AEW Dynamite Week 4 - 10/23/19

[SirEdger]

Looking back at that Brandi Rhodes segment attacking Jamie Hayter backstage, I couldn't stop thinking about the Evil Monkey in Family Guy. She had the exact same expression in her face.

As for Jamie Hayter, that was my first time seeing her and I think she got serious potential. I believe she's working with Stardom and RevPro as well so she's gonna improve with leaps and bounds in no time.

[Mad Dog]

I completely missed JR voicing his concern for the Dippin Dots the first time I watched the brawl. 

[Log]

18 minutes ago, Mad Dog said:

I completely missed JR voicing his concern for the Dippin Dots the first time I watched the brawl. 

Lol. Cody found the only good use for Dippin’ Dots!

[sek69]

15 hours ago, sek69 said:

It's also funny how every time WWE is here for TV or PPV, I have to listen to Dave go on and on about how Pittsburgh is a bad, dead crowd. That certainly wasn't the case tonight, people were into every match and it really had the feel of an early 90s ECW show where the crowd feels "this is our show" instead of waiting for the next time the company fucks them over.

 

I'm a fair man, so I'll give him credit for mentioning on today's show that just maybe "Pittsburgh is a bad crowd" is just something he's been told by WWE people and that if you put on a good show you'll get a good crowd.

[MoS]

How many tickets did it end up selling? The crowd that was there was definitely hot, but I am curious because this was the first of the shows that did not immediately sell out, and that general region has seen a lot of AEW events over the past few weeks.

[Ricky Jackson]

There was a brief shot of a cluster of empty seats opposite the hard camera while Cody was in the ring, but I have no idea if those were seats they actually sold tickets for or not. I dont recall Meltzer writing about a sellout in the Observer 

[Mad Dog]

What I really loved about that brawl is that everyone that came out to stand with Cody were guys that were in his video package the week before. I love the little details that they pay attention to. It really feels like you get rewarded for paying attention.

[sek69]

14 minutes ago, Ricky Jackson said:

There was a brief shot of a cluster of empty seats opposite the hard camera while Cody was in the ring, but I have no idea if those were seats they actually sold tickets for or not. I dont recall Meltzer writing about a sellout in the Observer 

It wasn't a complete sellout, but I would say it was probably at least 80% full not counting the section they left empty for the hard cam/lighting. That's something they are doing differently than WWE. At WWE shows the hard cam is usually on the floor in front of the first row of elevated seats, at this show AEW had the hard cameras (there were 3) placed in front of a row of seats halfway up the section off the floor with lights arranged around them. There was another empty section on that side at the start of the show but it filled up during the first match. 

[Stiva]

Another fun show but there was almost too much wrestling, all full of wild-ass flips and dives. I feel like this could have used a Nyla squash or a couple more video segments to break things up slightly. The Cody/Jericho brawl was fantastic; Cody looks like the coolest guy in the world, making sure to have his buddies as back-up and straight up smashing his way through a window. I love smart babyfaces. 

Hayter looks like she'd be a really good pick-up since she managed to make all of Britt Baker's Michelle McCool-aping offense look decent for a change. I also popped for MJF calling Jericho "Midlife Crisis Chris" The dude is going to be a star based on mic work alone.

[sek69]

AEW: 963,000

NXT:  698,000

Going up against the World Series and the start of the NBA season, I was expecting both shows to drop more than that. AEW is still almost tripling in the key demos, but we should all remember NXT wasn't getting super high viewership on the network so 700,000 on cable TV is probably ten times the viewers they ever had prior.

[C.S.]

Did anyone else spot the Adam Cole cameo? Bay Bay!

[SirEdger]

8 hours ago, sek69 said:

AEW: 963,000

NXT:  698,000

Going up against the World Series and the start of the NBA season, I was expecting both shows to drop more than that. AEW is still almost tripling in the key demos, but we should all remember NXT wasn't getting super high viewership on the network so 700,000 on cable TV is probably ten times the viewers they ever had prior.

That's something that can't be stressed enough. I had this discussion on Twitter with someone about how AEW should panic because they lost 1/3 of their initial viewership but I told him that because they were doing so good in the 18-49 demo, they shouldn't worry. His answer was: "They have to draw casuals and they should aim 13 to 65." Still trying to figure out how some people don't understand that AEW isn't primarily aiming for the casuals. Yet, they feel like AEW's survival depends on them.

[MoS]

Meltzer wrote in the Observer that it "was the first non-sellout, with 6,000 fans in an arena that with the set up could have sold 9,500 tickets. But those there were hot for everything." Not a sellout, but a good number nonetheless. When was the last time a non-WWE American pro wrestling company did such numbers 4 weeks in a row?

[sek69]

10 minutes ago, SirEdger said:

That's something that can't be stressed enough. I had this discussion on Twitter with someone about how AEW should panic because they lost 1/3 of their initial viewership but I told him that because they were doing so good in the 18-49 demo, they shouldn't worry. His answer was: "They have to draw casuals and they should aim 13 to 65." Still trying to figure out how some people don't understand that AEW isn't primarily aiming for the casuals. Yet, they feel like AEW's survival depends on them.

The issue is that wrestling fans look at the overall number of viewers, but TV networks look at key demos way more.  I think AEW ended up ranked #4 in 18-49, and TNT would care about that more than had they finished lower but had more overall viewers.

Now that the NBA is back, it should be interesting to see how much synergy there is considering AEW has exceeded TNT's expectations so far.

[rovert]

13 hours ago, C.S. said:

Did anyone else spot the Adam Cole cameo? Bay Bay!

Really? Where?

[sek69]

12 minutes ago, rovert said:

Really? Where?

In the Britt Baker hype video talking about her Pittsburgh roots one of the photos that were shown was of her with Cole. I saw that on the big screen in the arena and wondered if it made it on TV or not.

[SirEdger]

Oh, yes it did.

[Dale Wolfe]

Not paying huge attention to this but the whole thing would be so much better without JR

Never really watched a full joey Janela match before. He has some decent charisma but basic offence like punches and chops is horrific, it is like a child cosplaying. It's hard to accept, can't buy into the idea that his offence could make this amount of impact on omega. Though annoying he does have a real sense of urgency and danger that Janela does not. Should have been a squash. 

Otherwise not a bad show. It needs more sleaze and dirt though 

[SirEdger]

I'd recommend watching Janela's match vs Kris Statlander from an episode of Beyond Wrestling's Uncharted Territory (it's either on June 17 or 24, don't recall the precise date) if you still doubt that Joey can't deliver urgency or sense of danger. It's probably my favorite match in 2019 so far, along with Brody King vs Jungle Boy from PWG last January.

[El-P]

Loved Private Party vs Lucha Brothers, Janela vs Omega, Young Bucks vs Best Friends and Mox vs PAC. The angle was terrific, they are really doing a great job with the build of their main event. It does make the entire undercard an afterthought at this point though, compared to how well IMPACT builds every little match for the PPVs. Also, it must be said that the limited roster appears that way after four show. Not their fault and they deliver one hell of a TV show + youtube B show thus far. 

Hayter needs to be on my TV every two weeks, at worst. She had this match by herself. The issue with Baker is that working one or two matches a week won't allow her to improve, and she has a lot to improve on... They need to drag Allie on TV soon, they can't stay focused on Baker, she's miscast if they want her as the big american star. Brandie attacking Hayter backstage felt like "Hey, you carried Baker to something watchable, so you can sure carry my ass too, bitch !".

Dark Order badly needs a tweek, at the very least. There's no way I will unsee Fat Sharkboy. They obviously are good workers, but yeah, that gimmick as it is is never get over. I feel like SCU going to the finals after last week's angle was the result of them realizing this, because before TV, Dark Order seemed to be the main focus as a heel team.

I thought the announcing threesome worked better this week. Maybe because I felt Schiavone got more space.

 

[goodhelmet]

One encouraging sign from AEW... they recognize misfires and don't shove them down the fans' throats. The Librarians gimmick was shit on (and rightfully so) and they haven't really appeared on TV in any meaningful capacity. They tried building up the Dark Order leading up to the TV debut but the fans responded with groans/ apathy. Instead of forcing them into a championship spot, they kept storyline continuity (after Dark Order won the bye) but also made the correct booking decision in not allowing them to advance further. In WWE, regardless of his improvement, nobody wanted Baron Corbin to be pushed. The company pushed him anyway and made him KOTR. If Dark Order would have won, they would be the tag team Baron Corbin.  Kudos for not giving us more Corbins. 

[Johnny Sorrow]

1 hour ago, goodhelmet said:

One encouraging sign from AEW... they recognize misfires and don't shove them down the fans' throats. The Librarians gimmick was shit on (and rightfully so) and they haven't really appeared on TV in any meaningful capacity. They tried building up the Dark Order leading up to the TV debut but the fans responded with groans/ apathy. Instead of forcing them into a championship spot, they kept storyline continuity (after Dark Order won the bye) but also made the correct booking decision in not allowing them to advance further. In WWE, regardless of his improvement, nobody wanted Baron Corbin to be pushed. The company pushed him anyway and made him KOTR. If Dark Order would have won, they would be the tag team Baron Corbin.  Kudos for not giving us more Corbins. 

Wow. Did the Khans buy PWO? Way to deflect criticism of AEW into ""But but but The WWE! Corbins!"
 

Here's the thing, the King Corbin gimmick has been exactly what his tired act needed, and he actually gets heat. Not just from the neckbeards, but from everyone. Boos are boos, it doesn't matter why. Indifference is the true enemy.

And another thing. I actually want to check out AEW, but I'm a cord cutter. The Khans seem to be just as vigilant as The McMahons as far as YouTube goes. Is DailyMotion an option?

[sek69]

I mean, how dare a company want you to watch their product that is the main income source of their business by legit means, right?

27 minutes ago, Johnny Sorrow said:

Here's the thing, the King Corbin gimmick has been exactly what his tired act needed, and he actually gets heat. Not just from the neckbeards, but from everyone. Boos are boos, it doesn't matter why. Indifference is the true enemy.

The very fact King Corbin exists is a seminal WWE problem. The whole King of the Ring tournament was build with Chad Gable positioned as the underdog set to take out the bully who keeps making lame short jokes. Instead the bully had to win in the end because HEAT is good shit, dammit, and we ended up with Shorty G dressed like a 90s Sesame Street puppet.  

Corbin with the King gimmick is the same as he was before, only now he's dressed like a lazy ren faire attendee. He can get boos, but the point of having heels is to give the babyfaces something strong to play off of. WWE gives us heels that trample the babyfaces and make them all look like geeks.

The funny thing is AEW isn't inventing anything new with their booking, they are just doing things that make sense and follow a logical pattern. It just seems groundbreaking because an entire generation thinks pro wrestling is toilet humor and self loathing promoters. 

[Superstar Sleeze]

On 10/23/2019 at 8:56 PM, NintendoLogic said:

I didn't think it was possible to outdo Kenny Omega in a battle of goofy facial expressions, but Joey Janela managed to pull it off.

I’m watching with my Mom. She goes “What was that face?” With a mixture of disgust or confusion. I said “I think he was trying to convey intensity” lol

[gordi]

On 10/24/2019 at 9:13 AM, Log said:

Private Party are fun and have tons of potential, but man they need to work on transitions and their striking. There’s a lot of awkwardness moving from move to move. And there have been some forearms in this match that wouldn’t take the fuzz off a dandelion. 

Totally agree here. I'm a fan. Private Party totally won me over with that Young Bucks match, I love their characters, their energy, and their spectacular double-team moves and I can't wait to see what's next for them, but there is absolutely room for improvement. Some of those strikes they threw were embarrassing. 

On 10/24/2019 at 10:10 AM, Log said:

Your top baby face punching through a glass door to get to the heel is a little more bad-ass than cowering in a corner because the heel has a scary mask. 

Booking everyone to look as good as possible instead of booking them so you can have a laugh at their expense. It seems to work!

On 10/24/2019 at 10:11 AM, MoS said:

It is so nice to see top faces booked neither like quiet cowardly chumps nor like plucky but dumb goofs. And it's so nice to see the top heel getting outsmarted and showing ass once in a while. It's just basic wrestling booking but it feels so refreshing. 

Oh hell yeah. I hope this continues to be a big AEW talking point every week. It sounds insane, but it's obviously true: They are setting themselves apart from WWE just by doing basic pro wrestling booking and doing it well. 

On 10/24/2019 at 12:37 PM, Tim Evans said:

This show might have featured too much wrestling.

In my mind, it's not just that there is a lot of wrestling , but that almost all of it was at a similar go-go-go pace and stuffed full of spectacular offense and huge bumps. Obviously, that is how Kenny and the Young Bucks roll... but I wouldn't mind at all if they threw out a slower-paced match with some more basic chain wrestling, or something that stayed on the mat and in the ring with more of a real-grappling feel, or a hoss-type battle,  once in a while. Just to break up the pace if nothing else. Even having the occasional slowed-down moment in their fast-paced matches might help to throw the more spectacular stuff into sharp relief. (I'm not advocating for chinlocks, more along the lines of struggling over a move or fighting to escape/re-apply/re-escape a submission or something). Give us a little more variety and then it might not seem like too much of a good thing. 

On 10/24/2019 at 12:23 PM, sek69 said:

Just got back from the show,

I envy you. It would be awesome to be a part of one of these early-in-the-game hot-as-hell crowds.