AEW Dynamite Week 7 - 13th November 2019

[MoS]

I hope MJF and Cody interact on the mic every week. Nothing will get MJF more over than doing what he does and cutting awesome promos with the top guy and only legit star of the promotion. 

[Blehschmidt]

11 hours ago, C.S. said:

The Channel Changer, The Ratings Killer, PAC, sends me running back to NXT for this quarter hour! 

This is getting to my "my favorite wrestler is Volk Han" levels of annoying. We fucking get it.

[Tetsujin]

This was the most well paced, balanced, consistent Dynamite show yet. Everything was at least fun, Luchasaurus return was great, and the Moxley/Allin, Jericho-MJF-Cody and Bucks-PnP segments were so well done. Also, Scorpion Sky being the first one to pin Y2J in AEW felt huge, as it should be. Oh, my favourite thing was the third Page vs PAC match. This series is really making me a Hangman fan, and feeling that "building slowly but correctly a new top star" process is amazing. This rivalry rocks.

[El-P]

If this show proves anything, is that they don't care about winning a bogus ratings war and they are focused solely on building themselves and having a promotion. 

People can bitch all they want about Dark Order, but at this point, what is even annoying about them ? They have really good matches with everyone and have been used to help get other talent over, much like today with Luchasaurus.

People can bitch all they want about the Librarians, but they are just funny jobbers, what's wrong with that ? Avalon is actually a really good worker too, he can run circles around a bunch of people...

So, people wanted squashes and promos and angles ? They got just that. 

Also, Spears did not do the 10 sign this time around. They are paying attention. Well, I kinda like that the whole Janela thing is gonna develop, because it shows they demand patience and I will do too although I'm not exactly interested in Spears at all right now. I just hope it's gonna be an opportunity for Janela to show character and cool ideas and get over more.

Allin vs Mox ? Don't tease me like this.

Allie on TV, finally !

That MJF vs Jericho segment was all kind of awesome. They had me legit laugh my ass off at points, and it doesn't happen often.

Dustin selling an injury, what a crazy idea. Omega selling his wounds, what a crazy idea.

They could put PAC vs Page every week, these two are just having a terrific series of matches. PAC is easily one of the best worker of any promotion that I'm watching.

Main event was quite interesting, in that I had guessed the finish before it occurred. I was feeling the whole "Jericho is making a mistake putting himself in a tag title match just after his big single defense, and someone is gonna be made." Scorpio is sure gonna get pushed as a single eventually, so here we go, he's the first guy pinning le champion. That's booking.

The only criticism I'd have this week is that they put the Nyla Rose squash and Awesome Kong attacking Allie back to back, which was redondant. Also, no Shanna. Hope she's on Dark !

And also, JR sucks. "Waldrow, whoever that is." "Swagger... Hager, well, he's got Swagger but he's Hagger... he's not Swagger... uh..."

Meanwhile, Schiavone on MJF : "You can cut the J is you ask me". Fuck, send JR backstage do production work and let Schiavone kill it with Excalibur already.

Anyway, that company is in for the long run, and that's very cool.

[peachchaos]

Michael Nakazawa, Marko Stunt, Peter Avalon, and Dani Jordan have no business on national television. Wardlow is an incredibly bad name. JR is terrible and 3 voices is too much, it's just too much conversation and constantly. I'm trying to watch wrestling here, not figure out what this old man is trying to say. As great as Jericho and MJF are together, something just feels off about how MJF's turn. And Cody getting heat on him already seems early, even if it set up the...Wardlow debut. Beyond excited for Mox and Allin, but we really don't need another hardcore match this soon, so I hope they're not going that route.

But overall I absolutely loved the chaotic nature of this episode. 

[El-P]

2 minutes ago, peachchaos said:

JR is terrible and 3 voices is too much, it's just too much conversation and constantly

Agree. Schiavone was saying on an MLW broadcast that you don't need to talk all the time and you should let the match breathe and let the viewer digest what is happening. A three men booth doesn't allow that. It could work if you had at least three very defined roles, like a total straight play-by-play, a fun heelish color guy and let's say a guy like Tenay in WCW or Charlton in NJPW bringing detailed infos when needed only. Here you have three straight guys, one of which... 

5 minutes ago, peachchaos said:

I'm trying to watch wrestling here, not figure out what this old man is trying to say.

Well, yeah, basically.

[MoS]

MJF's turn could have been dragged longer, but he is good enough on the mic to make up for it. 

Does J.R even enjoy doing commentary or watching AEW? At this rate he will reach 1999 Bobby Heenan level of not giving a fuck on air by the end of the year.

[Coffey]

1 hour ago, peachchaos said:

Michael Nakazawa, Marko Stunt, Peter Avalon, and Dani Jordan have no business on national television.

This was actually my favorite part of the show. They took a bunch of people & acts that I don't care about, like Marko Stunt & Shawn Spears, and used them in a way that made sense & served a purpose. So even the segments that I wasn't looking forward to turned out to be beneficial to the show.

Nakazawa? Showed him backstage with Kenny while it showed Kenny not being cleared. Talked about him being friends with Kenny, briefly. That made him being Moxley's opponent make sense. Then Mox squashed him, so we didn't have to see a bunch of Nakazawa. Nak also threw down the oil, to show that he was serious for the bout because of what happened to Kenny. That's all good.

Marko Stunt? He got his ass whipped. Took the Dark Order finish - which is the best thing about them. They did the post match stuff trying to recruit him as a hooded jobber. Sets up the return of Luchasaurus. He cleans house of all the geeks & looks like the real star. The whole thing, which used Marko Stunt & the Dark Order was a vessel to get over Luchasaurus, the real star. That's all good.

The three way with Darby Allin, Shawn Spears & The Librarian. The only thing that we didn't get was Leva Bates ass shots. Shawn Spears got taken out early by Janella to set up them feuding. Leaving Darby to basically squash Avalon & show off his Coffin Drop finish again. And he got to accept Moxley's open challenge, making him look bad ass. That's all good.

Dani Jordan, whom I had to Google to make sure it was who I thought it was, was inoffensive as she was just jobber fodder to get over Nyla's dominance. Gotta build her back up after losing the title match to Riho. This admittedly wasn't great but it had a clear purpose. And I do think Nyla is improving. 

If AEW can consistently have that "anything can happen" feel where even the segments you think you won't care about turn into something more? Then I'm definitely on board. That's how the show felt to me last night. 

[Stiva]

I would kind of like it if AEW had a set of 5-6 job guys, ala Horowitz where, everyone knows what’s going down but are strong enough workers to make their opponent look good, feed them correctly and get them over. Peter Avalon is actually solid at it, so is the dude with the apple who’s name escapes me but Nakazawa is really poor, even if it was neat that there was a character justification for him working Moxley. They were in Nashville, there has to be some ex- NWA Wildside guys around someplace. David Young could be All Elite.

[El-P]

1 hour ago, Coffey said:

The only thing that we didn't get was Leva Bates ass shots.

Can we still say that in 2019 ? But yeah. Leva Bates is funny and adorable. And she's got dat ass too. She's basically the comical relief to Avalon's Barry Horowitz. 

I believe Nakazawa is mostly office and Japanese relation, working the occasional comedy/job match. Him throwing out the oil was a nice attention to detail too.

[peachchaos]

1 hour ago, Coffey said:

This was actually my favorite part of the show. They took a bunch of people & acts that I don't care about, like Marko Stunt & Shawn Spears, and used them in a way that made sense & served a purpose.

I mean it's great that they can use everyone effectively and get the maximum impact out of everything, but they could do the same thing with actually talented performers. I love the kid and his act, but Marco Stunt is not ready for this and his jungle boys don't need him at all. I don't think there will ever be a time and a place for Michael Nakasawa, so it's good to know this was probably his ceiling. 

Avalon doesn't belong on television and the gimmick is one of the worst of all time.

[C.S.]

5 hours ago, Blehschmidt said:

This is getting to my "my favorite wrestler is Volk Han" levels of annoying. We fucking get it.

I have no idea who or what you're referencing with the Volk Han quote, but if you don't like my posts, feel free to make use of the ignore feature.

7 minutes ago, peachchaos said:

I love the kid and his act, but Marco Stunt is not ready for this and his jungle boys don't need him at all.  

To be fair, Luchasaurus's injury kind of forced the issue with Stunt. If that hadn't happened, I suspect he would've been in a Jake Hager role (lol at the irony) where he didn't wrestle at all for the first few months or only sporadically wrestled. 

[Coffey]

35 minutes ago, El-P said:

Can we still say that in 2019 ? But yeah. Leva Bates is funny and adorable. And she's got dat ass too. She's basically the comical relief to Avalon's Barry Horowitz. 

I thought that was the entire point of the attire change? Like in the match on AEW Dark with Sonny Kiss & Dustin Rhodes, the camera man even made it a point to get those shots, like it was old ECW or The Beautiful People in Impact/TNA. I thought it was on purpose. I think the idea is going to be that she's the librarian that goes wild or something to get away from the stricter Avalon. Like Miss Hancock in WCW or something.

Also, I know the social climate has changed a lot in more recent years but sex appeal still matters in a body business like wrestling. It always will. I think we can talk about it. It still works for Scarlett Bordeaux. You can still draw money with sex appeal. 

[El-P]

Oh, I totally agree. It was more of a sarcastic take on the somewhat puritanistic climates that sometimes prevails even in (mostly ) intelligent hives like PWO. 

As far as the Leva Bates character, no idea. It seems like she's really taking into the shitty gimmick, while Avalon is mildly annoyed by the whole thing. I guess at some point she'll do something else. 

[C.S.]

1 minute ago, El-P said:

Oh, I totally agree. It was more of a sarcastic take on the somewhat puritanistic climates that sometimes prevails even in (mostly ) intelligent hives like PWO. 

I was going to defend PWO, but then I remembered the poster who had a meltdown because of a few of us dared to say that Kassius Ohno doesn't look good in basketball shorts. 

On the flipside, Jim Cornette can say the most vile things and he'll still have his defenders here. If Seth Rollins said the same exact things, those same exact posters would be tripping over themselves to vilify him. 

[peachchaos]

2 hours ago, C.S. said:

To be fair, Luchasaurus's injury kind of forced the issue with Stunt. If that hadn't happened, I suspect he would've been in a Jake Hager role (lol at the irony) where he didn't wrestle at all for the first few months or only sporadically wrestled. 

And the act is really over so I can’t blame them for running with it. I would rather they have used this time to focus on a short Jungle Boy singles run. But again, the act is over and a lot of fun so who really cares. All I know is Baby Marko needs to learn to walk before he can roar. 

2 hours ago, C.S. said:

If Seth Rollins said the same exact things, those same exact posters would be tripping over themselves to vilify him. 

They wouldn’t have to because Seth Rollins would almost certainly trip over his own banana peel words and fall flat on his face before anyone even reacts to the post.

[SirEdger]

3 hours ago, Stiva said:

I would kind of like it if AEW had a set of 5-6 job guys, ala Horowitz where, everyone knows what’s going down but are strong enough workers to make their opponent look good, feed them correctly and get them over. Peter Avalon is actually solid at it, so is the dude with the apple who’s name escapes me but Nakazawa is really poor, even if it was neat that there was a character justification for him working Moxley. They were in Nashville, there has to be some ex- NWA Wildside guys around someplace. David Young could be All Elite.

You're referring to QT Marshall here.

[MoS]

https://www.cagesideseats.com/2019/11/14/20965395/aew-nxt-ratings-viewership-nov-13-2019-wednesday-night-war-wwe

"Dynamite bounced to 957,000 viewers on Wednesday with a .43 rating in the ever important 18-49 year old demographic. NXT on USA netted 750,000 viewers with a .25 rating in the 18-49 demo."

Last week was a strong show, and Full Gear was a strong PPV, so not surprised to see their numbers improve. Hopefully, with their excellent show this week, they will continue to improve their numbers next week and beyond. This show was a good sign that they are beginning to get their balance right.

[Stiva]

39 minutes ago, SirEdger said:

You're referring to QT Marshall here.

That’s the guy, thanks. For some reason, I wanted to call him “TJ Johnson” but I knew that wasn’t right.

[C.S.]

2 hours ago, peachchaos said:

And the act is really over so I can’t blame them for running with it. I would rather they have used this time to focus on a short Jungle Boy singles run. But again, the act is over and a lot of fun so who really cares. All I know is Baby Marko needs to learn to walk before he can roar. 

Marko really does look like a baby - a 13-year-old child at most - so in a way, I understand why AEW would want to capitalize on his "youth" while it's still there. Age eventually catches up to all of us, and Marko probably only has a few more years before he looks like a weathered X-Pac type. 

[sek69]

AEW trying different things to see what works, and listening to feedback from fans really shouldn't come off as revolutionary measures, but that's what it feels like after so long only having as an option the company booked to amuse the aging billionaire who likes poop jokes. 

I suppose I'll sound like a slobbering fanboy, and hell maybe I am, but there's just so much to look forward to with this company. MJF is so great and is only 23,  the Jurassic Express is shaping up to become a cult hit, Jungle Boy (and Sammy too actually) has that cute young guy appeal that can draw in the teenage girl market that WWE largely ignores, and they've already built up the tag division. Of course not everything is rosy, the women are the weakest part so far but even that is something that can largely be helped by doing personality pieces on someone other than Dr. Britt Baker, DMD She's A Dentist You Know.  Just knowing who the hell these women are would go a long way to improve the quality of the division. 

[MoS]

I am hoping they start doing 2-minute video segments, especially for the women, a lot of whom are foreigners with a lot of charisma that the fans would love if they only knew or were told who these wrestlers are. That's a minor thing but it will go a long way. 

[peachchaos]

1 hour ago, sek69 said:

I suppose I'll sound like a slobbering fanboy, and hell maybe I am, but there's just so much to look forward to with this company. MJF is so great and is only 23,  the Jurassic Express is shaping up to become a cult hit, Jungle Boy (and Sammy too actually) has that cute young guy appeal that can draw in the teenage girl market

There's no shame in stanning a product when it consistently delivers and has a lot on the horizon. Most of the time even proclaiming oneself a wrestling fan comes with an open can of qualifiers. AEW (with a lot of help from Jericho) is wringing the sport free from the clutches of the useless old man and returning it to the masses free of those attributes. We should be dancing in the streets. Earlier I was reading an interview with Werner Herzog discussing his role in the new Star Wars series, and he mentioned turning on Keeping Up With The Kardashians and WrestleMania to get the pulse of pop culture. Now imagine if he had watched Cody-Jericho & the Lights Out Match instead. 

[gordi]

I would LOVE to see the Lights Out Match with Werner Herzog commentary. 

 

“I believe the common denominator of the pro wrestling is not bumping, selling, and crowd work; but chaos, hostility and murder.”

[MoS]

It was voted in the Observer as both the best match of the night and the 3rd worst match of the night. There definitely is some buzz, but I hope they let Mox wrestle brutal but straight matches and keep cutting promos. Omega will probably have a comeback feud with someone he can beat but can put over while doing so. Perhaps Guevera? Leading to a match beyond whenever the next PPV is.