MoS

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.

So as mentioned, people are saying the reason Bryan-Omega went first was to eliminate as many commercials as possible, since there usually aren't many in the first 30 minutes. That is an unfortunate thing that really can't be helped, because the show would have flowed better with that being the main. It was a tradeoff between that and presenting the match in as pristine a manner as possible. This was not like All Out, which was a big UFC style card, with every match being massive. This was more like a massive boxing card, with one marquee match and other special attractions. Or maybe just a Conor McGregor UFC card then. In a way, it was cool in a SNME way, seeing the big match first. But a modern 2 hour episode of wrestling TV flows better with the main last, especially given the much higher in-ring standards for wrestling TV today.

The Punk promo by itself made the show great. AEW is often unfairly derided as an indyriffic show when it is the promo promotion

Thought it was a very good match with a weak finish. This was the most fun I have had watching a wrestling TV show in years though. It would have felt much better if Bryan-Omega had ended the show though.

Ruby's selling is awesome

Disagree. Thought he looked great both flying around and pinballing, and that sick apron coffin drop is the best way to showcase Darby

Genuinely the best FTR match in AEW imo. Better than that comically overrated Young Bucks match

They clearly backloaded the commercials and let Bryan and Omega wrestle largely commercial free. Man Sting looks GOOD. This is also the first time FTR seem truly motivated since War Games

Black looked great but Cody is just so unlikeable, with zero self-awareness. I hope that's the reason he turns heel, not cuz Black "poured the corruption into him" or some dorky Fiend-like shit

This has to be the beginning of a heel turn right

lmao what is this shit