The AEW Wednesday Night Dynamite Thread

[TildeGuy~!]

3 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

I will say I found the commentary in the Omega/Page match very distracting. The four men on the booth didn’t work well together and I didn’t think Callis was either good or served a purpose. 

Callis is a great commentator in a 2 but yea there wasn’t much point of him being there, Excalibur asking Don a question whilst Page and Omega were catching a breather before interrupting him within seconds seemed to be a regular occurrence. 

[Supremo]

The most distracting thing about the four-man commentary team in the opener was how Don Callis was effortlessly exposing Jim Ross throughout. More knowledgeable, more invested, better instincts, better insight, less snarky, no shitty comments. I’d happily swap Callis for JR forever.

There was a moment in the Tag Title match where JR was the most JR he’s ever been. Excalibur made a completely innocuous call about someone leaning back on a Sharpshooter and Jim shouts, “I KNOW HE SITS BACK! I CAN SEE THAT!” Followed by dead silence. Fuck off Jim, yeah? Imagine working with this prick. I’d spend the whole show wanting to knock him out.

Omega vs. Page, Darby vs. Cody and the Tag Title match were all fantastic and well worth the PPV price. Omega vs. Page in particular was absolutely perfect in delivering a brilliant match but also clearly holding back for the eventual rematch for the AEW Title next Summer. Come on Hangman! Get your life together and get that belt!

Page subtly standing in the tunnels after The Bucks won and were celebrating with Kenny was awesome too! What a tragic figure! This company are great at the little things like that.

Elite Deletion was the weirdest match of all time. The tone was all over the place. At times it’s was a good laugh, with Gangrel and Hurricane goofing about or when they were just shooting fireworks at each other. But then that final stretch was dark as fuck. Who’s idea was it to culminate the non-canon comedy match by doing a greatest hits section where they recreate all of their dangerous, botched spots from the last few months? Hard to still be smiling when Sammy’s supposedly bleeding from the back of his head or getting his head smashed in with a chair.

There were a million ways they could’ve killed Sammy in a funny, light-hearted way. He could’ve been ran over by a giant golf cart and burst into dust. Or thrown into a rocket and shot into space. Or maybe Gangrel eats him like a family bag of Cheese and Onion. Deciding to just violently, brutally murder Sammy on-screen was a real buzz kill. Matt Hardy is the worst signing they’ve made all year. The one positive about him was the Broken Universe but he’s completely lost whatever charm that used to have.

Mox and Kingston wasn’t for me. I don’t know if it’s an age thing or if I’ve just seen that type of thing too many times. I often wonder if the Foley matches that used tacks and barbed wire would have the same effect on me if they happened now. At the time I loved them, but I think I’d hate them in 2020. It kills my interest and just makes me feel a bit sick and sorry for the guys involved. Not that anything was ever going to match the quality of the promos leading up to it, obviously, but torture porn matches turn me off completely, meaning this was a non-starter.

I wasn’t a big fan of the Larry Sweeney stuff, either. Where the fuck did that come from? I know he meant a lot to everyone, but really? Nothing makes a wrestling show enjoyable quite like being reminded of a poor lad who hung himself from a ring post. Plus, this storyline was phenomenal already. Did we really need to incorporate a legitimate suicide to prop it up? We wouldn’t let WWE get away with it so AEW shouldn’t be judged any differently.

It does raise a good discussion point though. From what little I saw of him, Larry Sweeney would be the biggest star in the world if he was still around and had NXT and AEW looking for that type of talent.

Definitely a thumbs up show overall. I can’t wait for MJF’s coup of the Inner Circle.

Edited November 8, 2020 by Supremo

[Yakashi]

Loved the show. Bit bored of Mox now so looking forward to Kenny beating him. Him and Page were tremendous as expected. Tags was fantastic. I can’t take Darby seriously so that match did nothing for me. I like Shida I guess but she’s very bland. I’d take bad matches with Britt over good matches with the characterless Shida/Riho. Hardy match was all over the place as said elsewhere but, as with a lot of wrestling these days, if you just accept it’s all bullshit it can be a lot of fun as long as you don’t try and have it make sense in your head. When the first spot was Sammy doing a back flip for no reason other than to do a flip I thought I was going to hate it but they got me back.
 

You can pretty match guarantee every AEW show is going to be worth your £0-20. 

[Nick James]

Nothing for me reached the heights of Omega / Page. It's not very often these days that I can fully invest in a match from start to finish and not take my eyes off it, but those two delivered. Hangman looked brilliant in this match, still find the sweeping girls awkward though. I'd never seen Kenny Omega outside of AEW, but this was the best I've seen him. The two just gelled very well together. 

I enjoyed the final spot of the tag, with Cash busting out a 450 after all the no flips stuff, this was a good way to end the match with him getting cocky. I've always found Matt Jackson to be such an unlikeable prick, but I genuinely think he could be a tremendous singles baby-face. 

I've lost complete interest in Cody. Him and his pointless entourage can do one for a while for me. I had to chuckle when I believe yesterday or the day before he said he wasn't going to use the Rhodes name in his wrestling character and it didn't even last a week. Just Cody sounded daft though so glad he could work it out with WWE. If he hadn't lost the title here, it would have looked abit dodgy in the EVP department with the Bucks and Omega going over as well. 

Private Party are absolutely terrible. Even in a pretaped match, their kicks look like they completely miss every time. The one with the tails on his coat (quen?) is a lot worse than the other one. The deletion match was not for me at all. Outside of Helms popping back up as the reporter, I just found it a step too far. I'd be happy to never see the Delete gimmick again.

Serena Deeb Vs Allysin Kaye on the buy in was a brilliant little match that should have been on the main show. 

The backstage segment with Best Friends and Kip / Miro was very clunky in that it felt like no one involved believed in what they were saying. Trent sounded bored.

They hyped the Tay Conti Vs Red Velvet match quite a bit, I noticed Brandi is involved in that one so can see why. 

Mox and Kingston just wasn't for me in the slightest. I've never been in to the deathmatch stuff so as soon as the barbed wire came out I skipped forward a few times, each time I stopped there was another variation of barbed wire, but with drawing pins stuck in Moxleys head.

All in all, a very good show with a few down points. AEW definitely tip the balance in favour of more brilliant to ok stuff than duds and that's all you can ask from a wresting show.

[Snitsky's back acne]

Problem with the deathmatch stuff is it's been done to, erm, death and everyone and their mother has taken a thumbtacks bump or been hit with a barbed wire baseball bat over the past 20 years so it's just become 'm'eh'.


 

[RedRooster]

24 minutes ago, Nick James said:

I've lost complete interest in Cody. Him and his pointless entourage can do one for a while for me. I had to chuckle when I believe yesterday or the day before he said he wasn't going to use the Rhodes name in his wrestling character and it didn't even last a week.

As far as the name thing goes, I would take it in the same way as Miri announcing his retirement before returning a few weeks later. It’s that thing they do in wrestling where they say ‘don’t look forward to this’, before a short while later going ‘aha, gotcha!’ 

I like Cody, but I’m with you on the entourage. It’s essentially a collection of people I don’t want to see and Dustin. And even Dustin, I want to see him less than I should because of his association with QT Marshall.

On the subject of QT, his feud with Butcher/Blade gets far less criticism than it should. He went after another man’s wife who then left him to return to her husband and it turns out to have been a ruse. And we’re supposed to have sympathy for him? If Allie was getting mistreated by Blade that would be one thing, or if it was established as a toxic relationship but there was none of that.

I have no interest in the Bunkhouse match, but I do have interest In seeing Dustin have one last singles run. Dustin going in for his first world title is a storyline they really ought to do at some point, and Dustin/Cody II is an absolute no-brainer. The mic work in a Dustin/Kingston feud could also be killer.

They just need to break up that shitty entourage then end that even shittier tag team.

[The King Of Swing]

I thought the main event was actually pretty tame considering how it was built. Decent brawl with a few generic death match spots.

Seen worse, seen better. 

Really good show overall. 

Edit. 

Yeah the Allie/Bunny stuff is rubbish and I'm happy it looks to be blown off on Dynamite.

Edited November 8, 2020 by The King Of Swing

[LaGoosh]

Not an all time classic show with no all time classic matches or anything but very satisfying and felt worth the £20. I was pleased with the results of all the matches and I'm excited to see what's next so job done.

Edited November 8, 2020 by LaGoosh

[MPDTT]

I love those occasions when you get a NJPW event at the start of the day and an AEW event at the end of the day.

Despite struggling to stay awake, I loved Full Gear - that was my favourite event of the year and probably my favourite AEW PPV since the first Double or Nothing.

Omega has abviously had his critics in AEW, but I'd put 3 of his matches in my shortlist for MOTY candidates - the iron man match with PAC on Dynamite in February, the tag classic with Page and the Young Bucks at Revolution and now this corker with Page at Full Gear. Where does Page go from here? Asuming Omega dethrones Moxley, I don't see Page challenging Omega until a year from now - so plenty of time to play out a decline and redemption story.

FTR v The Young Bucks was everything I hoped it would be - that flew by, lived up to the hype and told a great story and that well crafted ending definitely leaves room for a return match - which I hope they don't pull the trigger on for a while.

Darby / Cody outcome surprised me - I didn't see a switch coming, but its about time Cody did something that doesn't revolve around the TNT title (hopefully as a heel) and Darby Allin needs a boost right now.

John Silver has to be in the running for 'rookie of the year'.

I agree with an earlier comment that Jericho / MJF was what it needed to be to progress a story. I've never been that invested in MJF, but if it leads to a betrayal & face turn for Jericho then I'm all for it - the AEW fans really want to chear for Jericho.

I hope that is the final Deletion match - I'm sick of it too. But the whole fued has ultimately elevated Sammy Guevara and he now should move on to something bigger. Hardy's "opposition in the mud, you love to see it" comment together with his "long term story telling" quib with Hurricane both had be laughing.

I'm not really invested in womens wrestling, but Hikaru Shida / Nyla Rose held my attention and over delivered. Loved the finishing sequence with Shida looking like an absolute badass when pulling Rose up on the one count, the sadistic grin followed by those vicious kicks or knees - whatever it was.

I liked the main event - I know the hardcore stuff isn't for everyone, but it was certainly more restrained than the Omega / Moxley match from a year ago. As the match progressed, I thought a switch was increasingy likely - to create a "moment" and provide a stop-gap champion for Omega to beat at Revolution, Still, I'm fine with the outcome as we get Moxley / Omega 2 and the continuation of a story line that started on AEW's first show.  

£16 well spent.

Edited November 8, 2020 by MPDTT

[Just Some Guy]

Really enjoyed my near 4hrs with the show this morning.

Thought Hangman vs Omega & Young Bucks vs FTR matches were superb and as already pointed out, Hangman hiding on the set after the tag match said so much.

Surprised that Shida held onto the belt but guess it's easier to transition the title to Baker.

Enjoyed the Deletion match more than others seemed to. Dicking around with fireworks isn't big or clever but was very funny. Who is Benjamin who got a big pop driving the truck?

Main event was a passable brawl but thumb tacks are icky. Could see Kingston turn face after that. I genuinely felt sorry for him.

[MPDTT]

1 minute ago, Just Some Guy said:

Really enjoyed my near 4hrs with the show this morning.

Thought Hangman vs Omega & Young Bucks vs FTR matches were superb and as already pointed out, Hangman hiding on the set after the tag match said so much.

Surprised that Shida held onto the belt but guess it's easier to transition the title to Baker.

Enjoyed the Deletion match more than others seemed to. Dicking around with fireworks isn't big or clever but was very funny. Who is Benjamin who got a big pop driving the truck?

Main event was a passable brawl but thumb tacks are icky. Could see Kingston turn face after that. I genuinely felt sorry for him.

Senor Benjamin featured heavily in the Broken Universe matches in Impact wrestling.

[The King Of Swing]

Cassidy Vs. Silver was a joy to watch if only for Silver's reactions. 

Took a shit during Jericho Vs. MJF and missed most of the match including the finish.

So what's the NWA's current status?

Thunder Rosa recently left correct? So I'm guessing she's now signed with AEW and the commentators made a deal out of Allysin Kay being freelance. 

[Jackpot]

Omega v Page was every bit as good as you'd expect it to be as a one-off match. Their actual "feud" though hasn't had any sort of meat behind it in my opinion. They were tag champs, then they weren't, Omega wanted to be a singles wrestler, Hangman thought they were still a team, and that was that. Other than a few snide remarks on commentary from Omega during Page's matches weeks ago, the interactions have been minimal. What happens now with Page will be interesting, while Kenny has a clear path to what he's doing next.

Cassidy and Silver was again every bit as good as you'd expect from two of the best comedic wrestlers they have. Unfortunately though, it's not going to be remembered by many after the actual event. Silver remains one of the best untapped talents they have and Cassidy continues to impress when he gets the chance. 

Cody and Allin was again a good one-off match but if you've watched most of Cody's defences of the TNT Title it was everything we've seen before only this time he eventually loses. He gets cocky, Arn gets a cob on, he shows signs of turning heel. Maybe this loss will eventually piss Arn off enough to berate Cody, who in turn lays Arn out and actually turns heel. And while I'm chuffed Cody lost, the prospect of Darby running with the TNT Title doesn't delight me. After a couple of weeks, his matches of being twatted for 95% of the match only to ultimately win as the underdog will become tiresome. The interactions between Starks and Cage over the TNT Title was more appealing. As is where Will Hobbs finally turning on Darby. 

Shida and Nyla Rose was every bit as bland as you'd expect given the lack of interest the company has in it's own division. Also when they do care about the division, it's normally how big and dominant Rose is only for her to lose. And then getting humiliated by Guerrero. Shida is good on the eye and is a good champion but with no backing from the company to make her or the division any more than that then she's got no chance of becoming anything more than that. And as much as they (and most on here) seem to love Britt Baker, I don't see her changing much for the women of AEW because every feud will be one sided as no other woman on the roster has a character.

Tag match would have been class if it wasn't billed as the two best tag teams in the world. The best tag team in the world going into the match was FTR because they had the belts yet they couldn't beat a team who had a man injured from the start. They couldn't beat a team who had a man so injured he couldn't even stand on his injured leg by the end of the match yet he wins by kicking the uninjured member of FTR with his bad foot. I just thought this match and entire run in AEW has been shit for FTR. They can't win without Tully, they can't beat a team who are carrying an injury, the whole "old-skool" gimmick is shit. I get the "no flips just fist" so they ultimately lose by doing a flip makes some sort of sense but it just seemed so fucking stupid at the same time. And going into the match the Young Bucks have been pricks to anyone and everyone yet they wrestle this match as the gutsy babyfaces who we're supposed to be behind. Shit feud with a shit ending. It seemed they were just desperate to get to this "dream match" that they didn't think anything had to make sense. 

Hardy and Sammy was the sort of shit these matches always are. Some funny spots, some shake your head in disbelief spots. Hurricane Helms and Gangrel turning up were nice little touches but up until that point did anybody know Gangrel trained Sammy? Also JR asking if Private Party would even know who Gangrel is when every match he brings up some old-time name that a lot of people aren't going to have heard of. Disappointed to see Sammy lose yet again. I'm guessing the storyline goes that he's out of action for a few weeks then comes back and feuds with Jericho. The angle being that Jericho didn't give a toss about him while he's out because he's got his new mate MJF. Proud and Powerful, who were at Sammy's side and not Jericho's also getting involved leading to a big six man between Sammy, Santana and Ortiz against MJF, Jericho and Wardlow/Hager. And whichever one of the muscle gets left out will cost Jericho & MJF the match.

Jericho and MJF was a good match with probably the best finish of the night. Whether they can continue to keep this storyline going in the right direction is the next question they have to overcome. Wardlow and Hager are obviously going to collide at some point. Wardlow has already shown very subtle signs of getting frustrated with MJF, especially during backstage interviews so he could possibly be turned face although I can't see them tarnishing the legit reputation that Hager is getting with his MMA record. 

Main event got nowhere the near level that the promos promised. I'm not complaining because of how hardcore it was, if anything it wasn't hardcore enough for what they'd said in the lead up. It was the same old spots we've seen for years, including during AEW's very short run as a company. We've seen barbed wire bats being used, we've seen pins being used, we've seen chairs. Considering Eddie said he'd die for the title, it didn't really take anything other than a usual hardcore match to beat him. And they really need to start building main event level stars to make it seem they deserve a title shot. Kingston got one because Archer had covid, Archer got one because he won a battle royal, Omega's got one because he's won a tournament. They're cop out ways to getting a number one contender. Actually build somebody strong and have them chase the title (that needs to happen throughout their championships as well because too often they use a tournament/battle royal to get a number one contender which just ruins any meaning they try and build with the ranking system)

Overall the show was enjoyable enough without any real surprise in the results. And like I've said most matches were good as stand alone matches but given the backstory to a few of them, they didn't quite hit the mark for me.

[RIDDUM_N_STYLE]

1 hour ago, Just Some Guy said:

 

Enjoyed the Deletion match more than others seemed to. Dicking around with fireworks isn't big or clever but was very funny. Who is Benjamin who got a big pop driving the truck?

 

Senor Benjamin, the Hardy Compound gardener better know as Reby’s dad and Matt’s father in law

[Project Nim]

Thoughts on Full Gear -

Omega and Page was a very good opener, that tiger driver looked a tad rough mindyou. Didn’t buy the majority of Shida’s offence against Nyla Rose and the match seemed to go on for weeks.

Initial thought FTR were wearing Elvis in Vegas jumpsuits. Match itself felt a little like they were spamming the finishers button.

JR and Schiavone clearly thought the Elite Deletion was bollocks, it felt like a bit of a retread until the surprise appearance.

My former mother in law would never ask me directly if I wanted a brew and instead would ask my then wife “does he want a brew” I bet Reba was like with Sammy during the filming of this.

In general, it was great to watch an event where there was a number of matches where I believed the outcome to genuinely be in doubt which I have to say hasn’t been the case with recent WWE PPVs I’ve watched. Could do without the in-match selling of games, drinks and books though. 

Edited November 8, 2020 by Project Nim
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