The AEW Wednesday Night Dynamite Thread

[Supremo]

I’ve got a lot of time for this company but the way they’ve failed to explain the difference between Dark and Dark Elevation is bush league stuff. If I’m left to assume it’s just more hours of mostly skippable squash matches then I don’t know why they’ve even bothered. “Big Show’s gonna be at the desk,” isn’t enough.

[d-d-d-dAz]

6 minutes ago, Supremo said:

I’ve got a lot of time for this company but the way they’ve failed to explain the difference between Dark and Dark Elevation is bush league stuff. If I’m left to assume it’s just more hours of mostly skippable squash matches then I don’t know why they’ve even bothered. “Big Show’s gonna be at the desk,” isn’t enough.

I saw someone say that it’s meant to become a bridge between Dark and Dynamite. So there’ll be a linear path between dark to elevation to Dynamite, which could be fun. No idea where they got it from, but I like the idea of a ‘visible ladder’ in a wrestling company.

But, I agree. The fact they’ve not bothered to even properly brand the show and give it its own USP is madness.

Edited March 11, 2021 by d-d-d-dAz

[Chris B]

Saw someone point out that the Maki Itoh stuff was one of the biggest for AEW on social media this week. She's clearly grabbing attention.

Yes, the mic drops were shit, but two good No-Prize attempts I've seen to explain them:

1. She was wearing headphones and the microphone noise was deafening, so she kept hesitating.
2. Microphones are expensive and she was hoping she'd get a chance to sing again.

However it works out, she's got the makings of a star.

Tell you what, I didn't think it would turn around quite that fast after such a poor end to the PPV. A lot of deck-shuffling going on, and bang on time. Penta just deciding he's a main eventer now, and everyone (correctly) going along with it. New heel group, face Inner Circle, heelish Scorpio and Archer... not a bad way to distance yourself from negative talk.

Fucking hell, they're lucky it was Kingston and Moxley in that situation. They turned it around in seconds and looked like the coolest guys in the business in no time. You just want to go for drinks with them.

[The King Of Swing]

12 minutes ago, Supremo said:

I’ve got a lot of time for this company but the way they’ve failed to explain the difference between Dark and Dark Elevation is bush league stuff. If I’m left to assume it’s just more hours of mostly skippable squash matches then I don’t know why they’ve even bothered. “Big Show’s gonna be at the desk,” isn’t enough.

I'm wondering if it's AEW's attempt at getting more content out there. 

I'll check the debut out and then probably just dip in and out like I usually do with Dark. 

[Supremo]

At the very least, they should just say, “this is the show Bear Country will be on.” I’d watch, then. Love them. Big meaty men slapping meat!

[Tsurutagun]

32 minutes ago, Chris B said:

Yes, the mic drops were shit, but two good No-Prize attempts I've seen to explain them:

1. She was wearing headphones and the microphone noise was deafening, so she kept hesitating.
2. Microphones are expensive and she was hoping she'd get a chance to sing again.

I read on twitter that Maki Itoh was wearing something in her ear and if she had hit Shida hard with the top it would have sucked for her. I don't know if hitting the bottom would have been better. The second bit was something that Dramatic DDT were pushing. 

[The King Of Swing]

Don't know why anyone is even bothering to try and explain it away. 

It's nothing in the grand scheme of things.

[Mr Butternut Squash]

Poor Shida's had to sell some bullshit lately, though. Ryo's comedy 'chops', Vickie and Reba's pathetic weapon shots and Itoh lightly tapping a mic on her head. I get this stuff has its appeal but they should be more careful in protecting their champion and dragging her potential challengers down with it.

[The King Of Swing]

Hopefully Britt goes over Rosa (is she still contracted to the NWA?) and is finally moved into a proper feud with Shida.

Has there been any memorable feuds over the belt? I'm struggling to recall any off the top of my head. 

[Chris B]

27 minutes ago, The King Of Swing said:

Don't know why anyone is even bothering to try and explain it away. 

It's nothing in the grand scheme of things.

I think most just find it mildly amusing, like I did. The 'No-Prize' approach can be fun sometimes.

[andrew "the ref" coyne]

2 hours ago, The King Of Swing said:

 

So Riho and Itoh are main eventing the first Dark Elevation. Could be fun, could be a train wreck. 

Looking at the rest of the card though it doesn't look much different to standard Dark.

Hoping they do something to actually make it stand out more. 

I kinda liked what they did when it first started. Not every top talent could get on AEW Dynamite (like the first show did not have Kenny Omega for example wrestling) so they did some dark matches featuring the top talent and it was a YouTube show. Great!

It was a awesome way not to clog up Dynamite and have some of the more establish names face off against the middle guys / jobbers. Like does Moxley / MJF / Cody / Young Bucks / Omega etc needs to be on EVERY WEEK? No.

Dark now can be a bit cringey. When you get a green as a jungle rookie take on another green as a jungle rookie it's a painful watch.

[DavidB6937]

It was a shame to see the ratings down this week, especially off the back of a mostly solid PPV. I'm hoping some of the clips from Dynamite this week do the rounds and get them back up to where they should be.

[BomberPat]

11 hours ago, Supremo said:

I’ve got a lot of time for this company but the way they’ve failed to explain the difference between Dark and Dark Elevation is bush league stuff. If I’m left to assume it’s just more hours of mostly skippable squash matches then I don’t know why they’ve even bothered. “Big Show’s gonna be at the desk,” isn’t enough.

It does seem like Dark Elevation is going to have a bit more tight focus, while Dark is going to remain the show for throwing out 14 matches in a single episode. I think Elevation will likely be an hour long show, while Dark is just a repository for however many matches they choose to film. 

I still agree that they've done a terrible job of explaining the difference, and we shouldn't have to wait for the thing to actually air to figure that out. I think, post-Covid, Dark will either be phased out entirely or at least be changed in format somewhat - part of the reason it's so oversaturated at the moment is because they want to give work to people who would ordinarily be wrestling on the indies.

[Accident Prone]

1 hour ago, DavidB6937 said:

It was a shame to see the ratings down this week, especially off the back of a mostly solid PPV. I'm hoping some of the clips from Dynamite this week do the rounds and get them back up to where they should be.

I phased out my weekly AEW Thursday Morning Dynamite watch as the pandemic hit. No matter how many wrestlers you cram into the ringside area, or how many bubbles of fans you stick in the venue, it's still not the same as a full-on crowd. However, I would always watch the Dynamite after one of their PPV's because the shows were usually consistent enough to hook me to try watching the next Dynamite.

This may sound shit, but the ending of Revolution put me right off watching the next Dynamite and I'd wager a lot of people thought the same. The show was solid and I really enjoyed the opener and Mox/Omega, but when Eddie and Mox were selling the effects of that fart in church like it was death, I was so embarrassed that I couldn't bear to give them the 90 minutes this week to worm their way around it.

That's how fickle fans are, and I'm very aware of it. End of the day though, if the big moment that you've been hyping up fails to deliver, then I'm going to be less than inclined to check out the follow-up.

[BomberPat]

Nothing fickle about it, to be fair. It's why the last match on the card is the main event, and the most important point of the whole show - however that ends will be the lasting impression of the show.