AEW Dynamite Thread 2024

[BomberPat]

apparently during their interaction at Full Gear, Christian told Hangman he would give him the first shot if he let him cash in on Moxley. Given it was entirely off microphone and (unless it was covered in a video package I skipped through) never explained, I can't blame you for missing it.

[Chris B]

I caught that and assumed that was the connection, but didn't understand the sequence of events Hangman was talking about that would mean he'd be champion by Dynamite.

[Guest]

Excalibur tried to explain it, but you're right Hangman's explanation amde no sense

[organizedkaos]

The alllusions to his half of the deal suggests he was to given a title shot in exchange for Christian winning the title and I guess that would've been on the next show after Christian won? and I guess he assumes he'd be able to beat Christian

It kinda falls into one of the usual conversations about AEW which is "does everything have to be really obvious to work?" (genuinely not sure where i fall on that, subtlety isn't a bad thing but the trick with subtle storytelling usually is to carefully reiterate points without explicitly telling the audience over and over)

[The King Of Swing]

Already sick of Marina. AEW clearly isn't going down the intergender wrestling route, so they shouldn't be allowing her to make a potential title contender look like shit. 

Where the fuck was Willow? 

Has Britt been banished for burying Deeb? 

That Palestinian flag vanished fast. 

Swerve slapping Max around was a good laugh. Probably the best use for Max.

Benjamin/Briscoe was a solid effort. 

Claudio/Ricochet never got going and it looked like the crowd got to them. Annoyed me as well, tbh. 

Darby/King was a good effort. 

Hangman is so good at being an unhinged dick, I can forgive him botching his explanation of the Christian Cage stuff. 

Hayter/Aminata was rubbish. Bringing Julia back to feud with Hayter feels a bit off, to me. 

Mercedes was decent enough. Not sure where she goes from here, though. 

Jericho/Ishii would have been a perfectly tolerable TV match, at half the length. They clearly lost the crowd and me, during the break. 

Mina segment was fine. Can't really get too excited about another obvious title defense, though. 

6/10. A very inconsistent episode. 

[Chili]

I'm done with AEW until it turns a corner or the aesthetic changes. Its WCW 2000 under Kevin Sullivan dull at the moment. Even the Continental Classic isn't grabbing me because everything else feels like really talented people stuck in a malaise, plus they're in a period where they can't get anything right, easier to nitpick meaning much less enjoyable. I want Chris Jericho's wife to want a divorce or something so he fucks off for a bit, I want Hangman to do something, I find the Hurt Syndicate extremely uninteresting regardless that Shelton Benjamin found form after 20 years and cannot stress how that MJF/Adam Cole angle is the worst angle AEW has ever done including them fannying about with a devils mask, The Bunny flirting with QT Marshall or Brandi Rhodes Nightmare Collective. It's just so past it's moment and so fucking dull. DULL, DULL, DULL. A storyline involving MJF, Adam Cole, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett and Kyle O'Reilly. Anonymous shite nobody cares about but them and the stupid sod booking it. They might as well be Sims.

Back to the WWE Vault, AEW 2020-2021 and whatever WCW I can find on BiliBili. I'm not putting time into something so boring and while WWE is hot, it doesn't matter to me because I'm just past interest in there modern product and the people still there. But fucking AEW though, The pandemic shows and current TNA seem to have more life and effort. I've been watching from the first episode of Dynamite and now I'm at a point where no modern wrestling interests me at all. FUCKING TRY!!!

Edited December 5, 2024 by Chili

[FLips]

Saw Jericho had done an interview where he confirms that the Learning Tree stuff is a punishment to the fans for saying he was crap and on TV too much and dragging wrestlers into the Jericho Vortex.

Whether in character or not, how is that supposed to encourage fans to watch?

Then you do watch and the product is just so stale that sometimes, if rarely, Jericho is one of the better parts of the show and he’s there to annoy us. 

The Death Riders stuff needs to stop I think. Nothing about it works, and if anything it’s exacerbating the downsides of people like Moxley who somehow does the hard man gimmick well as a loose cannon tweener but not as an outright heel where it comes off like he’s had a couple too many and he’s starting people outside the George and Dragon but nobody is taking him seriously.

Marina Shafir doesn’t work as a Chyna style enforcer because there are no women to stop her, and when a man does it, it comes off as wrong. Orange Cassidy got audible errrrs and ooos when he flung her over the guard rail. Chyna worked because she was not only unique but worked with the men in matches in a time period where it was more acceptable.

I like Pac, he’s probably the best of the whole lot, but he’s there one week and gone for 3 and it’s been like that since he started there. If anything he’s more of a detriment than a boon because you can never long term book him, which is why he’s exactly the same now as he was when he debuted, like he’s in stasis.

Wheeler is better now than when he started, but he’s still Wheeler Yuta. He’s pretty rubbish. Claudio, see Pac. He’s the bald man that can lift things. No development at all.

There’s just so many unlikeable people on one show. It’s a tough watch.

[DavidB6937]

I wish they'd stop giving Mercedes a microphone.

[Supremo]

Do you think Jericho has pre-emptively contacted Batista and Big Show about how to handle the Hammerstein Ballroom crowd shitting all over your match?

He’s probably already expecting the, “Change the Channel!” chants, so hopefully they mix it up.

You know the rhythm and tempo to Bryan Danielson’s chant, “you’re gonna get your fucking head kicked in,”?

I think it fits.

”Where was your wife on Jan-u-ary sixth?”

Edited December 5, 2024 by Supremo

[DavidB6937]

Just now, Supremo said:

Do you think Jericho has pre-emptively contacted Batista and Big Show about how to handle the Hammerstein Ballroom crowd shitting all over your match?

He’s probably already expecting the, “Change the Channel!” chants, so hopefully why mix it up.

You know the rhythm and tempo to Bryan Danielson’s chant, “you’re gonna get your fucking head kicked in,”?

I think it fits.

”Where was your wife in Jan-u-ary sixth?”

Worst thing is he'll think he's the best heel on the planet. "Look at the heat!"

[RedTwoster]

1 hour ago, Chili said:

I'm done with AEW until it turns a corner or the aesthetic changes.

I feel similarly. I’m finding it hard to care about the Continental Classic, because of what it’s for - an ill-defined titles that can be defended all-year round. And now the Dynamite Diamond is being defended again? And it’s resulted in a Cole-O’Reilly match for the right to face MJF? Make. It. Stop.

Cards on the table, I don’t dislike Adam Cole. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, and I appreciate his love of videogames, as an avid gamer myself. But his whole wrestling career seems to revolve around the same boring cast of characters - extending beyond his time in AEW. The thing that concerns me most is that all of this so obviously tedious, to the point I just don’t believe Tony Khan isn’t aware of it. I worry that personal loyalties, or the fact that he’s paying people like Cole too much to justify omitting them from the card, means they’ll always be around, stinking up the show. 

Oh, and fuck Komander being in the CC. There was a golden opportunity there - put Max Caster in the tournament to prove that he is indeed the best wrestler alive; blaming a lack of support from Bowens and Gunn for a multitude of defeats. Replacing someone as interesting as Juice with a bland non-entity like Komander makes an uninteresting tournament feel even more uninteresting. 

[DavidB6937]

6 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

Cards on the table, I don’t dislike Adam Cole. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, and I appreciate his love of videogames, as an avid gamer myself. But his whole wrestling career seems to revolve around the same boring cast of characters - extending beyond his time in AEW. The thing that concerns me most is that all of this so obviously tedious, to the point I just don’t believe Tony Khan isn’t aware of it. I worry that personal loyalties, or the fact that he’s paying people like Cole too much to justify omitting them from the card, means they’ll always be around, stinking up the show. 

Oh Adam Cole the person seems like one of the most genuine and nice guys around and you can absolutely see why people would want to hire him and work with him etc.

But we joke enough about the Jericho Vortex - there's an Adam Cole Vortex just as much. Only sadly it seems far more selective and keeps pulling the same damn people in over and over, regardless of what company they're in.

[Guest]

I, for one, had a great time watching this show. I'm excited about seeing Hanger try and burn down a plastic bag, and the weird alliance of him, Jay White and Orange Cassidy against the Death Riders really excites me. It's either a direct Hangman face turn, or he starts feuding with OC.

On OC, when he took his hood off. Man. I think this is how the rest of you lot felt when Punk was the 5th man. Was absolutely certain that was Darby Allin. So pleased that it was my boy and he's not just disappeared again. Freshly Furious, Blood Orange Cassidy. Story's not over.

My main take away from Claudio vs Brodie, other than really enjoying it, is that I would like to see Brodie go on a Gunter style year long run with a secondary title where he just wins all the time. Please and thank you.

Some of the upcoming matches in the C2 are really exciting too, and I liked MVP chewing Shelton out for losing so cheaply to Fletcher, and then him being so furious about it. 

Even MJF's promo was better than it has been, although the battle royal and undisputed drama was just as it has been.

I'm also pleased that they're dragging Collision into the main universe now, as it were. I'm more interested in watching it with proper top guys on it, and some of those C2 matches sound really fun. Komander is ice cold, but he'll add some different match styles to things, and he needs some fresh heating especially now the lucha bros are gone. 

[LaGoosh]

AEW has a lot of underlying issues right now from a production and creative standpoint and I understand people checking out. I pretty much skimmed Full Gear and last weeks TV. Unfortunately that means people will probably skip this week which would be a shame because as an episode of wrestling TV it was really great. A good episode of wrestling telly doesn't solve all their problems but if AEW was this standard every week I think most people would be pretty content.

- In the past week I've watched three episodes of WWE TV. The quality of AEW TV matches is so much higher than WWE TV matches it's actually ridiculous. Heat segments, in match story telling, character work, proper selling, comebacks, limb work, heels taking a powder, babyface shine, call backs, false finishes, all that pure fundamental old fashioned good stuff that holds wrestling together was on show throughout.

- Kyle Fletcher might be the future of this company. He's the first to come along I think who seems to be able to do the flashy, fast paced hard hitting style but underlay it with real heat and draw the fans in. He doesn't get "This is awesome" chants - the fans are engaged with his matches on a genuine level and want to see him lose. He's obviously still putting the pieces together but he's got masses of potential. Great match with Benjamin, both came out looking a million dollars.

- HOOK segment was short and tidy, did the job.

- The battle royal was fine. Some nice seeds planted with Rush/Andretti, Evil Uno had a fun spot and Cage/Archer looked good. I couldn't care less about this NXT Gold re-run story. MJF's promo after was the best he's done in awhile though. I think we see a Cole heel turn and him back with MJF by the end of it.

- White/Pac was a really cool match. White isn't clicking as a face yet but fingers crossed down the line. A cool mesh of White's intelligence/technique overwhelming Pac's usual explosive offence and him having to resort to cheating/scum bag tactics to get ahead. Post match shenanigans was full of intriguing chaos. The OC attack was done really well. Hangman as a babyface? Not yet I don't think, I think he'll flirt with it before doubling down on the evil and breaking our hearts again.

- This Max Caster stuff is actually working for me. He's a deluded fucking idiot, annoying his friends and causing trouble for himself with it. The match was perfect. They accomplished a lot with this. Swerve looked the absolute business - he's the coolest man alive, and the fans went nuts for him. They established clear totem pole and Swerve is at the top. It was good to see Caster get beaten up but because of the story this didn't hurt him at all and actually added to the story. Months back I was hoping they would sack Caster but if he keeps this up he might be one of the highlights of the show.

- The Anna Jay and Bandido vignettes were goofy as hell but fun. I'm excited for Bandido's return - he's great.

- most the backstage promos this week were good, even Mone's. The only weak one was Jamie Hayter who rambled on about too much and seemed a bit lost. I especially liked the Mariah/Mine bit. I'm sure there match will be a cracker.

- Claudio/Brody was a good big man battle. Told a cool story here of Claudio's power advantage being neutralised by the bigger, strong Brody so Claudio was forced to work over one of Brody's biggest weapons - his right hand. Brody powered through the pain but it slowed his down just enough to keep Claudio in it. A nice callback where Claudio went for his "big move on the outside followed by a big clothesline in the ring" which he's used to win matches recently but Brody seeing it coming and reversing with his own big clothesline. Claudio taking the easy way out too to get the win was the right finish. 

- The C2 booking so far is heating up and getting interesting with Fletcher and Claudio emerging as the main heels and people to beat. A lot of really exciting matches coming up too. I didn't care about it at all this time last week but they're definitely hooking me in now.

Edited December 5, 2024 by LaGoosh

[BomberPat]

I thought that was the worst Dynamite in a long time, just utterly miserable to watch. AEW is far too much of a heel promotion at the moment - almost all of their champions are heels, and the ones that aren't (Daniel Garcia and Private Party) didn't show up to work this week. 

The show opened with a heel win (and a heel vs. heel match!) and closed with a heel win. Nothing in-between particularly mattered.

I can't agree with the Orange Cassidy return, I thought it was a completely wasted opportunity, because there was too much going on. Orange Cassidy returning from an attempted murder, the first time we've seen him since he main evented a pay-per-view, shouldn't be fighting for screen-time with Hangman Page going after Jon Moxley, and with Christian Cage lurking in the background. And it certainly shouldn't be happening in the middle of a show, and then never being referenced again. Do a follow-up interview with a fired up Orange Cassidy backstage, talk about his recovery from being fucking poisoned, have him talk about the Death Riders can't kill him and they can't kill AEW. Or, if you're not going to do that, just shift the Death Riders vs. Babyface brawl so that it happens after Claudio's match instead of after PAC's, so that the show ends with the babyfaces standing up to the heels and leaves you wondering what happens next, rather than giving you time to forget that ever happened and ending with, "bad guys won again, soz". 

Whatever your feelings on Adam Cole, he used to be extremely popular, to the point that he could main event Wembley at the height of AEW's popularity and not look out of place. Now you could hear a pin drop with him in a Battle Royal populated by a bunch of schmucks that are usually lucky to make TV, and with a stipulation that's always guaranteed to be unsatisfying - "the last two men in the Battle Royal both win", meaning there's no finality, no pay-off. And the follow-up is just another go-around of Adam Cole having to squabble with one of his mates over who gets to fight MJF, while MJF over-eggs things with a promo that's trying to introduce a bunch of different ideas into a story that desperately needs to just be Goody vs. Baddy but constantly contrives to be anything but. I'm genuinely half-expecting somebody to show up in the fucking devil mask whenever Cole eventually does get his hands on MJF.