AEW Dynamite Thread 2023

[RedRooster]

2 hours ago, The King of Old School said:

If everyone stopped being such babies the next feud for the Elite is nicely waiting over on Collision for them.

 

I have to admit I'm not sure I care enough to see that anymore. The moment has gone. I'd certainly be interested in a Punk/Omega match, but a multi-person feud just doesn't interest me. 

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

So FTR are the heels in this upcoming tag match? What with that whole bitchy "Tony should play our music" crying and playing up that they were pissed at MJF and Cole, probably because they've been goofy. I can 100% see some promos about the pair making a mockery of tag wrestling.

FTR constantly make a mockery of tag team wrestling so would be good if Cole and MJF called that out 

[WeeAl]

What incredible reactions MJF & Cole are getting for the most basic of stuff. It's been a heap of fun this, and has allowed MJF to change gears at a time when he was getting stale. It's a shame that the shenanigans with the belt at the end showed that the split is probably going to take place as soon as next week, as well as it being clear MJF is going to turn on and batter Cole. MJF is ready to be a face. Of course he's young and it might be a bigger deal the longer they hold off on that . . .however it's also possible that he's no longer part of the company if they wait too long and don't get to see how a face run for him could go before WWE swoop in and possibly make him the offer he won't refuse. This whole thing has been a ball of fun, and the only time I've enjoyed Adam Cole on a wrestling show. 

Jungle Boy needed a music change to go with the switch, but I'm not sure that's what I would have went with. It may well grow on me. Thought they had a good match here though. 

Kota Ibushi eh? Poor get. Time may have finally caught up with him. He was really poor here. Didn't look like himself, didn't move like it and didn't work like it. I haven't even seen that much of him really. Maybe 6 or 7 matches in total, but he never appeared anything less than spectacular on those occasions. That style, when it finally gets you, leaves you a used up, broken, shell of the person you used to be. I hope for his sake he doesn't come straight back into a full work schedule and tries to continue healing and getting healthy again, as he didn't look to be that here. 

Ibushi wasn't alone though. This match was off. Way, way too long for a start. Immediately those gaps between entrants should be cut to two minutes to help tighten this thing up. Then stop going so long in the match beyond. Quit with the props that involve set up - this is supposed to be a fight from start to finish, not a general wrestling or a stunt show style match. Above all, the production was a shit show. Missed stuff constantly with camera panning and cuts. Not only were they too frequent, but they often happened the wrong times. 

It should end the BCC v Elite Feud, allowing Kenny to move fully onto Takeshita. Not sure what's next for The Bucks though, possibly teaming with Hangman to chase H.O.B? BCC should split, I think they are at their natural end. The Kingston/Mox pairing against Claudio/Wheeler is one I'd be in favour of. PAC is just as likely to be disappearing again, however I'd love to see him stick around for a while. There's always fresh stuff to do with him as he's around so little. 

[Accident Prone]

Roderick Strong has been turned into such a fucking dork that he has to be turning soon. There's no fucking way that you'd cuck a man that badly on national TV without a plan to turn him heel because no one is gonna cheer for him now that he's been presented as the world's biggest loser. Fucking hell, at least Joel Gertner looked good in a neck brace and talked about shagging your mum. This has to lead to Roddy either costing Cole the tag straps or costing him the heavyweight strap, it has to. Otherwise Rod would've been better off in Impact.

[JLM]

Oh Roddy is fucking hysterical I'd forgotten about that. HEY AAADUUUM. 

[Merzbow]

Yeah that was a proper Partridge moment.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I thought I was over Punk/Omega, but the minute PAC walked out I think I’d have sucked Ibushi’s chonky toes just to have Cult of Personality hit.

Deep in my bones I still want that feud, I think. Hope they figure it out.

I do agree though that I’m not that arsed about the group feud. FTR’s weird brand of joylessness would ruin it I think. They were a proper buzzkill last night.

Edited July 20, 2023 by d-d-d-dAz

[The King Of Swing]

Blood & Guts basically delivered what I expected. A chaotic, sometimes sloppy mess of a match. 

Really enjoyed it. Ibushi looked rough though. 

Both Pac and Takeshita walking out added some spice to things going forward. 

I think I might actually shed a tear when/if Better Than You Bay Bay implode. 

They didn't even bother using the Britt squash to set anything up. State of the division. 

[Statto]

10 hours ago, The King Of Swing said:

They didn't even bother using the Britt squash to set anything up. State of the division. 

If anything, you have to admire the absolute bare minimum lip service paid to it  - a nothing squash setting up nothing, with a local jobber doing the honours for a woman who, as it happens, will have travelled there with one of the men in the following match. Box ticking at its finest.

There's been a couple of mentions of commentary explaining stuff in the thread and it's something I thought about a few times watching this show. In general, I'm glad AEW has more of a "show, don't tell" style than WWE but I feel like there are times when it would benefit from being a bit more clued in/closely produced.

For example, in the Jack Perry video it seemed pretty clear it was supposed to be Jack symbolically burying the dead body of "Jungle Boy" (the Hollywood kid is making a movie!) and at the time I thought "Would have been better if they'd got a shot showing the body was wearing the trunks as well as the boots, just to make it totally clear".

When Excalibur eventually acknowledged the video, he explained it as if it was real footage of Jack actually going out and burying "the only boots he's ever worn" in the desert. Similar symbolism, but those boots were clearly attached to a body. So are we to believe Jack Perry really killed a person just so he didn't have to bury his old boots with no feet in them? 

It seemed like Excalibur had never seen the video before seeing it "live" with us, and just reacted to seeing the flash of the boots. If that's the case - clue them in, so they don't contradict what we think we've been shown!

One final announcers explaining stuff point, Excalibur setting up that someone at the desk was going to explain to us the history and meaning of the FTW title then throwing it to Tony had to be a rib.

[LaGoosh]

Oof that was rough. I can see what they were going for but unfortunately missed the mark on pretty much everything.

- the main positive was Jon Moxley being the only one who understood the assignment and bringing the necessary level of hate and violence the match needed. Mox drenched in blood, flipping off Ibushi while driving Omega's hands into nails was an incredible image. 

- a few weeks back in a post I questioned the fact that a lot of these guys aren't really brawlers and that might negatively effect the match. Turns out I was right to be worried. Most the guys in here don't know how to brawl, they tried but it was pretty weak stuff. No surprise that the standard multi-man tags in this feud have been excellent and the brawls nowhere near as good.

- big multi man matches like this should always find a few spots for top stars to shine and stand out, I don't really think this match did that at all.

- Hangman barely even turned up for this. I wondered if he was working hurt, he felt almost completely absent. Not good. He sometimes needs to remember that he's a top guy and needs to act like it.

- did they only bring one razor blade? Only 1 proper crimson mask in BLOOD & Guts is pretty unforgivable. I think some of the bad stuff in this would have been forgiven if everyone was bleeding all over the place. Hard to feel like a true war when guys getting stabbed with forks aren't even bleeding. Felt very weird. Blood adds drama which this match really needed.

- Kota Ibushi being a chubby, slow and almost immobile man was not what I expected. I know these Japanese guys are legends or whatever but I swear every single one AEW brings in is some combination of old/short/broken down.

- either start the match on top of the cage or end it there. Absolutely do not climb up there and then climb back down in the middle of the match. Rule 1 in any big cage match

- I don't know if it's either a poor production team or lack of communication between the performers and the production team but these fucking guys missed almost everything. 

- the story I think they were trying to tell with this match was a good one: the group of friends who are truly united in love beats the group made of nasty bastards driven by self interest and hate. I don't think they really delivered it properly though. Pac leaving was good but Don then taking Takeshita out was barely covered, very blink and you'll miss it stuff. They really needed to make it a big deal and hammer home that the BCC are screwed and Callis is taking Takeshita out of it. And the babyfaces winning by a 5 on 1 (the smallest 1 no less) beatdown wasn't exactly a happy ending.  The story here should have been an out of their depth Elite get brutalised but crawl back with heart, passion and loyalty to eachother while the evil heels fall apart due to selfishness and lack of courage. Instead it was just messy brawling, two quick angles and then it ended.

- post match and off telly The Elite and BCC shook hands...The Elite earning Jon Moxley's respect by bleeding, scratching and crawling their way through hell would have been a perfect post match ending. And it could have sown some seeds for a future BCC breakup story or fed into wherever the Kingston stuff is going. But alas.

- feels like a good place to start finishing up the BCC and turn Mox back babyface. If they're not doing the Punk stuff not sure where The Elite go from here. Feels like there's loads for Omega to do and plenty of options for Hangman but as for the Bucks...they've pretty much done everything. I'd probably be ok with the Bucks leaving for WWE, but I'm terrified to death they'll take Omega with them.

- EDIT with an additional thought I just had: more should be made about tactics in matches like this. When Omega and Claudio started I thought "oh yeah cool this makes sense, Omega is known for his never-ending tank of energy and endurance, likewise Claudio also he's is the biggest man in the match and won the match last year so that makes perfect sense" but the commentators didn't reference any of that. There was no sense of tactics or in-match storytelling at all. Like for example you had a great moment where Yuta went mental stabbing people with forks and Mox watching on like a proud father. That could have been an in-ring story of Yuta going to extreme lengths to impress the rest of the BCC but him trying too hard could have led directly to his downfall. There's endless little stuff you can do in matches like this to really raise it above the "messy brawl with the odd high spot" level.

Edited July 21, 2023 by LaGoosh

[Supremo]

It’s a shame the only thing anyone will remember about this show is Kota Ibushi sending his Dad to perform rather than appearing himself, because that aside, I thought it was a really good time.

I won’t hear a bad word said about the commentary team. Excalibur earnestly promoting a Red Cross blood drive in the midst of the madness, as Jon Moxley bleeds everywhere, with Taz and Tony giggling like naughty school kids, was pure, distilled pro-wrestling daftness. I almost want to go and donate blood myself, just to show my appreciation for the bit.

Taz and Tony were great throughout the main event. I loved both of them losing their minds once Moxley brought out the bed of nails, delighting in what a fantastic nutter he is. Tony screaming, “WHAT ARE WE EVEN DOING?!” whilst Taz cackles and screams, “HE’S A MANIAC!” Top tier stuff. So infectious when they lose their shit like that.

But yeah, that main event was the Jon Moxley show. Felt like he dragged everyone else through it, living his best life, fulfilling all his CZW fantasies on global television. @LaGoosh is spot on about him being the only one conveying the hatred and violence this match required. Cracking blade job, too.

It’s time we make it official. Jon Moxley is a national fucking treasure. Multi-millionaire, doing this shit for fun. I’ll never take him for granted. Kissing the camera and leaving blood all over the lens. Fantastic. A great, great man. The best signing this company ever made.

And on the opposite end of the spectrum? What can even be said about Kota Ibushi. Anti-climax of the century. The man who never ages, always has the physique of a Greek God, and is always in the conversation as one of the best wrestlers alive…finally gets old, fat and slow. Such a sad sight. It reminded me of when the Mexicools came into WWE, all bloated and a shell of their former selves. They promised peak, classic Kota, but instead we got the version who’d turn up for a Raw Reunion. A doddering old man, missing spots and getting in the way. I’d spent the last week fantasy booking what he could do in London. Now, if he came to London? I’d just make him a cup of tea and ask if he’s okay. I don’t want to slag him off too much because I know he’s gone through some harrowing physical and mental health issues, but fucking hell. This was not it. I wanted an emotional reunion of the Golden Lovers. Instead, I got Kenny Omega looking slightly annoyed and disappointed at his chubby mate not even remembering to pose with everyone else as the credits came up.

Other quick thoughts….

Adam Cole and MJF continue to try and find the line wherein this becomes too stupid and camp, and yet still haven’t come close. A triumph once again. What a pop for the finish! If there was any doubt about putting the Tag belts on them, Dax moaning into camera about not playing his music sealed the deal. Double Clothesline his stupid head off, lads! Long may this continue.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief during the opener. He’s still absolutely dog shit at cutting heel promos, and needs a manager immediately, but thankfully Jack Perry has the chops between the ropes to play heel. Solid dickhead act. His smug smile as he got the pin was magic. My only complaint is that he wasn’t the guy dressed as a shark mascot later in the show. Taz already being grumpy and telling the shark to stay away from him? Would’ve been perfect for Perry to take a cheap shot and then slowly reveal himself. Feels like the type of angle AEW would’ve done a year or two ago. You can’t beat a good unmasking. On that note, maybe Chubby Kota Ibushi can remove his Bo Selecta mask next week and reveal his normal, ageless beauty. Fix the timeline.

Edited July 21, 2023 by Supremo

[BomberPat]

In a post-show promo, Kenny said Kota had flown for over 24 hours to be there. Between ring rust and jetlag, I can let him off looking absolutely knackered. I'm sure we'll see more and better from him - a wrestler as creative as him isn't just going to let himself be a shell of his former self going through the motions for long.

[The King Of Swing]

One thing that irritated me during B&G was the commentary team missing the obvious tension between Claudio and Pac, early in the match. They only seemed to pick up on it when Pac was about to walk out. 

MJF and Cole feels like there is an endgame already set to go but I just don't want it to end yet. You also have the uncertainty on how it all ends. 

Does MJF's paranoia ruin his chance at an actual friendship?

Does Adam Cole throw it all away for a shot at the world title? 

Does Roderick Fucking Strong screw them both over in a fit of jealousy? 

Or do MJF and Cole actually win the belts?

Best current storyline in AEW. Which is something I never would have dreamed of saying when it started 

[d-d-d-dAz]

14 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

In a post-show promo, Kenny said Kota had flown for over 24 hours to be there. Between ring rust and jetlag, I can let him off looking absolutely knackered. I'm sure we'll see more and better from him - a wrestler as creative as him isn't just going to let himself be a shell of his former self going through the motions for long.

If the flights the reason for his overall poor performance and presentation, I hate to think what they were feeding them on that plane.

[Chris B]

Obviously a shame about Ibushi's performance here - for a whole bunch of reasons, hopefully not reflective of who he is from here on out. If the stories about him having gained and then lost a lot of weight, along with everything else, are true, then it's possible he was just brought back a month or so early. It's mainly a shame because that'll have been a lot of people's first impression of him and that'll be a lasting one. But then, Minoru Suzuki's first appearance was unfortunately crap, and people now seem to get him and be generally happy to see him. So, fingers crossed, he'll be back on form sooner rather than later.

Other than that, I really enjoyed this one. The twink-on-twink violence to open was really good, and moved everyone along to the next stage they needed to get to well. The MJF/Cole stuff has been absolute gold, and I wish this could be longer-term than it is. Easily my favourite version of MJF so far.

And I liked the Blood and Guts match overall, and having seen negative responses might have lowered my expectations. Mox was absolutely, again, the MVP, but Pac wasn't that far behind him. I also loved the storyline beat of Callis pulling Takeshita out when he realises it's all going south - just brilliant stuff, and I liked everything about the ending.