This week on “The Bachelor” Arie Luyendyk Jr. really pulls out all the stops: female wrestling, special guests, and dogs (always a crowd pleaser), in order to spice up this mildly interesting season of the bachelor.

First Group Date
Starting off, beloved host Chris Harrison came to deliver the first date card for Maquel, Jacqueline, Lauren B., Tia, Marikh, Bekah M., Bibiana, and Krystal, with the cryptic message: “It’s all about the ring -Arie”. The ladies expertly decoded the marriage pun to discover the theme: a wrestling date! The girls got ready to literally fight for Arie’s love and attention.

On the date, the women were “taught” expert wrestling moves from the “Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling”. As the women dressed up as their wrestling personas in preparation for the main event, Arie was the first one in the ring, wearing a suit because he doesn’t have a clue what’s going on. His wrestling opponent? “Pretty Boy Pitbull” Kenny King! Does everyone remember Kenny from bachelorette Rachel’s season? I know I do! Viewers literally watched Kenny throw Arie around like a rag doll and then leave.

Afterwards, the usual conversations and one on one time ensued, finishing with Arie bestowing the rose to Bekah M., reason being, as he so eloquently put it, “You were outstanding today and tonight you were amazing.” What a way with words Arie has!

One-on-One Date
As for Lauren S., she’s off to Napa Valley with Arie for her one-on-one date in wine country. But the wine isn’t the only great thing about this date. There’s also the riveting conversation. First up, they discuss how early they go to bed. THEN they discuss how early they wake up. Fascinating!

And if you thought that was deep stuff, just wait until the dinner portion of the evening in which Lauren S. talks so much that ARIE ACTUALLY EATS. This might be the first time in Bachelor nation history that we’ve seen someone eat on a date, and that’s when you know it’s going badly.

Arie kicks things off by explaining that he’s not a wine connoisseur, he just likes going to wineries and drinking wine. He then asks Lauren ONE question about how she got here, and she tells him about her past relationships, why she loves music, that one time her mom got an eye infection when she was in college, how she doesn’t really know what “science” is, and the fact that her last relationship lacked chemistry, which she just now noticed. But in the end, Arie told her he can’t give her the rose because, to quote him, “I don’t even know.”

Second Group Date
The next group date introduces Ashley, Becca K., Brittany, Jenna, Caroline, Chelsea, and Annaliese to Arie’s dog. Today’s group date involved hanging out at a park and preparing to perform a show with trained dogs that night. But the date sparked trauma for one of the girls.

Annaliese, the girl with “bumper car trauma” from last week had yet another terrifying childhood experience. It seems that when Annaliese was younger, her grandparents’ dog bit Annaliese and she “almost” lost her eye. I have question – how did that dog bite you so that you almost lost an eye but have no visible scars on your face? And also, why does every date activity spark a trauma for you?

Another guest, Best in Show’s Fred Willard, had to watch the women crash and burn on the date. They couldn’t even get the dogs to sit. Chelsea ended up with the rose, because as Arie puts it, she’s the “one person who stood out”. Take that everyone else!

Cocktail Party and Rose Ceremony
The next night was the cocktail party, and Bibiana arranged for a special romantic setup for Arie. Determined to get her time, she set up a bed in the driveway along with a telescope so they could stargaze. Romantic. Only, when she was not guarding it, Arie and Lauren B. stumbled upon it to chat. And when Bibiana tried to reclaim it, he gave her the “we just need five minutes” slap across the face. Arie then proceeds to take woman after woman to Bibiana’s setup.

Annaliese takes him away later in the night and attempts to finally get her first kiss, but after straight up asking him to kiss her, Arie tells her that they’re not there yet, which is the most uncomfortable thing I’ve witnessed thus far in 2018. Once Annaliese stops crying and convinces herself that some of the world’s best relationships start with the people not being attracted to each other, she heads back to ask Arie if he sees a future. Spoiler: He does not. So Arie promptly walks Annaliese out.

And because we’re already sending women home, lets just wrap it up. At the rose ceremony, Arie hands out roses to: Caroline, Kendall, Ashley, Lauren, Brittany, Becca, Seinne, Krystal, Tia, Maquel, Jenna, Jacqueline, and Marikh. Arie said goodbye to Bibiana, but my only question is: will he ever know who is responsible for his new favorite romantic spot?

Check in Tuesday for Izzy’s recap of next week’s episode!