AEW Dynamite Thread 2023

[JLM]

Mox and Lethal was better than Swerve and Lethal last week, though I enjoyed Danielson nerding out on commentary more than the match. 

Excellent promo from Kingston. Loved how Bryan started his reply still in commentary mode and then seamlessly went into tearing Kingston apart and putting the whole tournament on notice. Fantastic. Match is going to be a belter.  

Sting/Schiavone/Flair promo was uncomfortable to watch. We already have Tony for Sting's retirement tour,  and he's is both Sting's biggest fan *and* can speak coherently. I feel like this was a pretty cool announcement and Tony and Sting hit on the history perfectly effectively before Flair derailed it completely.  

Briscoe vs RUSH was a tremendous sprint. RUSH waiting in the corner already preparing to charge the second the bell sounded set the tone and they did not stop from there. The leg injury didn't look like selling and didn't play into the story of the match at all, so unsure why he'd be going to those lengths to sell it. Really, really, really hope it's not too serious. Few things I look forward to more on an AEW show than his matches. 

Taz getting the classic Muttley laugh out of Excalibur for the deadpan "that gout can be rough" was classic Dark/Elevation goodness. I liked Mariah May looking extremely put out when Luther took the belt off her. 

Fantastic promo from MJF on Joe. The huge benefit of AEW fully acknowledging the entire wrestling world outside of their own borders is you can do great stuff like this. Not naming other promotions to take a shot at them, but adding historical context and weight to your stories. Lot of criticism lately of babyface promos completely burying opponents, so this was a great example of the opposite. Joe was brilliant trying to be the voice of reason as his golden ticket to the title got goaded into a bad decision as all babyface champions do.

Six man spotfest was good fun; one of the more watchable Hardys outings in recent memory. So lovely to see Dante back and getting both the comeback and hometown reception. Hasn't lost a step. Is Marq Quen ever coming back by the way? Felt a bit odd they didn't mention him at all here, when they were on about Action Andretti filling in for Dante and Brother Zay was in the match. 

Emi vs Julia was short and sweet. Pretty sure they didn't mention in the Lady Frost match that there were no rope breaks. Also makes Lady Frost choosing no count outs seem a bit silly when house Rules matches have a 20 count anywya. I will not try not to give the House Rules format any more thought. I said after Julia's last defense they'll have to choose her opponents carefully for this run. No safer pair of hands than The Queen. 

Christian/Copeland segment was sensational. Actually had to pause it for a minute when Christian said "you grew up with a single mom" as it sent me into a short laughing fit. Fucking hell he's so good. I didn't like Copeland's promo last week as much as some folks but he was perfect here; even had the tear in his eye when Christian was laying it on thick with the family and friendship history. Home run segment and the highlight of the show by miles. 

Absolutely loved the main event. Thought the story of Swerve outsmarting the smartest guy in the block was fantastic. He Jay Whited Jay White. So many great little touches. Even early on where Swerve was climbing into the ring, White tried to dragon screw him in the ropes and Swerve shoved him off, so Jay went back in with a boot and a DDT instead. The little adaptations and counters on the fly, they're so well matched, would love to see these two go at it again. Obviously Swerve being ready for the ref bump/low blow twick was a really cool idea, but also loved that Swerve had a counter to the Bladerunner after being hit with it the first time. The most Jay White of finishes. Also that promo Supremo posted was so bloody good. Wild that he's been on multiple episodes of TV since the Hangman match and has only talked about it on camera in that setting. 

Good show. Enjoying the tournament a lot and it had my favourite chapter of the Christian/Copeland story so far. 

Edited December 2, 2023 by JLM

[Supremo]

Yeah, Copeland and Christian have hit a home run with this feud. I’m so in. That promo is the best thing Edge has done since his surprise return at the Royal Rumble.

At first, I was too busy marvelling at Christian’s selling of the line as if it physically hurt to appreciate the truly great aspect. Look at the couple in the background, simultaneously leaning back in shock and delight! Brilliant. Like they turn into italics.

 

[JLM]

Haha OK I just watched that about ten times. Superb. 

It's lovely to see comments on the Youtube and Twitter clips from this story from lapsed fans who have had their interest piqued by it. Even if they weren't doing such a stellar job with it, if you're a wrestling fan of a certain age, seeing these two working together again after all these years should mean something to you. As has been said on here many times, AEW at its best is a celebration of Pro Wrestling, WWF/E included. It's a shame the tribalism will stop a lot of people watching this who would love it if they allowed themselves to. 

Edited December 2, 2023 by JLM

[I Bent My Wookie]

1 hour ago, JLM said:

Haha OK I just watched that about ten times. Superb. 

It's lovely to see comments on the Youtube and Twitter clips from this story from lapsed fans who have had their interest piqued by it. Even if they weren't doing such a stellar job with it, if you're a wrestling fan of a certain age, seeing these two working together again after all these years should mean something to you. As has been said on here many times, AEW at its best is a celebration of Pro Wrestling, WWF/E included. It's a shame the tribalism will stop a lot of people watching this who would love it if they allowed themselves to. 

So I was in the pub last night and there was a group of ladies out on a work Christmas do. AEW was playing in the background and I've never been more amazed by a group of 30/40 year old women being so invested as one of them explained what was happening, how they had both retired from injuries, everyone expected this dream homecoming as a team but ones become a deranged lunatic and the other the world's greatest foster dad.

This storyline has anyone watching invested.

[WeeAl]

Christian's 10 minutes of promo time on Wednesday's Dynamite was better than every Britt Baker promo put together. There's levels to this shit. Fucking whining twitter babies. 

I absolutely thought they were going for a draw with Swerve Vs Jay White. I was convinced of it, so the finish totally took me by suprise. Lovely stuff. 

If MJF is going to have to take time away, then take the belt off him when you get him in the ring against Joe. Don't fuck around with your longest title reign, create another interim champ, and a whole pile of mess. Should he take time off (I'm not convinced he will do that by the way, I think he might work on - one match a month - until whatever point they are building towards with his title transition). Then vacating or an interim belt is a terrible idea at this point in my book.

There's been enough disruption with unfortunate title derailments in this promotion - If MJF is going away, Joe is as good as any man to beat him. Even if it's only a transitional reign. Joe gets the rub and a healthy MJF has a reason to go after him when he comes back, even if Joe doesn't have the belt at that point, MJF should have to beat him in order to go after it again himself. 

Or we could get another tournament. I know which option I'd rather have. 

Edited December 4, 2023 by WeeAl

[Duke]

I, for one, can't wait for Roddy's promo when he's revealed as one of the Devil goons about how he fooled us and he's been healthy all along. He's going to be so cocky and full himself, it'll be great.

[Weezenal]

I hope Sting is The Devil.

[andrew "the ref" coyne]

17 hours ago, Duke said:

I, for one, can't wait for Roddy's promo when he's revealed as one of the Devil goons about how he fooled us and he's been healthy all along. He's going to be so cocky and full himself, it'll be great.

I'm calling it.

"The Devil" is The Undisputed Era and they are pro MJF, until Adam Cole is healthy and that is when they turn on him.

[LaGoosh]

Move of the year.

Briscoe/Swerve was fucking great. MJF and Hangman had a promising segment which just reminded me how good AEW would have been the past year if the top stars actually regularly interacted with eachother. I don't give a shit about this Devil stuff at all. Ending angle was obvious and painful to watch.

[Supremo]

RUSH and Mox knocking shite out of each other, with RUSH immediately jumping up and no-selling the finish like an unprofessional prick. Pro-wrestling is back, baby.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I haven't had chance to see it, but saw a tweet that RUSH twatted the recovering alcoholic Mox with a beer around the head? Did that look spontaneous, or planned? That's a risky little spot.

[ReturnOfTheMack]

On 11/23/2023 at 2:12 PM, ReturnOfTheMack said:

I was 100% certain she was going to attack Edge with a chair and join The Patriarchy. 

 

But I was watching it live on less than an hours sleep.

Guess I was just too early in the angle.

[Infinity Land]

I had to double check this was the real Kenny Omega account.

 

[LaGoosh]

2 hours ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

I haven't had chance to see it, but saw a tweet that RUSH twatted the recovering alcoholic Mox with a beer around the head? Did that look spontaneous, or planned? That's a risky little spot.

Yeah that happened. It was a pretty standard crowd brawl spot but obviously with Mox's history that adds a different element to it. But whether RUSH knows about any of that or stopped to think when doing a  very common crowd brawl spot...

Love that Kenny tweet. This Devil stuff is all so fucking dull. AEW shouldn't be doing these WWE type storylines. They don't fit, it feels weird and it's not what AEW should be about. It's no coincidence that Hangman and MJF mouthing off at eachother for 2 minutes about real things felt more vibrant and exciting than anything in this dumb story has for the past two months.

Likewise the Nick Wayne mum turn was awful. The problem with using non-workers for this stuff is that they always make it look fucking shit and give away the twists before they do it because they aren't trained performers. There's more than enough story between these two men that they don't need to add all these extra bells, whistles and bullshit on top to tell it.

Edited December 7, 2023 by LaGoosh

[Devon Malcolm]

17 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

Likewise the Nick Wayne mum turn was awful. The problem with using non-workers for this stuff is that they always make it look fucking shit and give away the twists before they do it because they aren't trained performers.

It was like when Jon Stewart hit Cena with the chair, he couldn't have made it more obvious.

But here's a non-worker absolutely killing it.