AEW Dark Megathread

[El-P]

On 3/19/2021 at 6:53 PM, Log said:

I agree that no one has (and probably won’t ever) booked a compelling “sports-based” promotion. 

*cough* Akira Maeda *cough*

Way different time and context though. In the US, no chance ever. That's not the culture. And it would probably be boring as hell too. 

[Enforcer]

So, is anyone watching Elevation? Thunder Rosa vs Diamanté and Penta vs Brandon Cutler should both be fun tonight. 

[Coffey]

Skye Blue is going to be working Britt Baker on Elevation. I put Skye Blue over in an NWA Powerrr write-up I did here in the NWA Powerrr thread a couple weeks back. I like her & think she'll only continue to improve, so that's pretty cool to see for me.

[Enforcer]

I liked Skye Blue. I hope that we see more of her. 
 

I am wondering if Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page will be the ones to break up SCU? It would make sense. 

[Enforcer]

Marty the moth makes his AEW debut tonight on Dark against Brian Cage. I hope that he does well and get used regularly. He was awesome in Lucha Underground. 

[Marksman]

Last night's Elevation was really to my tastes - great profile on Leyla, tag match for her and Ryo, matches for 3/4 of Best Friends, and a fun backstage segment for JD Drake and the rest of his crew. Definitely feels like they're moving away from being quite so heavily-focused and letting people show their character outside of the ring more (there were also Reynolds/Five and Scorpio/Ethan Page promos as well.)

[Marksman]

This week was a little weak for me, but I enjoyed Leyla vs Diamante and the six-man (Dark Order vs Pretty Picture) on Dark, and Abadon/Ryo on Elevation. Also on Elevation, always nice to see Mox, Orange, Thunder and Miro in action. 

[Enforcer]

I was really surprised that Abadon won. I guess  Ryo is going back to Japan? I am really enjoying Leyla’s little run on Dark/Elevation. They seem high on her. 

[rovert]

2 hours ago, Enforcer said:

I was really surprised that Abadon won. I guess  Ryo is going back to Japan? I am really enjoying Leyla’s little run on Dark/Elevation. They seem high on her. 

They see action figures in Abadon big time. 

She came from a lot a podunk indie scene with very little experience and who trained her really fucked her over. Also, her conditioning was really, really poor. She would turn distressing colors and hyperventilate after short bouts of activity. There was also an incident in October for a match taped and scrapped for Dynamite against Tay Conti when Tay elbowed her in the throat. Which lead to the match being stopped and her being hospitalised as had issues with getting her breath back. She then took some time off to correct things. I guess they are now rewarding her for doing so. 

[Enforcer]

23 minutes ago, rovert said:

They see action figures in Abadon big time. 

She came from a lot a podunk indie scene with very little experience and who trained her really fucked her over. Also, her conditioning was really, really poor. She would turn distressing colors and hyperventilate after short bouts of activity. There was also an incident in October for a match taped and scrapped for Dynamite against Tay Conti when Tay elbowed her in the throat. Which lead to the match being stopped and her being hospitalised as had issues with getting her breath back. She then took some time off to correct things. I guess they are now rewarding her for doing so. 

As a big horror movie fan, I would buy a Abadon action figure in a heartbeat. 

[Marksman]

I was surprised by the Abadon win, but I like her character work a lot and I would definitely buy an action figure, yeah! And agree on Leyla, really glad they seem to be getting behind her - the video package last week was excellent and the team with Ryo has shown a different side to her which has been super fun. 

[Enforcer]

If they choose to add a women to Team Taz, I could see Leyla being a female version of Taz. 

[Marksman]

14 minutes ago, Enforcer said:

If they choose to add a women to Team Taz, I could see Leyla being a female version of Taz. 

Yeah - Leyla seems tailor-made for either a position in Team Taz, or a spot as a babyface taking them on if they bring in another woman.

[Enforcer]

I am disappointed that they are not using Shanna on Dark/Elevation anymore. Is she in the doghouse because of the problematic tweets (which I have not seen) that some here were talking about?

[Marksman]

1 hour ago, Enforcer said:

I am disappointed that they are not using Shanna on Dark/Elevation anymore. Is she in the doghouse because of the problematic tweets (which I have not seen) that some here were talking about?

She was on recently - against Leyla, April 12th. Video here. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=308192977490509

[Enforcer]

Oh right, I forgot about that match. Something seemed odd at the end. I don’t know if that was real heat between the two. 

[Enforcer]

6 hours ago, Marksman said:

Yeah - Leyla seems tailor-made for either a position in Team Taz, or a spot as a babyface taking them on if they bring in another woman.

Maybe they could use Mel. I always felt bad for her. She shaves her head and they stop using her. 

[Ryan Faulconer]

The Dark Order vs Hardy Family Office feels more appropriate for Stadium Stampede. They probably need to wait for The Butcher to come back from a mysterious injury.

Dark Order could also use a Torneo Cibernetico match to there advantage.  AEW could do worse than adopting that gimmick match.  The best booked torneos had dove tailing storylines and other worlds colliding in organized disorder.

 

[rovert]

10 hours ago, Enforcer said:

Oh right, I forgot about that match. Something seemed odd at the end. I don’t know if that was real heat between the two. 

You are not the only one to spot that is all I'll say. Also, Shanna is RT-ing "we miss you" fan comments this week.

[sek69]

8 hours ago, rovert said:

You are not the only one to spot that is all I'll say. Also, Shanna is RT-ing "we miss you" fan comments this week.

I could imagine the combo if RT'ing far right politicians and apparently having heat with someone they clearly are investing time in is not going to go well for Shanna's prospects. 

[fakeplastictrees]

Mel, Shanna, and Leyla can definitely go. I don't want to see anymore men or women who refuse to learn how to get over or transition beyond being a good in ring. I can see money in Abadon, Red Velvet, and MK Twins if AEW are interested in signing the latter. There's nothing in the first three IMO. Pro wrestling needs less serious, no charisma, MMA gimmicks right now. Having a black belt or being 'legit' means absolutely dick to me when it comes to pro wrestling.

[Marksman]

The idea of Leyla refusing to learn how to get over seems utterly bizarre to me. The video package a week or two ago was awesome and her tag team with Ryo has been fantastic. 

[fakeplastictrees]

I am just tired of the MMA gimmicks in pro wrestling. It's a crutch. It does nothing for me. I want to see more. Perhaps I missed a few things in the past two weeks or so, but the "Legit" stuff needs to go. Last video package I saw of her, she was standing in a ring talking about fighting for her family. it's boring. It's the go to gimmick for anyone who doesn't want to try and refuses to be larger than life. If I am wrong, I am wrong. I hope to be wrong. I love being wrong about wrestlers. I thought Brit Baker and Sammy Guevara were bad signings. I thought TNA brining in Scott Steiner in 2006 (?) was a bad idea. All 3 proved me wrong ten times over. I hope Leyla does the same. If not, and she settles into being "Legit", she can pack her bags. I'm not interested. Same for Tay Conti. Conti has improved in the ring and I am still waiting for her to develop a personality beyond letting people know she's a black belt. I will never apologize for wanting pro wrestlers to be larger than life and turn the personality up to 10.

[Marksman]

Some cool stuff this week - really enjoyed Acclaimed vs Sonny/Joey, Mox and Eddie had a quick squash win, loved Eddie's promo, and always fun to see Pretty Picture get a backstage segment. Plus, Julia Hart added to the Varsity Blonds is a nice grouping, always fun to see Britt, Leyla and Tay in action, and I actually thought the Ethan/Scorpio promo was pretty decent. Elevation's backstage stuff was good overall - Thunder and Britt always deliver, and I liked the Danny Limelight sit-down with Paul Wight, as well. Are Danny and Madi All Elite now? I'm assuming the sit-down is a good sign, and she's got an entrance video now which I don't think that many of the non-roster people on Dark/Elevation have? (Or maybe a bunch do and I'm just bad at noticing it!)

[Enforcer]

I have to say that i really enjoy Taz trying to sing along to Tarzan Boy. He is really great here. I don’t think that it would work on Dynamite but on a more laid back show like dark, it’s really fun. 
 

Marty Casaus getting ready to dive on the outside. Taz: Maybe he will fly like a big moth!!!

Marty is an ugly man, I mean that in a good way. I was rolling on the floor.