Dynamite - 10/26/2022

[JLowe]

Loved the show minus the main event and the MJF segments, and yet all I'm doing is bitching about the things I didn't like.

Opening tag was a ton of fun and Jericho eats a clean pin (but gets the heat back after with the hilarious promo about a bat in the ring being cheating). Yuta was a fucking buzzsaw, Claudio was an athletic strongman and had that awesome "take out everyone ringside" sequence, Garcia worked in some sports entertainment sells, even Hager was entertaining AF. Claudio getting 3.5 rotations on that giant swing with Garcia on his shoulders was impressive. Having the immediate post-match backstage interview was a nice new touch.

I said above that FTR-SIOG is a sleeper MOTYC, far exceeded any expectations I had which were already high. Everyone had their working boots on. The closing run was so much fun, had a great build, and believable and exciting nearfalls (Lee not being flat on his back for the splash thus being able to kick out, Swerve pulling Cash after the amazing Big Rig, Dax rolling out of the ring from the imapct of the Pounce),. The ending, with Swerve and the Gunns cheating without Keith Lee being aware of what was going on, continued the SIOG dissent story and built the Gunns-FTR angle. I don't want the Acclaimed to lose the belts, but I could enjoy an angle where Keith Lee sees Swerve cheat, shrugs his shoulders, and turns monster heel.

Danielson-Sammy worked well because of how it was built, and because Danielson is so incredibly well-rounded. The opening with Sammy almost getting a flash win, followed by Danielson just taking him to the mat and slowly, methodically wearing him down. Sammy did all of his usual moves (there was no pop for him landing on his feet on the attempted superplex because he ALWAYS does that) but Danielson was ready for most of them, while having his own twists that Sammy wasn't prepared for. Sammy also embraced the stiffness.

Riho-Hayter was excellent as a sort of David-Goliath except that David is also a former champion. As I said, the announcers did a great job of explaining how a tiny Riho was a credible threat. Riho was also a great rag doll for Hayter's power, while Hayter was a great base for Riho's flying. I've seen a lot of people elsewhere complaining about it being too competitive, but I enjoyed the back and forth, and it's clear that AEW is taking its time with Hayter.

Main wasn't bad, I'm biased but Mox was not able to bring out the best in Penta who was on auto-pilot. I liked Penta going one too many times for his taunt and Mox using that to hit his finishers and get the pin.

To me, the MJF angle is a total mess, the best thing he had was being a true old school heel (even if his mic work are overrated) and even if this all ends up being a swerve, it's not particularly interesting to me.

[eikerir]

Damn, Yuta was on fucking fire tonight from being the most over guy in his match to the argument with Danielson after, really good stuff from him.

 

I LOVED Sammy/Dragon, it's a match I've been waiting for ages since Danielson has always played up his old man hate toward the Vlog. And with both guys loving a bit of recklessness you knew they were gonna have fun beating the shit out of each other. Great stuff and would happily watch them go at it again.

 

I'm sorry but I just can't get into Stokeley Hathaway at all, to me he downgraded Jade's act the moment he replaced the much more entertaining Smart Mark and I don't at all about his jobber stable. It was also a major downgrade for the Ass Boys who were being pretty entertaining on their own before joining him too.

[Greggulator]

Man, what a weird show. 

I really enjoyed/loved most of it. And like Lowe said - FTR vs. SITG was at a next level. They had so many awesome false finishes. I really didn't like Swerve as a face when he was introduced but he's a world beater as a heel. He plays a cocky prick fabulously well. He knows exactly when and how to gloat during matches and how to show worry and panic when the face gets back at him. I bet Dax and Cash are huge fans because he's a great foil. Keith Lee was also great in this. Awesome match with a good ending to finally get us FTR vs. The Ass Boys (I'm really excited for that) and The Acclaimed/SITG III. Would love if they made that a 2 out of 3 falls gimmick but no need to since those four are so good together. 

Jamie Hayter vs. Riho was also great. They are perfect dance partners. They both knew how to tell their side of the match - babyface with speed and a never-say-die mentality against the powerhouse technician with help on the outside. 

But man the MJF turn sucked. It's all so disjointed. They put no heat at all on The Firm. MJF hasn't used those guys at all aside from the ladder match. Just rushed and disjointed and they're missing 75% of the story for the story they want to tell. MJF trying to navigate how he wants to approach the match on his own is compelling enough. 

[Craig H]

10 hours ago, MoeCristyV.1.6 said:

We sadly lost the whole crowd that WCW had in the nineties. 

That's the crowd I want back so much if we could somehow guarantee no one is throwing piss, chew spit, or batteries in the ring.

[Matt D]

27 minutes ago, Greggulator said:

I really didn't like Swerve as a face when he was introduced but he's a world beater as a heel. He plays a cocky prick fabulously well. He knows exactly when and how to gloat during matches and how to show worry and panic when the face gets back at him.

I should have expounded further on this. Gregg is correct (a painful statement, let me tell you). I still would not necessarily call myself a fan of Swerve, but I enjoy him much more as a heel, in a scenario like this, than as a face putting together spot-laden singles matches. He's got a dozen contrived spots, but what he was doing here that very few others can do, was working the character in interesting, unique, consistent ways. How does the conniving, underhanded, opportunistic character of Swerve Strickland react to situation A? What about B? What about C? How is Keith Lee going to play off of that? What will FTR do in that situation? Etc. There's a way to play into that in promos and backstage segments and tweets or whatever, but it's so interesting when someone can organically slip it into what they do in the ring. You can go too far with it in the overwrought WWE style (think Edge the Opportunist), but if you can just tap into that vein for every action and every reaction when it makes sense, it's both rare and beautiful and also what every single wrestler should be doing. It should be the bare minimum and instead it becomes this sort of exceptional 5% of all wrestlers ever. So when I'm not quite as high as the last few minutes of the match, after everything broke down, as the rest of you, it's because I enjoyed the first few minutes of the match where Swerve was really able to act and react in ways that resonated and was less about getting the next spot in or the next nearfall in. I get that you sort of need both and it's harder for those things to breathe in a finishing stretch (low blow aside) but that's also why I prefer tag matches not to break down until right towards the end. Once the endless spots and counters and nearfalls start, most of the stuff I find interesting and exciting about the matches is over.

[Dog]

Jericho made a big deal in his promo about wanting to fight anyone who's held ANY title in ROH, which means his opponent next week will almost certainly NOT be a former ROH world champion. Start running down the TV, Pure, and tag lineages.

Edited October 27, 2022 by Dog

[John from Cincinnati]

Jericho said women's champions were fair game, but I know I'm foolish to hope Tony's stance has softened enough for us to get the Ocho vs Mercedes Martinez. 

Maybe if Jericho pitched it, but I have no reason to believe he would. 

[Zimbra]

5 minutes ago, Dog said:

Jericho made a big deal in his promo about wanting to fight anyone who's held ANY title in ROH, which means his opponent next week will almost certainly NOT be a former ROH world champion. Start running down the TV, Pure, and tag lineages.

Somebody on Twitter brought up that Ishii is in the states this weekend and not booked anywhere next week so that's my guess.

[porksweats]

8 minutes ago, Dog said:

Jericho made a big deal in his promo about wanting to fight anyone who's held ANY title in ROH, which means his opponent next week will almost certainly NOT be a former ROH world champion. Start running down the TV, Pure, and tag lineages.

Jericho vs Josh Woods baby

[John from Cincinnati]

2 minutes ago, porksweats said:

Jericho vs Josh Woods baby

Depends on if they keep it a mystery or announce ahead of time. I like Woods, but as a surprise it'd let the air out of the proceedings. 

[Go2Sleep]

MJF as face is super underrated, but I don't really like how they got there. They should've just run with him as a face when he came back. It's like inverse Roman Reigns where the crowds do nothing but cheer the guy, but the company insists on having him do/say more over-the-top shit that makes it obvious they're trying to manufacture the heel reaction they want, which creates the feedback loop of the crowd cheering even more because it they don't want to be told what to do. I hope the face turn sticks and MJF gets to the next level.

The biggest problem with Stokely is that his stable makes no sense. It's what, the 3rd or 4th Inner Circle archetype in the company's short history with aimless midcarders and one decent guy worth pushing? Stoke and Morrissey would be a good act, dragging Ethan/Ass Boys/Moriarty along for the ride holds it back. Stokely Enterprises should be him, Morrissey, and Jade. I understand stables are an easy way to utilize more of the roster, but sometimes you gotta realize where the real money is. It ain't Kiera Hogan or Ethan Page.

[Log]

16 hours ago, Jiji said:

He's been disappointing.

I think it's just as simple as him being "miscast" so far. He's a very funny guy who they have playing a deadly serious character right now.

[Craig H]

25 minutes ago, Go2Sleep said:

MJF as face is super underrated, but I don't really like how they got there. They should've just run with him as a face when he came back. It's like inverse Roman Reigns where the crowds do nothing but cheer the guy, but the company insists on having him do/say more over-the-top shit that makes it obvious they're trying to manufacture the heel reaction they want, which creates the feedback loop of the crowd cheering even more because it they don't want to be told what to do. I hope the face turn sticks and MJF gets to the next level.

The biggest problem with Stokely is that his stable makes no sense. It's what, the 3rd or 4th Inner Circle archetype in the company's short history with aimless midcarders and one decent guy worth pushing? Stoke and Morrissey would be a good act, dragging Ethan/Ass Boys/Moriarty along for the ride holds it back. Stokely Enterprises should be him, Morrissey, and Jade. I understand stables are an easy way to utilize more of the roster, but sometimes you gotta realize where the real money is. It ain't Kiera Hogan or Ethan Page.

Ethan Page is good. He has all the tools to be a top talent, but he needs a consistent push. Either that, or he needs the crowd to organically start getting behind him like they did with Hayter.

It's worth repeating that while it sucks that Kris is out for another year, Hayter is right there to pick up the slack and she's awesome. There's something to Hayter that goes beyond her in ring work. She has this charisma to her and confidence to her that so many lack. She's outstanding.

[Jiji]

I feel like Page thinks he's a main event calibre guy but I don't see it. He's an above average promo and wrestler whose gimmick everywhere he goes is that he's criminally misused and underrated. Hmmmm. How many times can you cut the same intense promo with the glasses and then take them off to reveal super intense eyes? He does it every time now that he's not in troll mode. 

[J.T.]

I am torn.  I want The Acclaimed to have a healthy title run, but the freshness date of FTR holding all of the belts is long past due and it is something that really needs to happen if the AEW belts are to resist compartmentalization.  I was not terribly happy with SIOG going over, but I will be cool with it if The Acclaimed retain and add to their legacy.   If FTR had beaten Swerve and Lee last night, I'd be pulling for FTR in the title match.

So Jamie Hayter finally got her win back against Riho.  Match was kinda eh, but we'll let that slide if Storm vs. Hayter is a banger.

[Phil Schneider]

I am also not an Ethan Page guy, but I think it is pretty clear he is the guy that is going to be getting the push out of that stable. Morrisey is muscle, Page is the guy they see as a money player

[Craig H]

I do think Oyaji hit on something important, which is that Ethan Page himself needs to take some initiative and change shit up. The thing that is probably holding him back the most is that he's been doing the same shit for years now. I think it's often a weakness rather than a strength, but at least WWE would force him to change it up. I don't know if there's anyone pushing for that in AEW. Obviously, Jericho should be that person to sit down and talk with Page about the need to reinvent himself or at least not stick with the same shit over and over again.

[Go2Sleep]

Is he? Morrissey is the one getting the featured spots, like being last in the intro promo, last to come out, puts the finishing touches on all the beatdowns, etc. Compared to how Satnam and Hager are used, he is much more prominent in his group. Ethan strikes me more as pinnacle Shawn Spears.

[Infinit]

14 hours ago, MoeCristyV.1.6 said:

We sadly lost the whole crowd that WCW had in the nineties. 

It really depends on location. We were pretty hot for everything at the Toronto shows 

[Infinit]

16 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Any guesses as to which former ROH champion will be Jericho's opponent next week? Will it be Claudio? I'd like to see Jericho defend the title at Full Gear. Imagine the pop say, Homicide would get from the North Jersey/NYC crowd. 

Nigel?

[DEAN]

While watching the International Feed just now, a few things hit me: 1.) The Sammy/Dragon match was the best match of the night, because it was The VVitch, a slow build that got more intense as it reached the finish, while the FTR/SIOG match was more jump scares with the nearfalls freaking the crowd out.  2.)  Sammy Guevara is the King of Virginia because I think this was his first 4 1/2 star match (which happened in Virginia) and his other match in Virginia was a 4 star match against a debuting Jay Lethal.  There was no International Feed last week because the guy who loads these up to the Ransomware Chinese Site must have forgotten that it was on Tuesday, but I notice the commetariat fully embraces the picture in picture stuff as a reason to basically do AEW DARK commentary, which is awesome.  Schiavonne actually said, "I love this PIP stuff."

[Pete]

3 hours ago, Zimbra said:

Somebody on Twitter brought up that Ishii is in the states this weekend and not booked anywhere next week so that's my guess.

He is. 

Spoiler

And probably has a bit of a chip on his shoulder after losing to Narita in the TV title tournament.

Shingo (former ROH tag champ) is also in the country this weekend but I don't know if he's sticking around until next week.

Jericho vs Dan Maff in Newark would be pretty damn hot. Just saying.

[Dog]

12 minutes ago, Infinit said:

Nigel?

Nigel was world champ. Also probably not in fighting condition at this exact moment.

[DEAN]

How was Kenny Omega never ROH champion?

[zendragon]

4 hours ago, Dog said:

Jericho made a big deal in his promo about wanting to fight anyone who's held ANY title in ROH, which means his opponent next week will almost certainly NOT be a former ROH world champion. Start running down the TV, Pure, and tag lineages.

I feel like Jericho is doing a real life "list" gimmick where ever week he checks off something cool he wants to do in wrestling. Really opens things up.

Also Renee is the best backstage interviewer by alot. Only one who actually interacts with the talent