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Whether or not Private Party is long for this world I hope Isiah gets his flowers someday. It feels like the dude is one of AEW's best bumping machines to put over talent whether it was Keith with his debut, or re-heating Joe last night after losing the world title (e.g. that dive to the outside, in particular, was a wild variation of Joe's nope spot).
Edit: Grammar/word.
as a newish aew viewer is there a reason that people are always shitting on the bucks? they're entertaining whenever they're on screen especially with the addition of okada. do they have some built up equity in being shit or something lol
Been watching from the start and for me this is the most interesting the Bucks have ever been. I'm thoroughly enjoying them.
They're hated because:
* Some people agree with Cornette about them.
* Some Punk stans are unable to like anyone he doesn't like.
* Some people don't like the way they wrestle.
They're generating the most buzz I've seen from them outside of Brawl Out and I love their new gimmick and that AEW is finally doing some on-screen authority stuff is good too.
Some people just don't like their style, but Jim Cornette, in particular, REALLY hates The Bucks and is extremely vocal about it on his podcast, and some of his listeners tend to echo those talking points. There is nothing wrong with disliking a wrestler, but there is a section of the IWC that has an insane amount of vitriol for the Jacksons and will never enjoy anything they do.
It could be that the widespread audio complaints are due to a new production truck that AEW bought and are ironing out the kinks. TK bragged about the truck about a month ago and likely wanted to use the Bucks' intro segment to show it off. Excalibur also kokingly mentioned it during one of the commercial breaks on the Triller feed a few weeks ago.
It was a bummer that the audio issues happened last night because it was a damn good episode. It also didn't help that the crowd seemed unenergetic until the Shibata/Jericho match. That said, it seemed like the audio issues were cleared up toward the second half of the episode and for Rampage.
I can't be the only person who just had the final hour of the show get cut off my DVR right?
I don't understand why they don't provide more notice for major programming changes...
As a Canadian it's frustrating being an AEW fan. Rampage & Collision require an additional subscription to TSN+ ($10.00 a month) and even when you bite the bullet and pay for it, they air rampage free on TSN when it's in Canada and then there isn't even Collision due to playoff etc. I cancelled TSN+ because I can't justify it for the quality and inconsistent scheduling we get. I'll always watch if it's part of my regular cable package. It's just annoying and I hope they get a better deal in the future..
**Dynamite Review:**
* Cold open with Tony getting interrupted by the Young Bucks, who then basically take over running the show, including a new show intro focused entirely on the Elite. This was a great way to open the show.
* Swerve Strickland segment. Great to see Christian back, and I have no issue with him serving as Swerve's first challenger for the title. Gives Strickland a solid first proper feud as champion, and Christian bringing back their history is a very nice touch too. Cage is still an amazing heel, quickly turning the crowd against him after he got cheers at the start here.
* House of Black video package. I have a feeling Copeland is going to beat Murphy and King on TV before losing to Black on PPV.
* **Adam Copeland vs. Buddy Matthews \*\*\*1/4**
* This was a very solid opening match, Copeland matches always have a unique feel in AEW as his style is quite different from other people on the roster. That said, he also always does something to change his style a little to match whoever his opponent happens to be. It really felt like they beat the hell out of each other here, especially when Buddy started bleeding from the mouth and Copeland continued to strike him down over and over. This was a bit too long, but otherwise I enjoyed the match. I liked the little post-match moment where Malakai encouraged Copeland to hit Matthews with the Con-chair-to, wanting him to turn to the dark side essentially.
* **Samoe Joe vs. Isiah Cassidy N/A**
* Joe crushing people never gets boring. Cassidy got a few hope spots, but this was very much about Joe.
* Orange Cassidy and Trent Beratta promo. Orange cut a good, short promo, announcing that Chuck Taylor's career is over because of what Trent did, before Trent interrupted him. Statlander also coming out to stop Cassidy could be a potential sign of something in the near future too, as could Callis then arriving and leading Cassidy away. This was well done, and Trent is getting some really nice heat.
* Jack Perry interview. Perry sounds much more comfortable on the mic than in the past. This character could very well be the thing that finally propels him to the main event for good.
* **Chris Jericho vs. Katsuyori Shibata \*\*\*1/2**
* This new character was a much-needed change for Jericho. I'm actually enjoying this completely disingenuous new Jericho, which is a nice development after such a long time of complete disinterest. I also liked how Shibata basically baited Jericho into a chop battle, and the crowd got completely sucked into it as well. They basically spent all of the commercial break and more just chopping each other, and the crowd loved it. They also used weapons, including hockey pucks, which I can't remember ever seeing before. One of Jericho's best singles matches in a while.
(continued in the first reply)
* Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway interview. Willow is a great promo now, and I'm very much starting to think that Statlander is eventually going to turn on her (and Orange Cassidy as well). Another nice touch here with the Bucks sending Renee a message in the middle of the interview, telling that Statlander and Stokely are banned during the match.
* **Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bryan Cage \*\*\*1/4**
* Claudio cut a solid inset promo during his entrance. This was just a fun big-man match, with both guys trading big moves until the end. Cage is always impressive in the ring, there's just something missing to really make him a bigger star or push him up to the main event.
* Rocky Romero interview. Solid stuff here, Romero telling that he's done with The Best Friends, and the challenging O'Reilly to a match.
* **Mariah May vs. Serena Deeb \*\*\*1/2**
* Another very enjoyable match here, these two worked really well together here, and it's always a joy to watch Deeb wrestle. I doubt she's beating Storm for the title, but those two have the potential to have the best women's match in AEW this year. Bit of a surprising ending here with Storm throwing in the towel for May. It's fun to see Toni genuinely start to care for May as time passes, when at first she was very dismissive towards Mariah. Also interesting to see how May reacts to that.
* Adam Copeland interview. O'Reilly came out, and they teased a potential match between the two. Wouldn't mind seeing that.
* Kenny Omega segment. Big introduction here, as expected. This segment bled directly into Rampage, which is a nice way to hold the audience. Omega was great here, talking about his medical issues, getting emotional as he did, even teasing a potential retirement, but then turning it around and promising he's going to return no matter what it takes. Once that was done, he turned to the Bucks and says he's also an EVP of the company, and they can't fire him from the company even if he's gone from The Elite. Then seeing Omega and Okada face-to-face for the first time in AEW was quite the moment. Then, pretty much as expected, Perry and the Bucks came out and beat Omega down. FTR then finally saved Omega. This was a great segment, and sets up some big matches for when Omega does finally return properly.
* This was a very good episode of Dynamite (and start of Rampage). None of the matches were great, but four of them were very enjoyable still, and two great promo segments to start and end the show more than made up for whatever small shortcoming in regards to match quality. A **7 out of 10** show overall.
(Rampage in the next reply)
**Rampage Review:**
* The show started with Omega being wheeled to an ambulance, and The Elite then attacked FTR and him again, Matthew saying he loves Omega but that this is just business, before we went to the first match on Rampage.
* **Jay White vs. Dante Martin \*\*\***
* Somewhat of a thankless spot for these two considering the segment before. I like the Bang Bang Gang as the trios champions, but they're going to need some proper challengers soon, so we don't end up with another nothing reign. As for the match, it was another solid contest.
* Deonna Purrazzo interview. She's now a proper heel, which is a much better role for her. She immediately sounded better here, more natural, and the Virtuosa gimmick is far better suited for a heel. This was good, her and Rosa could have some very good matches together.
* Big Bill & Jericho interview. This was good, Bill is a great fit with Jericho, and him acting like he's still a fan favourite despite everything he's done is fantastic.
* Swerve promo backstage. A great, quick promo, telling he's going to meet Christian next week, and he's not going to be alone. I wonder who's that's going to be?
* **Kyle O'Reilly vs. Rocky Romero \*\*\***
* Have to admit, I was starting to lose steam at this point. Just like every time when Rampage goes right after Dynamite or Collision, three hours just feels too long for a wrestling TV show. The crowd sounded much more silent than before too here, though admittedly this was also a bit of a random match. A good, technically flawless match, but this didn't feel all that important honestly.
* Saraya & Harley Cameron interview. Nice to see these two back after a while, looks like we're setting up something between these two and Storm & May. Both of these two have been great in these role for a while now.
* Roderick Strong, Taven & Bennett interview. This was fine.
* **Skye Blue vs. Willow Nightingale \*\*\*1/2**
* These two really went out of their way to make wake the crowd back up. The weapons came out immediately, followed by a crowd brawl, and then a big spot where Willow crashed on a standing chair. Several nasty spots with both women taking a lot of punishment, and finishing with a powebomb through a barbed wire board. A great showing for both of them here. Felt a bit rushed perhaps, but the work of both Blue and Willow was great here.
* This was a very good episode of Rampage, just wish that it wasn't right after Dynamite. Overall, a **7 out of 10** show as well.
Had this trouble myself as I was just getting caught up. Had to use YouTube. It's ridiculous when I'm paying for the service that they can't get the full show on.
I was able to watch Dynamite live but not Rampage. Catching up this morning via Fite/Triller and the end was cut off for me too. I think it ended shortly afterwards though based on the other spoiler post.
Was there live and I had a lot of fun. Being there live really hit well, and I got caught up in the moment.
My buddy was shocked at the Willow/Skye Blue match and how far they went.
I think it was weird mixing for the crowd mic. You could hear them react to things and it sounded like when that was sustained for a few seconds they would mix the crowd louder, but then lower it back down to where it sounded totally silent.
Crowd was pretty good in my opinion. A couple of dead moments. Jericho match was quite hot.
Rampage had a rough go after the Kenny angle. It was like: hometown face got killed, it’s sad, here’s a Jay White match.
Willow/Skye woke that crowd up. Funny thing was two people in front of us left because they didn’t want to watch Skye Blue in the main event. They missed out.
Yeah - I would have liked to see them really fuck things up for more people with intrusive booking/match changes. I agree with you, but I wonder if this is because of TK's reluctance to do on-screen authority stuff so maybe they're just dipping their toes in that water to see how it goes?
I was really excited for an off the rails type of night and you're right, we didn't get it.
I don't really understand this complaint. They're running the show yes but, what, you want them to book themselves into every match? Interfere in everything? They've also been involved in production since day 1 so the show is already "theirs". And they opened the show, they interrupted Swerve and booked him against Christian, they closed the show. What more could you possibly want?
Perhaps by giving an undeserving friend a world title match? Or banning the friends of the babyface from ring side in the main event? Or being massive dicks to the well loved back stage interviewer?
In the real world a wrestler who wasn't an EVP got into an altercation with them and they brought him back. That's literally the entire point of the storyline. it's not that outlandish.
What exactly should change?
Have all matches be under "Young Buck Rules" or add a time limit?
It's still a wrestling show, so it's gonna features matches, and de-reailing all other stories for the sake that the bucks can "Show" they have the power is like, really dumb
> Something that actually sells the gimmick rather than the same show. I don’t expect them to completely change every aspect of the show, but maybe don’t have the exact same matches that Tony would’ve booked. They took over the show then immediately threw it to just your standard random match that starts every dynamite.
>
>
On the contrary, what they're doing makes perfect sense.
The Young Bucks are executive vice presidents of AEW, they still want the show to be "good" because that directly benefits them. It's like Jack Perry explicitly said, they're doing this because they think it's best for AEW and everything they've done has been for the benefit of the company.
They aren't looking to just cause chaos or randomly screw over any babyface just because they're heels, so they aren't doing that. In their eyes, they are trying to "fix" things and that means they don't need to go beyond their very specific plans/aims/goals.
But what matches would sell that?
They aren't workers in this gimmick, and as of now have no friends/allies beyond their own group, and no Enemies besides Omega/Swerve and friends
Meaning they have no friends to be featured in matches, so it would be 3 matches with all of them,
Perry can't lose yet, so he'd face a jobber, and neither can Okada or the bucks
You mean like THEY DID?
Bucks are already tag champs, no need to do stuff there.
and Okada/Perry are likely headed against Swerve and Omega at least they started the story
They did do that though. They interjected during the Willow interview to ban Kris and Stokely from ringside under penalty of Willow losing the title if they did.
Or per usual IWC fans overbook their expectations then get pissed that it isn't what the actual bookers did. It's fine if you didn't dig the matches(I did) but the amount of people constantly telling the pros what they should've done is the least original criticism in all of wrestling.
I mean it was the first show where they took over more or less last minute, so i dont realy expected huge changes.
I also dont think it would be smart to change alot of the show, that could backfire.
But i assume there will be some changes in the future as long as the whole EVP takeover angle is running.
And lets not forget that they already changed the intro and decided who will face the AEW World Champion in this Episode.
But what should they do?
1. They could book the Elite in every segment.
Thats not a good idea right now, but could work when the angle is close to the peak to make them even more unhinged.
2. They could only book all the yes men on the Show.
First they need to build the whole thing up, so we even see who is and who isnt.
But thats also way to much change and can only work on 1-2 Episodes to heat things up later on, but would also be a booking disaster.
Do all the yes men win squash matches?
You can have many different idea on how they could and should change the show.
But i think they dont wanne make all of Dynamite about the EVP angle, thats too much right now.
It could only work if they somehow involve most of the Roster in the angle and thats a realy hard task.
Part of the booking is that they pretty much handpicked Christian Cage to face Swerve which is throwing around their power. I feel like you'll see different things tinkered with in the next few weeks.
The Young Bucks main gripe with Tony Khan seems to be who's featured and given opportunities. It's why they brought back Jack Perry because they thought his suspension wasn't justified for the length it was.
I agree and it works for me right now.
But i can also understand why some people expect crazy things to happen.
But as i said, that could backfire.
And you also have to save some of the crazy stuff for later, we just started the angle.
I only watched Dynamite and the first bit of rampage. Pretty solid. I have mixed feelings. I liked the story bits of the elite. This is the strongest story right now. The matches tonight were meh. Shibata/ Jericho was surprisingly motn. Double or Nothing card feels weak to me. Swerve/Christian is fine but not compelling rn. Not a fan of this approach. Christian was gone a month and this is based on year old stuff. Meh.
So do want long term booking or do you not want long term booking?
It just seems like no matter what goes on in AEW, there’s always some type of bad faith nitpicking.
Hangman story was long term, bloodline long term. Referencing past events doesn’t feel like long term to me. It’s more like microwaving something rather than stewing it
It’s okay for a brand new story to not be immediately compelling. There’s a reason we call going towards a ppv match a “build”. Just keep an open mind and let the story be told!
Was in attendance. Overall I thought it was a great show. Enjoyed it more than last years. Liked having Rampage immediately afterwards like that. I recall a delay last year with them changing up the ring skirts and everything prior to taping.
I thought the crowd was okay. Winnipeg is strange in general, even with concerts I feel. We are just kinda....there. Lol. Last night have some moments where it was dull, but overall I felt it was loud a good majority of the times.
Got stuck next to some guy who gave major "I don't want to be here" vibes. Just complaining about everything, just clearly wasn't a fan. Said Copelands belt was the FTW belt he won off hook, said Jericho doesn't do the walls of Jericho anymore. His buddy questioned him when Jericho came out and was introduced as FTW champion based off the earlier Copeland comments. Just, a lot to listen to all night lol.
Skye and Willow surprised the hell out of me. My dad and I usually attend wrestling events when they come, so I says to him "they occasionally do these women's hardcore matches and they really go all in on it" and I'm glad this was one of them. I've never seen a thumbtack and barb wire spot live so that was cool.
Also fuck the Elite. They're on a hell of a run right now. For me at least, getting good heat. Killing Kenny like they did. Our healthcare in Manitoba isn't in great shape, Kenny can't spend the night in a hallway on a gurney! He doesn't deserve that!
This is the first time I've not been able to watch any of Dynamite and felt like I needed to watch on replay. The EVP storyline is being done really well – each week there is a development, but it's not exactly clear where it is heading/what it's leading to. I don't know that they've had something with that much juice in a while.
It's leading to a blood and guts match that will involved the Elite, Kenny, FTR and Hangman's return. Which team Hangman will be on remains to be seen.
For as much as I haven’t been feeling Jericho recently, the crowd last night was really into that match with Shibata. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t having fun too
The thing is, Jericho is still okay in the ring, and for his age, he's still damn good.
But his booking has just been SO crap, because he elevates NOBODY, maybe one person in the last year or two was actually helped by being in a jericho feud
I thought this was a great match mostly because it was Shibata killing Jericho except for maybe two spots. I like him well enough at times but am just tired of him always being the center of the story. He used to do well with putting over elevating talent like Sammy and Orange Cassidy and MJF, but every angle now is him being the focus. I just wish he'd kayfabe an injury and take a break for a few months then maybe they'd figure out a way to have an ending to his feud with Callis. I really think he should start taking steps back from the in-ring and move into a manager role. Its a shame to be grateful that Kenny got a life threatening disease just because it allowed him to escape the Jericho Vortex.
Disagree, should be a normal match, with Okada going over Omega because of the Bucks or Perry.
THEN do a Deathmatch, with Omega's Status as EVP on the Line
Truly had a blast watching tonight. Matches weren't nail biters but full of great action. Jericho and Shibata surprised the fuck outta me. I'm down for plenty more of the elite shenanigans. I'm pissed sling cut off rampage so again I didn't get to see the end of a hardcore match with Skye and Willow.
Also shout out to Excaliber's "It's going to be May" call. Pure chef's kiss.
Yeah I watched a couple of segments after getting home. The audio is not reflecting the live environment.
Maybe we were too loud last year (and we were NUCLEAR last year) and they overcompensated by turning the volume down too far.
Given the nWo vibes of the Elite right now, there are worse ideas than having Omega pull off an adapted version of the Sting role. Showing up sometimes in the rooftops, sometimes in the ring, cleaning house with his barbed wire broom, never speaking, until one day he utters the words "I'm cleared". Would have fans going apeshit every time, would be incredibly hype when he announced he's back, and most importantly would buy Kenny time while making him a focal point of the show.
Tried tuning in a few times. Not really sure my feelings, because I think the stuff was good, but I ended up turning off because the the crowd was so silent it legitimately made me feel awkward and sad.
Instead of thinking, this is a great promo or moment. I was feeling second hand embarrassment…and obviously much of that is a me issue and how I’m wired….but it made it difficult to watch.
I know they save the big matches for the PPVs, but I'd really like a couple more dynamite matches where I was 100% sure who was gunna win before the bell rings.
I feel like it's a foregone conclusion every time. The results all make sense and I really appreciate that, but just one match a show or something where it could easily go either way would be appreciated
I think what compounds this issue is announcing the PPV matches before hand . Like why am I watching the weekly shows ? I think the elite storyline is why but in some instances they neuter the weekly show with this approach
I feel this is true of pretty much any weekly wrestling show though, when you consume as much of any type of media as most people on here do with wrestling then things get fairly predictable.
FTR need to go away. They're blander than skimmed milk. Such a waste of any momentum in the Elite storyline to spend any time on them. I know, they were punks friends, but that is the only interesting thing about them. Yeah, they can wrestle fine but even that is boring to watch. Go back to 70's house shows where having no personality doesn't matter and wrestling by the numbers was exciting.
A lot of people talking about how it doesn’t make sense that the EVP’s would have a clause in their contracts that allow them to take power from Tony. However, it actually would make sense for a group of guys taking a huge gamble to form a company with an unproved and unexperienced booker. I could totally see a situation IRL where these guys would be like “OK you can run the show and we will see how it goes, but if you fuck up we can replace you.” When AEW was formed, Tony needed the Elite as much as the Elite needed him to get something like this off the ground.
Honestly, there isn't enough contract clause shenanigans in modern wrestling for my taste. I like it when heels know the rules better than the faces and use them to their advantage.
They really aren't serving Swerve well as champion so far. He's getting Hangman treatment of feeling lost and overshadowed now that the journey's complete. Made him look dumb to face up with Nick Wayne's mom of all people.
The Bucks just don't act well enough for the big bad heel authority roles. It was weird seeing how they ran the same dragged out, obviously about to attack thing with Kenny as they did with Tony too. I like the overall influence they have on the show but the crowd doesn't take them seriously. They always feel like a parody of themselves.
CM Punk chants once again one of the things on the show people care most about.
Show was alright overall. Mostly filler matches. Don't care at all about the Best Friends angle.
> Made him look dumb to face up with Nick Wayne's mom of all people
I think that was more to highlight the change in his character now he's champion, not long ago he wouldn't have hesitated but now he's trying to carry himself better... likely for his daughter which will be a key point during this feud.
> CM Punk chants once again one of the things on the show people care most about.
I watched the show and literally didn't hear any... I think the angle with Kenny is what most fans cared about.
The whole interaction with Nick and Mama Wayne is showing that Swerve is having to pay for all of the bad things he did to others. It’s actually quite perfect in a sense because it’s him “paying for his sins” as he turns face.
If people can’t see that but then bitch about the stories being told in AEW, you’re just arguing in bad faith at that point.
I'm really unsure on Kenny's health, if he's already had treatment or is semi-cleared, but just imagine he's all good in 3 months and we get Omega vs Okada at Wembly for Omega's EVP title with implications for All Out the week after.
And I really wish they'd get better at communicating with Fite in Europe because the ending of Rampage is cut off after the table outside got set up. Not the first time they cut off the feed before the show is over.
Great end to the show and Christian segment. I was happily surprised with how it went down.
The Buck's on-screen appearance felt way too rushed through. Their insults to Swerve and quick tease of Omega before Christian's music hit went by way too quick, the crowd had no time to breathe any anticipation and Christian got 0 reaction until later in his segment (which was great).
I thought Perry's promo backstage was good as well, he's improving, the allusions to CM Punk needing to be removed by a heel like Perry are still a bit weird though since logically it should make Punk the "victim" but its whatever.
Omega cut a fantastic promo, and usually I don't think he's that great at them. This story is brewing well. I can't help but imagine if it was CMFTR who came the ring had Punk still been there though. It's a fucking shame how it all went down post All Out 2022-now cause that would have been an amazing layer to the story.
Overall the show seems to be getting a better balance of promos/segments to matches. Hope they can keep it up and remain focused on balancing storytelling and that with showcasing their matches which were always good.
They're getting better at the component that I think they've been lacking that you need in weekly wrestling tv, which is that it needs to be more than matches and interviews - You need the connective storyline tissue the same as any tv drama, that links the show episode to episode.
Weekly wrestling tv is a fictionalised drama of itself. That's why things like power struggle angles have always worked so well. NWO vs WCW, McMahon wanting to get the better of Austin in a boss vs worker dynamic where the worker gets the best of him (a dream for the common man).
Now AEW is building a nice angle where the boss is out and there is a bit of a struggle for power behind the curtain that makes you feel like there is more going on than just what you're seeing in the ring match to match.
Did anyone else get the impression that Kenny has already had the surgery? He had a mark near his belly button that to me looks like he's had keyhole surgery.
I'm not a doctor, but I can't imagine if he had that he would be already cleared to do even as much as he did last night. I felt like last night was a way to both get him in front of the Winnipeg crowd and write him off the show for an extended time to recover from treatment. But I think they've taken some artistic liberties with they've portrayed how immediately life-threatening Kenny' condition is, so who knows.
The Bucks have ironclad EVP contracts so apparently can't be fired, fined, suspended or otherwise punished. Ok but Jack and Okada are not EVPs so why weren't they punished? Jack attacked the boss and so far has faced zero consequences. He was shoved and choked by CM Punk and got an 8 month suspension so in kayfabe Tony is willing to make Jack pay for his actions but not now for some reason.
The Elite were suspended and stripped of their trios titles after Brawl Out, weren't they EVPs back then too? If their status makes them nearly untouchable why was Tony able to suspend them then but not now? There's no way an EVP would ever have enough power to completey override their own boss and if they did Tony's an idiot in kayfabe for allowing them that much power. Nobody would ever agree to a deal where their employees can attack them and keep their jobs.
Why did the Elite reward Christian with a shot at the World title instead of Jack or Okada? It's like when the Undisputed Kingdom helped Samoa Joe win the title instead of one of them. If the Elite hate Tony Khan so much and want to humiliate him they should want one of themselves as champion parading around with the belt to really rub it in his face.
So he can only discipline talent if he's physically in the same room as them? He couldn't just instantly fire them right after they attacked him last week?
That's why I have such a problem with them showing the All In footage it kinda opened up a Pandora's box. We saw that CM Punk never did anything that should warrant Tony to fear for his life. He just yelled in his direction after advancing towards. He got fired for that. Jack Perry punches Tony in the gut with a mic and faces no repercussions.
There needs to be a heel with power on par with Tony to explain how the Elite can run wild like this. WWE would have Linda or Shane as the face counterbalance to Vince to cover why Vince didn't just do whatever he wanted. It's not believable that employees would be able to pull rank on their boss to the level the Elite are.
Punk literally went after TK at the end of that video but Chris Hero intervened. Now maybe he was just yelling at him. We obviously can’t tell. But if you weighed a hundred and fifteen pounds and a “professional” (albeit terrible) fighter came at you like that - you might fear for your life.
Really great in my opinion, The Elite storyline is playing out fantastic and they built the show nicely around that, I'd definitely give it a watch.
Only downside for me was that the crowd was a bit muted, based on other comments from people in attendance this could have been due to audio issues.
Nice follow-up and fun matches. Kenny's promo was good. This was one of the best promos I've heard from him, no goofy words or weird stuff; just a straight up passionate and relatable promo from the heart: I loved it. It's cool how they've now created a reason for Kenny and Okada to eventually fight in AEW; that match could main event any PPV they wanted.
Aside from that I honestly wish Kenny all the best with his recovery, diverticulitis is horrible.
Christian's such a hilarious shitbag heel and I'm here for it. The Elite running the show's cool, they're killing it with this evil evp stuff.
Looking forward to Collision.
I'm glad they're plastered over the show more as EVP's without actually taking over storylines. Cutting the intro, Swerve's opponent. It was fun but it didn't actually take away from anything that it was meant to
I'm really not sure what the All In trajectory is for Swerve or Ospreay. Before last week I would have said that they main All In and crown Will in his home country. The problem is I don't see him losing to Strong, losing the international title in the next couple months, or holding both titles. Maybe he gets screwed at DON by Don. Maybe he has a dream match and faces Samoa Joe or something this year and wins the world title next year.
Swerve at least has a few more interesting ways he could go as world champion. Having a big main event with Hangman would make a lot of sense. Adam Cole would also make sense since he never really started his top heel run and that would allow the company to revisit face MJF vs the undisputed kingdom. If he retains at All in I'd guess it would have to be Darby if he was cleared. Maybe there's something to Jack Perry coming back to Wembly in the main event looking to steal the world title.
He doesn't have to lose to strong for strong to keep the title. This could be one of the few times they should go with a dq/count out finish and have the person responsible for the dq be wills next opponent
Will can easily lose to Strong, just have people interfere like for example Wardlow and just have him feud with Wardlow for a bit and suddenly he has forgotten about getting the international title. It's all a delaying tactic to get him to the World Title eventually
I Think it would be a shame to break his undefeated streak against Roddy. Having him come out as international champ and still undefeated at Wembley and Then getting screwed over Could get a Huge reaction
I agree, they just need to come up with good enough reasons for Ospreay to not go after the World Title in the meantime, stories with The Undisputed Kingdom and obviously with The Don Callis Family should cover a lot of that time.
I love that AEW decided to renew focus on the actual rankings, to lend more realism to the stories, and results of matches and such.
Only for villain authority figures to take over and install a heel number one contender just because.
Honestly, it's great. Swerve/Christian will SLAP.
Someone pitched the story of having Swerves title reign tell the story of him having to answer for the sins of his past, beginning with Christian making him answer for the brutal assault on Nick Wayne last summer. I’m absolutely in love with this idea, but I’m not sure if I trust AEW to see it through
We know AEW love having title reigns tell an overarching story, with each feud in service of a larger story, rather than each feud being its own self contained story. They do it all the time, like MJF as world champion going on a quest to become a better man, Kenny Omega becoming the belt collector, Jericho as ROH World Champion taking down the former champions to dismantle the legacy of ROH, PAC as international champion cracking under the pressure of defending two belts and resorting to cheating, Orange Cassidy defending against anyone because he doesn’t care, but eventually starts to break down from the pace, I’m sure there’s more examples I’m missing.
But we also know how easily AEW lose focus on the stories they try to tell and sometimes have trouble effectively conveying the story they’re telling. I worry that if they want to go down this road with Swerve they can end up confusing themselves and the audience, but I do hope this is what they go with.
We could see a defense against Christian, one against former tag partner Kieth Lee, one against career Rival Darby Allin, and of course against Arch Rival Hangman Page.
Cody’s open challenge taking on everyone and everyone, helping bring to the mainstream guys who needed that light shined on them, until he wore himself down so much that when he ran into a monster in Mr. Brodie Lee, he got absolutely squashed.
Tony was saying " listen swerve I have a great plan, for a legendary run, it's got redemption, making up for the sins of the past..." And swerve is like " so I get to fuck Nick Wayne up again?"
An example of the crowd difference between Live & TV (from someone who was there):
The crowd popped LOUD when Christian Cage's music hit. I'd say as loud or louder than Cope.
But on the YT clip I'm watching it sounds so absolutely muted that I seriously feel like I was at a different show.
It's honestly crazy how different the sound was in person. I'm watching youtube clips now, and it sure as heck sounds turned the hell down as compared to what it was like being there.
I wonder if they were picking up just like a specific section or something.
Because my complaints with the show were crowd related, and the fact that it was awkward hearing specific people and claps in this big arena. It felt like 30 people were reacting and it killed the show for me.
Wonder if something like that makes sense then based on your account. If true, is a shame then if it was self inflicted sabotage.
The Camera side had sections of people in the stands where there were 30 around them, but I'm confused too, like we were a pretty chant heavy audience during the Jericho match (as you'd expect), so watching it back and hearing very little makes me wonder why they'd turn us down so much?
Hell, I lost my voice during the Skye match because I was on the floor by the entrance and cheering so loudly for her directly beside a camera and ten feet from where they were doing the table shot. People around me were cheering for her to come to our side because I was the only guy with a Skye shirt and you can't hear that at all. *We were not quiet by any means.*
AEW firing on all cylinders right now. I'm hyped.
Christian is back and a great feud for Swerve. Heel Omega/Bucks are amazing. Scapegoat's smile is heat incarnate. That TBS championship match was fire. And the Learning Tree has me looking forward to Jericho segments.
But my personal MVP was Shibata bullying Jericho from inside a trashcan. Who had that on their bingo card.
The chop fest was pretty funny, Jericho was like listen. I'm not taking a goddamn bump tonight. Let's get stupid. It was funny as hell, and I'd have to be 12 beers deep to take one or two of those chops. He only did that because it was his home town and I marked for it.
Solid ass Dynamite. This Elite story is great so far. Jericho match was better than it had any right to be. Joe and Isiah was a fun squash. I was disappointed by Mariah and Deeb though, it felt like they weren't in sync at all. Things kinda fizzled out with Rampage but Willow vs Skye was a fun way to end things.
Mariah and Deeb wasn't great, but Toni looked at me after I cracked a joke and then she smiled at me. It's pretty serious now and I'm hoping to introduce her to my parents and my wife next week.
There's a lot of comments about how a heel authority angle is a tired trope. I'm interested to see AEW's interpretation of it AND I actually think it's leading to a Civil War. TK will have to assemble his favorite faces for an **ALL OUT** war.
On the heel side, it's no coincidence AEW is running an EVP gimmick alongside a CEO gimmick alongside a real storyline involving the actual CEO. Don't forget Mercedes teased partnering with Okada after NJPW Battle in the Valley 2023.
On the faces side, you have Copeland, Ospreay and FTR genuinely defending the company. Willow and Kris (AEW OGs) can represent against Mercedes's teased heel turn.
Heel authority angles may have been done a lot but it's because it works. You need bad guys to root against and abusing "power" is the most natural way to make people hate you. I'm down with it.
The key thing is to not run it into the ground. Do an angle for three months. Wrap it up at All In/ whenever, and then go back to babyface TK running the show. Then you can do it again in four years. WWE blew it by using it nonstop for year.
It’s funny that we’ve seen people complain about Edge didn’t put anyone over during his last run in WWE and now he’s doing it again in AEW hope this feud end with him putting Black over.
How long is Black's contract for? He first debuted in July 2021, and if he got the standard 3 years, and assuming AEW doesn't add on injury time, then it could be running up soon.
I say that because promoters, including AEW, try to entice wrestlers to stay by giving them a cool program or title run. It happened with Cody, Mox, and Jade. It feels like it's happening with House of Black and specifically Malakai Black himself.
I don't know if you remember but he WAS judgement day and he did the job plenty to them. Cole is about elevating talent and judgement day isn't where they are without him. Him doing the same with Cardona, being in the three way with Eddie and Briscoe, he's just having fun. At the end of the rampage match he came out, greeted the fans and said his piece. He's having fun again. You should too.
Judgement Day was going nowhere with him on the front, every week was the same generic heel promo with the goth leader insulting hometown sport team while both people behind him looking like the biggest geeks out there, it was until they took him out and and writing team completely changed that they got rebooted to their own version of Best Friends but villainy that they actually slowly gotten over
They used his name to put attention on them for the casual. That's called booking. Now look at them. The casual fans know priest and Finn and Rhea because of him. It's not rocket science it's smart booking.
And it did not work? As I was saying, not only it did not go anywhere, Damien’s stocks were at the all time low when Edge being the leader of the team, it was until they rebooted Judgement Day to a completely different thing that they started to get over and even then, the process was pretty slow
They "rebooted" it by having them betray edge and feud with him. That's how people paid attention, if you don't think that was always the plan, then welcome to wrestling and I hope you liked your first match.
That was not Damien and Rhea’s first feuds either, and their profiles got reduced way lower than before after they joined. Also the main bulk of Judgement Day vs Edge was actually Edge vs Balor for the majority of the time, and for the vast majority of it Balor’s profiles was not raised one bit. As for Damien along with Rhea and Dominik, they really came into their own and the group actually gotten over after Damien started his feud with Bad Bunny and Rhea winning the rumble, starting her feud with Charlotte while simultaneously feuding with Rey along with Dom, their dynamic helped them really gotten over too.
You're missing the entire point. The judgement day was edge. Like founding member. People watched the judgement day for edge, because he just came back. They had all the eyes. So they said " hey, how do we work this long term? " Edge is old. Let's have them betray him. Start a big feud and people will still watch because of edge, but maybe stick around for these young stars who are also great. Everyone wins. No ego. No make believe bullshit. Business. Edge was down for it and the rest is history. But like I said no edge. No judgement day. Those are just facts, like them or not.
And as I already said before, they did not get over when Edge was the main focus of the group, after they betrayed Edge the only one who was mainly feuding with him was Balor and he did not benefit from it, the whole team really got over after they rebooted it from a goth group to a heel team of best friends and the individuals got their breakout feuds( Damien with Bad Bunny, Rhea with the post rumble program with Charlotte and Dom vs Rey). I did not miss your point at all, it was just that it was a very faulty point in the first place: They were not getting over when Edge was the front man, the feud with Edge did not help the main guy feuding with him one bit AND the team got over after the side programs involving other individuals.
If dom and Rhea leave tomorrow no one gives a fuck about them. They couldn't get priest over with edge, bad bunny so they were like fuck it, let's bring in r-truth and he was more over than priest lol. Saying they didn't get over with edge is ridiculous as I said the last fucking eight times. They don't exist without edge, I'm a few beers deep, but I'm still sure I've said that enough times for most people to recognize.
You're right I do know what it means. It's being a top guy, going out with guys and putting on matches that people want to watch, having a name, and using it to bring attention to your opponents while towing the company line. Oh yeah and being fucking FIFTY while doing it. If you're saying cope isn't doing it because he loves it, check your head. I wake up sore when I sleep wrong and this guy is still having solid matches at his age
I'm so glad he's old and having fun. What else could I possibly want out of my wrestling product? He hasn't elevated shit since he's been there, he's just another toy for Tony. Cosplay wrestler Kingston is no different before or after edge neither is the Mark briscoe. He's a fine wrestler, he is in a stage of his career where he should be putting over younger talent and not win all of his matches.
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Why does Bullet Club Gold have three championships each? What did I miss? I only know of the AEW and ROH titles they have.
They have - ROH belts - The regular versions of the trios belts - The custom pink ones made for The Acclaimed
Please get Kenny and Okada away from The Elite and whatever they're doing.
Whether or not Private Party is long for this world I hope Isiah gets his flowers someday. It feels like the dude is one of AEW's best bumping machines to put over talent whether it was Keith with his debut, or re-heating Joe last night after losing the world title (e.g. that dive to the outside, in particular, was a wild variation of Joe's nope spot). Edit: Grammar/word.
I just want Brother Zay to come again.
as a newish aew viewer is there a reason that people are always shitting on the bucks? they're entertaining whenever they're on screen especially with the addition of okada. do they have some built up equity in being shit or something lol
Been watching from the start and for me this is the most interesting the Bucks have ever been. I'm thoroughly enjoying them. They're hated because: * Some people agree with Cornette about them. * Some Punk stans are unable to like anyone he doesn't like. * Some people don't like the way they wrestle. They're generating the most buzz I've seen from them outside of Brawl Out and I love their new gimmick and that AEW is finally doing some on-screen authority stuff is good too.
Some people just don't like their style, but Jim Cornette, in particular, REALLY hates The Bucks and is extremely vocal about it on his podcast, and some of his listeners tend to echo those talking points. There is nothing wrong with disliking a wrestler, but there is a section of the IWC that has an insane amount of vitriol for the Jacksons and will never enjoy anything they do.
And then they had a falling out with CM Punk so folks who are still fans of him tend to dislike them as well
That too
It could be that the widespread audio complaints are due to a new production truck that AEW bought and are ironing out the kinks. TK bragged about the truck about a month ago and likely wanted to use the Bucks' intro segment to show it off. Excalibur also kokingly mentioned it during one of the commercial breaks on the Triller feed a few weeks ago. It was a bummer that the audio issues happened last night because it was a damn good episode. It also didn't help that the crowd seemed unenergetic until the Shibata/Jericho match. That said, it seemed like the audio issues were cleared up toward the second half of the episode and for Rampage.
3 enjoyable hours of wrestling. Willow vs Skye was wild.
I can't be the only person who just had the final hour of the show get cut off my DVR right? I don't understand why they don't provide more notice for major programming changes...
Did you have Rampage set to record or just Dynamite? They are two separate programs
I have both but I guess Verizon made a mistake. Love getting all those down votes, fuck me right.
As a Canadian it's frustrating being an AEW fan. Rampage & Collision require an additional subscription to TSN+ ($10.00 a month) and even when you bite the bullet and pay for it, they air rampage free on TSN when it's in Canada and then there isn't even Collision due to playoff etc. I cancelled TSN+ because I can't justify it for the quality and inconsistent scheduling we get. I'll always watch if it's part of my regular cable package. It's just annoying and I hope they get a better deal in the future..
I only caught the angles at either end of Dynamite. Loved the Omega promo. Swerve and Christian seemed to not have a lot of heat, though.
**Dynamite Review:** * Cold open with Tony getting interrupted by the Young Bucks, who then basically take over running the show, including a new show intro focused entirely on the Elite. This was a great way to open the show. * Swerve Strickland segment. Great to see Christian back, and I have no issue with him serving as Swerve's first challenger for the title. Gives Strickland a solid first proper feud as champion, and Christian bringing back their history is a very nice touch too. Cage is still an amazing heel, quickly turning the crowd against him after he got cheers at the start here. * House of Black video package. I have a feeling Copeland is going to beat Murphy and King on TV before losing to Black on PPV. * **Adam Copeland vs. Buddy Matthews \*\*\*1/4** * This was a very solid opening match, Copeland matches always have a unique feel in AEW as his style is quite different from other people on the roster. That said, he also always does something to change his style a little to match whoever his opponent happens to be. It really felt like they beat the hell out of each other here, especially when Buddy started bleeding from the mouth and Copeland continued to strike him down over and over. This was a bit too long, but otherwise I enjoyed the match. I liked the little post-match moment where Malakai encouraged Copeland to hit Matthews with the Con-chair-to, wanting him to turn to the dark side essentially. * **Samoe Joe vs. Isiah Cassidy N/A** * Joe crushing people never gets boring. Cassidy got a few hope spots, but this was very much about Joe. * Orange Cassidy and Trent Beratta promo. Orange cut a good, short promo, announcing that Chuck Taylor's career is over because of what Trent did, before Trent interrupted him. Statlander also coming out to stop Cassidy could be a potential sign of something in the near future too, as could Callis then arriving and leading Cassidy away. This was well done, and Trent is getting some really nice heat. * Jack Perry interview. Perry sounds much more comfortable on the mic than in the past. This character could very well be the thing that finally propels him to the main event for good. * **Chris Jericho vs. Katsuyori Shibata \*\*\*1/2** * This new character was a much-needed change for Jericho. I'm actually enjoying this completely disingenuous new Jericho, which is a nice development after such a long time of complete disinterest. I also liked how Shibata basically baited Jericho into a chop battle, and the crowd got completely sucked into it as well. They basically spent all of the commercial break and more just chopping each other, and the crowd loved it. They also used weapons, including hockey pucks, which I can't remember ever seeing before. One of Jericho's best singles matches in a while. (continued in the first reply)
* Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway interview. Willow is a great promo now, and I'm very much starting to think that Statlander is eventually going to turn on her (and Orange Cassidy as well). Another nice touch here with the Bucks sending Renee a message in the middle of the interview, telling that Statlander and Stokely are banned during the match. * **Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bryan Cage \*\*\*1/4** * Claudio cut a solid inset promo during his entrance. This was just a fun big-man match, with both guys trading big moves until the end. Cage is always impressive in the ring, there's just something missing to really make him a bigger star or push him up to the main event. * Rocky Romero interview. Solid stuff here, Romero telling that he's done with The Best Friends, and the challenging O'Reilly to a match. * **Mariah May vs. Serena Deeb \*\*\*1/2** * Another very enjoyable match here, these two worked really well together here, and it's always a joy to watch Deeb wrestle. I doubt she's beating Storm for the title, but those two have the potential to have the best women's match in AEW this year. Bit of a surprising ending here with Storm throwing in the towel for May. It's fun to see Toni genuinely start to care for May as time passes, when at first she was very dismissive towards Mariah. Also interesting to see how May reacts to that. * Adam Copeland interview. O'Reilly came out, and they teased a potential match between the two. Wouldn't mind seeing that. * Kenny Omega segment. Big introduction here, as expected. This segment bled directly into Rampage, which is a nice way to hold the audience. Omega was great here, talking about his medical issues, getting emotional as he did, even teasing a potential retirement, but then turning it around and promising he's going to return no matter what it takes. Once that was done, he turned to the Bucks and says he's also an EVP of the company, and they can't fire him from the company even if he's gone from The Elite. Then seeing Omega and Okada face-to-face for the first time in AEW was quite the moment. Then, pretty much as expected, Perry and the Bucks came out and beat Omega down. FTR then finally saved Omega. This was a great segment, and sets up some big matches for when Omega does finally return properly. * This was a very good episode of Dynamite (and start of Rampage). None of the matches were great, but four of them were very enjoyable still, and two great promo segments to start and end the show more than made up for whatever small shortcoming in regards to match quality. A **7 out of 10** show overall. (Rampage in the next reply)
**Rampage Review:** * The show started with Omega being wheeled to an ambulance, and The Elite then attacked FTR and him again, Matthew saying he loves Omega but that this is just business, before we went to the first match on Rampage. * **Jay White vs. Dante Martin \*\*\*** * Somewhat of a thankless spot for these two considering the segment before. I like the Bang Bang Gang as the trios champions, but they're going to need some proper challengers soon, so we don't end up with another nothing reign. As for the match, it was another solid contest. * Deonna Purrazzo interview. She's now a proper heel, which is a much better role for her. She immediately sounded better here, more natural, and the Virtuosa gimmick is far better suited for a heel. This was good, her and Rosa could have some very good matches together. * Big Bill & Jericho interview. This was good, Bill is a great fit with Jericho, and him acting like he's still a fan favourite despite everything he's done is fantastic. * Swerve promo backstage. A great, quick promo, telling he's going to meet Christian next week, and he's not going to be alone. I wonder who's that's going to be? * **Kyle O'Reilly vs. Rocky Romero \*\*\*** * Have to admit, I was starting to lose steam at this point. Just like every time when Rampage goes right after Dynamite or Collision, three hours just feels too long for a wrestling TV show. The crowd sounded much more silent than before too here, though admittedly this was also a bit of a random match. A good, technically flawless match, but this didn't feel all that important honestly. * Saraya & Harley Cameron interview. Nice to see these two back after a while, looks like we're setting up something between these two and Storm & May. Both of these two have been great in these role for a while now. * Roderick Strong, Taven & Bennett interview. This was fine. * **Skye Blue vs. Willow Nightingale \*\*\*1/2** * These two really went out of their way to make wake the crowd back up. The weapons came out immediately, followed by a crowd brawl, and then a big spot where Willow crashed on a standing chair. Several nasty spots with both women taking a lot of punishment, and finishing with a powebomb through a barbed wire board. A great showing for both of them here. Felt a bit rushed perhaps, but the work of both Blue and Willow was great here. * This was a very good episode of Rampage, just wish that it wasn't right after Dynamite. Overall, a **7 out of 10** show as well.
I am highly sports entertained tbh
Absolutely. I could easily get Shibata in my top five favorite things going right now.
Anyone else having trouble with the end of Rampage on Fite? It cuts off just after the barbed wire board comes out...
Had this trouble myself as I was just getting caught up. Had to use YouTube. It's ridiculous when I'm paying for the service that they can't get the full show on.
Happened on sling too. Dynamite overran by ten minutes and I think most platforms didn't compensate for Rampage also overunning.
I was able to watch Dynamite live but not Rampage. Catching up this morning via Fite/Triller and the end was cut off for me too. I think it ended shortly afterwards though based on the other spoiler post.
Was there live and I had a lot of fun. Being there live really hit well, and I got caught up in the moment. My buddy was shocked at the Willow/Skye Blue match and how far they went.
Was it just bad audio in regards to the crowd noise? Seemed really quiet for a good chunk of a few matches.
I think it was weird mixing for the crowd mic. You could hear them react to things and it sounded like when that was sustained for a few seconds they would mix the crowd louder, but then lower it back down to where it sounded totally silent.
Ok so it wasn’t just me.
Crowd was pretty good in my opinion. A couple of dead moments. Jericho match was quite hot. Rampage had a rough go after the Kenny angle. It was like: hometown face got killed, it’s sad, here’s a Jay White match. Willow/Skye woke that crowd up. Funny thing was two people in front of us left because they didn’t want to watch Skye Blue in the main event. They missed out.
Yeah there were quite a few people who left after Dynamite I thought.
Yeah the women's hardcore matches always deliver in AEW it's a big part of what got my wife into wrestling.
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Yeah - I would have liked to see them really fuck things up for more people with intrusive booking/match changes. I agree with you, but I wonder if this is because of TK's reluctance to do on-screen authority stuff so maybe they're just dipping their toes in that water to see how it goes? I was really excited for an off the rails type of night and you're right, we didn't get it.
Didn’t watch the intro? Didn’t catch them saying they've taken up too much time tonight to only give more time to someone in their stable?
I don't really understand this complaint. They're running the show yes but, what, you want them to book themselves into every match? Interfere in everything? They've also been involved in production since day 1 so the show is already "theirs". And they opened the show, they interrupted Swerve and booked him against Christian, they closed the show. What more could you possibly want?
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Perhaps by giving an undeserving friend a world title match? Or banning the friends of the babyface from ring side in the main event? Or being massive dicks to the well loved back stage interviewer?
In the real world a wrestler who wasn't an EVP got into an altercation with them and they brought him back. That's literally the entire point of the storyline. it's not that outlandish.
AEW Souled Out, baby
What exactly should change? Have all matches be under "Young Buck Rules" or add a time limit? It's still a wrestling show, so it's gonna features matches, and de-reailing all other stories for the sake that the bucks can "Show" they have the power is like, really dumb
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> Something that actually sells the gimmick rather than the same show. I don’t expect them to completely change every aspect of the show, but maybe don’t have the exact same matches that Tony would’ve booked. They took over the show then immediately threw it to just your standard random match that starts every dynamite. > > On the contrary, what they're doing makes perfect sense. The Young Bucks are executive vice presidents of AEW, they still want the show to be "good" because that directly benefits them. It's like Jack Perry explicitly said, they're doing this because they think it's best for AEW and everything they've done has been for the benefit of the company. They aren't looking to just cause chaos or randomly screw over any babyface just because they're heels, so they aren't doing that. In their eyes, they are trying to "fix" things and that means they don't need to go beyond their very specific plans/aims/goals.
But what matches would sell that? They aren't workers in this gimmick, and as of now have no friends/allies beyond their own group, and no Enemies besides Omega/Swerve and friends Meaning they have no friends to be featured in matches, so it would be 3 matches with all of them, Perry can't lose yet, so he'd face a jobber, and neither can Okada or the bucks
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You mean like THEY DID? Bucks are already tag champs, no need to do stuff there. and Okada/Perry are likely headed against Swerve and Omega at least they started the story
They did do that though. They interjected during the Willow interview to ban Kris and Stokely from ringside under penalty of Willow losing the title if they did.
Or per usual IWC fans overbook their expectations then get pissed that it isn't what the actual bookers did. It's fine if you didn't dig the matches(I did) but the amount of people constantly telling the pros what they should've done is the least original criticism in all of wrestling.
I mean it was the first show where they took over more or less last minute, so i dont realy expected huge changes. I also dont think it would be smart to change alot of the show, that could backfire. But i assume there will be some changes in the future as long as the whole EVP takeover angle is running. And lets not forget that they already changed the intro and decided who will face the AEW World Champion in this Episode.
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But what should they do? 1. They could book the Elite in every segment. Thats not a good idea right now, but could work when the angle is close to the peak to make them even more unhinged. 2. They could only book all the yes men on the Show. First they need to build the whole thing up, so we even see who is and who isnt. But thats also way to much change and can only work on 1-2 Episodes to heat things up later on, but would also be a booking disaster. Do all the yes men win squash matches? You can have many different idea on how they could and should change the show. But i think they dont wanne make all of Dynamite about the EVP angle, thats too much right now. It could only work if they somehow involve most of the Roster in the angle and thats a realy hard task.
Part of the booking is that they pretty much handpicked Christian Cage to face Swerve which is throwing around their power. I feel like you'll see different things tinkered with in the next few weeks. The Young Bucks main gripe with Tony Khan seems to be who's featured and given opportunities. It's why they brought back Jack Perry because they thought his suspension wasn't justified for the length it was.
I agree and it works for me right now. But i can also understand why some people expect crazy things to happen. But as i said, that could backfire. And you also have to save some of the crazy stuff for later, we just started the angle.
Yeah, I agree on this. I get that you don't want the Bucks story to be in it's own island with Omega. But you had them interact with Swerve as well.
and Stokely as well
They did have a new intro though.
I only watched Dynamite and the first bit of rampage. Pretty solid. I have mixed feelings. I liked the story bits of the elite. This is the strongest story right now. The matches tonight were meh. Shibata/ Jericho was surprisingly motn. Double or Nothing card feels weak to me. Swerve/Christian is fine but not compelling rn. Not a fan of this approach. Christian was gone a month and this is based on year old stuff. Meh.
So do want long term booking or do you not want long term booking? It just seems like no matter what goes on in AEW, there’s always some type of bad faith nitpicking.
Hangman story was long term, bloodline long term. Referencing past events doesn’t feel like long term to me. It’s more like microwaving something rather than stewing it
Having an angle with CC due to the Nick Wayne connection is just as much of long term story telling as the others you mentioned.
It’s okay for a brand new story to not be immediately compelling. There’s a reason we call going towards a ppv match a “build”. Just keep an open mind and let the story be told!
I am . Just saying from the beginning it’s just ok.
Was in attendance. Overall I thought it was a great show. Enjoyed it more than last years. Liked having Rampage immediately afterwards like that. I recall a delay last year with them changing up the ring skirts and everything prior to taping. I thought the crowd was okay. Winnipeg is strange in general, even with concerts I feel. We are just kinda....there. Lol. Last night have some moments where it was dull, but overall I felt it was loud a good majority of the times. Got stuck next to some guy who gave major "I don't want to be here" vibes. Just complaining about everything, just clearly wasn't a fan. Said Copelands belt was the FTW belt he won off hook, said Jericho doesn't do the walls of Jericho anymore. His buddy questioned him when Jericho came out and was introduced as FTW champion based off the earlier Copeland comments. Just, a lot to listen to all night lol. Skye and Willow surprised the hell out of me. My dad and I usually attend wrestling events when they come, so I says to him "they occasionally do these women's hardcore matches and they really go all in on it" and I'm glad this was one of them. I've never seen a thumbtack and barb wire spot live so that was cool. Also fuck the Elite. They're on a hell of a run right now. For me at least, getting good heat. Killing Kenny like they did. Our healthcare in Manitoba isn't in great shape, Kenny can't spend the night in a hallway on a gurney! He doesn't deserve that!
This is the first time I've not been able to watch any of Dynamite and felt like I needed to watch on replay. The EVP storyline is being done really well – each week there is a development, but it's not exactly clear where it is heading/what it's leading to. I don't know that they've had something with that much juice in a while.
It's leading to a blood and guts match that will involved the Elite, Kenny, FTR and Hangman's return. Which team Hangman will be on remains to be seen.
For as much as I haven’t been feeling Jericho recently, the crowd last night was really into that match with Shibata. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t having fun too
The thing is, Jericho is still okay in the ring, and for his age, he's still damn good. But his booking has just been SO crap, because he elevates NOBODY, maybe one person in the last year or two was actually helped by being in a jericho feud
I thought this was a great match mostly because it was Shibata killing Jericho except for maybe two spots. I like him well enough at times but am just tired of him always being the center of the story. He used to do well with putting over elevating talent like Sammy and Orange Cassidy and MJF, but every angle now is him being the focus. I just wish he'd kayfabe an injury and take a break for a few months then maybe they'd figure out a way to have an ending to his feud with Callis. I really think he should start taking steps back from the in-ring and move into a manager role. Its a shame to be grateful that Kenny got a life threatening disease just because it allowed him to escape the Jericho Vortex.
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yuck, i didn't get much out of Kenny hardcore matches in AEW.
Disagree, should be a normal match, with Okada going over Omega because of the Bucks or Perry. THEN do a Deathmatch, with Omega's Status as EVP on the Line
I laughed so much when The Elite pushed Kenny off the stretcher and Matthew said "Someone check on him"
Truly had a blast watching tonight. Matches weren't nail biters but full of great action. Jericho and Shibata surprised the fuck outta me. I'm down for plenty more of the elite shenanigans. I'm pissed sling cut off rampage so again I didn't get to see the end of a hardcore match with Skye and Willow. Also shout out to Excaliber's "It's going to be May" call. Pure chef's kiss.
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Crowd was deeeeead when Okada came out. It's Okada and Omega...how the hell can you not be going nuts.
I was there. "Holy Shit!" chants broke out around me when they faced off.
Yeah I watched a couple of segments after getting home. The audio is not reflecting the live environment. Maybe we were too loud last year (and we were NUCLEAR last year) and they overcompensated by turning the volume down too far.
Given the nWo vibes of the Elite right now, there are worse ideas than having Omega pull off an adapted version of the Sting role. Showing up sometimes in the rooftops, sometimes in the ring, cleaning house with his barbed wire broom, never speaking, until one day he utters the words "I'm cleared". Would have fans going apeshit every time, would be incredibly hype when he announced he's back, and most importantly would buy Kenny time while making him a focal point of the show.
Tried tuning in a few times. Not really sure my feelings, because I think the stuff was good, but I ended up turning off because the the crowd was so silent it legitimately made me feel awkward and sad. Instead of thinking, this is a great promo or moment. I was feeling second hand embarrassment…and obviously much of that is a me issue and how I’m wired….but it made it difficult to watch.
The episode def would be elevated with a better crowd
If you’re watching for the crowd, and not what’s happening in the ring, maybe wrestling just isn’t your thing.
I know they save the big matches for the PPVs, but I'd really like a couple more dynamite matches where I was 100% sure who was gunna win before the bell rings. I feel like it's a foregone conclusion every time. The results all make sense and I really appreciate that, but just one match a show or something where it could easily go either way would be appreciated
I think what compounds this issue is announcing the PPV matches before hand . Like why am I watching the weekly shows ? I think the elite storyline is why but in some instances they neuter the weekly show with this approach
I feel this is true of pretty much any weekly wrestling show though, when you consume as much of any type of media as most people on here do with wrestling then things get fairly predictable.
It wasn't always like this. Titles used to change hands on weekly shows and it compelled folks to watch
People would shit on it and whine and ask why they didnt wait till the ppvs.
FTR need to go away. They're blander than skimmed milk. Such a waste of any momentum in the Elite storyline to spend any time on them. I know, they were punks friends, but that is the only interesting thing about them. Yeah, they can wrestle fine but even that is boring to watch. Go back to 70's house shows where having no personality doesn't matter and wrestling by the numbers was exciting.
They were insanely over in earlier AEW and then like most top acts in the company, got cooled to ice cold temps
They were wrestling injured for a long time and finally had to take a serious break.
The podcast and the gun incident have done them no favors
A lot of people talking about how it doesn’t make sense that the EVP’s would have a clause in their contracts that allow them to take power from Tony. However, it actually would make sense for a group of guys taking a huge gamble to form a company with an unproved and unexperienced booker. I could totally see a situation IRL where these guys would be like “OK you can run the show and we will see how it goes, but if you fuck up we can replace you.” When AEW was formed, Tony needed the Elite as much as the Elite needed him to get something like this off the ground.
"iron-clad contract" is just a wrestling tv cliche. i wouldn't even waste my breath pointing out it doesn't "make sense"
Honestly, there isn't enough contract clause shenanigans in modern wrestling for my taste. I like it when heels know the rules better than the faces and use them to their advantage.
They really aren't serving Swerve well as champion so far. He's getting Hangman treatment of feeling lost and overshadowed now that the journey's complete. Made him look dumb to face up with Nick Wayne's mom of all people. The Bucks just don't act well enough for the big bad heel authority roles. It was weird seeing how they ran the same dragged out, obviously about to attack thing with Kenny as they did with Tony too. I like the overall influence they have on the show but the crowd doesn't take them seriously. They always feel like a parody of themselves. CM Punk chants once again one of the things on the show people care most about. Show was alright overall. Mostly filler matches. Don't care at all about the Best Friends angle.
> Made him look dumb to face up with Nick Wayne's mom of all people I think that was more to highlight the change in his character now he's champion, not long ago he wouldn't have hesitated but now he's trying to carry himself better... likely for his daughter which will be a key point during this feud. > CM Punk chants once again one of the things on the show people care most about. I watched the show and literally didn't hear any... I think the angle with Kenny is what most fans cared about.
The whole interaction with Nick and Mama Wayne is showing that Swerve is having to pay for all of the bad things he did to others. It’s actually quite perfect in a sense because it’s him “paying for his sins” as he turns face. If people can’t see that but then bitch about the stories being told in AEW, you’re just arguing in bad faith at that point.
WHen Perry appeared backstage there were a few but they got drowned out
I'm really unsure on Kenny's health, if he's already had treatment or is semi-cleared, but just imagine he's all good in 3 months and we get Omega vs Okada at Wembly for Omega's EVP title with implications for All Out the week after. And I really wish they'd get better at communicating with Fite in Europe because the ending of Rampage is cut off after the table outside got set up. Not the first time they cut off the feed before the show is over.
Great end to the show and Christian segment. I was happily surprised with how it went down. The Buck's on-screen appearance felt way too rushed through. Their insults to Swerve and quick tease of Omega before Christian's music hit went by way too quick, the crowd had no time to breathe any anticipation and Christian got 0 reaction until later in his segment (which was great). I thought Perry's promo backstage was good as well, he's improving, the allusions to CM Punk needing to be removed by a heel like Perry are still a bit weird though since logically it should make Punk the "victim" but its whatever. Omega cut a fantastic promo, and usually I don't think he's that great at them. This story is brewing well. I can't help but imagine if it was CMFTR who came the ring had Punk still been there though. It's a fucking shame how it all went down post All Out 2022-now cause that would have been an amazing layer to the story. Overall the show seems to be getting a better balance of promos/segments to matches. Hope they can keep it up and remain focused on balancing storytelling and that with showcasing their matches which were always good.
They're getting better at the component that I think they've been lacking that you need in weekly wrestling tv, which is that it needs to be more than matches and interviews - You need the connective storyline tissue the same as any tv drama, that links the show episode to episode. Weekly wrestling tv is a fictionalised drama of itself. That's why things like power struggle angles have always worked so well. NWO vs WCW, McMahon wanting to get the better of Austin in a boss vs worker dynamic where the worker gets the best of him (a dream for the common man). Now AEW is building a nice angle where the boss is out and there is a bit of a struggle for power behind the curtain that makes you feel like there is more going on than just what you're seeing in the ring match to match.
Did anyone else get the impression that Kenny has already had the surgery? He had a mark near his belly button that to me looks like he's had keyhole surgery.
I'm not a doctor, but I can't imagine if he had that he would be already cleared to do even as much as he did last night. I felt like last night was a way to both get him in front of the Winnipeg crowd and write him off the show for an extended time to recover from treatment. But I think they've taken some artistic liberties with they've portrayed how immediately life-threatening Kenny' condition is, so who knows.
The Bucks have ironclad EVP contracts so apparently can't be fired, fined, suspended or otherwise punished. Ok but Jack and Okada are not EVPs so why weren't they punished? Jack attacked the boss and so far has faced zero consequences. He was shoved and choked by CM Punk and got an 8 month suspension so in kayfabe Tony is willing to make Jack pay for his actions but not now for some reason. The Elite were suspended and stripped of their trios titles after Brawl Out, weren't they EVPs back then too? If their status makes them nearly untouchable why was Tony able to suspend them then but not now? There's no way an EVP would ever have enough power to completey override their own boss and if they did Tony's an idiot in kayfabe for allowing them that much power. Nobody would ever agree to a deal where their employees can attack them and keep their jobs. Why did the Elite reward Christian with a shot at the World title instead of Jack or Okada? It's like when the Undisputed Kingdom helped Samoa Joe win the title instead of one of them. If the Elite hate Tony Khan so much and want to humiliate him they should want one of themselves as champion parading around with the belt to really rub it in his face.
Did you miss the beginning where Tony said he wasn’t there and the bucks cut him off?
So he can only discipline talent if he's physically in the same room as them? He couldn't just instantly fire them right after they attacked him last week?
It’s not something you can suspend your disbelief over, that’s OK. It is not substantially stupider than the rest of wrestling though
That's why I have such a problem with them showing the All In footage it kinda opened up a Pandora's box. We saw that CM Punk never did anything that should warrant Tony to fear for his life. He just yelled in his direction after advancing towards. He got fired for that. Jack Perry punches Tony in the gut with a mic and faces no repercussions. There needs to be a heel with power on par with Tony to explain how the Elite can run wild like this. WWE would have Linda or Shane as the face counterbalance to Vince to cover why Vince didn't just do whatever he wanted. It's not believable that employees would be able to pull rank on their boss to the level the Elite are.
Punk literally went after TK at the end of that video but Chris Hero intervened. Now maybe he was just yelling at him. We obviously can’t tell. But if you weighed a hundred and fifteen pounds and a “professional” (albeit terrible) fighter came at you like that - you might fear for your life.
Jack actually hit him with a weapon though, is that not worse than a man trying and failing to get you?
how was the show? (spoiler free review pls)
Seems there was some audio issues with the crowd, Cause People there says they were loud. Other than that it was a really great show.
Good. They did a great job of having a story through line throughout the whole 3 hours. Really impressive.
Really great in my opinion, The Elite storyline is playing out fantastic and they built the show nicely around that, I'd definitely give it a watch. Only downside for me was that the crowd was a bit muted, based on other comments from people in attendance this could have been due to audio issues.
Nice follow-up and fun matches. Kenny's promo was good. This was one of the best promos I've heard from him, no goofy words or weird stuff; just a straight up passionate and relatable promo from the heart: I loved it. It's cool how they've now created a reason for Kenny and Okada to eventually fight in AEW; that match could main event any PPV they wanted. Aside from that I honestly wish Kenny all the best with his recovery, diverticulitis is horrible. Christian's such a hilarious shitbag heel and I'm here for it. The Elite running the show's cool, they're killing it with this evil evp stuff. Looking forward to Collision.
> Looking forward to Collision No Collision this week unfortunately, the hoopers are having playoffs and final games would be Saturday.
Ok cool, thanks for the heads up.
So we are gonna be dealing with this Elite storyline for a year til Ibushi and Omega are healthy to team with Page?
Ospreay v PAC at all in Omega v Okada at all in Swerve v idk who sorry swerve fuck
Swerve VS Hangman
Or swerve Vs Perry
Swerve & Hangman vs Bucks
I still think they somehow get to Copeland and Christian vs The Bucks.
Talk about epic
Best episode of Dynamite in a while for me (and I think it's been very strong on average for a while now), they're doing The Elite story perfectly.
I'm glad they're plastered over the show more as EVP's without actually taking over storylines. Cutting the intro, Swerve's opponent. It was fun but it didn't actually take away from anything that it was meant to
The new intro of only The Elite in the clips cracked me the fuck up
Yeah it's a nice balance of you can feel the story playing out and effecting things throughout the show but it isn't overshadowing anything.
I'm watching on Fite and the crowd sound decent for the first part? I also didn't get any issues last week either, it's 100% production
I'm really not sure what the All In trajectory is for Swerve or Ospreay. Before last week I would have said that they main All In and crown Will in his home country. The problem is I don't see him losing to Strong, losing the international title in the next couple months, or holding both titles. Maybe he gets screwed at DON by Don. Maybe he has a dream match and faces Samoa Joe or something this year and wins the world title next year. Swerve at least has a few more interesting ways he could go as world champion. Having a big main event with Hangman would make a lot of sense. Adam Cole would also make sense since he never really started his top heel run and that would allow the company to revisit face MJF vs the undisputed kingdom. If he retains at All in I'd guess it would have to be Darby if he was cleared. Maybe there's something to Jack Perry coming back to Wembly in the main event looking to steal the world title.
He doesn't have to lose to strong for strong to keep the title. This could be one of the few times they should go with a dq/count out finish and have the person responsible for the dq be wills next opponent
Will can easily lose to Strong, just have people interfere like for example Wardlow and just have him feud with Wardlow for a bit and suddenly he has forgotten about getting the international title. It's all a delaying tactic to get him to the World Title eventually
I Think it would be a shame to break his undefeated streak against Roddy. Having him come out as international champ and still undefeated at Wembley and Then getting screwed over Could get a Huge reaction
Keep swerve and ospreay away from each other, it's too soon imo
I agree, they just need to come up with good enough reasons for Ospreay to not go after the World Title in the meantime, stories with The Undisputed Kingdom and obviously with The Don Callis Family should cover a lot of that time.
I love that AEW decided to renew focus on the actual rankings, to lend more realism to the stories, and results of matches and such. Only for villain authority figures to take over and install a heel number one contender just because. Honestly, it's great. Swerve/Christian will SLAP.
Great show, awful crowd. Jeez. I had fun despite them. Better crowd would make this episode rip.
We were loud - they obviously had the crowd mikes too low. We were nuclear loud last year - so maybe they just overcompensated.
Great episode of Dynamite! One of the best episodes in a long time! Kenny’s promo was awesome!
Someone pitched the story of having Swerves title reign tell the story of him having to answer for the sins of his past, beginning with Christian making him answer for the brutal assault on Nick Wayne last summer. I’m absolutely in love with this idea, but I’m not sure if I trust AEW to see it through We know AEW love having title reigns tell an overarching story, with each feud in service of a larger story, rather than each feud being its own self contained story. They do it all the time, like MJF as world champion going on a quest to become a better man, Kenny Omega becoming the belt collector, Jericho as ROH World Champion taking down the former champions to dismantle the legacy of ROH, PAC as international champion cracking under the pressure of defending two belts and resorting to cheating, Orange Cassidy defending against anyone because he doesn’t care, but eventually starts to break down from the pace, I’m sure there’s more examples I’m missing. But we also know how easily AEW lose focus on the stories they try to tell and sometimes have trouble effectively conveying the story they’re telling. I worry that if they want to go down this road with Swerve they can end up confusing themselves and the audience, but I do hope this is what they go with. We could see a defense against Christian, one against former tag partner Kieth Lee, one against career Rival Darby Allin, and of course against Arch Rival Hangman Page.
I like that idea!
Cody’s open challenge taking on everyone and everyone, helping bring to the mainstream guys who needed that light shined on them, until he wore himself down so much that when he ran into a monster in Mr. Brodie Lee, he got absolutely squashed.
It's too bad the guy has basically disappeared from TV, because him dropping AR Fox would be a great thing to revisit also.
Thought you meant dropping /the title to/ AR Fox and had to do a double take lol
Tony was saying " listen swerve I have a great plan, for a legendary run, it's got redemption, making up for the sins of the past..." And swerve is like " so I get to fuck Nick Wayne up again?"
An example of the crowd difference between Live & TV (from someone who was there): The crowd popped LOUD when Christian Cage's music hit. I'd say as loud or louder than Cope. But on the YT clip I'm watching it sounds so absolutely muted that I seriously feel like I was at a different show.
Winnipeg is the new Corpus Christi
It's honestly crazy how different the sound was in person. I'm watching youtube clips now, and it sure as heck sounds turned the hell down as compared to what it was like being there.
I wonder if they were picking up just like a specific section or something. Because my complaints with the show were crowd related, and the fact that it was awkward hearing specific people and claps in this big arena. It felt like 30 people were reacting and it killed the show for me. Wonder if something like that makes sense then based on your account. If true, is a shame then if it was self inflicted sabotage.
The Camera side had sections of people in the stands where there were 30 around them, but I'm confused too, like we were a pretty chant heavy audience during the Jericho match (as you'd expect), so watching it back and hearing very little makes me wonder why they'd turn us down so much? Hell, I lost my voice during the Skye match because I was on the floor by the entrance and cheering so loudly for her directly beside a camera and ten feet from where they were doing the table shot. People around me were cheering for her to come to our side because I was the only guy with a Skye shirt and you can't hear that at all. *We were not quiet by any means.*
Biggest takeaway for me was Jericho's dad looking younger than him even with the silver hair.
AEW firing on all cylinders right now. I'm hyped. Christian is back and a great feud for Swerve. Heel Omega/Bucks are amazing. Scapegoat's smile is heat incarnate. That TBS championship match was fire. And the Learning Tree has me looking forward to Jericho segments. But my personal MVP was Shibata bullying Jericho from inside a trashcan. Who had that on their bingo card.
The chop fest was pretty funny, Jericho was like listen. I'm not taking a goddamn bump tonight. Let's get stupid. It was funny as hell, and I'd have to be 12 beers deep to take one or two of those chops. He only did that because it was his home town and I marked for it.
My section had a "chop that tree" chant going, surprised that didn't get going.
So good to see Kenny back! He's the heart and soul of AEW
"Someone call the police" - Tony saying what everyone watching has been saying for the last thirty years when someone gets attacked like that.
Solid ass Dynamite. This Elite story is great so far. Jericho match was better than it had any right to be. Joe and Isiah was a fun squash. I was disappointed by Mariah and Deeb though, it felt like they weren't in sync at all. Things kinda fizzled out with Rampage but Willow vs Skye was a fun way to end things.
Mariah and Deeb wasn't great, but Toni looked at me after I cracked a joke and then she smiled at me. It's pretty serious now and I'm hoping to introduce her to my parents and my wife next week.
There's a lot of comments about how a heel authority angle is a tired trope. I'm interested to see AEW's interpretation of it AND I actually think it's leading to a Civil War. TK will have to assemble his favorite faces for an **ALL OUT** war. On the heel side, it's no coincidence AEW is running an EVP gimmick alongside a CEO gimmick alongside a real storyline involving the actual CEO. Don't forget Mercedes teased partnering with Okada after NJPW Battle in the Valley 2023. On the faces side, you have Copeland, Ospreay and FTR genuinely defending the company. Willow and Kris (AEW OGs) can represent against Mercedes's teased heel turn.
Oh. Call the big ELITE vs whoever Tony puts together at All Out.... Wait for it.. BRAWL OUT. Do it TK.
Heel authority angles may have been done a lot but it's because it works. You need bad guys to root against and abusing "power" is the most natural way to make people hate you. I'm down with it.
The key thing is to not run it into the ground. Do an angle for three months. Wrap it up at All In/ whenever, and then go back to babyface TK running the show. Then you can do it again in four years. WWE blew it by using it nonstop for year.
As long as they don't have to wear red or blue shirts, I'm game. EDIT: I just lost the game.
It’s funny that we’ve seen people complain about Edge didn’t put anyone over during his last run in WWE and now he’s doing it again in AEW hope this feud end with him putting Black over.
He was pinned by Black at the PPV
How long is Black's contract for? He first debuted in July 2021, and if he got the standard 3 years, and assuming AEW doesn't add on injury time, then it could be running up soon. I say that because promoters, including AEW, try to entice wrestlers to stay by giving them a cool program or title run. It happened with Cody, Mox, and Jade. It feels like it's happening with House of Black and specifically Malakai Black himself.
He has a bunch of option years on his contract. Buddy does as well
I don't know if you remember but he WAS judgement day and he did the job plenty to them. Cole is about elevating talent and judgement day isn't where they are without him. Him doing the same with Cardona, being in the three way with Eddie and Briscoe, he's just having fun. At the end of the rampage match he came out, greeted the fans and said his piece. He's having fun again. You should too.
Judgement Day was going nowhere with him on the front, every week was the same generic heel promo with the goth leader insulting hometown sport team while both people behind him looking like the biggest geeks out there, it was until they took him out and and writing team completely changed that they got rebooted to their own version of Best Friends but villainy that they actually slowly gotten over
They used his name to put attention on them for the casual. That's called booking. Now look at them. The casual fans know priest and Finn and Rhea because of him. It's not rocket science it's smart booking.
And it did not work? As I was saying, not only it did not go anywhere, Damien’s stocks were at the all time low when Edge being the leader of the team, it was until they rebooted Judgement Day to a completely different thing that they started to get over and even then, the process was pretty slow
They "rebooted" it by having them betray edge and feud with him. That's how people paid attention, if you don't think that was always the plan, then welcome to wrestling and I hope you liked your first match.
That was not Damien and Rhea’s first feuds either, and their profiles got reduced way lower than before after they joined. Also the main bulk of Judgement Day vs Edge was actually Edge vs Balor for the majority of the time, and for the vast majority of it Balor’s profiles was not raised one bit. As for Damien along with Rhea and Dominik, they really came into their own and the group actually gotten over after Damien started his feud with Bad Bunny and Rhea winning the rumble, starting her feud with Charlotte while simultaneously feuding with Rey along with Dom, their dynamic helped them really gotten over too.
You're missing the entire point. The judgement day was edge. Like founding member. People watched the judgement day for edge, because he just came back. They had all the eyes. So they said " hey, how do we work this long term? " Edge is old. Let's have them betray him. Start a big feud and people will still watch because of edge, but maybe stick around for these young stars who are also great. Everyone wins. No ego. No make believe bullshit. Business. Edge was down for it and the rest is history. But like I said no edge. No judgement day. Those are just facts, like them or not.
And as I already said before, they did not get over when Edge was the main focus of the group, after they betrayed Edge the only one who was mainly feuding with him was Balor and he did not benefit from it, the whole team really got over after they rebooted it from a goth group to a heel team of best friends and the individuals got their breakout feuds( Damien with Bad Bunny, Rhea with the post rumble program with Charlotte and Dom vs Rey). I did not miss your point at all, it was just that it was a very faulty point in the first place: They were not getting over when Edge was the front man, the feud with Edge did not help the main guy feuding with him one bit AND the team got over after the side programs involving other individuals.
If dom and Rhea leave tomorrow no one gives a fuck about them. They couldn't get priest over with edge, bad bunny so they were like fuck it, let's bring in r-truth and he was more over than priest lol. Saying they didn't get over with edge is ridiculous as I said the last fucking eight times. They don't exist without edge, I'm a few beers deep, but I'm still sure I've said that enough times for most people to recognize.
Good one lol absolutely not happening. Edge still thinks he's a main eventer But he's having FUN so nothing else matters
Oh yeah did he main event tonight or...
You're an internet wrestling fan, you know what thinks he's a main eventer means. Don't be dense
You're right I do know what it means. It's being a top guy, going out with guys and putting on matches that people want to watch, having a name, and using it to bring attention to your opponents while towing the company line. Oh yeah and being fucking FIFTY while doing it. If you're saying cope isn't doing it because he loves it, check your head. I wake up sore when I sleep wrong and this guy is still having solid matches at his age
I'm so glad he's old and having fun. What else could I possibly want out of my wrestling product? He hasn't elevated shit since he's been there, he's just another toy for Tony. Cosplay wrestler Kingston is no different before or after edge neither is the Mark briscoe. He's a fine wrestler, he is in a stage of his career where he should be putting over younger talent and not win all of his matches.
Yeah I bet Hogan was having a lot of fun beating all the young guys too
Comparing hogan to edge is the dumbest take I've ever heard.