The Dark Match

The gang looks to this evening’s Halloween Havoc card with predictions, hopes for a speedy recovery for both Elite Adams, and appreciates the current state of professional wrestling in the mainstream.

Apologies for the audio quality on Jeremy's side.  He didn't properly connect his microphone.

We took a short break and the news cycle seemed to calm down a bit, but the Dark Match runs down Extreme Rules, Canadian Dynamite and some other odds and ends in the wrestling world.  We also ban scissoring on Mondays.

The Ocho: yes, we know Spanish, or at least a little, and have a translator. Lots of rasslin’ fun this week recapped as we eagerly anticipate the White Rabbit. Now Scissor Me, Daddy A**!!!

The Dark Match talks about that thing that everyone has talked about at length, then makes a plea for the Match of the Century!  (Matt also mentions The Mad King twice in this one).  

After dedicating so much love to the UK’s Will Ospreay last week, we apologize to the Mad King for neglecting him, then recap Clash at the Castle and look forward to an incredibly long day of World’s Collide and All Out.

We second what Taz had to say about the British import, but let’s be real, we focus pretty heavily on Mox putting CM Punk in his place in short order this week. Also, NXT is good again!!!  

The DM hits a busy week coming off Summerslam and Ric Flair survived.  Plus Video Games!!!!

Friend of the Show Phil Brooks: Not really, but honestly given the year in pro wrestling/sports entertainment that has been, it would be like the 17th weirdest thing just in the last month if Punk not only suddenly knew who we were, but was an actual friend of the show. Lots to unpack, from Vince retiring to Death Before Dishonor.  Plus, we talk about Eddie Kingston as promised.

After giving a shout out to Steven Woodley, friend of the show and Alpine, WY resident, we hit the highs and lows of the always exhausting Wrestlemania weekend, wax nostalgic on seeing Stone Cold Steve Austin perform again, shower praise on FTR and giggle in excitement about the Jackass match. Fun stuff. Give it a listen.

We'll be back ahead of Double or Nothing in May!

The Dark Match breaks down the Rock slap heard round the world, then runs down the most stupendous, exhilarating, biggest Wrestlemania card of all space and time. Hyperbole is something we excel at too. 

A lot of wrestling in the week that was, but a women’s cage match ended up being the only truly memorable moment. We discuss it, then prepare ourselves for probable Blood and Guts matchups and Keith Lee’s returns to a feudal era.

The team hits quickly on NXT: Roadblock V2.0 which surprisingly didn’t end with a Goldberg title victory before moving on to a week in the gr… state of Florida for Tony Khan’s team and a Stupendous AEW Revolution show. 

Quick hits from the week before the team looks ahead to Revolution and sets an open invite for guest hosts through Wrestlemania. Also Matt rants about AMC's variable pricing.

It’s been a few weeks and what feels like 100 hours of wrestling, but Jeremy and Matt run through all of it, including a great Impact: No Surrender show, good NXT Vengeance Day, and another subpar showing in the Middle East for WWE. 

Impact is crushing it, Punk took his first loss, loads of hot goss and drama for both AEW & WWE, and some fantastic matches in the week that was, so the Dark Match team breaks it all down.

The DM team makes their best effort to go over the events of the Royal Rumble in as positive a manner as they can, but you can only be so positive when you’re this disappointed. Jeremy was at BoLA though, so that’s cool. He can recap that for you. 👍🏻

The Dark Match predicts the Royal Rumble, combs over the GCW Hammerstein show card, and welcomes Jon Moxley back with wide open arms. He’s drinking blood and we’re here for the banquet.

Lots of rumors this week, so the team makes wild predictions about the pending Royal Rumble after recapping the week that was in wrestling.

In this episode, Matt and Jeremy say farewell to NXT Black and Gold and the Cruiserweight Championship.  NXT's new strategy seems to be throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks.  We touch on the week in AEW and the rest of WWE.  And how could we not talk about Mickie James opening the forbidden door long enough for Moose to sneak through?!?!  #RIPNXTBlackandGold #RIPCruiserweightChampionship.

Schedule is a touch off, but the gang reviews a pretty good showing at Day One, provides hope for future WWE Championship booking, and looks back on the past week and 2021 in wrestling.  Spoiler: Lots of love for Fabian Aichner in here.

Matt’s had no sleep and Jeremy is working his ass off, but Winter came and left us with a slight chill, so let’s talk about it. We bask in Hook’s glory, and Matt issues an open challenge to anyone who debates HBK’s GOAT status to come on the show and present their argument. Happy Festivus. 

We recap a lot here, but that’s not what’s important. We want to say thank you to Johnny Gargano, Kyle O’Reilly and Beth Phoenix. No matter where the future takes you, thank you for everything you’ve given to the Black and Gold and to us as fans.  #blackandgoldforever

The “future endeavors” surprised us again this week, Matt continues to struggle with whether his viewership makes him a bad person in light of the cuts, Jeremy applauds The Butcher’s commitment to his commitments, and The Dark Match duo predicts a probably predictable Survivor Series PPV (our picks are pretty much identical). Where’s Dolph Ziggler when you need him?

Matt has had a crazy 24 hours, but still made it on to talk about the excellent Full Gear.  We talk about what we liked, what we didn't like, and where we see AEW going from here.  All on National Cowboy Sh*t day.

Moose is the (self proclaimed) greatest champion on Earth, and put every other champ on notice.  Matt recaps a lengthy week of wrestling as Jeremy was enjoying wedded bliss in Guatemala, then the DM team predicts a big Full Gear card before making their way to Minneapolis for the show. 

Deep cuts on the title, but Charles Lee Ray’s better known doll persona will be guest host for Halloween Havoc. We predict a pretty amazing card and try to guess the wheel spin stipulations that will come into play (before every match ends in a roll up…yes, even the ladder match).

Moose is the Champion, my friends.  There’s a ton of wrestling stuff in here, but Moose is the Champ, that’s all that matters. Sorry Josh Alexander, you had a good r…I can’t even finish it. Just sorry, Josh Alexander. 

Tons of wrestling and loads more coming, the team quickly recaps the week behind and forecasts the two major PPVs ahead: Bound for Glory and Crown Jewel.

Plenty of stakes in one company, a feeling that there are none in the other, it was a weird week in wrestling, but we hit a quick recap, do some Cowboy Sh*t, and remind you that Moose is excellent on this week’s broadcast.

The team recaps a lot of wrestling, including a PPV and 3 TV shows on the E side, 2 shows from Tony Khan’s promotion, and a quick reminder that Moose is here and we should be eternally grateful at all times.  

WWE heads into Extreme Rules with a single Extreme Rules match lined up, but we go through the card, recap Grand Slam Dynamite and Rampage, reference Moose three times in this episode so hopefully that makes up for his less than stellar week in wrestling.  

A busy week of wrestling that will lead into an even bigger week, so the Dark Match team recaps everything going on, remembers (finally) to show Moose some more love, and briefly dives into the horror that is The Plane Ride From Hell episode of Dark Side of the Ring.

This week on Impact, Moose delivered yet again in a big win over Eddie Edwards. The Dark Match didn’t cover this on this episode because internet issues cut us off, but there’s plenty of good stuff from the week that was inside, including All Out reactions and fallout, a banger of a Smackdown episode from MSG, and an all too simple suggestion for making Raw a much better show.

In our second episode of the season, the team already failed to appreciate Moose during Moose Appreciation Season, but does provide a thorough run through of the pending All Out 2021 Card and their predictions for the show. We love you Moose.

“We’re Back”… ok I’m paraphrasing CM Punk a little bit, but we’ve been gone a few weeks and we know you’re pumped for our take on the massive two weeks of wrestling and sports entertainment that was. We also kick off the Moose Appreciation Season of the podcast, as Impact die-hards might not find him under appreciated, but we sure as hell do. That guy’s awesome. 

In the finale of Season 2, The Dark Match recaps an extremely busy week in professional wrestling, as three PPV events, a special Dynamite and the return to the road and live crowds. We will be taking a brief hiatus until the week of Summerslam when we will return for Season 3 of everyone’s favorite wrestling podcast when we take The Dark Match to the moon!

There’s a ton of wrestling this weekend, so Team Dark Match makes their Money in the Bank predictions, then takes a shot in the dark at what Slammiversary brings to the party this Saturday night on FITE!

For a week that brought both Road Rager and Great American Bash, The Dark Match brings you a recap of both.  Hope you brought your plungers, this one is jam packed with recap mess. 

The team runs through the week that was, predicts the upcoming Great American Bash, and makes a heartfelt plea for sense and reason on America’s Birthday.  

Team Dark Match recaps the Hell in a Cell PPV, and a quick run through of the Money in a Bank qualifiers from Raw and Diamond Mine debuting on NXT. 

After quickly recapping the ever rising death toll at the hands of the Sir Yeet, Head of the Table Roman Reigns, the Dark Match team goes through the (kinda repetitive) Hell in a Cell card for 2021.

The DM team runs through the past weekend’s NXT In Your House then a quick recap of the fallout in the weekly show.  We will be back later in the week to preview the Hell in a Cell card.

The return of Poppy and Io Shirai highlight a quick recap of NXT, then Jeremy and Matt run through the card for this Sunday’s In Your House 2021 PPV event.

After Matt recounts his brush with death (the aftermath of COVID shot #2), The Dark Match team goes through the full week of wrestling a little late this week (Thanks TNT), and briefly discusses more contract releases from the E.

Matt and Jeremy were in Jacksonville for the very long, but very good, Double or Nothing. Join us for a slightly sleep-deprived recap of the evening.

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After a quick run through of the week that’s been, Jeremy and Matt run through predictions for the AEW Double or Nothing 2021 PPV Card.

Jeremy and Matt quickly recap a somewhat slow week in wrestling, which is a weird thing to say in a week with zombie lumberjacks, and just as the podcast hits its stride we get interrupted by that Damn Ted DiBiase.

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