Wrestling Tonight: AEW WRESTLEDREAM FALLOUT | ROLLINS INJURY UPDATE | AJ STYLES’ JAPAN FAREWELL | WWE TESTS AI STORYTELLING
Release Date: 10/21/2025
AEW Dynamite: Full Gear Go-Home Edition | Omega Returns | Kyle O'Reilly Demands No Holds Barred Match With Mox
The Turnbuckle Tavern
It's Thursday, and you know what that means! It is time to walk through those Tavern doors and order up a round of professional wrestling coverage from The Two Bad Chads! This week we talk AEW and all the happenings of the week! Make sure you go to patreon.com/theturnbuckletavern for all your Tavern needs!
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Rawdown #204: Last RAW For Cena | Maxxine Dupri IC Champ | Returns O' Plenty
The Turnbuckle Tavern
The RAWDOWN boys discuss all of the news coming out of RAW and Smackdown and get you caught up on all of the news happening inside and outside the ropes in WWE. Everything is on the table. This is just the tip of the iceberg with all of the stories and news going on in the WWE. Let's talk about it and everything else in the WWE Universe! WWE RAW, WWE Smackdown, NXT... It's all there! Come get your best weekly fix for all things WWE on The RAWDOWN, right here at The Turnbuckle Tavern! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, COMMENT, SHARE, & CLICK THE BELL! TELL A FRIEND ABOUT US! Go to...
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Wrestling Tonight: CENA’S GRAND SLAM IC WIN & “LAST TIME IS NOW” TOURNAMENT | AEW FULL GEAR 2025 PREVIEW | TNA TURNING POINT FALLOUT
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Welcome to Episode 151 of Wrestling Tonight, powered by G FUEL and Dick Lazers — use code TAVERN for 20% off. Acefield Retro is riding solo this week, and there’s plenty to sort through across all three major promotions. AEW heads into Newark for Full Gear 2025, approaching the event as a marker for where the company stands heading into the new year. A steel cage world title match, a women’s rivalry reaching its conclusion, the introduction of a new championship, and the lingering fallout from last week’s Blood & Guts — including the first women’s version of the match — give...
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The Turnbuckle Debate #249
The Turnbuckle Tavern
The week we are joined by The Rawdown's own JBugz! Join us as we ask who should be the one to face John Cena for his last match and should the match take place at a joint NXT show; what 3 NXT talent should be featured on SNME; and did AEW go too far by introducing the National Championship ? It's going to be a fun week here at The Tavern, so to make sure you do not miss anything, go to patreon.com/theturnbuckletavern for all your Tavern needs!
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SHOT OF NOSTALGIA #7.2 | THE SMACKDOWN SIX ERA | BLUEPRINT OF GREATNESS | EDDIE VS EDGE | AUG–SEP 2002 | THE TAG TEAM FORMULA TAKES SHAPE
The Turnbuckle Tavern
The DeLorean’s still parked under the blue lights — and in Episode 2 of Shot of Nostalgia: Season 7 – The SmackDown Six Era, we’re stepping into the stretch where SmackDown built its identity. Acefield Retro breaks down Blueprint of Greatness, when Paul Heyman’s creative direction started to take form. By late 2002, Raw leaned on promos and spectacle, while SmackDown focused on matches that told stories and defined characters. This episode features a watch-along of Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero (No DQ, 9/26/02) — a match that shows exactly how the SmackDown Six style came to life:...
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AEW Dynamite: Blood And Guts | Hangman VS Hobbs Falls Count Anywhere | Okada To Bucks- "DECISION TIIIIME!"
The Turnbuckle Tavern
It's Thursday, and you know what that means! It is time to walk through those Tavern doors and order up a round of professional wrestling coverage from The Two Bad Chads! This week we talk AEW and all the happenings of the week! Make sure you go to patreon.com/theturnbuckletavern for all your Tavern needs!
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Rawdown #203: John Cena Is A Grand Slam Champ | WARGAMES Is Official
The Turnbuckle Tavern
The RAWDOWN boys discuss all of the news coming out of RAW and Smackdown and get you caught up on all of the news happening inside and outside the ropes in WWE. Everything is on the table. This is just the tip of the iceberg with all of the stories and news going on in the WWE. Let's talk about it and everything else in the WWE Universe! WWE RAW, WWE Smackdown, NXT... It's all there! Come get your best weekly fix for all things WWE on The RAWDOWN, right here at The Turnbuckle Tavern! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, COMMENT, SHARE, & CLICK THE BELL! TELL A FRIEND ABOUT US! Go to...
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Wrestling Tonight: AEW BLOOD & GUTS PREVIEW | WWE OUTPACES UFC FINANCIALLY | CHELSEA GREEN’S A DOUBLE CHAMP | AEW’S NATIONAL TITLE SPARKS NWA BACKLASH
The Turnbuckle Tavern
Acefield Retro and Chad are back for Wrestling Tonight, and Episode 150 lands during one of the biggest weeks of the year. AEW is heading to Greensboro next Wednesday for Blood and Guts, live on TBS and HBO Max, with an expanded two-and-a-half-hour broadcast that feels closer to a pay-per-view than a weekly show. Hangman Page does battle against Powerhouse Hobbs in a Falls Count Anywhere match, the fifth men’s Blood and Guts takes place, and for the first time ever, the women get their turn inside the cage. Greensboro isn’t just another stop—it’s the birthplace of WarGames, and AEW is...
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The Turnbuckle Debate #248
The Turnbuckle Tavern
The week we are joined by The Tavern's own Colton and Ace! Join us as we ask Is Logan Paul the piece that finally makes The Vision matter, or is WWE forcing a brand fit that won’t last; Is Seth Rollins becoming one of wrestling’s great “what if” stories, or have injuries stopped being a real setback in an era where stars never truly disappear; and If WWE approached AEW for a cross-promotional deal to feature Edge at Cena’s farewell show, would saying yes make AEW look progressive or weak? It's going to be a fun week here at The Tavern, so to make sure you do not miss anything, go to...
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SHOT OF NOSTALGIA #7.1: THE SMACKDOWN SIX ERA | THE SPLIT & THE SPARK | MAR–JUL 2002 | DRAFT NIGHT | EDDIE’S RETURN | EDGE VS ANGLE | REY’S DEBUT
The Turnbuckle Tavern
Shot of Nostalgia is back for Season 7, and we’re jumping straight into one of the most important turning points in modern wrestling history. The DeLorean’s set for 2002—a year where WWE was trying to figure itself out, and SmackDown quietly stole the show. Acefield Retro kicks things off with The Split & The Spark, covering March through July 2002, when everything started to change. The Invasion had fizzled out, the roster was packed to the brim, and WWE needed a new identity. The solution came in the form of the first-ever Brand Extension. Raw got the spectacle. SmackDown got the...
info_outlineEpisode 147 is live. Acefield Retro and Chad are back with a brand-new edition of Wrestling Tonight to break it all down, a massive week across AEW, WWE, and beyond.
AEW WrestleDream 2025 in St. Louis felt like a complete show from start to finish. Every match had purpose, and every moment built toward something meaningful. Darby Allin finally defeated Jon Moxley in a violent but deeply emotional I Quit match that ended with Sting’s return.
Hangman Page and Samoa Joe delivered the kind of world title match that rewards patience, ending with Page barely surviving before The Opps made their presence felt again. Cracks began to form in Don Callis’ camp when Kazuchika Okada accidentally hit Takeshita with a Rainmaker, costing them the tag titles. Kris Statlander’s win over Toni Storm was the title defense her reign needed, and Mercedes Moné continued her dominant streak by defeating Mina Shirakawa to break Ultimo Dragon’s record.
Elsewhere, Jurassic Express reunited to beat the Young Bucks in a fast, fun tag match that raised new questions about Kenny Omega’s next move. Fletcher retained against Briscoe, Hayter and Thekla tore into each other, and The Hurt Syndicate picked up a strong win that puts them in line for gold.
In WWE, Seth Rollins’ shoulder injury could reshape the road to WrestleMania, but the larger story is the company’s quiet rollout of an AI-driven storytelling system. Reports suggest WWE creative has begun testing artificial intelligence to help design character arcs, anticipate audience reactions, and fine-tune story pacing before scripts reach production. Whether this becomes a valuable tool or a creative crutch remains to be seen, but it marks a major shift in how wrestling stories might be told.
Jacob Fatu’s violent write-off and Ilja Dragunov’s surprise United States Title win over Sami Zayn arrived with uncanny timing, fueling speculation that elements of the new system are already in play. Across the Pacific, AJ Styles may have wrestled his final match in Japan, closing the night with an emotional farewell speech delivered in Japanese by Shinsuke Nakamura.
It was a week that balanced endings and beginnings. AEW delivered purposeful, organic storytelling while WWE stepped into uncharted territory by blending creativity with artificial intelligence. Wrestling keeps evolving, and nights like these remind everyone why they care.
💥 Episode 147 of Wrestling Tonight is streaming now. Watch exclusively at patreon.com/theturnbuckletavern. Support independent wrestling media, and join the conversation.
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