The AEW Wednesday Night Dynamite Thread

[Nick James]

That's not really what i was saying though, is it? Gargano does still get a lot of critisism going back to the never ending feud with Ciampa and is often brought up alongside Cole's name when people talk about the melodrama of NXT matches. Whether I watch NXT or not (I do), has nothing to do with whether people critisise Gargano rightly or wrongly. 

[Chris B]

20 minutes ago, Nick James said:

On the Adam Cole debate, its pretty similar to the Bray Wyatt / Charlotte / *insert hated current WWE wrestler* in that people seem to change their view as soon as AEW are brought into the conversation. In the same way that football fans hate certain players, until they sign for their team, then they are the best thing since sliced bread. Whether its consciously or sub-consciously, it changes your view depending on your views of the company / team. 

I don't see much difference with AEW Adam Cole to NXT Adam Cole, other than he's lower down the card and having shorter matches. Gargano has been called a shitarse, boring, the epitome of NXT for the last few years, now there are rumours his contract is coming up, I guarantee the way people talk about him changes and it becomes more a case of it being him being held back etc. 

That's not just exclusive to people moving from WWE to AEW, its the same for pretty much all aspects of sport. Unless its The Good Brothers, they are just shite wherever they go. 

I get where you're coming from with that, but I think there's some bollocks in there too. There are people that were pure shite outside of ECW who were handled awesomely in ECW, which is separate from a tribal thing. Having interest (and even faith) in how a different organisation might present someone isn't necessarily tribalist.

I stopped watching NXT around the time the Gargano/Ciampa thing jumped the shark, but they were also part of my (and a lot of people's) favourite feud, matches and story-telling during that era up until then. And the original feud was the kind of drama people wanted - it's just that they kept re-running it. A fresh Gargano, doing stuff that might suit him better? I can see why people might be interested in that.

From what I saw of Adam Cole (including at the Royal Albert Hall show, where the crowd participation was hugely fun), he was presented overly seriously as a tactical, smug genius, who could occasionally be fun. In AEW, that's all dropped, not least because he's not the new leader of The Elite - he's just dicking around with his friends, and it's immediately more fun.

Sure, there's good will, but I think being sick of WWE's presentation of someone and being enthusiastic about a change is different to a bias.

[Supremo]

I just think even the worst shitarse, indy nonsense can be forgiven or even enjoyed provided it’s not pitched as some ridiculous Shakespearean bollocks.

Nobody has really ragged on Gargano since around Halloween Havoc last year because whilst he’s still wrestling the exact same type of match it’s in a completely different context. You can almost do whatever the fuck you want provided it’s delivered in a silly, daft, funny, everyone’s-in-on-the-joke manner.

The reason Cole and Gargano became such a chore at their worst was because their stupid nonsense was pitched and treated as if it was the most incredible, serious, dramatic, epic stuff we’d ever seen. No wry smiles. No cheeky nods to the audience. Just widen your eyes some more and stare at your hands a bit longer.

For two guys who had to drag the WWF kicking and screaming into a new era of actually having a laugh and stuffing socks down your kecks to pop the boys, Triple H and Shawn then grew to become everything they once hated.

[RedRooster]

23 minutes ago, Nick James said:

On the Adam Cole debate, its pretty similar to the Bray Wyatt / Charlotte / *insert hated current WWE wrestler* in that people seem to change their view as soon as AEW are brought into the conversation. In the same way that football fans hate certain players, until they sign for their team, then they are the best thing since sliced bread. Whether its consciously or sub-consciously, it changes your view depending on your views of the company / team. 

While clearly there are people who do this, I just don't think that this logic applies to this forum - there is, and has been plenty criticism of AEW on here, including of former wrestlers - I could point to Matt Hardy and Mark Henry as examples of people who, frankly, were more enjoyable to watch in WWE. Christian fell under that category at one point, but I think he's turned the tide. I could also point to the initial negative reaction to Miro and Brodie Lee - if AEW isn't doing well with a character, people here will happily say that. 

The debate surrounding Adam Cole, I would argue, is something you can point to as an example of why the UKFF is such a great place to talk wrestling. People are open to changing their minds, willing to be won over, or even admit that they were wrong. 

In Cole's case, he's done pretty well in AEW so far. Is he benefitting from being the 'shiny new toy'? Yeah, probably. I think it's also fair to say that being in NXT hindered him - there was no sense of upward momentum, and he really had done it all. Plus his Takeover matches felt long and repetitive. He's yet to have a PPV match in AEW, so if old habits end up dying hard, it may be that people sour on him once again. 

But the simple truth is, AEW generally does a better job than presenting wrestlers than WWE, so opinions will inevitably change when someone makes the jump. It's not necessarily tribalism. 

[Guest]

Cole seems very much benefit from less is more. He’s been used in multi man matches that everyone looks good in. Don’t think Jurassic express have looked better than in the spots fed to them by the Elite over the last month. 

[Hannibal Scorch]

Also, Cole’s theme music is a banger. Has anyone gone from having a great theme to a more amazing one then him jumping ship?

[RedRooster]

1 hour ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Also, Cole’s theme music is a banger. Has anyone gone from having a great theme to a more amazing one then him jumping ship?

I've heard a lot of people say this, but I must admit, I don't understand the love for it at all. It feels very ordinary to me!

[Chili]

They finally book Luchasaurus as he should be booked, a fun spot hitting special attraction, and it's paying off. He was massively over in that opener. 

[Merzbow]

Yeah Cole's theme is just far too generic metal shite for me, it's just that fans can go "boom" in time with everything which gets it over. So it does it's job, can't complain too much.

[69MeDon]

I don't think Cole's music is particuarly good. It has an OK beat but the lyrics are a load of rubbish other than BOOBS.

Also, I think the only match of Cole's I watched from NXT was a Wargames match with UE vs Keith Lee and some others. So when he came to AEW, I didn't go into it with any real opinion either way. And I've liked him thus far.

[The Gaffer]

I wouldn't exactly listen to his theme in my spare time, but it 100% has that x-factor that causes people to cheer louder than they normally would, I think. 

Edited October 8, 2021 by Gay as FOOK

[DavidB6937]

24 minutes ago, Gay as FOOK said:

I wouldn't exactly listen to his theme in my spare time, but it 100% has that x-factor that causes people to cheer louder than they normally would, I think. 

Nah. Uncle Kracker is way better than any shit Adam Cole would ever use.

 

[tiger_rick]

Absolute banger, that. Anyone who doesn't think that's a brilliant theme for a heel stable is not to be trusted on anything.

[69MeDon]

I hated X-Factor at the time. I'm wondering though if it was they just worked me really well or were they really bad?

[Hannibal Scorch]

19 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

Absolute banger, that. Anyone who doesn't think that's a brilliant theme for a heel stable is not to be trusted on anything.

I remember buying the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack specifically for that Uncle Kracker track.