Big Pete

Cody didn't stall Darby's momentum, Darby started off as a side-show guy having hardcore matches with Joey Janela and Jimmy Havoc before he stepped in the ring with Cody. That helped break him out of that division and from there Darby did the rest. I agree that Brodie Lee really didn't need to squash Cody. Did they get the title off of Brodie first thing because they knew he was unwell? Or was that Cody just getting his win back ASAP?

ROH fans had a difficult time wrapping their heads around QT Marshall working television while their favourites couldn't get a gig. He was perceived as another Mike Mondo, just another OVW guy who didn't appeal to anyone other than Cornette. 9 years on and somehow Marshall has the job of formatting the show which from that perspective has been an absolute dog's breakfast at times.

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle on that January 4th 2010 show was a great match and better than their PPV effort. Speed Muscle vs. Motor City Machine Guns from 2008 is a really fun tv match as well.

Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle - SmackDown 26/9/02 - This was a really fun main event that was built on Angle/Benoit trying to settle their differences while Rey constantly ran interference and became the star of the match. It's one of the better three-ways that hardly anyone talks about but it's an enjoyable match from start to finish with some really well put together spots. Between that and the Edge/Eddie match from earlier, it's one of the best SmackDown episodes of all-time.

He obviously has a say, but most of the creative comes from the boys and he just throws his 2c and they come to a compromise. I don't think it took TK to move away from the Dark Order/Elite angle.

I missed this the first time around. The greatest positive is how they've pushed younger personalities like MJF, Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, Riho etc. They feel more culturally relevant and it's far more fascinating watching these personalities make a name for themselves instead of seeing guys from the Ruthless Aggression Era FINALLY win the big one. Their biggest hindrance is their formatting. At the moment the show has so many head chefs and ideas are coming from everywhere that Dynamite comes across like a dogs breakfast. If they could just map things out better and format the show better it would make for better television. I'd say it all goes back to the general inexperience of the promotion and the state of the roster.

I don't think the company lends itself to quality commentary. The tone of the show is all over the place so it's difficult to give a professional call when one segment you'll get a sincere Eddie Kingston promo and the next you're getting some nonsense comedy segment. On top of that, AEW loves to use a ton of guy which really prevents the commentary team from building a familiarity and rhythm to their call. JR clearly struggles but I still think he has the most credibility of any commentator out there. I respect his opinion because he was one of the greatest heads of talent relations, ever. Again, I don't think it's entirely his fault, sometimes the show is just bowling shoe ugly. Excalibur is a really good fit for the promotion, it's just a question of whether he has the ability to really elevate a match with commentary to make it an all-time classic. I remember Nigel McGuiness in ROH, the 2nd Wrestlemania Show in 2012 turned what was just a good Elgin/Richards match into what was a rare ***** from Meltzer. The presentation is a little generic. I used to enjoy the way Nitro was shot and how it had that sports style presentation with the cinematography and choice of shots. I wouldn't necessarily want to see AEW copy that but just get a little bit more creative with their shots. I feel like they could shoot matches better and when the crowds do return I hope they stop cutting to the crowd as much as they did. The ring style is fine, the issue is that a lot of talent is green/not very good and they're still getting their material down pat. Sometimes I wish they'd learn to walk before they learn to crash and burn but that's modern wrestling. I don't really have an issue. Hager was initially well cast as the muscle of the Inner Circle until they became a joke. It's difficult to form an opinion on Henry and Wight since neither have been featured that much. I presume both will be good to have around in a backstage capacity and I like having Wight there just for thematic purposes. There is definitely a WCW-revival theme to the show and as somebody who grew up on the N64 games he's one of those guys I instantly associate with that promotion. Same deal with Sting who I'm glad was able to give himself a better ending than what he got in the WWE. Yeah, the Darby can get repetitive but he's a living legend who the crowd loves. Also it's a smart investment for their video game. I think fans get a little too carried away. Yeah, if Matt Sydal came in and beat Darby Allin in 4:20 clean that would blow but as long as the ex-WWE guys are cast well then I don't see an issue. The vast majority that have been hired were hired based on their ring-work, not their look which is the key. No, isn't that the point of AEW? Pro Wrestling was based on fooling the audience, AEW is about including them in on the joke. For my taste I wish the promotion was more earnest and they didn't have guys chewing the scenary but that's the point of the show. It would be like getting upset with This Is The End for not being a serious drama. I feel like they could utilise them better and make a point about how impactful these stables can be. At times I actually think they play it a little safe, like I would really like to see the Pinnacle exist outside of the Inner Circle and be about how they're looking to take the reigns off of The Elite. No issue with them, even with Vickie I think it's just a way to honour Eddie and look after an absolute sweet heart in the business. With guys like Arn, Tully and Jake it just gives the promotion some kind of legacy and introduces these guys to a whole other generation of fans. They could be utilised more but they're relatively harmless. I really don't get the sense that TK is that hands on with the promotion. I feel he chips in and gives things the final thumbs up, but for the most part he just trusts the performers. I'm really disappointed in Dave's coverage of AEW, it feels like a lot of juicy stories have just gone to the keeper because Dave just refuses to break anything. I find his ratings system if anything has hurt a lot of the show's hype because he'll go high on some really unmemorable matches. It's a shame because there has been some noteworthy matches, but they get lost in the shuffle because Dave goes bananas over certain wrestlers. Cornette has run out of things to say with AEW. I think he made some salient points at a time where everyone was being extremely supportive but what else can he say? About as well as they can. There isn't a ton of talent there, to the point where they had to bring in the NWA Women just to put together some quality match-ups. The division is slowly growing, but it's been a slog. I'd say they're guilty of doing too many number one contendership battle royals/ladder matches and the like when they book much better matches if they were between the two top contenders. That ladder match at Revolution in particular really was a waste of time that dragged that show down, and that was on the back of that awful tag team battle royale that should have just been PAC/Fenix vs. Luchasaurus/Jungle Boy.

Jim is actually a fan of Serena Deeb but his dislike of Riho outweighs his desire to watch their match, especially after sitting through four hours of a show he largely disliked. Cody/Ogogo was his match of the night because it was the least offensive match on the card.

I'd recommend the Spring Stampede match against Saturn where Perry throws the kitchen sink at him and Goldberg returns in kind. It's just a fun smash-mouth match with one of Bill's best ever finishes. The follow-up match between him and Raven on Nitro is one of his most famous matches. It's a really fun smoke and mirrors type of match where Goldberg just goes through the entire Flock. On last watch the Halloween Havoc '99 match between him and Sid was an enjoyable brawl while it lasted. It really felt like Bill had found somebody who could stand toe to toe with him and it's really violent and bloody. The Fall Brawl '00 match between him and Scotty is very similar and a lot of fans right it right up there as one of Bill's best ever matches.

I saw that tweet from Raj. While it wasn't well articulated, I don't think he necessarily meant it like that. My interpretation is that the show was better when they centered around Cody and his storylines with Jericho and MJF. Those were well fleshed out storylines with some fantastic promos that got fans emotionally invested. The show has gone away from that and appears to be in a state of flux where the main take-away is the formation of all these new groups. I don't think it's inherently wrong and it does distinguish AEW from WWE which is a good thing but they need to make it work.

I've only seen the Oral Sessions interview with Renee Young and it sounded like Britt said it in jest. She did actually mention Meltzer after the match but after going through the high pressure stakes her and Rosa did she should be cut some slack.

The issue for me is that Cody and Brandi come off as massive narcissists who put themselves before the best interests of the show and this just re-enforces that. If it's anything like Total Divas, they'll try and have some cross-over but it's so vague that you really have to watch both shows to make sense of it and AEW has enough trouble with that and BTE. Maybe that's my projection and the show will exist inside it's own vacuum. That would be fine, but when I think back to the early days of Dynamite what made Cody stand out was his ability to connect with the crowd. I just see this as an unnecessary obstacle and it feeds into this idea of Cody trying his best to emulate John Cena circa 2015-18.

I fall into the former category and outside of just thinking that the 'new' scale defeats the purpose and is pretty silly it's something you have to begrudgingly accept if you want to follow his coverage which after all these years is still the best in Pro Wrestling.

Because the matches have all been bumped up a star to fit his new scale. He's bending over backwards trying to make sense of this seven star ratings system that it's just silly now. Which would be fine if his reviews and analysis was actually strong but it's all very shallow observations.

The point with Lawler/Funk it was a joke between two young wrestling fans and they were taking the piss with the subsequent ratings. Meltzer actively defending this five years on just spoils the whole system. A four star match actually used to mean something, now it's just a throw-away mid-card match with no rhyme and very little reason. Actually was Weasel around Jim's age or is that just a baseless assumption? Either way it just became a bit of a joke and they moved on from it.

Meltzer's star rating system used to be a good guide and you knew if he rated a match *** or **** you knew what to expect. Now because he felt compelled to break the scale for Omega/Okada I (which I didn't think deserved it, especially since Kenny had better matches in the prior G1) suddenly these run of the mill undercard and even pre-show matches get bumped up a star or two and it all means nothing now. When Weasel Dooley broke his star rating system week after week it was in jest. Funk-Lawler was the best match they'd seen, so him and Cornette gave it *****. Then the rematch was even better so they went ****** and then they had a great follow up in a multi-man match so they went ****** 1/2 just messing around. Lawler-Funk was the best match they had seen in their estimation, but they quickly went back to their **** scale system. Meltzer continuing the bit 5 years later just makes it all a bit worthless.

Would it be fair to say that Khan is putting forward suggestions to his EVPs who are happy to accommodate him as long as they can add their own personal flourishes. And since TK is learning on the job, he's happy to give them that opportunity and when it bombs like it did when the Dark Order he intervenes and tells them we need to go in another direction. I just get the impression that the boys have a lot more control over their own segments, which is why sometimes the show has a unique flow to it because it's formatted more like an anthology show than a traditional wrestling show. Especially when Jericho has an ex-WWE star on and they talk about how different the creative process is at AEW than it is in the WWE and how much responsibility they have.

Jim Cornette: I don't know why Penelope was wearing white. She ought to be fucking wearing magenta with purple stripes. I understand that she's had more dicks in her than a urinal at Madison Square Garden. But I'm not - Brian Last (quickly interjecting): Hey! Just stop it. Jim Cornette (laughing it off): No it's just an old joke - I don't know anything about her personal life. Brian Last: She looked pretty good in that dress you can't take that away from her. Jim Cornette: She's attractive! I wish she'd just become a model so we could just see pictures of her and not see her on a Pro Wrestling program. Taken from Jim's critique of the wedding angle.

Are they his storylines though? Or are the 'boys' coming up with them and TK is merely just giving them the green light? I could be completely off base but let's take the Inner Circle storyline as an example. I get the feeling that Jericho pitched all the major plot beats which TK signed off on and it bought Jericho enough trust to do some of those comedy segments that proved fairly divisive. I doubt all those were pitched initially and were only thought of a week or two ahead of time with the boys doing all the heavy lifting. That's why you get something like the Papa Buck beatdown which was obviously really cheesy and didn't look great. They just needed something to help spice up the Bucks angle and without racking their brains over the finer details that was the best they could come up with. Meanwhile I could see something like Lance Archer vs. Rey Fenix to qualify for the Face of the Revolution ladder match 100% being a TK idea.

I agree with what you're saying Loss. It's the one area where AEW could have separated itself from the WWE who always take these details for granted but they're typically just as lazy. So what ends up happening is that they have a 'good' segment but it's just missing that element that takes it up another notch. Obviously them winking at the camera is a part of the 'new kayfabe' but I find it takes away from the segment. However I see AEW more as an extension of BTE where it has that Youtuber/Content Creator appeal we're they're not trying to be 'stars' but just typical fans who get to do the thing we all love for a living.

I believe there is another example out there (something along the lines of a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT and it just turned out to be where they were taking Dynamite) but the one that comes to mind is when TK promised the balance of power would shift and all it turned out to be was the return of PAC. Even if PAC had have been booked as a superstar on return it would have failed to live up, but he really is just a guy on the roster and I'd dare say he's been over-shadowed by Fenix. Otherwise, I can't remember them hyping up too many announcements before. Their modus operandi is to have their talent rock up unannounced and it usually gets over based on how over the star is. If it's Moxley, great if it's Ethan Page...ooof.

Austin/Owen is the first that comes to mind. They were having a great match but good luck remembering anything other than Austin having to win via the worst pinfall of all-time.

I find the response to Christian really odd. Not unjustified mind you, but considering the type of fan that AEW attracts, Christian Cage is one of the biggest names they could possibly get and unlike Kurt Angle he didn't wear out his welcome. With that said, I can understand why fans were disappointed with the segment, there's few guys in Pro Wrestling who can effectively do the Lex Luger style appearance and get away with it. I feel like Christian would have been better off just debuting on a random Dynamite because as it stands, he was out-popped by Maki Itoh. Also co-sign me as another who thought the main event was completely ruined before the dud 'explosion'. I already felt like the match was up against it, but to have it all just boil down to interference by Anderson and Gallows was such a weak finish. I thought last year's Revolution was the best AEW show to date. This year's may have been their worst. Who's idea was it to let the Casino Battle Royal go the longest? There were just so many poorly thought out ideas on the night. The ending maybe the worst PPV finish of all-time. That was Shockmaster levels of bad and I really hope they don't double down with Omega just being a goof.

I thought Jericho and MJF played out fine. AEW built both matches up, they had a match on PPV and Cody did the favours. It appeared they were going to let MJF ride that momentum while Cody had his hands full with the Inner Circle and Lance Archer. I do take your point on the Blood and Guts match. They put the cart before the horses there, announcing they'll be doing a WarGames match at Revolution without justifying it. If things had really escalated between the Inner Circle and the Elite to the point where they had to have this career-defining match it would have been one thing. Instead their feud at best had been simmering and they just used the gimmick to heat it up. It's WWE style booking where you have to have a Hell in a Cell match because it just happens to be the gimmick on the PPV. To their credit, Revolution was the best AEW show up to that point and they were building momentum. However I think the signs weren't great either and Cody's neck tattoo seemed like an ominous warning. Here was somebody who had actively used the television time to make himself a bigger star and he goes out and gets himself a ridiculous tattoo.

It's a perception Jericho perpetuated when he jumped ship and was ostracised by the WWF locker room. One of the criticisms that came back to him was that he worked too much like a WCW wrestler and he had to train under X-Pac to learn the WWF style. Supposedly this observation originated with The Big Show who was brought in with tremendous fanfare but it was quickly discovered he wasn't at the level of other main event talent like Austin, Rock, Foley etc. Now I can see how somebody can draw the conclusion that WWF took the 'war' seriously but I don't necessarily buy it. The WWF locker room was dog eat dog where guys would get buried for any minor indiscretion. Jericho was initially brought in because Russo saw him as a main event level antagonist which didn't sit well with others in the locker room who scratched and clawed. If it wasn't for being 'tarred' a WCW wrestler, it would be because he uses lifts in his shoes or because he's stiff. The WWF locker room was hyper critical and they would pick apart any weakness of a wrestler, just look at how they tore down Ken Shamrock the year before because of his promos. There's been a lot of stories about how both sets of locker rooms were political mine fields. However, there's also been a lot of stories where both sets of locker rooms would find themselves at the same city and they would live it up. Guys would visit the other teams locker room and vice versa without any concerns. Again it only became a problem when these guys were jockeying for other spots.