AEW Dynamite Thread 2024

[Supremo]

5 hours ago, andrew "the ref" coyne said:

So i didn't watch the show (just read the results) and just seems a bit "meh" that the top two advertised moments (Mone's debut and the AEW Title match) were put out first.

Nothing against Rhio and Willow, but as a main event? 

Good example of why you can’t really judge a show from reading the reports; Willow and Riho main eventing seemed like a silly idea, but in execution they had a great match, that got a brilliant reaction from the crowd. That, combined with everything involving Mercedes on this show, felt like a much-needed kick up the arse for the women’s division.

I don’t even particularly rate Mercedes. A lot of it is style over substance. The gimmick is solid, she carries herself like a star and obviously has a huge (slightly scary) fan base, but her work on the mic and between the ropes has always been wildly inconsistent. Case in point on this show. The promo was okay and the finish she hit was at least a bit better than the disaster at Wrestle Kingdom. They can position her as a huge deal, but her work will likely never live up to it. I don’t care though. If her convincing Tony Khan to pay her crazy money to come in is what forces him to finally put some time and effort into the women than I’m all for it.

Willow in particular. She’s the embodiment of money being left on the table. The most natural babyface in the business, insanely likeable, stunningly beautiful, great in the ring. I genuinely can’t fathom how she isn’t pushed to the moon, with the whole division build around her. I saw reports that Bayley was at this show to support Mercedes. You could do the Spider-man pointing meme with Bayley and Willow. Two gold mines waiting to happen. They fucked it up with Bayley on the main roster, but the potential is still there with Willow. Female John Cena.

It was another great show. Between this all-star roster and a momentum that seems to be growing like a snowball rolling down a hill, it’s as if they cant help themselves but put on good shows right now. Ospreay cut the best promo of his life, Darby and Jay White had a brilliant match, Joe looked like a killer walking through Wardlow and putting Okada with The Bucks is going to go down as one of the best decisions in the history of the company. Crazy to think that act is only a week old because it’s already phenomenal.

Next week’s lineup looks bonkers too. A really solid time for pro-wrestling, with both companies pumping out top drawer stuff. Except Jericho and Karrion Kross, obviously.

Edited March 14 by Supremo

[air_raid]

2 minutes ago, DavidB6937 said:

I think this felt like they were trying to replicate something rather than just letting real emotion take over.

That's been Sasha all over for big parts of her career. At least, as a babyface. "The Boss" was best as a heel. People cheer because of how good they think she is, but that doesn't mean she should be booked as a babyface.

[Supremo]

I saw someone suggest putting Mercedes with The Elite in the style of putting Rhea with the Judgment Day and it’s one of those, “oh, fuck off,” ideas that’s so good it’s going to annoy me if it doesn’t happen.

Plays into Merdedes’ strengths as a heel, with her gimmick fitting the other three perfectly. It just looks right.

But yeah. The one thing AEW does better than anyone else is the little things. The clever touches. The cute Easter Eggs. The Samoa-Joe-lightly-kicks-a-security-guard-off-the-ramp-to-amuse-himself. Belter.

 

Edited March 14 by Supremo

[Loki]

So often in AEW and WWE they bring in someone who's "big in Japan" and it falls flat for me.  AEW in particular with its strong connections with the Japanese scene tends to endlessly parade Japanese stars or gaijin stars and they don't really connect in the same way.

I was fully primed to hate Will Ospreay, particularly as the clips I'd seen of him were some of the most egregious spot fests.  But he's been an absolute delight every time he's appeared in AEW.   And what a tremendous promo that completely sold me on the upcoming match with Danielson.   Everything about him screams Superstar, he has the charisma that a lot of the homegrown AEW talent struggle to show.

Rest of the show was a lot better than the card suggested.  Moné looks good and is a fantastic addition to the roster (is she a bigger signing than Paige? She's a better long-term prospect for sure).  I see she's brought Mia with her though 🙄

Joe v Wardlow felt it didn't get out of second gear and I agree with @LaGoosh that Wardlow just doesn't seem to have the extra step or gear to go any further.  Some fun meat spots though, and Joe kicking the security guard is what I watch for.  A surprisingly convincing win for the champ.

[Snitsky's back acne]

Big question though is, unless I missed it, has Tony actually made Mercedes a CEO? 

[HarmonicGenerator]

Mercedes, Okada and Ospreay all arriving in AEW so close to each other feels like it’s the start of a new chapter for them as a promotion. Hopefully it results in more focus on the women on the shows, and more episodes of TV where the cameras can show both sides of the arena.

Did not like her music at all though. WWE should never have taken the classical version away from Gunther, it worked perfectly for him. Doesn’t suit Mercedes at all. And I’m already sick of “CEO”!

[Infinity Land]

Mercedes still needs a better finish than that. I see Mikey Ruckus is making it clear he didn't make the entrance music. I think it works with a decent sized crowd invested in here. Turns up at a random show with 3k in attendance, not so great.

Good show overall. The Bang Bang Scissor Gang thankfully coming to an end. Maybe they can get to merging the two Trios titles. ROH certainly doesn't need one and being honest AEW doesn't really as its often been a vanity belt that's cannibalised the Tag Division.

Surprised they're going straight to Eddie and Okada at next week's Dynamite. As was feared in the confusion of the Triple Crown status of the belts once the tournament came to an end, the match is only for the Continental Crown. Which means Okada should walk out with fewer belts than the loser AEW logic and presentation.

 

 

[air_raid]

21 minutes ago, Loki said:

(is she a bigger signing than Paige? She's a better long-term prospect for sure)

There's a joke about "depends who's kicking who" but I'm not going to make it.

8 minutes ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

Big question though is, unless I missed it, has Tony actually made Mercedes a CEO? 

It's a tongue in cheek equivalence to "Boss" isn't it? I hate it.

[RedRooster]

2 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

I've only seen the first 30 minutes so far. Mone bit was perfectly fine. Wardlow vs Joe was also ok but I think exposed Wardlow's weaknesses a bit. I think the main thing that will forever hold him back as a performer is he just lacks that fire.

Yeah, that’s a really good summary of where he’s at in ring right now. I felt pretty enthusiastic about the guy due to his excellent mic work recently, but he lacks an explosiveness in ring, and he struggled to execute his power moves on Joe.

I think he’d benefit from a run of competitive matches against veterans, or maybe even a stint outside of the company - loan him to New Japan or something. He has obvious strengths, but his weaknesses are impossible to ignore at this stage.

I wonder if Deonna’s challenge to Toni will see the return of Britt Baker or Jamie Hayter? I can’t really see any other reason to not announce her partner, and the other big option, Mercedes, is occupied. 

I’m glad to see the Scissors Gang split, and I hope the end result of this is that one set of trios belts ceases to exist. I’ve come to realise that my least favourite form of wrestling is six-man tag matches, I just hate them. I can’t really explain why; maybe it’s because I genuinely do like tag wrestling and this seems to get in the way, or maybe it’s because it’s harder to do a good feud with teams of that size.

Ospreay impressed me again, and I still struggle to understand the viewpoint that he’s weak on the mic. I’d go as far as to say he’s one of the best AEW wrestlers when it comes to mic work, his promos feel genuine and captivating. I’m not sure it was the best idea to suggest AEW needed to remind people why it existed, but overall it was great work. I look forward to seeing him go head-to-head with Danielson on the mic.

Poor Hook. The reaction to Jericho continues to be uncomfortable in a way I’m not sure I’ve ever seen in wrestling. They can, and probably will, turn him heel; but I don’t think there’s any escaping how people feel about him. There’s no riding this one out.

[Nick James]

It feels to me that it's a year too late for Mercedes in AEW. She was white hot when she left WWE and there was a ridiculous amount of hype around her, then she got injured and nothing really happened. 

The debut could actually be a victim of the dirt sheets giving everything away, as well as Mercedes herself pretty much spelling it out on Twitter.

That being said, AEW is definitely the right place for her, it's pretty much win / win for.both her and the company. If she went to WWE, outside of the initial debut, she'd be back to the same spot she was in before she left, but in AEW, she has the chance of being a big fish in a relatively small pond in terms of womens division and the amount of money she's being paid would surely mean more focus on the women's division.

All in all, I'm just glad she's being paid a shit load, same with Okada, good on them for going where the money is. Look after themselves first, every wrestler deserves a large payday, so I don't begrudge anyone that actually gets it.

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

Ospreay's promos have surprised me. He has been much better than I thought, and while this might just be me it seems he is only a couple of bangs of chang away from a full on 1980s Randy Savage promo. I in no way mean that as an insult. Ospreay has brought a half shouty raspiness and slightly manic energy that has made him great viewing so far. L A Knight may be channelling the Attitude era but Will has gone back to the real masters of the craft, and I'm here for it. 

I agree with you on Wardlow, for such a big man he hits about as hard as a Barbra Cartland novel. Mystifying. 

Edited March 14 by Lion_of_the_Midlands
Spelling Bruv.

[mim731]

Mone's finisher is awful. The rest of the presentation (maybe aside from the music) was pretty decent, but that move is so clunky. 

[LaGoosh]

2 hours ago, Supremo said:

Willow in particular. She’s the embodiment of money being left on the table.

I couldn't agree with this more. Everyone talks about Jade Cargill but I genuinely think Willow is where the money is. If I was in charge I'd probably be building the entire company around her. I'd have her on every talk show, podcast, appearance and available piece of media going. Out of everyone in wrestling right now I can't see anyone with the sheer crossover big star potential that she has right now.

[BomberPat]

5 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

I've only seen the first 30 minutes so far. Mone bit was perfectly fine. Wardlow vs Joe was also ok but I think exposed Wardlow's weaknesses a bit. I think the main thing that will forever hold him back as a performer is he just lacks that fire. His strikes look soft, he can't land his offensive moves on opponents who aren't cruiserweights with any real snap. He just doesn't come across as a genuinely dangerous man and if you're gimmick is that you a big war dog warrior (or whatever it is) then you need to be a real killer. Until Wardlow can be a killer he'll be stuck at the level he is. 

I think Wardlow vs. Joe was a perfectly fine TV match for the spot it had on the card, and equally that there's a reason why it was booked in that slot and on this show, and that's because Wardlow just isn't good enough to perform at a main event level yet, when you compare that match to pretty much every other AEW World Title match. I was surprised they had him lose clean, though, because the Undisputed Kingdom's momentum is just absolutely in the toilet now with MJF out, Cole injured, the Bang Bang Scissor Gang feud getting abandoned, no follow-up on Roderick Strong as International Champion, Taven and Bennett being Taven and Bennett, and now going to the all-too familiar well of inter-faction intrigue with Kyle O'Reilly.

I'm still not completely sold on Ospreay as a promo, because I can't help notice the extent to which he's putting on a voice and playing up the bruvs and Essex-isms (claiming that the Tiger Driver '91 dropped Kenny Omega "on his knockers" being a particularly egregious bit of bollocks), but that was the most I've genuinely believed what he's saying in a promo so far.

[air_raid]

3 hours ago, Infinity Land said:

Mercedes still needs a better finish than that.

1 hour ago, mim731 said:

Mone's finisher is awful. 

It's a good move when you pull it off. But you've got to be strong enough to really throw your opponent exactly how you need them, which for Mercedes means only being able to make it look good against the smallest opponents. This is probably the best I've seen it ;

 

.... it's very, very weird however that she'd use something other than the Bank Statement which fits that perfect criteria for a finish in that she could do it to ANYONE.