AEW TV - February 21 - 24, 2024

[KawadaSmile]

On 2/24/2024 at 5:30 PM, DMJ said:

I think what puts him over the edge (yeah, yeah) is that unlike his kayfabe brother or Chris Jericho or Angle or some of his other contemporaries, he really has a low rate of cringe.

Yes. Absolutely. Christian knows how to ride the line of absurd professional wrestling bullshit like very few others. 

"What's the capital of Thailand? Bangkok!" *proceeds to hit his opponent in the balls*

Not something that should work. Ever.

 

15 hours ago, strobogo said:

Hook kinda sucks.

Samoa Joe made that man look like GOLD. Dude's been around for ages and hasn't progressed a single bit since doing short squash matches with Road Warrior Hawk no-selling spots. 

[C.S.]

5 hours ago, KawadaSmile said:

Dude's been around for ages and hasn't progressed a single bit since doing short squash matches with Road Warrior Hawk no-selling spots. 

Something about the AEW system is completely and utterly broken if you're a young wrestler.

Jade 

Pillman Jr.

Hook

They'd all be better off elsewhere if they want to actually improve. Two of them already are and are. 

[KawadaSmile]

Pillman Jr. was having actual matches unlike the other two. He's just not good.

[Migs]

I think the AEW fanbase appreciates a variety in their wrestling that tends toward someone like Hook or Jade getting over. But it's obviously a problem for developing workers who don't have experience to advance the meme status. Compare this to, say, Orange Cassidy, who everyone thought would flame out - turns out having years working indies in a variety of styles / characters allows you to have a sense of your character that lets them evolve. I don't yet see Hook evolving much, and Jade hasn't (we'll see if WWE can help her do it).

[KawadaSmile]

As for Jade, the presence is there, and she looked fine on Royal Rumble. I get not having her debut at an EC qualifier just to get pinned on a February PLE, as she very much looks like someone who will get big programs right after Wrestlemania. 

She will have way better dance partners overall, but with everyone else getting their storylines into place, she'd feel left out and that's the last thing you want with such a big acquisition.

[fxnj]

No impressions on Bryan/Akiyama?

I thought it was a big step-up from the Kingston/Akiyama cringe, mainly because they actually tried to work a real match instead of a bunch of masturbatory tribute spots. Still, it kind of started off on the wrong foot as far as getting over Akiyama to an unfamiliar audience. Like, there was a pretty big dissonance between hearing Kingston put over Akiyama's amateur wrestling accomplishments on commentary while Danielson just gobbled him up on the mat and ran through his usual stuff without much difficulty. Once they moved past that it become a pretty solid bomb throwing match with minimal fat. I don't care a whole lot about the Bryan/Kingston angle the match seems to have been put together to advance, but I get the feeling they could have a great match if they had a longer rematch on something like a big DDT show.

[MoS]

2 hours ago, fxnj said:

No impressions on Bryan/Akiyama?

I thought it was a big step-up from the Kingston/Akiyama cringe, mainly because they actually tried to work a real match instead of a bunch of masturbatory tribute spots. Still, it kind of started off on the wrong foot as far as getting over Akiyama to an unfamiliar audience. Like, there was a pretty big dissonance between hearing Kingston put over Akiyama's amateur wrestling accomplishments on commentary while Danielson just gobbled him up on the mat and ran through his usual stuff without much difficulty. Once they moved past that it become a pretty solid bomb throwing match with minimal fat. I don't care a whole lot about the Bryan/Kingston angle the match seems to have been put together to advance, but I get the feeling they could have a great match if they had a longer rematch on something like a big DDT show.

Paging @Matt D

Unlike you, I am extremely invested in the Bryan/Kingston angle, so I enjoyed the match a lot more than you did. I didn't mind Danielson getting the better of the mat exchanges, since Jun's age was pointed out, and Danielson has consistently been sold as the best technical wrestler of this generation, and maybe of all-time, and he wrestles like that. 

I have generally enjoyed pretty much everything about 2024 AEW, except for the Jericho and Callis bullshit - the YB gimmick I find cringe but they don't take up too much TV time. Plus, Dragon getting to tick off every item on his wishlist in his final year is something I am really loving. 

[Matt D]

8 hours ago, MoS said:

Paging @Matt D

Unlike you, I am extremely invested in the Bryan/Kingston angle, so I enjoyed the match a lot more than you did. I didn't mind Danielson getting the better of the mat exchanges, since Jun's age was pointed out, and Danielson has consistently been sold as the best technical wrestler of this generation, and maybe of all-time, and he wrestles like that. 

I have generally enjoyed pretty much everything about 2024 AEW, except for the Jericho and Callis bullshit - the YB gimmick I find cringe but they don't take up too much TV time. Plus, Dragon getting to tick off every item on his wishlist in his final year is something I am really loving. 

I’m not going to be much help since my review mainly leans hard into the Danielson/Kingston stuff:

http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2024/02/aew-five-fingers-of-death-219-225.html?m=1

[Jmare007]

I thought it was a good TV match. I sometimes feel AEW commentary really fights against Danielson matches as they try to set up Nigel as a heel too much and the shit that's happening in the ring gets lost if you don't put enough attention.

Still, I came out of the match thinking the Nagata one was better.