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REVIEW -- Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)



Wonder Woman 1984 (stylized as WW84) is a 2020 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Wonder Woman. It is the sequel to 2017's Wonder Woman and the ninth installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film is directed by Patty Jenkins from a script she wrote with Geoff Johns and Dave Callaham, based on a story by Johns and Jenkins. Gal Gadot stars as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, alongside Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Robin Wright, and Connie Nielsen. Set in 1984 during the Cold War, the film follows Diana and her past love Steve Trevor as they face off against Max Lord and Cheetah.

Discussion of a sequel began shortly after the release of the first film in June 2017 and the decision to proceed was confirmed the following month. Principal photography began on June 13, 2018, with filming taking place at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in England, as well as the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia in the United States, London and Duxford in England, Tenerife and Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, and Almería in Andalusia, Spain. Production wrapped on December 22, 2018, after a six-month shoot, with additional filming in July 2019.

Wonder Woman 1984 premiered on December 15, 2020, via the DC FanDome virtual platform. It was theatrically released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 25, 2020, and also made available to be streamed digitally on HBO Max for a month before it will go to premium video on demand. In international markets that do not have HBO Max, the film was theatrically released beginning on December 16, 2020. It was praised for its "escapist qualities" and Jenkins' take on the 1980s, but many critics found it "overindulgent or cliché". It has grossed $85 million worldwide, and became the most-watched straight-to-streaming title of 2020. A sequel is in development, with Jenkins and Gadot returning.




Cast: 




Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman
Lilly Aspell reprises her role as young Diana from the 2017 film.
Lambro Demetriou and Jonny Barry appear as young Maxwell "Max Lord" Lorenzano at ages 8 and 15, respectively.
Robin Wright as Antiope
Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta

Additionally, Lucian Perez appears as Alistair, Maxwell's son from his divorce; Amr Waked appears as Emir Said Bin Abydos, the ruler of oil-rich Bialya; Kristoffer Polaha appears as the man whose body Steve inhabits (credited as "Handsome Man"); Natasha Rothwell appears as Carol, Barbara's boss at the Smithsonian; Ravi Patel appears as Babajide, a man who keeps documents of the Dreamstone's history; Gabriella Wilde appears as Raquel, Maxwell's assistant; Oliver Cotton appears as Simon Stagg, Maxwell's corporate investor; Kelvin Yu appears as Jake, Barbara's colleague at the Smithsonian; and Stuart Milligan appears as the President of the United States.

Lynda Carter, who played the titular heroine in the 1970s television series, makes a cameo appearance in the end credits as Asteria, a legendary Amazon warrior who anciently possessed the powerful winged suit of armor. Gadot's husband, Yaron Versano, and their two daughters, Alma and Maya, make brief appearances near the end of the film.









*** WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!! ***

Plot: 



In her youth, Diana Prince participates in a multi-stage athletic competition on Themyscira against older Amazons overseen by Queen Hippolyta. After falling from her horse, Diana takes a shortcut to catch up to it and resumes the competition. Just before she wins, her aunt Antiope removes her from the competition, lecturing that "no true hero is born from lies".

In 1984, 66 years after the first film, Diana works as a senior anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., specializing in ancient Mediterranean civilizations; Diana also secretly fights crime as Wonder Woman. At work, she meets new employee Barbara Ann Minerva, an insecure woman who comes to idolize and envy Diana. After Wonder Woman foils an attempted robbery, the FBI asks Barbara to identify a cache of stolen antiquities from the robbery. Both Barbara and Diana notice that one object — later revealed to be the "Dreamstone" — has a Latin inscription.

Diana unknowingly uses the stone by wishing that her deceased lover Steve Trevor was alive; his soul then returns and inhabits another man's body. Later, after Diana saves her from an assault, Barbara wishes upon the stone to become like Diana, inadvertently attaining Diana's superpowers and godhood. Failing businessman Maxwell "Max Lord" Lorenzano visits the Smithsonian under the guise of a wealthy donor, secretly coveting the Dreamstone in hopes of saving his failing oil company. During a gala at the Smithsonian, Max seduces the unwitting Barbara, who is taken by his charm to gain access to her office and steal the Dreamstone. He later wishes to become the embodiment of the stone and gains its power to grant wishes while also having the ability to take whatever he desires from others.

Steve and Diana steal a plane and follow Max Lord to Cairo. Max becomes a powerful and influential figure while leaving chaos and destruction in his wake as his powers trigger worldwide instability and conflict. Barbara, Diana, and Steve later discover that the Dreamstone was created by Dolos, the god of lies, treachery, deception, and mischief. The stone grants a user their wish but exacts a toll. The only way to reverse the exchange is by renouncing the wish or destroying the stone itself. Steve realizes his existence comes at the cost of Diana's power, while Barbara's newfound life has drained her humanity; both women are unwilling to renounce their wishes.

Max learns from the U.S. President that the nation's satellite system can broadcast signals globally. Max uses it to grant wishes to the entire world while regaining his now-deteriorating health. Diana and Steve confront him, but Barbara joins forces with Max to prevent Diana from impeding him. Steve convinces a tearful Diana to renounce her wish and let him go, restoring her strength while gaining the ability to fly. She returns home and dons the armor of the legendary Amazon warrior Asteria. She then battles Barbara, who has further mutated into a cheetah-like creature after wishing to become an apex predator.

After defeating Barbara, Diana confronts Max at the TV station and uses her Lasso of Truth to communicate with the world through him, convincing everyone to renounce their wishes. She also shows Max visions: first of his own unhappy childhood, then of his young son, Alistair, wandering the streets terrified and crying for his father, amid the chaos Max created. A tearful Max renounces his wish and rushes to find Alistair. Reunited, Max repentantly promises to be a better father.

Sometime later, Diana meets the man whose body Steve possessed, while she continues to watch over the world. Meanwhile, in a mid-credits scene, Asteria is revealed to be secretly living among humans, much like Diana.








The Verdict:
 


When WW84 dropped on HBO Max at 12PM EST on Christmas Day, I was one of the first people to fire up the app and hit play to watch this like many people that day. 

And boy, was I let down with this film...

It's no secret that I wasn't a fan of Patty Jenkins' work on the original Wonder Woman film, but I understood the praise for it and its cultural significance. I won't knock the film for that much. The thing that I can't stand even to this day is this notion/idea that a man can't understand the message of these two films unless they have a vagina. Seriously, I have seen that exact wordage quoted on multiple articles, message boards, and across social media. I don't have an issue with feminism, but this film goes in so hard into that mindset to the point that Wonder Woman can't do anything without the love of her life while every other man (outside of Steve Trevor) in this film is depicted in some sort of negative connation. The best offender of this in action is the action sequence in Egypt where she flips a tank over with ease one second then mere moments later that she can't stop another until Steve Trevor gave the assist. There's a moment like this throughout the film until after she renounces her wish. 

I could excuse that but there's so many potholes and inconsistences in this film that it makes Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad look like strokes of genius in comparison. 

If that wasn't bad enough, this film just drags on and on and ON until it kind of starts in its third act. The film clocks in at roughly two hours and half hours. An hour of that is where essentially NOTHING happens to contribute to the point and only serves to add more cringe material to pad up this film's runtime. 

As much as I liked the flashback to Themyscira to open the film, it did nothing to affect the events later in the film. That flashback only served as a meager excuse to bring back one of the highlights that defined the original Wonder Woman film - the display of female empowerment on display in Themyscira. Patty Jenkins used that to bring back Robin Wright (Antiope) and Connie Nielsen (Hippolyta), along with a laundry list of female athleticism to don those Amazonian suits of armor for this short opening scene. This flashback ended with Diana allegedly learning the lesson of using shortcuts to get ahead in life or rather cheating to win. If she doesn't already have enough aces in the hole from being the Queen's daughter along with their father being Zeus himself, then why in the blue hell does she need to cheat at anything to win? That lesson was already lost on deaf ears by the time the film fast forwards to 1984. It was painfully obvious that Diana didn't learn a damn thing from that ordeal as a child when she was willing to cast all reason and logic aside just to have Steve Trevor back in her life. Damn everyone else and who else that could possibly affect with her selfishness. 

Another bold question... Diana stops the burglars in the present day portion of the film at the mall to start things off, but why wasn't the jewelers' shady dealings behind closed doors ever brought up again? It seemed like such an interesting piece of information to disregard as a throwaway scene. 




The overall theme of this film is the good and bad that comes with wish fulfillment. The MacGuffin (a modern term coined online for an object that drives a film's plot forward in a cliched manner) of this film is a stone that is somehow acquired by the anthropologist team at the Smithsonian Institution that both Barbara Minerva and Diana both work for that grants one wish of those who comes into contact with it. It first grants Diana's subconscious wish of bringing Steve Trevor back to life then later grants Barbara's wish to be "more like Diana" - in terms of beauty and superhuman powers. Maxwell Lord then somehow learns of the stone and uses it to become essentially this "Dreamstone" itself, granting wishes to anyone he comes in contact with. This creates the conflict of this film as Lord goes around granting everyone's wishes while manipulating the "side effects" of these wishes as every wish, no matter how noble they may be, have horrible consequences. Diana's wish brought back Steve Trevor in the body of an innocent man (how fucked that whole ordeal is another bag of shit altogether...) while also causing her powers slowly fading away throughout the film. Barbara's wish gave her the beauty and power that she wanted, but at the cost of her humanity and compassion for others. Lord's wish to become the stone is at the detriment of his own health and by the end of the film, it leaves him even more estranged and distant from his own son. Lord specifically points out that one person can only receive the benefits from ONE wish as the film proves on multiple occasions that he is unable to grant more than one wish from any individual, but somehow at the film's climax, he's able to grant a second wish for Barbara Minerva to transform her into his own bestial guardian (an "apex predator" if you will) during the film's finale. 


The sad part of the matter is that Kristen Wiig isn't bad looking to start with, even with glasses, so the whole nerd to knockout trope was lost to begin with.



This film uses the Barbara Ann Minerva version of the Cheetah, portrayed by Kristen Wiig, and while I had no issues with her performance, even though more people are still shitting on her from her similar role that she played in the all-female Ghostbusters reboot a few years ago. She plays the lovable geeky/nerd girl fine and it worked here for the few minutes that it lasted before she was granted her wish. As she continues to reap the rewards from this wish throughout the film, she gets more aggressive in nature and abandons her gentle tendencies to be driven mad with power. She aligns herself with Lord as she essentially becomes Diana's polar opposite. Where Diana is desperate to hang onto the memory of Steve Trevor and won't let this farse of him go for she could regain her powers, Barbara is desperate to hang onto this false sense of power that she has acquired by being beautiful and confident while refusing to let that go and return back to her nerdy self. 


It's too bad that we didn't get more time with these women standing off as polar opposites of each other.


It's one of the few great moments of this film to see them stand-off in the White House, where we are matched with a good vs. evil Wonder Woman. It's really unfortunate that they completely shit the bed with her character a few minutes later with her awkward transformation into the Cheetah (even though the film NEVER calls her by that name), rendered in horrible looking CGI that would make that Cats movie from a while ago look great in comparison. That's why that fight scene was so dark too for audiences wouldn't be able to make out how bad that character looked. (Laughs) Patty Jenkins is 2 for 2 in terms of shitty climatic battles in these two Wonder Woman films - first with Ares and now this shit with Cheetah. 

Maxwell "Max Lord" Lorenzo differs in this iteration from the comics and other mediums, such as his recent portrayal on the CW/CBS's Supergirl. I couldn't help but laugh at Pedro Pascal's portrayal here as there were moments where I could hear nothing but Trumpisms and others where it sounds essentially like he was still reading lines from The Mandalorian. If Hollywood ever wanted to do a "proper" reboot of RoboCop, I could totally see him as one of OCP's dirty politicians or various "oil salesmen" on those parody commercials in that continuity. I remember reading various articles prior to this film's release that Pedro Pascal stated that the comparisons to then-President Donald Trump were not intentional, but you cannot watch this film and not see it. There are a lot of points, especially at the heights of Lord's delusional behavior, that precisely mirrors the former President's irrational behavior. 

I'm not going to lie, but Pascal's performance makes for a charismatic villain, but he makes for an underwhelming one by the time the film comes to a close. It's really a double-edged sword. Lord is known to play both sides of the coin when it comes to heroism and villainy in the comics and we saw that here too. For everything that he did while acting as the Dreamstone, he still had enough good in himself to see the error in his ways and renounce his own wish to save his son - the only person who liked him just the way he was when he had nothing. It's just a darn shame that Patty Jenkins and the crackpots who wrote this screenplay don't have any sort of an imagination. 

Lord and so many others had the Dreamstone's infinite power at their disposal but no one thought of just wishing Wonder Woman dead at their feet?

Some suggestions in that scenario...

"I wish this bitch would leave us alone..." - White House Secret Service guards

"I wish I had something that could beat this chick..." - TV station guards

(Laughs) Or how come Bruce Wayne didn't wish for his parents back in this continuity? That would have made for one hell of an Easter Egg. It was hilarious when they did it in Justice League Unlimited






This whole Dreamstone ordeal screws up the DCEU continuity even more with a lot more plot holes between this film and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League

At the end of the film, everyone renounces their wishes (why should they really though?) and the nukes and walls disappear "Phantom Menace" style (a trope that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is often heavily criticized for), but the fact of the matter, the ENTIRE world remembers this incident and are dimly aware of Wonder Woman's presence in this world. Remember that it was firmly established in Batman v. Superman that she had remained "hidden" from the world until present day DCEU. Sure, she went out of her way to knock out a few cameras in a few fight scenes in this film, but the public were aware of her existence. I seriously doubt that her existence would be completely swept underneath the rug after roughly two decades when Superman made his existence public. That's just asinine to think of, especially after the global awareness that was established here. 


Busting up a few surveillance cameras is all well and good, but you have hundreds of eye witnesses of your exploits here, Diana. People aren't just going to forget seeing an Amazonian warrior goddess beating the tar out of some criminals.  



I'm no expert on the character of Wonder Woman, but I know a shitty depiction of her when I see it. The best thing Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot did in the first film was highlighting and showcasing Diana's love for all living things that defined her heroism. The original film's "fish out of water" theme took that and ran with it to make audiences fall in love with this live-action depiction of this iconic heroine. That's why I understand why a lot of people have "blinders" up about any sort of negativity or any negative connotations about these films whatsoever. On the other hand, I don't sympathize with those people either who hide behind the delusion that this depiction of Wonder Woman does no wrong within Patty Jenkins' jaded vision. 

Explain to me this... Why would Wonder Woman be so selfish to put her own wants over the needs of so many, especially at the cost of this world that she loves so much? She foolishly casts aside her godly powers in order to keep the farce of Steve Trevor's revival alive until he talks enough sense into her until she is essentially forced to renounce her wish during the film's climax. She was willing to die to keep that lie alive. One could excuse her selfishness in this film as she is one of the only people who never spoke their wish aloud, but it's selfish nonetheless - something that I couldn't ignore as very uncharacteristic for her character. She comes off as foolish or rather stubborn in her ways as how Batman comes off in both Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League

I won't deny that Diana, or rather Gal Gadot, shows more range of emotions in this film than she did in the first film, but why did we have to rehash the "fish out of water" theme from the original film with Steve Trevor? If they wanted to keep Chris Pine around then they shouldn't have killed Steve Trevor off in the first place. This film just makes that decision even stupider in hindsight. 

Speaking of Steve Trevor, can we talk about how fucked up that it was that he was occupying the body of another man? Diana was completely fine with him stealing the life of an innocent man for she could have her boyfriend (of whom she maybe spent a week or two with in the previous film) back? It was even more messed up that Diana was having sex with this guy while Steve Trevor was inhabiting his body and living in his apartment while everyone else sees her with this other guy instead of Steve. 


I'm convinced that Patty Jenkins just saw a photo of Diana's Kingdom Come golden armor that seems to pop up in the comics every few years one way or another and said, "I DUNNO WHAT THIS IS OR WHAT SENSE IT WOULD MAKE IN MY FILM BUT WE GOTTA GET THIS IN THE MOVIE SOMEHOW BECAUSE IT LOOKS SO GODDAMN COOL!"


Another question for my readers... If Wonder Woman had Asteria's Golden Eagle armor had the entire time throughout the film then why the fuck didn't she use it until the film's climax when she knew it was bulletproof and could protect her from harm when she was losing her godly powers?

(Laughs) I can't forget about the moment where Diana and Steve are in the airplane together though... I gave them a pass on Steve somehow having the knowledge to fly a modern airplane after not flying one since World War I, but I drew the line at the stupidity of Diana being able to make the airplane invisible when she was already losing her powers this far into the film's runtime. That fact that she could even use that ability that was never brought up again and one that she said that she clearly didn't master was downright comical that she pulled this feat off just because the plot demanded it to move forward. 


If Wonder Woman can fly on her own, then why does Diana need to swing from lighting bolts?



Here's a better question though... Couldn't Diana fly in the last film? If so, then why the fuck would she need a goddamn airplane in the first place? Between the first film, this one, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League, it seems like every director has selective memory when it comes to her utilizing that ability. 

I can't condone that Diana blatantly kills Cheetah in the film's climax. One can argue that Barbara brought it onto herself, but when that live wire hit the pool of water that they were in, Diana stood there and held her in that water until she was incapacitated. Barbara would be fine after all of the wishes were renounced in the film's climax, but who knew that would have magically brought her back to life? There was no way that Wonder Woman would have had the foresight that Barbara would revert back to her human self after that and be perfectly fine. To say that the film goes out of its way to protect innocent bystanders, Wonder Woman didn't hesitate to engage in lethal force in that scenario. To say that Diana was standing in that water wearing a goddamn metallic, yet highly conductible suit of armor and wasn't fried to death along with Cheetah is puzzling too. 

(Sighs) Between the waste of Cheetah here, Max Lord, and even Simon Stagg earlier in the film, it seems like a massive waste of time for these characters. Dr. Poison was criminally under-utilized in the first film and the Cheetah was regulated to a minor appearance here. Given the ending of this film, it's very unlikely that we will see that character - or at least that version of her - again in this continuity anyway. Same goes for Max Lord. 

I did enjoy the minor Easter Egg of Lynda Carter appearing in the mid-credits scene as Asteria though. That was a nice little callback for her. 

I will applaud this film for one thing though. It's the first and only DC Extended Universe film that resolved it's core conflict without violence. Plus, this film went out of it's way for no innocent lives/casualties would be avoided. That "destruction porn" as how most people referred to the utter destruction of Metropolis during the climax of Man of Steel was how a lot of people frowned heavily on the DC Extended Universe and the films that followed - including this one - go out of their way to remedy that mistake. (Laughs) Remember that they used the destruction of Metropolis as the catalyst for the conflict between Batman and Superman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice? That hesitance for violence in this film proves to be a costly mistake though. All of the fight/action sequences were all revealed in the trailers for this film, outside of one minor sequence. For a film clocking in at roughly two and a half hours, you would think that they would use some of that runtime for a little bit more action, but nope. It's almost to the point where I think Patty Jenkins is allergic to action scenes due to the sheer lack of them in this lengthy film. 

I wanted to like this film - I really did, but at the end of the day, it turned into another misstep for the DC Extended Universe. And here I thought they were finally turning this ship around following the successes of Aquaman and Shazam!, but nope. The failure of this film is merely going to put more pressure onto Warner Bros. to take more drastic measures to potentially fix this continuity. Justice League: The Snyder Cut is going to be a temporary Band-Aid, even if it's regarded as a success following so much hype and anticipation. If that film is anything short of brillaint then I think all remaining faith for any sort of DC Comics-based cinematic universe is out of the window. 

As of this posting, Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot are already confirmed to direct and star in a third Wonder Woman film, with two more potential sequels and/or spin-offs to boot. Jenkins is also pegged to direct a Star Wars series for Lucasfilm/Disney as well. I'm sorry but I don't see her brilliance at all. Cool, you want to have more female directors, but that doesn't excuse her from having stupid ideas and mismanaging these characters. Maybe she can prove me wrong with another sequel, but after WW84, I'm convinced that these superhero films isn't her strong point. I'm definitely not racing out to see the next installment on release day. 

Patty Jenkins expects viewers to be in awe at the pomp and circumstances of this film and completely dismiss its shortcomings for another dose of her own brand of so-called female empowerment when this film does little more than to "empower" the top brass at Warner Bros. and Jenkins' own egos that this plot was a very good idea in the first goddamn place.

Watch It or Don't Bother?


If you enjoyed the first Wonder Woman film by Patty Jenkins, then you're not going to see anything wrong with this entry that continues Diana's adventures, but for everyone else, I humbly suggest that you stay far, far, far away from this one. 

Sure, it's free to watch on HBO Max, but by the time this was over and all said and done, I wanted those two and half hours of my life back. It's hard to hate on Gal Gadot's bright smile that could melt the hearts of even the coldest of hearts and the stellar ensemble cast, but the writing for this film is utter garbage.

Wonder Woman 1984 stands as another example of the lack of proper planning and long-term storytelling that Warner Bros. and DC Comics have for the DC Extended Universe. In the grand scheme of things, this film does more to add more plot holes and inconsistencies to an already muddled up continuity. 

I'm sure that I may have missed some points, but ScreenRant has a hilarious video parodying the sales pitch to the Warner Bros. executives. 



If you want to see a better Wonder Woman film, there's two animated feature films that are definitely worth your time than giving this your time of day. 

PREVIEW -- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Sephiroth Character Reveal Trailer | Game Awards



Sephiroth cuts into the ever-expanding Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster this December. #IGN #TheGameAwards2020





Watch the full Super Smash Bros. Ultimate presentation featuring Sephiroth and see what the One-Winged Angel can do! 

Sephiroth arrives 12/22 and is available as a part of the Fighters Pass Vol. 2! #SmashBrosUltimate #NintendoSwitch 

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I saw this trailer live when it debuted during The Game Awards and I know I'm late as hell sharing it here. By now, most people already have Sephiroth in their hands, but it's a cool addition nonetheless. I thought it was a nice touch that they gave Cloud his variation of Omnislash from Advent Children to use as a Final Smash against his primary antagonist. 

QUICKIE -- Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4) - The City That Never Sleeps (DLC Episodes 1-3)



Marvel's Spider-Man: The City that Never Sleeps is a collection of downloadable content (DLC) developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the 2018 video game Marvel's Spider-Man. Based on the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man, it is inspired by the long-running comic book mythology and adaptations in other media. Released in three distinct chapters, The Heist, Turf Wars, and Silver Lining, the DLC seves as an epilogue to the main game, and follows Spider-Man as he contends with a new crime wave led by the physically-enhanced mob boss Hammerhead, receiving help from several allies, including master thief and ex-girlfriend Black Cat, Police Captain Yuri Watanabe, mercenary Silver Sable, and reporter and girlfriend Mary Jane Watson. During this time, he also deals with the personal problems of his civilian persona, Peter Parker, and begins mentoring the novice superhero Miles Morales.

The game is presented from the third-person perspective with a primary focus on Spider-Man's traversal and combat abilities. Spider-Man can freely move around New York City, interacting with characters and undertaking missions, and unlocking new gadgets and suits by progressing through the main story or completing tasks. The player is able to complete side missions away from the main story to unlock additional content and collectible items. Combat focuses on chaining attacks together against numerous foes while avoiding damage, using the environment and webs to incapacitate foes.

The City that Never Sleeps was released monthly for the PlayStation 4, from October to December 2018, and received generally positive reviews from critics. A remastered version of the DLC along with the base game is included with the Ultimate Edition of Marvel's Spider-Man Miles Morales on the PlayStation 5, released in November 2020 and was later available as a standalone release.

The DLC features a dedication to Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee, who died shortly before the release of the second chapter.








*** WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!! ***



The City That Never Sleeps



Spider-Man: The City that Never Sleeps features a large ensemble cast of characters from the history of Spider-Man comics. Peter Parker (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) is a 23-year old research assistant, who gained superhuman abilities after being bitten by a genetically-modified spider. Employing a secret identity, Parker uses these abilities to protect the citizens of New York City as the superhero Spider-Man. Taking place shortly after the main story of Spider-Man, The City that Never Sleeps follows Parker, who is coming to terms with the loss of his Aunt May to a bioweapon released by his former friend and mentor Otto Octavius. Parker has also romantically reunited with his ex-girlfriend Mary Jane Watson (Laura Bailey), a reporter for the Daily Bugle, who occasionally aids Spider-Man and is aware of his secret identity.

The City that Never Sleeps introduces the first appearances of Parker's former lover and master-thief Black Cat / Felicia Hardy (Erica Lindbeck, who has a voice-only role in the main game), Felicia's father and retired thief Walter Hardy (Daniel Riordan), and mob boss Hammerhead (Keith Silverstein), who is taking advantage of the power vacuum left by the absence of villains to attempt to seize control of the city's criminal underworld from the other Maggia crime families. It also features several returning characters from the base game, including NYPD Captain and Spider-Man ally Yuri Watanabe (Tara Platt), Silver Sablinova (Nichole Elise), leader of the private military company Sable International, and the social media-using villain Screwball (Stephanie Lemelin), who escaped from prison.




Episode 1: The Heist



A few months after the events of the main game, the Maggia crime families are looking to fill the void in the criminal underworld left by Wilson Fisk's capture and Martin Li's defeat. While trying to stop one of the families from stealing a painting on display at the Manhattan Museum of Contemporary Art, Spider-Man encounters Felicia, who smashes the painting and steals a USB drive hidden within the frame before escaping. Mary Jane later informs him that Hammerhead's family is in possession of the drive, implying Felicia is working for them. Spider-Man pursues Felicia as she steals more drives, ultimately catching her, at which point she reveals that Hammerhead is holding her son hostage. Believing himself to be the father, Spider-Man agrees to help rescue the boy.

Meanwhile, Mary Jane learns that the drives contain the Maggia families' collective fortune, and that Hammerhead has recently purchased a large impregnable vault that could be used to hold Felicia's son. Spider-Man and Felicia storm the warehouse where the vault is kept, but the latter betrays and locks Spider-Man inside, revealing that she lied about having a son to persuade him into helping her break into the vault, which contains the final drive: Hammerhead's. As Spider-Man escapes, he overhears Hammerhead ordering his goons to kill Felicia for her betrayal. He attempts to warn her, but arrives too late and watches as she is seemingly killed when explosives planted in her penthouse detonate. Later, Peter tells Mary Jane that Felicia's body wasn't found among the wreckage, implying she survived, and that he is relieved to not be a father, though Mary Jane reassures him that he would make a great one someday, at the right time and with the right person.





Episode 2: Turf Wars



Shortly after a full-blown gang war between the Maggia families erupts, Spider-Man assists Yuri Watanabe and her police task force in a raid against Hammerhead, though it turns out to be a trap, leaving only Spider-Man and Yuri alive. The loss of her men under her watch leaves Yuri emotionally compromised, and Spider-Man asks her to take a leave of absence to grieve and recover, promising to apprehend Hammerhead on his own. Spider-Man learns that Hammerhead and his gang have been stealing Sable International's equipment and weapons to gain an advantage in the gang war. After abducting the other Maggia Dons, Hammerhead's forces attack police convoys across the city. While Spider-Man is dealing with them, Hammerhead attacks the police precinct which is holding Sable International's "Project Olympus", killing numerous police officers in the process. Frustrated by her men's deaths and Spider-Man's lack of progress, Yuri decides to go after Hammerhead personally.

Later, Hammerhead, powered by the Project Olympus armor, decides to execute the Maggia Dons on live television to achieve his goal of terrorizing New York City into submission. Spider-Man foils Hammerhead's plan and defeats him, but before the police can apprehend him, a vengeful Yuri arrives and almost shoots Hammerhead dead, missing and hitting him in the head only because of Spider-Man's interference. Later, while Hammerhead's body is being taken away, one of his henchmen infiltrates the ambulance and resuscitates him.




Episode 3: The Silver Lining



Following her dismissal from the police force, Yuri has become a ruthless vigilante, tracking down and executing numerous Maggia gangsters. Meanwhile, with Sable International's advanced equipment and weaponry, Hammerhead's gang rules over the city. Learning of this, an enraged Silver Sablinova returns to take revenge on Hammerhead for stealing her supplies, which she needs for a civil war in her home country of Symkaria. Worried that Sablinova's violent methods would result in more chaos, Spider-Man tries to convince her to work together. Hammerhead, who has now upgraded himself into an advanced cyborg exoskeleton, leads Spider-Man and Sablinova into a trap and overpowers them. Felicia, who has faked her death, arrives to save Spider-Man, though Sablinova is captured by Hammerhead. Apologizing for her actions, Felicia gives Spider-Man a USB containing information on Hammerhead's weaknesses before disappearing again.

Spider-Man rescues Sablinova and they learn that the carbon steel plate inside Hammerhead's head is sensitive to heat. Sablinova takes Spider-Man to her stealth carrier on the Hudson River and they prepare a trap for Hammerhead, outfitting Sablinova's VTOL fighter jet with a heated laser array just before Hammerhead attacks them. While Spider-Man holds Hammerhead in place, Sablinova blasts his metal plate, weakening him, and crashes her jet into him. With Hammerhead subdued, Sablinova reclaims her supplies and returns to Symkaria, telling Spider-Man he inspired her to be more heroic. Meanwhile, Mary Jane also leaves for Symkaria to write a story on the war there and raise awareness, and Peter begins to train Miles Morales on how to use his newly acquired spider-powers, preparing him to become the next Spider-Man.







The Verdict:




Individually, each one of these DLC episodes/add-ons to base game of Marvel's Spider-Man would have be purchased separately if you didn't purchase the Season Pass or didn't buy the Game of the Year Edition of the game that has become standard with the game currently on PlayStation 4 and on the remastered version on PlayStation 5.

I have had a lot of free time since I'm on holiday break from work for the rest of 2020 and I wanted to knock these out before I decide to jump into Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales in the very near-future.

I was glad to see that Black Cat got some time to shine in this game (debuting in The Heist) as her presence was painfully missed in the base game when she was limited to a voice over at the end of her side quest. 



The game doesn't really make it obvious how you access this new content as it's accessible by selecting the DLC tab in the main menu and selecting the corresponding episode. Your progression between the base game and each of the episodes are all independent of each other, but the unlockable costumes carry over to all campaigns without a problem. 


All of the unlockable suits that can be acquired as part of this DLC.



Out of all of the costumes that they have added to this game, it kills me that they STILL haven't added the Spider-Man Unlimited costume. Is it really that much of a hassle to add into this game?

Is it really THAT hard to put this costume in the game, Insomniac?



Each of these DLC episodes can be completed in little more than a hour or two if you focus exclusively on the story-based missions, but you will spend at least another hour or two doing the new street crimes (mostly involving the Maggia crime families and Hammerhead's thugs) and side missions that open up across these campaigns. There's three new "seasons" of Speedball challenges across all of these DLCs that ends with a mildly entertaining chase after her throughout the city at the end of Silver Lining. 


Silver Sable steals the show in The Silver Lining, starting with an intense boss fight against her until she becomes an unlikely ally by the time the credits roll. 



The story across all three of these campaigns definitely lay a strong foundation for the inevitable sequel to this game and it's spin-off/expansion - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The narrative sends Yuri down the dark path that she is fated to take similar to her comic book counterpart, brings Spidey's old flame, Black Cat/Felicia Hardy into the limelight outside of mere mentions in the main campaign via a minor sidequest, gave Silver Sable more screen time that she desperately needed in the main campaign, while establishing that Insomniac Games have the balls to take their own continuity with these established Marvel Comics characters into their own unique direction(s) following the fates of Hammerhead and Silver Sable. To be fair though, I mentioned in my review of the base game that they had balls in the first place when they killed Aunt May during the main story campaign. 


You run into these minigun toting thugs a bit FAR too much for my taste during these three episodes. If you don't know how to prioritize taking them down first and foremost, they are going to be a constant source of aggravation.



If I had one major complaint about this trifecta of content is that they rehash the same material across the board in terms of enemy variety. It's the same issue the base game had towards the endgame phase of the story campaign. There's only so many combinations of Demon, Sable, and Prisoners that you can throw out before combat gets either extremely redundant or extremely frustrating from everything that's going on. I haven't played this game since it initially released via a weekend Redbox rental and I had totally forgotten how much I loathed fighting the rocket launcher thugs, shield-wielding armored thugs, and big bodyguards wielding miniguns. Those three enemy types deal MASSIVE damage to Spider-Man from any hit whatsoever and it's pretty goddamn cheap of the enemy AI to have several of these enemies swarming you at any given time to confuse and bungle Spidey's Spider-Sense. In a bizarre way, that's INSANELY comic book accurate as Spidey has a known weakness that his Spider Sense can be "overloaded" by too many surrounding threats around him to distinguish one over another. So kudos to the developers of this game over at Insomniac to get that detail down. By the end of this DLC content, it feels like deja vu to the reliance on so many thugs abusing Silver Sable's stolen technology and weaponry, much like her soldiers/mercenaries that were brought into the later half of the base game's story campaign.

Everything else though? These three episodes get right in terms of properly juggling stealth and combat-heavy story missions to keep things interesting. There's even one Mary Jane stealth section, but I'm not going to frown on that inclusion as it was short and sweet. It was over before you could miss playing as our favorite wallcrawler, unlike the ones during the base game's main story campaign that seemed to drag on and on and on. Each episode ends with a chase or skirmish with the titular villain in question, with The Heist and Turf Wars ending on cliffhangers to make you excited for the next entry/installment, but The Silver Lining ends on an appropriate note to tease the future of this series. Your experience with this game isn't truly complete until you play through these three additional post-game episodes to complete fleshing out the lore that this game laid the foundation for in this continuity. 




Play It or Don't Bother?

After giving you the cold shoulder for most of the base game and then in The Silver Lining, I got a good laugh out of this scene here. 



Since this content is essentially part of the game now that it is bundled together with the Game of the Year Edition of Marvel's Spider-Man on both the PlayStation 4 and the remastered/upscaled version(s) for the PlayStation 5, there's absolutely no reason for you NOT to play this content to be perfectly honest when it's part of the game by default. 

If you purchased the game at launched and didn't purchase the Season Pass, then this is a different matter altogether. Separately, I can't condone suggesting purchasing these at full price, but they are definitely worth rebuying the entire game over for as a complete package. They add hours of gameplay to an already amazing Spider-Man game - no pun intended - and set the stage for what's to come whenever Insomniac Games decides to drop a proper sequel following the success of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Each episode runs about an hour of gameplay time, but with the extras and side quests littered throughout each episode campaign, you have at least another 10 to 20 more hours of gameplay to this game if you didn't already 100% complete every activity in the base game. 

I don't see why you wouldn't want more from an already amazing superhero game. This is an excellent excuse to dwell in this world for a few more hours until you decide to move onto Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales


NXT TakeOver: WarGames (Dec. 6, 2020) -- Results & Afterthoughts




NXT TakeOver: WarGames was a professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for their NXT brand division. It took place on December 6, 2020 at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida and featured NXT's virtual fan viewing experience called the Capitol Wrestling Center. It was the 32nd NXT TakeOver event and the fourth event under the WarGames chronology.

Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Roderick Strong, and Bobby Fish) defeated Team McAfee (Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan) in a WarGames match while in the opening bout, Team Candice (Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Raquel González, and Toni Storm) defeated Team Shotzi (Shotzi Blackheart, Ember Moon, Rhea Ripley, and Io Shirai) in the women's WarGames match.





Match Results:



Dark Match: Six-Man Tag Team Match
Legado del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde) def. Curt Stallion, Ashante "Thee" Adonis and August Grey


I personally didn't see this match, but I wouldn't be surprised if this doesn't show up on NXT's TV tapings or 205 Live over the next few weeks, if it didn't air already. 



Women's WarGames Match
Team Candice (Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Raquel González, and Toni Storm) def. Team Shotzi (Shotzi Blackheart, Ember Moon, Rhea Ripley, and Io Shirai)



Team Candice...

Team Shotzi... riding her shiny new tank!

This match was rather odd to get started - which was complicated more by the asinine logic (or lack of thereof) of having the babyfaces bullying the heels for majority of this match. That was complicated even more by the babyfaces winning the advantage to start the match when the heels traditionally cheat to win that right. It was puzzling to me that the babyfaces were the ones bringing the weapons into the match as if they were fighting in some sort of disadvantage here. It (kinda, but not really) came together when it came time for the final member of Team Shotzi to enter the match, NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai, who was blocked at every turn to enter the ring by members of Team Candice, including an injured Indi Hartwell. She couldn't compete in the match, so it cool that she was able to contribute here in some limited capacity. Io ends up entering the match via non-conventional means as I'm sure you have seen the gif/screenshot of Io's Grouch impersonation as she dove from the top of the cage while inside a trash can.



As cool as that looked, I'm glad no one was hurt as that could have gone horribly wrong. Io would be involved with another trash can-related spot as Dakota Kai would perform a Diving Double Foot Stomp to her while she was still trapped within. Dakota Kai almost couldn't get her out of the crushed trash can afterwards since it warped around Io's petite frame so much. I thought they were going to take that thing off of her and she would have been a bloody mess. Unfortunately, she wasn't hurt but this match wasn't shy in brutal spots and bumps.

The spot where Candice LeRae broke her arm/wrist.


Candice LeRae would suffer a possible broken arm/wrist from the awkward landing during the impact of Shotzi Blackheart coming down off of the ladder onto LeRae's arm that was covered by a steel chair. It was already bad enough that Candice took a flat back bump off the ladder onto the two chairs, but to add the Diving Senton from Shotzi was pretty darn nuts. As of this posting (12/10/20), Dakota Kai had missed last night's NXT TV taping as she was still suffering from the abuse she took in this match. I wouldn't be surprised if that absolutely BRUTAL Eclipse that she took from Ember Moon over two chairs had anything to do with that. That was pure insanity to see executed. How in the hell did she not end up with a broken neck or broken collarbone is beyond me. 


I don't even know how to even explain how the hell Dakota Kai doesn't have a broken neck from that.



Much like Rhea Ripley's performance last year, this was a standout performance for Raquel González with her picking up the win for Team Candice with a vicious Avalanche Powerbomb to the NXT Women's Champion onto a ladder bridged between the two rings above that metal strip connecting them. I seriously thought that Io was possibly paralyzed after taking a bump like that. If she had kicked out I would have insanely pissed off - much like I was when Dakota Kai barely sold the two strikes from a goddamn sledgehammer from Rhea Ripley upon her arrival into this match. Fortunately, this was the finish of the match and I was fine with this as the opener. The ladies worked hard and came off as bad asses from all of the punishment that they put each other through here. It's just a darn shame that this match was riddled with piss poor booking for majority of this match to start it off. I saw people say that this match was a complete burial to the babyfaces on Team Shotzi. I honestly can't disagree, but the babyfaces were booked like shit from the start of this feud anyway, but the heels on Team Candice needed the win here even more. It was bigger slap to the face that the heels won clean over all else here though. That's the main issue I had with this match as a whole. 

I do have to knock NXT for allowing Io Shirai to be still walking around like nothing happened on NXT (12/9/20) last night. C'mon it would not have killed you guys to have her take the week off to sell that finish.








Singles Match
Tommaso Ciampa def. Timothy Thatcher



This was a hard-hitting affair, but it was a tough match to call going in to predict who would walk away as the winner. Where the women of NXT started things off with a train wreck of sorts in terms of hardcore-oriented violence, Ciampa and Thatcher took things to a technical level with mat wrestling here. This was a great match in its own way, even though Thatcher's ear was rendered to a bloody mess by the time it was all said and done. In retrospect, that ended up adding to this match, showing Thatcher's toughness and endurance.



I was a little bummed out that Thatcher couldn't pick up the win here after his string of losses on NXT programming as of late - such as his first submission loss to Kushida a few weeks ago, but Ciampa hasn't had a TakeOver victory in roughly two years, so he was LONG overdue at this point. I guess they could do a rematch in the Fight Pit down the road if they want to continue this program.








Strap Match
Dexter Lumis def. Cameron Grimes by submission



I honestly didn't fucking care about this feud nor this match at all. I went on a fast food run with the WWE Network app still playing the match on my phone as I waited in the drive-thru. There were some interesting spots in this match, but I couldn't get the irony of the fact that NXT has the two ex-IMPACT/TNA Wrestling guys tied together in a nonsensical feud as this when BOTH of them could be in much better spots on this card.

I don't want to knock either of these guys as I like them as wrestlers but I just don't care about this feud at all. From what I glanced at the match was fine, but I can't say that I have EVER been a fan of Strap Matches in WWE in any shape nor form. Thank God that this wasn't the type of strap match that required you to slap each of the four turnbuckles to win.








Triple Threat Match for the NXT North American Championship
Johnny Gargano def. Damian Priest and Leon Ruff (c)



It didn't hit me until I started writing this review, but I can easily see what NXT is trying to do with Leon Ruff. He's literally NXT's equivalent of Ring of Honor's Cheeseburger when he started getting "serious". Jot that down as another example of stuff that NXT is "borrowing" from ROH's booking over the last decade or so. As for this match, it was fine until the closing minutes as I didn't think that all of the run-ins were necessary. Only ONE of the Ghostface(s) were Austin Theory, so who were the rest?




Oh, thanks for the clarification there, T-Bar. Now we know what the extra goons of RETRIBUTION do on their days off. 


Priest powerbombing Ruff through that barricade like Kevin Nash did to Rey Mysterio backstage on Nitro how Hernandez sent Gail Kim coast to coast with a Border Toss.








Priest should have been able to wipe his ass with these two guys in dominating fashion, but no, he keeps allowing himself to get outwitted by the antics of Gargano. I like Johnny Gargano as an in-ring worker, even though I think some of his TakeOver performances have been EXTREMELY overrated and over-bloated in terms of content, but I'm sick and tired of this heel run for him and his wife. They aren't good heels at all. Just because they are annoying and people don't like them doesn't mean that they are great at being heels. That's the wrong type of heel heat and the Garganos are accumulating a lot of "go away" heat. I fear that's going to infect Indi Hartwell too. To be honest, I don't feel sorry for Austin Theory at all, especially when it seems like Triple H and the rest of the top brass in WWE are inclined to simply ignore the laundry list of sexual allegations against not just Theory, but with a lot of their male talent(s) that they are pushing. Taking guys off TV for a few months, expecting people to forget about those ongoing investigations, are not going to make fans simply forget about what's going on with these people. 








Men's WarGames Match
The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Roderick Strong, and Bobby Fish) def. Team McAfee (Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan)

(Laughs) I'm glad someone took the time to tell Pete Dunne to lay off that horrible looking orange spray tanner that he's been using on the TV tapings lately for this event. He didn't come in looking that Hogan orange hot dog frank color that his skin tone looks like these days and actually was back to looking human again.

In comparison to the women's WarGames match, this was a massive improvement in terms of match psychology and how they booked this from start to finish. Just go out of your way to watch this match over anything else on this card - outside of Thatcher/Ciampa. You won't be disappointed. 

Both teams went out there and beat the holy hell out of each other. If I had any major complaint, I felt that Pat McAfee should have ate the pin for his team instead of the anti-climatic finish that they went with. He's the biggest chicken shit heel out of that bunch, so you knew he would have been able to talk it up about how he was "screwed" in the end and bounce back from the loss just fine. I do have to question the amount of weapons and foreign objects used in these NXT WarGames matches. It's turning more into IMPACT/TNA Wrestling's Lethal Lockdown more than the traditional WarGames match and that's not necessarily a good thing, despite the fact I actually liked both flavors of those matches over the years. 


For anyone who is keeping count, Undisputed Era's WarGames record is 2-2 now. 







Afterthoughts:

With another win in the books, it seems like The Undisputed Era is moving on from this feud with Pat McAfee's faction. Bobby Fish is injured anyway, requiring surgery, so he's going to be out for a while even if they wanted to continue this program. I know the higher ups in WWE has to think he's injury prone at this point as he hasn't had any luck in that department at all since joining this company. If The Undisputed Era were getting called up to the main roster, I wouldn't do it until all four men were healthy and ready anyway.

Raquel Gonzales is being positioned to challenge Io Shirai next for the NXT Women's Championship, but it seems like she still has a roadblock in the form of Rhea Ripley still standing in her way. If Rhea is getting called up for WrestleMania season, then giving Raquel "the rub" as she does the honors on the way out is the way to go. 

Thatcher and Ciampa seem to be continuing their feud, which I hope that means that they will have a rematch in the Fight Pit down the road.

Gargano's new faction, dubbed "The Way", consisting of himself, Candice LeRae, Austin Theory, and Indi Hartwell, seems to be the unit that will be Johnny's insurance policy of sorts to assist him in hanging onto the North American Championship. I hope they just don't throw Leon Ruff to the wayside as it seems like Kushida is going after him next. I would love to see Kushida challenge Finn Balor for any match in some capacity before he leaves NXT. 

As of this posting (12/11/20), Karrion Kross has made his return, putting his name into the conversation with Damien Priest, Pete Dunne, and Kyle O'Reilly concerning who will challenge Finn Balor for the NXT Championship at the next TV special for January 6, 2021 dubbed New Year's Evil that was teased during this show. I'm game for Kross to win back the title he never lost while Finn gets to head over to NXT UK and give us the match that we were denied this year between him and WALTER for the NXT UK Championship. 

This was a good show from start to finish in terms of action, but in terms of compelling storylines and/or angles to make me excited to see the weekly TV tapings, they are extremely lacking in that regard. This event did nothing to change how bland those shows are to watch on a week to week basis. 

AEW Winter Is Coming (Dec. 2, 2020) -- Results & Afterthoughts



Winter Is Coming was a professional wrestling television special episode produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The event took place at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida and was broadcast on TNT as a special of AEW's weekly television program, Dynamite.

Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Kenny Omega defeated Jon Moxley to win the AEW World Championship. In other prominent matches, Chris Jericho defeated Frankie Kazarian and AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin & Cody Rhodes defeated Team Taz (Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs).

The event is notable for the debut of Sting in AEW, which was his first appearance on TNT in over 19 years; his last appearance was on the final episode of WCW Monday Nitro on March 26, 2001.





Background:



On the November 18, 2020, episode of Dynamite, it was announced that the December 2 episode will be titled "Winter Is Coming". AEW has promoted the Moxley–Omega match as "the biggest match in Dynamite history" and the event as their "biggest Dynamite yet".

The episode's title "Winter Is Coming" is derived from Game of Thrones, a television series from HBO, which is part of the WarnerMedia subsidiary of AT&T, which also includes AEW broadcast partner TNT. The phrase was the title of the pilot episode of Game of Thrones as well as the motto (or "Words") of House Stark of Winterfell. The use of the title was approved by WarnerMedia officials, as WarnerMedia has used Dynamite to promote HBO Max and other WarnerMedia properties.






Results: 




Battle Royal for the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring
MJF and Orange Cassidy won by last eliminating Wardlow

Matt Hardy seems to be going all in (no pun intended) on this transformation into "Big Money Matt" from his heel tenure in IMPACT Wrestling prior to going "Broken". I don't see what was the point of giving him so many eliminations at first though, but whatever. 

The Dark Order is apparently attempting to coax Hangman Page into joining their faction by buttering him up and I don't know what to think about this. If anyone has gotten the short end of the stick lately in terms of direction in this company out of the members of Being The Elite crew, it's "Hangman" Adam Page. First he's the social drinker, then he's pathetic, hopeless loser who drinks alone, and now he's entertaining the idea of being a part of the Dark Order? How the mighty have fallen... Exactly one year ago, people were buying into the idea of him being the first AEW World Champion when he was set to face Chris Jericho to crown the first champion. He failed, only to capture the AEW Tag Team titles with Kenny Omega, but boy, has his direction has been all over the place. I'm guessing they are trying to have him fall on his face HARD, only to bounce back with a redemption story that sees him take the AEW World Championship from Kenny Omega in a few months (the only narrative that makes sense right now long term anyway), but they have a long way to go to rehabilitate this guy until then. For Page's sake, I hope this path is worth it. He's got the talent to be a top draw for this company as a homegrown talent, especially when the luster wears off the rest of the BTE boys. 

The biggest takeaway from this match for me was seeing how strongly Miro (formerly WWE's Rusev) was portrayed during this match until his elimination. Miro was like a wrecking machine here. Too bad this wasn't his actual debut instead of that goofy debacle that he currently finds himself in aligned with Kip Sabian feuding with Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends. 

I thought Jungle Boy had a good showing here too, but goddamn, I almost completely forgot that he was in this company after what feels like months of his absence on Dynamite. 

The narrative for this match was the Inner Circle banding together against the competition, at least until the closing moments, where MJF took the opportunity to shove Sammy Guevara out of the ring when he was on the top rope with Jungle Boy. There was a moment where Wardlow almost eliminated MJF, but he was quick to the make the save to pull him back into the ring, only to be eliminated himself by Orange Cassidy shortly thereafter. 

Not a bad match, but not much to write home about. I thought it was more entertaining than a lot of the other battle royals that they have done like this over the past year though, so that's something. 



Singles Match
Chris Jericho (with Jake Hager and Ortiz) def. Frankie Kazarian


The "Demo-God" looks like he can't even spell gym anymore. That dude looks like he's literally here just to be collecting a paycheck. That's sad too because Christopher Daniels is the same age as he is and doesn't look like he's out of shape like Jericho does while Kazarian is only 7 years behind Jericho's 50 years at 43, but still moves around like the best of the best. It's a darn shame too because I was actually starting to get into this match until it grinded to a snail's pace as Jericho was getting gassed the longer it went on. He can half-ass this shit in tag team matches all he wants but it's apparent that he's merely coasting on his name value at this stage of his AEW career. 2020 hasn't been a good look for Jericho at all in this company. I dare say he's doing just as goofy as the stuff he ridiculed during his WWE tenure. He's a prime example of people who needed a goddamn filter for his stupid ideas. Now that we're seeing them in AEW front and center, I'm glad Vince McMahon was shooting down the bulk of this stuff. I hope in time that Tony Khan gets the foresight to do the same. 

As for the post-match debacle with Jericho coming in the middle of MJF and Sammy's bickering, talk about blowing your loads early. The Inner Circle hasn't had MJF and Wardlow around for long enough to even care about dissolving the entire faction. With decisions like this, I'm surprised AEW's tagline isn't "Blowing Your Load Early" like TNA's used to be "Cross The Line". At this point though, I think everyone splitting up from the Inner Circle would benefit highly from not being part of that faction. Chris Jericho and Jake Hager will be fine as a tag team or single with either Jericho doing promos for a powerhouse Hager wrecking through the singles division towards that FTW Championship or the TNT Championship, or back to being Jericho's silent bodyguard whenever Jericho decides to cut out the comedy and go back to being serious to recapture the AEW World Championship. Pride & Powerful have completely lost all of of the magic that made them special back in IMPACT Wrestling when they were aligned with Konnan and feuding with Eddie Kingston and the original LAX. Sammy Guevara would be fine off to his own devices as a chicken shit heel, but hanging onto Jericho's coat tails is only going to hinder him in the long run. MJF and Wardlow would merely go back to business as usual prior to joining the faction, so no love loss if they did split up. 



Singles Match
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. (with Rebel) def. Leyla Hirsch


Britt Baker came out rocking the Pittsbaurgh Steelers colors on her ring gear, dressed to the nines like a champion would, but the fact of the matter is that she's not a champion - yet. As much as I'm growing tired of her heel antics, I feel that it wouldn't be a stretch to peg her as the one to dethrone Hiraku Shida for the AEW Women's Championship. She would have to get past Thunder Rosa first... We'll get back to her in a second, but let's talk about this match.

If AEW hasn't signed Leyla Hirsch then they are fucking stupid. If WWE were still foaming at the mouths for ex-MMA women like they were prior to signing Ronda Rousey and the rest of the MMA Horsewomen (Shayna Baszler, Marina Shafir, and Jessamyn Duke), they would have snatched her up with the quickness. The longer this match went on, the more this petite sized woman was outshining Britt Baker at every opportunity. She reminds me a LOT of Chad Gable in terms of her style and similar stature. She would really shine as part of this division that is desperately lacking with women that can go like this. Besides, they can't bank on Shida, Serena Deeb, and Thunder Rosa to go out there and kill it forever. They need some more quality ladies in there for variety. If they were smart, they wouldn't let Britt Baker wrestle longer matches like this as that's when she gets exposed HARD for her lack of veteran experience. At the same time, this is on the job training, so she has to learn to adapt eventually, but it's the same mistake that WWE has done with their women for over a decade. You don't need to be putting women on TV who aren't ready to be in top spots. Britt Baker is ready in terms of cutting promos as an on-camera personality, but her in-ring talents leave a lot to be desired. 

As for that post-match beatdown from Thunder Rosa, I thought it was fucking awful. Thunder Rosa, I love you, but as a MMA fighter yourself, you should know those forearms looked worse than those ones that guy from the Dark Order was hitting the Bucks with this time last year that turned into a meme on Twitter. 

Like I joked with a friend during the broadcast, AEW (along with multiple promotions in modern day wrestling) needs a Dusty Rhodes to tell men and women on these rosters to "DON'T DO SHIT YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO!". If you don't know how to make these run-ins and beatdowns look legitimate, then don't bother. 




I busted out laughing at that segment with Shida. On the real though? Shida's English impresses me every time she's in these backstage interviews. I know that Asuka/Kana can speak decent English from watching her YouTube channel, but damn, it makes me wonder why WWE makes her speak like she's in a goddamn bad karate movie or something instead of like a normal human being like they do with Shida in this company?



Tag Team Match
Darby Allin and Cody Rhodes (with Arn Anderson) def. Team Taz (Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs) (with Taz)


Powerhouse Hobbs is a much better name than "Big Willie" Hobbs as how commentary was referring to him as before his heel turn and link up to the rest of Team Taz. That being said though? I thought this match was boring for the most part. It felt like deja vu to the match Cody and Darby had against Starks and Cage a few weeks ago. 

Ultimately, the match didn't matter anyway as what everyone is talking about and STILL talking about is what transpired after the result in the post-match beatdown... 




Yes, the Stinger himself has arrived in the Impact Zone, err in Daily's Place. It was cool moment, especially to see him on TNT for the first time in roughly twenty years, but I'm skeptical about how much value can he be worth at this point, especially when WWE didn't see any value into hanging onto his Legends contract. Then again, Sting is one of the few wrestlers who owns the intellectual properties to his gimmick/character from top to bottom, so I know it was killing Vince that they weren't making as much off of him on their roster as they would have liked. 

Goodnight, everybody. That was nice note to end on... Wait, there's still another match? Alright, alright. Let's keep going then...




Singles Match for the AEW World Championship
Kenny Omega def. Jon Moxley (c)


Going into this match, I was convinced that Moxley was losing the title to have the excuse to take time off to go and quarantine in preparation for possibility defending the IWGP United States Championship at Wrestle Kingdom in January that he hasn't been able to defend during this global pandemic. On the flipside, Kenny Omega is still holding the AAA Mega Championship, so it's quite the dilemma as both of these guys have belts from other promotions that they need to defend or drop at some point in the near future. Dave Meltzer and Tony Khan himself explicitly stated that neither of these men would be traveling internationally for those events and the outcome of the match wouldn't be decided on that fact either. When I heard that news earlier today, I was really intrigued on what exactly were they going to do for the finish then. I have to admit that I was pleased with what they went with here in the end. 

About halfway into this match, I got fucking fed up with that crap both Kenny Omega AND Jon Moxley started doing where one person would point and run to the ropes with their backs to their opponent. It looks so goddamn fucking STUPID. It was lame when Omega was doing it in New Japan and it is STILL stupid now in terms of match psychology. All of his opponents should be knocking the shit out of him when he comes back off the rebound. 

AEW spent some money on these promotional pieces and marketing for this Game of Thrones inspired theme for tonight's show. 



I'm sure the AEW marks jizzed their shorts (again) when Omega did the Rainmaker taunt before doing that ripcord style V-Trigger. That was obviously a nod to Okada, but don't get it twisted that AEW is partnering up with them during this pandemic. 

As for this match as a whole, there were parts of it I liked and others (like the charging the ropes antics I mentioned) that I didn't, but overall, it kept me interested. I was definitely paying attention more to this than the ladder match between Shotzi Blackheart and Raquel Gonzales over on NXT. They really bought me onto the match being called off as a draw when Omega was thrown into the heating lamps set up at ringside. 



About that finish though... I wasn't expecting Don Callis to get involved and I definitely wasn't expecting him to tease a possible partnership between the two companies. If Don Callis is going to be The Cleaner's mouthpiece - similar to Paul Heyman to Brock Lesnar and other "clients" - then I'm all for this. It's no secret that promos aren't Omega's strong point - not at all. Don Callis could definitely help him in that regard, especially when he's positioned as the "best of the best" in the company. Omega can then just focus on the in-ring aspect of his matches. Let's be realistic here. It's make or break time for Kenny Omega in this role. The people who have been skeptical and those who flat out hate him are waiting for any and all signs for him to fall on his face and completely shit the bed in this role as World Champion. 






Aftermath:

IMPACT Wrestling EVP Don Callis standing tall with the NEW AEW World Champion, Kenny Omega.




After making his debut, it was later announced that Sting had signed a multi-year deal with AEW and he would speak next Wednesday on Dynamite. Also announced for the next Dynamite, The Inner Circle will have their ultimatum to decide whether to unite or break up. Several matches were announced: Lance Archer and Lucha Brothers vs. Eddie Kingston and The Butcher and The Blade, The Young Bucks vs. The Hybrid 2, FTR vs. Varsity Blondes (Griff Garrison and Brian Pillman Jr.), Dustin Rhodes vs. Preston Vance, and MJF vs. Orange Cassidy in the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring final.

Kenny Omega defeated Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship, with help from long-time friend and Impact Wrestling Executive Vice President Don Callis, who was doing guest commentary for the match. After the match, they immediately left the building and were about to get into a car when Callis responded to interviewer Alex Marvez by saying he and Omega would explain things next Tuesday on Impact!.






Closing Thoughts: 

After the show, I shared the following tweets on my thoughts on the possibilities of an IMPACT/AEW working relationship.





I wouldn't go out on a limb and say that this was AEW's best Dynamite episode for the entire year, but I'm sure that appearance from Sting definitely won them the ratings war - with no signs of stopping soon with the attention that bombshell along with the one in the main event will continue to bring in for at least a few months. 





I'm happy to see that both NWA and now IMPACT Wrestling are getting more exposure on a bigger network instead of being confined to smaller streaming platforms, such as YouTube and Twitch (or AXS TV in IMPACT's case). One company isn't going to beat the global powerhouse that is World Wrestling Entertainment all on their own. Any company that sets out to do that is highly delusional. The best thing for the wrestling world (outside of WWE anyway) is to pool their resources, exchange some talent and make things exciting again - not just for the fans, but for all of those involved. There's some safe ways to go about this, even during a global pandemic and I'm anxious to see how this pans out as we roll into the New Year. I know that I'm one of the harsher critics of AEW since they came into fruition, but that is only because I'm so passionate about wrestling and I want to see it continue to thrive for years to come - not be a simple flash in the pan and we all forget about it the next day. Wrestling drew me into it with larger than life characters, unforgettable moments and storylines - not stuff where it has become commonplace to insult my intelligence on a regular basis. The two bombshells in this show are steps towards making this company better. I want to see more of that and less of the goofy shit. 

AEW, I'm hard on you because I care.