Paid Members I Bent My Wookie Posted July 16, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted July 16, 2020 19 minutes ago, Merzbow said: Wait.. wasn't the armbar on Cage's right arm after a switch? The whole saving the previously injured arm thing just doesn't work now. Having just watched it back, you're right. Yeah that's completely made it even stupider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted July 16, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted July 16, 2020 Dynamite feels like its being booked about about 9 different people with each passing segment. What a strange wrestling show this has become. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 12 minutes ago, IANdrewDiceClay said: Dynamite feels like its being booked about about 9 different people with each passing segment. What a strange wrestling show this has become. It'd be interesting to know how their booking process has been impacted by the pandemic. Whether they're struggling to get together and run through things properly, or their long term goals are so unclear that they don't know what to do. But it's hard to believe that this week's product was the same people as some of the superb stuff they've put together over the last however long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snitsky's back acne Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 8 minutes ago, IANdrewDiceClay said: Dynamite feels like its being booked about about 9 different people with each passing segment. It is, isn't it? I thought all the VP's were responsible for booking different parts - Bucks/tag teams, Omega/women, Cody/Cody? I'm sure Jericho probably completely or largely books most of his stuff too and Tony Khan seems like the kind of guy to let them all do whatever the hell they want. You KNOW he just lets Brandi do what she wants by the fact that she is on TV every week when there is no reason to be most of the time. WWE is often criticised for being as dictatorship with little to no room to do what you want. AEW is the other way. It's the modern parent letting their kids decide what time they want to go to bed or what they want for dinner. It's seemingly letting everyone do whatever they want and nobody is apparently saying 'No'. I had to laugh when Omega said he wanted the AEW video game to focus on 'realistic in ring action' though when so much of AEW's in ring action looks like a video game. It needs one vision. Good or bad. AEW has no identity. It doesn't know what it wants to be. I hope for everyone's sake AEW can figure it out quickly and someone in the company has the humility to go 'This isn't working' and make the changes it desperately needs.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King Of Swing Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 They did get things pretty focused for a while but seem to have fallen back on bad habits. Hopefully just a blip and not a long term problem. Echo the comments about JR. He was absolutely horrid on commentary this week, pretty sure the first words out of his mouth were "welcome to Fyter Fest 2" christ. Agree that they booked themselves into a corner with Mox/Cage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 1 hour ago, Snitsky's back acne said:  AEW has no identity. It doesn't know what it wants to be. I think it does - but the problem is that it wants to be all things to everyone. It wants the hardcore fans. It wants the gamers. It wants the freaks and the geeks. It also wants the mainstream. It wants lapsed fans. It wants everyone - and I suppose to a point that's exactly what they should want. Aim for the skies. But yeah, it definitely doesn't make for a consistent and well-gelled product. It also wants to be the good guy. It wants to stick it to the McMahon. It wants to let those involved have a finger in the pie. It wants to give them freedom and all that jazz. Treat them right. Blah blah blah. Again - it's just adding a lot of different aims to confuse things. The one vision they do have is far too wide. You can't have a company that is everything. Not when you're still building a reputation and a fanbase and trying to establish yourself. Sometimes it's very WCW 2020 - the good and the bad. Sometimes it's leaning too much towards TNA. Other times it feels like it genuinely wants to separate itself from other companies and just be damn good at what it is. But that's not always the case. It's tough. It's really tough to try and break through at that level when you're a new company, and to be consistently good. It will always be a challenge, especially in these times. But as we saw with WCW - and certainly as we've seen with a lot of WWE product in recent years - it's all about having too many cooks or the wrong cooks or switching them around too many times. Get yourself a consistent and well-oiled machine backstage and that starts reflecting well on screen too. Have a jumbled mess back there and of course it ends up showing in front of the cameras. They have the talent. They have the minds. They have all the support in the world. It just needs to come together properly. They're in a position where they can afford a few blips here and there, but they are struggling to present a must-see weekly show at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Butternut Squash Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 AEW's been flat since Revolution for me and has only gotten worse. I love Jericho but he's pure midcard comedy these days. He started jumping the shark with the Matt Hardy stuff, then that awful shit with Tyson. Pushing Orange Cassidy with no fans against Jericho was a terrible idea and it's reflected in the ratings. Love the 'DemoGod' line though, I'll give him that. Their panic about ratings has led them back to the match, match, match formula of the early shows too, which is a shame. Agree with Redrooster and Supremo on Vicki coming in as a manager. Such a dopey move. Nyla Rose is the last person on Earth that needs a manager, fucking hell. Main event was decent and I didn't mind the finish (although hearing it was the wrong arm puts a cap on that). I just wish they'd done something to protect Lance Archer like that. He was the best thing in wrestling for a little while there. Now look at him. He's stuck having drawn out matches Joey fucking Janella if he makes TV at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 5 minutes ago, Mr Butternut Squash said: I just wish they'd done something to protect Lance Archer like that. He was the best thing in wrestling for a little while there. Now look at him. He's stuck having drawn out matches Joey fucking Janella if he makes TV at all. Absolutely - and it's the sort of thing that would put me off signing with AEW at the moment. They've got so much talent that they're bringing in, using a bit and then just dropping down the card. Not everyone can be champion. Not everyone can be at the top of the card all the time. But there are ways around that. Not every single new person needs to come in at a level that they can't sustain. It's better to bring in some the other way where they're working their way up consistently, rather than the opposite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snitsky's back acne Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, DavidB6937 said: I think it does - but the problem is that it wants to be all things to everyone. Actually yes, that's a better analogy. It's the 'We want to put smiles on peoples faces' federation. I know it's still in its infancy but, if you think where WCW Nitro was 9 months into its run [just starting the NWO] and where AEW Dynamite is 9 months into their run, it's worrying. I know 'different times' [and the pandemic has obviously been a nightmare across the board] but in less than a year WCW was able to make compelling TV and was on the verge of a massive upswing in business. Unfair comparison, maybe, but I often hear 'They've only been on TV 9 months!' a lot as an excuse why their audience and fan base has not grown.  Edited July 16, 2020 by Snitsky's back acne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_3165 Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 Khan is running I tto the same shit Bischoff did in WCW but in a different way. Whereas in the 90s, Hogan et al never wanted tto job etc, this group can't book. They have some good ideas but nobody able to tell them when its bullshit.  Why the fuck Omega isn't a megastar is beyond me. Her should havee been the face of the company opposite Jericho. He is instead part geek, part emotionally fragile etc. He should be badass. That's what draws. The Bucks lost a fair few high profile matches, thinking people know who they are. Like they were putting over up and comers. Whta they didn't realise is your average Joe has no idea who they are unless they watched indy or Njpw. Being aall things to all peeople simply doesn't work. They needed a precise group of people who will bring in the money. They fail to see that most people arent interested in half the shit they do. Target it to 18-35yo males. Quit the overt diversity drive, it doesn't feel organic. Bin half the roster that looks like shit (Havoc), dont know what the fuck they are doing (Janella) or who look like tiny children (Allin). That roster may suit a niche audience but my wife said " I could beat him up" and laughed when she saw Allin on TV. If they want to appeal they need to showcase good talent, that look like they could beat you. Ssorry for ranting. I'm not Jim Cornette BTW! I appreciate good wrestling and want them to succeed but they have a schizophrenic way of presenting the show that I find jarring.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted July 16, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted July 16, 2020 17 minutes ago, Michael_3165 said: Bin half the roster that looks like shit (Havoc), dont know what the fuck they are doing (Janella) or who look like tiny children (Allin). That roster may suit a niche audience but my wife said " I could beat him up" and laughed when she saw Allin on TV. Agree with Havoc and Janela (and a bunch of others who should be sacked) but Allin is money, especially if they try to reach a younger audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members I Bent My Wookie Posted July 16, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted July 16, 2020 Allins absolute gold. The whole premise of his gimmick is that he'll take risks and put his body on the line because he's not the biggest but he'll fight until he can't. It's the perfect method of storytelling for someone his size going against someome bigger. It's like the small kid who will fight, get his ass kicked but will keep coming until you're so worn down from hitting him he can take his shot. Christ, the Coffin Drop is essentially him just flinging himself off things onto people as hard as possible, no flips or rotations just let me land all my body weight at speed on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgehead Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 He had one of the best understated debuts for me in years, when he faced Cody at Fyter Fest 2019. They did a marvellous job in explaining his story during the match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snitsky's back acne Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 1 hour ago, Michael_3165 said:   Why the fuck Omega isn't a megastar is beyond me. He is instead part geek, part emotionally fragile etc. He should be badass. That's what draws. .. Absolutely. He's a nerd. Wrestling fans are nerds. We want to see people we wish we could be who we can live vicariously through [Stonecold, The Rock etc] not some uncool, geeky, emotionally fragile, video-game nerd. I can look in the mirror if I wanted to see one of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merzbow Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 That whole acting "mad" he was doing, talking to himself after punching the little lad may have been the worst acting I've seen in wrestling in ages. He's fucking terrible when he's trying to show any kind of character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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