AEW Dynamite Thread 2024

[RedTwoster]

Wargames-style matches will never be for me. I hate them in WWE, I hate them in AEW. The portion of time where no one can win...I find it really boring.

I also hope - in the case of this match - that chairshot to the head was gimmicked in some way. If it wasn't, what an idiotic thing to do. Unprotected chairshots should lead to the performers who choose to do them being suspended, much as Sammy was. Protect the wrestlers from themselves. 

Having said all of that...I actually enjoyed the match. I still hate the match-type, but I'm not going to pretend I didn't enjoy the vast majority of this one. 

Jeff Jarrett is turning into a real asset for AEW - his interaction with Danielson was particularly fantastic. There's money in giving him one final babyface run - perhaps with the end game being to win the Owen; the final of this tournament being his retirement match. 

MJF is grating on me as much as Jericho is. I'd love to see him evolve his character beyond 'I'm a heel now' - I think it's needed. I'm not saying he can't play the douchebag heel again at some point in his career, but at this point that character feels a little overdone. He's talented enough to do something different, and I hope he figures out what that different thing is. 

[Snitsky's back acne]

I am usually not too squeamish but scissors being used as a weapon in wrestling always gives me the ick. 

[Hannibal Scorch]

@RedTwosterThey have been pretty open about gimmicks chairs being used in AEW. In fact it came out because when Cody got hit by Shawn Spears with a chair, he picked up the wrong chair and rang Cody’s bell with it, and Cody explained how it happened.

Fantastic Blood and Guts with a crap build. Overall another top episode of TV and the Road to All In looks very bright at this point.

[LaGoosh]

16 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

So despite the build being subpar I think this match is going to be fucking insane and awesome. 

Hey, I was right!

Absolutely incredible match. I think the second B&G is still the best but this came close. Perfect booking with everyone coming out strong (except maybe Max Caster who was a big nothing). Crazy and creative spots but with really clear character and story beats throughout. 

The heat for Hangman/Swerve was incredible. That's your next six months of booking right there. Rare to get a feud that feels this special. 

Love that Okada took zero of the hardcore stuff. Everytime he was in any risk the rest of The Elite immediately jump in to protect him. Really gets over that he is their crown jewel. Also love that Okada was basically taken out by a single thumbtack to the finger. In my head he felt one piece of sharp metal and thought "fuck this" and decided to play dead till the match finished.

But most of all, the match was designed to make Swerve look like the absolute top guy and it definitely did that. He looked like the coolest and most badass motherfucker in the world throughout. The goddamn World Champion and top guy in the business. 

Rest of the show:

- I liked the opening segment. Short, snappy and fun and building heat for All In.

- Jericho had his best match this year. He's only had one or two other good matches to be fair though. I enjoyed it. With the way he's going this might be Jericho's last genuinely good singles match.

- Britt Baker is just simply not a good wrestler. She regressed massively post pandemic and she's showing no signs of getting her mojo back.

- Kamile as Mercedes silent deadly heavy is absolutely perfect.

- 2 weeks after the best angle of the year this Mariah/Toni stuff is not working for me, sadly. The still haven't established the new Mariah May yet and Toni immediately returning for a generic pull apart brawl is such an uninteresting and uncreative follow up to a story that has been anything but. 

Edited July 25 by LaGoosh

[Supremo]

“Shall we do the singles match?”

”Absolutely. It’s one of the last proper Dream Matches. I simply cannot retire until we do it.”

”Smashing. Where shall we do it? Collision?”

”Of course. It’s the most Collision match in the history of Collision.”

”Brilliant. Ain’t we great. Do you know what else is great? IANdrew Dice Clay on Twitter.”
 

[The Gaffer]

MJF adding a U.S. title run, JBL style heel patriot angle to his already wearisome shtick is rubbish. He's kinda the Rollins of AEW right now for me in that he's the most likely of the big stars I'll eye roll on and feel like fast forwarding. 

There's something about Ospreay as well that still feels a little fish out of water on TV. I'm high on him - I think he's brilliant - so I'll maintain it's being cast in the babyface roll. The goofy smiles, awkward misreads of allowing the crowd more time to chant, stumbling over words etc don't look so great. 

Mariah May's not doing it for me either, yet. You only advertise a sort of fourth wall breaking 'this is a gimmick relaunch' if you've got a badass theme, snazzy lightshow or something really cutthroat to say and she's had none of the above yet. She was proper create-a-wrestler entrance this week. 

So as much as I think AEW's in a much tighter, better booked place than last year, there's definitely a lot of acts that just feel a bit off to me right now. Like there's an initial brilliant idea or destination in mind but they aren't feeling quite as big as they should on a week to week basis. It's something Swerve struggled with for weeks after getting the belt, too. I think the overall booking philosophy's probably just angled very, very heavily toward putting the pieces on the board so that a banger show can be put out as much as possible, rather than using the shows to make the individual pieces seem like massive stars. 

With all of that being said, this was - gloriously - a one match show and that match absolutely delivered one of the best hour or sos of wrestling TV we'll see all year so full credit to them. 

[Tim Healys Chutney Spoon]

27 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

 

- 2 weeks after the best angle of the year this Mariah/Toni stuff is not working for me, sadly. The still haven't established the new Mariah May yet and Toni immediately returning for a generic pull apart brawl is such an uninteresting and uncreative follow up to a story that has been anything but. 

I'd have built it something like Mariah spending every week squashing jobbers or the low level AEW stars whilst we see Toni gradually recuperating and getting more and more mad (like alluded to above) and having voodoo dolls of Mariah and suchlike in her room whilst she tries to get stronger. 

 

Mariah meanwhile is telling everyone that she'll face Toni at All In, but if anything Toni is looking less and less likely that she'll be ready to return at Wembley. We get to Wembley and Mariah comes out as the hometown Queen bigging it all up and she's got noone to face as she's squashed everyone or they are scared etc. Nothing happens and she says that her people deserve to see her wrestle so she goes backstage to sort out an opponent and we may see her later if anyone is worth. She then drags out someone local that is dressed like Storm and and takes the mick and tells everyone that that's all folks then as she's about to leave the ring Luther comes down saying he's been sent to give Mariah a message....that she's not cleared to wrestle and she won't be wrestling Mariah on All In. But then Toni jumps the barricade and dives in and attacks May. Luther announces that Storm is fit enough for an unsanctioned match and then a ref appears and then it's all hell breaking loose.

[Mr_Danger]

I think of all the mad shit that went down in that match, Okada’s middle finger stapler spot was my favourite spot in a long time. I totally get Okada now and can only imagine how great it’s gonna be once he has established rivalries and has a history with the other guys.

[LaGoosh]

3 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

I also hope - in the case of this match - that chairshot to the head was gimmicked in some way. If it wasn't, what an idiotic thing to do.

It was a gimmicked chair. They shave it down so the metal is very thin and sounds loud but causes no damage. If you watch it back Mark using the "SCAPEGOAT" marked chair that Perry brought to the ring so it's clear to the wrestlers which chair is the gimmicked one. Perry also threw it full force at Darby's head at the start of the match.

[HarmonicGenerator]

Every single second Hangman and Swerve were on screen together was magic. Flawless storytelling and they both played their parts to perfection.

It feels like these two really might fight forever. Magic.

Edited July 25 by HarmonicGenerator

[Factotum]

What a match. AEW now 3 in a row Dynamites for superb matches. The Hangman/Swerve moment was superb. Bucks are always fun in these matches and Okada played his role perfectly.

The rest was OK, MJF is still doing what I complained about a few weeks back. After such a great match last week he should have been on a roll, but he went back to being edge lord. Boring.

Match made the show and that's all that mattered.

[LaGoosh]

The comment MJF made about Ospreay's nan passing recently showed the difference in heel talent between MJF and the real best heel in the business Christian Cage. MJF came across as a lame groan inducing edge lord. Christian would have milked it for all it's worth and looked like the most dastardly scum bag on the planet.

[theringmaster]

5 hours ago, The Gaffer said:

 

There's something about Ospreay as well that still feels a little fish out of water on TV. I'm high on him - I think he's brilliant - so I'll maintain it's being cast in the babyface roll. The goofy smiles, awkward misreads of allowing the crowd more time to chant, stumbling over words etc don't look so great. 

 

 

To me Ospreay has always lacked that 'TV Star' look and feel. It works on the indies but the second you put that mic in his hands on national tv, it's terrible. There is not a guy I can think of who needs to go to NXT more and get a make over but his attitude will never allow it to happen.

As a wrestler/athlete 10/10, as a persona and 'star look', he's just the Pitts. When the inevitable AEW World title run happens i'm predicting whatever angles he's in to drown.

[LaGoosh]

17 minutes ago, theringmaster said:

There is not a guy I can think of who needs to go to NXT

So he can wrestle and talk the same as every other generic useless cunt there? No thanks.

Ospreay is hit and miss on the mic for sure but when he hits he's really good. Look wise, the man just needs a proper haircut.

[JLM]

Yeah he's delivered some very good promos too, quite harsh to say he's been "the pits" every time he's had a live mic. It's his first run doing this stuff on national TV for a primarily English-speaking audience and he hasn't been shy about his neurodivergence, so it's not surprising there have been some awkward moments. I'd argue that the good promos have been way above my and many others' expectations. I think he needs reps more than he needs scripting or tighter production, and he's getting plenty of those at the moment. The first promo against MJF actually felt like it suffered for being too scripted, like he'd come up with some clever zingers to try to beat MJF at his own game and got in his own way trying to recite them. I'd rather him be a hit and miss organic-sounding promo with room to improve than a consistently 6/10 scripted one.

Is the "attitude" wanting a better work/life balance for very good money and wrestling the style he wants to? I'm not trying to get tribal with it here, the WWE system is a perfect fit for some people (Jade Cargill going to WWE was an absolute no-brainer, for example), but I think it's great that there's another option and I don't believe turning down WWE should be seen as a character flaw. 

Edited July 25 by JLM