete cheese. The original run of The Flash was ... fine. Birds Of Prey was watchable. And then came a new wave of DC shows. For the most part, pretty good. But not all good.
It would take 510 hours (over 21 days) of no meal or bathroom breaks to watch through all of the Arrowverse, and that's not including the supplementary series that are going to creep their way in here (Gotham, the 1990s Flash, Birds Of Prey, Smallville, Lois & Clark, Superboy, Wonder Woman, the 1966 Batman, and more). You shouldn't waste that much time. Some of it is really, really terrible.
This particular reimagining is how I would string together these shows to form a fun, watchable universe. Usually, I do ten episode seasons of condensed storytelling, but I'm going to go for twenty-four episode seasons because that's how long these stories seem to need in a season. The reimagining is centered on The Flash. It's my favorite of the series. I like its tone, its characters, and much of the early stories. But in order to get to The Flash, we must start with Shirtless Arrow's origin.
I couldn't get into Arrow, originally, referring to it as Shirtless Millionaire Frat Boy Escapes Death Island To Return To Grimy City Home And Play Even More Melodramatic Batman. It's still often too melodramatic for me, but there are some great episodes sprinkled throughout its run, even ones that don't involve Barry Allen at all.
So let's spend this season meeting Oliver Queen and Team Arrow, and then Barry Allen and Team Flash, and see how well the teams work together.
Obviously the 1966 Batman show was iconic and necessary, even if it's complete cheese. The original run of The Flash was ... fine. Birds Of Prey was watchable. And then came a new wave of DC shows. For the most part, pretty good. But not all good.
It would take 510 hours (over 21 days) of no meal or bathroom breaks to watch through all of the Arrowverse, and that's not including the supplementary series that are going to creep their way in here (Gotham, the 1990s Flash, Birds Of Prey, Smallville, Lois & Clark, Superboy, Wonder Woman, the 1966 Batman, and more). You shouldn't waste that much time. Some of it is really, really terrible.
This particular reimagining is how I would string together these shows to form a fun, watchable universe. Usually, I do ten episode seasons of condensed storytelling, but I'm going to go for twenty-four episode seasons because that's how long these stories seem to need in a season. The reimagining is centered on The Flash. It's my favorite of the series. I like its tone, its characters, and much of the early stories. But in order to get to The Flash, we must start with Shirtless Arrow's origin.
I couldn't get into Arrow, originally, referring to it as Shirtless Millionaire Frat Boy Escapes Death Island To Return To Grimy City Home And Play Even More Melodramatic Batman. It's still often too melodramatic for me, but there are some great episodes sprinkled throughout its run, even ones that don't involve Barry Allen at all.
So let's spend this season meeting Oliver Queen and Team Arrow, and then Barry Allen and Team Flash, and see how well the teams work together.
Season 1:
The Brave & The Bold
101. Arrow
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Tommy Merlyn, Laurel Lance, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Quentin Lance, Sara Lance)
A millionaire playboy returns after years of being marooned on an island and begins a vigilante campaign against the men who are destroying his city. Amongst the baggage he returns to are an ex-girlfriend whose sister he slept with and who died in the shipwreck that marooned him, a bodyguard he's trying to evade, a sister whose grief turned into a drug problem, and a very complicated mother.
102. The Odyssey
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Yao Fei, Fyers, Shado)
We fast forward nearly half a season. Diggle is now Oliver's co-conspirator, and we meet the very helpful Felicity Smoak after Oliver gets shot by ... checks notes ... his mother. We also see flashbacks to Oliver's time on the island where he's training with Slade Wilson to be a soldier.
103. Darkness On The Edge Of Town
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Tommy Merlyn, Quentin Lance, Slade Wilson, Yao Fei, Fyers, Shado, Malcolm Merlyn, Roy Harper)
The big arc of the season surrounds Oliver's mother being involved in a massively evil scheme to destroy the poor part of town: The Glades. Her partner is Tommy's more evil father. We also meet Thea's boyfriend from The Glades, a guy who idolizes her brother's alter ego. Tons of CW family melodrama in this storyline.
104. Sacrifice
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Tommy Merlyn, Slade Wilson, Fyers, Shado, Malcolm Merlyn, Roy Harper)
The night of Merlyn's plans, every character in the current timeline must work in their own way to stop The Glades from being destroyed. In the island storyline, Oliver must stop Fyers from destroying an airplane and framing Yao Fei for its destruction.
105. The Scientist
(Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Roy Harper, Slade Wilson, Shado, Sebastian Blood, Malcolm Merlyn, Sara Lance)
Oliver Queen has now been a vigilante for a while, he has mucho mucho baggage, and is in the midst of massive plot shenanigans with Slade Wilson and Sebastian Blood when a meek little scientist named Barry Allen shows up. Back during the island days, it turns out Sarah Lance survived the shipwreck and is just as much a badass as Oliver Queen.
106. Three Ghosts
(Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Roy Harper, Slade Wilson, Shado, Sebastian Blood, Tommy Merlyn, Sara Lance, Ivo)
Barry joins Team Arrow in his quest to stop Slade Wilson and Sebastian Blood. During the island days, Oliver is given an impossible choice by Ivo.
107. Particle Accelerator
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Oliver Queen, Henry Allen, Eddie Thawne, David Singh, Clyde Mardon)
The actual pilot for The Flash gives us all the Barry Allen backstory we need to know. Oh sure, we'll get it several more times over the series, but all the important stuff is here. Family trauma, new family, love life, superhero origin. All tightly packed in an episode where Arrow stops by to check in on Barry. Isn't that sweet?
108. Going Rogue
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Leonard Snart, Felicity Smoak, Eddie Thawne, David Singh)
See? Rogues! And this episode introduces a doozy! Captain Cold is pure fun. He's great in the modern comics, and he's wonderful here. He's just the kind of villain you wish had his own show. Oh well, we can dream. Also, The Flash is refererred to as The Streak. Huh.
109. The Promise
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Quentin Lance, Slade Wilson, Roy Harper, Shado, Sarah Lance, Sebastian Blood, Ivo)
Much of this episode deals with Oliver's time in the island because, uh-oh, Slade Wilson is still alive and in Starling City, offering to support Moira Queen's run for mayor against Sebastian Blood.
110. Deathstroke
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Laurel Lance, Roy Harper, Shado, Sarah Lance, Sebastian Blood, Ivo)
When Slade kidnaps Thea in the midst of an election, all of Oliver's secrets start to spill out to various friends and loved ones, and nobody takes them very well.
111. Plastique
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, David Singh, Wade Elling)
Barry Allen was adopted by Joe West after Allen's mother was murdered. This makes Iris West sort of his sister. She's a journalist writing about The Streak (we're still calling him that? ok). Everyone wants her to stop. Meanwhile this episode's rogue of the week can blow shit up just by touching it. Of course the military wants a piece of her.
112. Flash Is Born
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, David Singh, Tony Woodward)
Finally. Am I right? Streak no more. Barry Allen is The Flash. The rogue of the week is Girder, who is as silly as his name sounds. But there are some cool developments with Eddie, Joe, and Barry in this episode.
113. Seeing Red
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Laurel Lance, Roy Harper, Sebastian Blood, Samantha Clayton, Sin)
Slade Wilson goes full rampaging villain. Roy, infected with Mirakiru, is hunting Team Arrow, and while Sarah wants to put him down, the rest of the team struggles to take him alive.
114. Streets Of Fire
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Laurel Lance, Sara Lance, Quentin Lance, Roy Harper, Malcolm Merlyn, Sebastian Blood, Sin)
The city is under seige by Slade's army of Mirakiru-infused Deathstroke masked men. The police, Team Arrow, and Sebastian Blood must pool their resources to save the city that all of them have failed.
115. Unthinkable
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Laurel Lance, Sara Lance, Quentin Lance, Roy Harper, Malcolm Merlyn, Sebastian Blood, Sin, Amanda Waller, Nyssa Al Ghul)
The League Of Assassins arrives in Starling City to help distribute the Mirakiru cure, while Amanda Waller and ARGUS have blocked out any escape from the city. Plus, Thea's reunion with her father doesn't go well.
116. The Calm
(Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Laurel Lance, Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, Quentin Lucas, Roy Harper, Amanda Waller)
As the city recovers from the previous episode's drama, Oliver tries to balance his life as Oliver Queen and Arrow. Felicity meets Ray Palmer and accidentally empowers him to take over Queen Consolidated. Our flashbacks move from the island to Hong Kong, as we start to figure out Amanda Waller (who just sort of started showing up with Argus a few episodes ago) 's identity. Oh, and Barry calls Oliver for some help. (Technically, that scene takes place before we even started The Flash episodes but shhhhh....from now on everything will line up continuity-wise.
117. Flash Vs Arrow
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, John Diggle, Roy Harper, Eddie Thawne, Digger Harkness, Amanda Waller)
Team Arrow needs Team Flash's help to deal with (let me check my notes here, ah yes) Captain Boomerang. A classic Flash rogue. But another rogue with a very silly name shows up and turns The Flash into Public Enemy #1.
118. The Brave & The Bold
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, John Diggle, Roy Harper, Eddie Thawne, Digger Harkness, Amanda Waller, Samantha Clayton)
Evil Flash is a problem, so Team Arrow is going to have to go to Central City to help Team ummm...Flash, I guess? It's fun seeing the different characters invade the tone of the other show.
119. The Man In The Yellow Suit
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, Henry Allen, Ronnie Raymond, Christina McGee)
One of my least favorite parts of The Flash, across TV or comics, is that a good chunk of his rogues are Other People Who Run Fast But In Slightly Different Colored Suits. This episode introduces the first of them, Reverse Flash. If he were the only one, I'd be more forgiving, but this is the beginning of an unfortunate trend. We do get to see the debut of Firestorm, though, and he'll be around for a bit. Sort of.
120. The Climb
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Roy Palmer, Lauren Lance, Quentin Lance, Ray Harper, Malcolm Merlyn, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro)
The League of Assassins comes to Star City to avenge a death from an earlier episode, setting up a showdown between Oliver Queen (who's being framed for the death) and R'as Al Ghul. Also, Thea's relationship with her father may be more complicated than they were in previous episodes.
121. Revenge Of The Rogues
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Leonard Snart, Mick Rory, Eddie Thawne, David Singh)
Get our your popcorn. The Reverse Flash story continues to be interesting, but Captain Cold's return, and his first teamup with Heatwave is the beginning of one of the most pure, beautiful villain friendships in television history. Oh yea, and Barry has more weird love feelings blah blah blah.
122. Nanda Parbat
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Roy Palmer, Lauren Lance, Ray Harper, Malcolm Merlyn, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro )
Who will lead The League Of Assassins if anything happens to R'as Al Ghul? Why is Laurel wearing her sister's Black Canary outfit? Will Oliver and John be taken down The League? Lots of family drama in this episode. Must be a CW show.
123. Crazy For You
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Martin Stein, Ronnie Raymond, Eddie Thawne, Wade Elling, Linda Park, Henry Allen)
The villain of the week is Peek-a-Boo, a transporter. While Team Flash tries to figure out how to stop her, Barry tries to get over his feelings for Iris by dating her coworker, Linda.
124. The Nuclear Man
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Martin Stein, Ronnie Raymond, Eddie Thawne, Wade Elling, Linda Park)
Firestorm proves that Barry isn't the only one affected by the particle accelerator that didn't turn out to be a villain. But can Team Flash keep him from accidentally destroying the city? And is Barry actually The Man In The Yellow Suit?
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Tommy Merlyn, Laurel Lance, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Quentin Lance, Sara Lance)
A millionaire playboy returns after years of being marooned on an island and begins a vigilante campaign against the men who are destroying his city. Amongst the baggage he returns to are an ex-girlfriend whose sister he slept with and who died in the shipwreck that marooned him, a bodyguard he's trying to evade, a sister whose grief turned into a drug problem, and a very complicated mother.
102. The Odyssey
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Yao Fei, Fyers, Shado)
We fast forward nearly half a season. Diggle is now Oliver's co-conspirator, and we meet the very helpful Felicity Smoak after Oliver gets shot by ... checks notes ... his mother. We also see flashbacks to Oliver's time on the island where he's training with Slade Wilson to be a soldier.
103. Darkness On The Edge Of Town
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Tommy Merlyn, Quentin Lance, Slade Wilson, Yao Fei, Fyers, Shado, Malcolm Merlyn, Roy Harper)
The big arc of the season surrounds Oliver's mother being involved in a massively evil scheme to destroy the poor part of town: The Glades. Her partner is Tommy's more evil father. We also meet Thea's boyfriend from The Glades, a guy who idolizes her brother's alter ego. Tons of CW family melodrama in this storyline.
104. Sacrifice
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Tommy Merlyn, Slade Wilson, Fyers, Shado, Malcolm Merlyn, Roy Harper)
The night of Merlyn's plans, every character in the current timeline must work in their own way to stop The Glades from being destroyed. In the island storyline, Oliver must stop Fyers from destroying an airplane and framing Yao Fei for its destruction.
105. The Scientist
(Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Roy Harper, Slade Wilson, Shado, Sebastian Blood, Malcolm Merlyn, Sara Lance)
Oliver Queen has now been a vigilante for a while, he has mucho mucho baggage, and is in the midst of massive plot shenanigans with Slade Wilson and Sebastian Blood when a meek little scientist named Barry Allen shows up. Back during the island days, it turns out Sarah Lance survived the shipwreck and is just as much a badass as Oliver Queen.
106. Three Ghosts
(Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Roy Harper, Slade Wilson, Shado, Sebastian Blood, Tommy Merlyn, Sara Lance, Ivo)
Barry joins Team Arrow in his quest to stop Slade Wilson and Sebastian Blood. During the island days, Oliver is given an impossible choice by Ivo.
107. Particle Accelerator
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Oliver Queen, Henry Allen, Eddie Thawne, David Singh, Clyde Mardon)
The actual pilot for The Flash gives us all the Barry Allen backstory we need to know. Oh sure, we'll get it several more times over the series, but all the important stuff is here. Family trauma, new family, love life, superhero origin. All tightly packed in an episode where Arrow stops by to check in on Barry. Isn't that sweet?
108. Going Rogue
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Leonard Snart, Felicity Smoak, Eddie Thawne, David Singh)
See? Rogues! And this episode introduces a doozy! Captain Cold is pure fun. He's great in the modern comics, and he's wonderful here. He's just the kind of villain you wish had his own show. Oh well, we can dream. Also, The Flash is refererred to as The Streak. Huh.
109. The Promise
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Quentin Lance, Slade Wilson, Roy Harper, Shado, Sarah Lance, Sebastian Blood, Ivo)
Much of this episode deals with Oliver's time in the island because, uh-oh, Slade Wilson is still alive and in Starling City, offering to support Moira Queen's run for mayor against Sebastian Blood.
110. Deathstroke
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Laurel Lance, Roy Harper, Shado, Sarah Lance, Sebastian Blood, Ivo)
When Slade kidnaps Thea in the midst of an election, all of Oliver's secrets start to spill out to various friends and loved ones, and nobody takes them very well.
111. Plastique
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, David Singh, Wade Elling)
Barry Allen was adopted by Joe West after Allen's mother was murdered. This makes Iris West sort of his sister. She's a journalist writing about The Streak (we're still calling him that? ok). Everyone wants her to stop. Meanwhile this episode's rogue of the week can blow shit up just by touching it. Of course the military wants a piece of her.
112. Flash Is Born
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, David Singh, Tony Woodward)
Finally. Am I right? Streak no more. Barry Allen is The Flash. The rogue of the week is Girder, who is as silly as his name sounds. But there are some cool developments with Eddie, Joe, and Barry in this episode.
113. Seeing Red
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Moira Queen, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Laurel Lance, Roy Harper, Sebastian Blood, Samantha Clayton, Sin)
Slade Wilson goes full rampaging villain. Roy, infected with Mirakiru, is hunting Team Arrow, and while Sarah wants to put him down, the rest of the team struggles to take him alive.
114. Streets Of Fire
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Laurel Lance, Sara Lance, Quentin Lance, Roy Harper, Malcolm Merlyn, Sebastian Blood, Sin)
The city is under seige by Slade's army of Mirakiru-infused Deathstroke masked men. The police, Team Arrow, and Sebastian Blood must pool their resources to save the city that all of them have failed.
115. Unthinkable
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Slade Wilson, Laurel Lance, Sara Lance, Quentin Lance, Roy Harper, Malcolm Merlyn, Sebastian Blood, Sin, Amanda Waller, Nyssa Al Ghul)
The League Of Assassins arrives in Starling City to help distribute the Mirakiru cure, while Amanda Waller and ARGUS have blocked out any escape from the city. Plus, Thea's reunion with her father doesn't go well.
116. The Calm
(Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Laurel Lance, Sara Lance, Ray Palmer, Quentin Lucas, Roy Harper, Amanda Waller)
As the city recovers from the previous episode's drama, Oliver tries to balance his life as Oliver Queen and Arrow. Felicity meets Ray Palmer and accidentally empowers him to take over Queen Consolidated. Our flashbacks move from the island to Hong Kong, as we start to figure out Amanda Waller (who just sort of started showing up with Argus a few episodes ago) 's identity. Oh, and Barry calls Oliver for some help. (Technically, that scene takes place before we even started The Flash episodes but shhhhh....from now on everything will line up continuity-wise.
117. Flash Vs Arrow
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, John Diggle, Roy Harper, Eddie Thawne, Digger Harkness, Amanda Waller)
Team Arrow needs Team Flash's help to deal with (let me check my notes here, ah yes) Captain Boomerang. A classic Flash rogue. But another rogue with a very silly name shows up and turns The Flash into Public Enemy #1.
118. The Brave & The Bold
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, John Diggle, Roy Harper, Eddie Thawne, Digger Harkness, Amanda Waller, Samantha Clayton)
Evil Flash is a problem, so Team Arrow is going to have to go to Central City to help Team ummm...Flash, I guess? It's fun seeing the different characters invade the tone of the other show.
119. The Man In The Yellow Suit
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Eddie Thawne, Henry Allen, Ronnie Raymond, Christina McGee)
One of my least favorite parts of The Flash, across TV or comics, is that a good chunk of his rogues are Other People Who Run Fast But In Slightly Different Colored Suits. This episode introduces the first of them, Reverse Flash. If he were the only one, I'd be more forgiving, but this is the beginning of an unfortunate trend. We do get to see the debut of Firestorm, though, and he'll be around for a bit. Sort of.
120. The Climb
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Roy Palmer, Lauren Lance, Quentin Lance, Ray Harper, Malcolm Merlyn, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro)
The League of Assassins comes to Star City to avenge a death from an earlier episode, setting up a showdown between Oliver Queen (who's being framed for the death) and R'as Al Ghul. Also, Thea's relationship with her father may be more complicated than they were in previous episodes.
121. Revenge Of The Rogues
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Leonard Snart, Mick Rory, Eddie Thawne, David Singh)
Get our your popcorn. The Reverse Flash story continues to be interesting, but Captain Cold's return, and his first teamup with Heatwave is the beginning of one of the most pure, beautiful villain friendships in television history. Oh yea, and Barry has more weird love feelings blah blah blah.
122. Nanda Parbat
(Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Roy Palmer, Lauren Lance, Ray Harper, Malcolm Merlyn, R'as Al Ghul, Nyssa Al Ghul, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro )
Who will lead The League Of Assassins if anything happens to R'as Al Ghul? Why is Laurel wearing her sister's Black Canary outfit? Will Oliver and John be taken down The League? Lots of family drama in this episode. Must be a CW show.
123. Crazy For You
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Martin Stein, Ronnie Raymond, Eddie Thawne, Wade Elling, Linda Park, Henry Allen)
The villain of the week is Peek-a-Boo, a transporter. While Team Flash tries to figure out how to stop her, Barry tries to get over his feelings for Iris by dating her coworker, Linda.
124. The Nuclear Man
(Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West, Harrison Wells 1, Martin Stein, Ronnie Raymond, Eddie Thawne, Wade Elling, Linda Park)
Firestorm proves that Barry isn't the only one affected by the particle accelerator that didn't turn out to be a villain. But can Team Flash keep him from accidentally destroying the city? And is Barry actually The Man In The Yellow Suit?
Mattel's 1980s toy shilling cartoon was far from Ahead Of Its Time in the writing department. Despite an amazing 80s voice cast, many of the episodes were pretty schlocky, even for a kid's show. I didn't have many fond memories of it despite having a complete set of the action figures, castles, and vehicles when I was a kid.
Bored at work in 2022, I decided to listen to the Kevin Smith continuation of the story while I did paperwork and data entry. I was surprised by how progressive and entertaining it was. I decided I should check out the old series. It, uhh...it didn't endear me.
But there are some episodes that feed into the 2021 series that are not only watchable but entertaining in a nostalgic way.
I have made a four season series leading up to the Kevin Smith's series, including ten episodes per season of the 1983 He-Man and the 1985 She-Ra series that were historically important to the new series but also fun to watch.
The first season introduces you to the characters and sets up the journey to the 21st century cartoon. The animation is dated, the writing is...fine. The surprise to me is that even the 80s series is surprisingly progressive, at least when it comes to gender representation and alternatives to violence. One of the recurring themes is that heroes and villains need to work together/keep each other safe from physical harm.
Bored at work in 2022, I decided to listen to the Kevin Smith continuation of the story while I did paperwork and data entry. I was surprised by how progressive and entertaining it was. I decided I should check out the old series. It, uhh...it didn't endear me.
But there are some episodes that feed into the 2021 series that are not only watchable but entertaining in a nostalgic way.
I have made a four season series leading up to the Kevin Smith's series, including ten episodes per season of the 1983 He-Man and the 1985 She-Ra series that were historically important to the new series but also fun to watch.
The first season introduces you to the characters and sets up the journey to the 21st century cartoon. The animation is dated, the writing is...fine. The surprise to me is that even the 80s series is surprisingly progressive, at least when it comes to gender representation and alternatives to violence. One of the recurring themes is that heroes and villains need to work together/keep each other safe from physical harm.
Season One:
The Power Of Grayskull
101. Teela's Quest
A really cool introduction to the good guys. We first see how Eternia is connected to Earth, and then we follow Teela as she searches for her birth mother. We also meet Orko, The Sorceress, and Merman. And we see that He-Man is a true hero, not just a violent barbarian.
102. The Diamond Ray Of Disappearance
Meet the rogues gallery as Skeletor summons all of his henches to Snake Mountain in order to organize an attack on The Royal Palace and capture Castle Grayskull. Plus, meet the never-fleshed-out tertiary heroes whose action figures you only got if you were super whiney or your parents were super rich.
103. Creatures From The Tar-Swamp
So far, Orko has been the clumsy, somewhat annoying comic relief. In this episode we learn how the magician saved Prince Adam and Cringer as a child (and a kitten). You'll be shocked to know that this episode also features Skeletor trying to conquer Castle Grayskull.
104. Dawn Of Dragoon
More Orko! A female, uhm, Orko arrives and guides him back to his home world where he battles a half-man half-dragon and gets back in touch with his magical powers. The Sorceress gives He-Man some Alice In Wonderland style magic to help bring Orko back home.
105. The Witch and The Warrior
He-Man and Teela journey to a desert to protect a magic fountain from the evil Kothos. Then, jealous Skeletor decides he should take the fountain instead of Kothos, and sends Evil-Lyn and Clawful to interfere.
106. Prince Adam No More
Skeletor fires Beast-Man for incompetence, and the King of Eternia reluctantly agrees to be guarded by Prince Adam instead of He-Man. The two stories intersect with disastrous results.
107. The Search
He-Man must stop Skeletor as he drills to the center of Eternia in order to something something power something something Castle Grayskull.
108. Evilseed
The...gnome?..dwarf..? farmers of Eternia plant an invasive vine that cracks a damn and floods a fertile crescent and then threatens to destroy the palace. The only way to beat the plants may be to team up with a certain skeletal themed villain destined to betray them.
109. The Taking Of Grayskull
It's Orko's birthday and nobody is paying attention to him. But while their backs are turned on him, they're also turned on Grayskull which, along with He-Man's sword, totally disappears. Sadly, this is the first episode where not one but two strong female characters can't handle the danger themselves and need to be rescued by He-Man.
110. The Problem With Power
Skeletor's new plan to build a giant portal isn't just evil, it's also not going to pass an OSHA inspection. And when He-Man acts first and thinks later, he causes collateral damage causing him to rethink whether he is worthy of the sword of Grayskull.
A really cool introduction to the good guys. We first see how Eternia is connected to Earth, and then we follow Teela as she searches for her birth mother. We also meet Orko, The Sorceress, and Merman. And we see that He-Man is a true hero, not just a violent barbarian.
102. The Diamond Ray Of Disappearance
Meet the rogues gallery as Skeletor summons all of his henches to Snake Mountain in order to organize an attack on The Royal Palace and capture Castle Grayskull. Plus, meet the never-fleshed-out tertiary heroes whose action figures you only got if you were super whiney or your parents were super rich.
103. Creatures From The Tar-Swamp
So far, Orko has been the clumsy, somewhat annoying comic relief. In this episode we learn how the magician saved Prince Adam and Cringer as a child (and a kitten). You'll be shocked to know that this episode also features Skeletor trying to conquer Castle Grayskull.
104. Dawn Of Dragoon
More Orko! A female, uhm, Orko arrives and guides him back to his home world where he battles a half-man half-dragon and gets back in touch with his magical powers. The Sorceress gives He-Man some Alice In Wonderland style magic to help bring Orko back home.
105. The Witch and The Warrior
He-Man and Teela journey to a desert to protect a magic fountain from the evil Kothos. Then, jealous Skeletor decides he should take the fountain instead of Kothos, and sends Evil-Lyn and Clawful to interfere.
106. Prince Adam No More
Skeletor fires Beast-Man for incompetence, and the King of Eternia reluctantly agrees to be guarded by Prince Adam instead of He-Man. The two stories intersect with disastrous results.
107. The Search
He-Man must stop Skeletor as he drills to the center of Eternia in order to something something power something something Castle Grayskull.
108. Evilseed
The...gnome?..dwarf..? farmers of Eternia plant an invasive vine that cracks a damn and floods a fertile crescent and then threatens to destroy the palace. The only way to beat the plants may be to team up with a certain skeletal themed villain destined to betray them.
109. The Taking Of Grayskull
It's Orko's birthday and nobody is paying attention to him. But while their backs are turned on him, they're also turned on Grayskull which, along with He-Man's sword, totally disappears. Sadly, this is the first episode where not one but two strong female characters can't handle the danger themselves and need to be rescued by He-Man.
110. The Problem With Power
Skeletor's new plan to build a giant portal isn't just evil, it's also not going to pass an OSHA inspection. And when He-Man acts first and thinks later, he causes collateral damage causing him to rethink whether he is worthy of the sword of Grayskull.
2019 was a banner year for wrestling. There were bleak days on the horizon, but 2019 brought us Evil Daniel Bryan and Kofimania, Becky Two Belts, The Undisputed Era's total dominance over NXT, Impact wrestling started to return to form, ROH sent their wrestlers on a Jericruise, NXT UK introduced us to Gunther (as Walter) and Imperium, we even get an episode of Evolve (the NXT to WWE's NXT), and finally AEW arrives on the scene at the end of the season with a couple of banger first episodes.
Many seasons, I close things out with the end of an era, a retirement, or a Match Of The Ages. This season, we close with a familiar face returning to debut a new character. Sadly, the character never quite lived up to its concept and introduction, but Oh Man did it look like it was going to be fun.
Many seasons, I close things out with the end of an era, a retirement, or a Match Of The Ages. This season, we close with a familiar face returning to debut a new character. Sadly, the character never quite lived up to its concept and introduction, but Oh Man did it look like it was going to be fun.
Season 18:
Worlds Collide
Starring Kofi Kingston, Becky Lynch, Daniel Bryan, Shayna Baszler, Ronda Rousey, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Malakai Black, Jay Briscoe, Asuke, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, Charlotte Flair, Iyo Sky, Tessa Blanchard, Velveteen Dream, Brock Lesnar, Tyler Bate, and Riddle
1801. Everybody Gets The Shamrock Snaps, 2018
Daniel Bryan's triumphant return to wrestling feels pretty triumphant here as he has a pair of matches against AJ Styles, and one against The Beast Incarnate. We also get a 205 Live match, and some long form storytelling in the womens' division that's going to keep going all the way through Wrestlemania!
Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips, Percy Watson, Renee Young, Vic Joseph, Greg Hamilton, Jojo
1. AJ Styles (WWE Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
2. Buddy Murphy (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Mustafa Ali
3. Rhonda Rousey vs Charlotte Flair
4. Brock Lesnar (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ)
5. Charlotte Flair vs Asuke
6. Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ) vs AJ Styles
7. Becky Lynch (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair vs Asuke in a TLC Match
Daniel Bryan's triumphant return to wrestling feels pretty triumphant here as he has a pair of matches against AJ Styles, and one against The Beast Incarnate. We also get a 205 Live match, and some long form storytelling in the womens' division that's going to keep going all the way through Wrestlemania!
Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Nigel McGuinness, Tom Phillips, Percy Watson, Renee Young, Vic Joseph, Greg Hamilton, Jojo
1. AJ Styles (WWE Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
2. Buddy Murphy (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Mustafa Ali
3. Rhonda Rousey vs Charlotte Flair
4. Brock Lesnar (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ)
5. Charlotte Flair vs Asuke
6. Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ) vs AJ Styles
7. Becky Lynch (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair vs Asuke in a TLC Match
1802. More Games, 2018
NXT established a top tier New Guard last season, and they're sticking around. Everyone in this episode is a current, former, or future champion, and it shows.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Kayla Braxton
1. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Kairi Sane
2. Aleister Black (as Malakai Black) vs Johnny Gargano
3. Tomasso Ciampa (NXT Champ) vs Velveteen Dream
4. Mustache Mountain vs Grizzled Young Veterans for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship
5. Undisputed Era vs Pete Dunne, Ricochet & Viking Raiders in a War Games Match
NXT established a top tier New Guard last season, and they're sticking around. Everyone in this episode is a current, former, or future champion, and it shows.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Kayla Braxton
1. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Kairi Sane
2. Aleister Black (as Malakai Black) vs Johnny Gargano
3. Tomasso Ciampa (NXT Champ) vs Velveteen Dream
4. Mustache Mountain vs Grizzled Young Veterans for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship
5. Undisputed Era vs Pete Dunne, Ricochet & Viking Raiders in a War Games Match
1803. Returning Glory, 2018
1. Allie (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Su Yung
2. Ray Fenix vs John Morrison vs Petey Williams vs Taiji Ishimori
3. Tessa Blanchard (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Taya Valkerie
4. LAX vs OGz in a Concrete Jungle Match
5. Austin Aries (Impact Champ) vs John Morrison
1. Allie (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Su Yung
2. Ray Fenix vs John Morrison vs Petey Williams vs Taiji Ishimori
3. Tessa Blanchard (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Taya Valkerie
4. LAX vs OGz in a Concrete Jungle Match
5. Austin Aries (Impact Champ) vs John Morrison
1804. Jericruise: Sea Of Honor, 2018
It's the first ever Jericruise where Ring of Honor wrestlers gathered for a singles tournament on a cruise ship where the winner would face Jay Lethal for the ROH Championship. Followed by Alpha Club (Chris Jericho and the Young Bucks) vs Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, and Marty Scurrl).
Announcers: Colt Cabana, Jay Lethal, SoCal Val
1. Christopher Daniels vs Dalton Castle
2. Marty Scurrl vs Flip Gordon
3. Jay Briscoe vs Cheeseburger
4. Mark Briscoe vs Hangman Page
5. Dalton Castle vs Flip Gordon
6. Mark Briscoe vs Jay Briscoe
7. Jay Briscoe vs Flip Gordon
8. Alpha Club vs Bullet Club
It's the first ever Jericruise where Ring of Honor wrestlers gathered for a singles tournament on a cruise ship where the winner would face Jay Lethal for the ROH Championship. Followed by Alpha Club (Chris Jericho and the Young Bucks) vs Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, and Marty Scurrl).
Announcers: Colt Cabana, Jay Lethal, SoCal Val
1. Christopher Daniels vs Dalton Castle
2. Marty Scurrl vs Flip Gordon
3. Jay Briscoe vs Cheeseburger
4. Mark Briscoe vs Hangman Page
5. Dalton Castle vs Flip Gordon
6. Mark Briscoe vs Jay Briscoe
7. Jay Briscoe vs Flip Gordon
8. Alpha Club vs Bullet Club
1805. Back On Land, 2018
The ROH women's division has never been as entertaining or as visible as Impact or WWE's, so it's nice to see a couple of great matches here. The rest of the card is mostly familiar ROHers who will soon jump ship to AEW, but who will frequently return to the ROH ring.
1. Sumie Sakai (ROH Womens Champ) vs Madison Rayne vs Kelly Klein vs Wendy Choo
2. Jeff Cobb (ROH TV Champ) vs Hangman Page
3. Jonathan Gresham vs Zack Sabre Jr
4. SoCalU (ROH Tag Team Champs) vs Young Bucks vs Briscoes in a Ladder Match
5. Mayu Iwatani (ROH Womens Champ) vs Kelly Klein
6. Jay Lethal (ROH Champ) vs Matt Taven
The ROH women's division has never been as entertaining or as visible as Impact or WWE's, so it's nice to see a couple of great matches here. The rest of the card is mostly familiar ROHers who will soon jump ship to AEW, but who will frequently return to the ROH ring.
1. Sumie Sakai (ROH Womens Champ) vs Madison Rayne vs Kelly Klein vs Wendy Choo
2. Jeff Cobb (ROH TV Champ) vs Hangman Page
3. Jonathan Gresham vs Zack Sabre Jr
4. SoCalU (ROH Tag Team Champs) vs Young Bucks vs Briscoes in a Ladder Match
5. Mayu Iwatani (ROH Womens Champ) vs Kelly Klein
6. Jay Lethal (ROH Champ) vs Matt Taven
1806. Takeover Phoenix, 2019
The Gargano/Ciampa/Black/Undisputed Era...era of NXT continues to be just some of the best wrestling in the industry. Plus, we get our first glimpse at the EST, Bianca Belair.
Announcers: Shawn Michaels, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph, Kayla Braxton
1. Undisputed Era (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Viking Raiders (as the War Raiders)
2. Ricochet (NXT North American Champ) vs Johnny Gargano
3. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Bianca Belair
4. Tomasso Ciampa (NXT Champ) vs Malakai Black
5. DIY & Adam Cole vs Ricochet, Malakai Black & Velveteen Dream
The Gargano/Ciampa/Black/Undisputed Era...era of NXT continues to be just some of the best wrestling in the industry. Plus, we get our first glimpse at the EST, Bianca Belair.
Announcers: Shawn Michaels, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph, Kayla Braxton
1. Undisputed Era (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Viking Raiders (as the War Raiders)
2. Ricochet (NXT North American Champ) vs Johnny Gargano
3. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Bianca Belair
4. Tomasso Ciampa (NXT Champ) vs Malakai Black
5. DIY & Adam Cole vs Ricochet, Malakai Black & Velveteen Dream
1807. The Rumble Lynchpin, 2019
There are a couple of weird wins this season with someone not technically in the Royal Rumble winning the Royal Rumble, then someone technically not in the Money In The Bank match climbing the ladder and becoming the MITB contract holder but we also have some delightful undercard matches here, and two killer women's title matches.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Beth Phoenix, Mike Rome
1. Rey Mysterio & Mustafa Ali vs Andrade & Samoa Joe
2. Rey Mysterio vs Andrade in a 2/3 Falls Match
3. Buddy Murphy (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Akira Tozawa vs Hideo Itami vs Kalisto
4. Asuke (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Becky Lynch
5. Ronda Rhousey (WWE Raw Champ) vs Sasha Banks
5. Womens Royal Rumble
Lacey Evans, Natalya, Mandy Rose, Liv Morgan, Mickie James, Ember Moon, Billie Kay, Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce, Tamina, Xia Li, Sarah Logan, Charlotte Flair, Kairi Sane, Maria Kanellis, Naomi, Candice LeRae, Alicia Fox, Kacy Catanzaro, Zelina Vega, Ruby Riott, Dana Brooke, Io Shirai, Rhea Ripley, Sonya Deville, Alexa Bliss,Bayley, Becky Lynch, Nia Jax, Carmella
There are a couple of weird wins this season with someone not technically in the Royal Rumble winning the Royal Rumble, then someone technically not in the Money In The Bank match climbing the ladder and becoming the MITB contract holder but we also have some delightful undercard matches here, and two killer women's title matches.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Beth Phoenix, Mike Rome
1. Rey Mysterio & Mustafa Ali vs Andrade & Samoa Joe
2. Rey Mysterio vs Andrade in a 2/3 Falls Match
3. Buddy Murphy (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Akira Tozawa vs Hideo Itami vs Kalisto
4. Asuke (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Becky Lynch
5. Ronda Rhousey (WWE Raw Champ) vs Sasha Banks
5. Womens Royal Rumble
Lacey Evans, Natalya, Mandy Rose, Liv Morgan, Mickie James, Ember Moon, Billie Kay, Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce, Tamina, Xia Li, Sarah Logan, Charlotte Flair, Kairi Sane, Maria Kanellis, Naomi, Candice LeRae, Alicia Fox, Kacy Catanzaro, Zelina Vega, Ruby Riott, Dana Brooke, Io Shirai, Rhea Ripley, Sonya Deville, Alexa Bliss,Bayley, Becky Lynch, Nia Jax, Carmella
1808. The Phoenix Rumble, 2019
Both the 2018 Men's and Women's Rumble were tough acts to follow, and neither of them really lived up to their predecessors, but this was still a fun, if somewhat predictable match. We skipped over Shane McMahon winning Best Wrestler In The World because it was a travesty but it did lead to the fun frienemy tag team of Shane McMahon and the Miz who spend time at the top of the division in this episode. Plus Lesnar and Balor have a classic David vs Goliath battle over The Universal Championship, and FTR gets their hands on some WWE gold.
Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, JBL, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Renee Young
1. The Bar (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs Miz & Shane
2. Brock Lesnar (WWE Universal Champ) vs Finn Balor
3. Men's Royal Rumble Match
Elias Raw, Jeff Jarrett Shinsuke Nakamura, Kurt Angle, Big E, Johnny Gargano, Jinder Mahal, Samoa Joe, Curt Hawkins, Seth Rollins, Titus O'Neil, Kofi Kingston, Mustafa Ali, Dean Ambrose, No Way Jose, Drew McIntyre, Xavier Woods, Pete Dunne, Andrade, Apollo Crews, Aleister, Shelton Benjamin, Baron Corbin, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton, Nia Jax
4. Chad Gable & Bobby Roode (WWE Raw Tag Team Champs) vs FTR (as The Revival)
5. Miz & Shane (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs The Usos
1809. Worlds Collide, 2019
A fun cross-promotion tournament between NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live gives us some matches we won't see in any other wrestling organization. The event is kicked off by a fifteen man battle royal to determine the draw for the tournament. I've stripped the tournament down to only the best matches, most of which were in the first round, so you only get one quarterfinal match, and no semifinal matches, but the final match makes the tournament totally worth it.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Vic Joseph, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome, Sarah Schrieber
1. Drew Gulak vs Mark Andrews
2. Keith Lee vs Travis Banks
3. Adam Cole vs Shane Thorne
4. Tyler Bate vs Cedric Alexander
5. Velveteen Dream vs Tony Nese
6. Adam Cole vs Keith Lee
7. Velveteen Dream vs Tyler Bate
A fun cross-promotion tournament between NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live gives us some matches we won't see in any other wrestling organization. The event is kicked off by a fifteen man battle royal to determine the draw for the tournament. I've stripped the tournament down to only the best matches, most of which were in the first round, so you only get one quarterfinal match, and no semifinal matches, but the final match makes the tournament totally worth it.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Vic Joseph, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome, Sarah Schrieber
1. Drew Gulak vs Mark Andrews
2. Keith Lee vs Travis Banks
3. Adam Cole vs Shane Thorne
4. Tyler Bate vs Cedric Alexander
5. Velveteen Dream vs Tony Nese
6. Adam Cole vs Keith Lee
7. Velveteen Dream vs Tyler Bate
1810. Kofi's Gauntlet, 2019
This is kind of a bummer of an episode but it's full of great matches that are all leading to even bigger moments. We reach the expected turn in the Shane & Miz storyline but the real stories are Daniel Bryan's evolution into the evil vegan heel who has proclaimed himself "The Planet's Champion." He's also moved on from his feud with AJ Styles just in time to get caught up in the sudden and welcome surge of Kofimania.
1. Gauntlet Match
Kofi Kingston vs Daniel Bryan
Kofi Kingston vs Jeff Hardy
Kofi Kingston vs Samoa Joe
Kofi Kingston vs AJ Styles
AJ Styles vs Randy Orton
2. Buddy Murphy (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Akira Tozawa
3. The Usos (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs The Miz & Shane
4. WWE Championship Chamber Match
Daniel Bryan vs Samoa Joe vs Randy Orton vs AJ Styles vs Kofi Kingston vs Jeff Hardy
This is kind of a bummer of an episode but it's full of great matches that are all leading to even bigger moments. We reach the expected turn in the Shane & Miz storyline but the real stories are Daniel Bryan's evolution into the evil vegan heel who has proclaimed himself "The Planet's Champion." He's also moved on from his feud with AJ Styles just in time to get caught up in the sudden and welcome surge of Kofimania.
1. Gauntlet Match
Kofi Kingston vs Daniel Bryan
Kofi Kingston vs Jeff Hardy
Kofi Kingston vs Samoa Joe
Kofi Kingston vs AJ Styles
AJ Styles vs Randy Orton
2. Buddy Murphy (WWE Cruiserweight Champ) vs Akira Tozawa
3. The Usos (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs The Miz & Shane
4. WWE Championship Chamber Match
Daniel Bryan vs Samoa Joe vs Randy Orton vs AJ Styles vs Kofi Kingston vs Jeff Hardy
1811. Takeover New York, 2019
Once again, NXT absolutely destroys. Ricochet and Aleister (Malakai) Black bow out of NXT before joining the main WWE rosters. Velveteen Dream and Riddle have an absolute scorcher. Future superstar Gunther debuts for us as Walter and annihilates everyone. And, due to an injury Tomasso Ciampa has vacated the title, and Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole vie to make it theirs.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph, Kayla Braxton
1. Viking Raiders (as War Raiders) (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Ricochet & Malakai Black
2. Velveteen Dream (NXT North American Champ) vs Riddle
3. Pete Dunne (WWE UK Champ) vs Gunther (as Walter)
4. Adam Cole vs Johnny Gargano for vacant NXT Championship
Once again, NXT absolutely destroys. Ricochet and Aleister (Malakai) Black bow out of NXT before joining the main WWE rosters. Velveteen Dream and Riddle have an absolute scorcher. Future superstar Gunther debuts for us as Walter and annihilates everyone. And, due to an injury Tomasso Ciampa has vacated the title, and Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole vie to make it theirs.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Vic Joseph, Kayla Braxton
1. Viking Raiders (as War Raiders) (NXT Tag Team Champs) vs Ricochet & Malakai Black
2. Velveteen Dream (NXT North American Champ) vs Riddle
3. Pete Dunne (WWE UK Champ) vs Gunther (as Walter)
4. Adam Cole vs Johnny Gargano for vacant NXT Championship
1812. Kofimania, 2019
Kofi finally gets his flowers after going through a very similar to journey to Daniel Bryan's Yes Movement. Plus, the final probably ever SHIELD match, and the blowoff to the Miz/Shane McMahon storyline.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Renee Young, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome
1. Brock Lesnar (WWE Universal Champ) vs Seth Rollins
2. Roman Reigns vs Elias
3. Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ) vs Kevin Owens vs Mustafa Ali
4. The Miz vs Shane McMahon
5. Gauntlet Match
Kofi Kingston vs Sheamus
Kofi Kingston vs Caesaro
Kofi Kingston vs Eric Rowan
Kofi Kingston vs Samoa Joe (WWE US Champ)
Kofi Kingston vs Randy Orton
Kofi Kingston vs Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ)
6. The Shield vs Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre & Baron Corbin
Kofi finally gets his flowers after going through a very similar to journey to Daniel Bryan's Yes Movement. Plus, the final probably ever SHIELD match, and the blowoff to the Miz/Shane McMahon storyline.
Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Renee Young, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome
1. Brock Lesnar (WWE Universal Champ) vs Seth Rollins
2. Roman Reigns vs Elias
3. Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ) vs Kevin Owens vs Mustafa Ali
4. The Miz vs Shane McMahon
5. Gauntlet Match
Kofi Kingston vs Sheamus
Kofi Kingston vs Caesaro
Kofi Kingston vs Eric Rowan
Kofi Kingston vs Samoa Joe (WWE US Champ)
Kofi Kingston vs Randy Orton
Kofi Kingston vs Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ)
6. The Shield vs Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre & Baron Corbin
1813. Double Or Nothing, 2019
The first actual AEW event set some high standards. Jim Ross returned to announcing professional wrestling, Bret Hart shows up (though he got cut for time here, as he didn't wrestle)
Announcers: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Alex Marvez, Allie, Justin Roberts
1. Casino Battle Royal
2. SoCalU vs Strong Hearts
3. Awesome Kong vs Britt Baker vs Nyla Rose vs Kylie Rae
4. Hikaru Shida, Riho & Ryo Mizunami vs Aja Kong, Emi Sakura & Yuka Sakazaki
6. Young Bucks (AAA Tag Team Champs) vs Lucha Bros
7. Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega
The first actual AEW event set some high standards. Jim Ross returned to announcing professional wrestling, Bret Hart shows up (though he got cut for time here, as he didn't wrestle)
Announcers: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Alex Marvez, Allie, Justin Roberts
1. Casino Battle Royal
2. SoCalU vs Strong Hearts
3. Awesome Kong vs Britt Baker vs Nyla Rose vs Kylie Rae
4. Hikaru Shida, Riho & Ryo Mizunami vs Aja Kong, Emi Sakura & Yuka Sakazaki
6. Young Bucks (AAA Tag Team Champs) vs Lucha Bros
7. Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega
1814. Becky Two Belts, 2019
Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Renee Young, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome
1. Rhonda Rousey (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Becky Lynch
2. Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ) vs Kofi Kingston
3. Seth Rollins (WWE Universal Champ) vs AJ Styles
4. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Lacey Evans
5. Becky Lynch (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair
6. Kofi Kingston (WWE Champ) vs AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn in a No DQ Match
6. Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, Baron Corbin, Mustafa Ali, Andrade
Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Renee Young, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome
1. Rhonda Rousey (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Becky Lynch
2. Daniel Bryan (WWE Champ) vs Kofi Kingston
3. Seth Rollins (WWE Universal Champ) vs AJ Styles
4. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Lacey Evans
5. Becky Lynch (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair
6. Kofi Kingston (WWE Champ) vs AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn in a No DQ Match
6. Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, Baron Corbin, Mustafa Ali, Andrade
1815. We Get It, You're Taking Over, 2019
We're still very much in the midst of the ROH Alumni era of NXT (many of whom will go on to AEW instead of WWE) but we do get a fun throwback with Tyler Breeze's return from his Who's That Guy Again run on the main roster, and future WWE star Iyo Sky gets some revenge on still not quite a WWE star but an absolute killer in NXT, Shayna Baszler. This episode is straight up just NXT Takeover XXV with the ads removed.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Alicia Taylor
1. Roderick Strong vs Riddle
2. reDRagon (as Undisputed Era) vs Street Profits vs Forgotten Sons vs Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch for vacant NXT Tag Team Championship
3. Velveteen Dream vs Tyler Breeze
4. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Iyo Sky
5. Johnny Gargano (NXT Champ) vs Adam Cole
We're still very much in the midst of the ROH Alumni era of NXT (many of whom will go on to AEW instead of WWE) but we do get a fun throwback with Tyler Breeze's return from his Who's That Guy Again run on the main roster, and future WWE star Iyo Sky gets some revenge on still not quite a WWE star but an absolute killer in NXT, Shayna Baszler. This episode is straight up just NXT Takeover XXV with the ads removed.
Announcers: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Alicia Taylor
1. Roderick Strong vs Riddle
2. reDRagon (as Undisputed Era) vs Street Profits vs Forgotten Sons vs Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch for vacant NXT Tag Team Championship
3. Velveteen Dream vs Tyler Breeze
4. Shayna Baszler (NXT Womens Champ) vs Iyo Sky
5. Johnny Gargano (NXT Champ) vs Adam Cole
1816. United We Stand, 2019
Impact starts to resurge here, mostly through the Knockouts and Tag Team Divisions. Yea, the Heavyweights are heavy hitters. Sure, the X Division still has some amazing acrobatics but LAX and The Lucha Bros put on a series of spectacular matches, and Tessa Blanchard and Taya Valkyrie are just beginning their journeys to the top of the wrestling world in this episode.
Announcers: Josh Matthews, Don Callis, McKenzie, Jeffrey Scott
1. LA Knight (as Eli Drake) vs Abyss in a Monster's Ball Match
2. LAX (Impact Tag Champs) vs Lucha Bros
3. Tessa Blanchard (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Taya Valkyrie
4. LAX (Impact Tag Champs) vs Promociones Dorado
5. John Morrison (Impact Champ) vs Brian Cage
6. LAX (Impact Tag Champs) vs Lucha Bros in a TLC Match
7. Tessa Blanchard vs Joey Ryan
8. Lucha Bros vs RvD & Sabu in an Extreme Death Match
Impact starts to resurge here, mostly through the Knockouts and Tag Team Divisions. Yea, the Heavyweights are heavy hitters. Sure, the X Division still has some amazing acrobatics but LAX and The Lucha Bros put on a series of spectacular matches, and Tessa Blanchard and Taya Valkyrie are just beginning their journeys to the top of the wrestling world in this episode.
Announcers: Josh Matthews, Don Callis, McKenzie, Jeffrey Scott
1. LA Knight (as Eli Drake) vs Abyss in a Monster's Ball Match
2. LAX (Impact Tag Champs) vs Lucha Bros
3. Tessa Blanchard (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Taya Valkyrie
4. LAX (Impact Tag Champs) vs Promociones Dorado
5. John Morrison (Impact Champ) vs Brian Cage
6. LAX (Impact Tag Champs) vs Lucha Bros in a TLC Match
7. Tessa Blanchard vs Joey Ryan
8. Lucha Bros vs RvD & Sabu in an Extreme Death Match
1817. Evolve 131, 2019
Evolve is like PREXT for the WWE. You train there, then you get moved up to NXT, then if you're lucky, it's Raw and/or Smackdown. This is going to be our only look at Evolve in this chronology, as their crop of up and coming stars go head to head with Evolve Alumni, most of whom were in NXT at the time. This is our fist glimpse at Shotzi and Austin Theory, one of whom will be a constant presence in the near future, the other will have a couple of moments in the sun.
Announcers: Lenny Leonard, Paul Heyman,
1. Arturo Ruas vs Anthony Henry
2. Brandi Lauren vs Shotzi
3. The unWanted (Evolve Tag Team Champs) vs AR Fox & Leon Ruff
4. Riddle vs Drew Gulak
5. Austin Theory (Evolve Champ) vs JD Drake (WWN Champ) in a Unification Match
6. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Akira Tozawa
Evolve is like PREXT for the WWE. You train there, then you get moved up to NXT, then if you're lucky, it's Raw and/or Smackdown. This is going to be our only look at Evolve in this chronology, as their crop of up and coming stars go head to head with Evolve Alumni, most of whom were in NXT at the time. This is our fist glimpse at Shotzi and Austin Theory, one of whom will be a constant presence in the near future, the other will have a couple of moments in the sun.
Announcers: Lenny Leonard, Paul Heyman,
1. Arturo Ruas vs Anthony Henry
2. Brandi Lauren vs Shotzi
3. The unWanted (Evolve Tag Team Champs) vs AR Fox & Leon Ruff
4. Riddle vs Drew Gulak
5. Austin Theory (Evolve Champ) vs JD Drake (WWN Champ) in a Unification Match
6. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Akira Tozawa
1818. Takeover Cardiff
1. Caesaro vs Ilja Dragunov
2. The Grizzled Young Veterans (NXT UK Tag Team Champs) vs Gallus vs Mark Andrews & Morgan Webster
3. Mia Yim vs Bianca Belair vs Iyo Sky vs Candace LeRae
4. Toni Storm (NXT UK Womens Champ) vs Alba Fyre (as Kay Lee Ray)
5. Riddle vs Killian Dane
6. Gunther (as Walter) (NXT UK Champ) vs Tyler Bate
1. Caesaro vs Ilja Dragunov
2. The Grizzled Young Veterans (NXT UK Tag Team Champs) vs Gallus vs Mark Andrews & Morgan Webster
3. Mia Yim vs Bianca Belair vs Iyo Sky vs Candace LeRae
4. Toni Storm (NXT UK Womens Champ) vs Alba Fyre (as Kay Lee Ray)
5. Riddle vs Killian Dane
6. Gunther (as Walter) (NXT UK Champ) vs Tyler Bate
1819. Fyter Fest For The Fallen
Cody and Goldust have a brotherly battle for the ages, that everyone assumed would have eventually happened in the WWE. Later, they team up to fight The Young Bucks in an excellent match. Both Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) and Kenny Omega are in this episode but, surprisingly, given the end of the last episode, they're in separate fantastic matches.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Alex Marvez, Goldenboy, Tony Roberts
1. Cody Rhodes vs Goldust
2. The Elite vs The Lucha Bros & Laredo Kid
3. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) vs Joey Janella
4. Kenny Omega vs Cima
5. Young Bucks vs Rhodes Brothers
Cody and Goldust have a brotherly battle for the ages, that everyone assumed would have eventually happened in the WWE. Later, they team up to fight The Young Bucks in an excellent match. Both Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) and Kenny Omega are in this episode but, surprisingly, given the end of the last episode, they're in separate fantastic matches.
Announcers: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Alex Marvez, Goldenboy, Tony Roberts
1. Cody Rhodes vs Goldust
2. The Elite vs The Lucha Bros & Laredo Kid
3. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) vs Joey Janella
4. Kenny Omega vs Cima
5. Young Bucks vs Rhodes Brothers
1820. The Firefly Funhouse
A ton of great matches here amongst a scattering of episodes of Firefly Funhouse and the debut of Bray Wyatt as The Fiend! Also, another intergender tag team match as real life couple Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch take on two midcarders desperate to rise to the top. Plus, Brock Lesnar gets goofy for the first, but thankfully not last, time.
1. The Undertaker & Roman Reigns vs Drew McIntyre & Shane McMahon in a No Holds Barred Match
2. Caesaro vs Malakai Black (as Aleister Black)
3. Daniel Bryan & Eric Rowan (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs New Day vs Heavy Machinery
4. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Natalya
5. Charlotte Flair vs Trish Stratus
6. Seth Rollins (WWE Universal Champ) & Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans
7. Samoa Joe (WWE US Champ) vs Finn Balor
A ton of great matches here amongst a scattering of episodes of Firefly Funhouse and the debut of Bray Wyatt as The Fiend! Also, another intergender tag team match as real life couple Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch take on two midcarders desperate to rise to the top. Plus, Brock Lesnar gets goofy for the first, but thankfully not last, time.
1. The Undertaker & Roman Reigns vs Drew McIntyre & Shane McMahon in a No Holds Barred Match
2. Caesaro vs Malakai Black (as Aleister Black)
3. Daniel Bryan & Eric Rowan (WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs New Day vs Heavy Machinery
4. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Natalya
5. Charlotte Flair vs Trish Stratus
6. Seth Rollins (WWE Universal Champ) & Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans
7. Samoa Joe (WWE US Champ) vs Finn Balor
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