AEW TV 2025 Discussion

[Chili]

If it doesn't headline I'll be fine with it and I don't think it'll ruin the PPV. But that was a tremendous go-home segment. All three (Renee included) played to a tee. Mariah was great, taking the belt from her and all her chickens home to roost has frayed her brain, and Toni Storm's cold reply was top tier. It was so precise and wrapped up. It's been one of AEW greatest stories and I'm delighted we're getting a proper ending. If it doesn't close I'd love it to be in the middle just before the standard AEW PPV bloat bit where you need your dinner of good matches to settle.

[RedTwoster]

9 minutes ago, Chili said:

All three (Renee included) played to a tee

Renee is one of the best signings AEW has ever made, she’s absolutely brilliant at what she does and adds a heck of a lot to every segment she’s part of. She’s the best interviewer I can recall during my time watching wrestling. People have always spoken highly of Jim Ross’s sit down interviews, but I’ve not seen anything he’s done that comes close to what Renee offers.

[Chili]

6 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

Renee is one of the best signings AEW has ever made, she’s absolutely brilliant at what she does and adds a heck of a lot to every segment she’s part of. She’s the best interviewer I can recall during my time watching wrestling. People have always spoken highly of Jim Ross’s sit down interviews, but I’ve not seen anything he’s done that comes close to what Renee offers.

I have, he did one with Hangman Page before Full Gear 2020 that was wonderfully done. Page tried to bluster and shucks his way through a sit down and JR just calls him out about being worried facing Omega and it was great. JR is pretty much still very passable when not commentating. 

Renee is brilliant though, she's the modern Mean Gene for me in that she has enough character to herself but doesn't at all ape the performer and more than often contributes to it.

[tiger_rick]

I wouldn't headline with Toni and Mariah because I think the result is obvious. Everything about the feud has been fantastic but I think it's run it's race.

I'd headline with Kenny winning. They won't, and arguably shouldn't, but I would.

Fine episode of Dynamite. One of those go home shows where everything is set up and you're just fiddling with it. Thought the most interesting stuff was Yuta and White, both cleverly being set up for roles in the main event and potentially turns. 

I'd come to think Prince Nana might be turning but surely Ricochet's win here just confirms Swerve is going over.

Poor Max Caster. ?Let's go Max, you're the best wrestler alive. Clap, clap. 

44 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

Renee is one of the best signings AEW has ever made, she’s absolutely brilliant at what she does and adds a heck of a lot to every segment she’s part of. She’s the best interviewer I can recall during my time watching wrestling. People have always spoken highly of Jim Ross’s sit down interviews, but I’ve not seen anything he’s done that comes close to what Renee offers.

You are spot on. She's incredible. It's a disgrace that she's not pissing the "Best Non-Wrestler 2024" category in the awards.  

[RedTwoster]

2 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

I wouldn't headline with Toni and Mariah because I think the result is obvious. Everything about the feud has been fantastic but I think it's run it's race.

I'd headline with Kenny winning. They won't, and arguably shouldn't, but I would.

Fine episode of Dynamite. One of those go home shows where everything is set up and you're just fiddling with it. Thought the most interesting stuff was Yuta and White, both cleverly being set up for roles in the main event and potentially turns. 

I'd come to think Prince Nana might be turning but surely Ricochet's win here just confirms Swerve is going over.

Poor Max Caster. ?Let's go Max, you're the best wrestler alive. Clap, clap. 

You are spot on. She's incredible. It's a disgrace that she's not pissing the "Best Non-Wrestler 2024" category in the awards.  

I think it’s partly because her strengths are so subtle, and because one of the things she does well is amplify the strengths of others, meaning you almost don’t think about the role she plays in the moment. It’s a skill very few interviewers have, even the good ones.

Having said that, I voted for RJ this year, for similar reasons. What he does in Hey Ew is nothing short of remarkable - he’s carried some dead weight to very entertaining shows, and really helped others get across their wit and personality.

I’m a little disappointed that Prince Nana is in the lead. He’s a lot of fun, but he’s a one-note act for me. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as that one note is a good one, but I’m not sure that anyone could convince me that he’s a more deserving winner than RJ or Renee. 

[LaGoosh]

51 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

You are spot on. She's incredible. It's a disgrace that she's not pissing the "Best Non-Wrestler 2024" category in the awards. 

Loads of people vote for that sweaty bollock Paul Heyman and he's been doing the same tired old boring shite for over a decade now.

[RedTwoster]

15 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

Loads of people vote for that sweaty bollock Paul Heyman and he's been doing the same tired old boring shite for over a decade now.

I didn’t vote for him myself, but I can understand why someone might have last year - he played more of a cowering, intimidated character as Solo Sikoa rebuilt the Bloodline in his image, and I think he was pretty integral to making the story work. 

I really want RJ City to win this year though, I feel like it’s now, or potentially never for him to get the recognition he deserves! I couldn’t complain about a Renee win either, but I’d like to see RJ get a bit of love.

[Hannibal Scorch]

37 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

I really want RJ City to win this year though, I feel like it’s now, or potentially never for him to get the recognition he deserves! I couldn’t complain about a Renee win either, but I’d like to see RJ get a bit of love.

This was my thought process. I love my Wrestle Aunts!

Considering the line up, very decent episode. Echo the love for the Toni/Mariah/Renee segment. The 6 man was fun, and atleast led to some story progression. Contract signing was decent as those things can be. Yuta/Cope had some interesting stuff which I am sure will play out soon enough and the Women's match was a lot of fun. I thought they protected Stat well win the end. Not caught the main event yet, and i enjoyed the MJF/Page thing until he pulled lighter fluid out. However the visual of 20 security guards carrying him out restored some good feelings. But overall I thought it wasn't as great as some recent weeks, but still very good.

[BomberPat]

the best part about the MJF/Page segment was Ian Riccaboni proving why he's the best in the business - he said that security weren't immediately coming to stop MJF because they were still busy dealing with Moxley from the previous segment. Just one line of commentary that ties the show together in a way that makes it feel like a coherent whole rather than a series of unrelated segments, and which explains away a logic hole and answers the audience's question before they've thought to ask it. That's what a commentator should be doing - making the show make more sense. 

[Chili]

They're getting their heads kicked in at the PPV but I loved that Outrunners vignette complete with a custom action movie rock song attached. Lovely stuff.

[SaitoRyo]

9 minutes ago, Chili said:

They're getting their heads kicked in at the PPV but I loved that Outrunners vignette complete with a custom action movie rock song attached. Lovely stuff.

I don't get to watch much AEW but I really like them. It's a gimmick that could so easily be really shit in the wrong hands, but they've got it absolutely spot on. Not surprised they're moving a tonne of merch these days. 

[RedTwoster]

1 hour ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Yuta/Cope had some interesting stuff which I am sure will play out soon enough and the Women's match was a lot of fun.

Yuta is decent enough when he’s a shithead heel, but I think Tony Khan sees more in him than I do. He’s far more prominent on AEW television than I think his merited. He’s solid in ring, sure, but everything else about him is average. He’s only slightly less bland than Adam Cole.

On a more positive note - Max Caster was again very enjoyable. I hope this gimmick results in him getting a push, rather than him just being a jobber to the stars. He’s a lot of fun.

Also, come back soon, Anthony Bowens!

[mim731]

I can't comment too much on the show as a whole as I've only seen snippets on social media, but the venue this week looked great. I'm a bit out of the loop with AEW, so perhaps this has been going on for a while, but that move away from the indentikit LED-filled enormodomes really enhances the product for me and gives it a completely different look.  Saw a clip of Wheeler Yuta entering from the street and it looked great!

[tiger_rick]

1 hour ago, Chili said:

They're getting their heads kicked in at the PPV but I loved that Outrunners vignette complete with a custom action movie rock song attached. Lovely stuff.

Completely forgot about that already because if I could remember all the segments on an AEW Dynamite, I'd probably be busy curing cancer or something but, it was great. Gonna have to admit I bought it as well. I wasn't fully watching, heard the music, looked up and thought "Fucking hell, what have they bought the rights to now?" before it clicked. 

[tiger_rick]

1 minute ago, mim731 said:

I can't comment too much on the show as a whole as I've only seen snippets on social media, but the venue this week looked great. I'm a bit out of the loop with AEW, so perhaps this has been going on for a while, but that move away from the indentikit LED-filled enormodomes really enhances the product for me and gives it a completely different look.  Saw a clip of Wheeler Yuta entering from the street and it looked great!

It looked great for the entrance and the wide shots. Really unique. Another good crowd too. I made the point a while ago that they probably don't want to get pigeon-holed as a company who run small venues and really position themselves as an inferior brand but I have to say, @LaGoosh was right about the venues. They've made a massive difference and I'm big enough to admit when I'm wrong.

Related and coincidentally, I was catching up on Benno & Hamflett's podcast at lunch (I don't really like it, if honest, but I do love the era so I stick with it). Hamflett made the point that although AEW is running with smaller houses, like 1995 WWF, the big difference was that the crowds still really cared back then and they don't in AEW except for 2 or 3 guys. I accept our current wrestling tastes are completely opposite but I think that's absolute tosh. These small crowds absolutely love (or hate) the majority of the acts and the energy they bring to the shows lifts everything.

Not all crowds are rabid, some have either been poorly miked up or just not that into it but I can barely remember the last crowd that wasn't into almost everything and well into the top acts. 

Still, when you've got a podcast, you can say what you like. It's not immediately challenged like it is on here!