MoS

Someone else can explain Omega, but while there were big elements of the typical great Bryan Danielson match in this draw, it is not a typical Danielson match. A typical Danielson RoH title defence, for instance, used to have a lot of nasty matwork, something you specifically mentioned, where Bryan would do these delightful things like have his opponent in a stretch hold or a head/arm lock and then would just grind his knuckles over their face. A typical Danielson match also climaxes with a lot of MOVEZ and nearfalls, and to be fair, so does a big Omega match. With Bryan, there will usually be a big tope, a top rope spot, suplexes, some bombs and counters, etc. You saw glimpses of that with the top rope back suplex from him. Omega did that too. In fact, without going into his case, a lack of moves isn't an issue with Omega at all. To me, why this match was perfect, and why what they did was so impressive, was the fact that they gave enough (imo) while making it clear that they had a lot left in the tank. It was a flawless setup match for a PPV rematch. As someone said, achieving something like that is often more difficult than simply having a great match. With the Omega V-triggers, it's just something you have to buy with his matches. He hits nasty knees to the head often which look devastating, and they just don't pin the other person or even completely change the momentum of the match - apart from the ramp V-trigger. They are a "signature move" as my cousin who plays the WWE video games informs me, something akin to an Angle slam. I don't like it, but then Omega has never been one of my wrestlers, so I am not the right person to really explain it.

Apparently the match started at 1.15 million viewers and ended at 1.5 million viewers, which is absolutely insane when you think about it. Like they increased the viewership by a number that's more than one-third of their usual audience.

Very true. I honestly don't know why they were booked against each other. Like whom is that supposed to showcase, exactly.

Thought it was a fun sprint, nothing too good, but a nice watch. I still think the 8-man was the match of the night, although the Punk match obviously had the most heat. Highlight of the show by far was the Miro beatdown with Taz and Starks as the world's best cheerleaders

I love Eddie Kingston so much

I think it's fine, I've never had an issue with stables as long as there is some direction. I like that everyone has some loose affiliations. With the Dark Order, there's a clear angle they are building, even though I am not a fan of it. Matt Hardy and his dumbass group on the other hand can fuck off forever.

Miro beating the shit out of Sammy and Fuego while Starks and Taz lose their shit laughing their ass off on commentary absolutely made my day, and it's only 9 AM here

God Matt Hardy has ultimate go-away heat for me

Yeah, unless the MMA guys are willing to job in the ring, this isn't worth anything at all. I think I liked this 8-man more than the 6-man

Lol apparently the angle was really hot live but it came across as no one cared on TV. Masvidal has charisma but if you want to get MMA viewers, then there's no way you book fucking Junior Chigano Dos Santos as a heel against fucking Jericho and Hager

I thought the six man was great until that stupid stereo double-punching spot and then it sort of fell apart. Adam Cole going toe to toe with Luchasaurus didn't sit right with me

Damn that top rope hurricanrana looked brutal on Hobbs

CM TRUNKS

I believe KawadaSmile is talking about the Rhodes Brothers vs Shield, which indeed was a tremendous match.

Cody's problem is not that he is HHH or Jarrett, it is that he has forced himself to be like the anti-HHH. Never in the main event scene, doing random fuckall shit, feuding with a trainer and rookies, totally bizarre shit. He's more like his dad in the late 80s, out of place and having out-of-sync feuds that feel like vanity projects, except he doesn't have Dusty's charisma and natural charm and cannot just faff and bullshit his way through it.

Yeah that TNT title absolutely needed to go to Cody, and the run was a massive success. Apart from doing well in ratings, it allowed a lot of indy wrestlers to get a big spotlight going against one of the promotion's biggest stars, and many of them got signed and are now carrying the company's midcard. He made the belt meaningful and that allowed Darby to become a true star when he beat Cody. Also don't get the criticism of the cradle finish. I thought it was clever and played off Cody cradling Darby off a coffin drop attempt to beat him in a previous match. I really believe it was the Shaq feud that killed him. Unable to challenge for the main title and no longer feuding for the TNT title meant he has created a Cody-verse within AEW where he retains his self-indulgence but partakes in angles that feel completely detached and incongruous with the larger promotion. The Ogogo feud was the worst example of this. It sticks out like a sore thumb in a promotion which makes an effort to integrate storylines and have wrestlers with loose affiliations and secondary feuds going on.

Abolutely insane 2nd quarter growth. It is clear from the pattern that a lot of fans were not expecting Danielson-Omega to start the show. They tuned in in large numbers when they found out the match had started, and tuned out after it (and the Punk promo) was over and never tuned back in again. To be fair, following Danielson, Punk and Omega with Pillman Jr. was always going to haemorrhage viewers. It will be interesting to see when the next time they have a marquee TV main event, whether they choose to put it first for minimum commercials, or at the end for maximum ratings effect and ending the show on a high.

I haven't caught the latest episode yet, but it seems they played that clip of Flair talking about Kanyon's personal choices, because he seems to be defending himself...again. This season hasn't been kind to him

I mean AEW would have absolutely won if they had put the 30 minute draw on last. TK and Mookie know this; Mookie used to analyse ratings with us fellow nerds on this board when AEW wasn't even a fantasy dream. It happened with that Shaq mixed tag too. There's clearly a reason they decided to put the match on first anyway, almost certainly because it meant less commercials and thus a better viewing experience. The fact that they chose to sacrifice a one-off weekly ratings win - let's be honest, as soon as MNF ends, Raw is back to winning comfortably most weeks, so it would always have been a fleeting triumph - for what they thought was a better experience for their fans is a *good* thing, and is the kind of sensible, non-reactionary thinking that has brought them so close to Raw so quickly in the first place. I still think the show would have been better in any case if Danielson-Omega went on last, commercials notwithstanding, but that's not because of ratings.

Have him use Jungle Boy as a bat to hit Marko Stunt like a cricket ball, straight out of the ring. Really try and get the Indian audience

I was absolutely stunned at how this was expected to be a babyface spot. I mean Cody worked heel in the match so clearly they were expecting boos, so how on Earth did they think that spot was a good idea? Just a total head-scratcher

This would be good but there's only so much this can be true when you have Mandy Rose speaking shitty middle school theatre lines in promos like the ultimate generic WWE video game heel, like literally so

I am binge-watching the two NXT 2.0 episodes. This is such a breezy watch. Nothing remarkable or particularly good but the entire presentation is a massive upgrade and feels very refreshing. The look is colourful and vibrant, which is exactly what a show featuring young talented rookies developing their talent should be. None of HHH's metal aesthetic anymore thankfully. Hahaha that spot with Dexter Lumis turning around and revealing his axe when it was time to raise objections to their marriage was amazing. He has a lot of personality. I don't know if he will do anything on the main roster; his gimmick seems precisely the kind that Vince would completely remodel upon getting called up. But he is very entertaining and Indi is awesome. BRONNNN has his dad's physique and his uncle's promo style. This dude is a blatantly obvious can't-miss superstar. He can main event 5 WrestleManias if he so wishes, but imo the wrestling world will be infinitely poorer if he doesn't quit the fed and cut multiple worked shoots - and actual shoots - shitting on Hunter and Vince. He is a Steiner after all

India gets the Fite feed so it's difficult to tell when they go to commercial exactly. This clearly was why they opened with Omega-Bryan then. Perhaps could have switched a Rampage match with one of the weak Dynamite ones.

Britt isn't very fluid, but when she works full heel, it doesn't hamper her wrestling because she can be extremely stiff and vicious, like she was against Soho. Ruby unfortunately I felt didn't fully hold up her end of the bargain. She was great at selling but her movement looks stiff and awkward. I really want to like her cuz she is fantastic at being a likeable babyface and has effortless charisma, but honestly, her in-ring work has underwhelmed so far in AEW. I do agree that it was a good idea to show faith in Britt being in the main event. She is one of their biggest homegrown stars and she deserves a spotlight. Apparently, from live reports, Rampage was better than Dynamite, although obviously no match as good as Danielson-Omega.