Henry's World

One last week remains on the schedule, as the eight Dog League teams finish up what has been a tumultuous campaign. As anticipated, Rare Woofs and Ridiculous Rascals will meet in the grand finale, but there's draft spots on the line for every other team, in addition to the all-important bragging rights.  Leaping Girl Final Record: (5-10, 8th Seed) As has been the case for most of this year, Leaping Girl was cannon fodder in Round 1 of the playoffs, getting devoured by Growlers in a near 100-point defeat. This week, she may get two new options at running back, with D'Andre Swift yet again attempting to get cleared, while Darrel Williams could get a boost with Clyde Edwards-Helaire banged up. Neither guy makes her lineup for now, but she does have a new starter in Isaiah McKenzie, who was added after Mike Evans (COVID) went to reserve.  UPDATE: The returns of Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis have caused Emma to drop Isaiah McKenzie, starting Tyler Boyd as her WR3 instead.  UP...

The playoff schedule is finally set, as Rare Woofs enter the fray, boasting the best record in the league and on the hunt for a three-peat, while the bottom four teams duke it out in an attempt to improve their draft position for next year.  Leaping Girl Final Record: (5-10, 8th Seed) Beset by injuries, Emma finished the year out cold, now staring down an uphill battle for relevancy in the consolation bracket. This week, she hopes to start Jalen Hurts and D'Andre Swift, benching Kyler Murray and Ezekiel Elliott, and brings in a new receiver with Mike Evans banged up, dropping Marvin Jones to add Gabriel Davis to start as the WR3. Emma has a new defense and kicker, dropping the Browns unit and Ryan Succop to add the Titans and Evan McPherson.  UPDATE: Gabriel Davis (COVID) has been dropped, as Leaping Girl will acquire Tyler Boyd to start this week.  UPDATE: Leaping Girl will start Ezekiel Elliott over D'Andre Swift.  Week 16 Starting Lineup (vs Growlers) QB Jalen Hur...

Jon Moxley is a man on a mission. For over a decade, Moxley toured the bingo halls and back alleys of America, creating a fearsome reputation as a sadistic soul that embraced the worst of wrestling. When Moxley finally got the call to the big time, he did what many thought he couldn't, and gained the trust of the most stubborn of wrestling minds, changing the game along with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in The Shield. But as the years waned on, Moxley, despite his gravitational charisma and solid in-ring skill, was passed over by his brothers, who reached a level that was fiercely guarded against the likes of Mox. In 2019, after over half a decade spent in the WWE system, Moxley was done. He was exhausted from battling with creative, depressed over his perceived lack of drawing power, and questioning his future earning potential after a cavalcade of damaging booking decisions. Moxley needed a new challenge and a new stage, and it was love at first sight for AEW, who saw a distingu...

AEW has already established themselves as a hub of tag team wrestling, filled to the brim with dynamic duos that are given a proper spotlight to distinguish each team and attempt to create an entire catalog of incredible matches. Tonight on Dark, that business model is taken to the next level with a card entirely comprised of tag team bouts, which features three of the best AEW has to offer (The Young Bucks, Best Friends, and Private Party) in addition to one of the only established female alliances in the company, as Riho and Britt Baker team up for the second time. If you love tag team wrestling, then this is the hour for you.  - The November 19th, 2019 episode of AEW Dark comes to you from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, with Excalibur joined by "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes on commentary. Dustin is wearing a cast to sell the arm injury he sustained in the Jake Hager limo door attack, and while his personality and distinct voice stood out, I felt ...

Full Gear was a fabulous night for The Inner Circle, as Ortiz and Santana showed out in an impressive opening match victory over The Young Bucks, while Chris Jericho picked apart Cody Rhodes, securing a big title retention in an emotional contest after MJF betrayed the son of a son of a plumber. There's no time to rest on laurels, however, as Jericho already has more gold in sight, with he and faction mate Sammy Guevara (2-0 in matches as a team) challenge SCU for the AEW World Tag Team Championships in Dynamite's main event. Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky welcomed back Christopher Daniels on Saturday, entering at full strength for the first time in a month and a half, with a sterling record in recent competition to boot. Has AEW had enough of the Cinderella ride that Kazarian and Sky have been on, and will they be willing to place even more eggs in the Chris Jericho basket? Let's take a look, as AEW looks to continue building momentum after a stellar pay-per-view.  - AE...

Not everything about the initial six weeks of AEW Dynamite has gone to perfection. The promotion has dealt with standard growing pains, suffering through occasional production botches and timing issues, while some stories peaked at the wrong time, or didn't get enough development to attract attention from the audience. But AEW hasn't had to be perfect to be a success, and make no doubt that by this time in the tale, they already were. WWE's gambit of trying to limit the new company's growth by directly opposing them with NXT on the same national time slot has already come up empty, with NXT rapidly falling behind in both total viewership and the key 18-49 demo. Dynamite has established itself as a celebration of wrestling, providing a rowdy atmosphere every Wednesday night, learning from the past while innovating for the future, and most of all, providing a coherent and entertaining professional wrestling product that thousands would gladly pay to see on a weekly basis....

14 weeks of competition wasn't enough for The Dog League to have a definitive playoff picture, as 5 teams head into the final week with a realistic shot at claiming the 4th seed. Only one can take it, though, so for these 5, plus Rascal and Rare Woofs at the top, this is by far the most important preparation of the year.  Growlers Current Record: (5-9, 8th Place) Growlers scored well in Week 14, topping 150 points, but stood no chance against Tug of War's fiery output. This week, Growlers are back at the bottom, and that allowed them to claim the top running back available, Rashaad Penny, dropping Alexander Mattison. Penny won't start this week, though Growlers do make two changes to their lineup, starting the Dolphins defense over the Saints, and acquiring a new kicker, dropping Greg Zuerlein to add Nick Folk.  UPDATE: Growlers will start Darnell Mooney over Cole Beasley.  Week 15 Starting Lineup (vs Leaping Girl) QB Josh Allen RB Austin Ekeler RB Cordarrelle Patterson W...

The release schedule of Dark gets it's first alteration this week, as with Full Gear upcoming, Dark went out on Friday, instead of Tuesday, so that it could premiere on YouTube before the pay-per-view. In addition to releasing Dark, this Friday also saw the debut of AEW's new rankings system, part of their effort to place more importance on the results of matches and give the company a sports-esque presentation. We'll take a look at the Top 5 for men, women, and tag teams later on, but first, we head to the ring for a show featuring two women's matches and a championship appearance.  - The November 8th, 2019, episode of AEW Dark comes to you from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the first taped before this week's Dynamite, and the latter two after the final bell. Excalibur and Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez are behind the desk for this one, to be joined by two guest commentators at separate points throughout this hour.  - Our opening cont...

At one time, the go-home show was a staple of weekly wrestling, the one episode out of the month that became appointment television for a promotion's fanbase. It strived to add excitement and extra importance to that upcoming pay-per-view, a critical step in converting an intrigued fan into a regular customer, and it was on these nights that promoters truly shined. WCW and the WWF poured blood, sweat, and tears into making their go-home shows the best that you could find, and TNA, ROH, and others carried the tradition into a new era as they sought to topple Vince McMahon's vast empire. At one time, you could feasibly skip everything before that one final episode prior to a big event and get a full dosage of where a company's product was at without any need for further context. But as the years waned on and the pay-per-view market became only a small portion of the WWE's profits, the folks at Titan Towers lowered the emphasis on the go-home show. By late 2019, with AEW g...