Dave Meltzer talked about AEW’s need for a top babyface talent on Wrestling Observer Radio.
During Thursday morning’s show, Meltzer talked about AEW’s need for a top babyface similar to Cody Rhodes in WWE. You can watch the show clip below.
Meltzer said that AEW simply doesn’t have that guy that draws people in, pointing to recent sluggish attendeance for AEW shows. He also said that turning Chris Jericho or having CM Punk return isn’t the solution. He concluded saying that identifying the issue with AEW right now is the easy part, but finding the solution would be tough.
On Wednesday, AEW confirmed the World Championship match for AEW Revolution, with Bryan Danielson earning the match with MJF by successfully defeating Rush in what was a bloody, brutal match. After the match, MJF came out from the announcer’s desk and attacked Danielson, laying him out with a punch while wearing the Dynamite diamond ring. The two will now meet in a 60-minute iron man match on March 5.
Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including the aftermath of Tom’s crushing victory over Bryan at Black Label Pro/GCW Four Cups Stuffed which you can still grab a replay of on FITE.tv! Lots of backstage notes, plus TV reviews from the weekend and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
While the eyes of the wrestling world are on WWE and AEW this weekend, one of the highest of profile bouts saw famed podcaster/curmudgeon Bryan Alvarez team with Billie Starkz to take on Filthy Four Weekly co-host Tom Lawlor and Killer Kelly at GCW/BLP 4 Cups Stuffed Friday night in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Despite the bravado Alvarez showed leading up to the mixed tag team match, it was not his night as Lawlor and Kelly defeated Alvarez and Starkz in roughly sixteen minutes.
There were issues between Alvarez and Starkz from the get-go that would portend their doom:
Alvarez is still expected to attend Saturday’s live Wrestling Observer Radio Q&A in Schaumburg, IL. However, it’s unknown if he will enter next year’s GCW Tournament of Survival.
Here’s the full results from the show:
Team Gringo (Gringo Loco, Latigo & Toxin) defeated Team Laredo (Laredo Kid, ASF, & Drago Kid)
GCW World Champion Jon Moxley made a surprise appearance and confronted Nick Gage ahead of their title vs. career match in October
Mike Bailey defeated Kylie Rae
Shane Mercer defeated Marko Stunt
Tom Lawlor & Killer Kelly defeated Bryan Alvarez & Billie Starkz
Joey Janela defeated Ernest “The Cat” Miller
Masha Slamovich defeated Sandra Moone
BLP Champion Calvin Tankman defeated Rich Swann to retain
Team GCW (Blake Christian, Tony Deppen, Jordan Oliver, Cole Radrick & Nick Wayne) defeated Team BLP (Joshua Bishop, Kevin Ku, Dominic Garrini, Crash Jaxon & Levi Everett)
Bryan Alvarez is returning to the ring All Out weekend.
Game Changer Wrestling confirmed Monday night that Alvarez will team with Billie Starkz to take on the team of Tom Lawlor and Killer Kelly. The show, which will be a collaboration between Black Label Pro and GCW, will take place at the Grand Sports Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on September 2 during All Out weekend.
The match was made following events that took place on Monday’s Filthy Four Daily. Lawlor took offense to Alvarez claiming responsibility for his victory over Toru Yano in the G1 Climax tournament. Lawlor eventually challenged Alvarez to a match where he would team with Debbie Malenko to take on Alvarez and Starkz.
Alvarez texted Malenko to offer her the match. However, Alvarez calimed that she couldn’t be in Chicago that weekend. Lawlor said he would have a new tag team partner by the end of the show, eventually revealing Kelly as his teammate.
*4 CUPS STUFFED UPDATE*
Just Signed:
As heard on Figure Four Radio…
BRYAN ALVAREZ & BILLIE STARKZ vs FILTHY TOM & KILLER KELLY
Alvarez last wrestled in 2019, where he and Lawlor teamed up in a losing effort against Nick Gage and Thomas Santell at Beyond Wrestling Americanrana on July 28.
After months of talk, it’s time for the main event: Sunday’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view in front of a sold-out United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Our Bryan Alvarez joined our Denise Salcedo earlier this week to preview the show which you can catch for free on YouTube.
Note this was recorded before both Tomohiro Ishii and Hiromu Takahashi were removed from the show due to injury and illness, respectively, and the Friday announcements for the new pre-show matches.
Here’s the current lineup:
Interim AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Jay White (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole
AEW All-Atlantic Championship: Malakai Black vs. PAC vs. Miro vs. Clark Connors
AEW Women’s World Championship: Thunder Rosa (c) vs. Toni Storm
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships / ROH World Tag Team Championships: United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) (c) vs. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (c) vs. Roppongi Vice (Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero)
IWGP US Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Orange Cassidy
Chris Jericho, Minoru Suzuki & Sammy Guevara vs. Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta & Shota Umino
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. TBA
Bullet Club (Young Bucks & El Phantasmo) vs. Dudes with Attitudes (Sting, Darby Allin & Shingo Takagi)
Buy-In: Max Caster & Gunn Club (Billy Gunn, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) vs. LA Dojo (Yuya Uemura, Alex Coughlin, Kevin Knight & The DKC)
Buy-In: YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs. Aaron Solo and QT Marshall
Buy-In: Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado
Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including Lance’s take on the MJF situation, a review of Ed in San Antonio’s PODER QUATRO where Bryan got killed by Debbie Malenko, some thoughts on Impact and Double or Nothing and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Continuing our 100 darkest moments in pop culture history, I return to the world of sports entertainment (pro wrestling) to find out how one company became the most profitable and successful wrestling company in the world and then sank over half of genre with it.
The death of WCW is an amazing account of how to literally run off half of the entire fanbase of a very popular pop culture genre with a bad product.
Welcome to the debut episode of We’re Live Pal, a brand new podcast. Denise Salcedo, Andrew Zarian, and I (Garrett Gonzales) are co-hosts, and most weeks, we’ll have a special guest in our fourth chair. For our first episode, it’s none other than Bryan Alvarez.
We discuss Monday’s RAW, Summer Slam, Kenny Omega vs. Jungle Boy, and whether or not fans will come back in big numbers.
10 years ago before the world knew him as Luke Harper and what he became in AEW, Brodie Lee (aka Jon Huber) was plying his trade in Chikara, Ring of Honor and EVOLVE and working for his big break.
In this August 2010 edition of Figure Four Daily, Bryan Alvarez talked with Lee for 45 minutes about a variety of topics like how he broke into the business, his various gimmicks, the origin of his name, his starts in ROH, Chikara and EVOLVE, his feud with Claudio Castagnoli (WWE’s Cesaro), learning to work like a big guy, advice for people wanting to break in, almost being Colin Delaney (well, kind of), plus a ton of fun stories.
As the wrestling world mourns the sudden loss of one of the more popular people in the business, enjoy this audio look back at his early days from the man himself.
Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including Lance’s memories of Pat Patterson, AEW thoughts on their Winter is Coming show, NXT Takeover women’s match booking, tons of Retro RAW and Smackdown thoughts, and so much more.
Watch in beautiful HD at video.f4wonline.com. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including where Tom was last week, the SmackDown go-home show for Hell in a Cell, New Japan Strong’s great main event, and tons more.
Left My Wallet returns with a double dose of sports silliness.
First, Bryan Alvarez joins the show, talking trash about our fantasy football matchup this week and to the rest of the league.
Then, I’m joined by Paul Fontaine as we bring you another watchalong at his request, this time featuring 1978’s infamous “Battle of the Network Stars”.
Join us as we watch Gabe Kaplan, Scott Baio, Christy McNichol, Willie Aames, Robert Conrad, GRIZZLY ADAMS, and so many more of your favorite late 70s/early 80s television favorites. While most of you weren’t born yet, those that remember know the goodness that comes from these mish-moshes of network talent.
This is a fun doubleheader of fantasy football trash talk and all the gloriousness that is Gabe Kaplan in a tug of war. Enjoy!
Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and MLW superstar ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor is back today with tons to talk about including THIS SUPER SMACKDOWN on Friday with a title change and dog food stipulation, the MALE BAG, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Our very own Bryan Alvarez of Figure Four Daily and the Bryan & Vinny Show was a featured guest on this week’s ‘Talk Is Jericho’ with the reigning AEW world champion Chris Jericho, the audio of which you can stream below.
Bryan talked to Jericho about his second book, “100 Things WWE Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die“. They discussed why Bryan wrote the book and the process behind it, what he doesn’t want people to do when reading it, the first experience both men had with WrestleMania, Bryan’s relationship with Chris Benoit, WWE business, reclaiming lapsed fans, NXT, and, of course, AEW.
For those fans in the Seattle, WA, area, Bryan is doing a book signing Saturday at the Barnes and Noble at the Northgate Mall at 2 PM local time. Pick up a copy of the book while you’re there or bring one you have. Follow his Twitter account for any updates or for questions.
Kobe Durst defeated Ethan Page to win the BLP Championship
This was both an action-packed and weapon-packed start to the show as Durst picked up the win and title with a litte help from some outside interference.
Durst jumped Page with a chair at the onset, but Page quickly recovered and threw Durst like a lawn dart into the ringpost. Durst brought a table and another chair out and was getting increasingly frustrated at not being able to put Page away. Page powerbombed Durst from the top rope through a thick piece of wood resting on two chairs, but was distracted by Durst’s comrades long enough so he could hit him with a facebreaker while his head was stuck in the chair. He followed that up with a piledriver on another chair to pick up the win and the title. Page ran to the back to chase Durst after the match.
Independent Wrestling Champion Orange Cassidy defeated Bryan Alvarez to retain
Referee Bryce Remsburg got a nice pop from the crowd when he entered. Cassidy brought the title out in his backpack, his orange juice in his back pocket, and his sunglasses on his face. Alvarez was heavily booed as he announced as one half of the Chop And Roll Express.
Cassidy kept his sunglasses on and hands in his pockets for the opening exchanges which aggravated Alvarez. An Alvarez shoulderblock only made Cassidy stumble back to the ropes and when he hit a slow motion version of of his own, this only annoyed Alvarez more. Alvarez ended up taping Cassidy’s arms as they were in his pocket, rendering him helpless.
Alvarez removed his glasses, tried them on himself, and began choppin’ and choppin’ Cassidy in the chest. He chopped him round the ring, he chopped him in the crowd, he got him back in the ring, and he chopped him some more. He took to the middle rope and hit a dastardly, evil double foot stomp to the sunglasses, shattering them into a thousand pieces. This enraged the crowd so much that a fan threw their own glasses in, only for the dastardly Alvarez to stomp on them too.
He chopped him some more, but that was it. Cassidy woke up and exploded with a comeback before going for the orange juice, but Alvarez kicked it into his face and hit a superkick. Alvarez went to the top rope but was distracted by mysterious music…could it be Marko Stunt?…but we never found out as the musical distraction lasted long enough for Cassidy to roll him up for the win.
Sadkampf (Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku) defeated Manny Fernandez & Tank
Tank was billed as weighing “more than these two dipsh*ts”. Fernandez took the mic and asked everyone to think of Terry Funk at this sad time. Tank used a fork to the bare feet of Garrini and chased him through the crowd, threatening both he and Ku with BBQ skewers. He eventually got Garrini in the head and busted him open and got Ku in the buttocks.
The finish came when Ku small packaged Tank out of nowhere for the win, but Fernandez and Tank got revenge with chairshots after the match. Tank then got on the mic and got everyone to cheer for Fernandez.
Nick Gage defeated Swoggle
This was a crazy brawl. Swoggle came out to a New Found Glory song to which the crowd sang along to as the music died down. The two sat on chairs face to face and began exchanging forearms. Gage hit a spinebuster before they began brawling around the ring. Swoggle hit a big crossbody from the elevated seating area to the floor. Swoggle had some help from PB Smooth as he got involved and help set Gage up for a Swoggle cutter onto one of the chairs for a two count.
Multiple superkicks later and Gage finally fell to the mat but Swoggle only got a two count. Marcus took out PB Smooth with a fireball. Swoggle hulked up from a chair shot and German suplexed Gage. Gage then hulked up and hit a chokeslam backbreaker on Swoggle. Gage continued with a piledriver but Swoggle hulked up again. Gage’s assault continued and culminated with a second piledriver for the win.
Gage took the mic after the match and gave kudos to Swoggle for being tough and for him constantly getting back up. Gage then said he would be in a deathmatch by the end of the weekend. Swoggle took the mic and thanked Gage for showing everyone that he can still do this.
Allie Kat won a “Million Dollar” Battle Royal for the Wrestling with Regret championship
Brian Zane from Wrestling with Regret presented this. Boomer Hatfield ran wild before being eliminated. Maria Manic then took control and eliminated half of the field. The last three in there were Allie Kat, Manic, and reigning champion Levi Shapiro. Kat eliminated Shapiro and we were down to she and Manic.
Manic brought a knife out and went after Kat but eliminated herself after vaulting over the top rope and going for a dropkick off the apron. Kat thought she had won, but Danny Adams had been hiding and jumped in but couldn’t surprise eliminate her. They exchanged forearms on the apron before Kat eliminated him with a piledriver to win the title.
Curt Stallion, AJ Gray, Gary Jay and CW Anderson defeated Indiana State Champion Jake Parnell, Chris Dickinson, Rory Gulak and Daniel Makabe
Makabe and Anderson were surprise additions to the match. After a slow start, the match quickly broke down and Gray picked up the win for his team with a big lariat.
Jordynne Grace, Kylie Rae, Nicole Savoy, Samantha Heights and Solo Darling defeated Shazza McKenzie, Charli Evans, Jessica Troy, Indi Hartwell and Zoe Lucas
This was a good showcase match for all involved. Grace got a lot of offense and looked strong coming out of this one. Grace and McKenzie had some good early close exchanges of near falls. Rae tagged in and hit a cannonball in the corner. They then got the heat on Rae as the pace slowed until Grace got the hot tag and ran wild. A big dive sequence ensued as Heights & Savoy hit a double suicide dive and Rae hit a trust fall before Grace took out everyone with big suicide dive through the ropes.
Everyone took turns hitting big moves. Shazza hit a stunner, Rae a forearm, Troy a pump kick, Darling a pump handle slam, Hartwell a DDT and Grace an STO into a sit down powerbomb. Grace picked up the win soon after with a pump handle driver.
BLP Tag Team Champions Space Pirates (Space Monkey & Shane Sabre) defeated Sammy Guevara & Robbie Eagles and The Besties in the World (Davey Vega and Mat Fitchett) to retain
This was a big free for all with nonstop action. There were no tags, just everyone going for it with big double team moves and close near falls. Eagles looked good with a big springboard dropkick to break up a double abdominal stretch by the Besties. Sabre picked up the win for the Pirates with a sit down reverse piledriver.
Guevara took the mic after the match and said he and Eagles are the best in the world. They said the Space Pirates just beat them so they must be one of the best tag teams in the world. Eagles showed them respect and all four shook hands after the match.
Jonathan Gresham defeated Shigehiro Irie
The story of the match was Gresham attempting the sleeper throughout the match to try and slow the steam engine Irie. He finally locked it in after diving through the ropes and grabbing Irie on the outside and dragging him back in.
Irie exploded out of the blocks and hit a big suplex and an earthquake sit down splash. Gresham retaliated with a big dive over the top to the outside but Irie just caught him and launched him into the ring post. Back in the ring, they exchanged hard shots and kicks. Gresham got the upperhand and hit a dropkick in the corner for a two count. Irie hit a big bossman slam for a two count of his own. Irie hit a big splash off the top for another close near fall.
Gresham fought back with a big stomp to the knee and a forearm for another near fall. We got a second sleeper attempt by Gresham but Irie fought to his feet and cannonballed Gresham into the corner, and followed up with a more traditional cannonball for good measure. Gresham caught his feet on the ropes with a cannonball dive through the ropes, but still hit enough of Irie to knock him down. A big top rope shooting star press followed inside the ring for another close two count.
Irie came close to the win after a forearm exchange. He hit a big pounce followed by a running Michinoku driver but Gresham still kicked out. Gresham picked up the win with the sleeper after diving onto Irie on the outside, locking on the hold, dragging him back into the ring and not letting go.
