AEW TV 2025 Discussion

[The King Of Swing]

Omega also gave him a bit of a slapping one time. Nothing major, though. 

Didn't know about possible issues. 

[LaGoosh]

On 7/20/2025 at 10:03 AM, RedTwoster said:

Athena’s mic work was pretty abysmal

Just watched this and couldn't agree more. Embarrassing shite.

There was a one particular bit where she started going on about maybe the fans would cheer her if she spoke "London-ese" like Toni.

Toni isn't British and doesn't even talk in a British accent, let alone a London accent.

She speaks in Good American/Transatlantic which was the accent used by American actors in 50s Hollywood which is the basis of her character. 

Is Athena an idiot? What the fuck was she going on about?

Edited July 23, 2025 by LaGoosh

[Supremo]

Astonishing video. What a character. What a story. He is levels ahead of everyone. And he’s Champion of the Fucking World.

[Kamran]

Only 2 matches announced for tonight so far:

[RedTwoster]

Bit of a weaker episode of Dynamite this week, I thought.

I’d been an advocate for Athena being promoted from ROH, and being a major part of the AEW women’s division. I can only apologise for being so embarrassingly wrong.

Her matches have been spectacular in ROH, but her segments have been so bad that I really don’t care about that. What’s with ‘Ton-Tee’ storm? Is that a reference to something that I’m missing? And her marching around wearing a shark week hat - could you imagine another top heel doing that? MJF, Moxley or Mercedes Mone? Would Mariah May have done it? It was one of the worst Dynamite segments in a long time for me. 

MJF being pushed out of The Hurt Syndicate so quickly was very odd. The faction was working for me, and MVP had breathed new life into his act. I’m not sure why you’d bother running this story in the first place if the plan was to end it so abruptly.

I enjoyed the FTR/Jetspeed match, and I’m a fan of what they’ve done with Thekla so far. She’s got a real presence to her.

Little else stood out to me on this episode.

Edited July 24, 2025 by RedTwoster

[LaGoosh]

1 hour ago, RedTwoster said:

I’d been an advocate for Athena being promoted from ROH, and being a major part of the AEW women’s division. I can only apologise for being so embarrassingly wrong

Yeah she's chosen the worst possible time (featured feud with their top female star) to put out some of her worst work. She feels really small time - maybe her ROH work shined in a big fish small pond way? Worth noting that when she first debuted in AEW she was pretty rubbish then too so they chucked her over to ROH. I hope she can find her way because she's going to be dead in the water soon enough at this rate.

[Supremo]

Highlight of the show was the Champion of the Fucking World doing Champion of the Fucking World shit.

Night and Day with how they followed up his Title win over Omega in 2021. No-one overshadowing him. Starts and closes the show. Bollocks to any 50/50, back-and-forth TV match patterns. Comes in. Smashes absolute fuck out of Yuta. Comes back at the end and offers Mox a rematch without hesitation. Fucking yes, Hangman!

My Cowboy. My Champion.

I hope there’s no truth to Ospreay’s injury because it’d be absolutely mental to have a neck like a smashed tube of Pringles and talk about needing shy of four weeks to recover. Perc Ospreay!

Edited July 24, 2025 by Supremo

[RedTwoster]

2 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

Yeah she's chosen the worst possible time (featured feud with their top female star) to put out some of her worst work. She feels really small time - maybe her ROH work shined in a big fish small pond way? Worth noting that when she first debuted in AEW she was pretty rubbish then too so they chucked her over to ROH. I hope she can find her way because she's going to be dead in the water soon enough at this rate.

I would say she shone in ROH because of her matches. Her recent bout with Mercedes was fantastic, and I think having her simply wrestle would have had people buzzing at the prospect of her facing Toni. It’s the character work that’s the problem for me, it’s so cartoonish and dumb. Mercedes had a spell like that too before they figured out how to best use her strengths, and I’m hoping that’s what’ll happen here. I can’t imagine that Tony Khan is watching this, thinking it’s working. Her promos are so obviously bad, that it’s clear something has to change.

[Supremo]

The MJF/Hurt Syndicate developments on this show were definitely worrying. It had that jolting Stephanie-chooses-Hunter-over-Kurt-Angle feeling you sometimes get in pro-wrestling, where someone has obviously pulled a plug and we’re quickly pivoting from whatever the original plan was.

A shame in and of itself, because Max has been great weaselling himself into the gang, but extra disappointing that they’ve seemingly pivoted back to the tired, old Edgelord, “LOL DEAD FRIEND/RELATIVE,” stuff. Story of Max’s career. One step forward, two steps back. Feel like his disappointed teacher. You’re better than this Maxwell, and you know it!

Hopefully an extended feud with Hangman in the Autumn will save MJF from all his worst instincts. You only have to look at Jon Moxley to see what a difference being in the HangerVerse can do for a performer and character. Moxley is switched on right now. Fifth gear all the fucking way. Most I’ve enjoyed him in years. Even in a World with Ricochet, FTR and the Don Callis Family all having miraculous career turnarounds, this Moxley transformation might be the most impressive of them all! I take it all back, Ambrose. Do not go back to WWE. Do not reunite The Shield. Do not collect 200 million dollars.

In retrospect, we shouldn’t be surprised. You can tell this is always what Moxley wanted the Death Riders to be; this nuanced, interesting idea where a clearly fragile, deluded dickhead was being gaslit into believing his own shit by the goon cult he’s surrounded himself with. Man wanted to be Breaking Bad, but always ended up being a Disney Channel Original Movie.

All it took was working with an actual genius of the craft like Hangman Adam Page to dig deep enough into it and light a fire behind his eyes.

Can you even imagine the difference between the two WhatsApp chats Moxley had first with Adam Copeland earlier in the year, and now with Hangman, where they brainstorm ideas? Hangman pitching these wildly sophisticated ideas filled with incredible subtext. All these clever approaches, pulling inspiration from everywhere, ensuring both characters show vulnerabilities, depth and some form of arc. Meanwhile, Cope’s chat is just a list of things he saw in 80s action films that he wants to do to look like the coolest, hardest, funniest, GRITTIEST man alive. Man’s an absolute goof. Even as someone who loved Edge and Christian and wanted to see them reform. I go off it more and more by the week, having to watch Cope. Right now, in this company, in that building, Copeland and Athena both feel like they’ve landed in the wrong time and dimension, cutting these awful WWE-style promos straight out of 2013. Get to fuck, the pair of ya!

[The King of Old School]

2 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

 

MJF being pushed out of The Hurt Syndicate so quickly was very odd. The faction was working for me, and MVP had breathed new life into his act. I’m not sure why you’d bother running this story in the first place if the plan was to end it so abruptly.

 

I'm hoping it's just Lashley being a bit of a hothead, remember he never really wanted MJF in the Hurt Syndicate in the first place. He also laughed at Briscoe taking the piss out of him the other week. A segment to smooth things over next week would be welcome.

I don't mind a little bit of tension, would be weird to have them all as best buddys every week.

[mim731]

2 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

MJF being pushed out of The Hurt Syndicate so quickly was very odd. The faction was working for me, and MVP had breathed new life into his act. I’m not sure why you’d bother running this story in the first place if the plan was to end it so abruptly.

 

13 minutes ago, Supremo said:

The MJF/Hurt Syndicate developments on this show were definitely worrying. It had that jolting Stephanie-chooses-Hunter-over-Kurt-Angle feeling you sometimes get in pro-wrestling, where someone has obviously pulled a plug and we’re quickly pivoting from whatever the original plan was.

A shame in and of itself, because Max has been great weaselling himself into the gang, but extra disappointing that they’ve seemingly pivoted back to the tired, old Edgelord, “LOL DEAD FRIEND/RELATIVE,” stuff. Story of Max’s career. One step forward, two steps back. Feel like his disappointed teacher. You’re better than this Maxwell, and you know it!

Honestly, I think this was and still remains the plan as it has always been rather than a quick pivot. MJF wanted a group to have his back, and it turns out The Hurt Syndicate isn't just going to do his bidding. Now they've taken up with Cope, that leaves FTR on the other side of things without backup. Remember when they were dropping the word "pinnacle" randomly into promos a month or so ago with no pay off? Wardlow is also currently doing fuck all, and not having Shawn Spears is actually helpful as it was a bit bloated the first time around. Stokely can easily replace Tully Blanchard in the managerial role, and has history with MJF from The Firm. It's a Pinnacle reunion lads, it's happening. 

Edited July 24, 2025 by mim731
Spelling (not witchcraft)

[Guest]

Well, this is the test of how hot AEW feels right now because that was a weird show, and seeing how much we're all carried along with it, despite the weirdness. Whether it was the production glitches (advertising Hanger and Yuta after it had happened), the whiplash of the breaks going on the Hurt/MJF story, the tournament where they haven't figured out the brackets, this felt like a show that got a rewrite way too close to airing.

My immediate instinct is that something has gone awry in the tag team division, and they needed to turn the Hurts babyface quick.  Maybe Cope successfully lobbied for him and Christian to win the belts in Toronto where that hadn't been the plan before? Maybe Osprey's injury, which sounds way worse than "a few weeks off" is, in fact, way worse than "a few weeks off" and a plan for him and Swerve to win the belts has had to be cast aside? Maybe someone is crying Jack Perry a river? 

- Everything with Hangman was great, as ever.

- Where were the Young Bucks? AFter all the film flam of last week, it feels like a weird time to have them just not on.

- I assume FTR win the tournament, and then the belts at Forbidden Door. 

- I'm pretty sure Copeland was using the Hurts like the APA back in the day. I don't think this is a long term thing. Everyone wants to cheer the Hurts, so I'm glad we can. 

- I assumed this is what Athena was always like. I didn't have a problem with it, though I can't pretend to be interested.

- I AM, however, interested in Ricochet and the GOA. He's already taught them how to revitalise their careers, I see. 

- This whole Briscoe/MJF feud has to end with Brisco beating him at some point. Right? Right???

 

 

[Supremo]

Is next week’s show the last week in that gorgeous venue? Hope they go out on a bang. I love these residencies.

It would be very, “Champion of the Fucking World,” to moonsault off the balcony.

[JNLister]

15 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

What’s with ‘Ton-Tee’ storm? Is that a reference to something that I’m missing?

It's unlikely, but I hope it's a reference to a meme of a Daily Mail comment section post:

 

[Statto]

It's a bit Russo, but might it turn out to be a swerve with the Hurts "shockingly" helping the apparently excommunicated MJF execute the contract?

Probably more likely heels (FTR) are winning the tourney though, necessitating the Hurts being faces.