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AEW TV - 11/15 - 11/21/2023 - Gears of War

Dolfan in NYC

By Dolfan in NYC
in ALL ELITE WRESTLING

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Zakk_Sabbath

Zakk_Sabbath

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, Cobra Commander said:

yeah i've been treating the Bucks as if they're heels for awhile but so far i'm not 100% convinced they'll actually pull the trigger and turn heel

what's the Bucks equivalent to Diesel saying he'll only slap hands with people wearing black gloves?

Probably something grossly modern in keeping with their schtick. "We're only too-sweeting the fans who bought the Funko pop dolls."

Actually, I have to say: for how meta and tongue-in-cheek insider-y as those guys can be, I find something very endearingly simple and concise about them turning (or teasing one) by simply kicking a guy in the nuts and saying they had more success when they broke the rules. It would not be an out of place or unjustifiable reason to turn in any era - dare I say, this is growth?

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Craig H

Craig H

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4 hours ago, Craig H said:

Btw, here’s how I really rate street fights: If Dusty were alive and on commentary would he be laughing his ass off to the point he couldn’t get a word out. If the answer is yes then it ruled.

 

2 hours ago, Infinit said:

 

See? Now THAT’S science.

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Craig H

Craig H

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Posted (edited)

And Swerve being the devil still makes the most sense and would be the least disappointing option out of ADAAAAAM, MJF, Wardlow, some new signing, Britt, KOR, anyone from the Kingdom, etc. 

Runner up being Starks. 

Edited by Craig H
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Zakk_Sabbath

Zakk_Sabbath

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1 hour ago, porksweats said:

I would

I won't go as far as to say that I would, but I wouldn't not. Here's why:

Spoiler

The big knocks on DZ for literally a decade now have been two things:

1) the overwhelming necessity for a change of scenery throughout nearly his entire WWE tenure. When he was hot in '11-'13ish  it was "Man, how great would it be for him to go to NJPW and get seasoned up" and when he later cooled off and became more of the Waltman/Kane gatekeeper guy around the time I last watched, it was because he was unfortunately became the living embodiment of "Same ol' shit" and their 50/50, 130x IC champ bullshit booking at the time. As a fan of his during that time period (I'm not ashamed to admit I was one of those making Curt Hennig and Shawn Michaels comparisons) I'm more curious than anything to see how he would fare in a different environment.

2) the other knock is that although he was doing some pretty cool shit in the ring purely in the vacuum of early '10s WWE, he's long been surpassed by younger talent. This one I do tend to agree with; however - and I'll use the word curious again - I'm curious to see how he adapts, if he can keep up physically, if he makes good decisions in the ring (especially without WWE-main-style agenting) if there's anything he's changed about his game.

Ultimately, if this turns out to be true, it's also an interesting test for the audience in a lot of ways; how long are the memories of fans who were going nuts when he cashed in that briefcase in Newark? How are the AEW faithful going to receive him? Do the rest of us watching remember the Dolph Ziggler: Internet Darling days, or is it a little bit more 'the crowd goes mild?' ala Zack Ryder at Daily's Place; maybe that's what Dolph needs more, is that Cardona super Indy run to really kind of discover or rediscover what his career is going to look like outside of the machine.

I'll say this: it's definitely a fucking gamble. A lot of the other ex-WWE debuts came as run-ins, surprise announcements, and that sort of thing. Unless I'm misremembering, this is the first time someone of that ilk would be used as a 'big reveal' to a months- long angle since Mr. Brodie Lee was finally shown to be the Exalted One. So to say it's high profile is an understatement.

I could see, and don't disagree, with the notion that this is indicative of further WWEification of AEW, but I'm going to reserve judgement as someone who was calling for an NJPWification of Dolph 10 years ago pre AEW.

 

Edited by Zakk_Sabbath
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zendragon

zendragon

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15 hours ago, GuerrillaMonsoon said:

 

I hold out unrealistic hope that Punk is the devil (Wardlow almost certainly one of the masked guys during the Acclaimed beatdown). Assuming it'll be Britt Baker though. Although a Tony Khan reveal with a huge announcement teased for Dynamite with just "It was me Max, it was me all along" sounds like a Funtastic Trainwreck.

 

Tony Khan being The Devil to get the title off Max before "The Bidding War of 2024" would make a sort of sence but I don't think TK wants to be seen a  heel

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JLowe

JLowe

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4 hours ago, Octopus said:

On top of that, a month or so ago it was the feud loudest reaction and it’s not leading to a PPV match. The heat from Takeshita beating Omega and Hobbs beating Jericho and the once Omega can’t win without Callis (which got pitched so he could beat Fletcher so he could lose to MJF) all is swept away or put on back burners for a JeriMega super team put on the line against the Bucks for a return of Elite in-fighting. 

 

That’s why Callis is going to interfere so the Jets have to break up and the Bucks get all the Callis Family heel heat while Takeshita and Fletcher and Hobbs get buried.

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zendragon

zendragon

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6 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

I've read some people mentioning how they found it peculiar that Hangman was bringing up Nana spending Swerve's money on weed last night. I guess some of the Swerve-verse stuff plays different if it's Swerve doing his own story lines. But it's also a bit of Swerve being 6 feet/220 and thinking he has to try hard to scare somebody.

I guess that home invasion was helpful because it means Hangman could cut a promo like that without it being an obvious heel promo.

One part of the whole angle that just gets glossed over... does Swerve Strickland just know where everybody lives and how to get into their houses?

It's 2023 everyone smokes week especially dudes from rural areas like Virgina

I feel like this Timeless Toni stuff is being booked to appeal to foot fetishes

Good on Big Paul for giving the rub to Hobbs even though that spot may have been ill advised  

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JLowe

JLowe

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I loved the opener. AEW has a bunch of 20-somethings getting a lot of push and action, in this case Wheeler Yuta (one of my guys) and Hook (who I think ate his first pin last night?). And then an ace like Moxley and OC coming off one of the hottest runs I’ve ever seen.

Hangman’s promo was fantastic and finally made me have interest in the program beyond knowing it will be a good, weird fight.

I liked that they let Red Velvet and Skye Blue have a lot of time, and they went hard and really got the crowd into it, even getting a “This is awesome” chant. Yeah, the end run was botchy but still a solid effort and Skye is another of the 20-somethings getting a lot of push and action. I think they said she’s wrestled more than anyone else in the company this year?

Not into the Miro angle. I can’t say I’ve ever been really into him.

Might have rushed the Storm-May interaction, but I suspect this is a way to get Timeless Toni her prize at her Hollywood showcase.

Joe-Cruz was more than a typical squash because Serpentico is an all-time stooge. That image of him turning his head and raising his arms mid-whiff is classic.

Did I mention The Bucks were pretty heavily booed in Philly? Three of my least faves and Komander, but I didn’t hate Penta in this (but I really hate his Slingblade) and he and Komander worked some cool double teams. Hopefully, The Bucks turning heel means they finally get away from their predictable match formula (more than just adding a Foul).

Gunns squash and yapping. Meh. Pretty Peter is going to be at a show at the 2300 Arena next month but the headliner match has Brian Kendrick. Tickets are only $10 though. I don’t know.

I hate when people wear normal gear to a Street Fight. Fletcher taking the big choke slam bump for Le Giant was nice. His bump for Hobbs was crazy and I don’t think the announcers/producers lingered enough on that feat of strength by Hobbs. The minute Cage was announced, you knew who was eating the pin. Ibushi was a negative in this match, other than the sick bumps. Fletcher was probably the star of the match, followed by Cage of all people (who was obviously going to eat the pin). I hate Street Fights where only one guy bleeds, although those plastic crates probably hurt a lot and were a nice touch. I think the announcers made a Real Glass joke about the bottles?

MJF with good mic work, Jay White with good mic work. They’re doing a good job of getting across that MJF has almost no friends because of all the things he’s done over his time in AEW.

I’ll have family in town so won’t be getting the PPV, but probably wouldn’t anyway.

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caley

caley

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I think you're all ignoring the obvious highlight of the night which is that while trying to very SERIOUSLY trying to describe the heated rivalry between Swerve and Hangman, Prince Nana's increasingly insane entrance dance routine (Now featuring little hops!) made Tazz and Excalibur laugh, then having to explain said laughing ("I'm not laughing, it's just that's how insane this is!"), then Excalibur completely forgetting what he was trying to say while trying not to laugh.

Runner-up to this was Adam Page talking about stealing Nana's weed which suddenly springs Nana into action: "YOU WILL NOT! YOU WILL NOT!"

The less said about almost everything else, the better.

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HarryArchieGus

HarryArchieGus

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Has anybody pitched Shawn Spears as our Masked Devil? There's a modicum of logic with this choice. He also meets realistic reveal expectations ranging from slightly to completely disappointing. My second choice is free agent Mustafa Ali reforming his less than effective (so I've heard) Retribution stable with Mercedes Martinez and 'Slapjack' on loan from New Japan. Truthfully, I know nothing more of Retribution than WWE show reviews heard on Observer radio, but for some reason I especially like this disappointing and middling choice. Christopher Daniels fufilling his Higher Power '99 destiny would be awesome too. MJF could wrestle he and Matt Sydal in a handicap match. Maybe Mike Sydal too.

 

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Shartnado

Shartnado

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Posted (edited)

Ok, where to begin with Dynamite?

HOOK getting his first legit pinfall loss and OC's trusty punch being ineffective against Mox put the faces in a true do or die situation. OC seemed to lose his confidence in an instant.

Swerve not getting a word in during the segment should have him pretty much explode on Hangman during the Texas Death Match (yay!), since Page kinda already got his revenge. Nana got off pretty easy, since he was walking out on his own.

Sky Blue vs Red Velvet was really entertaining until the ugly ending, but Blue is showing hundredfold more personality during her matches now, so that mist truly was a gift from Julia Hart. She might even win the title on the PPV.

Young Bucks cheat to get the advantage to win clean. Boo! The match was crazy. The PPV tag should be interesting. Should probably watch Omega/Page vs Bucks and Jericho/MJF vs Bucks before that one to see if there are any similarly in strategy?

The street fight had some good stuff but I fell asleep twice trying to get through in the evening and in the morning.

It's good that Adam Cole pointed out that Roddy could be "The Devil"? Does that take him out of the running...or not?

That Cruz guy in the Samoa Joe squash was super entertaining during every second of his short appearance.

MJF's promo was good, but White made some logical points as well. The thing is though, there's so many other people gunning for MJF's title AFTER Full Gear, that I don't like White's chances here!

Edited by Shartnado
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Shartnado

Shartnado

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21 hours ago, Log said:

If his stuff in AEW was my first exposure to Ibushi, I would be very confused as to why people think he's good. He just seems so lackadaisical with everything. I don't know if it's injuries or ring rust or what, but he has not looked impressive in any of his AEW appearances.

To be perfectly honest, the only other exposure I've had with Ibushi was the Cruiser Weight Classic and I found so many other people in that one much more impressive or interesting, so yeah...

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Just Dave

Just Dave

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16 hours ago, Zakk_Sabbath said:

I can certainly understand the POV of those who have not been missing the Elite 'melodrama' lately, but I'm of the opinion that it's warranted - one of the things sorely missing from the show IMO is having that one, overarching angle that everything else branches off of, like in the early days when everything was built around Hangman's eventual coronation. Unless those guys are somehow going to be shoe-horned into the MJF/Cole/BC issue, which is probably the current closest thing we have a 'main' story like Hangman's tale, I think this is actually probably the best use of the Elite.

Wait... is Kenny the devil?

I think the issue is that the overarching melodrama only works if you give a shit about the characters involved, and I question whether or not the appetite is there for a Kenny & the Jackson’s as Roman and the USO’s tribute. I think there was 4 years ago, tbh. Now it doesn’t really feel like the company is built around the Elite anymore. But, if it’s choosing between this or having them hold all the belts for another year+ and driving the show into another season of “pretense wasteland,” I’ll take this 10/10 times.

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