MoS

The Dark Order push is a complete mystery to me. AEW have been really good at learning from their mistakes and listening to the fans.....except for the Dark Order. They have never been over. They have always been the weakest thing about every AEW show they have appeared in. The final image of AEW in 2019 being a bunch of jokers beating up Cody, Dustin, the tag champs, Omega and the Bucks....yeesh, who on Earth thought it was a good idea? I also feel the Bucks need to protect themselves more. If they keep losing and getting beaten up like this, pretty soon they will just be a midcard team with a bunch of high spots. And when every match has a bunch of high spots, you need more to stand out.

Rewatching the main event, and Rhea grabbing the referee with a maniacal look on her face so he doesn't ring the bell was incredible. Shawn Michaels being in charge in developmental means a lot of melodramatic contrived bullshit, but it also means brilliance when they do get it right.

Russo being on Jericho's podcast is not a good sign. Listening to WOR, Meltzer also hated the post-match angle and said it was straight out of bad WCW booking. He said yesterday night felt like a turning point in the war, with NXT gaining momentum and AEW losing it. That might be over-the-top, but seriously, who is clamouring for a Dark Order main event angle against all the stars in the company? I don't think even the few people who like the Dark Order want them featured in such a prominent storyline. I get showing faith in your booking and your acts, but come on. The Elite being beaten up by a bunch of jobbers was a legit turn-off.

Triple H knows how a big-time star should be put over. Unfortunately, he was never good enough to truly feel like a megastar no matter how many times he was coronated. Rhea Ripley does not have that problem. She is an absolute superstar. I am so glad they pulled the trigger on her. If NXT 2020 features badass Rhea Ripley and Keith Lee title runs, it will be my favourite show to watch.

Dark Order and Nightmare Collective are too much heel recruiting. I don't like Dark Order, so the show ended on a flat note for me. I did like how they used it to further the Page-Omega-Elite story. I don't think it's a co-incidence that they had major faces coming out to help the Bucks a few days after no one came out to help Roman when he was getting beaten down. I like SCU, but I wanted the Young Bucks to win. I am not even a big fan, but they clearly have a connection with fans and so far they have really not been treated like major stars on TV. They have been too selfless with the number of jobs they have done. Becoming the literal anthithesis of WCW is not a great idea either. I liked Cody getting a definitive win, and I really like them using commentary to push angles more. I think they are becoming more focused, and also getting the balance between wrestling and angles right. They are not perfect by any means, but they are getting better. Brandi is so miscast though. Yes, she is a great heel manager, but she is also an excellent babyface promo. She is Cody's wife, fans clearly want to cheer for her, just go with it. I would much rather she welcome someone like Statlander - whom I love, she seems great - into the Elite and could be a babyface manager who occasionally gets in the ring. I know she wants to do her own thing, but this Nightmare Collective seems so unnecessary. It just feels like a waste of time. Jericho-Jungle Boy was amazing. Every second of it. And then Jericho came out and continued his storyline with Mox as well, while leaving the door open for the Jungle Boy story to continue. It's basic storytelling, which somehow feels refreshing because WWE, after almost 40 years of being amazing at it, seems to have forgotten it. I am guessing they are waiting for Luchasaurus to get fully healthy and Hager's fight schedule to be more clear before pulling the trigger on that match. But I love how they are building to it every week. Overall, I thought this was a really strong show. There was focus, things seem more streamlined now, and logical week-to-week booking. It's going to get killed in the ratings though. That NXT main event was 100 kinds of awesome.

I don't care how much Corbin has improved; the fact that someone looked at him and said "Yeah, it's a good idea to let this guy pin Roman multiple times" is honestly mind-boggling to me.

Becky tweeted about how Kairi is a warrior. On WOR, Meltzer said he found it "interesting" that no one had updated him about the Kairi situation, when in such cases they usually do so. I thought Charlotte hurt herself in the final bump she took as well. Really hope everyone is okay.

Did Charlotte land badly on the floor? She clutched the back of her head immediately. Hopefully both Kairi and she are okay.

I was reading the results as I was working out and just came back, took a shower and as soon as I switched on the TV, I saw Roman fight fucking Corbin backstage amongst a bunch of other wrestlers doing the exact same. Never ever has someone they want to be pushed as the top guy booked more like just another dude on the roster. It's honestly cruel to Roman. I can't believe he lost. Reading the description does not sound as if it was good on screen either.

I don't think he has completely recovered from his injury either. Yeah, it's one of those things which are much better worked out when you have house show matches to get you in ring shape and rhythm.

I am all in for a Mox ace run as champ.

JYD was not a brilliant worker, but he was the biggest draw in the history of a really hot, successful territory, make New Orleans a wrestling town, and was the first black guy to be treated as the absolute ace of the promotion, no matter how much that pissed off local arena promoters. Surely, based on the last factor, he deserves to be in for historical influence alone?? Meltzer himself has written about how when the Dog became the number one guy in Mid-South, there were so many who thought it was a stupid idea making a black guy the franchise of a promotion. The fact that he became a huge draw and then, for a while, the number 2 baby-face in WWF after Hogan is certainly historically important.

I thought this was a really strong episode. There were some acts that were underwhelming, but everything was booked with a purpose, and every match/angle progressed something. Luchasaurus-Guevera was not great but Jericho on commentary was gold, as was the post-match angle.

They are becoming better at getting videos and vignettes in the show. There was no need for the matches to go as long as they did though. It takes away the special feeling from their main events.

It's really amazing how over Cody is.

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.