MoS

Please, wrestling gods, let MJF cut a full-blooded promo. Surely watching Roman literally being given dog shit to work with is worth that.

I definitely agree with you regarding them doing more to follow up on guys who get over and build some momentum. Meltzer made the point that for all the talk about their roster not having enough depth, they actually have far too many acts for a 2-hour show, and as a result, so many of them do not get featured. You pointed out Allin. I would also point to Nyla Rose being someone who was getting over as a monster heel, with a good performance on the debut episode, and then was promptly not seen on TV for weeks.

This is why I am really hoping that they kickstart Cody-MJF soon. I have enjoyed every single episode of Dynamite, and there is not a single episode I would consider bad or even mediocre, but there is a difference between being good and having a hot program that makes people want to follow your product. They need to unleash MJF and Cody on the mic on each other. I'd also put Omega in a main event feud now, aligned with Cody.

To be fair to Roman, no way would Okada be 1/10th the star he is if he had been forced to wrestle fucking Baron Corbin every week.

No one will look like a bonafide star if they are not built and pushed to be bonafide stars. Saying "They don't look like stars" is precisely what the old guard in WCW said about the new blood again and again, even as the ship kept sinking. No one who saw Dean Ambrose get squashed by Brock Lesnar thought he could ever look like a star, yet here we are. Hell, they said the exact same thing about Jericho 20 years ago in 2 different promotions. They need to have more promos and segments featuring young talents with established stars. I would rather they not try too many things right now - like Dark Order, Brandi Kong etc - and focus on 3-4 storylines while finding a way to have the stars interact with the wrestlers they want to push.

They really need to kickstart the Cody-MJF feud. Cody has basically not been utilised at all since Full Gear, and now it's been 2 weeks since MJF has had a mic. MJF-Vodu segments will surely do more numbers than Dark Order vignettes. I really don't know why they are sticking with that group so loyally. The quarter numbers seem to confirm that Jericho is the only true star in AEW. Now that the Elite have put over so many wrestlers, they need to start putting themselves over and becoming stars as well.

John Cena is the last proper difference-maker in American pro wrestling, right? Roman might have drawn more dollars and cents than Okada, but Okada was far more important to his promotion and to his country's wrestling scene.

AEW got 851k viewers and a 0.32 rating in the target demo. NXT got 845k and a 0.26, although it actually very slightly beat Dynamite in a couple of demos apart from 50+, which they must be pleased about. https://www.f4wonline.com/aew-news/aew-dynamite-slightly-regains-viewership-lead-over-nxt-298871 If both companies can keep getting these numbers consistently, they will be very happy with their ratings, especially since even Raw and SD get between 2-3 million viewers these days.

So apparently, no one liked the Brandi Kong angle. I did not mind it, but it seems to be one angle that has absolutely fallen flat. Given they are already plugging Nightmare Collective's merchandise, I don't know if they can change plans but I'm hoping they listen to the feedback.

I understand people beong skeptical of too many cult orders, but I really enjoyed today's episode of Dynamite. I thought it did a great job of mixing excellent wrestling with promos and interviews that were not just entertaining but also led to meaningful consequences. I guess maybe because Dark Order is being made more and more self-conscious and are not being treated as seriously, I don't mind the Brandi and Kong act.

Brandi and Kong are the only ones in the roster who can pull this off. Statlander v. Kong should be a lot of fun. Nightmare Collective >>>> Dark Order.

I love Nyla Rose. They are literally making the Dark Order as campy as possible.

Jericho has cut some great promos, but Cody has been the best promo this year in all of wrestling, imo. He managed to plug and address so many things - his own version of how his dad used to meander in promos - and then tie it all to the main point, and bring out the fire and get the crowd pumped. He has become gold on the mic.

Fun match. I would rather they had a promo instead of jumping right into another match.

Is there some audio issue on TNT? People on Twitter are talking about it, but the audio on my FITE account seems fine.

Starting with a big hot match. I like it.

I think that AEW has earned the goodwill and faith of its fans to the point that while they might not watch every single episode like that infamous 3 million WCW fans who just disappeared after WCW folded, they will be willing to give the product a chance and invest in it if they feel that the programs are good and compelling. It is precisely that faith and goodwill that WWE has gradually lost over the last 20 years or so.

Is AEW losing momentum irrevocably? Can Jericho, Cody and MJF get a hot program going? Will Shawn Spears remain as un-over as the book which Jericho's guest Donald Trump Jr plugged on Le Champion's podcast? Lots of interesting questions for this week!

At least we will always have Mid-Atlantic; it's been an amazing promotion to watch on the Network. Really wish we had more of face Flair in the Carolinas.

There's definitely a finite, limited number of fans willing to be invested in a wrestling product now - it's probably the least 'popular' it's ever been in America, even though the ones who are invested are willing to spend a lot of money, and the internet existing naturally leads to more space for content, which means wrestling is often talked about by the media. You need a Hogan/Austin/Rock level star to turn things around. Wrestling has always been at its most popular when there are massive individual stars; it's one reason 50:50 booking is so annoying.

Ratings are really important to wrestling because the bulk of money is made via television deals. They are arguably 10 times more important than they were during the Monday Night War. From what Meltzer is saying, AEW showed a bigger drop than most other shows during the Thanksgiving weekend. This is not a good number. That said, I do hope they do not panic and keep sticking to what they are doing, and taking feedback and learning along the way. Pulling a Bischoff will only worsen things long-term.

Yeah, they should be out on Monday.

Why is Roman always booked with midcarders

Tony has been so much better than JR, but perhaps 20 years of Vince screaming in JR's ears about what to say has made hin perennially grumpy.