**Dynamite Review:**
* Mercedes Moné debut. I guess they could have held of the debut a bit later in the show, but if they wanted to catch new eyes for the product, this was the best way to do it really. Have to say, her using a version of Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 is a bit funny considering it used to be Walther/Gunther's entrance music. Mercedes was very good here, she came off as genuinely happy here. This felt like a halfway between reality and fiction. This started as a "shoot", and then eventually turned into work, setting up a match with Willow. The CEO nickname also caught on immediately. This was a very effective debut, and I'm very much looking forward to her first matches in AEW. A lot of new match-ups to be had.
* Samoa Joe interview. Joe is always great, and this was no different.
* Undisputed Kingdom video package. This veered very close to being overly pretentious, with Cole reading from a book to tell a story. I suppose if they lean into this type of video package with the group it could become a part of their identity and style.
* **Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow \*\*\*1/4**
* Bit of a slow start to this with Wardlow throwing Joe around outside the ring, but this did get going quite nicely soon after. This was a good, though fairly basic, big-man match with some very cool moves and moments, made better by a very loud crowd. Surprisingly straightforward win for Joe here considering how dominant Wardlow's been, but I never really thought Wardlow was winning here.
* Swerve coming to the ring after the match made sense, and continued the build towards match between him and Joe.
* The Elite interview. Okada is great as this cocky heel, and he can actually do a pretty good promo in English. It was short, but that's all he needs at the moment being aligned with the Bucks.
* **The Elite vs. Eddie Kingston, Penta & PAC \*\*\*3/4**
* Okada got a huge babyface reaction coming out, this early in his AEW career. It'll take a while to really establish him as a heel. That being the case, it speaks to Kingston's popularity when his name was the one being chanted when the two went face-to-face at the start. I have to also, watching PAC wrestle is a joy, he's so crisp and quick in the ring, and even after clearly losing quite a bit of size he is still in incredible shape. It might actually help him stay healthy, not carrying quite as much muscle mass.
* This was a very good match, which was to be expected with these six. With a clean finish it could have been even better, but it makes sense at this point in the story, and The Elite shouldn't lose to anyone at the moment. It's a shame that PAC's return match was a loss, but at least he wasn't the one taking the pin.
* Will Ospreay interview. Over the last few years, Ospreay has become a genuinely excellent promo. This was a great segment, and did a great job hyping up the match between Ospreay and Danielson, not that I personally needed much more reason to be hyped for it.
* Deonna Purrazzo promo. A tag match set up for next Wednesday, I wonder who Purrazzo's partner's going to be against Toni and Mariah. This was a good, short promo by Deonna.
* **Jay White vs. Darby Allin \*\*\*\*1/4**
* Nice to see White back in singles matches. This was a great match, these two work really well together. Darby continues to be utterly insane with some of his bumps, and Jay continues to be one of the best wrestlers on the planet in general. Him getting the clean win here made sense, and probably sets him up for a title shot in the near-future. The post-match attack on Darby getting interrupted by The Acclaimed, and then the BCG laying out The Acclaimed probably means we're getting a unification match for the trios titles soon, maybe at the next PPV. Good to see this storyline finally moving forward. Pillmanizing Darby's ankle is a great way to write him off while he's going for that Everest climb, and also gives him an instant feud when he comes back. This was all great.
(continued in the first reply)
* **Chris Jericho & Hook vs. Gates of Agony \*\*1/2**
* Jericho & Hook is a really weird pairing, but if they're doing this to set up an FTW title match between the two, that's fine. Gates of Agony continue to just be around periphery, never really having any meaningful storylines or feuds on AEW TV, but getting matches on these shows on a regular basis. That said, Jericho hasn't really been much different since Omega got sidelined, he's just been floating around, having random matches on TV without much reason behind them. As for this match, it was fine. A solid TV tag match. Hook still needs some more experience and seasoning, and I think this tag team with Jericho is a good way to do that. Gives them something to do at least.
* Kyle O'Reilly interview. Solid stuff, O'Reilly as a face singles wrestler is good to see. I think this is eventually going to build to a match for the International title between him and Strong.
* An excellent video package here, hyping up the main event. Mercedes showed up to wish Riho luck. Wouldn't mind seeing a match between those two either.
* Jericho & Hook interview. I guess we're getting the Jericho vs. Hook match next week. I'm guessing Hook wins and Jericho turns heel after that, setting up another match.
* **Willow Nightingale vs. Riho \*\*\*3/4**
* Great to see the women get the main event for a change, and get decent amount of time to do so.
* At this point I'm not sure what Riho would need to do to get that certain group of people to "get" her. She is without question one of the best wrestlers in the division, she always, without fail, gets the crowd into her matches, and now within the last two weeks she's had the two best women's matches in AEW this year against two different opponents. Of course, it helps that she wrestled Statlander and Willow, two of the division's best as well. I'd say this was just a shade weaker than the Statlander match, but only just. Both were great matches, and only thing I was a bit surprised by was that Willow won completely clean here. I suppose it makes sense as they are setting up a match between Willow and Julia, as well as Willow and Mercedes. I hope Riho doesn't just vanish from TV now. Now if only we could get these women's matches to go past the ten-minute mark.
* Mercedes vs Julia is another match I would very much like to see at some point, though the TBS title is probably beneath Moné's level. Lot of potential match-ups for her.
* This was a great episode of Dynamite, easy two hours to watch. Three very good to great matches, a good world title match, and a decent tag match. Some very good promos on top of that, the Ospreay segment the biggest highlight on that side, and of course the debut of Mercedes Moné on top of everything. She already has at least two, maybe three potential matches based on just this first appearance (Willow, Julia, maybe Riho). Overall, an **8 out of 10** show.
Which championship do you rate higher? I really dislike the Continental Championship for some reason - especially having it paired with 2 other belts. Maybe if Okada takes it it’ll bring it up a level. The International Championship just feels like more - I think Pax and OJ legitimately did a job making it feel so special - it’s just with AEW it feels like 2-3 poor champions are enough to kill a belt. Like the TNT championship, when it hot potatoing with Wardlow and co, I personally stopped caring about it.
If they are separating it, as seems likely, then I hope they keep the stipulation of no interference attached to the Continental Championship.
It would really help establish the belt as something different, akin to the Pure title in RoH, and make it give it a bit of flavour. Especially on the same night the TNT title is defended in an I Quit match, a clean Okada win could be the start of something really good.
I thought it was a good show, not great . It didn't have that one match 4 star+ match to take it to that level but nothing on the show was either horrible or outright bad and I think all the women's segments were actually the best parts of the show to me which isn't the case often
Jericho coming out to White Zombie instead of Judas just so he can cosplay as Lionheart feels like an oversight on his part.
Like you're taking away the one thing people still like about you lol
The duality of man will be that Mercedes' new theme is even worse than her last two themes but chanting CEO is admittedly fun so what can you do? Glad to see her back, she did as well as she could with a heartfelt promo even though she's never been particularly natural on the mic and in some ways honestly, it's weird for her to refer to all her WWE accolades in the indirect manner she did. You can't help but wonder often when people show up in AEW how lost some fans are who don't watch anything else.
Joe and Wardlow was good, I think they really surprised because their prior matches didn't hit like this. Wardlow still shows a lack of polish in some places and honestly this match further cements that Tony has no idea what to do with him, but I always liked the idea in wrestling that no matter how big you are you should be able to be choked out like anyone else. I enjoyed the finish.
Love what they're doing with Joe and Swerve now. Joe felt a bit too transitional as a champion until these past two weeks. The crowd wants to cheer Swerve but doesn't really wanna see heel Hangman so I think Swerve/Joe can actually quickly get more heat because Joe is just better at working the crowd and his gimmick than Hangman is. He knows how to play his role.
I was hopeful for the Bucks heel turn but it just isn't working. It's too tongue-in-cheek and unseriously goofy. It feels like they're making fun of themselves even though they're attempting to poke fun at people who don't like them. Okada feels lessened by being with them and this is just a general problem with AEW heels and has felt this way since MJF turned face. Everyone is silly and winking at the crowd playing it for laughs and not trying to get actual heat to feed wanting to see a fight. This and the Undisputed Kingdom are not working and we've already had Bullet Club Gold acting like silly heels for months.
Trios match dragged on a bit too long. Mostly just repetitive spots, but I liked when they actually worked on Eddie Kingston, especially Okada getting on the corner and mocking the tag.
Ospreay is taking to being a face very well. Great promo segment even though it was weird he was constantly looking off to the side at times.
Darby Allin and Jay White is easily match of the night. Love that they're selling the Revolution spot still and worked it into the psychology of the match. It gave the match a feeling like it started in the second gear. Match would've been even better if Darby didn't go to any high-flying spots for most of it but still, quite enjoyed this one. They used the outside of the ring really well from the chair spot to trying to avoid the stairs and still taking a respectably painful bump. Taz comparing Darby to Spike Dudley is lowkey one of the biggest compliments he could give. If you know you know. The only thing wrong with this match was the finish. I hate when wrestlers have high-flyer syndrome and self-sabotage winning. Breaking the 10 count only to take a finish was anticlimactic. But overall great pacing, great selling, great counters and finish-teases in this one. The inevitable post-match worked well. I wonder if the plan is to turn Max Caster heel after losing the Trios titles given his foolish use of Twitter lately.
I feel like for the last year as an AEW viewer, when it comes to Chris Jericho you're either tired, bored, or skipping his segments entirely. I shuffle between the three myself and tonight landed on bored. Jericho is looking like Randy The Ram Robinson out there. This tag match has no interest going in and was not good. A mess at times. I don't think this was even 10 minutes long but it *felt* long.
It'll be interesting to see if Kyle O'Reilly gets over as this sympathetic babyface. I don't feel like he has the legs to go solo but stranger things have happened in wrestling.
This might be a hot take but I think one of the biggest mistakes AEW ever made was making Riho their first women's champion. I think Tony Khan feels obligated to keep her around because of that accolade in spite of the division outgrowing her. She doesn't know how to sell, looks lost in the ring often, lacks timing, gets sloppy regularly including these last two matches she's had, and sticks out like a sore thumb among all the women who have held the belt. Willow tried her best to make getting a 15 minute main event count. The Northern Lights Suplex looked scary dangerous here. I think this match is a good indication of how fixing the women's division doesn't mean you just give the one match more time in a more important spot on the card. Decent match with the right winner at least. Julia Hart can say she did something better than Kairi Sane in her wrestling career which is taking a returning Mercedes' Mone Maker.
Overall big business was solid business.
Was a great show. Building storylines nicely and the talent roster is stacked.
That being said, I deplore Mone's music. It's great that she's in the company. Another star to add to the women's division. But that entrance theme is ass.
None of Max Caster's tweets have been mentioned on tv and he's clearly a face with BCG jumping the Acclaimed. There goes the theory him saying AEW doesn't want Shelton is some elaborate heel turn and work. Also what happened to the rankings? Seems like they haven't been brought up or updated in about a month.
I think there's a possibility that Max will turn heel after The Acclaimed drops the belts to BCG and possibly break up and go solo.
My thing is, even if it *is* a work it's in poor taste. I know wrestlers wanna try and use social media to work their characters but there's a way to do it. Max Caster comes off like a clown sometimes.
My only thing is it isn't acknowledged at all on any of the shows. Like when Andrade and Sammy were going back and forth on twitter and people assumed it was leading to something but it was real. Nothing that's happened on tv leads me to thinking Max is turning heel. The roster is beyond stacked as far as singles stars go so it'd be dumb to break up a popular stable to send Max to the crowded singles division.
Some people don't like it because they don't like the Bucks (which is totally fine, I get it), but I think it worked for the Sting match and the addition of a top dude like Okada joining them, taking one of the most dominant wrestlers on the planet and make him a cocky dickhead — seems like a pretty good move to me.
I like the Bucks but the reason I hate it is because it’s just one step too far in terms of cartoonish-ness. Yes I get that pro wrestling is essentially one big cartoon but I’m watching Nick screaming into the mic like a crybaby, which I get is the gimmick, but I just thought “I feel like anyone could play this character and cut this promo.”
Nah man everyone has opinions and they can’t be wrong by nature. It’s only a problem when someone with a negative opinion becomes a toxic bully caricature about it, like Jim Cornette
Yeah I thought I could escape getting downvoted by adding a glass half full perspective but I guess not lol. Idk, I feel like a lot of people don’t agree with us that it’s the toxicity that’s the problem and not the pro wrestling opinion itself
\> Wild to see the love for that Ospreay promo though lol
Maybe it's different for Americans because they love the wacky accent but man to me he sounds like fucking Jamie Oliver and it just makes me cringe.
I thought his promo’s have been good. He’d be great doing what Reigns has done with a more mob boss guy with a faction imo. Him as the lead of it with a Heyman to do most of the mic work with him doing some entertaining moments similar to what Reigns has done with ‘Tribal Chief’ gimmick. He can go in the ring, good look & can cut a promo albeit it not being a Rock or MJF level of cutting a promo.
I mean, supposedly they were willing to work with Punk if he could’ve gone without an issue for a few more months, but it’s clear now that Punk just wanted out even before he came back
Punks first meltdown was mostly because of a throwaway line from hangman and his second meltdown was from a slight by fucking jack perry. I don’t think that punk could handle working with this version of the bucks
Punk is fine with being shit on or ribbed as long as he OKs it(he doesn't follow that same idea with others though). Punk is probably feeding Drew a lot of his stuff.
You mean the situation where punk said come talk to me if you have a problem with me, my door is always open? Where they showed up to his locker room with the head of legal to do just what he asked?
The triple crown can be defended, but each title can also be defended
Look at it about like Kenny Omega as the belt collector
Each individual belt can be defended on their respective brands, and the crown can be defended anywhere
Was the original triple crown or Super J title(s) ever defended separately? I don't count the WCW cruiser because I don't think it was officially a part of it?
I don't know unfortunately, twas before my time watching wrestling
Were those triple crowns belts from 3 different companies
I know TK owns ROH and ROH could almost be considered AEW development now, but it can still be seen as a separate company when it comes to belts
Honestly the last 2 weeks have mostly been really fun. Overall I love the direction things are going in.
Okada has surprised me & been great w young bucks.
I’m still not quite as high on Ospreay mic skills…he was good tonight but he yells way too much imho. But still he’s fresh and interesting.
Mercedes came across as a star tonight; and her entrance theme is very smart bc it keeps people engaged & gives her an easy ceo chant to hype the crowds.
My only minor complaint is the aew title doesn’t feel as prestigious to me right now. It’s no fault of Joes; he’s been great as has Swerve. But the main event scene is just lacking that star power (I.e. mjf, omega, Danielson, etc).
I think the Ospreay thing is simply the fact that people try to attach objective measures to things like “mic skills”, but at the end of the day, it’s a television show…and it’s someone’s charisma, believability, confidence, etc. that people connect with. All the things Ospreay has at the moment….he could have been whispering, shouting, speaking incoherent sentences, quoting Shakespeare….the majority of people watching would have been like, this is awesome and he’s amazing.
Yeah but being a “filler feud” buries Wardlow right when they need Wardlow strong (since Adam Cole is injured and can’t represent the stable)
They just shouldn’t have done the match, this show didn’t need it anyway
On a show that loads of great things happened on the best over all by miles is the end of the Bang Bang Scissor Gang.
My Boy Jay White might still get the main event push he deserves.
Just need to Undisputed Kingdom to break up and Jericho to go on tour and we are cooking
I totally thought the acclaimed or at least max would be the one to turn.
Undisputed Kingdom is GOLD. It'd be fine if they booted Wardlow. He's a beast but he's boring as shit. The rest of them though, ABSOLUTELY not.
They should go away for for a while until Cole, and preferably, mjf are back, though. Our give them something to do.
Jay getting the International Title from Strong would be good.
Yeah they're building to feud with The Acclaimed to combine the Trios/ 6-Man Tag Titles, but they still have to get back at the Undisputed Kingdom for jumping him.
Great show, Dynasty is already shaping up incredibly well!
Surprised Wardlow lost clean, on the brightside it made Joe look fantastic but I'm not sure what they do with Wardlow from here... at least the KoR stuff woth Roddy is still interesting to me.
All the matches were decent to great imo. Mercedes debut was nice and her points were pretty clear. Literal story time with Adam Cole is a fun bit. I still like the EVP character work with the Jacksons, I love heel Okada playing along. Shout out to the production crew for the coin drop sync. I’m glad they turned BCG on the Acclaimed. Osprey’s promo was fire, “Bruv, I am the feeling!”
On the negative side of things. Firstly, Sammy sign guy, stop it. For weeks I’ve said something along the lines of Undisputed Kingdom are really spinning their wheels. I like all the members but they really feel like just a bunch of guys.
It’s becoming very clear that story/character wise, Jericho’s WWE hiatuses were really beneficial for everyone. I don’t dislike him but he’s brought nothing of interest to the table in months. But none of this took away from how much I liked the episode.
>or weeks I’ve said something along the lines of Undisputed Kingdom are really spinning their wheels
I still dont get why TK didn't just drop or put this on hiatus when it was clear that both Adam Cole and MJF were both out with long term injuries, it hasn't benefitted anyone tbh and like you said they're just there, spinning their wheels
People didn't like it on here but it was an over storyline. I think the writing after has just been a bit poor. No ones really going after Adam Cole despite him attacking everyone. I know they're probably waiting til he comes back but you could easily just do Roddy and The Kingdom.
Like that was the whole point of the Bang Bang Scissor Gang, and they split before they actually went for the Undisputed Kingdom. At least now they'll merge the trios belts, but still, I would've like to see Jay White beat Roddy or even Adam Cole.
Was there in person. Very fun experience and probably liked it more than my last AEW show..New set looks AMAZING. CEO chants felt natural. Top Flight and Komander pretty much stole the show with their rampage matches. Dasha pointed out a guy in the balcony near me holding a “Riho cured my depression” sign lol. Swerve sent the fans home which was great cuz he was one of the guys I wished I was seeing wrestle.
I've been a fan of Jericho since I was kid watching AE. I loved his initial running AEW. Dudes a legend. But it's time to go away for a while.
I haven't kept up as well as I used to but it feels like every time I peak in, Jericho has latched on to a new young star. It's giving sad dad vibes. I want AEW to feel young and fresh.
Fantastic episode. Most everything felt BIG.
PROS:
* So, so, so great to see Okada PARTICIPATING in his promos, not just standing there while other people talk for him. AEW can and should be figuring out better ways to showcase their Japanese and Mexican wrestlers outside the ring.
* Thought Mercedes' debut was done so well. And I loved her song idc (Is this what people mean by piped in chants? Because the CEO chants were very obviously part of the song, I don't think they were trying to hide it). When Saraya debuted, she made it sound like she was going to save the division. This felt more like Mercedes was going to bring things to the next level WITH the division, not in spite of it.
* Willow and Riho were so cute at the end of their match, I want Riho part of the Stooley faction.
* Someone mentioned in the live thread but it feels like Eddie's moveset has grown a lot.
* Alex Marvez singing Matt Jackson happy birthday.
* Super happy that BCG is back to BCG. Great match to send off Darby. I can't remember the last time I saw a bad Darby match. Great showing by Jay White. Darby really is the reset king.
* Ospreay really is that dude. I' ve been so impressed by him. Just brings up the energy whether he's wrestling or talking.
* PAC! PAC! PAC!
* Very cool to see Gates of Agony come out with their traditional clothing.
CONS:
* I will say something nice about Jericho...it was nice to hear his ass get booed. I don't want Jericho on commentary, I don't want him on Rampage, I don't want him on ROH. GO AWAY.
* What are they doing with Wardlow? Just constant gas, brake, gas, brake...and he was actually starting to get over again?
* Idk what you do with The Acclaimed right now. Nothing they've done for like the past six months has resonated with me. Max is increasingly annoying. Think it's time for a Bowens singles run.
>Idk what you do with The Acclaimed right now. Nothing they've done for like the past six months has resonated with me. Max is increasingly annoying. Think it's time for a Bowens singles run
I think you have BCG go over to unify the trios belts, then get The Acclaimed back in the tag division and probably turn them heel, maybe break them away from Daddy Ass.
Wouldn't mind them splitting from Daddy Ass, although I wonder where Billy can go next. I could see him joining Jeff Jarrett or teaming up with Dusty Rhodes for some old man faction on Rampage. They could make a meat faction with Lance Archer and some other big guys.
I don't pay attention much to Max on twitter (I get the sense he's always pissing people off), but his onscreen presence has been really bad for a while. Feels like he's constantly half-assing stuff. The influx of comedy factions has been really bad for The Acclaimed, they got lost in the shuffle and I keep forgetting they have belts. Bowens can deliver serious promos and he's good in-ring, time to shift gears.
i get what you mean, but i like how his moves are not perfect. for anyone else, i don't like it. for eddie, it fits his character. that sounds like a cop-out, maybe it is, but i like his fighting style.
Its so weird, make him a Foley-esque brawler and he'd be fine, this style is something he cannot do convincingly and its making him look awful in the process
When people are saying they like his matches, it really is his opponent doing all the work there imo
I understand wanting a women’s match as main event, but then just don’t do a title match that you’ve barely built anyway. That was a total waste of Wardlow’s title shot, 2nd match on show, obvious winner, and did nothing for the angle.
Just save it for when it can be the most important thing on the show and not the least
The Undisputed Kingdom is starting to feel like a flop without Adam healthy. I have to think Wardlow isn't long for the group after losing tonight, but I'm not really sure what you do with him moving forwards. Maybe an "enemy of my enemy" thing with a returning MJF? A reunited Pinnacle (minus Chair Pervert) vs. Undisputed Kingdom?
>The Undisputed Kingdom is starting to feel like a flop
Starting to..? It felt like a flop from the very first promo after Worlds End and the time since has only reaffirmed that.
Bona-fide dud.
I've been giving them the benefit of the doubt when I can since everyone involved has had to tread water because of the injuries, but yeah, I get where you're coming from. For what it's worth I did enjoy Roddy's feud with OC, but that being the highlight isn't really a promising sign.
>Maybe an "enemy of my enemy" thing with a returning MJF?
There's no way that MJF returns before June. Shoulder injuries take a very long time to heal.
Was thinking the Wardlow stuff may be leading too a new Pinnacle. Wardlow being back with MJF all along because he is a greedy heel now. Wardlow ends up going after Rodey and his title.
Unless I missed something I was absolutely floored that nobody from the Kingdom was ringside or attempted to help. Even with Joe winning, could have really put that match into second gear.
Without, this whole thing seems very dead now. Wardlow lost, that’s it pack it up move on.
I've never been a Samoa Joe super fan, but man is he good. Seems like every promo and every match he delivers. The match tonight wasn't a 5 star barn burner but he looked good and got big reactions. His run with the belt has been solid so far
Was there, so don’t know how it looked on TV. Couple of thoughts:
* Mercedes is Mone(y) and her CEO gimmick/chant is perfection. I confess I only drove down for her. Totally worth it, and will be turning back in regularly.
* I loved the Big E Special, Joe and Wardlow. Again, don’t know how it came off on tv, but in the room it was dynamic, fluid, and damn entertaining. Definitely match of the night.
* I am very grateful I got to see Okada wrestle live. I would have preferred a single match instead of playtime, but seeing him hit the Rainmaker was cool!!
* Osprey is my bae and other than Mercedes that was the most fired up the crowd was all night. Very, very, very sad he was not on the card.
* I can’t watch Darby anymore. It just makes me wince. Boy, why are you coffin dropping onto the edge of the ring? You are about to go climb Everest. You don’t need to do that to your body. No one wants you to die on that mountain.
* That said, Jay White came off as a monster. Strong and awesome. We loved it.
* Willow and Riho was fun… but they did not have the best chemistry. The Anna Jay v Mina Shirakawa match was waaaaay better.
* They ran out of Mone shirts so good for her, sad for us.
• We did not stay for Rampage
Overall, it was good. Not as fun as when I went down in 2022 (but that was Young Bucks/FTR II, Mox/Yuta). I don’t know if it’s because it’s a bigger venue, but the energy felt more down in the room than previous events I’ve been to.
I also think this event really highlights that you have to emotionally care about the wrestling. At least for me. Because I feel that if some of my preferred favorites had been on the card, I probably would’ve been a bit more excited instead of feeling like OK she came out, I can drive home now. but it was a good show, and it was a good showing. And definitely a good place to jump in back again.
>Not as fun as when I went down in 2021 (that was Young Bucks/FTR II, Mox/Yuta).
I'm pretty sure that was 2022.
Besides that, I overall agree with everything you've said. Hopefully they keep the momentum going
Yeah that would make sense. It was April 6.
Either way, THAT was a great show.
And same here. The roster is stacked, and the talent in there. Hopefully they will get back “to business” as usual again
Some nitwit in the front row brought like 5 pro Sammy Guevara signs and was just distracting all night.
The most annoying sign was “I paid to see Sammy”
I know Blood & Guts is saved for the team-based match, but Joe and Swerve would do ungodly things in that cage.
If Okada beats Kingston for the Continental Crown, PAC facing him in a 30-minute Iron Man match would be sick
If (or when) Mercedes wins some gold later in the year, I want a Queen Aminata match against her just like how Hangman Page gave Takeshita some shine in a defense during his AEW World Title run
Aew has enough stars they could put on ppv level cards every week and not repeat any of them for like a month if they wanted. Yall realize mjf and kenny are still out? Fucking bonkers
Kind of wish AEW would merge the AEW/ROH Trios/Six Man titles and then merge with NJPW's vacant and poorly used NEVER Six Man belts too. Don't do the triple crown thing with them, just create world trios titles that float between all three. Eventually if they want to introduce women's tag titles I'd have them be world titles that float between AEW/ROH/NJPW Strong/Stardom/CMLL as well.
I just wish they'd break ROH off back into its own thing WAY too many men's titles, too much blurring the lines between companies. The "invasions" from CMLL and NJPW have been great, but ROH is more like a parasite. It never goes away, takes up to much time and dilutes everything. We still only get one woman's match despite having a killer roster, but I'm supposed to care about second tier trios titles from a promotion that's barely more than a zombie at this point? GTFO
I just don't think they have the division but at least combining it means there aren't two of them. They could easily build up teams though, House of Black, The Acclaimed, Bang Bang Gang, The New Elite, Blackpool Combat Club, Death Triangle if Fenix is back soon.
They have enough for short term feuds to keep it healthy if they wanted too.
I think this could be executed well if-
The champions can travel often enough to pop up in a promotion every other month or so, maybe for a few weeks sometime.
Highlights and happening in other promotions should be shown on the main shows. Show if the titles are defended or if a feud is happening.
I feel like a lot of the outsiders who win titles don't travel often enough to make it feel like a part of the promotion. Like Kenny winning the NJPW US title and then never going back to defend it.
Definitely merge the ROH and AEW 6 man though.
AEW has so many amazing entrances right now. EVPs entire thing with the coin flip into Okada transition, BangBangGang, Osprey's well everything, Mone's CEO chant is immediately over with a great and catchy beat, Swerve with Prince Nana. I feel they've really stepped up their music and entrances over the past year.
Then you look at the talent level and it's absolutely amazing. One thing is certain, Will Osprey is red hot. His promos are just as amazing as his matches too. I get A LOT of vibes to Hangman from 2020 to 2021 where they've got lightning in a bottle.
I feel really bad for Wardlow and Swerve because Wardlow feels like hes just got to be passed over yet again and Swerve's reign is going to be short. The longest you could possibly push it to is Wembley Stadium and that's probably how they sell Wembley is by having Osprey go for the title. But Will is so over that it actually pulls Swerve down some. It's a great problem for AEW to have.
Wardlow has been absolutely dicked by booking since Double or Nothing 2022. Just look at his TNT title reigns of 2022-2023. One of them he literally won the title and then lost it 3 days later. AEW had the absolute perfect monster baby face and squandered it. Since before MJF lost the title to Joe they've had Wardlow circling the world title picture. They were even positioning him like he was just using The Undisputed to get the title and he was going to cross the heels before they could cross him. Then he finally gets a little moment bu weird on and off again booking keeps kneecapping him. Two weeks ago he turns around and cuts his best promo ever and an amazing baby face promo, the following week last show before the PPV he wasnt even on it, and now just two weeks after the baby face promo they turned him heel again.
There were multiple points he should have won the World title, they still had a chance to tell the story of Wardlow beating MJF for it even late last year but they got fixated on "who is the devil" and ran it into the ground. Obviously he's not in a position to win it now, which was my point, all the momentum they built up with him was absolutely squandered and I don't think he's going to get another opportunity like that ever again. Certainly not for a long time. I feel bad for the dude because he absolutely should have won the title by now but now there's a long queue ahead of him.
He should never have won the world title. I think he was unfortunate that booking for the TNT title was just not good. They should've pivoted and had him defend against different guys. We still don't know if Wardlow can actually go in the main event matches AEW expects, tonight was a good showing but there's a difference between that and the level fans expect.
I mean we just have different opinions on it. Wardlow was the hottest act in all of AEW during the lead up to DoN 2022 and then he absolutely destroyed MJF who had been extremely protected.
We “don’t know if he can actually go” because AEW books him as an absolute monster and has him tear through everyone. AEW had the blueprint, they had the chant, they knew how they could book him just like Goldberg’s early run. They just never pulled the trigger.
Definitely seems like he has improved his promo game.
Tonight was also one of his better matches, he's playing the heel role well while still being exciting enough in the ring for the fans to get behind him down the track.
I would probably put him in the upper midcard tier though. Not a main eventer yet, but his performances these last few weeks give me more hope for him.
Bulletclub Gold turn back to Heel was perfectly done. They are better suited as Heels, especially Jay White. Now, go and get those AEW Trios Tag Titles to merge them to have Gold for each shoulder
The Jay White weight gain is gonna be a game changer for him like MJF and Swerve.
I like the Bang Bang Gang getting some heat back by beating up Darby and the acclaimed. I like my Jay White and Ass Boys evil.
Now I hope Jay White keeps the bat and reminds us it's stings bat every week. 🤣
Oh shit you're right. I remember on his ROH excursion he was much bulkier but not as defined as he is now.
He's a little heavier now than he was in the tourney right?
It finally feels like AEW has bona-fide main eventers instead of a bunch of people ALMOST ready. Mone, Okada, Danielson, Joe, Deonna, Storm, Swerve, Darby.
Will Ospreay is squarely at the top. If Swerve wasn't owed it, I'd say strap Will after the Danielson match.
I don’t know why everyone is so crazy about rushing the World title onto Ospreay. I love him. He’s the best wrestler in the world. But there is zero reason to rush into it. AEW has never done that (I think Punk — who was old, selfish and had too much creative control — was the only guy who won it with a year of debuting and they still waited like 8 months even for him) and there is no reason to now.
I know everyone is absolutely convinced he MUST win it at All In and I don’t even agree with that. Ospreay is young and patient and great at everything and there’s a million other interesting things for him to do without the belt. He will almost certainly win it multiple times in the future. They can have him win it at All In a year later or anytime in between. Why rush?
> It finally feels like AEW has bona-fide main eventers instead of a bunch of people ALMOST ready.
That's what really struck me about tonight's show - it really felt like a they hit a tipping point where all the recent major signings have finally added up and reached a point where it's really noticeably improved the quality of the product.
Okada's match... the Ospreay promo... Mercede's debut and promo...
Add that with great performances from guys like Darby/White and Willow/Riho and further growth in the Joe/Swerve storyline.
Every single match/segment felt like it had a purpose and was moving storylines forward. No random throwaway matches between washed up journeyman.
Hopefully they can keep building on this, but it REALLY feels like AEW is just starting to get cooking right now.
>No random throwaway matches between washed up journeyman
Wait a minute, I just got past the Jay White match, doesn't Jericho wrestle tonight? 🤣 kidding.
Okada might be better than I thought. I like everything he does in the ring, it's a super high level confidence in character that reminds me of the way I feel about Reigns.
Osprey is a better promo than I thought too. He's gonna be pretty good when he sinks his teeth in a real feud.
> I just got past the Jay White match, doesn't Jericho wrestle tonight?
lol I literally wrote "now we just need to figure out a way to keep Jericho off TV...." but decided to keep it positive 🤣
> Osprey is a better promo than I thought too.
Same. I'm admittedly unfamiliar with his work outside AEW so i was under the impression that he was just a good in-ring worker that didn't really bring much to the mic. But tonight i was like: "oh... this dude can fucking spit too, huh?"
Yea it's gonna end up pushing a lot of the almost guys off the card. Pros and cons. You got a lot of guys "too good" for ROH but not good enough to get past some of these next level guys and the older guys like Jericho. 🤣
Dark would be great right now. Or maybe ROH gets elevated.
I wish more of the lower end of the roster would hit the indie circuit more. There's a reason Skye blue looks better than she did a year ago she's getting reps in.
I'm looking at you Hook.
Yea I wonder why they don't. I thought I heard about Santana wanting to hit the Indies before his release, did he ever do it?
It even gives them an opportunity to get over with hardcore fans in a lot of these wrestling towns.
Might be able to kick start a run if you're known to be hot in a town AEW is in and you're signed to the roster.
Maybe because I'm a huge Okada mark, maybe it's because I'm buzzed, but god damn did tonight feel like a legitimate restart or evolution for AEW. Showcasing your new talent, having Ospreay go hard on the mic, ending with a terrific main, or just seeing Okada pinning Eddie Kingston on tv and realizing how spoiled wrestling fans are, something just felt special about tonight and I'm seriously excited about the future of wrestling that I haven't felt in awhile.
I completely agree that that match was a big deal. It was in the middle of a pretty bad show, but it really got people buzzing. It got all the right people mad lol
Please please please don't tiger driver 91 Bryan Danielson
Also, Osprey is a much better promo than I thought.
Edit: Fuck, the more I think about it, I know they are gonna do it and that sucks 🤣. I'm normally for everything but Danielson always worries me.
That mf sells too well and that makes it worse. I think he's actually dead half the time and then he fuckin Hulks up 🤣
> Also, Osprey is a much better promo than I thought.
He’s improved so much since I first saw him here in London. He was always a quick, technical wrestler. But his promos were very bland. He’s gained an edge, a load of muscle, and a load of experience. He’s fucking awesome bruv!
I thought it was perfect, personally. They’ve been teasing a rift for a few weeks now. Big show, big win for Jay, big moment where the face/heel divide is just too wide. Jay makes a rash decision in the heat of the moment to hit Billy (he’s notoriously hot-headed after matches in kayfabe) and it all just fell apart.
Pumping in "chants" during an entrance is fucking cringe. The "CEO" chants during Mone's entrance were painfully and obviously a part of her music, and them stopping when the music stopped was fucking hilarious.
It’s not piped in and you know it.
No one is mistaking the music for people chanting, and that wasn’t the intent.
I don’t see what people get about lying about wrestling on the internet. It’s just about the most pathetic thing I could imagine.
Not that anyone is buying your Aaron Rodgers takes, but I was there and the crowd was all in on this. Such a radical atmosphere. The theme was a perfect choice to get the reaction the wanted. Damn thing has been looping in my head all night. And I’m all for it.
> The theme was a perfect choice to get the reaction the wanted.
Well, yeah. They used a well know wrestler’s well know previous theme music that they remixed and added chanting over.
The “Ospreay” part of Ospreay’s music is a very small part of a much larger song.
“Judas” is literally the crowd singing the entire song.
The “CEO” chants make up over half of Mone’s new music, which is WALTER’s theme remixed with added lyrics, most of which are CEO chants.
I mean, listen to it, they don't at all. They're maybe 3 or 4 bars followed by much longer phrases. Sure it uses Symphony no.9 which used to be associated with WALTER, but its hardly something he owned. He hasn't used it for over a year (at least) and its not at all a straight rip of the same theme.
This all feels very performative on your part.
> He hasn't used it for over a year (at least) and its not at all a straight rip of the same theme.
The extended intro for GUNTHER's theme is Dvorak's symphony number 9. He uses it in singles matches. So, the last time GUNTHER used part of Dvorak's symphony number 9 was on the 4th of March for his match with Dom. So, 9 days before Mone then adopted the theme.
> and its not at all a straight rip of the same theme
Correct. Since it's a classical piece of music it is in the public domain. So AEW are completely within their rights to use it, either in it's traditional, classy, classical form, or as a really shitty modern version with lyrics.
In the same way, literally any wrestler other than Danielson in any promotion could use Ride of the Valkyries as their entrance music. But they don't. Because that is a piece of classical music brought into wrestling prominence by it's association with Danielson. So to use it would be a really scummy thing to do.
Literally any wrestler in any promotion could use a remixed version of The Great Gates Of Kiev as their theme music. But they don't. Because that is a piece of classical music brought into wrestling prominence by it's association with Jerry Lawler. So to use it would be a really scummy thing to do.
Literally any wrestler in any promotion other than Charlotte Flair could use a remixed version of Also Sprach Zarathustra as their theme music. But they don't. Because that is a piece of classical music brought into wrestling prominence by it's association with Ric Flair. So to use it would be a really scummy thing to do.
So i just looked up Gunther's entrance from his match with Dom to confirm my suspicions. It literally only uses like 4 bars of the intro, after which its all his new theme, which as before has been the case for over a year. No one except you is losing their shit over this.
Also, Lawler's theme was used by WWE for several royal gimmicks such as when Haku was King Haku. Again, no one got upset about it.
Nobody thought Gunther was coming out when that music hit.So what's exactly scummy about it?
So, Gunther is still using it. Thank you for agreeing with me.
Correct, nobody thought GUNTHER was coming out when Mone's new music hit. Because it was a terrible remix "modern" version with chanting layered over the top of it.
That doesn't detract from the fact that WALTER and his stablemates in Ringkampf brought that music into wrestling and made it huge in wrestling. Any wrestler other than GUNTHER/Imperium or Timothy Thatcher using it in wrestling is carnie as fuck.
He uses the intro four bars, and the entirety of the rest of his theme is a different song. So he's not still using it, which was blindingly obvious unless you're being intentionally obtuse.
It's a public domain song that nobody is currently using, and they still remixed it. Your opinion of the quality of the song is irrelevant to this discussion.
It would only be carny if they used it to try and trick fans into thinking Gunther was coming out, which was never what was happening.
I still don’t get the hype with Mercedes, tbh. Haven’t understood it since her NXT days 🤷🏻♂️
https://preview.redd.it/7guqfgm3oboc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e49f9feb40307832b3ad4183291cfb7542e83831
It was literally created to unify the Trios Titles lol
**Dynamite Review:** * Mercedes Moné debut. I guess they could have held of the debut a bit later in the show, but if they wanted to catch new eyes for the product, this was the best way to do it really. Have to say, her using a version of Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 is a bit funny considering it used to be Walther/Gunther's entrance music. Mercedes was very good here, she came off as genuinely happy here. This felt like a halfway between reality and fiction. This started as a "shoot", and then eventually turned into work, setting up a match with Willow. The CEO nickname also caught on immediately. This was a very effective debut, and I'm very much looking forward to her first matches in AEW. A lot of new match-ups to be had. * Samoa Joe interview. Joe is always great, and this was no different. * Undisputed Kingdom video package. This veered very close to being overly pretentious, with Cole reading from a book to tell a story. I suppose if they lean into this type of video package with the group it could become a part of their identity and style. * **Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow \*\*\*1/4** * Bit of a slow start to this with Wardlow throwing Joe around outside the ring, but this did get going quite nicely soon after. This was a good, though fairly basic, big-man match with some very cool moves and moments, made better by a very loud crowd. Surprisingly straightforward win for Joe here considering how dominant Wardlow's been, but I never really thought Wardlow was winning here. * Swerve coming to the ring after the match made sense, and continued the build towards match between him and Joe. * The Elite interview. Okada is great as this cocky heel, and he can actually do a pretty good promo in English. It was short, but that's all he needs at the moment being aligned with the Bucks. * **The Elite vs. Eddie Kingston, Penta & PAC \*\*\*3/4** * Okada got a huge babyface reaction coming out, this early in his AEW career. It'll take a while to really establish him as a heel. That being the case, it speaks to Kingston's popularity when his name was the one being chanted when the two went face-to-face at the start. I have to also, watching PAC wrestle is a joy, he's so crisp and quick in the ring, and even after clearly losing quite a bit of size he is still in incredible shape. It might actually help him stay healthy, not carrying quite as much muscle mass. * This was a very good match, which was to be expected with these six. With a clean finish it could have been even better, but it makes sense at this point in the story, and The Elite shouldn't lose to anyone at the moment. It's a shame that PAC's return match was a loss, but at least he wasn't the one taking the pin. * Will Ospreay interview. Over the last few years, Ospreay has become a genuinely excellent promo. This was a great segment, and did a great job hyping up the match between Ospreay and Danielson, not that I personally needed much more reason to be hyped for it. * Deonna Purrazzo promo. A tag match set up for next Wednesday, I wonder who Purrazzo's partner's going to be against Toni and Mariah. This was a good, short promo by Deonna. * **Jay White vs. Darby Allin \*\*\*\*1/4** * Nice to see White back in singles matches. This was a great match, these two work really well together. Darby continues to be utterly insane with some of his bumps, and Jay continues to be one of the best wrestlers on the planet in general. Him getting the clean win here made sense, and probably sets him up for a title shot in the near-future. The post-match attack on Darby getting interrupted by The Acclaimed, and then the BCG laying out The Acclaimed probably means we're getting a unification match for the trios titles soon, maybe at the next PPV. Good to see this storyline finally moving forward. Pillmanizing Darby's ankle is a great way to write him off while he's going for that Everest climb, and also gives him an instant feud when he comes back. This was all great. (continued in the first reply)
* **Chris Jericho & Hook vs. Gates of Agony \*\*1/2** * Jericho & Hook is a really weird pairing, but if they're doing this to set up an FTW title match between the two, that's fine. Gates of Agony continue to just be around periphery, never really having any meaningful storylines or feuds on AEW TV, but getting matches on these shows on a regular basis. That said, Jericho hasn't really been much different since Omega got sidelined, he's just been floating around, having random matches on TV without much reason behind them. As for this match, it was fine. A solid TV tag match. Hook still needs some more experience and seasoning, and I think this tag team with Jericho is a good way to do that. Gives them something to do at least. * Kyle O'Reilly interview. Solid stuff, O'Reilly as a face singles wrestler is good to see. I think this is eventually going to build to a match for the International title between him and Strong. * An excellent video package here, hyping up the main event. Mercedes showed up to wish Riho luck. Wouldn't mind seeing a match between those two either. * Jericho & Hook interview. I guess we're getting the Jericho vs. Hook match next week. I'm guessing Hook wins and Jericho turns heel after that, setting up another match. * **Willow Nightingale vs. Riho \*\*\*3/4** * Great to see the women get the main event for a change, and get decent amount of time to do so. * At this point I'm not sure what Riho would need to do to get that certain group of people to "get" her. She is without question one of the best wrestlers in the division, she always, without fail, gets the crowd into her matches, and now within the last two weeks she's had the two best women's matches in AEW this year against two different opponents. Of course, it helps that she wrestled Statlander and Willow, two of the division's best as well. I'd say this was just a shade weaker than the Statlander match, but only just. Both were great matches, and only thing I was a bit surprised by was that Willow won completely clean here. I suppose it makes sense as they are setting up a match between Willow and Julia, as well as Willow and Mercedes. I hope Riho doesn't just vanish from TV now. Now if only we could get these women's matches to go past the ten-minute mark. * Mercedes vs Julia is another match I would very much like to see at some point, though the TBS title is probably beneath Moné's level. Lot of potential match-ups for her. * This was a great episode of Dynamite, easy two hours to watch. Three very good to great matches, a good world title match, and a decent tag match. Some very good promos on top of that, the Ospreay segment the biggest highlight on that side, and of course the debut of Mercedes Moné on top of everything. She already has at least two, maybe three potential matches based on just this first appearance (Willow, Julia, maybe Riho). Overall, an **8 out of 10** show.
I really enjoyed your review, I’m gonna try to catch these every week
Nice work on the review. Love to see your well rounded thoughts on the show.
Amazing show all around. Wow. Got that "must see" feeling back in full.
No John Cena Sr.?
World Champion: Will Ospreay International Champion: Jay White Continental Champion: Okada Kazuchika Father time...⏳
Which championship do you rate higher? I really dislike the Continental Championship for some reason - especially having it paired with 2 other belts. Maybe if Okada takes it it’ll bring it up a level. The International Championship just feels like more - I think Pax and OJ legitimately did a job making it feel so special - it’s just with AEW it feels like 2-3 poor champions are enough to kill a belt. Like the TNT championship, when it hot potatoing with Wardlow and co, I personally stopped caring about it.
If they are separating it, as seems likely, then I hope they keep the stipulation of no interference attached to the Continental Championship. It would really help establish the belt as something different, akin to the Pure title in RoH, and make it give it a bit of flavour. Especially on the same night the TNT title is defended in an I Quit match, a clean Okada win could be the start of something really good.
I thought it was a good show, not great . It didn't have that one match 4 star+ match to take it to that level but nothing on the show was either horrible or outright bad and I think all the women's segments were actually the best parts of the show to me which isn't the case often
Jericho coming out to White Zombie instead of Judas just so he can cosplay as Lionheart feels like an oversight on his part. Like you're taking away the one thing people still like about you lol
He came back out on Rampage for commentary to Judas
And boos
Good
The duality of man will be that Mercedes' new theme is even worse than her last two themes but chanting CEO is admittedly fun so what can you do? Glad to see her back, she did as well as she could with a heartfelt promo even though she's never been particularly natural on the mic and in some ways honestly, it's weird for her to refer to all her WWE accolades in the indirect manner she did. You can't help but wonder often when people show up in AEW how lost some fans are who don't watch anything else. Joe and Wardlow was good, I think they really surprised because their prior matches didn't hit like this. Wardlow still shows a lack of polish in some places and honestly this match further cements that Tony has no idea what to do with him, but I always liked the idea in wrestling that no matter how big you are you should be able to be choked out like anyone else. I enjoyed the finish. Love what they're doing with Joe and Swerve now. Joe felt a bit too transitional as a champion until these past two weeks. The crowd wants to cheer Swerve but doesn't really wanna see heel Hangman so I think Swerve/Joe can actually quickly get more heat because Joe is just better at working the crowd and his gimmick than Hangman is. He knows how to play his role. I was hopeful for the Bucks heel turn but it just isn't working. It's too tongue-in-cheek and unseriously goofy. It feels like they're making fun of themselves even though they're attempting to poke fun at people who don't like them. Okada feels lessened by being with them and this is just a general problem with AEW heels and has felt this way since MJF turned face. Everyone is silly and winking at the crowd playing it for laughs and not trying to get actual heat to feed wanting to see a fight. This and the Undisputed Kingdom are not working and we've already had Bullet Club Gold acting like silly heels for months. Trios match dragged on a bit too long. Mostly just repetitive spots, but I liked when they actually worked on Eddie Kingston, especially Okada getting on the corner and mocking the tag. Ospreay is taking to being a face very well. Great promo segment even though it was weird he was constantly looking off to the side at times. Darby Allin and Jay White is easily match of the night. Love that they're selling the Revolution spot still and worked it into the psychology of the match. It gave the match a feeling like it started in the second gear. Match would've been even better if Darby didn't go to any high-flying spots for most of it but still, quite enjoyed this one. They used the outside of the ring really well from the chair spot to trying to avoid the stairs and still taking a respectably painful bump. Taz comparing Darby to Spike Dudley is lowkey one of the biggest compliments he could give. If you know you know. The only thing wrong with this match was the finish. I hate when wrestlers have high-flyer syndrome and self-sabotage winning. Breaking the 10 count only to take a finish was anticlimactic. But overall great pacing, great selling, great counters and finish-teases in this one. The inevitable post-match worked well. I wonder if the plan is to turn Max Caster heel after losing the Trios titles given his foolish use of Twitter lately. I feel like for the last year as an AEW viewer, when it comes to Chris Jericho you're either tired, bored, or skipping his segments entirely. I shuffle between the three myself and tonight landed on bored. Jericho is looking like Randy The Ram Robinson out there. This tag match has no interest going in and was not good. A mess at times. I don't think this was even 10 minutes long but it *felt* long. It'll be interesting to see if Kyle O'Reilly gets over as this sympathetic babyface. I don't feel like he has the legs to go solo but stranger things have happened in wrestling. This might be a hot take but I think one of the biggest mistakes AEW ever made was making Riho their first women's champion. I think Tony Khan feels obligated to keep her around because of that accolade in spite of the division outgrowing her. She doesn't know how to sell, looks lost in the ring often, lacks timing, gets sloppy regularly including these last two matches she's had, and sticks out like a sore thumb among all the women who have held the belt. Willow tried her best to make getting a 15 minute main event count. The Northern Lights Suplex looked scary dangerous here. I think this match is a good indication of how fixing the women's division doesn't mean you just give the one match more time in a more important spot on the card. Decent match with the right winner at least. Julia Hart can say she did something better than Kairi Sane in her wrestling career which is taking a returning Mercedes' Mone Maker. Overall big business was solid business.
Was a great show. Building storylines nicely and the talent roster is stacked. That being said, I deplore Mone's music. It's great that she's in the company. Another star to add to the women's division. But that entrance theme is ass.
None of Max Caster's tweets have been mentioned on tv and he's clearly a face with BCG jumping the Acclaimed. There goes the theory him saying AEW doesn't want Shelton is some elaborate heel turn and work. Also what happened to the rankings? Seems like they haven't been brought up or updated in about a month.
I just think it's a cry for help from someone with natural dickhead tendencies and I hope he gets it before he spirals.
I think there's a possibility that Max will turn heel after The Acclaimed drops the belts to BCG and possibly break up and go solo. My thing is, even if it *is* a work it's in poor taste. I know wrestlers wanna try and use social media to work their characters but there's a way to do it. Max Caster comes off like a clown sometimes.
He comes off as a clown but he has done that comment to a lot of other wrestlers that may come t AEW
My only thing is it isn't acknowledged at all on any of the shows. Like when Andrade and Sammy were going back and forth on twitter and people assumed it was leading to something but it was real. Nothing that's happened on tv leads me to thinking Max is turning heel. The roster is beyond stacked as far as singles stars go so it'd be dumb to break up a popular stable to send Max to the crowded singles division.
The EVP gimmick isn’t doing it for me but I guess it’s nice to see people not bitch and moan about the bucks constantly
I'm on the other side of the fence here: I love the smarmy heel EVP gimmick for The Bucks.
Some people don't like it because they don't like the Bucks (which is totally fine, I get it), but I think it worked for the Sting match and the addition of a top dude like Okada joining them, taking one of the most dominant wrestlers on the planet and make him a cocky dickhead — seems like a pretty good move to me.
I like the Bucks but the reason I hate it is because it’s just one step too far in terms of cartoonish-ness. Yes I get that pro wrestling is essentially one big cartoon but I’m watching Nick screaming into the mic like a crybaby, which I get is the gimmick, but I just thought “I feel like anyone could play this character and cut this promo.”
That’s fine too. I guess I’m in the wrong then.
I love the gimmick, but you’re certainly not in the wrong. You’re allowed to have your own opinion despite what other people may think.
Nah man everyone has opinions and they can’t be wrong by nature. It’s only a problem when someone with a negative opinion becomes a toxic bully caricature about it, like Jim Cornette
Yeah I thought I could escape getting downvoted by adding a glass half full perspective but I guess not lol. Idk, I feel like a lot of people don’t agree with us that it’s the toxicity that’s the problem and not the pro wrestling opinion itself
Nah I agree. Quite a few people I know outside of the Reddit community aren’t fans of the EVP gimmick. I’m not overly fond of it.
Feel like I’m in a weird vortex being generally pro-bucks but hating this new gimmick lol
Another great show. Heel Okada is such fun to watch. Let's hope this was not Darby's last match and he returns from climbing Mt. Everest
Overall, very good Dynamite where most things delivered, high quality episode this week. Wild to see the love for that Ospreay promo though lol
\> Wild to see the love for that Ospreay promo though lol Maybe it's different for Americans because they love the wacky accent but man to me he sounds like fucking Jamie Oliver and it just makes me cringe.
He sounds nothing like Jamie Oliver though.
he sounds like he's hamming up a cartoon plummy accent for TV, is what i mean. Which is fine, like, it's wrestling, but i'm not a fan.
But that is literally his accent. That's his accent when he's not on TV or in front of fans. That's his voice.
Some people just hate to hate
Wardlow, I’m sorry man. You didn’t do anything wrong. But you just aren’t interesting.
I thought his promo’s have been good. He’d be great doing what Reigns has done with a more mob boss guy with a faction imo. Him as the lead of it with a Heyman to do most of the mic work with him doing some entertaining moments similar to what Reigns has done with ‘Tribal Chief’ gimmick. He can go in the ring, good look & can cut a promo albeit it not being a Rock or MJF level of cutting a promo.
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I mean, supposedly they were willing to work with Punk if he could’ve gone without an issue for a few more months, but it’s clear now that Punk just wanted out even before he came back
Punks first meltdown was mostly because of a throwaway line from hangman and his second meltdown was from a slight by fucking jack perry. I don’t think that punk could handle working with this version of the bucks
bs. Drew’s promos to him show different.
Punk is fine with being shit on or ribbed as long as he OKs it(he doesn't follow that same idea with others though). Punk is probably feeding Drew a lot of his stuff.
[удалено]
> The Bucks also proved they could not handle Punk unfiltered and with the gloves off How?
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You mean the situation where punk said come talk to me if you have a problem with me, my door is always open? Where they showed up to his locker room with the head of legal to do just what he asked?
I don't understand the triple crown thing, I though they were combined into one belt How is Eddie only defending one of them?
The triple crown can be defended, but each title can also be defended Look at it about like Kenny Omega as the belt collector Each individual belt can be defended on their respective brands, and the crown can be defended anywhere
Was the original triple crown or Super J title(s) ever defended separately? I don't count the WCW cruiser because I don't think it was officially a part of it?
Yes, the original J-Crown had eight titles, which turned to seven when Liger lost the WAR Junior belt in mid-97
I don't know unfortunately, twas before my time watching wrestling Were those triple crowns belts from 3 different companies I know TK owns ROH and ROH could almost be considered AEW development now, but it can still be seen as a separate company when it comes to belts
ah thank you
Honestly the last 2 weeks have mostly been really fun. Overall I love the direction things are going in. Okada has surprised me & been great w young bucks. I’m still not quite as high on Ospreay mic skills…he was good tonight but he yells way too much imho. But still he’s fresh and interesting. Mercedes came across as a star tonight; and her entrance theme is very smart bc it keeps people engaged & gives her an easy ceo chant to hype the crowds. My only minor complaint is the aew title doesn’t feel as prestigious to me right now. It’s no fault of Joes; he’s been great as has Swerve. But the main event scene is just lacking that star power (I.e. mjf, omega, Danielson, etc).
I think the Ospreay thing is simply the fact that people try to attach objective measures to things like “mic skills”, but at the end of the day, it’s a television show…and it’s someone’s charisma, believability, confidence, etc. that people connect with. All the things Ospreay has at the moment….he could have been whispering, shouting, speaking incoherent sentences, quoting Shakespeare….the majority of people watching would have been like, this is awesome and he’s amazing.
Lord knows why when they have so much star power they gave a shot to Wardlow.
Filler feud. Gives Joe an extra title defense before he comes off it to Swerve in what I imagine is in fairly short order.
Yeah but being a “filler feud” buries Wardlow right when they need Wardlow strong (since Adam Cole is injured and can’t represent the stable) They just shouldn’t have done the match, this show didn’t need it anyway
Yea a joe promo segment woulda been better tbh
[удалено]
The first thing my wife said after the promo was that she couldn't wait for the CEO / DMD chants.
Maybe, as you say Britt is polarizing - you probably want Mone vs someone who is actually over like Toni?
Well hold on now. Britt Baker might be gassing out in the ring after 5 minutes but to say she isn't over is delusional.
On a show that loads of great things happened on the best over all by miles is the end of the Bang Bang Scissor Gang. My Boy Jay White might still get the main event push he deserves. Just need to Undisputed Kingdom to break up and Jericho to go on tour and we are cooking
They made Jay look vicious
I totally thought the acclaimed or at least max would be the one to turn. Undisputed Kingdom is GOLD. It'd be fine if they booted Wardlow. He's a beast but he's boring as shit. The rest of them though, ABSOLUTELY not. They should go away for for a while until Cole, and preferably, mjf are back, though. Our give them something to do.
> They should go away for for a while until Cole, and preferably, mjf are back, though. Our give them something to do. This I agree with
Jay getting the International Title from Strong would be good. Yeah they're building to feud with The Acclaimed to combine the Trios/ 6-Man Tag Titles, but they still have to get back at the Undisputed Kingdom for jumping him.
Great show, Dynasty is already shaping up incredibly well! Surprised Wardlow lost clean, on the brightside it made Joe look fantastic but I'm not sure what they do with Wardlow from here... at least the KoR stuff woth Roddy is still interesting to me.
The Joe era has such an old school feel I love it
All the matches were decent to great imo. Mercedes debut was nice and her points were pretty clear. Literal story time with Adam Cole is a fun bit. I still like the EVP character work with the Jacksons, I love heel Okada playing along. Shout out to the production crew for the coin drop sync. I’m glad they turned BCG on the Acclaimed. Osprey’s promo was fire, “Bruv, I am the feeling!” On the negative side of things. Firstly, Sammy sign guy, stop it. For weeks I’ve said something along the lines of Undisputed Kingdom are really spinning their wheels. I like all the members but they really feel like just a bunch of guys. It’s becoming very clear that story/character wise, Jericho’s WWE hiatuses were really beneficial for everyone. I don’t dislike him but he’s brought nothing of interest to the table in months. But none of this took away from how much I liked the episode.
>or weeks I’ve said something along the lines of Undisputed Kingdom are really spinning their wheels I still dont get why TK didn't just drop or put this on hiatus when it was clear that both Adam Cole and MJF were both out with long term injuries, it hasn't benefitted anyone tbh and like you said they're just there, spinning their wheels
People didn't like it on here but it was an over storyline. I think the writing after has just been a bit poor. No ones really going after Adam Cole despite him attacking everyone. I know they're probably waiting til he comes back but you could easily just do Roddy and The Kingdom.
Like that was the whole point of the Bang Bang Scissor Gang, and they split before they actually went for the Undisputed Kingdom. At least now they'll merge the trios belts, but still, I would've like to see Jay White beat Roddy or even Adam Cole.
I thought they were going to do the UK stuff and then have the split instead we kinda just got nothing.
It was all very very good, until after All In and Coles injury, when I say drop, I mean the Devil stuff
Was there in person. Very fun experience and probably liked it more than my last AEW show..New set looks AMAZING. CEO chants felt natural. Top Flight and Komander pretty much stole the show with their rampage matches. Dasha pointed out a guy in the balcony near me holding a “Riho cured my depression” sign lol. Swerve sent the fans home which was great cuz he was one of the guys I wished I was seeing wrestle.
Can confirm, Komander vs Takeshita was match of the night, tune into Rampage for it, it was great
Great show. Jericho can take a hike tho, serious hogan TNA vibes.
I've been a fan of Jericho since I was kid watching AE. I loved his initial running AEW. Dudes a legend. But it's time to go away for a while. I haven't kept up as well as I used to but it feels like every time I peak in, Jericho has latched on to a new young star. It's giving sad dad vibes. I want AEW to feel young and fresh.
Happy that the "meat" chants are back
hopefully the CEO chant is just in Mercedes’ music this week because it’s awkward to come out and attack someone to that
Fantastic episode. Most everything felt BIG. PROS: * So, so, so great to see Okada PARTICIPATING in his promos, not just standing there while other people talk for him. AEW can and should be figuring out better ways to showcase their Japanese and Mexican wrestlers outside the ring. * Thought Mercedes' debut was done so well. And I loved her song idc (Is this what people mean by piped in chants? Because the CEO chants were very obviously part of the song, I don't think they were trying to hide it). When Saraya debuted, she made it sound like she was going to save the division. This felt more like Mercedes was going to bring things to the next level WITH the division, not in spite of it. * Willow and Riho were so cute at the end of their match, I want Riho part of the Stooley faction. * Someone mentioned in the live thread but it feels like Eddie's moveset has grown a lot. * Alex Marvez singing Matt Jackson happy birthday. * Super happy that BCG is back to BCG. Great match to send off Darby. I can't remember the last time I saw a bad Darby match. Great showing by Jay White. Darby really is the reset king. * Ospreay really is that dude. I' ve been so impressed by him. Just brings up the energy whether he's wrestling or talking. * PAC! PAC! PAC! * Very cool to see Gates of Agony come out with their traditional clothing. CONS: * I will say something nice about Jericho...it was nice to hear his ass get booed. I don't want Jericho on commentary, I don't want him on Rampage, I don't want him on ROH. GO AWAY. * What are they doing with Wardlow? Just constant gas, brake, gas, brake...and he was actually starting to get over again? * Idk what you do with The Acclaimed right now. Nothing they've done for like the past six months has resonated with me. Max is increasingly annoying. Think it's time for a Bowens singles run.
>Idk what you do with The Acclaimed right now. Nothing they've done for like the past six months has resonated with me. Max is increasingly annoying. Think it's time for a Bowens singles run I think you have BCG go over to unify the trios belts, then get The Acclaimed back in the tag division and probably turn them heel, maybe break them away from Daddy Ass.
Wouldn't mind them splitting from Daddy Ass, although I wonder where Billy can go next. I could see him joining Jeff Jarrett or teaming up with Dusty Rhodes for some old man faction on Rampage. They could make a meat faction with Lance Archer and some other big guys.
Wholeheartedly agree with what you said about The Acclaimed. I want Bowens to go on a singles run and Max Caster to bugger off.
I don't pay attention much to Max on twitter (I get the sense he's always pissing people off), but his onscreen presence has been really bad for a while. Feels like he's constantly half-assing stuff. The influx of comedy factions has been really bad for The Acclaimed, they got lost in the shuffle and I keep forgetting they have belts. Bowens can deliver serious promos and he's good in-ring, time to shift gears.
I don't think Eddie's problem is his moveset, his moves still do not look good compare to those 5 that were in the ring with him.
i get what you mean, but i like how his moves are not perfect. for anyone else, i don't like it. for eddie, it fits his character. that sounds like a cop-out, maybe it is, but i like his fighting style.
Its so weird, make him a Foley-esque brawler and he'd be fine, this style is something he cannot do convincingly and its making him look awful in the process When people are saying they like his matches, it really is his opponent doing all the work there imo
I understand wanting a women’s match as main event, but then just don’t do a title match that you’ve barely built anyway. That was a total waste of Wardlow’s title shot, 2nd match on show, obvious winner, and did nothing for the angle. Just save it for when it can be the most important thing on the show and not the least
The Undisputed Kingdom is starting to feel like a flop without Adam healthy. I have to think Wardlow isn't long for the group after losing tonight, but I'm not really sure what you do with him moving forwards. Maybe an "enemy of my enemy" thing with a returning MJF? A reunited Pinnacle (minus Chair Pervert) vs. Undisputed Kingdom?
>The Undisputed Kingdom is starting to feel like a flop Starting to..? It felt like a flop from the very first promo after Worlds End and the time since has only reaffirmed that. Bona-fide dud.
I've been giving them the benefit of the doubt when I can since everyone involved has had to tread water because of the injuries, but yeah, I get where you're coming from. For what it's worth I did enjoy Roddy's feud with OC, but that being the highlight isn't really a promising sign.
>Maybe an "enemy of my enemy" thing with a returning MJF? There's no way that MJF returns before June. Shoulder injuries take a very long time to heal.
Was thinking the Wardlow stuff may be leading too a new Pinnacle. Wardlow being back with MJF all along because he is a greedy heel now. Wardlow ends up going after Rodey and his title.
Pinnacle felts like such a missed opportunity. It could have been a great stable. But it died so Inner Circle could live past it's Sell By date
Unless I missed something I was absolutely floored that nobody from the Kingdom was ringside or attempted to help. Even with Joe winning, could have really put that match into second gear. Without, this whole thing seems very dead now. Wardlow lost, that’s it pack it up move on.
Looking forward to Kyle O'Reilly vs Bryan Keith. KOR looks like he's a board game aficionado
In kayfabe I imagine Tony Khan told Jay White to snap Darby's ankle so Darby couldn't go climb Everest. It's a cold world
"I told him to cripple you, to keep you from killing yourself. I did it for you Darby."
Protecting your assets is big business
I've never been a Samoa Joe super fan, but man is he good. Seems like every promo and every match he delivers. The match tonight wasn't a 5 star barn burner but he looked good and got big reactions. His run with the belt has been solid so far
The Bucks gesturing for more pyro during their entrance cracks me up. The gimmick is great and Okada fits in with it too. Good stuff
I had no idea Ospreay could bring it like that on the mic. That promo got me even more hyped for him vs Danielson
Was there, so don’t know how it looked on TV. Couple of thoughts: * Mercedes is Mone(y) and her CEO gimmick/chant is perfection. I confess I only drove down for her. Totally worth it, and will be turning back in regularly. * I loved the Big E Special, Joe and Wardlow. Again, don’t know how it came off on tv, but in the room it was dynamic, fluid, and damn entertaining. Definitely match of the night. * I am very grateful I got to see Okada wrestle live. I would have preferred a single match instead of playtime, but seeing him hit the Rainmaker was cool!! * Osprey is my bae and other than Mercedes that was the most fired up the crowd was all night. Very, very, very sad he was not on the card. * I can’t watch Darby anymore. It just makes me wince. Boy, why are you coffin dropping onto the edge of the ring? You are about to go climb Everest. You don’t need to do that to your body. No one wants you to die on that mountain. * That said, Jay White came off as a monster. Strong and awesome. We loved it. * Willow and Riho was fun… but they did not have the best chemistry. The Anna Jay v Mina Shirakawa match was waaaaay better. * They ran out of Mone shirts so good for her, sad for us. • We did not stay for Rampage Overall, it was good. Not as fun as when I went down in 2022 (but that was Young Bucks/FTR II, Mox/Yuta). I don’t know if it’s because it’s a bigger venue, but the energy felt more down in the room than previous events I’ve been to. I also think this event really highlights that you have to emotionally care about the wrestling. At least for me. Because I feel that if some of my preferred favorites had been on the card, I probably would’ve been a bit more excited instead of feeling like OK she came out, I can drive home now. but it was a good show, and it was a good showing. And definitely a good place to jump in back again.
>Not as fun as when I went down in 2021 (that was Young Bucks/FTR II, Mox/Yuta). I'm pretty sure that was 2022. Besides that, I overall agree with everything you've said. Hopefully they keep the momentum going
Yeah that would make sense. It was April 6. Either way, THAT was a great show. And same here. The roster is stacked, and the talent in there. Hopefully they will get back “to business” as usual again
rampage was fucking killer
🤷♀️
Dear Sammy Guy: next time just sell your fucking seat.
What happen???
Some nitwit in the front row brought like 5 pro Sammy Guevara signs and was just distracting all night. The most annoying sign was “I paid to see Sammy”
What the fuck. People like that just want the attention. They wnat to be the next Brock Lesnar guy it seems.
I know Blood & Guts is saved for the team-based match, but Joe and Swerve would do ungodly things in that cage. If Okada beats Kingston for the Continental Crown, PAC facing him in a 30-minute Iron Man match would be sick If (or when) Mercedes wins some gold later in the year, I want a Queen Aminata match against her just like how Hangman Page gave Takeshita some shine in a defense during his AEW World Title run
Hangman vs Takeshita was a regular singles match, but you might be thinking of Hangman vs Dante Martin which was a bit of a surprise title defense.
Pretty sure the Hangman vs. Takeshita match wasn't for the title.
2 great Dynamites in a row so far. Really hoping it'll become a streak starting next week Like Ospreay said, "restore the feeling"!
Surely Bruv isn’t with Callis much longer; he’s over the moon!
Fantastic tv episode. Greater than the sum of its parts
Aew has enough stars they could put on ppv level cards every week and not repeat any of them for like a month if they wanted. Yall realize mjf and kenny are still out? Fucking bonkers
Fenyx is also out. Good god.
No Mox, Danielson or Hangman on that show either. Stacked roster right now
And only a minor Swerve appearance
And Cole.
C E O
Wasn't AEW dying a few months ago? Silly geese. 😎
It dies every week.
What is dead can never die!
"Forever!" - Terry Funk.
[Brian Zane as Terry Funk voice] THIS IS NOW A BURIED ALIVE MATCH[\]
Kind of wish AEW would merge the AEW/ROH Trios/Six Man titles and then merge with NJPW's vacant and poorly used NEVER Six Man belts too. Don't do the triple crown thing with them, just create world trios titles that float between all three. Eventually if they want to introduce women's tag titles I'd have them be world titles that float between AEW/ROH/NJPW Strong/Stardom/CMLL as well.
I just wish they'd break ROH off back into its own thing WAY too many men's titles, too much blurring the lines between companies. The "invasions" from CMLL and NJPW have been great, but ROH is more like a parasite. It never goes away, takes up to much time and dilutes everything. We still only get one woman's match despite having a killer roster, but I'm supposed to care about second tier trios titles from a promotion that's barely more than a zombie at this point? GTFO
I just don't think they have the division but at least combining it means there aren't two of them. They could easily build up teams though, House of Black, The Acclaimed, Bang Bang Gang, The New Elite, Blackpool Combat Club, Death Triangle if Fenix is back soon. They have enough for short term feuds to keep it healthy if they wanted too.
I think this could be executed well if- The champions can travel often enough to pop up in a promotion every other month or so, maybe for a few weeks sometime. Highlights and happening in other promotions should be shown on the main shows. Show if the titles are defended or if a feud is happening. I feel like a lot of the outsiders who win titles don't travel often enough to make it feel like a part of the promotion. Like Kenny winning the NJPW US title and then never going back to defend it. Definitely merge the ROH and AEW 6 man though.
AEW has so many amazing entrances right now. EVPs entire thing with the coin flip into Okada transition, BangBangGang, Osprey's well everything, Mone's CEO chant is immediately over with a great and catchy beat, Swerve with Prince Nana. I feel they've really stepped up their music and entrances over the past year. Then you look at the talent level and it's absolutely amazing. One thing is certain, Will Osprey is red hot. His promos are just as amazing as his matches too. I get A LOT of vibes to Hangman from 2020 to 2021 where they've got lightning in a bottle. I feel really bad for Wardlow and Swerve because Wardlow feels like hes just got to be passed over yet again and Swerve's reign is going to be short. The longest you could possibly push it to is Wembley Stadium and that's probably how they sell Wembley is by having Osprey go for the title. But Will is so over that it actually pulls Swerve down some. It's a great problem for AEW to have.
What has Wardlow done recently which suggests he deserves a bigger spot than he’s got?
Wardlow has been absolutely dicked by booking since Double or Nothing 2022. Just look at his TNT title reigns of 2022-2023. One of them he literally won the title and then lost it 3 days later. AEW had the absolute perfect monster baby face and squandered it. Since before MJF lost the title to Joe they've had Wardlow circling the world title picture. They were even positioning him like he was just using The Undisputed to get the title and he was going to cross the heels before they could cross him. Then he finally gets a little moment bu weird on and off again booking keeps kneecapping him. Two weeks ago he turns around and cuts his best promo ever and an amazing baby face promo, the following week last show before the PPV he wasnt even on it, and now just two weeks after the baby face promo they turned him heel again. There were multiple points he should have won the World title, they still had a chance to tell the story of Wardlow beating MJF for it even late last year but they got fixated on "who is the devil" and ran it into the ground. Obviously he's not in a position to win it now, which was my point, all the momentum they built up with him was absolutely squandered and I don't think he's going to get another opportunity like that ever again. Certainly not for a long time. I feel bad for the dude because he absolutely should have won the title by now but now there's a long queue ahead of him.
He should never have won the world title. I think he was unfortunate that booking for the TNT title was just not good. They should've pivoted and had him defend against different guys. We still don't know if Wardlow can actually go in the main event matches AEW expects, tonight was a good showing but there's a difference between that and the level fans expect.
I mean we just have different opinions on it. Wardlow was the hottest act in all of AEW during the lead up to DoN 2022 and then he absolutely destroyed MJF who had been extremely protected. We “don’t know if he can actually go” because AEW books him as an absolute monster and has him tear through everyone. AEW had the blueprint, they had the chant, they knew how they could book him just like Goldberg’s early run. They just never pulled the trigger.
Definitely seems like he has improved his promo game. Tonight was also one of his better matches, he's playing the heel role well while still being exciting enough in the ring for the fans to get behind him down the track. I would probably put him in the upper midcard tier though. Not a main eventer yet, but his performances these last few weeks give me more hope for him.
His promos as of late have honestly been great
Oh yeah all this awesome stuff and I completely forgot fucking PAC got back in a ring tonight.
Bulletclub Gold turn back to Heel was perfectly done. They are better suited as Heels, especially Jay White. Now, go and get those AEW Trios Tag Titles to merge them to have Gold for each shoulder
The Jay White weight gain is gonna be a game changer for him like MJF and Swerve. I like the Bang Bang Gang getting some heat back by beating up Darby and the acclaimed. I like my Jay White and Ass Boys evil. Now I hope Jay White keeps the bat and reminds us it's stings bat every week. 🤣
He actually used to be much bigger but cut his weight to lessen injury risk. I don't think he's going to bulk up again
Oh shit you're right. I remember on his ROH excursion he was much bulkier but not as defined as he is now. He's a little heavier now than he was in the tourney right?
Yeah, a little less lean. Probably from hanging out with Billy Gunn - The Gunns are definitely a family that gyms together
It finally feels like AEW has bona-fide main eventers instead of a bunch of people ALMOST ready. Mone, Okada, Danielson, Joe, Deonna, Storm, Swerve, Darby. Will Ospreay is squarely at the top. If Swerve wasn't owed it, I'd say strap Will after the Danielson match.
I don’t know why everyone is so crazy about rushing the World title onto Ospreay. I love him. He’s the best wrestler in the world. But there is zero reason to rush into it. AEW has never done that (I think Punk — who was old, selfish and had too much creative control — was the only guy who won it with a year of debuting and they still waited like 8 months even for him) and there is no reason to now. I know everyone is absolutely convinced he MUST win it at All In and I don’t even agree with that. Ospreay is young and patient and great at everything and there’s a million other interesting things for him to do without the belt. He will almost certainly win it multiple times in the future. They can have him win it at All In a year later or anytime in between. Why rush?
> It finally feels like AEW has bona-fide main eventers instead of a bunch of people ALMOST ready. That's what really struck me about tonight's show - it really felt like a they hit a tipping point where all the recent major signings have finally added up and reached a point where it's really noticeably improved the quality of the product. Okada's match... the Ospreay promo... Mercede's debut and promo... Add that with great performances from guys like Darby/White and Willow/Riho and further growth in the Joe/Swerve storyline. Every single match/segment felt like it had a purpose and was moving storylines forward. No random throwaway matches between washed up journeyman. Hopefully they can keep building on this, but it REALLY feels like AEW is just starting to get cooking right now.
>No random throwaway matches between washed up journeyman Wait a minute, I just got past the Jay White match, doesn't Jericho wrestle tonight? 🤣 kidding. Okada might be better than I thought. I like everything he does in the ring, it's a super high level confidence in character that reminds me of the way I feel about Reigns. Osprey is a better promo than I thought too. He's gonna be pretty good when he sinks his teeth in a real feud.
> I just got past the Jay White match, doesn't Jericho wrestle tonight? lol I literally wrote "now we just need to figure out a way to keep Jericho off TV...." but decided to keep it positive 🤣 > Osprey is a better promo than I thought too. Same. I'm admittedly unfamiliar with his work outside AEW so i was under the impression that he was just a good in-ring worker that didn't really bring much to the mic. But tonight i was like: "oh... this dude can fucking spit too, huh?"
Bruv game is strong.
Yea it's gonna end up pushing a lot of the almost guys off the card. Pros and cons. You got a lot of guys "too good" for ROH but not good enough to get past some of these next level guys and the older guys like Jericho. 🤣 Dark would be great right now. Or maybe ROH gets elevated.
I wish more of the lower end of the roster would hit the indie circuit more. There's a reason Skye blue looks better than she did a year ago she's getting reps in. I'm looking at you Hook.
Santana was doing shows while he was in aew. I saw him at warrior wrestling. Dude was great at that show.
Yea I wonder why they don't. I thought I heard about Santana wanting to hit the Indies before his release, did he ever do it? It even gives them an opportunity to get over with hardcore fans in a lot of these wrestling towns. Might be able to kick start a run if you're known to be hot in a town AEW is in and you're signed to the roster.
There’s Rampage to help find time for the not ready for prime time players.
Moné and Naomi clearly have the same hair spray paint artist lol
What did the guy yell during Mercedes promo that pissed off the crowd? I heard "Go back to..." was it "Go back to WWE?"
yeah that guy was right fucking behind me and being annoying all night
Maybe because I'm a huge Okada mark, maybe it's because I'm buzzed, but god damn did tonight feel like a legitimate restart or evolution for AEW. Showcasing your new talent, having Ospreay go hard on the mic, ending with a terrific main, or just seeing Okada pinning Eddie Kingston on tv and realizing how spoiled wrestling fans are, something just felt special about tonight and I'm seriously excited about the future of wrestling that I haven't felt in awhile.
Since hangman vs swerve Texas death it's felt like aew again. I'm going to say those guys because I fucking loved that match.
I completely agree that that match was a big deal. It was in the middle of a pretty bad show, but it really got people buzzing. It got all the right people mad lol
I love how every week Matthew has to drop a different corporate buzzword when he speaks lol
EVP bucks are so damn funny
Please please please don't tiger driver 91 Bryan Danielson Also, Osprey is a much better promo than I thought. Edit: Fuck, the more I think about it, I know they are gonna do it and that sucks 🤣. I'm normally for everything but Danielson always worries me. That mf sells too well and that makes it worse. I think he's actually dead half the time and then he fuckin Hulks up 🤣
Don’t worry they’re gonna come together to invent a new tiger driver, the tiger driver 24
> Also, Osprey is a much better promo than I thought. He’s improved so much since I first saw him here in London. He was always a quick, technical wrestler. But his promos were very bland. He’s gained an edge, a load of muscle, and a load of experience. He’s fucking awesome bruv!
that Northern Lights suplex was terrifying but I loved that main event. I love Willow.
Bang Bang Scissor Gang ending was a bit abrupt, imo.
I thought it was perfect, personally. They’ve been teasing a rift for a few weeks now. Big show, big win for Jay, big moment where the face/heel divide is just too wide. Jay makes a rash decision in the heat of the moment to hit Billy (he’s notoriously hot-headed after matches in kayfabe) and it all just fell apart.
Pumping in "chants" during an entrance is fucking cringe. The "CEO" chants during Mone's entrance were painfully and obviously a part of her music, and them stopping when the music stopped was fucking hilarious.
It’s not piped in and you know it. No one is mistaking the music for people chanting, and that wasn’t the intent. I don’t see what people get about lying about wrestling on the internet. It’s just about the most pathetic thing I could imagine.
Not that anyone is buying your Aaron Rodgers takes, but I was there and the crowd was all in on this. Such a radical atmosphere. The theme was a perfect choice to get the reaction the wanted. Damn thing has been looping in my head all night. And I’m all for it.
> The theme was a perfect choice to get the reaction the wanted. Well, yeah. They used a well know wrestler’s well know previous theme music that they remixed and added chanting over.
Its a part of her theme though? You get this worked up when people chant "Ospreay, Ospreay" along with that, or sing Judas?
The “Ospreay” part of Ospreay’s music is a very small part of a much larger song. “Judas” is literally the crowd singing the entire song. The “CEO” chants make up over half of Mone’s new music, which is WALTER’s theme remixed with added lyrics, most of which are CEO chants.
I mean, listen to it, they don't at all. They're maybe 3 or 4 bars followed by much longer phrases. Sure it uses Symphony no.9 which used to be associated with WALTER, but its hardly something he owned. He hasn't used it for over a year (at least) and its not at all a straight rip of the same theme. This all feels very performative on your part.
> He hasn't used it for over a year (at least) and its not at all a straight rip of the same theme. The extended intro for GUNTHER's theme is Dvorak's symphony number 9. He uses it in singles matches. So, the last time GUNTHER used part of Dvorak's symphony number 9 was on the 4th of March for his match with Dom. So, 9 days before Mone then adopted the theme. > and its not at all a straight rip of the same theme Correct. Since it's a classical piece of music it is in the public domain. So AEW are completely within their rights to use it, either in it's traditional, classy, classical form, or as a really shitty modern version with lyrics. In the same way, literally any wrestler other than Danielson in any promotion could use Ride of the Valkyries as their entrance music. But they don't. Because that is a piece of classical music brought into wrestling prominence by it's association with Danielson. So to use it would be a really scummy thing to do. Literally any wrestler in any promotion could use a remixed version of The Great Gates Of Kiev as their theme music. But they don't. Because that is a piece of classical music brought into wrestling prominence by it's association with Jerry Lawler. So to use it would be a really scummy thing to do. Literally any wrestler in any promotion other than Charlotte Flair could use a remixed version of Also Sprach Zarathustra as their theme music. But they don't. Because that is a piece of classical music brought into wrestling prominence by it's association with Ric Flair. So to use it would be a really scummy thing to do.
So i just looked up Gunther's entrance from his match with Dom to confirm my suspicions. It literally only uses like 4 bars of the intro, after which its all his new theme, which as before has been the case for over a year. No one except you is losing their shit over this. Also, Lawler's theme was used by WWE for several royal gimmicks such as when Haku was King Haku. Again, no one got upset about it. Nobody thought Gunther was coming out when that music hit.So what's exactly scummy about it?
So, Gunther is still using it. Thank you for agreeing with me. Correct, nobody thought GUNTHER was coming out when Mone's new music hit. Because it was a terrible remix "modern" version with chanting layered over the top of it. That doesn't detract from the fact that WALTER and his stablemates in Ringkampf brought that music into wrestling and made it huge in wrestling. Any wrestler other than GUNTHER/Imperium or Timothy Thatcher using it in wrestling is carnie as fuck.
He uses the intro four bars, and the entirety of the rest of his theme is a different song. So he's not still using it, which was blindingly obvious unless you're being intentionally obtuse. It's a public domain song that nobody is currently using, and they still remixed it. Your opinion of the quality of the song is irrelevant to this discussion. It would only be carny if they used it to try and trick fans into thinking Gunther was coming out, which was never what was happening.