iPumaPants Posted December 19, 2019 Posted December 19, 2019 (edited) Whilst it wasn't the big end-of-year show I hoped for, nothing was particularly offensive, other than the continued lack of match planning around other matches, repetitive suicide dives, and JR being dreadful. Opener was good for what it was. Your standard Lucha Bros match, with the underlying Page story. However, FIVE dives? Really? Wholly unnecessary. Still enjoying the Page slow burn. Hopefully a heel turn will give him some personality. He was good in Japan, but that's more in-ring based, and he's a little exposed in the USA TV presentation, I think. Same with Omega. The ongoing PAC/Omega thing really needs to have a decent payoff. They surely won't stretch it out to Revolution? Maybe a big match at Bash at the Beach? BB(B) are decent. I'd never heard of them before, and commentary did nothing to help, but they've had a good showing. On that note, the stark contrast in "Who are they?" "THE BUTCHER AND THE BLADE" from their debut, and Janela explaining on Dark that Statlander has torn up the indy scene for a couple of years is unreal. Just give us a little something. It just makes me aware that someone knows who they are. Cody and Allin put in a standard weekly offering. Nothing amazing from those guys, but it was good to see Darby back. Two more dives in this one. Still totally unnecessary. Awesome Kong doing Awesome Kong things. Exactly how she should be booked, so nothing to complain about here. I'm still intrigued by the bald guy...Vampiro? I've said it before...if this Nightmare Collective thing keeps Brandi out of the ring, long may it continue. Jericho vs Jungle Boy wasn't exactly the big coming out party I expected for JB. Serving mostly to advance the Luchasauras/Hagar beef, and the Will Mox Join story (let's not get too many of those in at the same time though eh?), it seemed like a bit of a waste of time. 3 minutes in, and Jericho is breaking his own pinfall to "punish" JB more. No, Jericho had JB beat in 3 minutes. The result was what it was, but was then quickly overshadowed by the Nightmare Collective storyline Inner Circle storyline with Moxley. Time filler TV, and it should have been so much more. I won't lie, I mentally switched off during parts of Statlander vs Baker, because Baker is awful. Caught little bits of offense by KS, and it looked good. I expect she'll be champion at the start of 2020. More Nightmare Collective stuff, but is Brandi really the muscle here? Seemed a weird decision to have her attack KS, instead of Kong. Or maybe even the other girl, who could use a bit of time to look somewhat useful to the cause. Reckon the Spears/Tully stuff leads to a Scurll/Harper debut? I kinda hope so. I'd go for Spears as a member of Villain Club, or Harper under Tully's wing. That'd be cool, and it'd give Spears something a bit more interesting to do. Chair-man? Use the chair, ffs. Make the gimmick work. Standard Young Bucks match. Standard SCU match. Really not what I had hoped for, but what can you do? Pleased SCU came away with the titles. The intermittent Dark Order stuff was good, and was obviously leading to a part of the show for DO to shine. And I thought it went well, beating down most of the top faces, and commentary doing one thing right in pointing out the absence of Hangman Page. Initiation of the Jobbers served as a decent set up for further recruitment, and now at least the Dark Order can look somewhat like a threat. Still hoping for a big Ministry style push, with the cult of Dark Order taking darker and darker turns. Edited December 19, 2019 by iPumaPants
Paid Members Accident Prone Posted December 19, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 19, 2019 (edited) AEW getting that level of crowd reaction out of Corpus Christie is fucking miraculous. They were going nuts for the opening tag and were at a decent level for everything else. Very impressive. First Pittsburgh, now Corpus. Those are some good innings. The rest of the show had some decent-good stuff. The opening and closing tags were great, and I really enjoyed the Jericho/Jungle match until the weird ending. Did Jericho lose by count out then? Or forfeit? Or was it even official? Who fucking knows. Is that match gonna count on his record as a draw or a loss? Slapdash behavior. Butcher & The Blade being neutered like that is a bit shit, unless they were playing the Villains Of The Week and won't be seen in AEW for a good few months. They'll probably interfere with Cody vs Allin on the next episode so I hope they play a decent part and get their heat back. Hell, I'm slowly coming around on this Dark Order stuff, but it's mainly because I already have a lot of time for SSB and John Silver (Alex Reynolds is as bland as they come though, almost like an indy Alex Riley). I can totally understand if this doesn't work for anyone, as it does look and feel low-rent what with all the cheapo bodysuits and Uno's middle-management mic work. Also, this Brandi angle is dog shit. Having the women's division revolve around her is an all-time wrestling nepotism case. I think Melzter put it best; "There were a lot of great matches tonight, excellent bouts on both shows. Angles were a different story.". Edited December 19, 2019 by Accident Prone
DavidB6937 Posted December 19, 2019 Posted December 19, 2019 I'm just glad Kris is here to save the womens division. That's been my main issue since they started the weekly shows. Glad they're building towards a better future.
Paid Members TheBurningRed Posted December 19, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 19, 2019 Only taken him two months to do something like this.
Jacko Posted December 19, 2019 Posted December 19, 2019 11 minutes ago, TheBurningRed said: Only taken him two months to do something like this. It’s for the live audience what’s the big deal
Mr Butternut Squash Posted December 19, 2019 Posted December 19, 2019 (edited) Jericho vs Jungle Boy was awesome and everything I'd hoped it'd be. The training montage, sit down interview, working the time limit draw - that was everything I like about AEW. Rest of the show pretty much sucked. The main event finish and the closing angle was probably AEW's biggest misfire so far. The Young Bucks were on the verge of feeling like a special team again and they completely pulled the rug out. For better or worse, the audience clearly see's them as a top-tier team, but the Bucks seem to be doing everything to pretend otherwise and we're left in this unsatisfying nowhere land. SCU aren't over as champions and everyone else has been 50/50-ed. And even worse, after some cool, funny vignettes, they've doubled down on the most bush league aspects of the Dark Order and given them a hamfisted push up the card . You could feel the crowd's dejection as each member of the Elite got laid out by the gimp squad. Unbelievably tone deaf. It's a shame Jericho's words didn't get through. None of these tag matches hit the mark for me. No heat, no emotion, no clear heel/face divide. It's just fifteen minutes of guys trading high spots for the sake of it. Back and forth, 50/50, nobody stands out. It's a chore to sit through after a while. Women's stuff is rubbish. Sloppy, overlong, NJPW tribute matches that just expose how green the the workers are. They have something with Kris Statlander, but just like Emi Sakura, the awful, cutesy, half-baked Chikara-style gimmick is killing her. She literally thinks she's an alien? Christ, get a filter. There's no effort for context or framing this stuff in a way that makes sense within the AEW universe. Then Brandi Rhodes takes a big shit all over the division with her embarrassing, S.E.S/Stephanie McMahon tribute shtick, painfully reciting nonsense to awkward silence and bafflement. This segment was the first time Dynamite genuinely felt like the worst of TNA. As has been said many times they need someone in there with the balls to say no to this stuff. Having the EVPs as bookers and active wrestlers is proving to be a big mistake. I really don't get what audience they're aiming for anymore. And nor do they by the looks of it. Edited December 19, 2019 by Mr Butternut Squash
Paid Members Accident Prone Posted December 19, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 19, 2019 2 hours ago, Jacko said: It’s for the live audience what’s the big deal I'm bookmarking this quote so I can bring it up in 6 months time when Tony Khan is regularly appearing on Dynamite.
Merzbow Posted December 19, 2019 Posted December 19, 2019 I take back saying that I liked those Dark Order videos, the moment they're back in the arena they look and sound like low-rent indie shitarses. There's no way that should be on national TV, let alone in the main event spot.
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted December 19, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 19, 2019 (edited) The fat one out of Dark Order has to be the worst looking main eventer of all time, surely? Shite mask, circles of hair around each tit. Spandex tousers and a fucking biker jacket with the arms cut off to expose his grandmother guns. A bit of calf showing for the lasses, too. This is the worst look I've ever seen in a major angle. Please give me another example to prove me wrong. Edited December 19, 2019 by IANdrewDiceClay
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted December 19, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 19, 2019 19 minutes ago, IANdrewDiceClay said: The fat one out of Dark Order has to be the worst looking main eventer of all time, surely? Shite mask, circles of air around each tit. Spandex tousers and a fucking biker jacket with the arms cut off to expose his grandmother guns. A bit of calf showing for the lasses, too. This is the worst look I've ever seen in a major angle. Please give me another example to prove me wrong.
WyattSheepMask Posted December 19, 2019 Posted December 19, 2019 Jungle Boy v Jericho was really good, only let down by the weird way it all ended. Apparently Justin Roberts can restart matches now, and then Jericho just fucked off anyway. That Tag main event felt rushed as hell, had they not had the second Brandi Rhodes segment they’d have had a little more time and maybe it would’ve flowed a bit better and you’d still have time for the angle at the end. Did they really being Riho in just to sit in the crowd (which was shown for all of 3 seconds)? Or was there she there to be on next week’s Dark? Schiavone’s well-timed “despicable!” after JR plugging Battleship as the movie coming up next was worth a giggle though
Merzbow Posted December 19, 2019 Posted December 19, 2019 Speaking of JR, he's such a damn snowflake. It feels like every show he has to make snide comments about some criticism he's received online.
Paid Members Callum1993 Posted December 19, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 19, 2019 1 hour ago, Hannibal Scorch said: Wasn’t really a main eventer or in big angles though was he? Unless you count feuding with Boogeyman as a big angle
Paid Members Hannibal Scorch Posted December 19, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 19, 2019 4 minutes ago, Callum1993 said: Wasn’t really a main eventer or in big angles though was he? Unless you count feuding with Boogeyman as a big angle He lost to CM Punk in an ECW title match and was a mainstay on that show
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted December 19, 2019 Paid Members Posted December 19, 2019 14 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said: He lost to CM Punk in an ECW title match and was a mainstay on that show CM Punk wasnt a main eventer either at the time.
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