AEW Fight For The Fallen

[King of Hamptons]

The problem I have with AEW so far is that they try and treat everyone as equals. You need top level guys.. Mid cards and lower talent. They tru and make everyone equal it doesn't really work for me! 

I still dont get Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks! From hearing there the most amazing wrestlers in the world.. I just don't see it! 

[gmoney]

Omega has been decidedly lukewarm I think. I was never going to like they Young Bucks, but I've really liked a lot of Omega matches in China, but he's not stood out to me at all on the 3 shows. 

Edited July 14, 2019 by gmoney

[Snitsky's back acne]

Have to agree with what has been said - the venue looked the absolute dogs.
 

[Seratonin]

Honestly I liked the show. Lessons learnt but still some gaps they need to cover. I don't get why the babyfaces lost so much tbh, gotta give the crowd someone to believe in they've got behind. Allin losing clean so easily to Shane after drawing to Cody last show, and Riho taking a pin were disappointing. MJF and Lucha Bros seem to stand out as their top talent who have something about them and who I want to see again. Still find Page utterly boring but Omega was actually OK to watch.

Gotta love also Janela making a comment about Cornette during the match. 😄

Edited July 14, 2019 by Seratonin

[Sonny Mustang]

I was at the show. Venue was amazing (if a little warm) and the whole thing was tremendous fun- not a bad seat in the house.

Show flew by, which is always a good sign, thought most of the matches were decent aside from the ones already mentioned. 

Fun night! 

[Mattyc]

2 hours ago, Doog said:

Did anyone have any problems with this through Fite? First time I’ve tried to watch something on there and it just keeps cutting off every couple of minutes, awful service.

I'm not sure if my experiences relate to your issue, but just in case.

I watched the show live last night via Macbook. It played fine throughout. 

When I tried to watch the replay back on Xbox today, the stream had constant sound and sync issues from the outset. The replay for Fyter Fest played fine on Xbox, so I found this odd. I tried the replay on the Mac (the same Mac that played the show fine when live) and the same audio/sync issues were being encountered. 

From looking at Twitter it seems that others are having the same issue with the replay. Fite themselves have acknowledged the issue and say that a fixed version is coming. 

 

Edited July 14, 2019 by Mattyc

[MPDTT]

Just finished watching Fight for the Falen - what a weekend of Wrestling with the 2 G1 shows and FFTF!

I loved this show - up until the main event - which left me flat. All four men worked hard, but The Bucks are at their best in a fast paced match and this one just didn't seem to get out of first gear. The crowd seemed quiet for it also. But the closing promo was excellent.

The venue looked great, as everyone has said.

Great to see Bea Priestley finally debut

Loved the 6 man opener - and Jimmy Havoc looked good in this one in my view. Shawn Spears looked like a star

Luchasaurus looked like a star and The Dark Order going over was the right call - Marko Stunt's involvement wasn't needed

Adam page and Kip Sabian was good and Kip came off well, despite losing

I thought the work to build Hangman / Jeriicho was well done

Brandi / Allie was shit

SCU v Lucha Brothers was fantastic

Kenny Omega / Cima was my MOTN and told a great story.

 

I like the long matches and hope they are here to stay - 6 matches going over 15 minutes gives the talent to go out and show what they can do and tell a good story. I'm surprised they have no more events until All Out - one more show in between could keep momentum going - its a long gap.

 

 

 

[Bellenda Carlisle]

Uno is great, I'd wear a T-shirt with him on it, finally a weird fat fuck for me to root for.

[BomberPat]

On 7/13/2019 at 10:35 PM, Merzbow said:

Yamantaka Eye bulldozed the venue he was playing in at the time, I think he's a bit cooler than GG.

Yeah, but Eye's cooler than pretty much everyone.

 

A decent show, but at a time when AEW really need every show to be great. It felt amateurish in ways that the previous shows haven't.

• Sonny Kiss is great, in that everything he does feels unique and informed by his character. He stands out as someone wrestling his own match, similar to Darby Allin in that respect, rather than an identikit Indie Wrestler. Peter Avalon, meanwhile, is emphatically not that. Hated Avalon hitting the Finlay Roll/Kamikaze Crash into a missed Moonsault, when Omega did the exact same spot in his match, and it's a regularly used Young Bucks spot. The show also featured something like three Death Valley Drivers in four matches. Giving wrestlers more freedom than in WWE is great, but they need someone agenting these matches to stop them reusing spots and big moves.
   
• The women's tag was a bit of a shambles, which I'm guessing was down to Britt getting concussed, though the general presence of Bea Priestley (and her unintentionally hilarious super spooky entrance graphics) certainly didn't help. I love Shoko Nakajima and the Big Kaiju gimmick - like a hybrid of Kris Wolf, old-school STARDOM name Natsuki*Taiyo, and Princess Mononoke - but it wasn't a good showing for her. Didn't like how the announcers kept telling us that Bea and Britt hate each other, without giving any reason or backstory - show, don't tell, lads.
   
• I don't like Darby Allin going from a star-making performance against Cody to being thrown into a "but can they co-exist?!" six-man where the focus is all on the other side, just a failure to capitalise on that momentum. I also don't like them doing "can they co-exist" for a heel team anyway - if one member of the team were to fuck over the others, I'd have no sympathy, as they're all pricks anyway. And then the babyfaces look a bit useless when they lose, because they were the more coherent team but lost to the three who can't get on. The whole match felt like a holding pattern, and hopefully we'll get less of this sort of thing on big shows once TV starts. The Shawn Spears push still feels very TNA, in taking a WWE also-ran and stubbornly insisting he's a top star. Jimmy Havoc got an interesting run in this match, showcasing his technical skills rather than focusing on the deathmatch side of things, and looking to set up a match with Darby Allin, which could be a lot of fun. I'm a fan of Jimmy's, but fucking hell, from the look on his face for half of this match he looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.
   
• Brandi Rhodes should never wrestle. That the pre-show match featured champions of two separate companies, a much-anticipated debut for Britt, and Riho, who's being hyped us as one of the favourites of the division, but it's Brandi who gets the main show and hype package is a bit of a slap in the face. Has anyone without the surname Rhodes got a dramatic hype package yet? I don't know if I'm supposed to take her talking about her anxiety and struggles with confidence as heelish manipulation now (but to what end?), or if she's just flip-flopping from face to heel and back again as much as her husband does. 
  If they're trying to put Awesome Kong over as a monster, it's ridiculous to have Allie completely no-sell her surprise appearance, then voluntarily square up to her. And as much as I love Aja Kong, shifting focus to her does nothing for Allie - why tease conflict between Allie and Awesome Kong just to shift focus to Aja?
   
• I don't like Dark Order just being booked in a match without incident. Going from mysterious "we don't know who they are!" evil outsiders to just wrestling on the show without comment is a narrative leap. Tag match was superb, though, and Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus are absolute breakout stars. Loved seeing them come out with the top babyfaces at the end, as it looks like the company recognise that too. Best match of the night by far. Still no idea why Marko Stunt was there.
  I also don't like Dark Order keeping all the video game references in the names of their moves and whatnot. If they're going to be a spooky evil team, having them goof around with game references takes away from that. And was calling their minions "Creepers" a Minecraft reference too?
   
• Adam Page vs. Kip Sabian was awful. It's a welcome change of pace to have a slower, more methodical match after that tag match, but not with these two. I'm slightly warming to Hangman as a Magnum TA working class hero type, but this match did him no favours, and Sabian is just the epitome of the worst kind of modern indie wrestler - everything's smooth and well executed, but none of it has any heft behind it or feels like it matters, and he thinks, "arrogant with a shoutalong catchphrase" passes for a character. "Takes 20 minutes to beat Kip Sabian" isn't a glowing endorsement of your potential top babyface.
   
• I liked Jericho's promo. Seen a lot of hate for it online, but it sold the match, made you want to see him get beaten up, and put over Hangman as a guy capable of doing it.
   
• Lucha Bros vs. SCU was great, though I prefer both Lucha Bros as singles guys. They bring out their worst habits as a team.
   
• I loved Omega vs. CIMA, and didn't feel it went too long at all. I'd have actually put CIMA over, though. Them trying to make "Omega's on a losing streak!" into an angle to put stakes on this match was daft, but could have actually gone somewhere had he lost. Omega knows that he can be a more compelling character in loss than by winning all the time, and I actually thought CIMA had it with his llave pin right before the finish. When they started brawling on the outside, I thought maybe they'd go with Omega getting too "hardcore" because he had Moxley in his head, and it end up costing him, but nah. 
  As much as I love CIMA, it's disappointing that he's been the face of the OWE partnership, when they should be showcasing the amazing young lads he's been training.
   
• Main event was massively overlong, and dwelling on character notes that the Bucks aren't good enough to carry. The match felt like it was going to kick up into another gear and never quite good. 

[Tamura]

41 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

Has anyone without the surname Rhodes got a dramatic hype package yet?

Yes, Sadie Gibbs on the Double or Nothing pre-show. Despite the fact she wasn't appearing on the show, and still hasn't appeared for AEW despite the fact we're several shows down the line. 
 

I do wish they'd put more hype videos on the pre-shows. For example the last two pre-shows have featured Jim Ross lollygagging his way to the announce booth, that'd be an ideal time to squeeze one in.

[RIDDUM_N_STYLE]

Another good but not quite great show, fills time before All Out. Considering how many years he has behind him and all his past demons, Dustin Rhodes still shows what an incredible wrestler he actually is, the only niggle I have with him is being referred to as ‘The Natural’ while his ring gear and half face paint still has nods to Goldust, I would have liked him to rock the cowboy look he had for that Starrcade house show a couple of years back

The commentary is growing on me but still needs work, I actually though Golden Boy worked better with JR and Excalibur at Fyter Fest because Marvez comes off as really unprepared for live TV

All Out is looking like being a solid line up at the moment

Jericho/Page for the title

Cody/Spears First Blood Rules

Omega/Moxley

Bucks/Lucha Bros in a ladder match

Possibility of either Allie/Aja v Brandi/Awesome Kong or just a straight up battle between the Kongs as well

[Bellenda Carlisle]

I really can't be arsed to see Cody Rhodes and Young Bucks main event their own promotion, never liked any of them, at least HHH has some charisma and good matches. Brandi is terrible as well. The Cheque handing out thing at the end made me gag, I thought it was so tasteless. They should have done it after the show and done a short video about it for social media and to play on the next show.

Loving all the more unusual stuff like jungle boy and other multiple gimmicks and the amazingly different looking staging but I'm looking forward to Mox coming back.

I still think Ryback would be amazing there as well, their top guys are all too wanky or unappealing. 

[Accident Prone]

Honestly, this show has almost put me off watching more wrestling this week (with the fucking G1 going on simultaneously, I ask you!). Thank GOD there's a break until Thursday.

Some of the matches went way too long and the crowd were fried by the main event. With the pre-show, the whole event was way over four hours and matches were going 15+ minutes, and some cases 20+ minutes, when they didn't need to.

I struggled to get through it and so did the crowd. It seems to be a theme with wrestling in general, the whole "more is more" attitude when it comes to show length and quantity of matches.

There wasn't much going on with MJF/Spears in the 6-man, despite all the defenses the announced pairing got. And Brandi Rhodes playing the heel after the video package building her as the face is confusing. Stuff like that isn't 'layers', it's just perplexing. I can also see her being built as an evil authority figure for the women's division and that's a massive turn-off for me.

The 6-man tag and three-way were good though, CIMA/Omega and Lucha Bros/SCU had some fun moments, they've started playing hype vids before matches/and on the pre-show, and the set-up was fantastic, so that's all ticks in boxes. I hope they balance out the timings when they get their TV slot as this show should've been three hours, tops. They won't get away with Page vs Kip Sabian in front of a lukewarm crowd for 19 minutes when they're on TNT and trying to grab other viewers whilst keeping the interest of others.

So that's 2-1 on AEW shows right now, but every promotion has teething problems and off-shows in their early days.

[Liam O'Rourke]

Wanted to write up some thoughts on the show since it took up most of my Sunday...

Pre-show was thankfully tighter than Fyter Fest and seemed focused on either getting people over or progressing things. More talk about the main show matches too which was appreciated.

I like Sonny Kiss, but sometimes his offense is a little too weak. You can see he's green, but the fundamental athleticism is there, and he will be a fun personality to follow. The librarians did better with less mic time. Having them out there and getting cut off is fine. Avalon doing the "You can't escape" was amateurish. Not a bad match, Sonny needs to tighten up the sloppyness.

Riho/Britt Vs. Bea/Nakajima - With the exception of Riho, who looks ace every time, I thought all three of the others looked like the average-poor wrestling you see in WWE women's matches. Britt getting the concussion gives her a pass, because without that I was ready to pan her for an awful showing.

The commentary team is interesting. Marvez was far better in the two man booth than when JR is there. There's just no role for Alex to fall into when JR is there with all his cred, that voice, knowing what to say at the right times, and Excalibur dropping so much knowledge, it leaves Alex without a role. Marvez would make a great pundit to throw to, breaking down the stats and analysing the match beforehand and why guys need to win where his own distinct voice and style can stand out on his own merits. Excalibur needs to stop calling every single move, because it feels like I hear the words like "cabellero" a hundred times a show and it means nothing every time. Ross has a disconnect from the product because there's a lot of times, frankly, where the product is doing things that move away from traditional wrestling logic, and I don't think that's a good thing. Why the fuck was there not a DQ when Marko Stunt and Chris Daniels just start doing moves? If it's because AEW doesn't want to do a DQ, fine, but don't do the spot. If getting involved means automatic ejection, then say that up front, not as we're going along and learning as we go.

Opening six man I actually liked a lot. MJF came off well, Spears worked the match smart and looked like a pro, Sammy Guevara had a great showing (though his nickname is dog shit), and Darby Allin continued to standout. The MJF/Spears conflict wasn't so overpowering that it took over the match, but it was there, it was explained, justified, and everything they did was consistent. MJF will be the third AEW Champion. I didn't even mind Darby eating the pin because they made a point from the beginning of talking about his bad ribs. So long as there is a story told, that's fine with me. Joey Janela comes off more like an indie geek out of his depth every time I see him. Havoc was there.

I really liked Brandi pulling on the heartstrings only to be full of shit and bringing Kong out, until it was clear she was still going to wrestle anyway. They don't need to be wrestling this long, they're not good enough. The staredown of Kongs was something I heard they wanted to do back at Vegas weekend, so was cool to see them execute it, though I don't know how good that match can be in 2019.

Three team tag I dug a lot because Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus are a hit. Marko adds nothing to the team and can piss off. There's room for him as a likeable underdog who never wins in AEW, but he doesn't need to be in this duo. Evans and Angelico are kind of cold to me just because it feels like there's not a lot of personality there, but they're good for some high spots. Dark Order actually looked like a hell of a team at times, though there was some of that "not sure they should be doing that spot" with them where it was almost asking for cheers or doing stuff that felt out of character. They're going to struggle to get over. Already are.

Why in the name of Triple H did Hangman and Sabian have to go so long? It needs to be said, but their idea that Kip Sabian is going to be a big star in the UK is misguided. His promo on the pre-show was lame, there's no real personality there, and no meaning for anything he does in the ring. He's a dime-a-dozen UK indy guy. If he was a heel maybe I'd feel differently, because kissing the fan was the best thing he did all night. Hangman is an interesting test, because a lot of people I know have been waiting to see that main event feel out of Page since DoN, and none of them are sold. This match didn't help. He needed a hot promo and a kickass win to look like he's on a roll. Two faces, no issue, ice cold long match. Didn't get Kip over, and held back Page in the process. The post-match had the makings of a good idea and turned out well thanks to Hangman getting the busted eye, but there wasn't a person on the planet that didn't know it was Jericho apart from the announce team, and there was really no reason for him to be in disguise since it was announced he'd be there, so why do it?

SCU Vs. Lucha Bros. I love the Lucha Bros. I like SCU. At this point the lack of crowd noise was actively hurting the show to me. Looked like there were some miscues in this one that threw Fenix off a little. Ended up good enough, but was a little disappointed in truth. Something about SCU feels incomplete without Daniels in the match. He's the personality of the team. Kazarian has always had that type of "forced" personality that feels like he's trying but it just isn't there. Sky has it a bit more, but not enough to carry the team alone.

Omega and CIMA was a blast, and would have been even better with a hotter crowd. First third of the match felt like a bunch of pointless stuff, which with the length of the show and the cold crowd really stood out. But by God, they got them by the end, CIMA worked his nads off and Kenny took a pasting, Kenny (and the show) needed a match like this and got it.

Jericho being out there this late, with the crowd this cold, was a misstep. He worked hard to be a heel, but the only energy the fans had wasn't to play along any more. Hangman out to do a pull-apart, 101 stuff that felt like it missed just because the crowd wasn't hot enough at this stage.

And your main event. Way too long. Read the room. This show ended up at 3 and a half hours. If the Brandi match was short, if the three way tag had a little time cut, Hangman beat Kip in 8 hot minutes, maybe you could chance the long match.

One thing about AEW shows I'm concerned about is that, stylistically, everybody crams so much shit in every match that its overload, and you become numb by the end. Certainly felt it on this show. The double figure-four/copycat move stuff should have been a hit and could have torn a different house down, but I felt worn just watching the show at this point, let alone the fans live, who may as well have been at a funeral for the heat this got in long stretches. Maybe in a different setting this match would have had incredible heat. But it didn't, and they insisted on the long match anyway.

In all, I liked the show because, underneath the execution issues, the funadmental booking they don't overcomplicate, and everything makes sense. Sonny wins because he's somebody to watch. We start something with Britt and Priestley. Spears gets the win because he's got the Cody match and MJF gets to progress himself. Brandi was there to set up a bigger match with the Kongs. We set up Dark Order and Best Friends as a payoff to the DoN angle. Hangman wins, Jericho and him fight to build that match. Kenny wins because after losing the first main event he needs to go on a run. He doesn't need a losing streak, he's a top guy in the making to a new audience - he lost one big match, he doesn't lose to just anybody, he lost to the first champion. Lucha Bros win because they have a big match with the Bucks coming up, and the Bucks win because they're the team to beat. Funadmentally, there is a lot right with what they are doing, and that fills me with more confidence in the long-term because execution is something they can learn from and refine, as much as everybody, including me, wants it to be perfect from the off.

All Out is a huge test. It will be good to have the entire roster together again to feel the chemistry that was so strong at Double or Nothing, because that was a great mix. I like to really see them focus on Hangman's quest in the build-up. Maybe have him talking to the guys they like to do cameos like Bret, maybe Foley, maybe Flair, on what it takes to be a World Champion. Maybe have him talk to Arn and have Arn talk about never being a champion himself, but knowing what it took to be one and seeing it in Hangman. Jericho can just shit-talk the way he is and he's fine, but make a big push for Hangman's journey, make it a heartbreaking defeat so we want to see him get it one day and he has to go off for a while and capture the missing ingredient. 

Edited July 15, 2019 by Liam O'Rourke

[Seratonin]

Genuinely scared of Pentagon JR. Such a strange, intimidating guy, great wrestler too.

Dark Order's gimmick is like a Chikara team, minus the charm.

Edited July 15, 2019 by Seratonin