AEW Dynamite - Dec 11, 2019

[MoS]

1 hour ago, El-P said:

The "issue" with Luchasaurus, and I knew that already because I've seen him in several different context, is that although he has a great look and really cool character, he's simply not a guy who's gonna have a great single match at this point. He's a big guy who does cool spots, and there's something a wee bit too choregraphed in some of his stuff (his sequences of kicks for instance reminds me of Stan Lane), lacking intensity or even intent. So yeah, not surprised about this match not clicking. That's the issue with some of these AEW guys, is that they need the ring time to get better, but they will only get the ring time on TV, so they have to put longer matches that may not click that well at first.

I don't think he has completely recovered from his injury either. Yeah, it's one of those things which are much better worked out when you have house show matches to get you in ring shape and rhythm. 

[War is Raw]

On the plus side, Dave said AEW actually gets 700-800K DVR watches 1-7 days later, with a median age of 39. So basically, we are much closer to 1.5 million. Really changes the picture.

Luchasaurus was getting a lot of pops before he got hurt so they didn't want to keep in on ice. He was their secret weapon. But at this point he is clearly not fully recovered and either the audio sucks or his pops have decreased. Seems like Stunt has been getting better pops lately,  and more than Jungle Boy. Not that any of them have moved the dial.

This week's episode was universally praised, with the only thing people really had a problem with was Emi vs Swole, yet every live segment bled after Mox confronting Jericho.

By the way, it's a real shame Emi gets killed on most forums and podcasts. The gimmick does not help, being a tweener is weird, and she has lost her looks. But in her prime when she looked and acted like a regular joshi, she was great. Her style is to work fast with various ground submissions and pinning combinations to score a flash pin. Has good stamina and realism. She has a toolbox of spots she likes to use. In AEW I believe she is there to train the green Americans as best as she could. But considering she has never worked in front of U.S. crowds or in big arenas, she is learning crowd control as well. Kenny Omega is trying to condition fans to be open minded about different joshi styles besides what Americans see with Io and Asuka. But many fans will change the channel.

I am looking forward to Riho wrestling on Dynamite to help with the teenage demo. Hard to believe she has only had 4 matches out of 11 episodes. All have either gained overall viewers or teenagers/18-34.

[goodhelmet]

I enjoyed this episode less than any other episode I have seen. 

I enjoyed the Cody/Jericho segments and that was about it. I could absolutely see how all of those segments bled viewers. Swole-Sakura went too long. They have not made Kenny Omega feel special in any way. He is a guy who has long matches with anybody, regardless of where that guy is on the roster. Shawn Spears is not over, has had 6 months to get over and they really dropped the ball making him a heel since people wanted to cheer him initially. now, I want them to save Tully Blanchard for someone worth booing. I was looking forward to the Luchasaurus match but it wasn't good. If Luchasaurus is hurt... then have him wrestle in 2 minute squashes. They have no problem letting Moxley kill guys in 30 seconds. Why not the actual monster you have on the roster? Look at the rankings. They are getting really close to 50/50 WWE booking. Losing viewers in ever single segment of the show is not a positive. I like the fact that this company is different from WWE, and I have enjoyed almost all of the shows I have watched, but they have problems. 

[El-P]

Other thoughts from the show. 

I'm surprised no one mentioned the awful Tully Blanchard/Janela angle. I've been a fanboy since this show started, but to me this is the first time I can point out a spot where I thought "Well, this is really bad". It looked goofy as fuck, Tully was barely tied to the chair. Also, they are clearly overdoing the "lights go out" gimmick. Once every blue moon, why not, but when it's every two weeks, it's like every one has a remote control to the light system of the show ! 

As far as overdoing things, yeah, they clearly are overdoing the "recruit" gimmick. Jericho trying to recruit Mox was very nWo like, ok, but Dark Angle is recruiting jobbers, Brandi is recruiting people too. Everybody is recruiting on this show. Stop recruiting already !

BTW, speaking of Brandi, loved her vignette, which to me had a bit of a Basic Instinct taste to it, not sure why (the music ? the setting ?). I wonder who the bald guy is... I like vignette with mystery.

How did the Dark Order (a complete miss of a gimmick at first) vignettes became a weekly highlight of this show ? 

I thought JR was better than usual. Him poking fun at his own fuck up of the names was refreshing. Tony has some great lines again.

Penelope Ford in her best role, be a hot valet who does great spots. This is gonna help Sabian get over and help her too in the process. Good deal. I'm liking the dynamic of Page having split up with the Elite. Really good match too, Omega is totally the Benoit/Guerrero of this promotion now.

Blade & Butcher are gonna be a refreshing change of look and pace in the tag team division. I do hope the Bunny gets to work though, she's too good a worker to only do valet work. 

Damn, Cody, that scar is there for life... Gotta love "Cody's partner" chant. That's how over this guy is. Maybe the idea behind not challenging for the title ever again comes from the idea he can be the guy who doesn't need the belt, like Piper or Taker was. It's good to always have a guy like this in your promotion.

[Migs]

On 12/15/2019 at 6:52 AM, El-P said:

I'm surprised no one mentioned the awful Tully Blanchard/Janela angle. I've been a fanboy since this show started, but to me this is the first time I can point out a spot where I thought "Well, this is really bad". It looked goofy as fuck, Tully was barely tied to the chair. Also, they are clearly overdoing the "lights go out" gimmick. Once every blue moon, why not, but when it's every two weeks, it's like every one has a remote control to the light system of the show ! 

It's unclear to me what the issue even is between them. It's like they jumped to the middle of the angle without a beginning. (I recall it was on Dark, but for some reason Spears was trying to pull Janela's teeth out with minimal provocation?) 

[SirEdger]

Yeah, the beginning was really random with Spears attacking Janela backstage on Dark and then, there was Spears illegally eliminating Janela from the Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal and that's pretty much what explained Janela's action. Honestly, it's that one angle on AEW right now that I'm really not sure how it benefits anyone involved. I feel at this point like Tully would be better off managing someone more badass. Hell, if Wardlow wasn't MJF's bodyguard, I would've booked Tully as MJF's manager.

[War is Raw]

2 hours ago, Migs said:

It's unclear to me what the issue even is between them. It's like they jumped to the middle of the angle without a beginning. (I recall it was on Dark, but for some reason Spears was trying to pull Janela's teeth out with minimal provocation?) 

It started with Janela putting a cigarette in Tully's drink. That lead to the tooth extraction and an earlier scuffle on Dynamite and Full Gear (spike piledriver KO).

Tony Kahn expects us to remember this stuff. Gotta get with the program, my friend. :-)

 

[Migs]

1 hour ago, War is Raw said:

It started with Janela putting a cigarette in Tully's drink. That lead to the tooth extraction and an earlier scuffle on Dynamite and Full Gear (spike piledriver KO).

Tony Kahn expects us to remember this stuff. Gotta get with the program, my friend. :-)

 

Ha. It's a 2002 WWE story, and they're better than that usually.

[War is Raw]

17 hours ago, Migs said:

Ha. It's a 2002 WWE story, and they're better than that usually.

Yeah, I'm thinking it would have been better to have Tully be strong voice for old school rasslin' and The Four Horsemen image with Spears as his "no gimmick needed" protege. So the feud would be a clash of cultures based off a serious incident, rather than over a cigarette.

Of course, Spears is somewhat miscast when Tully describes him as a bluechip wrestling prospect (similar to The Ringmaster, but without the skillset) anyway.