AEW Friday Night Rampage

[BrodyGraham]

3 hours ago, gmoney said:

How's the flaming table thing any different to Omega and Moxley throwing themselves through barbed wire mesh and glass in their lights out match? That was also thoroughly unearned. 

Moxley half murdered Omega at Double or Nothing and the first episode of Dynamite starting the story of Kenny losing his way, which included the wrinkle of Kenny trying to prove himself by being more violent than noted death match wrestler, Moxley. Kenny and Mox was a cornerstone feud over the first 18 months of AEW through which barbed wire was a recurring feature.

Cody was feuding with Malakai Black, Andrade was feuding with Pac. One week on Dynamite and Rampage the 4 randomly start interfering in each others matches. The next thing you know Cody's putting Andrade through a FLAMING TABLE, a week after they sort of started something, but not really. That's worse than anything he even attempted to do to Black, who he'd been battling for months!

It's night and day.

[gmoney]

8 minutes ago, BrodyGraham said:

Moxley half murdered Omega at Double or Nothing and the first episode of Dynamite starting the story of Kenny losing his way, which included the wrinkle of Kenny trying to prove himself by being more violent than noted death match wrestler, Moxley. Kenny and Mox was a cornerstone feud over the first 18 months of AEW through which barbed wire was a recurring feature.

It was a psychology free turd of a match, their first meeting no less. 

[BrodyGraham]

1 minute ago, gmoney said:

It was a psychology free turd of a match, their first meeting no less. 

Respectfully disagree. Please explain how there was no psychology to it? Moxley had struck Omega at his lowest ebb, after the defeat to Jericho at the company's first show, and then humiliated him on the first Dynamite by giving him his finisher through a glass(!) table. Thus starting  Omega's insecurities and leading into the story of Omega trying to outdo Moxley at his own game, going as far as destroying another noted hardcore wrestler, Joey Janela, on Dark. The match very much played into that story, there was a definite psychology to it. It also played into the ongoing story of Omega's descent. There was history and pay off. Moxley was Omega's bogeyman that he had to cheat to vanguish.

Cody and Andrade weren't even feuding.

[gmoney]

Thank you for reminding me of the garbage match Omega had with Janela as well! If Cody had done that he'd be raked over the coals for it. 

[BrodyGraham]

7 minutes ago, gmoney said:

Thank you for reminding me of the garbage match Omega had with Janela as well! If Cody had done that he'd be raked over the coals for it. 

So the issue isn't that the Omega/Mox and Andrade/Cody situations are the same, but rather you don't like hardcore wrestling or Kenny Omega?

[gmoney]

Kenny Omega is great, but he's done some stupid stuff over the years, that pointless garbage wrestling interlude being one of them. 

I don't mind violence weapons matches when they make sense and are laid out well, which I don't think that was. 

Edited December 27, 2021 by gmoney

[BomberPat]

From what I remember, Moxley and Omega going through glass in that match was more incidental - they were fighting in an area that had a glass coffee table, so resorted to using it as a weapon. That's different, structurally, to Cody and Brandi bringing out a table and proactively setting it up on fire for a big spot - the latter, in kayfabe, was pre-planned, the former was opportunistic.

Out of kayfabe, Omega/Moxley was before Dynamite started, wasn't it? So not only was it still a very young company, but one without weekly TV, so aiming for big moments and grabbing attention was more important than it is now they have two TV shows and can allow these stories time to breathe.

My criticism of the retirement angle is that losing to Malakai Black was enough to make Cody consider retirement - I could talk about how his post-match promo didn't even acknowledge his opponent, but that may have been by design to set up Black cutting it short - and the attack, and Black's continued victimising of Cody's mates, was enough to drag Cody back in. But then he lost the second match to Black as well, and the next week was working a midcard tag team match - if the first loss gave him so much self-doubt that he almost quit, why did the second one, which should have cemented the sense that maybe he can't beat Black, seemingly have no effect whatsoever? From what I can remember, there wasn't even a promo or a line of commentary addressing that, just that Cody was back and that's that. 

Again, I don't think there's any slow burn heel turn, there's no meta-narrative, it's just poor booking matched up with Cody's ongoing claim that there's no such thing as heels or faces any more - he's said that for years, and it's been evident in AEW since day one, when he would wrestle like a heel against someone like Darby Allin, or against Dustin Rhodes, then immediately revert to being baby-face company man after the match, or where he would be working baby-face while Brandi managed him as a heel. It's not shades of grey, it's just needlessly confusing - early on, Cody could pull it off because he had a lot of fan goodwill behind him, and was seen as the public face of AEW, but now Tony Khan is far more of a public figure, there are bigger names in AEW than Cody Rhodes, and fans just don't seem happy to "let it play out" any more. There's a reason we talk about the "Codyverse" - Cody Rhodes isn't booked as a staple part of the AEW roster, he's booked as a special attraction to build his brand, and provide content for his other projects. 

 

Ultimately, if The Plan is to get Cody booed, I don't know why they'd set up a feud with Dan Lambert. That's the sort of programme you book when your babyface is getting booed and you want to find someone the fans will boo more.

[Supremo]

Mad that people are trying to say Omega gets a free pass that Cody doesn’t whenever he does stupid shit. Arguably, Omega got ragged on even more than Cody for that first year in AEW, where he was seemingly sabotaging his own career with stupid decision after stupid decision. But then everything clicked into place, all the nonsense paid off and he became fucking incredible. Forgive me for not having the optimism that the same thing will happen with Cody.

I’m obsessed with HOOK. Waltzing out chewing his gum to that brilliant music, doing that thing where he just chills out the corner, not even looking at his opponent. The way he just stands up after winning and strolls to the back with the hair and the swag. He’s easily the coolest character in the business. It’s mad how letting a young lad come up with his own stuff can feel so fresh and different. The business isn’t cyclical. Everything hasn’t been done before. The problem was that for the longest time it was the same old bastards recycling their old ideas. He’s the fucking future.

[The King Of Swing]

Imagine HOOK Vs. Wardlow in a year or so. 

[mim731]

I always assumed Kenny's foray into the garbage stuff was his character's attempt to show that he was better than Moxley, even at that style. The fact he wasn't, was part of the start of character having a bit of a wobble in him thinking he's the best,  and that in turn kick started the long term story that culminated in his heel turn. 

Or he was just dicking about, but I prefer to think it's the former. There was a great segment either on Dynamite or BTE (I forget which) that had Omega not being cleared to wrestle after the garbage match, and Mox being given the OK, and Omega sold that like he'd been crushed, as if he couldn't shake the idea that Moxley was better than him, and maybe he wasn't quite the best in the world. So I like to think it all served a storyline purpose, even the Janela stuff. 

[Supremo]

This, from an interview with Bryan Danielson when he first came in, has a whole new context now we’ve seen HOOK in action;

“I’ve only been there a couple of weeks, but I love chatting with Dante Martin and Hook,” Danielson said. “And I keep asking them if I look cool or not because I’m 40 and I’m not cool. And it’s just different. I’ve never met a lot of the people in AEW. I’ve known some for years from the indies before, but the other guys I’ve never met before.”

At the time, I just thought it was Bryan being his usual self-deprecating, super endearing self. Turns it out it was actually further evidence of Danielson being the best of all time and recognising where he needs to be looking for guidance in 2021. Bruce Pritchard can get to fuck. These young lads know what’s what.

It’s the most contemporary thing in the world for someone to start off as a meme and then completely overdeliver and revolutionise everything. The only thing more impressive than HOOK’s performances is this company’s patience with him. If I was running the gaff he’d be wearing the TNT belt this time next week. Resting his head in the corner, looking like he’s just woken up from a nap.

Edited December 27, 2021 by Supremo

[CavemanLynn]

And fundamentally, HOOK isn't some revolutionary new take on wrestling; he's bare bones basic but bang up to date and it's fucking brilliant. Natural talent, natural charisma. Give him the stage. It's that simple.

Makes you wonder the worth of some training schools. I love Dustin, and no doubt he has a wealth of knowledge to impart, but Christ, the Academy students are bland as fuck. Hitting their marks on their entrance like NXT bots. Visibly counting to three. Trying to fire up WITH THEIR EYES CLOSED.

I would hold out hope that a guy like Danielson would be able to merge classic training and indie experience with big stage level understanding, but this is a guy who said he wanted to present great Professional Wrestling, because if you show anyone great Professional Wrestling, they will love Professional Wrestling, because Professional Wrestling is awesome. It's not. It's silly, and a bit camp, and taking it serious for an hour without context is not going to win anyone over. With that statement, it showed that he may well be just as stuck in the bubble as others.

[RedRooster]

2 hours ago, BomberPat said:

Ultimately, if The Plan is to get Cody booed, I don't know why they'd set up a feud with Dan Lambert. That's the sort of programme you book when your babyface is getting booed and you want to find someone the fans will boo more.

A slight straw to clutch on, I suppose, could be that the eventual plan is to pair Lambert and MOTY up with Cody, and when Lambert said that Tony Khan wanted him to get Cody cheered, what he actually meant was that Khan had suggested that Lambert manage him, and Lambert (the character) was initially reluctant. The fact that Cody now holds a title, meaning more money for Lambert, could act as the catalyst that changes his mind.

Of course, I’m not convinced at all that this is the plan. The most likely reason for this feud is that Cody, the person, is desperate to be cheered. 

Edited December 27, 2021 by RedRooster

[JGP]

Hook reminds me of how music has gone. You take small samples of cools things/beats (Hip Hop entrance theme, Tazplex, Monster selling, Walk off after victory) and elevate them by mixing them together and adding your own additions.

That’s probably overthinking the character but it seems to be what Hook is currently.

[DavidB6937]

27 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

Of course, I’m not convinced at all that this is the plan. The most likely reason for this feud is that Cody, the person, is desperate to be cheered. 

We talk a lot about plans etc and AEW often get defended as knowing what they're doing and that we should wait for pay offs. My main problem with the Cody stuff (which plenty are still defending on social media) is that if they are telling a story then it's a "journey" that I just couldn't give a fuck about. I don't want a tale that is just shit week on week. That's not how good stories work. There needs to be something decent along the way too, not just a good ending.