MoS

Yeah, I think the decline creatively and spiritually can be traced back to the 2nd Gargano-Ciampa match. The first was a huge success, with the face going over clean. Then they decided to continue with it except make it even more epic, and it became overwrought and a turnoff. This relates to DMJ's point about trying to make everything epic and playing a dangerous game of top-this with your own self that is inherently sustainable and will lead to you eating your own tail. That feud was also where you can argue that the main roster problem of booking babyfaces like idiots seeped into NXT. For a healthy, hot brand, you always need smart over faces. I still think NXT's peak and its most enduring success is the 2015 Sasha-Bayley feud.

Hopefully he is good. Does he do some kind of modern Ultimate Warrior gimmick? I am really hoping the Mox-Cage-Darby-Starks booking culminates in Darby beating Cage. They need to give one of their homegrown stars a huge win to get them to the next level.

Who is this Warhorse guy against whom Cody is defending this week?

The Asuka-Sasha thing straddled the end of hour 2 and beginning of hour 3. The quarters when they come out will make things clearer, but I would absolutely not be surprised if that bullshit ending pissed off a lot of viewers who just tuned out and didn't return. It's a pity because Asuka and Sasha have been having excellent matches which inevitably get terrible finishes due to shitty booking.

The Big E non-singles push is even weirder to me because he has the size, look, charisma and promo ability. All too often, WWE has been reluctant to pull the trigger on someone because they are lacking in one trait - ignoring the golden booking rule about accentuating strengths and hiding weaknesses - but Big E literally checks all the boxes. He has also always been more over than his push, which to me is the biggest indicator of someone's potential. New Day is undoubtedly one of the best WWE tag teams of all time, but for most of their prime run, they were pushed just a shade behind the Usos. Despite that, however, I would argue that they were -and remain- more over than the Usos and were a bigger draw by whatever limited metrics we have. But hey, pushing Dolph Ziggler for the umpteenth time led to a record low 3rd hour which was not that far off from Dynamite's debut episode in terms of viewership, something completely unfathomable just 3 years ago, so everything is just fine, I guess.

Have they addressed what they are going to do with the NEVER 6-man titles? With the 6-man and IC titles basically being in limbo, they should really be focusing on sorting out that shit before introducing new gold.

Bruce Mitchell referring to rovert as 'Irish' and then, after being called out on it, defending himself with "I have Irish friends!!" was embarrassing. I get the point about focusing on the message and not the messenger, but this is the same guy who can never admit his hero Flair did anything wrong ever.

The fact that the EVIL title run was apparently going to happen regardless of the pandemic reinforces this imo.

This new tournament/title idea seems really contrived and unnecessary.

Oh for fuck's sake

He spent his birthday weekend fielding shareholder calls about declining ratings and the effect of AEW on their business. I hope he gets at least an episode of Raw dedicated to him for having to be Vince's shield on these calls

Wait, what. As someone who always considered myself a good punster I am beginning to feel my life has been a lie...

Lol I was today years old when I realised this.

Definitely. I am hoping that when he bulks up for his inevitable move to hw, he stops taking ridiculous bumps. His neck seems to have miraculously healed and I would rather he not tempt fate.

Hiromu is definitely a future main eventer.

Let me rephrase: Bryan (indeed no one) can make Corbin a main eventer. I don't follow baseball - cricket >>>>> baseball indisputably anyway - so I dunno what going against the 2nd day of the reopened season would mean for SD. Does baseball viewership drop off sharply after the first day?

Bryan cannot make Baron Corbin an interesting character.

I liked the match. Some of the YB offensive spots were too cutesy - Butcher was just sitting across a plate one YB was gently holding against his head as the other ran to hit him - but it was still a brawl and such stipulations help the Bucks because their high-flying stuff can also double as them trying to kill their opponents. I appreciated the match ending after the huge spot and not dragging on unnecessarily just to top it.

American conservatism is really its own beast. The overton window is so far to the right, compared to other similar 1st world countries, it's honestly a bit surreal. Kross has a great presence and a grest entrance, but his actual work so far has left me cold. They better not have him beat Lee.

It's honestly stunning how WWE never signed someone with his promo skills.

Saw this on Twitter and it made me think of good bubba @KawadaSmile

Well he didn't, but with Sammy returning, it makes sense. Really loved this episode, more than the last several episodes. Just a different level of energy, starting right with Kingston cutting an incredible promo. He better get signed immediately if he is not already signed.

Jungleboy better get the win here

Is Kenny dressing like a dork part of his heel cleaner persona

Lance Archer putting a jobber through the ceiling was awesome. This is my first time seeing Ivelesse. I know she has backstage issues but she is clearly great. Them having her put over someone on her debut is probably at least partially due to those backstage issues.