AEW Dynamite Thread 2024

[DavidB6937]

2 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

- 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.

 

This is interesting and I think it plays into the difference between WWF/WWE and independents over the years.

You always had people suggesting that the indies had far better wrestlers and better talent and better matches yet they were doing it in front of smaller crowds while WWF/WWE didn't have the in-ring "quality" on a consistent basis but was selling out arenas etc because they had bigger, more popular names.

Arguably things haven't changed that much in that aspect. WWE isn't massively concerned about having multiple five star matches per show simply because it doesn't view itself as a wrestling show predominantly - it's entertainment more than ever. Which you could say is weird considering it's the wrestling industry but it works for them and it clearly works for their audience because they're making a shit ton of money.

When your product is hot and you've got a roster of people who audiences give a shit about then the focus isn't entirely on the in-ring performance. You can get away with having middling wrestlers like Jey Uso because their popularity is driven by far more than how they wrestle.

There's a reason why AEW and Tony Khan are focused on driving home that it's where the best wrestle. But they often forget that their best shows and their best product is when they manage to combined the performance/entertainment aspect with the best wrestling. And once you've lost the reasons for caring about people, the wrestling becomes a little more shallow, which is fine to a point. But that's when it becomes more indy-like to me, because doing good wrestling has its limits with audiences.

When they hit that sweet spot in the middle.. that's when they're fucking untouchable and why they've been able to put on some of the best PPVs in recent memory in their short lifetime. They're fully capable of it. They just don't do it often enough lately.

[Devon Malcolm]

2 hours ago, 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 they mix it up.

I still sometimes think about Taz on commentary saying, "Change the channel?!" and the shit fit McMahon must have had when he said it.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, BomberPat said:

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". 

As much as BombermanPat and I disagree with our overall feeling of the show, I did find myself thinking this at the end. AEW  has always had a tendency of main events just ending and the show being over, with little to tantalise you for the next one. I think in this case the attempt was to keep the C2 the main story, but I definitely could've done with that angle happening at the end.

[BomberPat]

Also, where the fuck is Willow Nightingale?!

She came back at Full Gear to fight off Marina Shafir, and has she even been mentioned since? 

[Chili]

1 minute ago, BomberPat said:

Also, where the fuck is Willow Nightingale?!

She came back at Full Gear to fight off Marina Shafir, and has she even been mentioned since? 

Exactly, and it puts the male faces in a stupid quandary with Marina Shafir, because you can't do what those crowds are expecting even if she's a prick heel, because you are just asking for all kinds of shit there.

[RedTwoster]

1 minute ago, BomberPat said:

Also, where the fuck is Willow Nightingale?!

She came back at Full Gear to fight off Marina Shafir, and has she even been mentioned since? 

Their treatment of Willow is one of the things that frustrates me most, they have such an obvious star in her, and the opportunity to make her into someone who matters has been squandered time and time again. She could easily mean to AEW as much as Rhea, Bayley or Bianca mean to WWE; but she’s never allowed to. 

The worst thing is, I think a move to WWE would result in her being treated at that level; but she shouldn’t have to. 

[LaGoosh]

11 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

Also, where the fuck is Willow Nightingale?!

She came back at Full Gear to fight off Marina Shafir, and has she even been mentioned since? 

She was on last week's show I think cutting a promo about this Wrestle Dynasty tournament. I don't think she mentioned Shafir.

Personally the question for me isn't where is Willow Nightingale but - why isn't Willow Nightingale the entire focal point of AEW?

[DavidB6937]

Yep, definitely another "what about Willow?" person here. She's right there! RIGHT THERE! Everyone fucking loves her. She's as close as they've probably got to a potential female breakout star. Fuck Mercedes and wasting time on people like Britt Baker and whoever else. WILLOW. Strap a damn rocket to that lady.

[Hannibal Scorch]

I’m perplexed at how divisive the reaction to this weeks was. WCW 2000, worst in weeks and a great episode all being reactions. I thought it was solid. Fletcher winning the opening by cheating was great. Kept the heat on both wrestlers who need to keep momentum at the moment. Thought the Hook segment was great, I’m sold on the rivalry and hope this brings Joe and Shibata back. 

White/Pac was a very enjoyable match and thought the post match angle was well done. Wish that had closed the show but I digress. 

Also thought the venue looked good. Brand new place and it looked pretty packed and was lovely to see the crowd lit again.

I can absolutely understand people being cold on the overall product, I won’t pretend the TV of the last few months as been up to previous standards, but comparing it to WCW 2000 is the stuff Bischoff makes his side hustle saying. It took a while for me to care about the CC last year, but I’ve enjoyed the matches so far. Although I’d love them to just drop the Dynamite ring battle royale, it served no purpose other than to set up the predictable winners. Nice of MJF to call out Adam Cole’s Simpson tan.

ignored the Jericho bit of course, but on the production side I thought the recap of the CC, promoting upcoming events and the hype packages for the White/Pac and Jay/Ford should be utilised more. 
 

And yes I’m getting paid by Tony Khan for this post.

[BomberPat]

AEW used to be so good at making things matter. But now we're a couple of weeks out from the Death Riders trying to murder Orange Cassidy and, unless it happened on Rampage or Collision, none of the rest of The Conglomeration seem to give a shit. Kyle O'Reilly is fucking about with Adam Cole, Tomohiro Ishii lost to Jericho and (presumably) went home, Mark Briscoe is in the Continental Classic, Willow Nightingale hasn't got involved at all, and nobody cares about Rocky Romero. Some bloody mates!

The flipside of it is that Orange Cassidy asked them to let him go it alone, and they got involved anyway. Any follow-up from that? Not a bit. It's not like it needs Orange Cassidy around doing the angles and promo work if the issue is that he's off TV selling the post-match attack, because Mark Briscoe didn't get involved at Full Gear, and he's perfectly placed to try and talk sense into his group and get them back on the same page. I know he's in the Continental Classic, but he's not going to win it, so have him being too distracted by trying to keep The Conglomeration together that it costs him a match or two in the tournament.

Just do something.

[DavidB6937]

1 minute ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

I’m perplexed at how divisive the reaction to this weeks was.

I wouldn't be that surprised. The product has often been quite divisive ever since they launched, as many people want different things don't they? It's the same when you get people dipping into WWE and being like "I heard it was great.. what the fuck is this shit?!"

But I think with AEW especially lately, they're not exactly on a hot streak. When you're going cold, it'll take a lot more to win people back or make them think it's an okay product. You can get away with some more middling stuff if the rest is top quality.

1 minute ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

And yes I’m getting paid by Tony Khan for this post.

I KNEW IT!

[Supremo]

As frustrating and annoying as it is when wrestlers vanish, or plot threads are suddenly dropped, it is funny that Britt Baker seemingly sulked herself off TV.

Presumably going into business for herself and shouting, “nobody cares! nobody cares!” when Serena Deeb came out, it would appear that she immediately Quantum Leaped out of AEW, never to be seen again!

[LaGoosh]

I'm assuming she's finished. I've been watching WWE recently and she'd be a natural fit for their women's division (slow, useless, fucking shit).

[Chili]

@Hannibal Scorch when I say WCW 2000. I don't mean reboot Russo & Bischoff where they threw buckets of shit at the wall hoping something stuck. I'm referring to January - March 2000 where it was the dullest national promotion run ever during the Monday Night Wars, and that's what AEW feels like. They have the crew, honestly they have a cast that if they put in the work could be a BETTER alternative to the market leader, not just BEING an alternative. That doesn't wash, you gotta have more. But it's just so dull at the moment. I love amazing matches, but I want the good, logical, amazing stories and characters to keep me interested, and whatever embers of good stories they have are not developing more out of that.

I've always thought Britt Baker wasn't as good as made out, but she was a star for them until she got in her own way a bit. Regardless, she is treated really fucking weirdly by sections of wrestling fans that if I was here I'd hate being in the business generally.

Edited December 5, 2024 by Chili

[DavidB6937]

1 minute ago, LaGoosh said:

I'm assuming she's finished. I've been watching WWE recently and she'd be a natural fit for their women's division (slow, useless, fucking shit).

Mania main event. Nia Jax, Britt Baker. They'll need two nights for that.