Previously on GBU, Solo Sikoa shined, Jey Uso's title reign abruptly ended, and Chris Jericho continued Chris Jericho'ing (derogatory).

In the week since there’s been a lot of good, so prepare for things to get obnoxiously positive in here. I’m sorry. I know hating on stuff is way more fun than complimenting it, but unfortunately WWE and AEW are doing a lot of good things with their respective brands. Don’t worry, there’s still a little of bad and even more ugly, but let’s get all this feel-good, satisfied-fan-who-is-enjoying-the-product bulls*** out the way.

The Good

Bobby Lashley’s AEW debut

LASHLEY'S BACK. This is exciting, no doubt, but can we all agree that after Lashley shared his ideas for a potential feud with Gunther, he should be kept far, far away from brainstorms and writers' rooms. Mr. Lashley shan't step within 50 feet of a white board, should be banned from owning a dry erase marker, should keep his ideation inside the ol' noggin'.

That said, it’s great to see Lashley in a wrestling ring and I’m curious what he’ll do with the Hurt Business Syndicate.

Adam Cole’s first match in 14 months

It’s always pleasant to see guys return from long layoffs after injuries, and Cole looked sharp en route to a victory over Buddy Matthews. Want to see some bonus good?

Malakai Black appearing in Matthews’ spot after a few moments of darkness was the stuff of movies. Next week I want him to do the trope where he’s standing on a sidewalk but then a bus passes and suddenly he’s gone. Let’s commit to the otherworldly aura, Tony Khan.

The Motor City Machine Guns win gold

Getting into it with the Bloodline shortly after debuting is one thing, but knocking them off and taking their belts? That’s cool.

Speaking of “cool” and people winning titles right after debuting, remember when Carlito beat John Cena for the U.S. Championship in his debut? Damn, can’t believe that was 20 years ago. Or when Paige beat AJ Lee for the Divas Championship in her debut? Damn, can’t believe that was 10 years ago. Time is flying. I’m scared I’ll blink and some social media star-turned-wrestler will debut by beating an artificial intelligence operated robot for a non-fungible world title. (This joke would’ve hit harder a couple years ago when NFTs were everywhere. Damn, can’t believe that was three years ago.)

Everything Moxley’s doing right now

Moxley’s haters tried to knock him down, but he landed against the middle rope and used the momentum to bounce back and clothesline the naysayers.

(Remember when he used to do that rebound lariat? I miss it no matter how impractical it was.)

Look, I don’t care if Moxley looks directly into a camera and blades while staring into our souls, nor do I care if Moxley upset fans when he slowly jogged and (maybe a little too sluggishly) threw himself into a steel wall. Aside from a handful of nitpicky critiques from wrestling purists and crimson mask haters, Moxley is cooking up something interesting as the face of AEW. I think you can make the case that he appears to be a stronger, more threatening force than he was at any other point in his career. With an Orange Cassidy beef in the works, we might be in store for some freshly squeezed cinema.

A potential Dominik Mysterio push

Plenty was said about this on Monday’s “WWE Raw” recap, but Mysterio beat Damian Priest and has recently spoken of World Champion aspirations, so it seems like something might be brewing with the rising heel. In a business that always needs fresh faces who garner strong reactions, Dirty Dom’s value and potential can’t be overstated.

This Dirty Dom costume

Nothing to add, just paying respect to Lin Manuel Mirando for a high-level Halloween costume.

The Bad

This is bad. All bad. It’s bad to lose Rhea for an extended period and it’s bad to have to put her feud with Liv on ice again. Silver lining? Rhea’s return is going to be monumental. Have her enter the Rumble, have Liv cause her to be eliminated, then give the two a proper, definitive ending at WrestleMania.

Goldberg return rumors

Why? Why are we doing this? Who is asking for this? Who is the target audience? Is there a market thirsting for a two-move, one-trick pony when there are so many compelling performers in the company right now? With all due respect to Bill Goldberg, I don’t think there’s anything Bill Goldberg can do to benefit rising stars. I don’t want to see another dramatic Bill Goldberg entrance where Bill Goldberg walks through sparklers and does air karate in a drawn-out process that lasts longer than Bill Goldberg’s actual matches. This would be bad.

The Ugly

Scuff marks on Bronson Reed's sneakers

Bronson Reed's shoes are scuffed as a result of brawling with Seth Rollins multiple times. There are actual titles on the line at Crown Jewel, but don’t underestimate the heightened stakes of a man fighting for the honor of his Jordans after his nemesis left them with a hideous blemish.

Buddy Matthews landed signature Seth Rollins moves on Adam Cole who … kicked out at one

I don’t usually discuss my political beliefs publicly but it’s time to speak out against kicking out at one. Kicking out at one is hideous. It’s a despicable act UNLESS you’re, like, being pinned after a hip toss within the first fresh opening minutes of a match. If you vote for Pen Shamrock as President, my first order of business will be to banish all kickouts before two. I’ll also advocate for more meaningless kickouts at 3.1 like Bobby Fish did to CM Punk. Oh, and one other priority — cutting back on forced celebrity/social media personalities spilling into wrestling rings. Y’know, like this one…

The BOOM is being brought to AEW

Look, I’m not hating on beautiful father-son bonding and I’m certainly not speaking disparagingly about a man who successfully parlayed his repetitive Costco cookie content into a professional wrestling gig.

I’m just not convinced that a company trying to establish itself as the place for the highest level of professional wrestling should feature a TikToker going over one of their athletes, because that’s definitely what’s going to happen, right? That matchmaking gets a negative 11 on my personal boom meter. 💣