AEW Dynamite Thread 2023

[Nick James]

1 hour ago, Loki said:

Hobbs was working a Mark Henry style which really suits him. 

You could be onto something there, instead of sticking him with QT, Callis and the like, get Mark Henry to 'coach' him. Do vignettes with Henry showing him the powerlifting stuff with Gimmicked ridiculously heavy items and just have him be strong as an ox that just throws people around until you finally get to someone who outsmarts him. 

I genuinely think out of Miro, Wardlow and Hobbs, Hobbs has the most potential to be rehabbed into someone that could really have a good go at being a top guy.

[HarmonicGenerator]

Hobbs and Henry would be a really good fit. I’m sure he does a lot behind the scenes but I’d be happy with a bit more Mark on screen.

[Supremo]

Love the idea of Mark Henry coaching Hobbs and then bestowing the salmon jacket when he’s reached his final form, like it’s a black belt in being a Powerhouse.

[BomberPat]

Mark Henry has been helping Hobbs behind-the-scenes, so it wouldn't be a bad pairing on-screen for sure.

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

11 hours ago, Loki said:

allin vain

That would be a gimmick evolution no-one would expect. If Darby drops the skateboard and face paint and starts coming to the ring in expensive suits we will know you were the catalyst for the change. 

[The King Of Swing]

Decent enough show other than the obvious. 

On that, others have already covered the MJF/Juice stuff better than I ever will. All I'll say is, I hope it's quickly dropped.

OC getting the International Title back was a good way of making the best of a bad situation. 

Christian Cage is the best. Such a detestable prick.

Love these Samoa Joe videos. 

Toni Storm segments. Most like them, I don't, is what it is.

Women's Title match was fine, couldn't have made it more obvious that Saraya only won the belt for a one time pop.

Despite what I think of the Storm segments, her and Shida could be a lot of fun if they go down that road.

Nick Wayne is a good fit for Christian's little group.

I enjoyed the main event and post match brawl. 

[hallicks]

I hardly ever get time to watch shows these days but my wife was out tonight so I popped this on. Echo the love for Swerve, he’s so great. Bryan needs to be a babyface, this was the most I’ve enjoyed one of his matches in ages.

MJF as a face is enjoyable. Christian is glorious. Enjoyed the main event far more than I expected to, I’ve never really been arsed about Copeland as a singles wrestler. Crowd felt pretty hot for everything. Fun show overall. 

 

[Supremo]

Weird, messy show. I’m all for storylines being intertwined and overlapping but this felt like a migraine trying to keep track of everything. A mad turn of events after everything felt so razor-focussed recently. You have to assume Tony’s on the comedown from last week’s Twitter and cocaine binge.

Of what I can remember….

Some really great wrestling on the show. The opener, the women’s match and the Omega match all banged hard.

Looked to be a much bigger crowd than recent shows, too. Mistico shifting tickets? The Lucha Tony Bellew?

After threatening to do it a few times earlier in the year, it was glorious to see Penta reach his final form as a topless beast. Even combining the F5 and the Jackhammer to create the ultimate beast move! You beauty! (Move was good too).

The Adam Cole/Roddy Strong stuff has died an absolute death. At least The Bloodline went a year or so before overdosing on the smell of its own farts and turning to shit. The speed with which this has nosedived is incredible. Awful TV. They’d be better off all fucking off until Cole is healed and ready to return.

Speaking of bad TV, this show saw some horrendous exposition-dumping from both Adam Copeland and Will Hobbs. I’m all for adding context and fleshing out storylines, but fuck me. Do a video package or something. Show don’t tell. Copeland in particular. Told and told and told.

By contrast, Christian delivers yet again. Telling Nick’s mum she should’ve picked up the phone. Unbelievable. What a guy. Heel of the year. Nick Wayne is excellent in this role, too. A natural heel. The most slappable of faces. Great seeing him literally get his teeth knocked out.

Lance Archer’s introduction was brilliant. “….kicking his opponent down to the ring, weighing 273 pounds….the Muderhawk Monster, Lance Archer!” Really funny. How can this be the same company that thinks Adam Cole doing things in slow motion is hilarious?

Sad to hear Sting is retiring. Ecstatic he’s going out on his own terms and won’t be remembered for that bullshit WWE run. Sting and Darby beating The Young Bucks for the Tag Team Titles at Revolution 2024. I will accept nothing less.

Nice to have Juice and the boys back to just being idiots again, with all the racism dropped entirely. Cardboard belt for Card Blade! You love to see it.

The state of the participants in the Battle Royale. Absolutely stunk of Rampage.

Move over, Edge and Orton. New Greatest wrestling match of all time on the cards this Saturday.

Still, LOL at them thinking Double J vs. Kingston is the heater match for Jay Lethal vs. Kingston. Wrong way round, partnah!

Most interesting thing coming out of the show is how many people are currently gunning for MJF. Omega, Samoa Joe, Roddy, Wardlow. Not something they normally do, having so many guys talking about wanting the World Title simultaneously. I wonder if Tony took so much coke last Tuesday that he’s had an epiphany and is going to book the maddest Full Gear Tournament of all time. Why not? Just do it. Stick every top guy in there and finally deliver on the potential of your dream roster. Bring in all the top dogs! Omega! Sting! Mox! Kingston! Hangman! Joe! Wardlow! Danielson! Jericho! Takeshita! Swerve! Darby! Double J! Danhausen! Imagine the Excel sheet, Tony! Think of the brackets! Visualise all the bonkers match graphics!

*I fully expect another crap tournament, that inexplicably features at least one Hardy Boy, where you can guess the Finals and Winner instantly.

Edited October 19, 2023 by Supremo

[Jazzy G]

I wholly expect Sting's final match to be against Darby as some kind of torch passing. Putting somebody over on the way out. I would have loved for him to have won a title, even if it was just for a week or two. Maybe there's still time. You know that whatever the match he's going to leave it all in the ring. 

[DavidB6937]

Sting's retirement speech was.. odd. The crowd were just strange for that. Not sure why. Maybe they're so programmed to not believe that kinda shit.

Agree on the show as a whole - bit all over the place with enough good stuff to make it worth tuning in for.

[RedRooster]

6 hours ago, Supremo said:

After threatening to do it a few times earlier in the year, it was glorious to see Penta reach his final form as a topless beast. Even combining the F5 and the Jackhammer to create the ultimate beast move! You beauty! (Move was good too).

 

I think Penta might be the most underutilised wrestler in the company. He comes across as a menacing badass, has a tremendous look and has shown numerous times - both inside and outside of AEW - that he can nail the character work. I'd love to see them do more with him. He could easily be one of the top heels in the company.

1 hour ago, DavidB6937 said:

Sting's retirement speech was.. odd. The crowd were just strange for that. Not sure why. Maybe they're so programmed to not believe that kinda shit.

Could it have been where it was placed in the show? People are used to these things closing shows - rather than appearing mid-way through. Heck, I'd go as far as to say it made it feel less consequential as they quickly move on to the next segment without giving you time to really let what has been said sink in. Much like Danielson's "I'm going to retire" speech, I think it merited a show-closing spot. It's a real shame we won't see him at All In 2024. It's sad that there are only months left to enjoy Sting as a wrestler. He's been absolutely brilliant for AEW.

2 hours ago, jazzygeofferz said:

I wholly expect Sting's final match to be against Darby as some kind of torch passing. Putting somebody over on the way out. I would have loved for him to have won a title, even if it was just for a week or two. Maybe there's still time. You know that whatever the match he's going to leave it all in the ring. 

Now that we know he's retiring, I think they'd be missing a trick not to put a title on him - winning the TNT belt from Christian would be a fantastic moment; not necessarily as Sting's last match, but perhaps as a pitstop along the way.

6 hours ago, Supremo said:

The Adam Cole/Roddy Strong stuff has died an absolute death. At least The Bloodline went a year or so before overdosing on the smell of its own farts and turning to shit. The speed with which this has nosedived is incredible. Awful TV. They’d be better off all fucking off until Cole is healed and ready to return.

Yeah, they've fucked this. I think it's clear now that they should have had Cole turn on MJF at All In, rather than imply that he's spent the past few weeks at Roddy Strong's house doing odd jobs. 

And talking of bad comedy, Max Caster doing his best David Walliams impersonation is absolutely abysmal. I'm not even sure what they're going for here - what's the joke, exactly? The Acclaimed need a change in direction, whether it's splitting up, a heel turn or something else entirely. In a more general sense, the trios division feels like a burden on the show - it doesn't add much of anything, and I hope Tony Khan realises that and retires the title belts sooner rather than later. 

[Factotum]

Everyone else has mentioned and summed up my thoughts perfectly, so all I'll add is that Kenny Omega singles matches are just an absolute treat. Get him back up the card and as the main guy with MJF. 

[Hannibal Scorch]

15 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

 

And talking of bad comedy, Max Caster doing his best David Walliams impersonation is absolutely abysmal. I'm not even sure what they're going for here - what's the joke, exactly? The Acclaimed need a change in direction, whether it's splitting up, a heel turn or something else entirely. 

It's definitely a played out joke that just doesn't work on TV. On twitter, where this has been going on ages, it works fine, as two old students on the wind up. But it is not working on TV at all. For an act that was so so over a year ago, and are still popular with the crowd/merch, they are really getting predictable and need a revamp for sure.

[Loki]

21 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

I think Penta might be the most underutilised wrestler in the company. He comes across as a menacing badass, has a tremendous look and has shown numerous times - both inside and outside of AEW - that he can nail the character work. I'd love to see them do more with him. He could easily be one of the top heels in the company.

Absolutely, the issue has always been that he loses... a lot.  I'm assuming there are contractual reasons he's never been the focus as a top main eventer, because otherwise it seems like a huge oversight.  If they gave him some actual wins he'd be ready for PPV main events in weeks.

23 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

Max Caster doing his best David Walliams impersonation is absolutely abysmal.

It's positively offensive isn't it?  Racial jibes last week, this frankly homophobic storyline bubbling under, Jericho becoming a flat-earther.  What's going on in that locker room?

[WyattSheepMask]

Glad I’m not the only one down on the whole Cole-Strong routine. It’s Roderick Strong for Christ’s sake, a man so forgettable no-one noticed that he was unemployed for 6 months. It’s also something that has Matt Taven involved, that’s an instant -5 stars.

Im not as enamoured with Toni Storm’s recent work as others seem to be, but at least it’s better than basing her entire personality on “owns a ‘Best of Mötley Crüe’ CD”.

They best be keeping Nick Wayne with Christian long term otherwise he’ll be a total afterthought very quickly.

Good match between Omega and Fletcher. Omega is so much better on his own away from the other Elite twerps.

Jay v Penta was decent too, although it annoyed me no end that Jay had to just stand there while Penta pissed about taking his glove off. I’m also of the thinking that if Jay is going for the belt at the PPV, having him get a clean would’ve been just as fine rather than having the interference. Penta is at a decent enough level that a clean loss wouldn’t damage him but that clearly isn’t the story they’re telling though, so that’s on me more than anything.

Nice to see Lance Archer back but for the love of god don’t ever wear that gold gear again. Speaking of gear, Wardlow looks a right shitarse with his white boots.