AEW TV - 10/10 - 10/17/2023 - Tuesday Night Wars

[Craig H]

Popeyes sucks.

The fancy supermarket that’s local around here (basically the equivalent of a Wegmans or Publix or Mariano’s) has way better fried chicken and fried things.

Honorable mention to the Chester’s Chicken we stopped at in southern Illinois after seeing the solar eclipse. It was either really good or just what we needed after sitting on the highway and getting nowhere for over an hour.

[JLowe]

1 hour ago, Cobra Commander said:

Would it make sense if MJF not having Cole around caused him to relapse into his pre-Cole mindset?

There is still a lot of “sowing the seeds of distrust” going on so I could see him starting to doubt and revert.

[JLowe]

1 hour ago, Craig H said:

Popeyes sucks.

The fancy supermarket that’s local around here (basically the equivalent of a Wegmans or Publix or Mariano’s) has way better fried chicken and fried things.

Honorable mention to the Chester’s Chicken we stopped at in southern Illinois after seeing the solar eclipse. It was either really good or just what we needed after sitting on the highway and getting nowhere for over an hour.

I’m sure fancy grocery stores are better but I had a friend years ago who worked a grocery store deli counter including the fried chicken area and they called it “the salmonella sack”

[Curt McGirt]

Goddammit don't you get me doubting my local County Market chicken! (I can vouch for Chester's being a former So. IL resident, btw)

The photo of TK from when the third pot of coffee and the fourth Adderall finally combined forces needs to be kept around for memes all the time.

[Elsalvajeloco]

3 hours ago, Craig H said:

Popeyes sucks.

The fancy supermarket that’s local around here (basically the equivalent of a Wegmans or Publix or Mariano’s) has way better fried chicken and fried things.

Honorable mention to the Chester’s Chicken we stopped at in southern Illinois after seeing the solar eclipse. It was either really good or just what we needed after sitting on the highway and getting nowhere for over an hour.

Here is where it's relative. Popeye's largely has been exploiting the barren rural wasteland of America where one of the only options is 2 or 3 Popeye's spread across a 15-45 mile radius. If you live within shouting distance of a decent sized city or travel extensively, it's likely not in your top 10 goto fast food spots or American cuisine restaurants. However, if you live in that wasteland like I did for many years, it's the gospel.

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

1 hour ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

Here is where it's relative. Popeye's largely has been exploiting the barren rural wasteland of America where one of the only options is 2 or 3 Popeye's spread across a 15-45 mile radius. If you live within shouting distance of a decent sized city or travel extensively, it's likely not in your top 10 goto fast food spots or American cuisine restaurants. However, if you live in that wasteland like I did for many years, it's the gospel.

There was a time when I would probably murder someone for a Bojangles biscuit.

[hammerva]

Eddie vs Suzuki on the pre show.  Man I need a cigarette after that war and I don't smoke 

And Rey Fenix vs Orange Cassidy now on the show

Edited October 10, 2023 by hammerva

[zendragon]

40 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

Goddammit don't you get me doubting my local County Market chicken! (I can vouch for Chester's being a former So. IL resident, btw)

The photo of TK from when the third pot of coffee and the fourth Adderall finally combined forces needs to be kept around for memes all the time.

Its never a good sign when you can see the white above the pupil...

[Craig H]

1 hour ago, Sparkleface said:

There was a time when I would probably murder someone for a Bojangles biscuit.

I’m always jealous of my friends who go out to NC for something just because all of them always hit up a Bojangles.

One friend said that the next time he visits family out there because he just drives straight through that he’d bring me a shitload of biscuits from there.

[Cobra Commander]

things I remember from this week's edition of Dynamite (I started typing this during the women's title match)

Noted humanitarian Christian Cage gave us 30 commercial free minutes tonight

They keep referring to Independence, MO like it was Wrestlemania just outside of NYC ("in the shadow of Kansas City")

Danielson takes a madman bump or two, and Danielson wins with a little help from Adam Page

Powerhouse Hobbs squashes Chris Jericho with all the tempo of a WWF TV match from the 1990s.

Adam Cole is doing chores for Roddy Strong who lives in a flophouse without TV

Wardlow squashes the former Evan Bourne, who I mixed up with his younger brother KC Indy Dude Mike Sydal

We got a new champ as Orange Cassidy wins his title back from Fenix. Late switch for Moxley as the magical and not at all sudden reign of Fenix ends.

Hangman and Jay White go through 2 commercial breaks and Jay White wins with a distraction rollup. Looks like we're getting more Hangman/Swerve.

Jay White and MJF talk forever. MJF asks politely for his belt back. Gets laughed at. A true lesson in international diplomacy. Then Juice Robinson steaks the Brian Alvarez idea at one of the worst possible moments for that idea (don't worry, the discourse over that will be annoying). At least Jay took the belt hostage *before* certain news. The whole "give my belt back" thing was basically the "Leave Town" "No" "I'll be your friend" scene from the Simpsons.

We got a new champ again as Shida beats Saraya. Toni Storm makes a live run-in to help out after she appeared on a few segments. Tony really loving on my home town with all these huge matches.

There's a Battle Royal next week.

Everybody's doing the Sammy sign gimmick with Sammy out.

MJF calls Adam Cole backstage. The Acclaimed wants to be MJF's friend but MJF isn't open for that yet.

Christian used the heel line that I posted earlier today! It didn't necessarily get heat.

Wonder if the amount of talking during the second half of the show will show up in the ratings (positively or negatively). I noticed more of the talking since I was running a slow update and not loudly playing music during this show.

Luchasaurus instantly kills TAFKA Edge. It's been 25 years, I can't stop calling him Edge this quickly. But you can't fool me Tony, I know there's a 10 minute overrun tonight. Luchasaurus manages to tombstone Edge without killing him! Luchasaurus needs a new name because he looks like a badass, and he's named like a cartoon character. "This crowd is... stunned" (that's one way to spin it, Ex). Tony is outraged at Christian's conduct. Schiavone is an excellent "what if a normal person were watching and reacting to this" announcer these days. He's so much better than the days when he was working 700 hours a week announcing every WCW show in 1998.

We're doing fucking picture in picture at 9:01 Central Daylight Time? Oh no... this feels like a bad ratings idea.

Gotta say that the arena looked larger than it is and it was filled up pretty well. Best Wrestling crowd in the world, clearly.

Edge/Luchasaurus is a boring combination of styles. Closing with this might have been a mistake. I wonder if the two Mahomes jersey fans know each other. They are in the same row. Edge is actually more interesting offensively than Luchasaurus.  Edge looks directly at the chair being setup and runs directly into it. What a fucking match. Double Big Boot. This match blows. I mean taste is subjective but this match blows ass. Neat looking Spear spot. We're at 9:10 guys, wrap it up. We're at 9:11. Young Sheldon fans are getting confused. If any match deserved to get cut off by TBS. Fuck just end this match already. Edge frames Christian for a belt shot and wins with the Spear. Hey it's Bryan Danielson getting beat down. How long is this overrum. We got chaos, finally.  I guess there is a battle royal next week, so. Danielson walks tall and the show finally ends.

I don't do match ratings but Edge/Luchasaurus was the 2023 Denver Broncos of matches. That match blows ass compared to almost everything else on this show.

Excited for tomorrow afternoon when the ratings tell us which show was better. I didn't watch any NXT.

[Curt McGirt]

CRAZY GRANDPA JONES~! vs. King was wrestling candy; I laughed and laughed. It's two of the stiffest and most emotive, intense wrestlers working butting up against each other like mountain goats. What else do you want? (Refs getting on wrestlers for small joint manipulation maybe, but still.)

Well well well. Dragon/Swerve was damn near immaculate. And from a Swerve match! Everything was totally logical, they threw in a brief bit of wrestling BS with the crown and Hungman just for a false finish, even the hanging off the top for the stomp looked like it made sense. Highest marks. 

Jericho getting fucking manhandled is exactly how that should've gone. 

Fenix flipping backward over the rail on an Irish whip was so simple yet so gnarly. Man, 4 for 4 on the matches so far (I'm doing this in real time tonight). Fenix's back was toast and they managed to underline that while working in 2x speed. The spinning DDT was there to remind you that Orange is a great luchador. 

First screw-up: not coming back to Toni on a live mic freaking out that her movie was cut off by the commercials. Second: the security guy eating shit going over the rail while trying to follow Wardlow 

Eh, all that work on the leg and they used the BS finish instead? Hangman should have fallen on his sword for being a dunce and not switching up his moveset At. All. Loss via single-leg crab or something. The Gold boys coming down like toddlers on Adult Big Wheels (which are actually a thing, apparently) was pretty good. Juicey Boy got the heat just starting to talk, then with the quarters, a good callback. The choice of doing it during the start of war in Gaza is a bit of a problematic choice, but Max likely said "even better". 

Not big on Saraya/Shida, and not big on Shida at all, but they wanted to switch the belts on Title Tuesday so, okay. Toni running with one heel was funny. So was her little movie showing up in the PnP again with NO explanation or recognition from anyone whatsoever haha...

The guy in the crowd right over Christian's shoulder broadly visually agreeing with what he said with nods and shrugs was really funny. The dinosaur not just stomping the shit out of Edge when the ref was checking him was really stupid. The rest of it went how it should have, though it would have been more fun for the dinosaur to win. But then again, the dinosaur is dumb, so... Danielson runs out so Mogul Embassy runs out so BCC runs out so TK can have his big cluster as a cherry on top of the evening. Happy Birthday Coach Tony! 

 

[(BP)]

Eddie vs Suzuki was exactly what one would expect, but Ex’s crack about JR and all of the post match stuff really elevated it for me. 

[JLowe]

4 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

CRAZY GRANDPA JONES~! vs. King was wrestling candy; I laughed and laughed. It's two of the stiffest and most emotive, intense wrestlers working butting up against each other like mountain goats. What else do you want? (Refs getting on wrestlers for small joint manipulation maybe, but still.)

Well well well. Dragon/Swerve was damn near immaculate. And from a Swerve match! Everything was totally logical, they threw in a brief bit of wrestling BS with the crown and Hungman just for a false finish, even the hanging off the top for the stomp looked like it made sense. Highest marks. 

Jericho getting fucking manhandled is exactly how that should've gone. 

Fenix flipping backward over the rail on an Irish whip was so simple yet so gnarly. Man, 4 for 4 on the matches so far (I'm doing this in real time tonight). Fenix's back was toast and they managed to underline that while working in 2x speed. The spinning DDT was there to remind you that Orange is a great luchador. 

First screw-up: not coming back to Toni on a live mic freaking out that her movie was cut off by the commercials. Second: the security guy eating shit going over the rail while trying to follow Wardlow 

Eh, all that work on the leg and they used the BS finish instead? Hangman should have fallen on his sword for being a dunce and not switching up his moveset At. All. Loss via single-leg crab or something. The Gold boys coming down like toddlers on Adult Big Wheels (which are actually a thing, apparently) was pretty good. Juicey Boy got the heat just starting to talk, then with the quarters, a good callback. The choice of doing it during the start of war in Gaza is a bit of a problematic choice, but Max likely said "even better". 

Not big on Saraya/Shida, and not big on Shida at all, but they wanted to switch the belts on Title Tuesday so, okay. Toni running with one heel was funny. So was her little movie showing up in the PnP again with NO explanation or recognition from anyone whatsoever haha...

The guy in the crowd right over Christian's shoulder broadly visually agreeing with what he said with nods and shrugs was really funny. The dinosaur not just stomping the shit out of Edge when the ref was checking him was really stupid. The rest of it went how it should have, though it would have been more fun for the dinosaur to win. But then again, the dinosaur is dumb, so... Danielson runs out so Mogul Embassy runs out so BCC runs out so TK can have his big cluster as a cherry on top of the evening. Happy Birthday Coach Tony! 

 

Pretty much all this. The Toni Storm gimmick has become #1 and the greatest and the only thing I really wanted was actual dialogue cards. BCG is turning into a modern day DX and I surprisingly am totally cool with it. Edge was bumping and selling a ton so props for that. Really great end segment building up the Friday and Saturday shows.

[Cobra Commander]

Just remembered how boring I found Edge vs AJ Styles from WM38. Edge/Finn also stunk a year later. So maybe i'm not gonna be a high voter for TAFKA Edge and I shouldn't be so cruel to a match that wasn't likely to be good. But that was not a good match.

[JLowe]

Also I really wish they had given the women’s belt to anyone but Shida. Not just because I don’t see the big deal with her, but also because all of her feuds are stale. Also why build up the fabulous Ms. Storm only to take away her revenge for the title?

[Cobra Commander]

I guess they had to do two changes because Fenix losing the belt was gonna be a little too obvious? Now, if they swing back around and put the belt back on Saraya in a few weeks then..

[Octopus]

Edge is now Cope

[Cobra Commander]

He's Canadian Adam, even if he probably lives in Florida.

So, how long until the 2 Roddy hangers-on align with the 3 Jay White hangers-on to form an elite faction of dudes hanging out with each other? Yeah I know those guys actually have names and are good and everything but..

[Gordi the former AEW fan]

Mad King vs Suzuki was The Second Best MiSu AEW Preshow Match, which is still extremely high praise. Obviously, I LOVED that.

Swerve vs Dragon was among the Top 100 Bryan Danielson AEW Matches. Also, still very high praise. Loved that one, too.

Orange and Shida both getting their belts back makes for two pleasant surprises on one show.

Hobbs crushing Jericho was an even bigger surprise! And hugely entertaining.

So I LOVED five outa the seven (edit: eight) matches we got here. That's pretty f'n good!

Wardlow: Just a Guy. Just a Squash. Poor Ole Evan Bourne. 

Blade vs Hanger and The New Toy Gets the Main Event vs Kaneasaurus were both kind of more sports entertainment-ish than I personally prefer, but top to bottom that was a very enjoyable two hours and forty minutes of the professional wrestling.

Taz called Luchasaurus a person. Kayfabe is dead. (single tear)

Edited October 11, 2023 by Gordlow

[Cobra Commander]

would it be almost a little too obvious for MJF/Jay White to build towards a ladder match or something in that spirit?

At least MJF is technically smarter than the normal babyface for realizing he couldn't fight off 4 dudes to get his belt back. But you have to do that right to not make him look ineffectual

[HarryArchieGus]

So relieved to find out the Timeless Toni sketch was a PiP thing. I sawr the whole thing on the International feed and wished for ratings death. I say that as a big fan of Toni. As a PiP thing, wha'ever.

[Cobra Commander]

having two simultaneous "PIP-only" gimmicks in the same show was a decision that was made..

I also guess that Hobbs/Jericho wasn't more of a squash than it was because they had an actual Wardlow squash on the card. I forget if they went Hobbs/Wardlow back to back. But if you're doing two hosses squashing guys, how long until they cross pathes in-between matches ala Diesel/Undertaker at Rumble 1996?

[evidence]

9 minutes ago, Gordlow said:

Taz called Luchasaurus a person. Kayfabe is dead. (single tear)

Now all I can think of is Luchasaurus eventually falling out with Christian Cage and having his version of the John Tenta "I'm not a shark, I'm not a fish, I'm a man" promo. 

[Belgian_Waffle]

maybe there would be less paranoia about young talent leaving if they didn't just job two of their most promising (also both POC) future top guys to a 42 year old with a broken arm.

the antidote to which was Hobbs destroying Jericho, though as someone else alluded to this was about as dynamic as Barbarian vs Snuka from Supertape vol. 3.

I'm glad the belt is off Fenix and I like Shida so I'm good with that too. Between these two and FTR it feels a bet chaotic/like we're in reset mode with these belts. Which is fine as long as we start to build from here. Maybe Saraya's unsavoury romantic association finally elicited enough heat that they decided to emergency take the belt off her? 

Fenix looked sloppier then usual tonight and I'm now fully convinced he will kill someone or himself in the ring one day. 

Jay White is a horrible professional wrestler, and maybe an even worse talker. As I put it last week, his philosophy of "the more I do the better it is" only works if your million gestures and taunts and idiosyncrasies and exaggerated selling and facials add up to something discernible. When it's all just density for density's sake you've created a situation where, even when you're on the defensive, you're only getting yourself over. This style of wrestling didn't exist before HBK btw. It's two great modern practitioners are Jay White and Will Ospreay. I'm not the biggest Hangman fan but he tried to keep this thing coherent but every time he started to build ti something (ie, selling the leg really well) he would just walk into the world's most bombastic uranage or a sideheadlock so White can make the guns up sign while applying a resthold. I do think Max will get a great match out of him, as he has a gift for stifling his opponents' worst tendencies. Also all those fuckin bumps and this match ended in a schoolboy. 

if they are seriously going to build up Wardlow all over again by devoting a year to him powerbombing guys to death I might be morbidly intrigued. He still gets great reactions. Maybe there's a second (third? fourth?) wind there. 

I got my wish and MJF and the Acclaimed are going to tag together and I couldn't be more excited. The Acclaimed are really at a point where they should be working singles as often (or more, in Bowens' case) as they do tags. They're certainly bigger than the trios titles already and it feels like a different trio would benefit more from those belts as giving them to the Acclaimed is just sort of giving them something to do since they're not tag champs. I hate to say it but teaming with Daddy Ass might be holding them back at this point too. It's too bad AEW doesn't have a big round robin Champions Carnival-style annual tournament where Bowens and Caster could pick up some singles wins and see how the crowd reacts. 

Wasn't super invested in Edge/Luchasaurus. Thought they worked fine together but since the finish was a foregone conclusion I would have had them go shorter and give Copeland way more offence. I love Danielson, I really love Christian, I have zero interest in more old guy vs old guy matches, at least not when they're both so established there's no lasting consequences in terms of who wins. Although I do wonder if Mustafa Ali is showing up given his relationship with Danielson, either to betray him and join Christian's group (especially since Luchasaurus is clearly turning face soon) or yo save Danielson from a beatdown. 

I love the Joe vignettes but I don't understand building him up for another title shot already. To me, an uneasy MJF/Joe alliance based around their handshake after Max cheated to choke him out would be a lot more interesting. 

Edited October 11, 2023 by Belgian_Waffle

[Cobra Commander]

8 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

Although “I’m a real champion, I don’t need the refs help to win” would be a pretty solid cheap heat line for any heel to use tonight

Sorry to Christian that the line didn't land as hard as it could have. But it was a good attempt at that line.

I forgot to consider that around Eastern Jackson County, we might be resistant to some cheap heat because we get the cheap heat from other parts of the metro.