Columnist Rob Pasbani also previews the SummerSlam card, what’s on TV this week and Ronda Rousey’s last match
This past Thursday, after nearly three years of teases, AEW released their highly anticipated video game Fight Forever and here at Squared Circle Pit, I was lucky enough to get a copy for review. If you are still on the fence about getting the game, here are some thoughts from the most casual of gamers.
The best thing AEW Fight Forever has going for it is how easy it is just to pick up and play. I don’t want to spend too much time comparing it to the WWE 2k series, but I always found myself pausing that game to look up controls. Here, they are as simple as can be.
It’s a lot of fun to play any of the weapons matches – the exploding barbed wire death match, or the lights-out match. This is a great party game that even non-wrestling fans would enjoy partaking in. The inclusion of blood and hardcore weapons definitely add an added layer of silliness that makes everything more fun.
While the roster is somewhat limited, there is a nice variety of different styles of performers where you can have a lot of fun. I really enjoyed playing as Kenny Omega, Penta, Abadon and Jon Moxley. Much has been said about the Create a Wrestler, and its limitations, but there are enough options to get a wide variety of characters created. Twitter is already having a lot of fun with it, and I enjoyed creating an avatar for myself to begin the “Road to Elite” storyline mode.
That is where the gaming really happens as you get a set of challenges, including having to win matches and play mini-games to gain points that allow you to further customize your character. The first match is the Casino Battle Royal, and it’s a great way to test out your moveset and wrestle against different characters in the game.
Kenny Omega has already teased new game modes are coming, like Stadium Stampede, and you can really see how the game creators left a lot of room for growth. Beyond the game modes, there seem to be slots for more wrestlers, more customizations in the Create A Wrestler Mode and the Create Arena mode.
This doesn’t seem like a one-and-done release, but rather a living organism that will grow over time. There are certainly some bugs to fix. Initially, I was unable to load any match mode, as my game kept crashing. A quick search showed this was a known bug for Playstation 4 and something they were actively working on fixing. Once I turned off online mode, I was able to play and it was smooth sailing. There are DLCs already announced.
If you are an AEW fan, I think this game is absolutely worth it. It’s a lot of fun and a whole different type of game than the 2k series. It’s an arcade game that makes me nostalgic for 90s video games, and that’s the greatest strength of the entire presentation. This is definitely a game I will be coming back to.
Stay tuned for a more in-depth video review in the coming weeks.
Bo is back sitting in on another episode. We get confused by Cobra’s entrance theme. We witness the death of the Renegade, maybe? Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerroro have a great but troublesome match. The fans pick the best possible main event, Sting vs. Ric Flair!
Colin Young and Rob Pasbani are lifelong wrestling fans, and Jordan Olds is a newer fan who has never seen one episode of WCW Monday Nitro. Join the trio as we chronologically watch the entire series, week-by-week on our new show, Knotfest KNITRO.
WWE NXT airs tonight at 8pm on USA Network. The show was pre-taped last week. Here are spoilers.
AEW Dynamite is live Wednesday at 8pm on TBS:
Impact Wrestling airs Thursday at 8pm on AXS TV:
WWE Smackdown is Friday at 8pm on Fox:
AEW Rampage airs on Friday at 10pm on TNT. No card announced yet.
AEW Collision airs on Saturday at 8pm on TNT:
With WWE’s next big event being Summer Slam on August 5 from Detroit’s Ford Field, the following matches are expected to be announced:
Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso
Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar
Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch
Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Bazler.
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair
Gunther vs Drew McIntyre
Logan Paul vs. Ricochet
Will Seth Rollins be on the card? How about Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens? Edge returns this week as well, so he should be expected on the card as well.
AEW Battle of the Belts VII will take place next Saturday, July 15th from Calgary, Alberta at 10pm, immediately following that night’s episode of Collision. That means three hours of AEW next Saturday night. I hope they do a loaded show.
While Drew McIntyre is once again figured into storylines, he has still yet to sign a new deal with WWE. His current deal was set to expire by the end of the year, but Dave Meltzer reports that due to time off for injuries, WWE will likely add that time onto his contract and extend it past WrestleMania.
Jim Ross noted on his podcast that he suffered a concussion from his fall a few weeks back and does not yet have a timetable for return to AEW. We wish him all the best.
Ronda Rousey suggested on Instagram that the women’s tag title match had their time cut during Money in the Bank. She is expecting to have her last match for a while at SummerSlam.
Kenny Omega spoke to Uproxx recently and addressed the criticism of taking the dangerous looking Tiger Driver ’91 at Forbidden Door saying “People that wanted to sh*t on something or people that want to frown upon something, or for people that want to say, ‘Well, if it were me, I wouldn’t have done that.’ I didn’t get to where I was by being able to do things that everyone else could do. I realized, and I recognized that I do have special talents that maybe not everyone else can do. Without revealing too much, I think a lot about my health. I think a lot about life after wrestling. I think a lot about my current life. I think about next week’s Dynamite and the week after that. I would never do something I didn’t trust myself in performing 100 percent.”
AEW has released Trench, formerly of Mogul Affiliates. Parker Bourdeoux has made it clear on Twitter that he is still under contract to AEW.
On a recent Busted Open, Tony Khan addressed the mixed reactions to CM Punk: “I wasn’t surprised about that at all given that we were in Canada and given some of the things that happened in the lead-up to the show, in particular, since the last time he wrestled,” Khan said. “So I think as we go on the road, we’re going to get a lot of great responses. But just like a sports team, it depends on where you’re at. Some sports teams are really popular in home cities, and then when they go on the road, it depends. Definitely, I thought this was like a road game for him, and he did great.”
Today being July 4th, 2023, it is the 30th anniversary, to the day, of the moment where Lex Luger landed on the USS Intrepid and got in the ring to slam Yokozuna. I feel old!
Do you enjoy pro wrestling? Knotfest Wrestling has a bi-weekly column filled with wrestling news. Read previous editions of this column here. You can always follow me @robinjection on Instagram and Twitter and @Squaredcirclpit.
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