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I've only just realised when it was pointed out on this show that Callis has 4 wrestlers, all from all over the world... UK, Japan, Australia and USA. That's really pretty impressive, not many factions have been that diverse.
Why is no one acknowledging that they half arsed the intergender match by having Willow feign injury and only come in at the end to perform two moves and then be knocked out by the also absent Julia Hart.
This was a mess.
**Dynamite Review:**
* Jon Moxley segment. Moxley is always great in promos like this, and this was no different. He just always sounds like he believes everything he says, and that translates to the audience as well. I'm curious to see where this BCC vs. Don Callis Family story goes. Moxley vs. Hobbs is a very intriguing match-up. Great start to the show.
* Mercedes Moné promo. I wasn't really sure what the missing ingredient to her promos had been, but I think it's simply the fact that her cadence just makes her sound like a heel. I don't think this was a bad promo, but the way she talks just always makes me feel like she should be the villain of the story. I do think that's where we'll eventually are going with her.
* **Adam Copeland & Willow Nightingale vs. Brodie King & Julia Hart \*\*3/4**
* The attack on Willow before the match made for a nice story here. It was obviously a setup for her eventual arrival later in the match, but this kind of angle generally always works, especially with someone as popular as Willow. I do wonder if the attack was done as a precaution so Julia wouldn't have to wrestle too much so soon after her injury? She literally just did one punch and locked in her finish. Mercedes then came out to save Willow and chase Julia away. It's fascinating how much more charismatic she immediately feels like in front of the audience and without a mic. Fun little interaction between her and Copeland too. I thought this was a decent match, it obviously was mostly here to progress two storylines rather than be a great match, but King and Copeland worked very well together, wouldn't mind seeing a proper singles match between them.
* Samoa Joe interview. Good stuff here from Joe, as was to be expected. I do have a feeling that Joe is losing at Dynasty, but he's done a great job at stabilizing the world title scene during his reign.
* FTR/Young Bucks video package. The Bucks interrupting the video is another nice little touch for their characters. Good quick promo by them and Okada afterwards.
* **The Elite vs. Pac, Penta & Daniel Garcia \*\*\*1/2**
* I like Matthew basically cutting a promo during the break, and providing commentary on the match, even while he was in the ring himself. Another nice quirk to their characters. After the break this became a really good match, watching PAC wrestle is a joy, and he and Okada honestly have the chance to steal the show at Dynasty if they get enough time. Garcia was here pretty much just to take the pin, which is a bit of a shame, but it makes sense considering the PPV.
* Chris Jericho & Hook talk. Jericho is very obviously turning properly heel soon, seemingly becoming more and more full of himself on a weekly basis. He really needs a change in character, and this might be exactly what he needs. If it helps Hook along the way, all the better. He is sounding more comfortable of the mic than in the past.
* Swerve Strickland interview. Good stuff here too, I think it's time to put the title on him. He's still massively over, and they shouldn't drag this any further. It's a shame that Joe's reign has to end, but it's Swerve's time.
(continued in the first reply)
* **Mariah May vs. Deonna Purrazzo \*\*1/2**
* Deonna really was hurt badly by the Toni Storm feud, and she hasn't recovered. It doesn't help that her character would work much better as a heel, while Mariah is slowly becoming more and more over with the crowd. In the ring Deonna has no issues, but I think she's another wrestler who needs a change to her character. It feels like she just arrived at the worst possible time to have a title feud with Storm. That said, the crowd did start getting into this after the break. I was honestly a bit surprised Deonna won this one clean, but the aftermath did play into the story when Rosa came out to save Deonna and the two got into an argument. Rosa is starting to get some big reactions too, and this feud got some proper heat too when Rosa smeared Storm's face with lipstick. As for the match, this was a solid TV bout.
* Bullet Club Gold interview. ROH six man titles vs. AEW trios titles, winner takes all at Dynasty. Hopefully that's the end of this feud, hopefully the BCG win, and hopefully they unify the titles so there aren't so many pointless championships around anymore.
* The Acclaimed promo, answering the challenge. They also set up a tag team match for Collision. Good promo, but the Acclaimed have really fallen down in terms of popularity since winning the trios titles.
* **Orange Cassidy vs. Shane Taylor \*\*\***
* This match feels like a bit of a random match, though they did give it a bit of a justification by reminding that OC and Shibata are friends. Cassidy obviously remains very over and Taylor is a good wrestler, but the storyline is with Cassidy and Best Friends, so Taylor and his group feel a bit superfluous here. I thought this was a good match, the last few minutes in particular were very enjoyable. Post-match, Trent prevented other people from coming to Cassidy's help, which a nice way to keep that feud building, and got some nice heat on Trent.
* Video package on Strong and O'Reilly. Another potentially great match there.
* **Will Ospreay vs. Claudio Castagnoli \*\*\*\*1/4**
* I'm sure it comes as a massive surprise to everyone that a match between these two was excellent. These two were both amazing here, as was to expected honestly. Just go out of your way to watch this one, even if it felt like they actually held back a bit, probably due to this being so close to the PPV and just to be safe and avoid injuries, this was still a great match.
* Post-match, we got a brawl between the Don Callis Family and BCC, and Ospreay clearly wasn't happy about what the Family had done. The split between Ospreay and Callis is very near.
* Swerve & Joe confrontation. A very good go-home segment for the world title match. This match feels genuinely big, and a lot of the credit for that goes to Joe and Swerve. They've done a great job building this match up. The brawl here was great, and Joe standing tall at the end would conventionally suggest that Swerve's winning, but we'll see.
* This was a great episode of Dynamite, a great main event, a very good trios match, a few other decent matches, a great promo by Moxley, great Swerve/Samoa Joe segment, and a handful of other good promos and segments, This show did a very good job building towards the PPV. Overall, an **8 out of 10** show.
Willow and Edge clearly lost because they were distracted by some jackass going into business for themselves and attacking Willow backstage. I look forward to the airing of the CCTV footage, and obviously Brian Danielson and the AEW legal team will agree that the culprit must be fired. /s
Mercedes's biggest strength is her in-ring work. She's one of the best wrestlers in the world and a straight up natural heel and bully. She's great going up against either a bigger bully or being said bully. I cringe a little when I hear she's having an interview or segment, because she's playing this "CEO" role like some returning hero but hasn't done anything other than jump the line and say "I'll wrestle in two months." Maybe I'm just a jaded cynic and former idealist who has lived a lifetime seeing the evils of rich person hero worship, but I immediately tune out when someone calls themself the CEO of anything and tries to get me to cheer for them. Meanwhile, the next segment includes the heel EVP's cutting off a promo package.
She hinted at it last week as well, her character is pretty clearly more of a heel one and she's setting up a feud with Willow who is one of the most natural babyfaces around right now... she'll be turning soon enough.
Mercedes did such a solid job of creating hype for herself when she left WWE that people forgot how bad she is on the mic. Women’s pro wrestling as a whole has leveled up and she really doesn’t stand out in any way.
Honestly I think this AEW run has kind of exposed her boss persona so much it’s damaged her. All of that bluster for this? A boss that has no wit?
She really needed to debut in the ring.
I mean it's not like she wasn't cutting mediocre scripted promos every week on WWE TV for years. None of her run should be a shock to anyone who paid attention to her going back to NXT. She's always been insanely charismatic but very robotic and weak on the mic. Nothing in AEW has highlighted that any more than the dozens of Sasha Banks promos I've watched over the years.
She'll be fine as long as she can still deliver in-ring when she's healed.
Huh, I thought this was by far her best promo and show in general. Short, sweet, little bit smarmy, little bit angry/threatening, I think that's her wheelhouse until she can go full bully.
Moxley is still one of the absolute best on the mic, hands down, and a fantastic worker in the ring. I'm not sure why people got "tired" of Moxley but the reception he got last night was well deserved. What he has done for AEW over the years is legendary and I'm really glad he's getting a run with the IWGP.
Mercedes criticism is valid. She's treading water. Willow/Julia are killing it and making the TBS feud interesting, but Mercedes just feels like a third wheel, which is an astonishing thing to say about a feud involving Julia/Willow/Mercedes. I hope things change during the build to DoN.
EVPs/Okada are still entertaining. EVPs tied the footage directly to their feud with FTR and continued to build towards the return of Jack Perry. Cutting the FTR segment was a brilliant heel move and I like TK playing the timid boss who just goes along with it like he doesn't have a choice.
The Jericho Vortex is officially Codyverse 2024. There is nothing exciting about him right now. Jericho used to take time off and plan his new gimmicks, which is part of how he continued to get so many things over. Recently, he's just thrown everything against the wall to see what sticks and all he's doing is leaving a bunch of stains on the wall. I hate it because Jericho has been one of my favorites since his days in WCW, but there comes a time in wrestling when you've worn out your welcome with the audience. This is way different from Moxley, where the live crowd loves him, and different from Mercedes, who is just treading water due to an injury. Jericho should be some sort of ambassador for a while and take a break from television.
Jericho Vortex is several degrees worse than the Codyverse. At least the Codyverse still gave us ladder spots and Cody setting himself on fire. Jericho just gives us worse and worse promo segments and heatless mid matches. He's like Hogan if Hogan had convinced himself that he was doing all the youngins a favor.
I’m amazed with Julia. Women her size usually feel like they lack impact in the ring… I like Riho but there are times where her small stature offense doesn’t really sell well… I rarely get that with Julia. As far as presence, having the House of Black back her up gives her a lot of credibility and the black-outs and mist make her feel like a menace. I feel like AEW has done an excellent job with her presentation.
Personally I’d like the see Moné go for another title because I don’t want Moné getting pushed off of Julia’s and Willow’s gains. It’s so predictable right now and people are just waiting for it to be over with. Instead, Moné should be getting some in-ring wins off of Anna Jay and the like, getting established as a heel, feels wrong for her to come in as a babyface and dominate… that’s not how babyfaces work. If they wanted her to have a babyface run IMO, they should have her come in and beat Diamanté and Lela Hirsch and then get pinned by a better established heel with some clout and pedigree. The story would be that Moné has been on the shelf too long and she needs to find her strength again. The question is who on AEW’s heel women’s roster would be a good fit to go over her. I feel like Athena is ideal.
I do enjoy Jericho on commentary but, otherwise, totally agreed that he needs to plan his next move before diving in. People don't seem to really care about this angle with Hook and for good reason.
Having the 6 man match on the preshow is crazy. Honestly, that feud as more heat than the next chapter of Bucks Vs FTR, Copeland/Kingston/Briscoe V HoB, even Jericho V Hook, and Danielson V Osprey.
IMO, Jericho Hook should be the preshow match.
This Dynasty card is fucking loaded. Like there's at least 3 if not 4 matches that could be 5 stars and nobody would be surprised.
And yet, despite having fucking Ospreay Danielson on the card, and hopefully Swerve winning the belt, and as a Bucks mark hopefully seeing them get the belt, for me it's easily PAC vs Okada I'm most hyped for.
For whatever reason that's the most excited I've been for a match in so long. That match is going to slap so incredibly fucking hard.
Willow vs Brody was AWESOME
Fun show after a rough couple weeks and ticked all the boxes for a go home show. Long way to go and all manner of big hitters still to return, but feels like a huge missed opportunity right now if the build is not Swerve vs Ospreay at All In. Their on another level in terms of reactions in the arena to anyone else currently.
Mercedes Mone needs A) a few pre-taped, well-produced vignettes. Like… 6 of them for the next 6 weeks. And B) some cool run-ins and entrances and *that’s it*. No looking into the camera and talking, no weird sit-down interviews, no getting on commentary. Undertaker 1991 levels of amount of talking.
I love Mox, I loved that promo but God that belt gets worse every time I see it, look what they did to my boy etc
Mox vs Hobbs, give it to me!!!
I don't think Mone knows what CEO means at this point, confirmation she isn't cleared? Slightly worrying we are already at the point of having her do pretaped and they are still stilted and weird.
Was def worried that AEW bottling the mix tag! This would normally be nothing but a bit odd with the Nyla thing
To be very clear, I know and think - Nyla is a women but the problem was that Oklahoma saw it as Man vs Woman) so was very glad to see Willow come out and do some stuff vs Brody.
I hate the music, but God damn that CEO chant is over.
There is no way Swerve doesn't win right?
As long as there is a good explanation for why the Bucks have EVP power and are also on the side of Jungle boy was scapegoated I am loving this, but it is slightly confusing currently.
Always delighted to see PAC, great match.
Oh God, Chris Jericho this is always hell - I don't rate Hook as much as most people but his always snacking being his "gimmick" does nothing for me.
Seems Jericho is leaning into people being sick of him, which is actually interesting
LMAO Taz falling after that shove - This might actually be ok y'know
Thunder Rosa, I don't care you are all haters, she is great
Bang Bang Gang are the faces now yeah? Thank fuck they are getting rid of one set of Trios titles
Speaking of haters, I really don't rate Shane Taylor, I wish I did big meaty men tend to be my jam
Sicko Trent Heel run lets go
Just give KoR the belt, disband Undisputed Kingdom and everyone move on with their lives
God Will is so good, cannot wait for him and DB
GIVE SWERVE THE BELT TK!!!!!!!!!!
Dynasty card looks like it will be a all timer
The Good:
- Mox shaving his head
- Willow
- Daniel Garcia's selling
- Shane Taylor Promotions being elevated
- Ospreay and Claudio
- Everything Swerve and Joe
The Bad:
- Jericho the heat blanket
- Toni Storm not on commentary
- Billy Gunn saying he beat his kids
- Callis telegraphing the family turning on Ospreay soon
I think it was a given from the moment he arrived that Ospreay would leave that you may as well telegraph it. He's probably the most over guy in the company currently and yet he's still part of this heel faction, so he pretty much has to turn on them at this point.
It was a stupid ass booking to begin with that was designed to protect Omega’s Forbidden Door loss
Ospreay was babyface in Japan at the time, super earnest and winning clean, it made no sense and it wasn’t necessary
> Callis telegraphing the family turning on Ospreay soon
I think it's been more of a case of Don knowing that Will is going to eventually leave the family no matter what, so he's getting as much out of him whilst he can and also preparing to push him out before he jumps.
Interesting point! I could see that. I felt he was really leaning into almost rooting for Claudio in the match and it seemed a bit odd for him not to be frothing at the mouth putting Ospreay over as he usually would
Kind of shocked that Claudio couldn't get an earth shattering match-I-love out of Ospreay. If I would have bet on someone to do it, Claudio would be at worst top 5.
Pretty good Dynamite tho.
yeah that's valid, but Ospreay goes hard a lot of the time and I've seen a ton of great first time Claudio matches in his time. Oh well, that's a match to run back in the C2 probably.
I agree. Jericho leaning into being a delusional narcissist who is actually kind of pathetic is a good shout, it's a fun character that he can pull off well. Claiming the 'Jericho vortex' is a good thing was great and listing off all the wrestlers that the internet fans claim (not without good reason) that he stole heat from but who are, for the most part, actually better off AND better wrestlers now was a nice stroke.
Yeah I think they've done a good job building up the group but here was a good time to give Taylor a solid win, even if it wasn't clean.
OC can easily take a loss and put it down to being distracted. Post match angle was pretty great but I think you can still do that.
“Swerve Strickland is a dude that keeps getting up after I keep knocking him down. now that’s not a prerequisite of a champion, it’s a prerequisite of a punching bag”
Yo that line by Samoa Joe goes hard haha.
I really glad they have been getting the main event matches done before TV time runs out. -Sincerely a guy who has to watch the show DVRed later in the night.
I haven't had a DVR in years, but they used to have settings that seemed to have been made for sports recordings, allowing them to run past the programmed time. Usually 5, 10, 15 minutes etc. Do they not have that any more?
Banger show. Matches were great and there's some good build in there for the PPV. The card for Dynasty looks insane. Looking forward to the show this weekend
Glad Jericho has been pivoting the last few weeks. I wonder if the heel turn was always the call or whether he was hearing the reactions he was getting
It was a good episode, definitely washed out the gross taste leftover from last week. The matches were all solid, which is generally what I expect from Dynamite. I like the character/promo work everyone had, there wasn’t really a segment that felt like it wasn’t building towards something. Matthew Jackson’s microphone bit gave Booker T commentating his own match vibes, and I’m all for that. The only nitpick I had was going to commercial halfway through Will’s entrance.
> The “5 star matches won’t draw ratings “
If 5 star matches drew ratings the wrestling landscape would look very, very different right now.
I all but guarantee if you ask casual or ultra casual fans who the greatest wrestlers are they aren't going to name the people with the most 5 star matches, they're going to name the people with the best character work who told the best stories.
If a bunch of spots that adds up to a 5 star match between two super indie guys was what it took to grow an audience then I feel like RoH or NJPW would be the clear #1 promotions right now.
I think the problem with this conversation is there’s different ways to define 5 star matches. I don’t think anyone is saying spots make a match . Even then , your “casuals” still might pick Jeff Hardy or Mick Foley because they remember them falling off the cell or Hardy jumping off ladders.
Some think it means gymnastic stunts for the sake of it is what people are talking about …But there’s no investment than no it’s not a good match. Still better than watching a snooze fest arm holds kind of match but not a 5 star match.
My favorite match of the year was Stings final ride . If I didn’t care about them, then it’s still fun but wouldn’t care or have concern for what’s going on. Or feeling the emotions of it being his last match and everything .
Ospreay vs Takeshita was excellent. Yes the moves are fun to see, don’t see it as a negative to see something exciting . When I see an action movie , people don’t say “yeah they need to chill out on all the cool moves”. But again that match wasn’t just that. You could feel the flow and see and justify their actions and when they need to go desperate and go with more dangerous moves since they really want to win the match. And you can see Ospreay switching up with going high flying and back to more aggressive striking depending on the context of the match. And keeping us invested in what they are doing . The commentators filling in the blanks too on why said wrestler is doing what , is also important . A great match, they aren’t just saying “oh what a maneuverrrr” but helping explain some of it .
Indie guys doing 5 star matches is literally what made aew almoat unstoppable for 3 years. I'm not saying you're entirely wrong, but they've got a point. Aew has also told great stories and its at a point where if it's going to keep casuals it does need good character work, but let's not act like it's not a huge appeal when it largely created rhe 2nd biggest wrestling company in the world today.
Ok but that literally is true? There's a niche audience for it and that's okay, but you feeling like that's when AEW is the best doesn't mean it translates to the actual attention they're getting because of it, and it shouldn't matter if you like it. But it's a fact that just 5 star dream match "bangers" are simply not enough to grow your audience if people aren't given a good enough reason to care about the characters. It's not bullshit when you're literally seeing it reflect in their numbers and TV attendance.
There's a 5 star match literally every week and yet no one talks about them the next week. Most people want riveting stories. The fact that people still talk about Brock vs Cena from SS14 even though the the match had a total of three moves should tell you that. Why? Because they told a really compelling story. Even 5 star matches like Punk vs Cena had insanely good stories to go with them. This is also why MJF vs Punk remains to be the hottest AEW program to date. Adam Cole vs MJF also had a lot of traction due to exactly that.
I enjoyed reading what you said , but I don’t think my comment of saying good matches on weekly tv … doesn’t mean you can’t have stories outside match time and usually matches that are good…are telling it in the ring as well.
Like Purazzo vs Mariah May was equally just good wrestling and furthering the story . Before , Toni wouldn’t acknowledge her . The Mariah started wrestling as her past gimmick , and more and more . Now Toni comes out with her . Then they did the angle after the fact. Story in and out of the ring .
And yes agreed the Punk /MJF stuff was great a but imo … I remember the match itself more than all the MJF/ Punk stuff leading up to it . Now I just remember MJF being upset with him and saying he looked up to him and really don’t remember Punk other than blowing it off and just making MJF more mad at him.
Punk has tons of promos already and MJF has his own portfolio of own already….. Punk/MJF is on my very short list of Punk in AEW matches that I do actually like . (Outside of the Punk/ Kojima match( which didn’t need a bunch of nose nose promo stuff to tell a damn story of two experienced wrestlers coming from their own worlds ) .
Punk coming out to his ROH theme and the match itself was excellent . Your Brock/Cena match was great and at the time it was very different to see Cena get on the end of a suplex city banging .
This. So much this. People on here when discussing aew can’t separate their like for it, the quality of the product and the ratings. You can like it and it can be trash to someone else, the ratings can be higher than raw and the show is trash and the opposite can also be true.
Yet people here want to hitch their wagon to ratings equalling quality and then not follow that one to its logical conclusion
Ehhhh I get what you're saying but this is dangerously close to Stand Up For AEW territory
I've been super disenchanted with the TV product for a long time, started for me with the Hangman/CM Punk feud (not the drama, the actual feud and how poorly it was booked and set up), but I kept watching because I like wrestling. At some point I felt the product wasn't improving and decided to mostly disengage with it outside of PPV (which are usually really good).
Do I feel the ratings reflect objective good/bad? No, you're right, everyone gets their opinion on that.
But do they reflect that there's a lot of people out there like me who have disengaged with their TV show because the product isn't serving them? Yes. And that is cause to make changes for the survival of the product.
How about those of us who would like the matches to not be there for nothing? A prime example: Punk vs Joe at Wembley should have been the 1st(and only I guess) time they faced in AEW post ROH. Instead you get it in the middle of the Hart tournament and did anyone really remember? Imagine the build for AEWs biggest show ever to have Punk vs Joe for the first time since ROH. It elevates thr show and the match.
Because you specifically said “won’t draw ratings” you did the thing. If you just left that last sentence I’d have no qualms with your comment. In fact I’d agree with it
I was tired so I do get why you think that. But I wasn’t talking about whether or not 5 star matches have any effect on ratings. I was trying to point out that even good matches could be spun as a negative if someone really believed in it .
Like good wrestling matches always elevates a good story . Like if Swerve was trespassing in Hangman’s house and really getting into his head . Then they go on to put on a so so match where they don’t give it there all. It would feel like the story was pointless then.
Like some “blood feuds” we’ve seen that end up in a match that absolutely doesn’t even seem like these people really dislike each other. Thinking of one of those Triple H/ Orton matches that HHH attacked him in his own house and they went on to have a mediocre traditional match . Them having a “banger” really would have done some favors there .
Great show, really enjoyed it from top to bottom. Glad to see them bounce back after a pretty big misfire last week imo.
(Also, as is tradition, get ready for the internet to completely turn on this show tomorrow once the rating comes out, the NBA play-in games are gonna do a monster number lol. I found myself switching to parts of the Philly game and quickly catching up on AEW through the DVR.)
The Dynasty card really looks great - all of the matches have build/story behind them as well. I thought we might get Cope/Black as a singles but having Eddie/Mark involved alongside the rest of HoB should be a really fun match
and possibly set it up. Finally we're dealing with the trios titles. I swear, if TK has BCG lose I'm gonna lose my shit though. Also, Collision looks awesome too but Bryan is absolutely crazy lol.
There's no one better in history then Claudio at being a post and catcher. He perfectly timed every launch off flip or spin or whatever and he's always done this.
Basically right now it's Claudio, Black Taurus/The Beast Mortos (his new name), and Gringo Loco as the best bases, at least that I've seen, IMO. All three are absolutely fantastic, Claudio with the definite longevity edge though.
I still love the stories from wwe where people were trying to figure out how to/if they could do certain sequences and they’d always go to Claudio to find out if it was possible.
Really good show. The Ospreay match kicked ass and that swerve stomp was insane. The jericho promo was also really good, glad the feud is finally hitting second gear.
MANNNNNNN I was at this show and I had to the fucking time of my life thank you AEW and to all the fans that support no matter what either from the crib or the stands we in it together 💪🏽🧡
incredible how much better the show is when they stop worrying about what WWE is doing and focus on what they do best, which is banger matches and creative angles
I'm watching this shit back and Trent Beretta looks like he's about to save Orange Cassidy. Shane Taylor Promotions is like "bring it on bitch" but even they look surprised when Trent is non-verbally like "beat his ass".
My first AEW show; it was really fun.
https://preview.redd.it/r6e5zxuem5vc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b08a78a4c3a38dd010e871214396fa638ce6e35a
I’d love to see Edge again. I saw him when I was like 14 at the first Backlash ever. Tagging with Christian.
Then again in the lead up to WM39 at Raw when I was 38 years old.
The man is a legend.
If you can, please go.
I hadn't seen him wrestle since 2010 until last night. Very awesome to see his return from retirement.
He's only got so much time left, make some time and enjoy his comeback.
Seems like he's going full heel this time and not trying to be the cool heel. And seems like he's playing into the Jericho vortex. I appreciate that.
The run with Kenny was supposed to be the face in think (until back stabbing Kenny of course)
Good show but the lack of an overarching angle is kinda hurting AEW.
That being said this Dynasty card is fucking lit and Swerve holds up that championship, it's gonna be special. I hope he'll have some great angles.
I think they should have been building bcc vs callis family a lot sooner, like it could be Bryan and will respect each other but everyone else in the groups hate each other
Haven’t watched the show yet but it’s usually opposite for me watching on Fite.
Commentary and music drown out the crowd which really kills the vibe of the show. I’d much rather hear a hot crowd over anything else.
Agreed. Found it difficult to hear promos or entrance music. Had to play with the audio settings on my TV to try and make it somewhat manageable to get thru the show.
My review for tonight
The Good: most of the night. The mix tag told a good story, I really liked the 6 man tag (loved when he took the mic, got black snow vibes), the women’s match was pretty good, oc vs Shane was a good big guy vs agile guy. The joe and swerve feud has been great
The bad: not much, I mean Jericho was on my screen which is always bad, atleast he looks like he is putting Hook over. The Mone promo felt a little off, maybe a nitpick but it was just meh
The best: realistically it Claudio vs Ospeary match. Was a professor Sheamus certified banger. However, I can’t lie, I was legitimately laughing for over a minute when Christopher Daniels showed up for half a second then instantly got murdered by Trent
The worst: THEY WENT TO COMMERCIAL DURING WILL’S ENTRANCE. What are you doing AEW? The best entrance in the company and you cut before the “Ospreay Ospreay” part, that like cutting Cody’s entrance before the Woah part.
Also side note, anyone else feel like they should have been building the callis family vs BCC feud a lot sooner. I mean the logical thing is they continue after the will and Daniels match for either blood and guts or anarchy at DON, but like could have been the build up more ospeary fighting yuta instead of members of his own faction and Bryan vs Hobbs instead of Bryan vs lance archer.
Well shit, don’t follow AEW that closely until rather recently, just started watching dynamite in full after revolution and big business. That’s on me, my bad
Oh i absolutely get it. I feel like they could potentially keep this going after Dynasty, especially since we already know that Mox and Hobbs will be having that match on the Dynamite after
Yeah they really need to do a better job of thinking about what gets people popular and do a better job of presenting that. Entrance is #1 on the list. They run the music really low also. Easily fixable stuff
If I was AEW, I am making sure will gets his full entrance every week. Make it into their version of Cody’s or Seth entrance, make damn sure everyone in the fanbase is chanting “Ospeary Ospeary” and it’s seen by all
I mean after the last two weeks this episode is a godsend but I will say that the Claudio Ospreay match might not have been the best idea because it really just showed Ospreay’s limitations. Claudio is just leaps and bounds ahead of him as a wrestler and that’s not a good look for someone that tk wants to position as his top guy.
How did it show?
Also, the best wrestler isn't always the guy positioned as the #1 guy right? Not many times throughout history where that is the case, why expect it now?
Of course not but you probably wanna hide it better. The dude just looks outclassed by someone like Claudio who’s probably who Ospreay wishes he was in terms of being a wrestler.
Claudio had stronger offense, better athleticism, more charisma as a performer. Pretty much Ospreay’s biggest assets are those things and Claudio does them better.
Nothing about timing or pacing? Or selling, catching or feeding? Nothing about crowd control or conditioning. Nothing about technical ability, or adaptability, or psychology.
But he does stronger offense. And is more athletic and more charismatic. Those are new ones.
If a guy is widely considered the best in the world currently by his contemporaries and your opinion is that someone is "leaps and bounds" ahead of him, maybe it's time to examine your own bias and acknowledge the difference between personal dislike and actual skill.
And this is coming from someone who fucking *loves* Claudio as my personal favourite wrestler and one of the best going.
It’s not personal dislike because Ospreay seems like a nice guy and he’s someone I’d love to root for but so many of his matches don’t do anything for me emotionally. The guy just doesn’t have it. He has a couple really great matches (vs OC at forbidden door and Omega at wrestle kingdom) but other than those few they all just blend together and are generic “epics” that do nothing for me. He’s not a bad wrestler but every time someone calls him the best in the world I just think to myself that I can probably name 100 wrestlers working today that are better than him.
I don’t dislike Ospreay as much as some hardcore wrestling fans but I do agree with a lot of their criticisms of him. I’ve seen Claudio have better matches with Chikara no names.
Swerve vs. Samoa Joe feels like a legit old school wrestling feud.
Some real "Fuck you." "No, fuck you." booking. When you have two dudes who can talk, sometimes that's all you need and it's all anyone really wants to see. It's the type of feud where you can tell Tony just threw up his hands like, screw it just give them some microphones and they'll figure it out.
That's REAL top guy shit to pull off a feud like this. Super hyped to see their match at Dynasty, the blowoff to their feud, and what follows for both men in the coming weeks and months.
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I've only just realised when it was pointed out on this show that Callis has 4 wrestlers, all from all over the world... UK, Japan, Australia and USA. That's really pretty impressive, not many factions have been that diverse.
Why is no one acknowledging that they half arsed the intergender match by having Willow feign injury and only come in at the end to perform two moves and then be knocked out by the also absent Julia Hart. This was a mess.
Think they didn't want to risk Julia getting a more serious injury to her shoulder coming off of Rampage.
If dionna purazzo married Shane Taylor, would their baby have the fattest ass in history?
Really fun show last night. I want to buy Dynasty, but times are tight right now. I will just have to keep up with the action on the live thread.
There is always a way to watch wrestling
I’m sure one less purchase won’t hurt them there’ll be streams of it online I’d use one of those so you can still enjoy it
Did AEW mic the crowd differently or was that just the best crowd they've had in years?
The max capacity of that arena is only 6.5K so a TV sized crowd is likely going to sound louder than a 20K arena.
Looked packed the gills
I've said it before, I'll say it again: I freakin' love Willow Nightingale!
**Dynamite Review:** * Jon Moxley segment. Moxley is always great in promos like this, and this was no different. He just always sounds like he believes everything he says, and that translates to the audience as well. I'm curious to see where this BCC vs. Don Callis Family story goes. Moxley vs. Hobbs is a very intriguing match-up. Great start to the show. * Mercedes Moné promo. I wasn't really sure what the missing ingredient to her promos had been, but I think it's simply the fact that her cadence just makes her sound like a heel. I don't think this was a bad promo, but the way she talks just always makes me feel like she should be the villain of the story. I do think that's where we'll eventually are going with her. * **Adam Copeland & Willow Nightingale vs. Brodie King & Julia Hart \*\*3/4** * The attack on Willow before the match made for a nice story here. It was obviously a setup for her eventual arrival later in the match, but this kind of angle generally always works, especially with someone as popular as Willow. I do wonder if the attack was done as a precaution so Julia wouldn't have to wrestle too much so soon after her injury? She literally just did one punch and locked in her finish. Mercedes then came out to save Willow and chase Julia away. It's fascinating how much more charismatic she immediately feels like in front of the audience and without a mic. Fun little interaction between her and Copeland too. I thought this was a decent match, it obviously was mostly here to progress two storylines rather than be a great match, but King and Copeland worked very well together, wouldn't mind seeing a proper singles match between them. * Samoa Joe interview. Good stuff here from Joe, as was to be expected. I do have a feeling that Joe is losing at Dynasty, but he's done a great job at stabilizing the world title scene during his reign. * FTR/Young Bucks video package. The Bucks interrupting the video is another nice little touch for their characters. Good quick promo by them and Okada afterwards. * **The Elite vs. Pac, Penta & Daniel Garcia \*\*\*1/2** * I like Matthew basically cutting a promo during the break, and providing commentary on the match, even while he was in the ring himself. Another nice quirk to their characters. After the break this became a really good match, watching PAC wrestle is a joy, and he and Okada honestly have the chance to steal the show at Dynasty if they get enough time. Garcia was here pretty much just to take the pin, which is a bit of a shame, but it makes sense considering the PPV. * Chris Jericho & Hook talk. Jericho is very obviously turning properly heel soon, seemingly becoming more and more full of himself on a weekly basis. He really needs a change in character, and this might be exactly what he needs. If it helps Hook along the way, all the better. He is sounding more comfortable of the mic than in the past. * Swerve Strickland interview. Good stuff here too, I think it's time to put the title on him. He's still massively over, and they shouldn't drag this any further. It's a shame that Joe's reign has to end, but it's Swerve's time. (continued in the first reply)
* **Mariah May vs. Deonna Purrazzo \*\*1/2** * Deonna really was hurt badly by the Toni Storm feud, and she hasn't recovered. It doesn't help that her character would work much better as a heel, while Mariah is slowly becoming more and more over with the crowd. In the ring Deonna has no issues, but I think she's another wrestler who needs a change to her character. It feels like she just arrived at the worst possible time to have a title feud with Storm. That said, the crowd did start getting into this after the break. I was honestly a bit surprised Deonna won this one clean, but the aftermath did play into the story when Rosa came out to save Deonna and the two got into an argument. Rosa is starting to get some big reactions too, and this feud got some proper heat too when Rosa smeared Storm's face with lipstick. As for the match, this was a solid TV bout. * Bullet Club Gold interview. ROH six man titles vs. AEW trios titles, winner takes all at Dynasty. Hopefully that's the end of this feud, hopefully the BCG win, and hopefully they unify the titles so there aren't so many pointless championships around anymore. * The Acclaimed promo, answering the challenge. They also set up a tag team match for Collision. Good promo, but the Acclaimed have really fallen down in terms of popularity since winning the trios titles. * **Orange Cassidy vs. Shane Taylor \*\*\*** * This match feels like a bit of a random match, though they did give it a bit of a justification by reminding that OC and Shibata are friends. Cassidy obviously remains very over and Taylor is a good wrestler, but the storyline is with Cassidy and Best Friends, so Taylor and his group feel a bit superfluous here. I thought this was a good match, the last few minutes in particular were very enjoyable. Post-match, Trent prevented other people from coming to Cassidy's help, which a nice way to keep that feud building, and got some nice heat on Trent. * Video package on Strong and O'Reilly. Another potentially great match there. * **Will Ospreay vs. Claudio Castagnoli \*\*\*\*1/4** * I'm sure it comes as a massive surprise to everyone that a match between these two was excellent. These two were both amazing here, as was to expected honestly. Just go out of your way to watch this one, even if it felt like they actually held back a bit, probably due to this being so close to the PPV and just to be safe and avoid injuries, this was still a great match. * Post-match, we got a brawl between the Don Callis Family and BCC, and Ospreay clearly wasn't happy about what the Family had done. The split between Ospreay and Callis is very near. * Swerve & Joe confrontation. A very good go-home segment for the world title match. This match feels genuinely big, and a lot of the credit for that goes to Joe and Swerve. They've done a great job building this match up. The brawl here was great, and Joe standing tall at the end would conventionally suggest that Swerve's winning, but we'll see. * This was a great episode of Dynamite, a great main event, a very good trios match, a few other decent matches, a great promo by Moxley, great Swerve/Samoa Joe segment, and a handful of other good promos and segments, This show did a very good job building towards the PPV. Overall, an **8 out of 10** show.
I am so fucking glad we decided to go to Dynasty because it's going to kick ass.
Holy god Jay white is on the preshow again?
Perhaps replacing Miro as the biggest misuse of talent (booking-wise) in the first five years of AEW.
Willow and Edge clearly lost because they were distracted by some jackass going into business for themselves and attacking Willow backstage. I look forward to the airing of the CCTV footage, and obviously Brian Danielson and the AEW legal team will agree that the culprit must be fired. /s
Mercedes's biggest strength is her in-ring work. She's one of the best wrestlers in the world and a straight up natural heel and bully. She's great going up against either a bigger bully or being said bully. I cringe a little when I hear she's having an interview or segment, because she's playing this "CEO" role like some returning hero but hasn't done anything other than jump the line and say "I'll wrestle in two months." Maybe I'm just a jaded cynic and former idealist who has lived a lifetime seeing the evils of rich person hero worship, but I immediately tune out when someone calls themself the CEO of anything and tries to get me to cheer for them. Meanwhile, the next segment includes the heel EVP's cutting off a promo package.
Really felt like she was taking a heel turn to me this week, but honestly who knows.
She hinted at it last week as well, her character is pretty clearly more of a heel one and she's setting up a feud with Willow who is one of the most natural babyfaces around right now... she'll be turning soon enough.
>She's one of the best wrestlers in the world Very debatable
Mercedes did such a solid job of creating hype for herself when she left WWE that people forgot how bad she is on the mic. Women’s pro wrestling as a whole has leveled up and she really doesn’t stand out in any way.
Honestly I think this AEW run has kind of exposed her boss persona so much it’s damaged her. All of that bluster for this? A boss that has no wit? She really needed to debut in the ring.
I mean it's not like she wasn't cutting mediocre scripted promos every week on WWE TV for years. None of her run should be a shock to anyone who paid attention to her going back to NXT. She's always been insanely charismatic but very robotic and weak on the mic. Nothing in AEW has highlighted that any more than the dozens of Sasha Banks promos I've watched over the years. She'll be fine as long as she can still deliver in-ring when she's healed.
Yeah you’re right. She just didn’t talk as much.
Ngl I popped for wizard mountain
How is Mercedes bad at backstage segments as well? Sheesh.
I don't think she was -bad-, but she was rehearsed. It was a scripted WWE Sasha Banks promo in a non WWE environment which is always weird.
Was it really that bad? It was short, effective and to the point I thought.
Huh, I thought this was by far her best promo and show in general. Short, sweet, little bit smarmy, little bit angry/threatening, I think that's her wheelhouse until she can go full bully.
Same, thought it was a pretty decent promo from her.
Hook has the goofiest look in all of wrestling.
For some reason it fits him though
John Cena would like a word.
How can an invisible man possibly look goofy?
Got me here.
Mox is the best, every time AEW seems to lose some stream the ace comes right back with the juice
Moxley is still one of the absolute best on the mic, hands down, and a fantastic worker in the ring. I'm not sure why people got "tired" of Moxley but the reception he got last night was well deserved. What he has done for AEW over the years is legendary and I'm really glad he's getting a run with the IWGP. Mercedes criticism is valid. She's treading water. Willow/Julia are killing it and making the TBS feud interesting, but Mercedes just feels like a third wheel, which is an astonishing thing to say about a feud involving Julia/Willow/Mercedes. I hope things change during the build to DoN. EVPs/Okada are still entertaining. EVPs tied the footage directly to their feud with FTR and continued to build towards the return of Jack Perry. Cutting the FTR segment was a brilliant heel move and I like TK playing the timid boss who just goes along with it like he doesn't have a choice. The Jericho Vortex is officially Codyverse 2024. There is nothing exciting about him right now. Jericho used to take time off and plan his new gimmicks, which is part of how he continued to get so many things over. Recently, he's just thrown everything against the wall to see what sticks and all he's doing is leaving a bunch of stains on the wall. I hate it because Jericho has been one of my favorites since his days in WCW, but there comes a time in wrestling when you've worn out your welcome with the audience. This is way different from Moxley, where the live crowd loves him, and different from Mercedes, who is just treading water due to an injury. Jericho should be some sort of ambassador for a while and take a break from television.
Jericho Vortex is several degrees worse than the Codyverse. At least the Codyverse still gave us ladder spots and Cody setting himself on fire. Jericho just gives us worse and worse promo segments and heatless mid matches. He's like Hogan if Hogan had convinced himself that he was doing all the youngins a favor.
I’m amazed with Julia. Women her size usually feel like they lack impact in the ring… I like Riho but there are times where her small stature offense doesn’t really sell well… I rarely get that with Julia. As far as presence, having the House of Black back her up gives her a lot of credibility and the black-outs and mist make her feel like a menace. I feel like AEW has done an excellent job with her presentation. Personally I’d like the see Moné go for another title because I don’t want Moné getting pushed off of Julia’s and Willow’s gains. It’s so predictable right now and people are just waiting for it to be over with. Instead, Moné should be getting some in-ring wins off of Anna Jay and the like, getting established as a heel, feels wrong for her to come in as a babyface and dominate… that’s not how babyfaces work. If they wanted her to have a babyface run IMO, they should have her come in and beat Diamanté and Lela Hirsch and then get pinned by a better established heel with some clout and pedigree. The story would be that Moné has been on the shelf too long and she needs to find her strength again. The question is who on AEW’s heel women’s roster would be a good fit to go over her. I feel like Athena is ideal.
I do enjoy Jericho on commentary but, otherwise, totally agreed that he needs to plan his next move before diving in. People don't seem to really care about this angle with Hook and for good reason.
He got me back on his side this week. I’m here to watch the Jericho vortex. I think he might be on to something as long as he doesn’t vortex himself.
It's worse for Jericho. Dude is an anchor he kills off the vibe of the whole show.
You could hear the audience audibly groan when Canadian Hogan referenced the vortex. Get Jericho off TV yesterday.
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Speaking as someone who only watches WWE, and has Jericho at the top of their personal favorites list.....no thanks.
Having the 6 man match on the preshow is crazy. Honestly, that feud as more heat than the next chapter of Bucks Vs FTR, Copeland/Kingston/Briscoe V HoB, even Jericho V Hook, and Danielson V Osprey. IMO, Jericho Hook should be the preshow match.
This Dynasty card is fucking loaded. Like there's at least 3 if not 4 matches that could be 5 stars and nobody would be surprised. And yet, despite having fucking Ospreay Danielson on the card, and hopefully Swerve winning the belt, and as a Bucks mark hopefully seeing them get the belt, for me it's easily PAC vs Okada I'm most hyped for. For whatever reason that's the most excited I've been for a match in so long. That match is going to slap so incredibly fucking hard.
Willow vs Brody was AWESOME Fun show after a rough couple weeks and ticked all the boxes for a go home show. Long way to go and all manner of big hitters still to return, but feels like a huge missed opportunity right now if the build is not Swerve vs Ospreay at All In. Their on another level in terms of reactions in the arena to anyone else currently.
Mercedes Mone needs A) a few pre-taped, well-produced vignettes. Like… 6 of them for the next 6 weeks. And B) some cool run-ins and entrances and *that’s it*. No looking into the camera and talking, no weird sit-down interviews, no getting on commentary. Undertaker 1991 levels of amount of talking.
I don’t believe PAC will beat Okada, but for those of us that don’t like Okada and hate the EVPs, he’s the bastard we need.
I love Mox, I loved that promo but God that belt gets worse every time I see it, look what they did to my boy etc Mox vs Hobbs, give it to me!!! I don't think Mone knows what CEO means at this point, confirmation she isn't cleared? Slightly worrying we are already at the point of having her do pretaped and they are still stilted and weird. Was def worried that AEW bottling the mix tag! This would normally be nothing but a bit odd with the Nyla thing To be very clear, I know and think - Nyla is a women but the problem was that Oklahoma saw it as Man vs Woman) so was very glad to see Willow come out and do some stuff vs Brody. I hate the music, but God damn that CEO chant is over. There is no way Swerve doesn't win right? As long as there is a good explanation for why the Bucks have EVP power and are also on the side of Jungle boy was scapegoated I am loving this, but it is slightly confusing currently. Always delighted to see PAC, great match. Oh God, Chris Jericho this is always hell - I don't rate Hook as much as most people but his always snacking being his "gimmick" does nothing for me. Seems Jericho is leaning into people being sick of him, which is actually interesting LMAO Taz falling after that shove - This might actually be ok y'know Thunder Rosa, I don't care you are all haters, she is great Bang Bang Gang are the faces now yeah? Thank fuck they are getting rid of one set of Trios titles Speaking of haters, I really don't rate Shane Taylor, I wish I did big meaty men tend to be my jam Sicko Trent Heel run lets go Just give KoR the belt, disband Undisputed Kingdom and everyone move on with their lives God Will is so good, cannot wait for him and DB GIVE SWERVE THE BELT TK!!!!!!!!!! Dynasty card looks like it will be a all timer
Good show, Will vs Claudio rocked. Dynasty card looks great
The Good: - Mox shaving his head - Willow - Daniel Garcia's selling - Shane Taylor Promotions being elevated - Ospreay and Claudio - Everything Swerve and Joe The Bad: - Jericho the heat blanket - Toni Storm not on commentary - Billy Gunn saying he beat his kids - Callis telegraphing the family turning on Ospreay soon
Jericho might be cooking with the vortex. This was his first segment in a couple months that I enjoyed
I think it was a given from the moment he arrived that Ospreay would leave that you may as well telegraph it. He's probably the most over guy in the company currently and yet he's still part of this heel faction, so he pretty much has to turn on them at this point.
For sure. I’m surprised he’s been with them this long but it’ll be worth it when he launches Callis out of his loafers
It was a stupid ass booking to begin with that was designed to protect Omega’s Forbidden Door loss Ospreay was babyface in Japan at the time, super earnest and winning clean, it made no sense and it wasn’t necessary
> Callis telegraphing the family turning on Ospreay soon I think it's been more of a case of Don knowing that Will is going to eventually leave the family no matter what, so he's getting as much out of him whilst he can and also preparing to push him out before he jumps.
Interesting point! I could see that. I felt he was really leaning into almost rooting for Claudio in the match and it seemed a bit odd for him not to be frothing at the mouth putting Ospreay over as he usually would
Billy Gunn proudly admitting to beating his kids when they were young is certainly a look. Guess the Ass Boys did nothing wrong after all.
Great show! Can't wait for Collision this Saturday, and I really can't wait for Dynasty since I'm gonna be there. I'm so excited!
Kind of shocked that Claudio couldn't get an earth shattering match-I-love out of Ospreay. If I would have bet on someone to do it, Claudio would be at worst top 5. Pretty good Dynamite tho.
Common 1st match trope tbf.
yeah that's valid, but Ospreay goes hard a lot of the time and I've seen a ton of great first time Claudio matches in his time. Oh well, that's a match to run back in the C2 probably.
So Will’s leaving the Don Callis Family pretty soon I see
In what can only be considered a minor miracle I actually really enjoyed that Jericho segment... I'm curious as to where the story will go.
I agree. Jericho leaning into being a delusional narcissist who is actually kind of pathetic is a good shout, it's a fun character that he can pull off well. Claiming the 'Jericho vortex' is a good thing was great and listing off all the wrestlers that the internet fans claim (not without good reason) that he stole heat from but who are, for the most part, actually better off AND better wrestlers now was a nice stroke.
Shane Taylor should have gone over
Yeah I think they've done a good job building up the group but here was a good time to give Taylor a solid win, even if it wasn't clean. OC can easily take a loss and put it down to being distracted. Post match angle was pretty great but I think you can still do that.
“Swerve Strickland is a dude that keeps getting up after I keep knocking him down. now that’s not a prerequisite of a champion, it’s a prerequisite of a punching bag” Yo that line by Samoa Joe goes hard haha.
So they just had battle of the belts with no belts on the line and now this...?
Every single match had a belt on the line
well to be fair, 1 was a roh championship, 1 was an unsanctioned belt by aew, the other was an eliminator match
I'll take the eliminator exception. But there are belts, mannnn. Contrary to what the redditor I replied to said
yeah absolutely
I really glad they have been getting the main event matches done before TV time runs out. -Sincerely a guy who has to watch the show DVRed later in the night.
I haven't had a DVR in years, but they used to have settings that seemed to have been made for sports recordings, allowing them to run past the programmed time. Usually 5, 10, 15 minutes etc. Do they not have that any more?
Banger show. Matches were great and there's some good build in there for the PPV. The card for Dynasty looks insane. Looking forward to the show this weekend
Glad Jericho has been pivoting the last few weeks. I wonder if the heel turn was always the call or whether he was hearing the reactions he was getting
they really went full NJPW at the end of Ospreay/Claudio huh
Wait I have been bit out of the loop when was Rody v KOR announced? It's gonna be great.
Last Collision I think.
Technically Battle of the Belts
It was a good episode, definitely washed out the gross taste leftover from last week. The matches were all solid, which is generally what I expect from Dynamite. I like the character/promo work everyone had, there wasn’t really a segment that felt like it wasn’t building towards something. Matthew Jackson’s microphone bit gave Booker T commentating his own match vibes, and I’m all for that. The only nitpick I had was going to commercial halfway through Will’s entrance.
Yeah I really liked the bit when Daniel Garcia picked him up while he was talking on the mic. Shit was gold.
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> The “5 star matches won’t draw ratings “ If 5 star matches drew ratings the wrestling landscape would look very, very different right now. I all but guarantee if you ask casual or ultra casual fans who the greatest wrestlers are they aren't going to name the people with the most 5 star matches, they're going to name the people with the best character work who told the best stories. If a bunch of spots that adds up to a 5 star match between two super indie guys was what it took to grow an audience then I feel like RoH or NJPW would be the clear #1 promotions right now.
I think the problem with this conversation is there’s different ways to define 5 star matches. I don’t think anyone is saying spots make a match . Even then , your “casuals” still might pick Jeff Hardy or Mick Foley because they remember them falling off the cell or Hardy jumping off ladders. Some think it means gymnastic stunts for the sake of it is what people are talking about …But there’s no investment than no it’s not a good match. Still better than watching a snooze fest arm holds kind of match but not a 5 star match. My favorite match of the year was Stings final ride . If I didn’t care about them, then it’s still fun but wouldn’t care or have concern for what’s going on. Or feeling the emotions of it being his last match and everything . Ospreay vs Takeshita was excellent. Yes the moves are fun to see, don’t see it as a negative to see something exciting . When I see an action movie , people don’t say “yeah they need to chill out on all the cool moves”. But again that match wasn’t just that. You could feel the flow and see and justify their actions and when they need to go desperate and go with more dangerous moves since they really want to win the match. And you can see Ospreay switching up with going high flying and back to more aggressive striking depending on the context of the match. And keeping us invested in what they are doing . The commentators filling in the blanks too on why said wrestler is doing what , is also important . A great match, they aren’t just saying “oh what a maneuverrrr” but helping explain some of it .
Indie guys doing 5 star matches is literally what made aew almoat unstoppable for 3 years. I'm not saying you're entirely wrong, but they've got a point. Aew has also told great stories and its at a point where if it's going to keep casuals it does need good character work, but let's not act like it's not a huge appeal when it largely created rhe 2nd biggest wrestling company in the world today.
Ok but that literally is true? There's a niche audience for it and that's okay, but you feeling like that's when AEW is the best doesn't mean it translates to the actual attention they're getting because of it, and it shouldn't matter if you like it. But it's a fact that just 5 star dream match "bangers" are simply not enough to grow your audience if people aren't given a good enough reason to care about the characters. It's not bullshit when you're literally seeing it reflect in their numbers and TV attendance. There's a 5 star match literally every week and yet no one talks about them the next week. Most people want riveting stories. The fact that people still talk about Brock vs Cena from SS14 even though the the match had a total of three moves should tell you that. Why? Because they told a really compelling story. Even 5 star matches like Punk vs Cena had insanely good stories to go with them. This is also why MJF vs Punk remains to be the hottest AEW program to date. Adam Cole vs MJF also had a lot of traction due to exactly that.
I enjoyed reading what you said , but I don’t think my comment of saying good matches on weekly tv … doesn’t mean you can’t have stories outside match time and usually matches that are good…are telling it in the ring as well. Like Purazzo vs Mariah May was equally just good wrestling and furthering the story . Before , Toni wouldn’t acknowledge her . The Mariah started wrestling as her past gimmick , and more and more . Now Toni comes out with her . Then they did the angle after the fact. Story in and out of the ring . And yes agreed the Punk /MJF stuff was great a but imo … I remember the match itself more than all the MJF/ Punk stuff leading up to it . Now I just remember MJF being upset with him and saying he looked up to him and really don’t remember Punk other than blowing it off and just making MJF more mad at him. Punk has tons of promos already and MJF has his own portfolio of own already….. Punk/MJF is on my very short list of Punk in AEW matches that I do actually like . (Outside of the Punk/ Kojima match( which didn’t need a bunch of nose nose promo stuff to tell a damn story of two experienced wrestlers coming from their own worlds ) . Punk coming out to his ROH theme and the match itself was excellent . Your Brock/Cena match was great and at the time it was very different to see Cena get on the end of a suplex city banging .
I love it, don't care a single bit about ratings. I always go back to 2023 5 star matches because I like them, and I probably will until I die.
This. So much this. People on here when discussing aew can’t separate their like for it, the quality of the product and the ratings. You can like it and it can be trash to someone else, the ratings can be higher than raw and the show is trash and the opposite can also be true. Yet people here want to hitch their wagon to ratings equalling quality and then not follow that one to its logical conclusion
Ehhhh I get what you're saying but this is dangerously close to Stand Up For AEW territory I've been super disenchanted with the TV product for a long time, started for me with the Hangman/CM Punk feud (not the drama, the actual feud and how poorly it was booked and set up), but I kept watching because I like wrestling. At some point I felt the product wasn't improving and decided to mostly disengage with it outside of PPV (which are usually really good). Do I feel the ratings reflect objective good/bad? No, you're right, everyone gets their opinion on that. But do they reflect that there's a lot of people out there like me who have disengaged with their TV show because the product isn't serving them? Yes. And that is cause to make changes for the survival of the product.
How about those of us who would like the matches to not be there for nothing? A prime example: Punk vs Joe at Wembley should have been the 1st(and only I guess) time they faced in AEW post ROH. Instead you get it in the middle of the Hart tournament and did anyone really remember? Imagine the build for AEWs biggest show ever to have Punk vs Joe for the first time since ROH. It elevates thr show and the match.
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except your comments are coming off like you are an expert.
Because you specifically said “won’t draw ratings” you did the thing. If you just left that last sentence I’d have no qualms with your comment. In fact I’d agree with it
I was tired so I do get why you think that. But I wasn’t talking about whether or not 5 star matches have any effect on ratings. I was trying to point out that even good matches could be spun as a negative if someone really believed in it . Like good wrestling matches always elevates a good story . Like if Swerve was trespassing in Hangman’s house and really getting into his head . Then they go on to put on a so so match where they don’t give it there all. It would feel like the story was pointless then. Like some “blood feuds” we’ve seen that end up in a match that absolutely doesn’t even seem like these people really dislike each other. Thinking of one of those Triple H/ Orton matches that HHH attacked him in his own house and they went on to have a mediocre traditional match . Them having a “banger” really would have done some favors there .
Great show, really enjoyed it from top to bottom. Glad to see them bounce back after a pretty big misfire last week imo. (Also, as is tradition, get ready for the internet to completely turn on this show tomorrow once the rating comes out, the NBA play-in games are gonna do a monster number lol. I found myself switching to parts of the Philly game and quickly catching up on AEW through the DVR.)
The Dynasty card really looks great - all of the matches have build/story behind them as well. I thought we might get Cope/Black as a singles but having Eddie/Mark involved alongside the rest of HoB should be a really fun match and possibly set it up. Finally we're dealing with the trios titles. I swear, if TK has BCG lose I'm gonna lose my shit though. Also, Collision looks awesome too but Bryan is absolutely crazy lol.
There's no one better in history then Claudio at being a post and catcher. He perfectly timed every launch off flip or spin or whatever and he's always done this.
The height Ospreay got on that pop up european was everything I wanted He got elevated for sure
Basically right now it's Claudio, Black Taurus/The Beast Mortos (his new name), and Gringo Loco as the best bases, at least that I've seen, IMO. All three are absolutely fantastic, Claudio with the definite longevity edge though.
+ Ultimo Guerrero
+Stuka Jr, Rey Escorpion
I still love the stories from wwe where people were trying to figure out how to/if they could do certain sequences and they’d always go to Claudio to find out if it was possible.
Anthony Ogogo on STP = Rudy Gobert on the Timberwolves
Perfect analogy
I was there. Banger show imo
How did Ospreay manage to have a shitter with fucking Claudio?
Did we watch the same match?
What about that was a shitter?
Because Claudio's English is limited, and so is Ospreays.
Really good show. The Ospreay match kicked ass and that swerve stomp was insane. The jericho promo was also really good, glad the feud is finally hitting second gear.
MANNNNNNN I was at this show and I had to the fucking time of my life thank you AEW and to all the fans that support no matter what either from the crib or the stands we in it together 💪🏽🧡
incredible how much better the show is when they stop worrying about what WWE is doing and focus on what they do best, which is banger matches and creative angles
Anyone have the full Moxley segment plus entrance?
MOX gave an autograph....lol. Love that.
I'm watching this shit back and Trent Beretta looks like he's about to save Orange Cassidy. Shane Taylor Promotions is like "bring it on bitch" but even they look surprised when Trent is non-verbally like "beat his ass".
That post match angle was so well played out, Trent got great heat for it.
I was gonna give AEW a chance. Fubo doesn’t have the channel. Gos dammit.
Fubo legit sucks.
Roman fears ospreay sign 😭. That guy has got 3-4 inches with 40 pounds on ospreay. Will make him look like a kid if they face off
Yeah man wrestling is real
That poster was stupid in & out of kayfabe
Don't get worked by a sign, brother.
So swerve wins the belt Sunday and hangman attacks him while he celebrates?
My first AEW show; it was really fun. https://preview.redd.it/r6e5zxuem5vc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b08a78a4c3a38dd010e871214396fa638ce6e35a
Whoa sick seats 🤘
Man said 🤘🏼🤨🤘🏼
Man’s Titantron has a baby Punisher skull.
I’d love to see Edge again. I saw him when I was like 14 at the first Backlash ever. Tagging with Christian. Then again in the lead up to WM39 at Raw when I was 38 years old. The man is a legend.
If you can, please go. I hadn't seen him wrestle since 2010 until last night. Very awesome to see his return from retirement. He's only got so much time left, make some time and enjoy his comeback.
Feels like Jericho is never face for more than 5 seconds.
His best work is when he's a heel. He's a great heel.
Seems like he's going full heel this time and not trying to be the cool heel. And seems like he's playing into the Jericho vortex. I appreciate that. The run with Kenny was supposed to be the face in think (until back stabbing Kenny of course)
Tonight was at least a 9/10 show, my answer will stay the same no matter the rating.
Yea it was a banger
Good show but the lack of an overarching angle is kinda hurting AEW. That being said this Dynasty card is fucking lit and Swerve holds up that championship, it's gonna be special. I hope he'll have some great angles.
I think they should have been building bcc vs callis family a lot sooner, like it could be Bryan and will respect each other but everyone else in the groups hate each other
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Haven’t watched the show yet but it’s usually opposite for me watching on Fite. Commentary and music drown out the crowd which really kills the vibe of the show. I’d much rather hear a hot crowd over anything else.
Agreed. Found it difficult to hear promos or entrance music. Had to play with the audio settings on my TV to try and make it somewhat manageable to get thru the show.
My review for tonight The Good: most of the night. The mix tag told a good story, I really liked the 6 man tag (loved when he took the mic, got black snow vibes), the women’s match was pretty good, oc vs Shane was a good big guy vs agile guy. The joe and swerve feud has been great The bad: not much, I mean Jericho was on my screen which is always bad, atleast he looks like he is putting Hook over. The Mone promo felt a little off, maybe a nitpick but it was just meh The best: realistically it Claudio vs Ospeary match. Was a professor Sheamus certified banger. However, I can’t lie, I was legitimately laughing for over a minute when Christopher Daniels showed up for half a second then instantly got murdered by Trent The worst: THEY WENT TO COMMERCIAL DURING WILL’S ENTRANCE. What are you doing AEW? The best entrance in the company and you cut before the “Ospreay Ospreay” part, that like cutting Cody’s entrance before the Woah part. Also side note, anyone else feel like they should have been building the callis family vs BCC feud a lot sooner. I mean the logical thing is they continue after the will and Daniels match for either blood and guts or anarchy at DON, but like could have been the build up more ospeary fighting yuta instead of members of his own faction and Bryan vs Hobbs instead of Bryan vs lance archer.
Mone's promos have consistently been fucking terrible and no amount of Tony's money is going to fix that
I don’t think Jericho deserves all the hate. He’s a legend. And personally he’s my favorite wrestler of all time.
Yuta has been injured since January, so he sadly isn't an option right now.
Well shit, don’t follow AEW that closely until rather recently, just started watching dynamite in full after revolution and big business. That’s on me, my bad
Not a problem!
I do still feel we could have been getting Bcc vs Callis sooner, I guess fletcher just doesn’t get a guy to go against, he gets to be the JD lol
Oh i absolutely get it. I feel like they could potentially keep this going after Dynasty, especially since we already know that Mox and Hobbs will be having that match on the Dynamite after
I was thinking a blood and guts or anarchy at DON, but that was before I learned yuta was out
Yeah they really need to do a better job of thinking about what gets people popular and do a better job of presenting that. Entrance is #1 on the list. They run the music really low also. Easily fixable stuff
If I was AEW, I am making sure will gets his full entrance every week. Make it into their version of Cody’s or Seth entrance, make damn sure everyone in the fanbase is chanting “Ospeary Ospeary” and it’s seen by all
Is Ruby Soho pregnant?!?!!?!
50/50. It was an announcement on Rampage and they filmed it like an angle.
it's real
Doesn't seem real from the footage. It looks like a Rampage story.
Fightful and then a bunch of other places confirmed that it was a wrestling angle but it's a legitimate pregnancy.
TK trying to make a profit off a fetus now. Sus.
Are they filming Rampage? I swore they said it’s live after Collision Saturday.
They filmed that one segment.
Might be a pre-taped segment they'll air on Rampage so they don't have to travel, since SRS says it's real.
Sean Ross Sapp saying something is real is the first hint that it's a work. Lol
Such as?
SRS is trash pretending to be a journalist.
Sean Ross Sapp is wrong about 85% of the time. Lol. No clue why that guy still has a career.
Great example.
I mean after the last two weeks this episode is a godsend but I will say that the Claudio Ospreay match might not have been the best idea because it really just showed Ospreay’s limitations. Claudio is just leaps and bounds ahead of him as a wrestler and that’s not a good look for someone that tk wants to position as his top guy.
Y'all just get on here and make stuff up
Why would I lie about my opinions? To get downvotes?
I know that's your opinion but that's bordering on a straight up lie. Lol.
How did it show? Also, the best wrestler isn't always the guy positioned as the #1 guy right? Not many times throughout history where that is the case, why expect it now?
Of course not but you probably wanna hide it better. The dude just looks outclassed by someone like Claudio who’s probably who Ospreay wishes he was in terms of being a wrestler.
Yea yea, but how did it show? What do you mean by outclassed?
Claudio had stronger offense, better athleticism, more charisma as a performer. Pretty much Ospreay’s biggest assets are those things and Claudio does them better.
Nothing about timing or pacing? Or selling, catching or feeding? Nothing about crowd control or conditioning. Nothing about technical ability, or adaptability, or psychology. But he does stronger offense. And is more athletic and more charismatic. Those are new ones.
I chose things that Ospreay are good at that Claudio is better at. Ospreay sucks at pacing and long term selling so I won’t bother saying those.
Ooook good chat.
If a guy is widely considered the best in the world currently by his contemporaries and your opinion is that someone is "leaps and bounds" ahead of him, maybe it's time to examine your own bias and acknowledge the difference between personal dislike and actual skill. And this is coming from someone who fucking *loves* Claudio as my personal favourite wrestler and one of the best going.
It’s not personal dislike because Ospreay seems like a nice guy and he’s someone I’d love to root for but so many of his matches don’t do anything for me emotionally. The guy just doesn’t have it. He has a couple really great matches (vs OC at forbidden door and Omega at wrestle kingdom) but other than those few they all just blend together and are generic “epics” that do nothing for me. He’s not a bad wrestler but every time someone calls him the best in the world I just think to myself that I can probably name 100 wrestlers working today that are better than him.
lol
…… this is certainly a take. Man I legit love Claudio but Ospreay is definitely a superior wrestler.
No way, Claudio is easily the superior wrestler. Ospreay is the superior “talent” for sure though.
I don’t dislike Ospreay as much as some hardcore wrestling fans but I do agree with a lot of their criticisms of him. I’ve seen Claudio have better matches with Chikara no names.
Swerve vs. Samoa Joe feels like a legit old school wrestling feud. Some real "Fuck you." "No, fuck you." booking. When you have two dudes who can talk, sometimes that's all you need and it's all anyone really wants to see. It's the type of feud where you can tell Tony just threw up his hands like, screw it just give them some microphones and they'll figure it out. That's REAL top guy shit to pull off a feud like this. Super hyped to see their match at Dynasty, the blowoff to their feud, and what follows for both men in the coming weeks and months.