AEW Dynamite Thread 2022

[Keith Houchen]

58 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

I think thats a stretch. Which other fake cowboy in popular culture should he of referenced?

When people hear “Village People”, they don’t think of a fake cowboy, they think of a band associated with gay culture. If he wanted to make reference to a fake cowboy without any hint of homosexuality, this was the way to go. 

 

[Chili]

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

Hes facing Shawn Spears next week. Imagine they have CM Punk return, the hottest return in wrestling, and he gets injured wrestling a television match against a man in a suit jacket, pants and a beanie.

Don't get angry and upset at something that literally hasn't happened or exists. 

[d-d-d-dAz]

12 minutes ago, Chili said:

Don't get angry and upset at something that literally hasn't happened or exists. 

I’m not upset, but it’s definitely possible that keeping him out of meaningful stuff raises the possibility of something happening. Best laid plans and all that.

I’d also say it’s a stretch to say he won last because of veteran guile or whatever. Maybe in the end. But initially he was going to get beat with a foot on his chest, but MJF being stupid stopped that.

Horses for courses, sure. I just don’t think the biggest star in a company should ever be in that position, where a green as grass rookie should have beaten him easily, convincingly and with a jobber level pin.

I’m also not saying he should smash his way to the top. Have close matches, sure, but build to a meaningful passing of the torch or whatever.

The match, for me, was booked poorly but also, he was an afterthought in the overall angle. I find that baffling.

But, whatever, it’s their company and I’m sure they have data that suggests that stars don’t move the needle in any meaningful way and MJF/Wardlow is the feud they need to move towards.

It just wasn’t for me. I want to see stars being stars and using that power to make other stars when it matters.

Edited January 13, 2022 by d-d-d-dAz

[Chili]

Wardlow might be a green as grass rookie. BUT HE'S FUCKING WARDLOW. He's one of their future, so is Punk, but Wardlow is one of THEIR future, that will hopefully involve Jungle Boy, Sammy, Darby, MJF, Dante. etc etc

CM Punk turning up, having these great different matches like Christian did, to work his way back into stuff is grand. Last night he faced someone that absolutely someone they have a lot of future plans invested in. Punk made him look like a big fucking killer, because he is. You can't just have Punk not look in trouble and win because oh he's a star! It would proper mug Wardlow off too. 

[Chris B]

Punk's never been a power guy either. The idea that Wardlow can absolutely dominate him but Punk is smart enough to win anyway is kind of Punk's thing. He's also built up Wardlow as the guy MJF is hiding behind, and if Wardlow is then ineffective, that just makes everyone look bad. This isn't 'go through the lower-tier guys to get to the final level boss' - Wardlow's clearly been positioned much, much higher than that.

[d-d-d-dAz]

8 minutes ago, Chili said:

Wardlow might be a green as grass rookie. BUT HE'S FUCKING WARDLOW. He's one of their future, so is Punk, but Wardlow is one of THEIR future, that will hopefully involve Jungle Boy, Sammy, Darby, MJF, Dante. etc etc

CM Punk turning up, having these great different matches like Christian did, to work his way back into stuff is grand. Last night he faced someone that absolutely someone they have a lot of future plans invested in. Punk made him look like a big fucking killer, because he is. You can't just have Punk not look in trouble and win because oh he's a star! It would proper mug Wardlow off too. 

Punk wasn’t in trouble, he was dead.

I don’t think he benefitted as much as he could have done given the presentation of Punk more generally, either.

Also, and I think it’s just a perspective issue, because you’ve compared Punk to Christian. And, to me, it’s different.

I’m probably just an old man, but I consider Punk a much bigger star than Christian and think he should be handled differently.

I’d have expected Punk to come in, maybe a quick cobweb shake, and then be at the top of the card, have a run, and then lose to a young star in a meaningful way. For me, he’s schlubbed about for too long.

But, if the overall presentation is he’s the same level as Christian I get that and accept I must be wrong and overvaluing Punk.

I feel sad and old now, though.

Also, to add, my original point was booking the match was the mistake. They shouldn’t have put themselves in a position to consider what was mugging off Wardlow. Wardlow is absolutely a future superstar, but he really, really isn’t one now. So keep them apart until it matters.

Edited January 13, 2022 by d-d-d-dAz

[Chili]

No, mate wasn't saying Punk and Christian are the same. Just they had a variety show of different opponents which I liked. Its about showing what a cunning old vet can still do and still have a chance at being the man again storywise. Punk has been treated as as a bigger deal than Christian obvs. Just a similarity. 

I think that second to last bit you say about what you expected will and should be different.

Anyway, Hook is gonna make Punk cry eventually so it's all worth it. 

[Supremo]

I didn’t hate the Wardlow/Punk thing but I would’ve much preferred the finish to be MJF costing Wardlow the match by DQ.

I get the idea of the roll-up, and it wasn’t the worst finish in the world, but the way MJF kept asking for more and more punishment it seemed perfect for MJF to eventually get frustrated at Punk constantly getting back up, deciding to just wallop him with a chair or something.

That way Punk still wins, Wardlow still loses, Punk still looks courageous, Wardlow still looks unstoppable, and the tension between MJF and Wardlow is still there.

The whole thing felt like one of those WWE matches where they book themselves into a corner, only with AEW I usually give them the benefit of the doubt that they’ve thought it through and have a plan, whereas with WWE I always know they haven’t. Here, it was neither one nor the other. It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great, either.

Still, no-ones going to remember any of this whenever Wardlow eventually gives Spears ten powerbombs as the crowd chant, “TEN!” I can’t wait.

[Guest]

Punk was always a scrape by guy in wwe. That he’s older should only add to that . 

[d-d-d-dAz]

5 minutes ago, Louch said:

Punk was always a scrape by guy in wwe. That he’s older should only add to that . 

Is that true?

It may well be, but I don’t remember him being someone who as a babyface takes one sided beatings and wins with distractions/roll-ups.

He was quite an offence driven wrestler, wasn’t he?

I think I’ve just lionised Punk in his absence, above and beyond what most others have.

I assumed he’d come in, and with Bryan, be like Mr. AEW and make up a core unit with Omega/Page/Mox etc and we’d see some huge main events and that’d be the route.

I don’t think that’s the plan in the short or medium term, and it seems like others are quite happy with the direction and how Punk is used to get over the MJF/Wardlow/Spears feud.

I’m willing to accept I could be wrong/in the minority.

But, I will still moan about how talent is spread across the show. Lance Archer… come off it, lads.

Edited January 13, 2022 by d-d-d-dAz

[Hannibal Scorch]

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

 

I’m willing to accept I could be wrong/in the minority.

 

Good

[Chili]

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

I think I’ve just lionised Punk in his absence, above and beyond what most others have.

This, you even said in the last post Punk is being used to get over a Wardlow/MJF/Spears feud. No. He's building to a match and feud with MJF, the Wardlow stuff are just bigger appetisers for his eventual powerbomb murder spree. By then Punk should be ready or having a look at a title feud of somekind. 

[d-d-d-dAz]

3 minutes ago, Chili said:

This, you even said in the last post Punk is being used to get over a Wardlow/MJF/Spears feud. No. He's building to a match and feud with MJF, the Wardlow stuff are just bigger appetisers for his eventual powerbomb murder spree. By then Punk should be ready or having a look at a title feud of somekind. 

I mean, in the grand scheme of last night, Punk was definitely used as a prop to build Wardlow/MJF. That's undeniable. The whole thing was about MJF/Wardlow. Punk lay infirm at the end whilst the crowd were buzzing about Wardlow smashing MJF's head in.

It's not how i'd run a business, but then... it's not my business to run. I'll just have to put my foam X's away and accept Punk isn't the biggest deal in AEW, he's part of a cast of equals.

Can we all at least agree that Matt Hardy/Penta wasn't great? I did however like the look of the big fella that debuted.

Edited January 13, 2022 by d-d-d-dAz

[DavidB6937]

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

I assumed he’d come in, and with Bryan, be like Mr. AEW and make up a core unit with Omega/Page/Mox etc and we’d see some huge main events and that’d be the route.

It would've been mad to present Punk in the same way as Bryan. One has been wrestling regularly for the last couple of years, main evented the biggest WWE PPV possible and is arguably at the top of his game despite retiring for a few years. Bryan's conditioning for one would be way above what Punk's is, and his style was always far quicker and more intense anyway.

But this is Punk who stepped away completely. Who had little to no in-ring interaction with anyone during that long period. It's not just a physical thing but a mental thing too. So to have him waltz into AEW and make their talent look shit because he should be a big name or whatever? Nah.

Doing what he's doing now doesn't destroy his legacy. It doesn't make him look any less of a success. It makes him look like a man who had a lengthy absence and is fighting to find himself and get back to his best - or even better! And working out where his place is in the wrestling industry in 2022. And more than that, just regaining that passion that he lost for professional wrestling along the way. And that isn't just to turn up in a company and grab a belt and be a trophy champion. Much like Bryan he loves to wrestle and he's telling various different stories along the way with different talent. Darby, Eddie, MJF etc. They've all had different reasons behind why he's doing those matches/feuds.

As much as I'm a big fan of Bryan and Punk, it would've been a terrible decision to just bring them in and shove them right to the "huge main events" because that doesn't do existing talent any favours, nor does it play to what we all know about why both guys want to be a part of AEW. They want to work with all the talent there. They're not motivated by money. They're not desperately clinging on to a main event spot. They're there to wrestle and to love every single second of it.

[Supremo]

Lads, why are we focusing on the Punk stuff, rather than the real news coming out of this show?

They didn’t do The Acclaim’s, “viral video,”! Rubbish! I was looking forward to that!