AEW Dynamite Thread 2023

[RedRooster]

1 hour ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

A Swerve Strickland singles push?

It's only a push if he actually wins a match...

That promo was rough, though - he seemed to lose his train of thought more than once, and on top of that there's still no chemistry at all between the members of the Mogul Embassy. I'm not even sure what Prince Nana is all about, is he their manager? A wrestler? It's never been made clear. 

Swerve oozes star quality, but this wasn't his finest showing. 

[d-d-d-dAz]

4 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

It's only a push if he actually wins a match...

I don’t know that I necessarily agree with this, if he’s presented as a singles star in a big feud with a former world champion, I think that counts as a ‘push’. I think in terms of Swerve they’ve brought him along quite nicely in recent months, given him a decent platform and allowed him to shine. 
 

Personally, I think he should come out on top in a feud with Hangman as I think we’ve seen Hangman hit his ceiling as a singles star whereas think we’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible with Swerve. That said, he can still come out with his stock higher in defeat.

[RedRooster]

1 minute ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

I don’t know that I necessarily agree with this, if he’s presented as a singles star in a big feud with a former world champion, I think that counts as a ‘push’. I think in terms of Swerve they’ve brought him along quite nicely in recent months, given him a decent platform and allowed him to shine. 
 

Personally, I think he should come out on top in a feud with Hangman as I think we’ve seen Hangman hit his ceiling as a singles star whereas think we’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible with Swerve. That said, he can still come out with his stock higher in defeat.

It's increased visibility - sure, but QT Marshall had that for a while; as have many other wrestlers that Khan has taken a short-term fancy to. For Swerve to have any long-term value, he needs to start beating big names. 

For example - imagine if Swerve had been the one to lock Sting in a coffin at All In. Sting could disappear for a while, making his eventual return feel like a huge deal, as we all question his future. He's not been pinned, so he's not massively hurt - yet Swerve gets some serious bragging rights. Heading from that into a feud with Hangman would be really exciting - it would make Swerve feel like he's on the rise, the next time we see Sting feel bigger, and it would add an interesting wrinkle to what's going on with Darby also. 

I think it would benefit everyone if Swerve was made to look like more of a threat. 

 

[BomberPat]

2 hours ago, RedRooster said:

For example - imagine if Swerve had been the one to lock Sting in a coffin at All In. Sting could disappear for a while, making his eventual return feel like a huge deal, as we all question his future. He's not been pinned, so he's not massively hurt - yet Swerve gets some serious bragging rights. Heading from that into a feud with Hangman would be really exciting - it would make Swerve feel like he's on the rise, the next time we see Sting feel bigger, and it would add an interesting wrinkle to what's going on with Darby also. 

I've been saying this recently, and it actually makes a lot of what's going on now make more sense.

Swerve Strickland is good enough that he can talk his way into a major programme and you're never going to doubt it, but he needs some statement wins under his belt, as he's yet to really have that one big win in AEW, and loses more often than not. It wouldn't have hurt Sting's credibility at all for him to have been shoved in a coffin by the combined efforts of Swerve, Nana, Christian Cage and Luchasaurus at All In, and hell, maybe even the other members of Mogul Embassy if they wanted to really over-egg it.

Swerve missed two weeks of TV for being put in the coffin, but if he hadn't brought it up, would you have known? Meanwhile, Sting won the match and we haven't seen him at all. As well as giving Swerve the rub and, like you suggest, being able to run a "what happens next?" angle for Sting, it also adds a much more interesting narrative layer to everything Darby Allin is doing. Him having back problems going into All Out feels like a better story if he had lost the previous week rather than winning - though given that he ended his All Out match with "serious injuries" and then was back wrestling on Dynamite without a mention of it a few days later, perhaps not - while him having to step up to a mentor role for Nick Wayne, and navigate the situation between Wayne and AR Fox, would be a far more compelling story if they acknowledged that Darby's own mentor and moral guide isn't around any more. That's a more interesting story than Sting winning and then fucking off anyway.

The danger of this feud is that Hangman needs a big win just as much as Swerve does; Swerve needs the win on the way up, and Hangman needs a win to prove that he's not on the way down. It might be that, at this point, Hangman needs it more after Swerve raised the suggestion that he doesn't care any more, but they can't afford to have Strickland keep being a guy who gets beaten on the way up before that starts to stick, and he absolutely deserves to be in the main event mix. 

[LaGoosh]

Man, I just don't give a single shit about this Nick Wayne stuff. 

[The Gaffer]

"Night after night with a BB gun by my side, passing out alone!"

Look I was wrong about him. I'm not sure if they turned what was meant to initially be a caring friend angle into an annoying jerk one after how it initially came across, or if that was always the plan, but they got me either way and I hope they milk this middle class Raven shtick for all it's worth. It's glorious. 

[DavidB6937]

I know it's a good problem to have in some ways but they really do have too many decent talents that are capable of stepping up to the top level. Their main event scene should be damn strong for years to come.

It's just about juggling and ensuring that the guys on the cusp aren't forgotten about or too damaged along the way that they lose momentum. And it's a damn tough thing because they've got so many to be concerned about. Not everyone can be booked strong.

[Nick James]

1 hour ago, LaGoosh said:

Man, I just don't give a single shit about this Nick Wayne stuff. 

He has the face of a heel you would never tire of slapping, never mind a white meat baby-face.

[d-d-d-dAz]

1 minute ago, Nick James said:

He has the face of a heel you would never tire of slapping, never mind a white meat baby-face.

He looks like a skinny Will Ospreay...

[Hannibal Scorch]

2 minutes ago, Nick James said:

He has the face of a heel you would never tire of slapping, never mind a white meat baby-face.

 

1 minute ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

He looks like a skinny Will Ospreay...

Ta da

Edited September 7, 2023 by Hannibal Scorch

[Supremo]

Am I seeing things that aren’t there, or has Jericho done a Jericho again, identified that the hottest thing in this company right now is MJF and Adam Cole, so just booked his own version with Sammy?

I don’t want to complain too much because I think tagging as the Le Sex Gods is the absolute best use of Jericho in 2023, the tag match on this show was amazing and I can’t wait to see them continue this run as a team, but all the melodrama and accidental miscommunication? He’s just copying their homework, isn’t he?

The will-they-won’t-they, can-they-co-exist concept is just the new Eddie Kingston or Ricky Starks. A hot new thing that Jericho has desperately dived into like it’s the local Wetherspoons offering 2 for 1.

[LaGoosh]

I didn't love this show but from a production/pacing/storytelling perspective it was the most well paced and cohesive Dynamite they've ever done.

Things I loved:

- Statlander/Emi was AWESOME. More sprints please, less long matches with picture in picture. Just give two good wrestlers 5 minutes and they'll give you something worthwhile. 

- Roderick Strong somehow becoming entertaining. I hope he always wears the glasses and neckbrace, endlessly whining and making excuses even when his neck is clearly fine. An absolute revelation, what a great gimmick.

- speaking of great gimmicks, Toni Storm continues to be excellent although not sure who the heels/faces are in this Outcasts story.

- Don Callis presenting an over the top painting to reveal his next target is so ludicrous. Wonderful little thing. Takeshita looked like an absolute boss too.

Edit: also loved Joe saying he wouldn't attack MJF and then immediately attacking him. What a heel! I wish I had one hundredth of his swagger.

Edited September 7, 2023 by LaGoosh

[DavidB6937]

33 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

I didn't love this show but from a production/pacing/storytelling perspective it was the most well paced and cohesive Dynamite they've ever done.

Things I loved:

- Statlander/Emi was AWESOME. More sprints please, less long matches with picture in picture. Just give two good wrestlers 5 minutes and they'll give you something worthwhile. 

- Roderick Strong somehow becoming entertaining. I hope he always wears the glasses and neckbrace, endlessly whining and making excuses even when his neck is clearly fine. An absolute revelation, what a great gimmick.

- speaking of great gimmicks, Toni Storm continues to be excellent although not sure who the heels/faces are in this Outcasts story.

- Don Callis presenting an over the top painting to reveal his next target is so ludicrous. Wonderful little thing. Takeshita looked like an absolute boss too.

I think they've managed to hit the sweet spot with so many different wrestlers at the same time. Especially ones that were perhaps floundering before or easily missable. 

[BomberPat]

I really enjoyed this show; they overdid the "one segment bleeds into the next" stuff, but it's a step forward in how the whole show at least feels like it's happening in the same universe, rather than each segment existing in isolation from the next. Pretty much zero complaints about the in-ring stuff on this show, only about the booking.

I loved Emi vs. Statlander for all the reasons just mentioned, and for just being a diehard Emi fan in general. I do think the timing of her getting two matches on Dynamite right after Wembley is interesting, but whatever the reason, the fact that she's been given new music and whatnot, and that they were putting over her career, makes me think she might be a bit more of a regular moving forward, which is great news - she's one of the most diverse and adaptable wrestlers in the world, and there's nobody else in that division that can match her for experience. I'm not saying she needs a title reign, but she should be a regular fixture just having matches like the one she had here, and the crowd seemed into her. If they can book her to get some wins, she could easily be a decent gatekeeper "the one to beat" heel, but that requires having more women's matches that aren't directly built around one title feud. 

Roderick Strong has been fantastic. The emotional promos about his difficult childhood, where every photo was of him smiling and being doted on as a child? Amazing. Wrestling without the neckbrace, then immediately putting it back on? Lovely stuff. That a somewhat nuanced story of jealousy and mistrust has come down to "my neck injury is more important than your new friend's neck injury" petulant whining is fantastic, and the best Roderick Strong has ever been. The one bit of advice I always give wrestlers - especially anyone working heel - is to be prepared and humble enough to run with stuff that isn't cool, that's often a joke at your expense, and that wasn't part of your plan, but that gets over regardless, because that's the stuff that can run and run. Roderick Strong never went into wrestling school dreaming of being a whiny, fragile nerd, yet it's the best thing he's ever done. 

 

Only downside to the Don Callis segment was him reusing the "I'm like a serial killer" line that he was obviously proud enough of to use on commentary as well. Maybe the backstage promo was a pre-tape and he forgot he'd already said it. Curious who Takeshita's next victim is - I'd assume Ibushi, but only if he's sticking around. The Bucks are back to doing tag stuff, Hangman's working with Swerve, and Jericho seems preoccupied with Guevara, and I can't see them moving completely outside of The Elite's orbit yet.

[Vegeta]

59 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

speaking of great gimmicks, Toni Storm continues to be excellent although not sure who the heels/faces are in this Outcasts story.

Her and renne have some good chemistry. Loved the chin up, tits out and watch out for the shoe 

I am enjoying tonis new gimmick and they do have some good potential with her dependant what they want to do