Matt D

I've been reviewing Dark and Elevation over at DVDVR. Let me cross post back the last few I did so you guys don't feel I'm entirely joyless or whatever: This is very much me dipping my toes into the promotion so bear that in mind. I've only been doing it for a couple of weeks but excuse the multiple long posts. Elevation 9/20: Rosa vs Kaia: You guys realize I haven't seen much Rosa right? I'd say 75% of what she did looked really good. Loved the chop to the stomach and the face, loved the dropkick to the back in the ropes. I think she gave Kaia a little too much because while her rib shots were a good idea, the execution was really lackluster. I thought there was a moment where she just took back over and wasn't going to give everything back but then Kaia hit the quizzical jawbreaker (which was worth it for Eddie's Ogawa reference but not much else). Biggest issue I had with Rosa was her goofy back somersault after the cool dropkick to the back in the ropes to set up the next spot. I'm sure that's one of her signature moves/flourishes and the crowd expects it but she was way out of position and instead of it adding to the move and setting her up for more momentum, it just looked really silly. Otherweise, she moved very well in there. My gut says that this one stuck too close to a script that Kaia couldn't quite execute and maybe Rosa should have called an audible and just goozled her for her own good? Happy to see more Rosa but I'm not over the top wowed out of the gate. Gunn Club trios: It's funny how much we all used to resent Billy back in 2001 when he was taking the IC belt from Benoit and whatever. Now he just makes it look easy with a simple matter-of-fact confidence that goes along with his size. I think it would have been commonplace 30 years ago but it's nice to see now. Austin's interesting to watch? Sort of Brian Christopher vibes with how hyper and over the top he is. He fed well for a second or two in the comeback there and wasn't afraid to bump. I'm less sure about his offense. It was always neat when Billy started using that armdrag/suplex/powerslam thing in the early 00s. It finishes a ton of French matches actually, but Austin used it more as a neckbreaker like Colt. I like the legacy element there anyway. I don't think Colton even got in there so who knows. Other side was fine for what they were expected to do. No comments. Dark Order Explodes: I thought everyone was good here with Colt putting on an excellent, excellent performance. It was a little overwrought, went on too long, and needed to be refined into tighter emotional beats for the sake of the crowd. I get the idea that it going long meant that the pressure just kept building for Colt to fire off on Angels, but it wasn't entirely worth the time invested to get to that point; they could have gotten there sooner and with less noise, even if there was some artfulness to the mess. And the proof there is the crowd not really being into this despite caring about everyone there. When Angels pegged Cabana on the apron, there was a disappointed/sad oooh and that worked with the brief please don't fight chant, but otherwise, it just wasn't resonating. The mask ripping was a huge moment but then they went around one too many times with the finish. Would have preferred Angels pegging him, Uno trying but Angels ducking it for a roll up pin instead of what we got. All these guys are committed to the act, but I love the way Uno moves like a video game minion or something. Cassidy vs Verna: This was quick. My head cannon says that Verna going so quickly to kicking Cassidy in the gut meant that he played right into his hands (as opposed to a more featured match where Cassidy's opening shtick would last longer) and led to the quick finish but of course that's ridiculous in a good way. Lookswise, Verna should probably be on NXT 2.0? Private Party vs Santi/Goodz: This might be the first time I've seen Private Party and they looked good in a squash. Quen's little flourishes as he does moves (like the hands on his head during the rana) are fun and because he's on my mind, makes me want to see him against Cassidy who does similar but very different things. Good little tag team maneuvering, nice tandem Kaientai DX style bits. Not sure how they'd do in a real match in putting this stuff together (as i could see them not implementing their offense into the tag structure but just spamming it, which is a problem with almost all 2010s and on wrestling) but this was a fun squash. The quasi leaping hot tag from the other side was annoying because it wasn't at all earned. Shida vs Slamovich: Ok yeah, this gets the full Worldwide point or whatever. Chippy as hell despite them doing some acrobatics and elaborate stuff which is always impressive. Slamovich took the rana right on her head and then, a little while later just ate that headbutt in the corner. Maybe you don't do dragon suplexes in the middle of Elevation matches? I don't know. Hard to say because I still kind of went nuts for it. I love that the move that took extra effort here wasn't the finish but the sit out dominator which was the thing that turned the tide and put Slamovich in a state that she wouldn't recover from, even if it took a couple more moves to put her away. Good stuff. Kiss vs Janela: Great opening minute or two here with the initial hot attack, the dive, the shot back to the ring with the blood, and then the shot to Kayla taking out Sonny. Just a lot to process one after the other and a pretty perfect way to open the match. After that it was a sprint which was brutal and high stakes (that bump on the apron!) but maybe didn't lean into the animosity as much as I would have liked. Kiss taking a few detours from what was laid out to attack the wound between spots would have been nice, for instance. Look, kicking out of a Spanish fly and two pile drivers is not cool but I'm ok with fiery and revenge-minded Kiss doing it before a banana peel finish; it just should have been more on Janela to create some space and logic by taking time and getting heat before the pin. Protect moves. Santana/Ortiz vs Dunn/Good: Well, I guess we can't really say how Dasher did, huh? Yeesh. I haven't seen a lot of Santana/Ortiz but they had a good flowing rhythm here, while maintaining their image/persona/presence. The contradiction sort of makes it work. Again, it works as a squash but I imagine in a real match it'd all be spots back and forth as people disrupted it and they got it back, but I can't know that for sure. I can't see these guys hanging out with Jericho. Dustin vs QT: So Dustin's a pretty amazing pro wrestler in how good his stuff looks, in how he works from underneath, in how he engages the crowd like no one else (but maybe Christian) does in 2021. Maybe that's all we should say this week? As for QT, I wish he wouldn't work quite so strong. I think there are things he does well but he should work 20% more manager-y and chickenshit. That would serve him better for his role on the show. He's a guy who shouldn't be doing a top rope superplex without some outside help, that should use that Enzuigiri as an opportunistic desperation move more and something maybe that he's surprised that he hits. I don't know about the power bomb. He's best served as a more Heenan-like figure in a six man. Still dangerous when he smells blood but will probably lose a fair fight. General thought: Eddie is such a joy to listen to but there's definitely a sense that we're on borrowed time with him in this role. Let's enjoy it while we can.

I'm fine with the MMA guys being there. Masvidal has a big following. Van Zant has a pretty big following. She's relatively young and seemed to be enjoying herself at least so if she wanted to get into wrestling more, good for her. I think Wednesday ratings showed us the limitations of the current market for AEW if they're just going to put on the best wrestling they can to their core audience. It's a good number but they're not going to grow if they don't leave that comfort zone in ways like smartly using Shaq or these guys or Rosario Dawson or whoever. One segment a show to try to draw in new fans who you can then hook with everything else is going to be more of a net positive than a negative.

I keep sort of wanting to bow out of this, but I will say that I don't actually think that the meta/self-aware approach is a wrong approach for 2021. We have a lot of different people arguing a lot of different things and different variations here and there's a decent amount of cross-talk. Moreover, I think there's a lot of lingering talk from other people and other places that is affecting the discussion. Generalization too. There's a difference between Savage being over the top and Funk's wobbly legs and Flair's flopping from one another, for instance, let alone from modern things and these would all be different discussions. I'm pretty sure I get what Omega and the Bucks do (which, speaking of generalization, doesn't even necessarily have to be the same things; those could be separate arguments too, as could what Omega does, how he does it, and his particular expressiveness while doing it; could but I'll generalize a bit here because that's the discussion on the last few posts), why they do it, the value of it, why it works, why doing something else might not work, and I get that without having to inoculating myself or going through some sort of journey with it. I might not be able to convince myself I like it without going through such a journey, but I'm pretty much ok with that. I went back and watched Darby vs Ethan Page casket match today. The finish was Darby taking an ego's edge off the top onto the stairs in the center of the ring, before recovering and getting the win. Darby is a very over, very sympathetic babyface. Page is a competent heel with fairly over the top mannerisms that do get some heat. The crowd's response to the edge wasn't sympathy or concern for Darby or anger for Page or worry that the guy they like wasn't going to win the match. It was a This is Awesome chant. Darby's really good at drawing engagement and sympathy but there's nothing you can do there. I'm not saying the crowd is wrong to have done that or that it would have been any better if Darby was more than really good and was instead good enough to convince the fans to feign concern instead so that they were playing along too or whatever (which feels like it happens in some other situations where you get a simulation of actual heat in 2021). It is what it is. The genie's out of the bottle. And wrestlers have to respond accordingly. I get that. Moreover, those that do and do well and create some sort of honest and earnest engagement from a crowd should be acknowledged for doing so. I just don't particularly enjoy it and don't have a lot of time to be watching things I don't enjoy, especially in a promotion like AEW which has a bunch of stuff I do like.

They stuck with it forever.

Charlotte stole Andrade’s entire moveset.

For the specific reasons people are giving you and are trying to work out for themselves in good faith? I am not sure where else you are going on the Internet, but I don’t see a lot of people being “triggered” here.

The other side of the street is “this is the best ever.”

I was worried we'd go off the rails on this, but ultimately, it's been a pretty constructive discussion. I don't think anyone is taking too extreme an anti-Omega view at least. Moreover, we're all more or less on the same page when it comes to what it is that he is, albeit with some variation on whether the pros are pros and the cons are cons. We've ended up in a world of wrestling where Tenacious D is considered not only the best current band in its genre, but also potentially the best band of all time putting out the highest rated songs. We've ended up in a world where Arrested Development is not just the best sitcom of all time (as opposed to Dick Van Dyke show or Cheers or even more self-aware things like Seinfeld or whatever) but the best show of all time. We've ended up in a world where What We Do in the Shadows is actually the best vampire fiction of all time over Dracula and whatever else. That's kind of what I'm hearing here. I'm sometimes bemused with the comics readers here focusing so much on the 60s and 70s instead of some stuff from the last 20 years or even now that I'd rather talk about with them that have a lot more complexity and lore but are also self aware and can't stop winking. It's fan fiction to a degree, but then so is Arn Anderson and Steve Austin. It's just more times removed maybe? With new mediums and revenue sources and purposes and closeness to the fans. The genie isn't going back into the bottle, but the self-awareness plays out in different ways. Even in AEW, there's FTR and Darby and Hobbs and Omega and Danielson and still guys like Christian and Dustin all at once. Omega may be pushed on top but different people go at it in different ways. So people can have those views from paragraph 2. But people can have the opposite view as well. We don't need someone rushing in about canon and dismissing everything modern that people are earnestly enjoying but we also don't need people who don't connect to this stuff getting shot down hard or dismissed or told that they just have to swallow their medicine and only see the good in it to be happy, functioning members in 2021 society. There's a spectrum and I don't think we're going to fall to extremism (until we finally do get to GWE voting, because, let's be reasonable here; we're only human). And, of course, we can keep pushing and presenting and highlighting and reviewing the wrestling that we like the best (and also explaining why we like it the best) so that it's out there in the broader community and accessible as possible to maybe influence and be seen by the wrestlers of today and tomorrow.

Yeah, It's 2021, a pandemic, and a buyer's market for talent because of all of the releases. I'm all for the guy doing whatever keeps him employed and gets him the 24/7 title and TV time. It's weird because I thought he had huge upside when I first saw TM-61. He, more than any of the talent they've had in the last ten years that have been positioned that way, came off like a young Shawn Michaels. Ah well.

I think you guys are just way more used to him than I am. It was very striking and offputting to me just watching his expressions and how he carries himself. Im just trying to make sense of what I saw and why I didn’t like it. I’m also one of the more skeptical people here about Indy Danielson (though not negative on it necessarily) and not necessarily bringing cynicism into it with Omega at least. So don’t conflate every criticism.

And the little ways they present themselves too. Look, I haven't seen many Omega matches but the ones I've seen have almost all been ones where he's been on his best behavior from what you people are saying, and I was completely turned off. I was trying to explain it to Stacey (after talking to Loss a few days ago) and here's what i came up with: Omega to me, feels like a very, very skilled sleight of hand magician. Excellent technique. Excellent imagination. Comes up with new tricks. Builds a whole mythos around his act for people really paying attention. Except for he doesn't actually go to any of the effort that all of his predecessors had to make it seem like he's doing actual magic and not just tricks. Everyone can see how he does what he does. He makes no effort to hide it. He wants everyone to know it's an act and he wants everyone in on the act. He wants people to see the strings, because part of the appeal is how careful and intricate and perfectly placed they are. If people didn't see the strings, how could they possibly appreciate the mastercraft of his work? And hey, maybe that's the correct attitude to have in a post-chemical change world of wrestling in 2021. But it's almost so far distanced from what appeals to me right now that I couldn't possibly be more turned off as a viewer.

You can't give MMA fights star ratings?

I hear you, but when it comes down to one of the primal things I look for in a wrestler, something that drives almost every other element and is intertwined with them, I can't let it go without completely changing the way I look at wrestling and what I value. That is, admittedly, a me thing if the zeitgeist is against me which it obviously is. But like I said, I've got a wealth of riches before me, so it's only an issue if I want to stay current. And even with AEW, I've got plenty to watch other than him. I sincerely doubt I see another Omega match this year.

Interesting booking. They had to use Ruby there after her debut but it did seem too early. I could see them having her work her way back up the rankings in a few months, but this time with back-up to prevent the interference when a title change would be more organically timed.

They had a really fun match on Dark this week. Loved the hot tag to Sting in this one, and the finishing stretch after tags no longer were part of the tag match was too long but incredibly creative and really featured Sting in the best way.

FTR were having the time of their life feeding for Sting. It's fun how Darby uses his own body as a weapon. Have they ever had him face Serpentico who is used by others as a weapon? I'd watch that.

I am constantly impressed with the bench of matches that AEW has.

I missed the end of Pillman/MJF getting the kids to bed. I would have had Wardlow help MJF win and then have the Blonds win a subsequent tag match next week (because they're the more natural team). MJF is the stronger singles guy. Blonds end up elevated, MJF isn't hurt. I take it they aren't going that route.

Went back and forth with Loss on it. Maybe the most important thing for me watching wrestling at this stage of my life is immersion and commitment, being present in all aspects of the match. It's what drew me so much in with Bock and why I've spent the last year being so high on Tenryu. It's why I am not at all against you guys with Hansen even though I have my issues with him. And there's just none of that with Omega from what I've seen. Especially if this is him being on the good side. Loss called him a truly post-modern wrestler, always self-aware. He never seems in the moment to me, even when he's selling which is when some of this should drop if it's an act to get heat. I appreciate thought out match layouts and callback spots and earned counters, etc., and full credit for him if he's got that going, but I just can't believe anything about him. The good thing is that I've got so much other stuff to watch that it's not actually going to be an issue for me and I won't rain on your parade in other situations, so no worries there.

Shouldn’t these things inherently contradictory to a degree though?

I could be convinced that it's a complex heel act, where he's a guy pretending to be a guy pretending to be a wrestler and thus the double negative makes him an effective heel?

This is my third Omega match ever. Do people really enjoy his stuff enough that they put up with the mannerisms and the faces?

The craziest name for someone who was heavily presented in wrestling history is Paul E Dangerously.

QT really needs to work 20% more like a manager, no matter his background. If he's going to have a role on the show, he's valuable as a more chickenshit figure who is still dangerous when other people create opportunities for him. I'd absolutely like to see what sort of creativity Danielson would utilize vs a QT who wrestles a little more like that.

If true, that feels more of an issue about Reigns vs Lashley vs Big E than Alexa and Charlotte.