AEW TV 2025 Discussion

[theringmaster]

I thought the womens tag was a mess, should have just been a normal tag, it looked like, with the exception of Toni, they were all to green for that kind of tv gimmick match. And i agree wrong outcome, they have essentially got 2 face comedy teams in the final.

I think the match looked an even bigger mess partly due to wwe womens tag division actually being really hot for once (which is probably not a coincidence) 

[Dai]

I havent watched AEW for years, but had some free time so gave this weeks a go. I wont be back. Thought it was dreadful. The Vault regularly uploads WCW Thunders from 99/00, and the look of this show was identical. Is it always this bad? No set, just a big screen. Half empty arena which is dark as hell and pitch black as far as the eye can see. The entrance way just looked so cheap. Took me aback seeing it like this, as it certainly wasnt like it a few years back with the duel entrances. 

Joe's promo was awful, as was Eddie's. I dont watch, so missed all of the details that LaGoosh said about Mox/Claudio, I just thought it was an OK match with a needless blade job and crap finish. Not sure how much of these details and depth were intentional, or just similar to when people would take a Bray Wyatt promo or angle and drill down and find their own story and details about it. 

The rest was a big pile of nothing to me. Maybe Ill try again in 2027.

Edited December 4, 2025 by Dai

[LaGoosh]

8 hours ago, Dai said:

I dont watch, so missed all of the details that LaGoosh said about Mox/Claudio, I just thought it was an OK match with a needless blade job and crap finish. Not sure how much of these details and depth were intentional, or just similar to when people would take a Bray Wyatt promo or angle and drill down and find their own story and details about it. 

Well as you say, you don't watch! If you're watching week to week and know the stories and the characters all this stuff is very clear! And all I did was discuss the basic match psychology/story, that's not quite the same as looking for subtle clues and links in some nonsensical Bray Wyatt vignette. 

Agree with you on the look of the show this week. It's very hit and miss from week to week. Sometimes they'll get a big crowd in a good building, then the following week they'll be in some cheap warehouse looking place with seemingly no one there, then the next they'll be in a really unique beautiful venue with a molten hot crowd. 

I also hate the entrance and the screen-ification of wrestling production in general. I'd love to see something unique and original instead of LED's fucking everywhere. 

Bad week for you to give a go but there we are. See you in 2027.

Edited December 5, 2025 by LaGoosh

[HarmonicGenerator]

That was a frustrating episode of Dynamite.

The opening segment needed at least one, preferably two great promos. Eddie has the ability to get you completely invested in something with a single promo, and so does Joe, but neither of them got close here. I wanted to believe Eddie can win next week but unless the match is an all-timer, it now feels set to be a letdown even if he does it. Such a disappointing face off.

It was very weird that the theme of Joe’s promo was ‘Eddie can’t win big things’ at the same time the Continental Classic is going on. The Continental Classic, which Eddie won the first edition of. 

(Speaking of the CC, all the matches were good again, which is what you expect, really enjoying the Jet, intriguing to have Moxley lose, having the CMLL and the New Japan champions in there makes it simultaneously feel big and the CC prize itself feel small in comparison. If only there was some kind of unified reward for winning .. a unified title or something.)

Also, still on the opening segment, Joe walking out with trios belt as well as the World Title just made the world title feel less. When it’s followed by a trio of Opps, who are having a trios match, but who aren’t the trios champions. Why can they not just Freebird it and have Joe present his third to Hook as a reward for all the lovely deception? 

‘Too many titles’ is becoming a big issue for me again generally. There are just so many titles. The attempt to justify the Unified Title being un-unified was absolutely terrible, and still would have been even if Callis hadn’t stumbled over the explanation. Makes the idea of Okada losing in the CC feel so much less significant when he’ll still be walking around with a belt. It just feels like an excuse for Okada to lose the CC but still get to be yet another champion - which will mean FIVE men’s singles champions in AEW. And that’s not counting any ROH titles which we have to keep being reminded exist.

Speaking of which, ROH felt like it was all over this show. I know Final Battle is coming up but I just don’t care and I’m never going to. Usually it’s just Collision that’s afflicted by ROH fever, but here we had both Ricochet and Mercedes’ involvement limited to setting up their ROH matches, the opening promo (that again) being all about Joe’s reign as ROH champion.. even Dark Order reappearing after years away felt like ‘oh here we go, bunch of ROH lads here to lose a match’.

It sounds like the National title is supposed to be like the International (All-Atlantic) was at first, with Ricochet popping round various indies to defend or Indy types popping up for one shots in AEW. In principle, fine, but when the first defence is against Collision semi-regular Dalton Castle, on an ROH show, it’s just going to end up as yet another guy with a belt on AEW TV. 

Meanwhile, the women’s tag match was rubbish. I normally have a lot of fun with a Toni plunder match but this didn’t gel for me at all. Maybe it’s coming so soon after Blood & Guts, or maybe it’s just that the Toni/Mina team isn’t working for me. Their vague association was always fine but as a full on team, it just feels like it reduces Toni in a way that Mariah May or Luther (fun to have him back) never did. They even changed her music to give them a team tune, which joins Hook and Swerve in the “dreadful new music” club.

I know Toni/Mina are probably winning the belts because they need to give Toni something to do that doesn’t involve the Women’s title. But I kind of don’t want them to.

Oh, and Jurassic Express being so deeply embroiled in the Elite melodrama has cooled them off so much. I was excited when they reunited but that feels like an age ago.

On the plus side:

I loved the Babes of Wrath video package. They’re a really fun team and I hope they are going to go all the way with them, and have them win the titles. I suppose putting them against Bayne/Shafir in the final might have made that a bit more obvious, but I’m fine with obvious if it means Willow and Harley get to be champs. I love them.

Okada blaming Takeshita was good stuff. Every week I look forward more to the day when he’ll get the shit beaten out of him.

And we started to get setup for the UK shows! Couple of matches confirmed for Cardiff now, and Manchester is getting the Dynamite Diamond battle royal. I don’t think I’ve seen a battle royal live before. I showed Mrs HG a picture of the Dynamite Diamond Ring and she doesn’t understand why anyone would want to win something so ugly! She is going to have a great time.

Edited December 5, 2025 by HarmonicGenerator
When you’re in demand, you demand de man d from dem and

[Supremo]

Netflix look set to buy WBM, which I suspect might affect AEW.

I’d say the worst case scenario is they bin off cable TV altogether and AEW has to find a new home.

But then I thought of an even worse case scenario. Dynamite fill with rubbish celebrities promoting their shitty Netflix specials.

More Andrew Schulz in my pro-wrestling.

 

[mim731]

9 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Netflix look set to buy WBM, which I suspect might affect AEW.

I’d say the worst case scenario is they bin off cable TV altogether and AEW has to find a new home.

But then I thought of an even worse case scenario. Dynamite fill with rubbish celebrities promoting their shitty Netflix specials.

More Andrew Schulz in my pro-wrestling.

 

This won't be a short process because of the regulatory hoops and the monopoly implications etc, but I's be stunned if  Netflix and WWE don't have an exclusivity clause, so I imagine AEW won't end up on there no matter what happens. Netflix want the IP and library more than the linear.  

That said, WBD's TV output being spun off or being bought out by someone else rather than being shuttered feels more likely. Also AEW will be fine, they have weekly relatively cheap live programming, if nothing else I'd imagine Amazon would have some interest, although that's a whole other can of worms.

[CTXRussomark]

11 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Netflix look set to buy WBM, which I suspect might affect AEW.

I’d say the worst case scenario is they bin off cable TV altogether and AEW has to find a new home.

But then I thought of an even worse case scenario. Dynamite fill with rubbish celebrities promoting their shitty Netflix specials.

More Andrew Schulz in my pro-wrestling.

 

Based on the reports it seems Netflix are only bidding for the movie and streaming arms of WBM, essentially offering to pay a premium in return for not taking the cable side of the business. Still creates a lot of uncertainty but not as bad as a (WWE affiliated) Netflix buying the whole business. 

[RedTwoster]

More info on the deal here (link to Financial Times) - seems the Networks arm will split off to form a new publicly traded company, which suggests to me that AEW will be unaffected.

[Infinity Land]

1 hour ago, Supremo said:

Netflix look set to buy WBM, which I suspect might affect AEW.

I’d say the worst case scenario is they bin off cable TV altogether and AEW has to find a new home.

But then I thought of an even worse case scenario. Dynamite fill with rubbish celebrities promoting their shitty Netflix specials.

More Andrew Schulz in my pro-wrestling.

 

Long way to go. Especially with the Ellisons whining in Trump's ear.

There were already changes projected for AEW in terms of their domestic streaming and TV being split across two companies. WBD were intending to split into Studios & Streaming with their cable networks spun off into a independent company, Discovery Global. The same is happening with Comcast splitting their media into Universal (NBC, Studios, peacock) and Versant (USA network, syfy etc). For some sense of scale. Despite being seen as deadweight cast-offs Discovery Global and Versant are both going to be more 2x-3x the size of AMC Networks. I'm not sure they will reclaim the glory days of Psych, Monk, The Closer, and Rizzoli & Isles. But both companies can focus once more on producing their own original programming and selling those shows to the highest bidder. 

Netflix are only meant to be bidding for the Studios and possibly the streaming. They'd be happy buying the studios, IP and library. What's left behind in a Discovery Global company might be bigger than what WBD were intending with their own split of assets. 

From an AEW point of view, Netflix winning out would probably be the best of the 3 options for the WBD sale. All but guarantees an independent company spun-off with TNT/TBS and the possibility of a streaming service (Discovery+ or HBO Max if Netflix has to leave it behind). A company desperate for original content and they an existing working relationship with. So that's at least one company that should be interested in AEW's rights when they next come up.

--------------

https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-to-acquire-warner-bros

The announcement from Netflix (still a long way to go getting approval) with confirmation that WBD intends to split in Q3 2026. 

 

Edited December 5, 2025 by Infinity Land

[garynysmon]

15 hours ago, Dai said:

I havent watched AEW for years, but had some free time so gave this weeks a go. I wont be back. Thought it was dreadful. The Vault regularly uploads WCW Thunders from 99/00, and the look of this show was identical.

You say that like its a bad thing!

[The King Of Swing]

I love Eddie Kingston but I've been saying for years that he shouldn't be anywhere near the world championship. 

I stand by that. 

Didn't like the look of the venue at all. 

Honestly baffled that anyone thinks that Marina and Megan should have won the tournament. 

A makeshift team winning would be a shit idea on it's own but they also stink as a team. Marina (who is tremendous in her DR role) in particular was fucking awful this week. 

Also can't decide if she deliberately stuck around at the start of the main event or just forgot that she was supposed to leave. 

Shitty prediction time.

Either Babes or Wrath win the tournament and Love Bombs turn heel in frustration or they turn by cheating to win the tournament. 

Pac is rapidly turning into Dynamite Kid 2.0. Even Don Callis picked up on it. 

[RIDDUM_N_STYLE]

Probably one for the ROH thread too but why the fuck, given that he was injured on a non AEW show, has Eddie been booked on the ROH PPV tonight in a throwaway match 4 days before he’s in an AEW World Championship match?

[Kamran]

On Collision this week...

In the Continental Classic:

 

And...

[The King Of Swing]

Cracking episode of Collision. 

Mox Vs. Takeshita is well worth checking out.

[RedTwoster]

A very enjoyable episode of Collision, although I have to question the decision to replace Darby with Jungle ‘no longer a boy’ Jack Perry. Jurassic Express have been getting back on track since reuniting, and they really could do without wrestling separately in the short term. 

Also, where are The Acclaimed? Have they just dropped that story? Caster or Bowens appearing in the CC could have been fun, losing each match until the very end, when the support of the other somehow sees them through.

I’ll get my main negative out of the way - the ‘Sisters of Sin’ - the double-talking act is really stupid, and the anti-charisma Blue and Hart possess is quite something. I’ve said this before, but when you’re so bad at talking you can’t even pull off a monotone, you maybe shouldn’t speak at all. Thelma has charisma, but her promo work is also pretty abysmal. 

Eddie Kingston’s promo was better, but I don’t like the idea of this match being ‘about AEW’ in his eyes, rather than his own personal journey. Maybe he wants to save that killer promo on becoming World Champion until it’s actually possible but fuck, maybe if he’d cut that promo now the clamour for that to happen would grow.

I was really pleased to see Dorada pick up the win in the CC, he’s super talented and I’d love to see them do more with him. id assumed the story was going to involve the other Death Riders winning, with Mox dragging them down, but apparently not. Whatever the case, I hope Garcia becomes TNT Champion next week.

Mox/Takeshita was a lot of fun, and it almost felt like a waste putting a match of this magnitude at the tail end of Collision. That’s a match that could close a PPV, and it’s bigger than the main event being touted for Winter is Coming in my eyes. It didn’t disappoint, and both men are surely in contention for wrestler of the year.

I was glad that Mercedes didn’t lose the TBS Title, but I’m a bit baffled that they had Red Velvet of all people beat her. Maybe she’d improved dramatically since her days on Dynamite, but it feels like a bit of a waste, when a win over Mone means so much. I guess she’s going to lose a lot of matches in the coming weeks and months as her title collection dwindles, so maybe it doesn’t matter. 

There’s a narrative I’ve seen suggesting that Austin Gunn can’t cut a promo and I don’t understand it at all. He was great in the promo-off with FTR, and Juice was too. That said, they still don’t feel like anything other than a mismatched tag team. Maybe one of them should have made an appearance in the CC, I don’t know. Whatever the case, they’re two of the more underrated promos in the company in my opinion. 

I’m guessing Storm and Mina will win next week, but I hope I’m wrong. I like both wrestlers a lot, but they seriously lack chemistry. Maybe that’ll change over time, but at the moment I’m not feeling them as a duo.

Swerve cut a solid promo, although it was funny to see him basically agree with Josh Alexander that the town in question didn’t deserve this match, by offering it up for next week. If this is designed to be a way of getting the World title on to Swerve without facing Hangman again, I hope there’s a strong end game in mind. Ultimately, I think I’d have very much enjoyed watching that rivalry resume, even in a less heated way.