The AEW Wednesday Night Dynamite Thread

[Nick James]

....and a shitty TNA product and a shitty ROH product. The market has been completely oversaturated for years now.

This is the first time I feel genuinely burnt out by wrestling. To the point that I don’t really read the results for the show’s any more. I read the posts on here as a distraction during work, but for the first time in 28 years, I cannot be arsed to watch even 15 minutes of wrestling. 

I’m hoping a few months off may spark an interest again.

I would like both AEW and NXT to be as successful as they can be, but I think they may be a few years too late to keep interest rolling in the long term. 

[tiger_rick]

29 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

AEW are lucky NXT are doing worst, because that their numbers fell WOW despite their being no MLB competition is pretty crazy.

In a couple of weeks, NXT will be on <500k and AEW will be hovering round 750 and we’ll all be wondering how long it can last.

Too much wrestling in the world.

It's barely a fall. 1.018m to 1.014m. Reasonable after last week's big drop from the premiere to essentially hold the audience. They'll be happy with a million on a consistent basis. Guess we'll see.

[garynysmon]

 

1 hour ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

AEW are lucky NXT are doing worst, because that their numbers fell WOW despite their being no MLB competition is pretty crazy.

In a couple of weeks, NXT will be on <500k and AEW will be hovering round 750 and we’ll all be wondering how long it can last.

Too much wrestling in the world.

TBH there's only too much wrestling in the world if you allow there to be.

I don't understand why some fans feel compelled to watch Raw, Smackdown etc every week if they don't enjoy it and haven't done so for several months.

[Hannibal Scorch]

7 minutes ago, garynysmon said:

 

TBH there's only too much wrestling in the world if you allow there to be.

I don't understand why some fans feel compelled to watch Raw, Smackdown etc every week if they don't enjoy it and haven't done so for several months.

Last week was my last. I’m watching AEW and NXT. I’ll read results still and if anything peaks my interest I’ll watch it back but yeah, not enjoying WWE and it’s 5 less hours

[Big Benny HG]

.

Edited October 17, 2019 by Big Benny HG

[wordsfromlee]

I don’t know if I should be ashamed of myself or not but I loved watching the Lucha Bros rag dolling that child. 

[Supremo]

Not as good as last week but still a really solid show. Whilst the novelty might wear off eventually, at the moment even an average AEW show is still super enjoyable for being the relaxed, natural, fun, frankly normal pro wrestling I fell in love with.

The biggest positive is that they're listening and continuing to improve. After the first two weeks the main things this show was lacking were the vignettes, promos and squashes to get guys over. They've got the good wrestling matches nailed down, it's just everything else that still needs work. They've got great meat and potatoes, they just need to add a bit (well, a lot) of flavour. And whilst there wasn't as much as I would've liked, it was still nice to see LAX smash some nobodies up, Moxley cut a good to-camera promo during his entrance and Cody incorporate his brilliant, melodramatic YouTube stuff onto the show. All excellent additions that I hope we see more of.

Watching AEW evolve and find its feet, you can really tell it's a company ran by an Observer subscriber. In almost every way, it represents the same journey I imagine most hardcore fans go on. You start off trying to convince yourself that you hate promos and skits, you hate the over-pushed top guys, you hate DQ finishes and just wish they'd push the cruiserweights and let the wrestlers wrestle, goddammit! And then over time you realise that all of that is bullshit and you're lying to yourself. The stuff you try and pretend you hate is exactly the stuff that makes pro-wrestling so great.

That's what we've seen with AEW. A company practically built to appease the PG Sux~! Push the Cruiserweights~! We Hate Cena~! knobheads, only for realisation to slowly creep in for both company and fans alike. They started with almost no promos, insisted on it being a pure sport presentation, shied away from ref bumps and DQs, let everyone on the roster shine at the same time and made sure the guys with legitimate power backstage were putting over younger talent. And where did it get them? In star-less limbo, that's where. You had endless matches involving guys no-one cared about and wouldn't remember. Long, drawn out matches where guys like Kip Sabian were getting just as much ring time and spotlight as main eventers. Kenny Omega, who should arguably be their top star, feeling like just another guy because the fucker barely wins. And a six-man main event that should've clearly ended in a DQ randomly continuing and making everyone look stupid.

Thankfully, you can see them coming to terms with what pro wrestling actually is and how wrong the hardcore, smarky fans are. You need ref bumps, distractions and at least the threat of DQs to add to the storytelling. You need promos to build characters and feuds. Hell, that Chris Jericho/Inner Circle promo from the other week is arguably the best ten minutes in AEW's history, solidifying and positioning guys as stars more than a thousand five star matches ever could. Just compare the Sammy Guevara who faceslessly competed in the first ever AEW match with the smug, punch-able dickhead swaggering down the ramp with some bubbly this week. Night and day. Same with LAX. They got more out of quickly killing some jobbers than they ever would've got from having yet another back and forth twenty minute match. Then look at the EVPs. The only one who's actually pushed himself and been on a winning streak is Cody and that's exactly why he feels like the company's biggest star. The big stars should be winning all the time. Otherwise they're not big stars! Had John Cena lost all the time to appease the smelly moaners it wouldn't have meant loads of main event stars rather than one, it would've meant no main event stars at all. You can see them learning this with Omega now. Who knew that if a guy loses all the time and his gimmick is that he's a bit shit now that he's left Japan it isn't going to result in people wanting to cheer and support him? Amazing, huh?

So yeah, that's my biggest take. Before our very eyes you can see a company slowly realising that, "smart," internet fans are for the most part clueless and what works in EWR isn't going to cut it in real life.

And my second biggest take is how much of a fucking megastar Pentagon could be. It was spectacular watching him beat up a small boy.

Edited October 18, 2019 by Supremo

[Love-Wilcox]

Britt Baker really isn’t working well at all, is she? She has a great look and seems to be reasonably athletic but she just hasn’t got a clue. Unfortunately for her she wrestles to the same standard that she does guest commentary and I was really hoping that wouldn’t be the case. She does moves just fine but in between them she looks utterly lost.

I’m optimistic that she might eventually improve but Christ she’s got a long way to go.

 

Her aside, I loved episode 3. It’s probably my favourite episode of Dynamite yet. 

[Egg Shen]

12 hours ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Just a shame the 3rd episode is late yet again

i do wonder if AEW's ITV coverage will go the same way as PBC's boxing coverage. It was announced that PBC shows would air exclusive on ITV and the Hub but since the actual showings have been sporadic, they seem to pick and choose what they air and what they archive on the Hub. A weekly TV show like AEW might be more consistent but if its like the boxing it will be frustrating a lot of people.

[DavidB6937]

9 hours ago, garynysmon said:

TBH there's only too much wrestling in the world if you allow there to be.

I don't understand why some fans feel compelled to watch Raw, Smackdown etc every week if they don't enjoy it and haven't done so for several months.

Yeah I find the 'over-saturation' argument to be a bit of a strange one in terms of anyone using it as a reason to not enjoy wrestling. It can be used by business people to suggest that there's too much etc, but as a fan? You're right - there's only as much as you choose to watch, so that really shouldn't be an issue.

For me, I'm loving the fact that we have all this choice, and I probably watch more wrestling on a weekly basis than I ever have. NXT, AEW and NWA have all slotted in to my weekly schedule, plus Raw/Smackdown highlights. Then there's NJPW which I dip in and out of. ROH not so much these days but I've been known to dabble. Then there's the WWE Network documentaries and other random classic stuff if I'm in the mood. Also given Progress a go in recent years, and a couple of other live shows.

So yeah, in the end you're in control of your own enjoyment. Anyone who criticises the fact that there is choice these days is crazy.

[tiger_rick]

5 hours ago, Supremo said:

So yeah, that's my biggest take. Before our very eyes you can see a company slowly realising that, "smart," internet fans are for the most part clueless and what works in EWR isn't going to cut it in real life.

I really hope you're right. It does seem to slowly changing from the first episode which was like a mini-PPV. You're spot on with the diagnosis though. They have clearly taken bits of criticism from different eras to try and present their version of pro-wrestling. Years ago it was "shut up and wrestle". Now it's "PG sux". They've got some aspects right, like the colour, pyro, camera work and direction. But hopefully they're learning that anyone who thinks they want a 2 hour PPV every Wednesday is an idiot.

[BomberPat]

5 hours ago, Supremo said:

And my second biggest take is how much of a fucking megastar Pentagon could be. It was spectacular watching him beat up a small boy.

100%.

I think both Lucha Bros have more upside as singles guys than as a tag team; aside from being one of the best high-flyers around, Fenix is superb at garnering sympathy through his selling, which is what the majority of luchadores that people try to make "the new Rey Mysterio" lack, while Pentagon just has such rare presence.

First time I saw Penta live, I remember there just being a hush in the room when he first stepped in the ring, he just commanded attention. The reaction to him just slowly removing a glove ready to deliver a chop was more natural, and more sustained, than any of the flips and high spots on the same show. Then a minute later he was hitting a Canadian Destroyer on the apron, because teaming with Fenix brings out his worst instincts. 

[tiger_rick]

I don't think being in a tag team is the worst thing for Pentagon at the moment because they've got Jericho, Cody, Moxley, Kenny, Page and Pac as real singles stars. There's a novelty to all of them at the moment so there is a good 6 months at least of big matches there. Having something in reserve is always useful and they've got that if they play it smart. I'd randomly chuck Pentagon and Fenix in singles matches, that they always win, for the next few months to establish how good they are on their own to make the transition easier when they've exhausted this current lot. He'd be a great opponent for when they pull the trigger on a babyface beating Jericho.

[Supremo]

I love the Lucha Bros as a team, and of the remaining teams in the tournament they’d probably be my pick for winning and becoming inaugural champions, but man. This felt like a coming out party for how much potential Pentagon has as a top singles guy. Proper scary, violent man, screaming in broken English as he murders a tiny man. Incredible.

I know they’ve had at least one match on some random independent show but right now Moxley vs. Pentagon in an AEW main event is probably my biggest dream match. The upside of both guys feels unlimited.

[The King Of Swing]

10 hours ago, garynysmon said:

 

TBH there's only too much wrestling in the world if you allow there to be.

I don't understand why some fans feel compelled to watch Raw, Smackdown etc every week if they don't enjoy it and haven't done so for several months.

Yeah I haven't enjoyed WWE for at least a year. Outside of YouTube clips I've hardly watched anything since Wrestlemania.

The Smackdown draft was the first show I attempted to watch in months and I couldn't make it all the way through. Don't even watch NXT anymore, though that is more to do with the company as a whole than actual quality.

There is plenty of wrestling out there that I do enjoy (not just AEW) and I have no problem fucking WWE/NXT off.

Others should do the same if the product is so miserable for them.