d-d-d-dAz Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 20 minutes ago, Michael_3165 said: Bless him, Khan always looks in pain! It's his resting pain face. So weird. The man pumps millions into pro-wrestling. I’m amazed he doesn’t cry more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 I cant unthink this every time I hear him now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted March 18, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 18, 2021 I wonder how heavily edited it'll be for ITV on Friday night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted March 18, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 18, 2021 2 hours ago, d-d-d-dAz said: The man pumps millions into pro-wrestling. I’m amazed he doesn’t cry more. Well, his Dad does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chris B Posted March 18, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) Really good episode overall. Great main event - the visuals around that were amazing. Britt Baker looking up through that blood was the best image like that since Dustin Rhodes. Brutal, but dramatic as hell. I did not think Britt Baker had it this time last year, but she's been delivering for a while now. Thunder Rosa is great. Also, I'm loving Penta turning up. I think he's like Nakamura - give him stuff he cares about, and he turns it up. I was fine with Cody winning. He just barely did it, and Penta looked bad-ass leaving. It seems to be a slow-burn heel turn rather than an immediate one. He was a bit more heelish, he lost, and he got more heelish. That's fine in terms of trajectory. Edited March 19, 2021 by Chris B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtrickio Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 Being a massive fan of Lucha Underground I feel AEW have missed a trick with Penta's arm break. They've already extinguished any aura they might have been able to build up with it during his heel turn by having Cody completely no sell it right away. And damn, I miss that crack that LU used to edit into the audio. Made me wince every time!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra_gordo Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 Finally watched the main event. Fucking hell, that was amazing. Have to agree with what's been said already, that's star-making for both of them. Rebel needs some credit for her role in that match too, I thought she put a good shift in and the table bump at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted March 19, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 19, 2021 The absolute worst part of what was a really great Dynamite was the amount of animosity between teams we had. Jungle Express arguing with Bear Country, Brian Cage going against Team Taz’s wishes to shake hands with Sting and Miro and Kip teasing a break up, all in the space of about forty minutes. I’m happy to have so many factions, and am counting the days until we get the inevitable Trios Title Tournament. The last thing I want to see is more and more teams having internal problems. It’s such a WWE trope to have every team fighting and arguing that I’d prefer to either never see it again, or at least make it rare. Whilst the Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle feud seems destined to culminate in a Blood and Guts match, I wonder if we’ll get another Stadium Stampede if they don’t feel comfortable having fans back at full capacity by the next PPV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 25 minutes ago, Supremo said: The absolute worst part of what was a really great Dynamite was the amount of animosity between teams we had. Jungle Express arguing with Bear Country, Brian Cage going against Team Taz’s wishes to shake hands with Sting and Miro and Kip teasing a break up, all in the space of about forty minutes. I’m happy to have so many factions, and am counting the days until we get the inevitable Trios Title Tournament. The last thing I want to see is more and more teams having internal problems. It’s such a WWE trope to have every team fighting and arguing that I’d prefer to either never see it again, or at least make it rare. Whilst the Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle feud seems destined to culminate in a Blood and Guts match, I wonder if we’ll get another Stadium Stampede if they don’t feel comfortable having fans back at full capacity by the next PPV? Agreed, this is something they talked about I think on Jericho with Khan on his podcast they had identified removing duplication from shows, but this week feels full of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB6937 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 The one thing I do like about AEW is that they do seem to look over what they've done and what worked and what didn't. Obviously they're not perfect and they don't fix everything, but on the whole they seem to have more awareness of their own product than WWE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CavemanLynn Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 This is on the micro level too. You had Jade Cargill do a release German suplex then nip-up, the Luchasaurus do exactly the same thing within the hour. If Hangman had been on the show, despite being a fallaway slam, that would've three near-identical spots across one show. Imagine having a talent with stellar physical charisma, killer look, and international appeal, and deciding that you, injured and due time off, were going to beat him at his own style, pin him out of nowhere, then have all your mates turn up to bail you out. I don't buy the slow-burn heel turn thing. The slow-burn heel is his entire gimmick, except now you've killed his work (breaking arms). Cargill has some of the flash down (always remembering to smoulder over her shoulder at the camera after hitting her finish) but just needs to get the same confidence in her wrestling as she does her demeanour. She might not have "put in the work" by trawling for years on the indies, but when you find someone with IT, you give them the stage. The Pinnacle? I bet Wade Barrett is chuckling to himself #deepcut. Not a fan of the name - too much nn and cle to sound vastly different from Inner Circle - but the group as a whole is solid, if without the personality of the IC. Which is perhaps the point, as the IC were getting as many cheers as boos because of their character work over lockdown. No-one shrugs their shoulders like Wardlow. Speaking of work, I see Christian is doubling down on his slogan being three words and not two, idiot. A solid enough promo, but I'm not a big fan of the "hard worker" gimmick. To me, it sounds even more try-hard, like "I'm going to take unnecessary risks and drag things out so I can show just how, err, competent I am, so like me!" I'd've preferred him getting a guaranteed title shot contract, but if he wants to do the proving-himself-to-no-one gimmick of having solid midcard matches with everyone until he gets a one-off main event, then fine. I bet he shakes the hand of whoever he beats. I hope Bear Country accidentally hitting motherfuckers with other motherfuckers becomes a gimmick. It won't, but I hope it does. Miro developing nicely as a controlled Jekyll and Hyde. Needed more Slavic bling and undersized Gucci-knockoff tracksuits. If the arcade fight match (which the commentators and Miro and Kip all forgot to get over) doesn't end in Miro standing over a mass of bodies and smashed up wreckage, roaring Game Over, then it will officially kill him. He NEEDS that breakout moment now. Fuck the Bucks. Stroll in late to stop Kenny and the Brothers from finishing Mox and Kingston, then fuck off leaving Mox and Kingston WITH KENNY AND THE GOOD BROTHERS. Mox and Kingston were having a blast up until then, overemoting wildly and getting simple stuff like eye work over. I can see the Club preying on now-injured Kingston to bait death's-door Mox, and using that as impetus for one last write-off match. Also, loved how Mox addressed the fact he should have been at home, but was having to keep showing up, without actually addressing anything. I hope the Cage angle doesn't split him from Team Taz, and just gives him a bit of agency in the group when they do their own things for a bit. His motivation and TT's reactions all made sense. They've evolved into a really solid midcard group with a clear style and MO, so it'd be a shame to split them, I think. The setup with ANOTHER Sting chat can get in the bin, Darby works on tape but badly dents his aura when he talks, and Archer's waffling on about time, when Jake is stinking the place up with his non-sequitur playground shit, surely has had to lead to some kind of time-based gimmick match, or at least Archer keeping track of how quickly he obliterates opponents. Not a fan of his steady promos either - they're solid fare, but I like me some loose cannon wrecking ball Archer. Angelico did some weird shit to Fenix. His best outing yet, but that makes sense against a guy probably more versed in llave than your average indie guy. A good exhibition for Fenix at the end. I love the idea that PAC just wanders around in his trunks. Yeah, you tell him looks silly and see what happens. A stellar main event. If she hadn't done it already, a star-making turn from Britt. I absolutely adored her posing in the ring, strolling outside to stamp Rosa's face into the steps, then back into the ring again to pose some more. That blood-stained cackling grin down the camera was simultaneously brilliant, detestable, exhilarating and terrifying. Genuinely looked like she'd finally lost her mind, after Rosa had already spent the match looking like she was going bonkers. Probably the best visual of the effects of a thumb tacks spot we've ever seen, and a brilliant play into the Lockjaw counter. Rosa was the worthy face winner, which was the only downer on a brilliant spectacle - after all that effort, they NEED to strap the rocket to Baker ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chris B Posted March 19, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 19, 2021 10 minutes ago, CavemanLynn said: Imagine having a talent with stellar physical charisma, killer look, and international appeal, and deciding that you, injured and due time off, were going to beat him at his own style, pin him out of nowhere, then have all your mates turn up to bail you out. I don't buy the slow-burn heel turn thing. The slow-burn heel is his entire gimmick, except now you've killed his work (breaking arms). He's been working as aggressive face since the Kingston feud. 'Slow burn' may have been the wrong wording, but the last couple of weeks have been definitely making him less tweener and more outright heel. While I'd love to see them do the arm-snap as a killer move like it was in LU, it's not like it wasn't sold. It's clearly building an injury for Cody to take time off over, and Penta looked so badass staring down the entire Nightmare Family. Three or four of them, including Dustin, just trying to keep him out? Cody writhing in agony while Penta's dicking about with hats? If this isn't building to Penta dominating Cody and forcing him out for a while, I'll agree with you that it was a bad move. As it is, I think this is Penta just starting to level up for a while. By the way, agree about giving Cargill the stage. She's shockingly good for someone so green, and her work isn't bad - just not as confident as it could be. If this isn't all a house of cards, and she improves on what she's already good at this speed, she's going to be rivalling people like Rousey and Angle for speed of adapting. The main thing I'd change is to stop her constantly fixing her hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CavemanLynn Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 48 minutes ago, Chris B said: He's been working as aggressive face since the Kingston feud. 'Slow burn' may have been the wrong wording, but the last couple of weeks have been definitely making him less tweener and more outright heel. While I'd love to see them do the arm-snap as a killer move like it was in LU, it's not like it wasn't sold. It's clearly building an injury for Cody to take time off over, and Penta looked so badass staring down the entire Nightmare Family. Three or four of them, including Dustin, just trying to keep him out? Cody writhing in agony while Penta's dicking about with hats? If this isn't building to Penta dominating Cody and forcing him out for a while, I'll agree with you that it was a bad move. As it is, I think this is Penta just starting to level up for a while. All good points. But my problems were: Cody's arm was already injured going into the match, and Penta's promos were focussed one how he was going to destroy it, but beyond selling more pain, the finish was Cody and friends staring at Penta as he skulked off. Smiling or not, it still sets up that the issue isn't over, and if Cody's arm isn't broken, it instantly makes Penta's key threat weaker. Sure, have the Nightmare Family run Penta off, but then immediately call for medical personnel to strap Cody up, while he cried about how his arm's gone, Penta did it, etc. And in front of the live crowd and TV audience - not backstage or in a VT that you're only posting on your IG or Youtube, where only your confirmed fans will see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted March 19, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 19, 2021 This came up in my FB feed - it's certainly an interesting direction to go in! It's already made three times its goal. BUTTS IN SEATS: THE TONY SCHIAVONE STORY is a ten chapter graphic novel retrospective of Tony's whole life and career written by Dirk Manning with Tony Schiavone, with each chapter illustrated by a different artist handpicked to best portray that stage of Tony's life and career -- both inside and outside professional wrestling! Check out this stunning line-up of artists, illustrators, and creatives who are also a part of this book: D.J. Coffman (SECRET FORCES) ▪ Sally Scott (NIGHTMARE WORLD) ▪ John Marroquin (MARIACHI) ▪ Les Garner (APOCALYPSE GIRL) ▪ Jan Apple (BURIED BUT NOT DEAD) ▪ Colm Griffin (OCEAN CITY) ▪ Scott James (JUICEMAN) ▪ Josh Ross (TALES OF MR. RHEE) ▪ Austin McKinley (TALES OF MR. RHEE) ▪ Riccardo Rosanna (BUTTS IN SEATS) ▪ Sean Burres (LOVE STORIES (TO DIE FOR) ▪ Marianna Pescosta (TWIZTID HAUNTED HIGH-ONS) ▪ Justin Birch (CLAIM) ▪ Drena Jo (BROKEN GARGOYLES) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted March 19, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 19, 2021 Eddie Kingston plugging Tony’s book is pure gold. I was thinking, for all the talk of what WWE stars people want to see jump to AEW, I think my ultimate dream would be Billie Kay moving over and interacting with Dark Order. Imagine the skits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts