The AEW Wednesday Night Dynamite Thread

[RedRooster]

21 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

As for whether the deathmatch will have a negative effect on ratings people seem to make the same comment after every bloody match AEW do. Last week we had Mox and Archer stabbing each other with forks and ratings were slightly higher this week. Previously we had Baker and Rosa bleeding buckets. Blood & Guts drew a big rating. In reality, while it's not everyone's cup of tea I think crazy, bloody matches are more likely to draw casual fans in rather than put them off. People like seeing crazy shit.

Ratings were slightly down this week, not slightly higher; and didn't the ratings drop the week after Baker/Rosa? I'm not entirely sure what happened after Blood & Guts, but I'd be interested to see if there's a pattern. 

That being said, there's a difference between a match where the violence is part of the story and a match where the violence IS the story. If you're potentially losing advertising money, that's problematic. You can draw as big a rating as you like, but if big companies like Dominos don't want to be associated with you then that's a problem. 

Ultimately, I can't imagine AEW would lose viewers just because they've toned down the gory stuff a little. You can still do stipulation matches along the lines of Darby/Ethan Page, Jericho/Spears or Brodie Lee/Cody under those limitations. 

[garynysmon]

24 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

That being said, there's a difference between a match where the violence is part of the story and a match where the violence IS the story. If you're potentially losing advertising money, that's problematic. You can draw as big a rating as you like, but if big companies like Dominos don't want to be associated with you then that's a problem. 

Ultimately, I can't imagine AEW would lose viewers just because they've toned down the gory stuff a little. You can still do stipulation matches along the lines of Darby/Ethan Page, Jericho/Spears or Brodie Lee/Cody under those limitations. 

I've only seen last week's show as I catch up on ITV4, but I thought that the use of forks etc in the main event was a bit much for a network of TNT's reach. I can only imagine the use of pizza cutters by Nick Gage was even more gruesome and that the resulting backlash can't have been totally unforeseen?

I know they say there's no such thing as bad publicity, but I've never gone with that. 

I'm not exactly sure, at such a pivotal time in AEW's growth when its really showing some traction, that they need to pick these kind of battles compared to the very little gain generated.

Now, granted, I have a built in bias and am not a fan of such violence in wrestling matches. I wasn't as big a fan as many were of the Sami Callihan v Omega match at Slammiversary which used the same kind of weapons, but at least was on PPV. 

But are these kind of matches well and truly necessary for AEW, or is it really using Dynamite and network TV to tick it off Chris Jericho's personal bucket list before he retires?

If you are doing these kind of matches then by all means do them on PPV when the audience knows what its getting into and you have no sponsors or potential sponsors to upset.

I mean, you wouldn't put it past WWE to start contacting current sponsors and pointing out this kind of thing. "Is this the type of product you want to be associated with?"

Edited July 30, 2021 by garynysmon

[LaGoosh]

30 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

Ratings were slightly down this week, not slightly higher

You're right, my mistake. Just checked and it was the 18-49 demo that was up this week but overall ratings were lower by about 20,000 viewers.

[Supremo]

There’s every chance people are reading into things that simply aren’t there but that would be a nice touch if intentional. It’ll always be tragic that Brodie never got to perform for AEW in front of proper crowds. It’s incredible what a turnaround Dark Order have had. I remember wishing they’d drop the act entirely, similar to the Nightmare Collective, whereas now they’re the best bunch of lovable cowboys and I want nothing more than to join their wholesome cult. That entrance has appeared on my timelines over and over again the last twenty four hours and I’ve watched it in full every single time.

I’ve no problem with the mad, violent matches we’ve seen recently and it’s a testament to AEW that they’ve made me care about the type of match that would normally put my off,  but yeah. I could do with a few Dynamite main events that don’t feature weapons and hardcore spots now. Feels like it’s getting a bit tired. Black squashing Cody clean this week, please.

[tiger_rick]

35 minutes ago, Supremo said:

I’ve no problem with the mad, violent matches we’ve seen recently and it’s a testament to AEW that they’ve made me care about the type of match that would normally put my off,  but yeah. I could do with a few Dynamite main events that don’t feature weapons and hardcore spots now. Feels like it’s getting a bit tired. Black squashing Cody clean this week, please.

Yeah, it's not my bag at all but the build and it being out of the comfort zone of one of the competitors is the reason I cared this week. If that was just a showcase for Nick Gage, I would have been as interested as I have been in the rest of his career. Not something I want to see too often though. Don't mind a blade job to help a match or angle but don't need this sort of "Blood and Guts" match for another six months at least.

[HarmonicGenerator]

Got goosebumps all over for Hangman and the Dark Order's entrance. Went back to the start of the show once I'd finished it, watched it again, got goosebumps a second time. I actually thought he'd manage it and win the match. I'm gutted that he didn't. If Dark Order are reading this,  DO NOT LET HANGMAN GIVE UP. Get him back on the horse. Literally if you have to, that horse from Stadium Stampede might still be hanging around Jacksonville.

Jericho is crazy for going through that main event. If that was Nick Gage toned down, I'm glad I've never seen another of his matches. Juvi next week will be a nice respite!

[Accident Prone]

One thing to note about Gage, is that he has worked some people into believing that he is this unsafe, unhinged, uncooperative brawler who no one wants to do business with despite working major programs and angles with Jon Moxley, Zack Ryder and Chris fucking Jericho in the space of four months, and netting himself a prime time AEW main event on TNfuckingT. I don't want to go all "DEATHMATCH WRESTLING'S GREATEST SECRETS...EXPOSED!" here, but those high-tech AEW cameras shone a nice light on the slight-of-hand that properly good deathmatch wrestlers utilise. A masterclass in modern crowd manipulation.

Edited July 30, 2021 by Accident Prone

[Chili]

The ultimate wrestling deserves itself scenario, is some of these fucking loons online who are going to use the weaponising of complaint, because they've got a big Helen Lovejoy fanny on them because for reasons, but purely because you can possibly alter the product. 

I'm not really a bloke who understands ratings tbh. But after the Wednesday pettiness stopped with NXT. Tis amusing to see them DOUBLE some of the viewers. 

Edited July 30, 2021 by Chili

[Doog]

Meltzer is reporting Page is out of the All Out main event, was originally planned apparently but now it's been changed. Interesting.

[LaGoosh]

Don't like that.

[tiger_rick]

Agree, it's a really horrible decision which would be really disappointing from a booking team who have been making good ones week in and week out. Sorry Tony, I'm not paying for anything else (if true).

Edited July 30, 2021 by tiger_rick

[CavemanLynn]

32 minutes ago, Doog said:

Meltzer is reporting Page is out of the All Out main event, was originally planned apparently but now it's been changed. Interesting.

Is he getting worked? He just lost a high stakes match to the EVPs, losing his top ranking, and now he's treated as nowhere near the title match, as per the stip.

The DO entrance was out of this world. Just magnificent business, from the note perfect VT to the spotlights and the purple bandannas. "Doc Dangly Gallows." Callis' thighs rivalling the mighty Ginola's. Everyone got a chance to shine, even if the middle went a bit dead. Ending makes sense in terms of the match, in that it ended up being Page versus all his old friends, so all he could do was cling on for as long as he could. The inference is still that, one-on-one, he'll have Kenny's number. These guys seem smart to the visual language of wrestling. We all know the cue that Page is winning, and it's called Main Event Trunks.

The main event was, in my opinion, the best blood and guts spectacle AEW have put on. As much as the takeaway is the stunt spots, the match itself was a class in crowd work and building up each one. Gage prowling around the ring between every spot, hyping up the crowd and threatening what he's going to do, was pure wresting 101, regardless of the match type. Even the switcheroo of the real and gimmicked pizza cutters was smartly done. In terms of any ratings or sponsorship issues, playing devil's advocate, they did advertise the match a week beforehand, with Gage brandishing his pizza cutter prominently as the show went to black, so it wasn't sudden or irresponsible; there was time to field concerns or complaints from brass. I don't know what the various broadcast streams are (I watch via nefarious means, aaarr), but this match is definitely NOT going on any pre-watershed showings (unless it already has, in which case, well, fuck). I do agree with a lot of people here, and I think I mentioned it after last week, we definitely need a break from this sort of match for a couple of weeks at least.

Edited July 30, 2021 by CavemanLynn
I like my buts and I cannot lie.

[Merzbow]

I know it sounds a tad petulant but if they've really ditched Adam for the ex-WWE star them I'm out.

I do think the EVP's Dave thinks he's such good mates with (if that's where he got the news) are fucking with him tho.

Edited July 30, 2021 by Merzbow

[Supremo]

31 minutes ago, Doog said:

Meltzer is reporting Page is out of the All Out main event, was originally planned apparently but now it's been changed. Interesting.

[I Bent My Wookie]

Any ratings talk for this week is surely a moot point due to the Olympics being on around the same time right?

 

I've probably gone back and watched the entrances for the opening match about 5 times now. It's just so well done, even the fact the Elite think themselves the good guys in the scenarios as the All Stars and the ridiculous stats and nicknames. All of it is just brilliant.