AEW TV 12/19-12-23 I SWERVE WHEN I DRIVE

[sek69]

Just give Swerve all the belts already, TK.

 

[sek69]

I'm starting to think maybe moving on from WBD might not be the worst idea for AEW since the feed cut out during Dynamite for what feels like the millionth time.

[sek69]

Once again, Riho comes back from being away for a while and is immediately super over. Her and Toni should be a fun match.

[Jmare007]

51 minutes ago, sek69 said:

I'm starting to think maybe moving on from WBD might not be the worst idea for AEW since the feed cut out during Dynamite for what feels like the millionth time.

I get why Tony feels so strongly about WBD but I've never understood why would he (as a businessman) attached himself so tightly to a company that every 5 years or so is going through a merger and some type of internal fuckery that more often than not ends up reshuffling plans put in motion by management. Now there's rumors of a Paramount merger and who knows what's gonna come out of that.

[Dav'oh]

I'd rather watch sixty minutes of Great Khali than sixty seconds of Komander.

[Dav'oh]

When everything's a highspot, nothing is a highspot.

[Embrodak]

That was not a good episode of Dynamite, but Moxley vs White was aight, albeit way overreliant on near falls as usual for AEW.

Komander is startlingly incompetent.

I do not get Toni Storm doing a bad Norma Desmond impersonation, and I cannot imagine wanting to see Riho ever.

Briscoe vs Lethal was fine, they’re both extremely competent workers, but kinda weird to be told from the outset that a match is basically meaningless.

Rush vs Swerve was mediocre.

MJF as a weird tweener babyface in an incomprehensible Black Scorpion-type storyline has completely ruined him. Hope a few weeks of pops for childish comedy segments with Adam Cole was worth it! I’m sure glad MJF will be here for three more years!

[The Thread Killer]

As I watched the Main Event it struck me that I’d be perfectly fine if I never saw Jon Moxley ever again. I never liked him to begin with, but he is getting pretty much unwatchable for me now. There is literally no part of his act that I like.

Moxley is supposedly hurt, right? Why can’t Tony Khan give him an extended vacation? Lord knows he routinely disappears other guys for long stretches of time. Why not Moxley?

Unrelated…

I’m sure Tony Khan has a “plan” and it’s still very possible that Swerve wins and advances next week…but having Moxley beat Swerve (who is red hot) last week but turn around and lose to Jay White (who is not red hot) this week is just stupid. I know plenty of the AEW hardcores will argue TK is “telling a story” or some such bullshit, but I don’t buy it. Swerve is the hottest guy in the company right now. They should be riding that wave.

 

[El-P]

Excellent episode. CC is just a bunch of bangers, and thus far it's been well booked, despite no use of upsets nor draws, but then again, you don't need to exactly copy the G1 formula from the very first year. Swerve should win the world title next year, not the Triple Crown. Therefore he can go to the semis then not advance without losing, which is a smart trick. He got himself more over thanks to the Hangman feud and the CC, now the direction is very obviously pointing at MJF (I would have loved for Joe to win, but it seems less likely now). Triple Crown actually should probably be Eddie Kingston, for many many reasons, although if he doesn't win it there, he has to win it from whomever wins it there, so that's the direction I would go, focusing around Eddie either defending or chasing it.

Saraya's game is all trash talking, and she's really fun at it, which is why she's better as an outside the ring performer. Riho should have gotten the push Shida got, really.

The Devil's storyline better find its end at the PPV, because it's getting nearly Aces & Eights level of repetitive and going nowhere now. Hopefully it's one of the few character that would make sense and not some "gotcha" nonsensical reveal. It's not over 'til its over, but the ending is gonna paint the picture of whether this was well thought out after all or totally ill-advised. Jury's still out.

Komander should really get some wins now. It's long overdue. They really should not typecast him as the great spectacular luchador who loses all the time until he doesn't get those awesome reactions. Maybe a trios title for starters alongside Penta and Fénix when he comes back.

Hopefully Kenny and CJ get better. Scary how both situations could have gone really, really bad quickly.

[El-P]

10 hours ago, Jmare007 said:

I get why Tony feels so strongly about WBD but I've never understood why would he (as a businessman) attached himself so tightly to a company that every 5 years or so is going through a merger and some type of internal fuckery that more often than not ends up reshuffling plans put in motion by management. Now there's rumors of a Paramount merger and who knows what's gonna come out of that.

Some merger fuckery, most probably. That's the WCW fan side of Coach TK, I guess. 

BTW, as much as some signs are stupid or annoying, the "I'd rather be at Nitro" sign got a good chuckle out of me. Ok, that is funny.

[Coffey]

12 hours ago, Embrodak said:

That was not a good episode of Dynamite

3 hours ago, El-P said:

Excellent episode.

PWO in a nutshell. 

[Embrodak]

1 hour ago, Coffey said:

PWO in a nutshell. 

Well I’m not as into the AEW house style as some, so I’m probably an unrepresentative person to include in the sample. I will say, my dad is pushing 70 and when I complained about too many near falls in the Mox/White match, he said, “Oh, that’s all they do on AEW!” Mox and White at least had some energy and no gratuitous bleeding from Mox, I enjoyed that match somewhat, and I would have enjoyed Briscoe/Lethal more if there hadn’t been the trapping of “Who’s going to have more than zero points in the tournament” weighing it down.

[strobogo]

Would love for there to be an accurate counter of lights out surprises on AEW TV since 2019. It's gotta be around 50 at least at this point rightr.

[sek69]

1 hour ago, strobogo said:

Would love for there to be an accurate counter of lights out surprises on AEW TV since 2019. It's gotta be around 50 at least at this point rightr.

....and at least 40 of those were the feed going out

[strobogo]

Swerve is def TMF right now. I assume there is a ppv between World's End and Revolution, and not putting the title on Swerve in that time would be bonkers. Especially as MJF is injured and already broke all the records for a title reign. Extra especially with the MJF/Swerve interaction on Dynamite. Imo, it doesn't matter what long term plans are. Long term plans in AEW haven't meant shit considering the injury rate of top talent in the past 2 years. Just go with what's hot, and the streets want Swerve as champ. 

[Stiva]

Plus, the CC has thrown up a ton of credible challengers for his feuds post-title win on the Blue side. Really, this MJF devil nonsense doesn’t need the title, it’s just need resolved 

[strobogo]

The devil stuff has def gone on too long, there's no way the reveal can be anything but a disappointment unless Adam Cole is actually 100% healthy and ready to go and the devil. Swerve has all the momentum. Every crowd is on his side even with the darkly heel shit he did with Hanger. Swerve is who the people want. Considering how frequently AEW plans have to change due to injuries and whatnot, it's hard to argue against putting the belt on Swerve ASAP. MJF is busted up, already has all the accolades as the top champ AEW has ever had. 

The momentum is clearly on Swerve's side both online and actual in arena crowds. Seems silly to not put the title on him between now and Revolution. 

[El-P]

ROH Women television title : "When in doubt, create a new title". Coach TK.

[Jmare007]

Swerve has such a momentum that he completely eclipsed Joe's. I never though MJF would lose the strap in his hometown but Joe was looking like a good stop gap before Swerve could get it.

Now it feels like they shouldn't go past early February without Swerve becoming champ.

[Embrodak]

The ratings are not doing very well, there’s a YOY decline in 20 of the last 22 weeks. They need to get the title off MJF if he’s just gonna fuck around hurt with dudes in devil masks, and as much as some people might like the tournament, it appears to be doing more harm than good in terms of retaining the audience. Get the title on Swerve and figure out a hot feud for him ASAP.

[Jmare007]

1 hour ago, Embrodak said:

The ratings are not doing very well, there’s a YOY decline in 20 of the last 22 weeks. They need to get the title off MJF if he’s just gonna fuck around hurt with dudes in devil masks, and as much as some people might like the tournament, it appears to be doing more harm than good in terms of retaining the audience. Get the title on Swerve and figure out a hot feud for him ASAP.

I don't think that's true. An argument can be made that it hasn't made a significant difference on the positive side because every trend for the quarter hours has mostly stayed the same, but the CC matches do gain a little more viewers or lose a little less than the segments or matches that used to take place before the tourney. In the case of Collision it has actually reversed the trend of main events always losing viewers too (at least the ones that have Danielson in them).

I also think the difference year to year isn't that significant either. At the end of the day, it's pretty natural for a company that has been cold for the past 18 months to have worse ratings than before.

[strobogo]

7 hours ago, Jmare007 said:

Swerve has such a momentum that he completely eclipsed Joe's. I never though MJF would lose the strap in his hometown but Joe was looking like a good stop gap before Swerve could get it.

Now it feels like they shouldn't go past early February without Swerve becoming champ.

Joe's momentum has really been impacted by his outside work and the length of the devil shit. It is what it is, but I really wouldn't have expected MJF to drop the belt to him regardless, and especially not in LI. Swerve is the most clearly has next guy since Hanger's peak.

[MoS]

Yeah, they absolutely have to put the belt on Swerve no later than the first PPV of 2024. He will be a babyface by then just by sheer popularity. Babyface Swerve v. heel Starks would be money

[The Man in Blak]

14 hours ago, strobogo said:

Every crowd is on his side even with the darkly heel shit he did with Hanger. Swerve is who the people want.

I don’t know if it was intentional (though I’m pretty sure it wasn’t), but Page was such an herb in that feud with Swerve that the fans almost had no choice but to root for him to get his ass beat.

What’s worse is that he could have capitalized on that and become the Bret to Swerve’s Austin — he could have taken the fans cheering Swerve as his “Cane Dewey” moment and ran with it — but that would have required TK to book something that actually elevates both guys involved in a program. (And it’s probably an open question of whether Page can reach that register anyway.)

[The Thread Killer]

I agree. I don’t think Hangman Page has the promo chops to pull that off. Then again, he does come across as naturally unlikeable and kind of whiny. If they leaned into that they could really do something with it. Every time I think about his so-called “acting” abilities I am reminded of that ridiculous angle they did with him where he was constantly walking around with a glass of booze in his hand, crying.