DYNAMITE!- 1/4/2023!

[Casey]

7 minutes ago, Log said:

Oh, I'm excited for Mercedes in AEW. I think she'd be an amazing signing on multiple levels.

I just think having her debut like this would be underwhelming. Maybe its just because I have no clue what anyone sees in Saraya and I don't think Mone should be associated with her?

FWIW, Meltzer is saying she's not coming to AEW because she doesn't want a long term contract and someone in the match told him she's not in it.

On the other end, you've got some Steven Muehlhausen from DAZN (who had details about Brawl Out) and SRS saying she's coming. And then Fightful's article on the entire Storm/Saraya/Shida segment last night had a blurb at the bottom that said something like "In unrelated news, Mercedes Mone debuted at WrestleKingdom, attacking KAIRI".

EDIT: And to add another example to the whole "these journalists have conflicting reports" thing, SRS said the Young Bucks are negotiating new contracts. Meltzer says they haven't started yet.

Edited January 5, 2023 by Casey

[porksweats]

8 minutes ago, Log said:

Oh, I'm excited for Mercedes in AEW. I think she'd be an amazing signing on multiple levels.

I just think having her debut like this would be underwhelming. Maybe its just because I have no clue what anyone sees in Saraya and I don't think Mone should be associated with her?

I agree, Mone may be Money but Saraya is a 22 when you need 21.

[Greggulator]

I hated the Saraya/Toni/Shida segment so much. 

Saraya literally turned her back on Shida and started making plans with Toni. And Shida showed anger at being disrespected like that. And it is completely justified.

I think it was in Foley’s book (via Michael Hayes) that a heel/villain always has to feel that he/she is justified in their actions, no matter how diabolical they are. But that is different than having an actual justification. If you have an actual justification, then you earn sympathy and people want to see you overcome your struggle.

This is textbook bad e-feeding. Tony and many e-fed heads in time immortal (myself included) like to have a motivation to explain why someone has shifted allegiances. But having a reasonable motivation is not what you want in this segment.

It would have been better if Saraya explained her motivations better. She should have talked up both women, but then added that she had to go with Toni because of her extra physicality and she wants revenge for her face injury and even perhaps the lasting damage from when she was roommates with Jamie Hayter and the damaged credit score that comes with having a lingering utility bill in your name. Then she apologizes to Shida, and asks her to please help them strategize a way to take out both Britt and Jamie as part of the team. And only then does Shida turn because of her jealousy. 

Or, even simpler, just have Saraya announce it is going to be Toni Storm without Shida next to them. Or if you do Shida has to act like she understands and is fine with the decision but is clearly seething inside, but that might be outside of her acting range. 

Either way - awful job… as it currently looks.

Britt and Jamie come off as much more likable in this to me. Britt sort of gave a face promo with this, putting over the rest of the roster but touting her and Jamie as home grown stars. Jamie almost always comes off as a face because she is a badass.

Shida aligning herself with Britt and Jamie in a “been here and established this place” alliance and sick of Saraya big timing people off of the segment we saw works. And then it also lets Saraya bring in someone else from the outside to even the score. That could possibly be The Boss. But if she holds out, it could be a turned Ruby Soho. Or maybe a wildcard like Naomi or somebody else the WWE cut I am forgetting. 

As of now, though…. that story arc is a mess.

On the other really great note: I loved Swerve vs. AJ. Swerve just reeks of stardom every week. I loved that he had a heel remix of his theme. He looks so perfect leading a stable with minions (and also did with Hit Row.) He is an outstanding heel. He is the coolest cat in the room, he knows it, and he wants what is his and will stop at no lengths to get it. He is like a male Britt in that he has such a great ability to always find the camera at the right moment. His stuff looks vicious and he also has a style unlike anyone else, and it really stands out.

You could absolutely anchor a main event scene around Swerve. Imagine him instead of MJF as the World Champion right now? I really want to see him versus Ricky Starks, too.

Ironman matches are my favorite gimmick matches. By far. I am such a fan of them. They allow for such great storytelling within a match. You can tell Bryan absolutely asked for that match and has the wheels turning already about how MJF will sneak out the victory. The whole “you have to beat everyone” thing is silly but it will at least give us cool DB matches. I really want Nick Gage and Juvi to return!

[eikerir]

The delivery ruined it, when Saraya turned her back on Shida and just started giggling with Toni like "omg i have soooooo many plans for this match tehehehe" it was so cringy.

[Matt D]

Here goes.

• I only caught the finish of Jericho vs Starks, though I did see the entrances later. Starks' entrance was great. I think he should start with the tron and then with the sit down thing his tron has in it and then get up. It's different and I think it'd work with him. The bat shot was a great fake out. I think I wanted just a little more physical excitement to capture the pinfall maybe? This is the start of something and not the finish so it's probably ok it wasn't there though. Post match was what it was. I liked Garcia stepping right on the burnt face of Andretti though.
• Mox starting to say what he had to say the same way a couple of times showed some of the strings but once he got going he was so into it that you really didn't care one bit. Hopefully there's no blowback on the F-bombs. At least it wasn't next week when the execs are there.
• Absolutely loved the tag title match and honestly, I thought Jarrett was incredible in it, especially how he showed ass. I thought they'd protect him a little more, especially after Lethal got hit by the Timbers, but no, Jarrett took it too. He also helped to make every interaction with Caster electric. This I saw live and it was amazing when they got back from the PiP to the sound of the chants when you had no idea it was happening during the commercials. Finish had me worried for Gordi for a minute til they did the Dusty but it was great because 1.) the refs had a reason to be out there! and 2.) I'm perfectly ok with Aubrey getting ONE pop. Jarrett pushing her back was some pretty big heatseeking too. (And yes, Bowens looked amazing the whole match). Only thing is that Satnam really should have resisted leaving more before they called the other refs out.
• I wish Danielson vs Nese got another 2-3 minutes but they worked it in such a way that it made totally logical sense why it didn't at every point. Nese was such a great stooge in this, especially when he missed the knee in the corner and careened all around the ring. Woods is becoming more of a goof (his natural personality) every week with his antics on the outside. I think they could have done at least one sequence where they really, really went but ultimately this dodged the Punk issue where sometimes he'd probably give just a little too much to certain wrestlers (which they did acknowledge in the MJF angle to be fair) in the name of having a better match. And that's ok, and even good sometimes but not in Seattle and not against Nese. It was still pretty electric. Post match promo didn't work for me because MJF's mom is a huge babyface! It'd be like insulting Trent's mom randomly or something. If a crowd is smart enough to know who Nick Wayne is, they're smart enough to know MJF's mom shows up with anti-MJF signs every time they go to Long Island. While I am less excited for Danielson vs Takeshita than I was for Danielson vs Nese, January being the Month of Danielson is good in my book.
• Match 8 of 9: Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs Nick Bockwinkel 3/24/84 AJPW: This was another really good one, driven by the fact that Bockwinkel, as the challenger, controlled a lot of it. That meant headlocks to begin, but the best headlocks imaginable. When it seemed like Jumbo might get out, a hairpull, when Jumbo overcame that, he hit a drop toehold and really locked in a deep scissored toehold. When the fans would chant for Jumbo, Bock would grind it more and Jumbo would sell huge. When Jumbo turned over his own headlock out of it, Bock was able to turn it around for a shinbreaker and a leglock. When Jumbo made it to the ropes, Bock switched to attacking the leg and starting a king of the mountain. I just love that from a narrative perspective. Bock put him in trouble and Jumbo worked so hard to get out only to get immediately stymied by something else and the work began anew.
  
  Anyway, Jumbo fought his way back in and even got the jumping knee, but Bock was basically fresh and got out at one. From there, Jumbo was just trying to contain Bock, and he couldn't do it. Bock floated over and started going for the figure four. This was real Clash of Titans stuff, with Jumbo pressing his arms up to try to prevent the leg from dropping down. Bock eventually got it though. Just amazing overhead visuals on this struggle and then the hold. Jumbo made it to the ropes and Bock started slamming his leg against the apron brutally. Back in the ring, Jumbo comes back with a leg caught enzuigiri to a huge pop and he's back in the fight. Butterfly suplex, two count. Pile driver, two count.
  
  The leg selling is gone by the way which is a shame. Jumbo could have used it to let Bock take back over, for instance. Instead, Bock just fights from underneath, hitting a pile driver of his own. What I love is that before he picks him up for it, he just turns his head ever so slightly to take in the crowd; he's always so in the moment. It's a tiny thing but it's everpresent in his work. They crash into each other and then do a double punch (Bock hits a belly to back out of a headlock in the middle). Bock tries for another King of the Mountain but Jumbo storms in with chops. This is pissed off angry proto-Gladiator Jumbo, a very different entity than a few years earlier even if he wasn't who he'd be a few years later. Bock knows he's in trouble, so he tosses him into the ref and hits a belt shot on the outside. Jumbo recovers though, charging in, tossing Bock out, and going for belt shots of his own. When the ref gets in the way, Jumbo nails him too, the seed of violence already taking root. Post match, they brawl repeatedly with people trying to separate them, Bock gets big cheers from the crowd, and Jumbo cuts a promo about defending in the US. He had defended against Lanza, Robinson, and Brunzell the first round and in the second, he'd even face Baron Von Raschke (We don't have that one unfortunately), before falling to Martel. I really liked these two Bock-As-Challenger matches, though I probably liked the last one a bit more. This one had the first inklings of really violent Jumbo though.
  Spoiler

   

   

• AR Fox vs Swerve was good. A little dancey at times, of course. I love the way Swerve moves around the ring when he's selling, even if I don't like his sequences. I like a lot of the things he does on offense when he's on control. I especially like his use of negative space. He's really good at acting and reacting after a move, whether it's flopping around the ring after taking something or the bow he did during the commercial break. Fox has such clever ideas for cutters, but he uses them like armdrags. Sometimes it sort of works because he's hitting them from positions where there would be less impact (kneeling or keeling) but when you have guys who use them as either transition moves (Moxley) or finishers (Lethal/Marshall) or just really big exclamation point moves (Sammy), I don't love that. Swerve knowing to just stare out into the crowd and let everything sink in before he hit the stomp was excellent. Crowd had a hard time here since they did get into Fox's comeback but wanted to root for Swerve overall. Only time in the night where they seemed a bit off. (Oh and the German suplex counter was amazing, just saying)
• I thought Red Velvet was excellent taking all of Skye and Hogan's stuff in the early going of the tag. Jade felt like a star for the first time in weeks. The crowd popped huge whenever she came in and she was just dominant. I don't think it made Velvet particularly good to get basically no offense but the story is that her heart wasn't in it and she got sort of a moral victory by walking away, even though it didn't matter. Not to give Gregg too much credit, but the tiny gaps in logic there does sort of lean into the whole e-fed stuff. You're moving the pieces where you need to get them but some of the detail work contradicts itself or causes issues. I hope Skye gets some real time with Jade, but you watch the tag and wonder why she's getting a shot, basically.
• Main event was pretty awesome. Darby's attack early, and then the way Joe took over offense by catching him and crushing him on the stairs. Then the finishing stretch with the Sting Up and all of the choke attempts. In retrospect, I would have had him hit a coffin drop off of each corner, maybe, and the place would have come even more unglued (and it would have protected Joe just a bit more) but otherwise, this was great. My favorite bit was Joe's struggle in the corner when Darby was trying to pull him out of it.

[Chaos]

It may have just been my headspace last night, but I found last night to be a kind of there episode of Dynamite episode last night.

Positives 

• The crowd was incredible and elevated the episode in a lot of ways, and they deserve a lot of kudos for that.
• Ricky Starks is just a huge star in the making. I loved the showboat-style old school spot.
• I thought Hangman brought the appropriate amount of fire once he got face to face with Moxley.
• Max Caster's promo was just fantastic.
• The Britt/Hayter promo I thought was solid. It does kind of continue the trope of originals vs interlopers and you do wait the moment that Britt turns on Hayter (I'm guessing we're heading that way for Revolution).
• The early part of MJF/Danielson was really good
• The DVD onto the apron was a pretty gnarly if ill advised spot in Fox/Swerve.
• That was probably the right finish in Darby/Joe given the setting and the build and the post-match moment with Sting; however, I kind of prefer Darby in the weird special attraction gimmick tag match role he's been in over the last year or so. I'm just not completely sold on him.

Negatives

• I found the closing few minutes of Jericho/Starks to be a bit clunky. I don't love the overlong submission selling spot. It has worked for me in the past, but it's extremely rare. (I am a low voter on HBK/Angle at Mania 21 for this reason and think their Vengeance match is the better of the two). The false finish with the bat spot is great for a live pop, but kind of doesn't work in that sequence for me.
• Overall, I wasn't into the in-ring work outside of popping for certain moments, which is fine because I think next week has potential to be an all-timer on paper.
• The MJF/Danielson promo ended up going too long and it lost its steam as a result. I think it was a sign of the biggest network interference from Warner as well because I think it was kind of pulling the WWE, talking segments always rate better than wrestling segments, schtick that we've heard forever, and I know some numbers will back that up.
• I was kind of indifferent to the Dusty-lite finish. The Acclaimed is the best organic act that Khan has developed in AEW, and I get there are some bells and whistles with that. I think they could use a little less chicanery in the finishes.
• Jade is a total star, but I'm not totally into the streak bit right now. I get they're protecting her, but I'm definitely ready to have that real WOW stretch with her. I know they're in a rock and a hard place in that they probably should unify both women's titles, but that's tough to do because Jade is definitely final boss tier with how she's been presented. I'm curious to see what 2023 looks like for her. 

[S.K.o.S.]

Saw a take that Jericho is on a losing streak so that each of his individual losses will be less meaningful and he'll keep himself as over as possible, which I guess is proof that people will try to spin absolutely anything.

Put me down for Toni actually being Saraya's partner. People don't want to believe it because it's a letdown, but if Tony had Mercedes, I can't imagine why he'd play it like this instead of just saying they have Mercedes.

[Matt D]

2 minutes ago, S.K.o.S. said:

Put me down for Toni actually being Saraya's partner. People don't want to believe it because it's a letdown, but if Tony had Mercedes, I can't imagine why he'd play it like this instead of just saying they have Mercedes.

I think Tony loves the idea that they sold out the United Center "on a rumor."

[just drew]

I'm still 100% convinced Mercedes is coming to AEW. I am now less convinced she'll be involved in the match next week.

[S.K.o.S.]

I guess it's possible she could run in during the match, or show up right after the match like she did at WK, or something... but look, here I am already trying to talk myself into it again.

[Doc Townsend]

I would probably have stick with the show if i’d

26 minutes ago, Matt D said:

 

• Match 8 of 9: Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs Nick Bockwinkel 3/24/84 AJPW: This was another really good one, driven by the fact that Bockwinkel, as the challenger, controlled a lot of it. That meant headlocks to begin, but the best headlocks imaginable. When it seemed like Jumbo might get out, a hairpull, when Jumbo overcame that, he hit a drop toehold and really locked in a deep scissored toehold. When the fans would chant for Jumbo, Bock would grind it more and Jumbo would sell huge. When Jumbo turned over his own headlock out of it, Bock was able to turn it around for a shinbreaker and a leglock. When Jumbo made it to the ropes, Bock switched to attacking the leg and starting a king of the mountain. I just love that from a narrative perspective. Bock put him in trouble and Jumbo worked so hard to get out only to get immediately stymied by something else and the work began anew.
  
  Anyway, Jumbo fought his way back in and even got the jumping knee, but Bock was basically fresh and got out at one. From there, Jumbo was just trying to contain Bock, and he couldn't do it. Bock floated over and started going for the figure four. This was real Clash of Titans stuff, with Jumbo pressing his arms up to try to prevent the leg from dropping down. Bock eventually got it though. Just amazing overhead visuals on this struggle and then the hold. Jumbo made it to the ropes and Bock started slamming his leg against the apron brutally. Back in the ring, Jumbo comes back with a leg caught enzuigiri to a huge pop and he's back in the fight. Butterfly suplex, two count. Pile driver, two count.
  
  The leg selling is gone by the way which is a shame. Jumbo could have used it to let Bock take back over, for instance. Instead, Bock just fights from underneath, hitting a pile driver of his own. What I love is that before he picks him up for it, he just turns his head ever so slightly to take in the crowd; he's always so in the moment. It's a tiny thing but it's everpresent in his work. They crash into each other and then do a double punch (Bock hits a belly to back out of a headlock in the middle). Bock tries for another King of the Mountain but Jumbo storms in with chops. This is pissed off angry proto-Gladiator Jumbo, a very different entity than a few years earlier even if he wasn't who he'd be a few years later. Bock knows he's in trouble, so he tosses him into the ref and hits a belt shot on the outside. Jumbo recovers though, charging in, tossing Bock out, and going for belt shots of his own. When the ref gets in the way, Jumbo nails him too, the seed of violence already taking root. Post match, they brawl repeatedly with people trying to separate them, Bock gets big cheers from the crowd, and Jumbo cuts a promo about defending in the US. He had defended against Lanza, Robinson, and Brunzell the first round and in the second, he'd even face Baron Von Raschke (We don't have that one unfortunately), before falling to Martel. I really liked these two Bock-As-Challenger matches, though I probably liked the last one a bit more. This one had the first inklings of really violent Jumbo though.
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• it.

I would probably have stuck with the show if I’d known Bock and Jumbo Tsuruta were on it.  

[punkenhead]

So, AEW and NJPW have a working relationship. Why not have a small group of NJPW wrestlers front row next week (including Mercedes)? You could work it one of two ways. Either Toni Storm gets attacked at the beginning of the show and Saraya asks Mercedes to fill in on short (no) notice, or Saraya and Storm get attacked during the match by Shida, Hayter, and Baker. Then, Mercedes runs in to help make the save. 

On an unrelated note, I would like to second the comment someone else made about signing Billie Starkz. There is no downside at all to giving her a Nick Wayne contract, and there is a huge upside. She is legit. 

[just drew]

23 minutes ago, S.K.o.S. said:

I guess it's possible she could run in during the match, or show up right after the match like she did at WK, or something... but look, here I am already trying to talk myself into it again.

The smoking gun to me is Britt Baker making the "boss" comment. Why let that air if there's no payoff? What I could see happening is Mercedes showing up and saying she took offense to that remark. She wasn't going to get involved and then some other "lesser than" called themself "the boss." "There's one boss in wrestling, and it's Sasha Monet Mercedes Varnado Disney. "

 

Also, at this point, I'm taking SRS's word over Meltzer's as it pertains to backstage stuff. I think its overwhelmingly likely Mercedes is ALL ELITE, either by next week or sometime in the next month.

Edited January 5, 2023 by just drew

[Infinit]

Guys...we have 2 hours of live TV before the next Dynamite. Lots of time for things to happen between Shida/Storm/Saraya.

[Andrew POE!]

I may be in the minority on this but I really don't want Mercedes Mone / Sasha Banks to even go to AEW. After AEW's past handling of the women's division and a lot of Sasha's bone of contention about WWE's booking which lead to her walk-out, it would be two steps backwards for her to be in AEW. Toni Storm did end up being AEW women's champion (which is a plus) but the rest of the division (save for Athena with certain wrestlers, definitely Britt Baker, and most certainly Jamie Hayter) aren't even at Banks' level as wrestlers. It would be cool to see Banks wrestle Shida or Riho (if Riho ever comes back) or Toni Storm or Baker, but I shudder to see her in the ring with Tay Melo and Marina Shafir. Not to mention Saraya wrestling Sasha Banks again since Banks was involved with Saraya having to retire for the first time in the first place.

I really hope Banks' current run in NJPW will lead to her going back to WWE if WWE is serious about having storylines that make sense for the women's division.

Edited January 5, 2023 by Andrew POE!

[Zakk_Sabbath]

5 minutes ago, Andrew POE! said:

may be in the minority on this but I really don't want Mercedes Mone / Sasha Banks to even go to AEW. After AEW's past handling of the women's division and a lot of Sasha's bone of contention about WWE's booking which lead to her walk-out, it would be two steps backwards for her to be in AEW

I'll respectfully disagree - I think she's just the right person to bring the division to the next level, just like Britt and Shida did during the pandemic. I look at it like she's the lady version of Mox: she's coming to wrestle the way she thinks wrestling ought to be done, and will lift all the other boats by proxy.

[Matt D]

I'm pretty sure the lady version of Mox is Masha Slamovich.

[The Natural]

Bryan Danielson. The GOAT.

[AxB]

Swerve Strickland occasionally does a thing where he stops moving like a human being made of bones and muscles, and instead flows around the ring like a sentient liquid. And A R Fox is one of the few wrestlers in the world who can match that style when he does it.

Hikaru Shida was a professional actor before she got into wrestling, so the fact that she went to “Immediately annoyed” rather than “surprised, then angry but covering up with fake happiness” is probably a conscious choice rather than a lack of performance skill.

In the other Discord, before they said the mystery partner was Toni, someone guessed it would be a wrestler with the same name as a car. 
 

“Mercedes Martinez?” “Penelope Ford?” “MANAMI TOYOTA?!?!”

[YouHaveUntil5]

My big takeaway from the show is how well the TNT title has restored its relevance from the Sammy/Scorpio days, and even Wardlow’s run. It went from meandering to Joe making it important again and Darby winning it in his hometown and (presumably) having it with him at Muta’s last match. 
 

Also, MJF isn’t a great promo but they should probably stop having the roster say so when doing promos with him. While they think it’ll get him “you say you’re great and you’re not” heat, it’ll actually get him “everyone’s right, please go away because you suck” heat. 

[Cobra Commander]

You’d think that MJF wouldn’t have needed to show a clip of Seattle losing in the Super Bowl to get booed in Seattle against Washington state native Bryan Danielson but hey, there might still be some holdouts that’ll insist on cheering MJF, so run the score up a little.

[Zakk_Sabbath]

Though I'm a fan of both, I have to say it: the only thing I wasn't really in love with from this show was the MJF/Bryan promo. It went just a little bit too long for my personal taste, and idk if it was the new set or what, but the whole segment kinda made me feel like I was watching the other guys in Stamford for a few minutes - YMMV. Crowd definitely saved it, though.

[TheVileOne]

MJF doesn't even like his mom, making his mother a babyface. So Bryan Danielson trashing his mother and calling her a village bicycle wasn't cool.

[Web Conn]

So the man who I thought was Shang his name is Schaff watch Brian Cage vs Schaff it’s really good. 

The crowd was loud for the local guys. The Bollywood Boyz got a loud reaction throughout their match. Schaff got a loud response when he came out and got a “Defy” chant during his match.

Defy is the local indie out here. Swerve got a “Defy” chant too and he seemed taken aback by it in a good way. 

[Octopus]

I may be alone on this, but I love Iron Man matches. Very excited with the direction they are going. In theory, every week getting a (hopefully great) Danielson match up, maybe through in some hijinks, and end with a PPV main event. Yabba dabba doo!