WingedEagle

Smackdown, The Good: - The set/stage. Really like the new look and the side-camera they utilized during entrances. Finding a new spot in buildings an alternate hard cam would arguably freshen up the TV product without needing absurdly "original" ideas. - The Rock was awesome and clearly tried to give Becky a bit of his shine. To what end I don't know given how the women were thrown out there later in the show, but there was a thought behind this. - Daniel Bryan on commentary. Always a bonus when it happens. Extra points for his authoritarian comment making the air on WWE TV. - Brock making the title matter again. Elimination Chamber and the Smackdown gauntlets earlier this year were fantastic, and Bran/Kofi was a legitimate low end MOTYC and one of the great Mania moments, but this was a title reign heading downhill ever since and gaining speed along the way. Brock's matches can still feel like the biggest thing in the company so hopefully that's the case going forward. - Cain Velasquez throwing strikes from the mount. He moves very well in and around the ring, and looked great raining down strikes on Brock. The Bad: Its umbrella time, because I'm now ready to rain all over the rest of the show. - The Women. The MSG tag was rough in spots but intense, well laid out and hot. This seemed like a version of that edited for time constraints, with the edits taking away everything that made the first one work. But keeping essentially the same finish for unknown reasons. I was genuinely excited for this match when it was announced, but it turns out they literally booked it just to parade them out and scream "THESE ARE OUR FEMALE SUPERSTARS.' I loved the Bayley heel turn and was patient with the slow pacing of development on that front since then (don't ask why I even bothered giving it more than a moment's thought), but the entire presentation of this match and the wrestlers was as though nothing ever happened or mattered. - The 8 Man tag team match and Lumberjacks. Jesus Fuck. Honestly, I was so sad watching this match and those lumberjacks. Hasn't anyone in the company ever heard that less is more? Where's Waldo doesn't work with stars . If you throw every single piece of shit you have against the wall, you've just got a wall covered in shit. Nothing at all stands out. How is your dedicated audience that's familiar with the wrestlers, their histories, personalities, feuds, ups and downs supposed to care about everyone blending together, much less any new or infrequent viewers you're hoping to retain? Why should *anyone* care about *anything* when there's a lot of clutter on the screen? The same point arguably holds for the women's match, though at least they stand out a bit because they're women on a show dominated by men. I'm not advocating for Orton, Zigger, AJ or anyone in the match. But pick somebody and try to paint them as somewhat special or worth paying attention to. - Tyson Fury. Are you fucking kidding me? How does this do anything but cut into any interest/heat for the KEY ANGLE on this show and going forward (Cain)? This is Mad Libs. For general audience purposes you can fill in the blank with boxing or MMA, it doesn't really matter. I think Cain and MMA mean more to the potential audience. If you disagree, make Fury the focus of an angle with Brock. If not, why is he there to water it down and distract from it, never mind take away creative efforts and television minutes from someone on the roster who may be part of a solid program 1, 3 or 6 months from now. If there's a positive to this (outside of an edict from Fox/ESPN that you're basically given no choice but to obey), please let me know. - Cain Velasquez's look. Why did he have to take his shirt off? Why did he have to wear a knee brace for the limited physicality we saw? None of this will matter if and when you get him over, but first impressions do matter and the first impression that much of the WWE UNIVERSE (strike me down now, please) got of Cain wasn't that of a devastating striker or incredible smooth and athletic heavyweight, but rather the guy with a guy who has the 930AM appointment for physical therapy on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Presentation matters. Act like it. On the bright side, none of this may matter next week when there's no Rock to take up 15-20 minutes, (maybe) no shoehorning in half the roster just to scream WE HAVE STARS and for all we know there may be no Cain/Fury after the next Blood Money show. On the other hand, this felt on the whole incredibly depressing. Yet I'll be there on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and next Friday, subject to DVRing things. But what about anyone who hasn't been watching for over 20 years? Why the fuck would they want to do this again?

Yes! Forgot to mention that as well. It just goes to show you don't need to reinvent the wheel.

I really like the overall aesthetic of Dynamite. I don't think its a stretch to say that Dynamite looks and feels like Nitro. The stage and color scheme/lighting in the building seem like a direct callback to that era. Call it familiar, nostalgic or whatever you'd like, but its nice and different from what we're used to seeing from televised wrestling.

Perhaps its simplistic but I wonder how much smartphones subdue crowds a bit in this era. Not at all defending the product, but I don't think people's attention was as easily diverted during that period. Its almost as though there's a hire threshold to reach that level of engagement.

Yes, been that way for a while. Load times between folders and threads always have a brief pause.

I'm happy to eat crow on what I said about Nyla earlier. At least for one night. It was far and away the best match on the show and they worked a really smart and fun match around the size difference. Involving Omega in the post-match didn't make much sense, but I really dug everything else. its not fair to say there's nothing they can do to make me care about Jack Swagger, particularly as I"ll be watching every week, but there's almost nothing they can do to make me care about Jack Swagger.

Some early thoughts: - Cody/Sammy seemed a bit slow until the Brandi bump. Very much by the numbers until they built to some great near falls without overdoing it. I've never quite understood the hype about Guevara but he didn't take anything away from this. The Jericho angle afterwards was nothing amazing but perfectly solid and credible without overdoing things with any shenanigans. - I've never quite gotten the buzz about MJF. He's certainly a heel but the only time I've ever really gotten into him is hanging around as Cody's sidekick. Too over the top on the mic and he works like a passable manager. - Pac/Page seemed a bit too long but solid throughout. Page looked better than he has thus far in AEW. No complaints about extending this feud, perhaps to the PPV. - Much like MJF, I still don't get the hype about Nyla Rose. In her case perhaps its push rather than hype, but same idea. Hope she shows something here.

I may have missed it but was that limo before the main event for Lashley/Lana? Or a tease for something on Friday?

I'm much more interested in NXT as the lineup and roster is more up my alley, but feel like I should check out AEW live as its potentially a much bigger event. I've enjoyed most of their shows but not blown away to the point it feels like appointment viewing. But the prospect of well funded competition with real exposure is definitely interesting.

I can't say the lineup released earlier this week blew me away, but I'm very excited to head to the Hammerstein show tonight. Tanahashi & RNR should be a blast, the main event has potential if everyone goes hard and the young lion matches look pretty fun as well.

Daniel Bryan popped in to remind everyone that he's still one of the best wrestlers alive, and delivered Erick Rowan's career match.

While I haven't watched it, from what I've read I don't see any controversy or real story to this Omega business. Its a wrestling character cutting a promo. On the other hand, if I were Kenny Omega and AEW I would be concerned that the guy who was arguably the company's biggest name at launch is currently little more than afterthought. Perhaps they're waiting for TV to make him matter, but year to date he hasn't been involved in anything particularly interesting or in any way felt like someone I need to pay to see.

Cesaro's wrestling in capris?

That match lost me when they brought out the 24/7 sideshow. Once that happens I'm out.

AJ/Cedric was awesome. About as great as a match that long can be. Curious if it was simply cut from the main show or whether it sets up the OC for other involvement later in the show.

Agree with just about all of this. Solid action at a great pace but a finish that didn't reach the heights of what preceded it. Nonetheless solid fare for the preshow.

Presumably 5. 4.5 minimum as with that many matches I can't see this ending before 10:30, and its not like we've got a Brock match guaranteed to go short in the main event position. On paper this looks like a show that could really deliver. Orton/Kofi and Nakamura/Miz are the only matches that either don't interest me or have potential to be good. I don't expect everything else to deliver, but when a show with that many opportunities to do so is a welcomed addition to the schedule. Just don't remind me I still need to catch up today's NJPW Destruction show and tomorrow's at some point this week.

Has there been any confirmation that this bill applies to WWE, AEW, NJPW or any other promotion not based in California? Headlines are juicy but absent concrete information about its applicability to specific companies any such discussion seems premature.

Fuck, that's awful. I hope there's somehow a strong recovery ahead for him.

Late to the party here, but I thought the Bayley heel turn and follow up on Smackdown were pretty great. Coming out with the same music/props she did as a face doesn't seem like a fit, but she avoided slapping hands with any fans on Smackdown so hopefully that continues in the right direction. Becky/Charlotte vs. Sasha/Baley tomorrow night is absolutely a rush, but I won't worry about that unless its a lengthy match rather than a pure storytelling device heading into the PPV.

I'll certainly consider going if there's zero market for the show and great seats are out there at absurdly low prices. Otherwise not really worth a Sunday night out.

This is really great. I started watching during the era of Superstars/Challenge in syndication and eventually Prime Time once we got cable, and while I've watched pieces of the others over the years on the Network and whatnot, never really had a sense of how they all fit in the hierarchy. Did the shows build to any big climaxes or blowoffs in the pre-PPV era? Would they cross promote and acknowledge each other in some sense, or did each show exist in its own vacuum?

Is there anything appealing on that lineup? I pop in every now and then if a match is gets any buzz outside of hardcore lucha followers, but on paper it reads like a card sold solely based on the name.

This may have been one of the most disappointing matches of the year. It wasn't bad, but it almost seemed as though both knew they had bigger matches in front of bigger crowds ahead and were looking to go through the motions here. The intensity and stiffness kept it from being a waste of time, but it was a far cry from Mike Elgin's matches in BJW later in the month or even a typical Walter affair.