Jump to content

Recommended Posts

  • Paid Members

A few things I loved this week:

- How Orange Cassidy's character is playing perfectly into his title reign. His whole deal is that he just doesn't really care about anything so he'll accept any challenge against anyone without putting any thought into it. This aspect of his character is directly leading into him more and more worn down every week. I'm really invested in this title reign and don't want it to end. Whoever finally beats Cassidy needs to be their next fresh top heel. 

- Jericho vs Strong falls count anywhere on paper was a weird match but in reality was brilliant. The styles clash worked perfectly here. Jericho was doing all his goofy schtick which created endless openings for Strong to be just a relentless ass kicker, chopping Jericho's chest to fucking pieces. Strong couldn't have asked for a better debut singles match and Jericho was on top form. And Jericho ended up lying literally in dirt...wonderful.

- Notable that MJF's two biggest heel reactions are pushing over Tony Schiavone and slapping the mic out of Renee's hand. More petulant nasty stuff like this please, get's way more heat than calling the fans fat slobs. Renee is also adding so much to all the backstage stuff, she's so great. 

- Perfect booking of Satnam Singh. FTR look like bosses pushing him off the stage through a table in a hilarious and badass bump but Satnam still looks like a killer because a few minutes later he's back on his feet and hits them with the double chokeslam. That's how you present a monster heel.

- The commentary team get better and more likeable each week. Taz dropping in a "Mezzanine Jones" line during the falls count anywhere had me howling. Something about these three, you'd just love to hang around and shoot the shit with them.

Edited by LaGoosh
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’ve probably said it somewhere before but it still rings a bit true, Tony Schiavone being back commentating on a mainstream wrestling show is the absolute best, his enthusiasm just shines through every week and year since AEW began, especially given his last 18 months in WCW where his commentary gradually got more phoned in and forced and that weird one off appearance in early TNA where he bizarrely heeled on Mike Tenay

If AEW hadn’t came around, I’d have liked to have seen Triple H try and bring him in to do NXT in the short window between Tom Phillips going to the main shows and Mauro Ranallo coming back

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, RIDDUM_N_STYLE said:

I’ve probably said it somewhere before but it still rings a bit true, Tony Schiavone being back commentating on a mainstream wrestling show is the absolute best, his enthusiasm just shines through every week and year since AEW began, especially given his last 18 months in WCW where his commentary gradually got more phoned in and forced and that weird one off appearance in early TNA where he bizarrely heeled on Mike Tenay

If AEW hadn’t came around, I’d have liked to have seen Triple H try and bring him in to do NXT in the short window between Tom Phillips going to the main shows and Mauro Ranallo coming back

Schiavone makes any pro wrestling show seem big-time. He's probably my favourite wrestling commentator of all time, going back to his days in WCW. JR has always been considered the King of commentary, but he's nowhere near as good as he used to be. Not that I blame him for that. He's been through some real shit over the past ten years or so.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

What a Dynamite that was. Absolutely loads to enjoy on that one. From Orange Cassidy continuing to be the wrestler of the year (don't let it end in a fucking battle royale please), to the Jericho v Strong brawl which was way better than I expected it to be, right through to that show closing angle, this was a great episode of wrestling TV. 

Not on board with Sammy Guevara trying to play a baby-face again though. This would be a mistake if that's the direction they are going in. 

I take it Wardlow is losing the TNT belt again, and that's why it's being booked as a ladder match? 

Jeff Jarrett is really OC's only competition for wrestler of the year. LL Cool J might say to not call it a comeback, but it may be the best run of his career. Every little thing he does is gold. 

I was looking forward to seeing Hangman clothesline Danielson's head off at the PPV but it seems someone else has already done that. Takeshitsa might be about ready to get the push he's been ready for but on the heel side of the fence as his replacement. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

I hope Danielson and Matt Jackson get healthy, just so this angle can go where I still suspect it to go, with Takeshita eventually joining the Blackpool Combat Club, followed by Kota Ibushi joining The Elite.

Doing the four-on-four at the Pay Per View, perhaps with Takeshita running in and costing The Elite the match, then going five-on-five for Blood and Guts, seems perfect.

Originally, I suspected they were going to do Anarchy in the Arena with these guys and save Blood and Guts for the women's Outcasts vs. Originals feud, but come on. Does anyone give a shit about that feud anymore? Never has a big blow-off felt less necessary. I'd rather they just pretend the whole never happened. On par with Matt Hardy vs. Orange Cassidy or the Nightmare Collective. Just move on quietly.

Edited by Supremo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
7 minutes ago, Supremo said:

I hope Danielson and Matt Jackson get healthy, just so this angle can go where I still suspect it to go, with Takeshita eventually joining the Blackpool Combat Club, followed by Kota Ibushi joining The Elite.

I'm not sure about Takeshita joining the BCC, as much as that's been teased, if only because Takeshita's main involvement has been via Don Callis. I think they've played a blinder here in that, while Don turning on Kenny helped the Blackpool Combat Club, they've still not made it clear if they're working together or not - Don hasn't aligned himself with BCC, nor did they seem to know that he was turning. They could keep the intrigue going with that for a while, and my instinct is that Callis has his own agenda, the Blackpool Combat Club just happening to be the beneficiaries of it right now.

The most heartbreaking move they could make is have Callis manage Kota Ibushi against Kenny, though I think there's a less than zero chance of that happening. I do think that this feud will segue straight into something new for Kenny, though, pitting him against a Don Callis-managed opponent that we haven't seen yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

I know most on here pay for Fite TV and have seen it several days before, but I happened to catch Dynamite last night as it was on after a Welsh political programme that's on ITV 1 Wales after the late news. 

Having a show on ITV4 is one thing. But while I never hear anyone talk about this, surely having an (albeit graveyard) slot on ITV1 is the most exposure any American wrestling show has had over here since Sunday Night Heat was cancelled by Channel 4?

I realise it starts at 11:40pm or so, but by virtue of being it being ITV 1, I still bet the viewing figures are remarkably high for a wrestling show.

Can't really comment in detail as I don't watch the show regularly and coming at this from a casual's angle, but I still 'don't get' Orange Cassidy and everything about Darby Allin gets on my tits.

That said, Jeff Jarrett is the fucking GOAT and Kenny Omega is looking like a million bucks atm (he should be the top guy imo). Amen to loving Schiavone on commentary too.

Edited by garynysmon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

Oh, God. I could not handle Callis managing a heel Ibushi against Kenny! Please, no!

My biggest worry is that it leads to Callis bringing in Ospreay as the new God of Professional Wrestling. The matches will obviously be great, but I just can't connect with Will's character at all. He sucks the life out of everything, bruv.

Say what you want about AEW, but they've already made Dynamite and Collision feel like completely different shows. Far more than Raw and Smackdown, which has mostly been the same show with different coloured ropes. On Dynamite, you've got this episodic, intriguing storyline that encompasses multiple characters, expertly plotted, encouraging you to follow along, note the smaller details and imagine where it's going. Whereas with Collision, you're wondering if the dickhead the show is built around is even going to show up, and if so, which of the wrong'uns will be the first to punch him backstage. Brand identity at its finest!

Edited by Supremo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
14 minutes ago, Supremo said:

My biggest worry is that it leads to Callis bringing in Ospreay as the new God of Professional Wrestling. The matches will obviously be great, but I just want connect with Will's character at all. He sucks the life out of everything, bruv.

That's what I'm expecting, but trying to avoid mentioning because I'd rather not think about it. They've already teased them working together, and Callis has added the word "bruv" to his Twitter bio.

It just feels a waste of the whole set-up; what made Don and Kenny's partnership worked is that it was 100% believable - being able to genuinely trace it back to Don's early years as a wrestler being managed by Kenny's uncle is something you just can't fake, and any subsequent feud between them needs to feel just as anchored in reality. I don't get that from a feud with Ospreay built around social media spats and Meltzer star ratings.

Again, I don't think we get heel Ibushi at all, but I think the strength of that is that there is reality there between Kenny and Kota just as there was between Kenny and Don - there's routes you can take that story down, about why Kota might have been influenced by Callis to resent Kenny, that would be like Andre showing up with Bobby Heenan. And then you get the eventual Golden Lovers reunion at the end of it all. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
30 minutes ago, Supremo said:

My biggest worry is that it leads to Callis bringing in Ospreay as the new God of Professional Wrestling. The matches will obviously be great, but I just want connect with Will's character at all. He sucks the life out of everything, bruv.

Ugh, fuck. They've hinted at it in the past and I'd completely forgotten. But you're almost certainly right. The larger a part he has in the show, the less interest I have in watching it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone else find the crowd lighting during House of Black matches incredibly distracting? I've never really enjoyed this stable - I don't think they have any chemistry whatsoever - but this adds a whole new layer of "fuck off, please" to the act. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Go home Dynamites are often the weakest. Trying to sell a PPV doesn't really play to AEW's strength of already being a PPV work rate wise on free TV.

1000 guesses no one's picking Sabu as Adam Cole's back up. Last thing I remember hearing about he was in quite a bad way. Looked good considering.

Mercedes Mone sighting. Nice they acknowledged Willow's moment. I know there's a feeling they've been saving the TBS title for Statlander's return, but Willow's been right there and probably should have been the one. The Blackjack Battle Royale might have been a better idea for a Jade defense instead of facing Taya. Would have had the potential of reheating Jade with a series of challengers. Bit of a refresh for the whole division to remind people who's all available heading into Collision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, AEW go-home shows are usually not the peak of AEW TV, but I still enjoyed this episode a lot. And I was buying the PPV in any case.

What the fuck was Darby wearing? Were those boots a fashion choice or just to make him seem a bit taller?!

Big mix of boos and cheers for the announcement of Collision in Chicago. I assume that was more about Punk than the location itself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having seen Sabu at so many indy shows over the last decade or so (both live and stream), it was actually quite bizarre to see him not drunk and, dare i say it, looking quite bad ass and cool.

Always been a fan of Sabu, I know his personal life is an absolute car wreck (Think Taz is the only guy who managed to get out of ECW without a ton of demons for company) but strictly as a performer/character I think he's great, so I'm excited to see him popping up on AEW

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...