AEW Dynamite Thread 2023

[Matthew]

8 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

Out of interest, do you think it’s going well/is getting unfair criticism?

I don’t think it’s getting unfair criticism as such, but I do think that fans have written off every possible outcome as a bad one, to the point there is no outcome that will please the fans, even to the point of simply giving up on it.

[Chili]

I think the criticism is a tad unfair as it's not Black Scorpion bad (honestly look it up, nowhere near as shit) butttttt, yeah, I've never been a fan of the mystery angle, but a shit angle is explained with enough logic, you can carry it off into what you want. Although for me it only works then when it's either MJF, Cole or to a minor extent Swerve as a Shakespearian element of chaos is the reveal. You don't get that with Hanger, Joe, Britt, Jack Perry, Ospreay, Guevera etc

[RedRooster]

27 minutes ago, Matthew said:

I don’t think it’s getting unfair criticism as such, but I do think that fans have written off every possible outcome as a bad one, to the point there is no outcome that will please the fans, even to the point of simply giving up on it.

I’ve not been watching AEW since Flair debuted (although I have been reading show reports on prowrestling.net), so I’ve not seen the more recent stuff; but I kind of understand why people are down on it. I think it’s really hard to turn a bad angle into something good, and logic gaps (and ‘spooky’ elements) are always hard to swallow. They definitely could fix this, but they could also end up booking something that hurts everyone involved. I suppose you could point to The Firm as a recent example of that. Big Bill and The Gunns are doing better now, but it took a lot of time to wash away that stink. Retribution would be another example, it utterly destroyed everyone involved. 

[JGPuk84]

I enjoyed this show, but my big takeaway is I want to see Joe vs Swerve for the title. I think it would be a lot of fun if MJF is injured.

I also think Mark Briscoe would be a great choice as the next International champion.

[RedRooster]

1 hour ago, JGPuk84 said:

I also think Mark Briscoe would be a great choice as the next International champion

Maybe it’s just me, and maybe it would be a disaster in reality, but I absolutely think they could push him as a top star - as in, an actual main eventer. How fun would Mark Briscoe vs a heel MJF be, or Mark Briscoe vs. Swerve? Yeah he leans into comedy a bit, but he does it in a way that feels kinda believable and in which he seems a bit mad and unpredictable - that could work as an underdog high level babyface, and really get people behind him. I think he’s brilliant. 

[Supremo]

Swerve posing with the World Title is like the ten minute preview for Television X. I managed to cum, but I still want more.

Looks the business. Strap him up.

[JGPuk84]

On 12/21/2023 at 9:52 PM, RedRooster said:

Maybe it’s just me, and maybe it would be a disaster in reality, but I absolutely think they could push him as a top star - as in, an actual main eventer. How fun would Mark Briscoe vs a heel MJF be, or Mark Briscoe vs. Swerve? Yeah he leans into comedy a bit, but he does it in a way that feels kinda believable and in which he seems a bit mad and unpredictable - that could work as an underdog high level babyface, and really get people behind him. I think he’s brilliant. 

Thinking about this more, I think he would work great against Christian Cage, with the back story with Jay, getting Papa Briscoe back on screen. I think that would be great as well.

My issue would more be, I’m not sure I want to see a 3 month feud with Briscoe. That’s probably more an AEW problem then a Briscoe one.

[JLM]

Dynamite 20/12 

Another CC banger from RUSH and Swerve. Wrestled at RUSH's pace and it hit the intensity I was looking for from RUSH vs Mox towards the end. Enjoyed this a lot. Swerve almost playing the Jay White role at times, staying in the fight and pouncing on any opportunities he got from RUSH's leg injury. I loved Swerve trying to throw on a quick cross arm breaker when RUSH was doing the tranquillo pose, and I loved RUSH being ready for it even more. Great spot, and I now consider it canon that this is why nobody ever stops RUSH doing that. It's part pose, part fighting stance. No doubt about the winner here but RUSH looked great as he always does and the leg injury gives him a nice out for him not getting out of his CC group. 

No surprise that Mark Briscoe gave Jay Lethal his best CC match by leaps and bounds. They have particularly great chemistry together but I still give the credit to Briscoe. I keep wanting to say "Mark Briscoe has been a highlight of this tournament" but then so have Garcia and Kingston and Danielson and Claudio and... it's been a bloody good tournament. But man, Briscoe, what an immensely loveable rascal he is. He is so seamlessly able to switch between big arena babyface body language type stuff, to more personalised moments you typically see on indy shows, like borrowing an individual fan's hat for a bit. He is so authentically connected to the audience, like he is personally acknowledging every individual person cheering for him, rather than feeding off the energy of the AEW universe. Kevin Owens is a true master of this as well; you can see it comes more naturally to those who have worked their way up from 50 fans in the crowd to where they are now. As per Danny Garcia; Tony Khan, please do not fuck up what you have with Mark Briscoe, we all need to see him triumph. 

Joe/MJF segment was somewhat saved by how good these two are on the mic, but it felt bad to hear Joe delivering quite clunky dialogue. He is such a great realistic talker, and for a promotion rightly lauded for letting wrestler's speak in their own voices it's a really bad look having him play the role of incompetent detective. He is making it work because he's Samoa Joe but I'd rather he didn't have to. 

Toni Storm on commentary was a delight once again. Taz fanboying out over her, Human Duplex machine, the opera glasses to try and spot Riho, all gold. Taz telling Schiavone his whole life is black and white and Tony agreeing, which in turn broke Exalibur, was also fantastic. Much like in her last match, Riho looked fine, her opponent did not. 

Christian delivering his promo through Tony Schiavone was genius. What a perfect choice.  I was chuckling at the lines before he said them, particularly "shut your mouths while Tony Schiavone conducts MY business". 

MJF/Swerve encounter also had to navigate through the devil nonsense before it got to the good stuff. Still exciting to see these two interacting. Much like the Hangman/MJF backstage thing, it's good to keep all these threads alive and keep your top guys in the mix. Buzzing with excitement for when Swerve makes his final ascent. 

Roddy and Komander was a fun match. Always enjoy Luchador vs Guy-trying-to-ground-the-luchador. Incredible finish with the great looking anti-air knee and then the crazy full rotation on Roddy's finisher. Appreciated Schiavone singing Komander's praises and taking the time to promote his tremendous perfomance at Final Battle. Three times I've singled out Uncle Tony for praise this episode. Taz and Excalibur are a pair of legends together, but with Schiavone/Renee/RJ rounding it out they have a real dream team of broadcasting talent for me, I love of all of them dearly. That's not even counting Daddy Magic, who should be the colour commentator for all sports, wrestling or otherwise. 

Always worry a little when I hear JR is going to be on commentary these days, but was pleasantly surprised hgere. Questioning whether Moxley would be less desperate to win because he's already qualified and then re-assessing that call as the match went on. "Jay White has the speed advantage but Moxely has a way of slowing things down, methodically and PAINFULLY". Proper Jim Ross type calls. I think this is how you have to deploy him now if you're going to. An important match with very obvious stakes and narrative to it, so he understands the assignment and will stay engaged with it.

Loved this match. I haven't seen much praise for Jay White during this thing as there have been so many other great stories, but I am such a huge fan of his approach to these matches. Going for a similar strategy to the one against RUSH here. Letting Mox get all fired up and brawly, taking things to the outside to buy some time after weathering the initial storm, then scheming his way back into it. The double chair shenanigan and then transitioning to the leg work was brilliant, surviving the Paradigm Shift and then having the counter for the Death Rider was fucking beautiful. Mox was great of course but that almost goes without saying, so I will continue preaching the good word of Jay White in these write ups. Genuinely quite gobsmacked by the finish but was really happy to see it. So funny watching him try to navigate past the ref to get his cheap shot in on Mox at the end too. What a snake haha. 

The catch up train is rolling on. Was going to skip Rampage but I see it has Vikingo vs Black Taurus on it and I have become a Black Taurus fan after ROH Final Battle. God damn it. 

[Chili]

7 minutes ago, JLM said:

Dynamite 20/12 

Another CC banger from RUSH and Swerve. Wrestled at RUSH's pace and it hit the intensity I was looking for from RUSH vs Mox towards the end. Enjoyed this a lot. Swerve almost playing the Jay White role at times, staying in the fight and pouncing on any opportunities he got from RUSH's leg injury. I loved Swerve trying to throw on a quick cross arm breaker when RUSH was doing the tranquillo pose, and I loved RUSH being ready for it even more. Great spot, and I now consider it canon that this is why nobody ever stops RUSH doing that. It's part pose, part fighting stance. No doubt about the winner here but RUSH looked great as he always does and the leg injury gives him a nice out for him not getting out of his CC group. 

No surprise that Mark Briscoe gave Jay Lethal his best CC match by leaps and bounds. They have particularly great chemistry together but I still give the credit to Briscoe. I keep wanting to say "Mark Briscoe has been a highlight of this tournament" but then so have Garcia and Kingston and Danielson and Claudio and... it's been a bloody good tournament. But man, Briscoe, what an immensely loveable rascal he is. He is so seamlessly able to switch between big arena babyface body language type stuff, to more personalised moments you typically see on indy shows, like borrowing an individual fan's hat for a bit. He is so authentically connected to the audience, like he is personally acknowledging every individual person cheering for him, rather than feeding off the energy of the AEW universe. Kevin Owens is a true master of this as well; you can see it comes more naturally to those who have worked their way up from 50 fans in the crowd to where they are now. As per Danny Garcia; Tony Khan, please do not fuck up what you have with Mark Briscoe, we all need to see him triumph. 

Joe/MJF segment was somewhat saved by how good these two are on the mic, but it felt bad to hear Joe delivering quite clunky dialogue. He is such a great realistic talker, and for a promotion rightly lauded for letting wrestler's speak in their own voices it's a really bad look having him play the role of incompetent detective. He is making it work because he's Samoa Joe but I'd rather he didn't have to. 

Toni Storm on commentary was a delight once again. Taz fanboying out over her, Human Duplex machine, the opera glasses to try and spot Riho, all gold. Taz telling Schiavone his whole life is black and white and Tony agreeing, which in turn broke Exalibur, was also fantastic. Much like in her last match, Riho looked fine, her opponent did not. 

Christian delivering his promo through Tony Schiavone was genius. What a perfect choice.  I was chuckling at the lines before he said them, particularly "shut your mouths while Tony Schiavone conducts MY business". 

MJF/Swerve encounter also had to navigate through the devil nonsense before it got to the good stuff. Still exciting to see these two interacting. Much like the Hangman/MJF backstage thing, it's good to keep all these threads alive and keep your top guys in the mix. Buzzing with excitement for when Swerve makes his final ascent. 

Roddy and Komander was a fun match. Always enjoy Luchador vs Guy-trying-to-ground-the-luchador. Incredible finish with the great looking anti-air knee and then the crazy full rotation on Roddy's finisher. Appreciated Schiavone singing Komander's praises and taking the time to promote his tremendous perfomance at Final Battle. Three times I've singled out Uncle Tony for praise this episode. Taz and Excalibur are a pair of legends together, but with Schiavone/Renee/RJ rounding it out they have a real dream team of broadcasting talent for me, I love of all of them dearly. That's not even counting Daddy Magic, who should be the colour commentator for all sports, wrestling or otherwise. 

Always worry a little when I hear JR is going to be on commentary these days, but was pleasantly surprised hgere. Questioning whether Moxley would be less desperate to win because he's already qualified and then re-assessing that call as the match went on. "Jay White has the speed advantage but Moxely has a way of slowing things down, methodically and PAINFULLY". Proper Jim Ross type calls. I think this is how you have to deploy him now if you're going to. An important match with very obvious stakes and narrative to it, so he understands the assignment and will stay engaged with it.

Loved this match. I haven't seen much praise for Jay White during this thing as there have been so many other great stories, but I am such a huge fan of his approach to these matches. Going for a similar strategy to the one against RUSH here. Letting Mox get all fired up and brawly, taking things to the outside to buy some time after weathering the initial storm, then scheming his way back into it. The double chair shenanigan and then transitioning to the leg work was brilliant, surviving the Paradigm Shift and then having the counter for the Death Rider was fucking beautiful. Mox was great of course but that almost goes without saying, so I will continue preaching the good word of Jay White in these write ups. Genuinely quite gobsmacked by the finish but was really happy to see it. So funny watching him try to navigate past the ref to get his cheap shot in on Mox at the end too. What a snake haha. 

The catch up train is rolling on. Was going to skip Rampage but I see it has Vikingo vs Black Taurus on it and I have become a Black Taurus fan after ROH Final Battle. God damn it. 

Please keep reviewing!

[Supremo]

There’s nothing I relate to more than @JLM‘s attempt at keeping up with all the great pro-wrestling. It’s a nice problem to have, but bloody hell, those weeks when you realise there’s a pay per view too?

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by Supremo

[LaGoosh]

4 hours ago, JLM said:

I haven't seen much praise for Jay White during this thing as there have been so many other great stories, but I am such a huge fan of his approach to these matches.

Jay White intentionally tangling himself in cable at ringside to buy time and work in a sneak attack on his opponent a few weeks ago is my favourite spot in the tournament so far.

[Infinity Land]

4 hours ago, Supremo said:

There’s nothing I relate to more than @JLM‘s attempt at keeping up with all the great pro-wrestling. It’s a nice problem to have, but bloody hell, those weeks when you realise there’s a pay per view too?

 

Going to be a little easier on catch up this week. No Collision, best ofs for Raw and Smackdown. I think impact are in best of mode as well. Just real life getting in the way. 

[d-d-d-dAz]

So, is THE DEVILS MASKED MEN the names on their contracts? The names on the contracts for the title match? Will it be the names on the title belt side plates? Have they set up bank accounts under the names MASKED MAN #1 and MASKED MAN #2 to get paid, or are they volunteers?

I'm stretching the point, but christ they've jumped THE WATERS TEETHIEST ANIMAL with this angle now. Mystery invaders who the whole company wants to identify shouldn't be winning title matches. It's absolutely absurd, and hands down the worst thing about AEW right now. In the bin, immediately.

I'm also slightly gutted Swerve isn't progressing to the Final, but all over Mox versus either of Danielson or Kingston.

But to go back to the masked men shit, I think they have to find a way to have the back office involved in some way. I think someone said the other day, have it about making sure Max doesn't make it into a contract year as champ or something. Because, it's just absurd to think that any of this can be allowed to happen, whilst on the other hand they've enforced the rules of the Classic very well.

Edited December 28, 2023 by d-d-d-dAz

[Infinity Land]

Outside of the C2 (why does it have to be over?) and i'll give a pass to the Women's World Title and TBS segments, easily some of the worst stuff AEW has put out. I skipped through the Don Callis Family and "main event". Edge and Christian interview wasn't great. It's good they're finding something for Harley Cameron after QTV, but not sure what knife wielding psycho is meant to be. Orange Cassidy reduced to the pop-up match challenge showing how he's regressed into a Rampage main/opener spot he started the year.

I can see Eddie completing the BCC trilogy of wins and the Triple Crown becoming the 'Collision' World Title. Mox v. Eddie should be the main event of Worlds End. Instead it will be a repeat of Full Gear where maybe the Devil turns up this time.

 

[Nick James]

The only way out of it that would explain the admin issues (Which would be utterly shite I might add) would be for Tony Khan to be involved somehow to get involved as a way of trying to get the belt off MJF before the whole 'Bidding war of 2024' kicks off. It's bollocks, would be shite, but would at least explain some of the plot holes.