The Man in Blak Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 MJF's promo was totally fine up the point where Christopher Daniels got involved. Having MJF just stand there while Daniels did his speech felt very contrived, very WWE, and the comeuppance at the end wasn't really all that great. It just felt really uninspired from a booking perspective which -- surprise -- seems to be a recurring theme as of late. Sure, it was a comedown from MJF's match with Takeshita last week and the wild post-match promo. The whole show felt that way. But it felt that way because every moment in the show seemed like it was meant to tread water between the big Clash of the Champions-style special and the go home shows next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 32 minutes ago, rovert said: I assume you mean Saraya vs Hayter which sounds completely compelling in terms of a match where Saraya is skill, cardio and physically wise is unable for. And a women's Face of the Revolution Ladder Match featuring the debut of the ex-Sasha Banks. Lets shoot for the stars. You assumed correctly. Had a brain fart there. But yeah, maybe Mercedez Moné could reignite the product a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 Viewership absolutely cratered during the 9:15-9:30 quarter hour and never recovered. I don't know who deserves the blame, but there's plenty of it to go around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 12 hours ago, The Thread Killer said: I personally felt that this week’s episode of Dynamite was a pile of flaming garbage. When I saw that shit fucking women's three-way was the main event, I audibly fucking groaned. Paige spray-painting Toni's ass before the booty bump... it's like they're just trying to piss people off with nonsense. What a stupid fucking decision. I don't understand, I'll never understand & I'm not going to pretend to care to understand anymore: the women's wrestling fucking sucks in AEW. Straight up. It's not fucking Manami Toyota out there, it's a dentist that moves in slow motion, Toni who has lost all of her momentum due to Paige's bullshit & the green-haired jobber that has never impressed anyone. At least Jade looks like a star but she's NXT levels of not ready in the ring. Jamie Hayter is good & the crowd wants to care about her but they refuse to just let her be & keep putting her in Brit's shadow. They won't even let her speak for herself, it's embarrassing. I don't understand what they're doing but stop trying to pretend that they're on the same level as the men because they're not. They're fucking not. Who the fuck wanted that as the main event!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 The Elite segments and the trios title matches have been killing the ratings since they returned at All Out. Not sure if House of Black will change that, but whatever the Elite are doing is just not working. Maybe they need to cut the comedy crap with Michael Nakazawa and weird-ass basketball spoofs that build no heat and make no one want to see their matches. Hell, even BTE's numbers have declined significantly, which shows that perhaps their current irreverent wink-wink "everything is fake and we are in on the joke" gimmick has run its course and they need to revamp. Omega was at his best when he was presented as a serious main-event excellent wrestler in NJPW, perhaps something to take note of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 18 hours ago, KawadaSmile said: I'd argue that her winning the belt on her main roster debut was a nice moment with genuine emotion, and honestly her biggest moment. There's no reason why she couldn't have won the title without radically changing her character to a nervous stammering rookie who was just happy to be there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMJ Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 - Even on paper this show looked like it was go to be abysmal. I'm not surprised to read the bad reviews and see the bad rating. I'm guessing TK isn't either. This felt like a "heat check" show designed to see what the basement would be for a completely phoned-in show. The fact that it only sunk 150k viewers is actually not that bad when this show was basically a 2-hour long Rampage with special guest appearances from Jon Moxley and MJF. - The Saraya/Toni stuff absolutely sucks, but I'm not going to heap all the blame on Saraya. Even in the WWE, Saraya had charisma and a natural ability to connect with the audience, but she was never a ring general and her run as a manager/SD GM showed she wasn't really a fit in those roles either. The AEW Women's Division - hell, the entire AEW - needs writers (not 30 writers, but maybe a smaller brain trust like Vince used in the 90s). This idea that the wrestlers and TK can brainstorm great storylines and angles and write and deliver their own promos only works when the talent involved are able to do that well. Not every wrestler has Mick Foley's cinematic vision. Not every wrestler has Pat Patterson's mental catalog of finishes and swerves. Not every wrestler knows how to get emotion out of the audience like Bret Hart. TK needs to put someone in charge of this division who has a great wrestling mind. I'm not sure who that is, but I'm also not super knowledgeable about backstage producers and writers. Hell, aren't they paying CM Punk to nurse an injury right now? Its out-of-the-box thinking, but maybe he'd be interested in taking on some sort of role for the next few months? What's the worst that could happen? A Serena push? - When The Acclaimed won the titles, I criticized the decision as being unnecessary. I then flip-flopped on that after reading others' counterpoints here about how you have to strike when the iron is hot. I'm back to thinking it wasn't the right idea. The Acclaimed are a good team who get great responses because of their interactive presentation. They are an act that is going to pop the crowd and entertain viewers and while those two things are obviously the two most important things for pro-wrestlers to do on TV, there's also that tricky thing about pro-wrestling being presented as a sport and wrestlers needing a certain level of credibility. And so here we are now with an Acclaimed/Gunn Club feud that doesn't need the titles, while the actual best tag teams on the roster aren't doing all that much. There was a time when the AEW Tag Team Championships were arguably *the* top Tag Team Titles in all of pro-wrestling and that whoever held those titles had a valid claim of being the best tag team on the planet. But that hasn't been the case for awhile now. - I know I'm not using the phrase right, but TK should consider "quiet quitting" the 6-man titles. Kenny Omega should be a singles star engaged in singles matches as part of singles feuds. The Young Bucks should be tag team stars engaged in tag team matches as part of tag team feuds. Tying these guys together on occasion is great and makes for great TV matches...but them being a combo deal seems like a waste of star power that is sorely lacking in other areas of the card. Omega should see MJF as easy pickings to get the title off of. I mean, he's KENNY friggin' OMEGA and the champion is MJF. The Young Bucks should view The Acclaimed/Gunn Club the same way, as greenhorns that can be easily defeated for the titles. When the 6-man titles were announced, everyone said they'd be vanity titles for the Elite. Then, on TV, it became clear that was exactly what they were. Omega should be in the mix with any number of other number one contender types (an Omega/Mox/Page triple threat to declare the next number one contender seems like a no-brainer). The Young Bucks should be doing something similar against other teams in the company who are trying to get tag title shots (Top Flight, Yuta/Cesaro, Garcia/Guevara, etc.). Right now, the Elite are irrelevant when they could be anchoring storylines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 Meltzer tweeted yesterday about "contracts due" being a "key issue" for AEW. And he reported back in December that Omega's contract was set to expire at the end of January. Moreover, the current Observer says that people in WWE who would know about Mania season acquisitions don't know anything about Jay White coming in and said that a much bigger free agent who was in play was the priority. Reading the tea leaves, it could be that AEW is keeping Omega out of the main event picture until his contract situation is resolved because they don't want to have to awkwardly write him off like they did Regal if he does leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 It's kinda hard picturing Omega leaving his freedom to go to WWE when they are a sell away from reaching unknown territory (creative wise) again to a talent like him. I guess getting big money is always a factor but until negotiations for AEW's new TV deal are done, no star should be eager to sign a new contract with TK yet. If he does leave, it would be really dumb to not give him another singles push to at least put over who ever is the AEW champion on PPV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thread Killer Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 I can’t see Omega going to WWE under any circumstances. He allegedly loves having creative freedom and he wouldn’t have any there. He loves having long epic matches and WWE is hardly known for those. (AEW generally presents better quality wrestling on free TV than WWE does on PPV.) Omega has never demonstrated that he’s motivated by money, so I doubt he would do it for that reason. And let’s not forget, Omega can’t cut a decent promo to save his life. Unless he went in as a heel with Callis as his mouthpiece, I don’t see him doing well at all in that department, which is a must if you’re going to make it in WWE. Plus Kenny and The Bucks are pretty much joined at the hip, and I don’t see them going either. I could be wrong and I’m not stupid enough to say it will never happen, but I sure don’t think it’s likely. I am sure WWE would kill to have them, if for no other reason than to stick it to Tony Khan. But I don’t see Kenny making that jump. Which is too bad, because I would love to see Kenny lose to Roman and watch the AEW fan base lose their collective minds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 I could see Omega wanting to go to WWE to make a point. His stint in WWE developmental nearly killed his passion for the business, so going back as a star would show that it's possible to beat the system. Or maybe he just wants to stick it to Bill DeMott. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 Omega also literally had more surgeries over the course of a year than most wrestlers have in their lifetimes. And as good as he is, the style he works has a shelf life. And WWE putting a big number down would have to make him think about it given he could do it just to set himself up for life, essentially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 3 hours ago, The Thread Killer said: I would love to see Kenny lose to Roman and watch the AEW fan base lose their collective minds. Can you say this just one more time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embrodak Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 40 minutes ago, Timbo Slice said: Omega also literally had more surgeries over the course of a year than most wrestlers have in their lifetimes. And as good as he is, the style he works has a shelf life. And WWE putting a big number down would have to make him think about it given he could do it just to set himself up for life, essentially. Yeah the Nakamura path is the only thing that could maybe be alluring to someone like Kenny, on the whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 15 hours ago, Coffey said: At least Jade looks like a star but she's NXT levels of not ready in the ring. Shit, they have done NOTHING with Willow and they should have had her beat Jade for the title. Progression, please! I know they want Statlander to have that but who knows when she's gonna come back. Jade is basically NOT ALLOWED to improve in the ring as she's just stat padding like Russell Westbrook on the Houston Rockets, and NOT ALLOWED to progress her character because they have no idea what to do when a wrestler gets hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirEdger Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 7 hours ago, NintendoLogic said: Meltzer tweeted yesterday about "contracts due" being a "key issue" for AEW. And he reported back in December that Omega's contract was set to expire at the end of January. Moreover, the current Observer says that people in WWE who would know about Mania season acquisitions don't know anything about Jay White coming in and said that a much bigger free agent who was in play was the priority. Reading the tea leaves, it could be that AEW is keeping Omega out of the main event picture until his contract situation is resolved because they don't have to awkwardly write him off like they did Regal if he does leave. In this case, I actually think the "higher priority" is Kota Ibushi. After all, Triple H did use him for the first Cruiserweight Classic so it feels natural that Triple H will try to make a move for him. Doesn't mean he won't try to go for Jay White. Why would Jay even sign with AEW with the "Loser Leaves NJPW" stip, knowing that both promotions are in a working relationship? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 2 hours ago, SirEdger said: In this case, I actually think the "higher priority" is Kota Ibushi. After all, Triple H did use him for the first Cruiserweight Classic so it feels natural that Triple H will try to make a move for him. Doesn't mean he won't try to go for Jay White. Why would Jay even sign with AEW with the "Loser Leaves NJPW" stip, knowing that both promotions are in a working relationship? I wouldn't be surprised if Ibushi was on WWE's radar, but I strongly doubt they would prioritize him over White. In addition to being a decade older and not fluent in English, he hasn't wrestled in over a year due to injuries and other issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirEdger Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 I saw also in an interview that Ibushi mentioned that one other factor that would convince him to sign with WWE was if he would be allowed to train people at the Performance Center. Considering he was also looking to open his own wrestling school, would be interesting to see if WWE would take him on that offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoS Posted February 18, 2023 Report Share Posted February 18, 2023 House of Black v. Elite feels like a big-time match Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted February 18, 2023 Report Share Posted February 18, 2023 The basketball shit in this six man is fucking awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embrodak Posted February 18, 2023 Report Share Posted February 18, 2023 Keith Lee looked rough last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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