AEW TV - 4/3 - 4/9/2024 - Takeshita The Long Way Home

[EVA]

1 hour ago, Jenalysis said:

 

I think that's the plan, with BCG going over.  Especially if Max is in the doghouse again.   BCG needs to move on to bigger things, and Jay needs singles gold somehow soon.

Based on the way that match was laid out, I’d think Jay was the one with heat.

And based on some cursory research, it seems like that might be the case, due to him expressing unhappiness with the MJF feud?

[EVA]

I have mixed feelings on the Best Friends situation. Like most people, I have, like, -1000% desire to see them break up. But I also don’t have any desire to see them run a break-up-to-make-up angle in a promotion where the Elite do that story, like, once a year.

So I guess I just hope they fully commit to it and that it works out for everybody. I thought Trent and Chuck were a lot of fun doing their “Dicks in Real Life” bit on BTE pre-AEW, so maybe they can recapture that magic.

[Curt McGirt]

52 minutes ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

You don't purchase a new belt design for a belt you're about to scrap

Tony though? I can see him doing that. Maybe he had an extra he didn't get to try out sitting in the back 

[Jenalysis]

1 hour ago, EVA said:

Based on the way that match was laid out, I’d think Jay was the one with heat.

And based on some cursory research, it seems like that might be the case, due to him expressing unhappiness with the MJF feud?

 

The only thing that came out was a he wasn't happy about the match.  Given all the fires he put out for AEW, he deserves a bit of drama of his own as a treat.  I don't think anyone really blamed him too much for that- he was booked like a chump.

 

Edited April 4 by Jenalysis

[EVA]

I wasn’t a great fan of Edge’s promo, but hearing some people acting like this is some sort of unheard of thing was weird to me. Sending someone out to the ring to directly or indirectly address some offscreen beef or audience perception issue has been a thing in wrestling for a long time.

Just off the top of my head, I recall WWE trotting out the Rock to cut the infamous “Get the F out” promo after Stone Cold walked out, the equally notorious Authority mea culpa, Joe shooting on Scott Hall no-showing TNA, Heyman doing it like all the time in ECW…It’s a thing!

[Just Dave]

I mean, Cope is so goofily earnest that I'm kind of okay with his promo. He comes off like a dude that really loves pro wrestling, and I think he's earned the right as a 25 year veteran to express that. 

The Jay White booking seems.... sus. It does help that Billy is ginormous, and the size disparity somewhat explains Billy just whipping his ass. BCG really, REALLY needs Juice Robinson to come back.

Hobbs/Ospreay was dope as hell. My GF called Don Callis "Evil Howie Mandel" and now I can't unsee it. 

Danielson/Archer was also dope. That match at Dynasty is gonna rule. 

Toni Storm is a national treasure. She popped me 3 or 4 times. 

I called it a night about 915. I watched the rest of the show this morning. The Jacksons are such unapologetic asswads that this gimmick change really works. I've never thought Best Friends were as important to AEW as some other folks around here, but that heel turn worked, and the crowd was hot for it, so kudos to them. They still should've lost Arcade Anarchy and the Parking Lot Fight against S & O. I'll die on that hill.

That final segment was some wild shit. Swerve is a madman. Strap him up at Dynasty. Samoa Joe has been a noble, credible champion. Give him a few weeks off and then send him on a quest for revenge. 

Good show. With all the discourse regarding AEW's future this past week, they just need to keep having strong episodes like this.

[JohnnyJ]

1 minute ago, Just Dave said:

I mean, Cope is so goofily earnest that I'm kind of okay with his promo. He comes off like a dude that really loves pro wrestling, and I think he's earned the right as a 25 year veteran to express that. 

Basically my thoughts. I admittedly may be drinking the kool aid and I'm sick of Punks bs but when I was watching the promo this morning I was expecting something different than what it was. Just seems like an old guy getting tired of everyone bitching when AEW has been a boon to fans and performers. And you can tell it's sincere and he's having an absolute blast. 

[NoFistsJustFlips]

Here's an example of why TK's strict formula can be a detriment. The Billy Gunn v Jay White match. There's ZERO reason that needed a 15 minute match with a picture in picture. Story wise even if you want Billy to kick the shit out of the heel, don't make it last that long!

 

If that match was 5 minutes of pinball with a run in you are not gonna get the amount  of backlash it's getting. Jay White doesn't look as bad if it's 5 mins of fire and then a fuck finish. Just unnesicary.

[Infinit]

 

[caley]

I must be in the bizzarro=verse, I didn't mind the Copeland promo and thought the Danielson-Archer match was bad. 

Even though Punks interview wasn't really bad enough to merit a response, the actual promo was a good bit of rah=rah delivered by a guy who seems to believe it 

But Danielson-Archer was just Archer crushes BD, BD comes back by going after his legs, Archer cuts him off with a power spot, no-sells the leg damage, repeat this 3 or 4 times. I thought it was super disappointing given who was in there. 

[HarryArchieGus]

Fun show as per usual. Copeland promo off the top felt unnecessary, but totally fine. Ospreay v Hobbs was the battle of Wills I hoped it would be. Danielson v Archer allows for the logical comparisons. Archer and Hobbs to a lesser degree could improve each of their games by working better inbetween with stronger and more creative weardowns. In particular, Archer's choking offense gets tedious, and looks kinda shitty. Both matches had nice closing stretches. Jericho/Hook promo was fine. Jericho seems lost. I ffwd and ffwd and ffwd thru Jay White v Dad Asshole. I'd like to see a documentary based on this match from conception to finish. Horrible. Great babyface Willow promo! Okay, now it feels like Willowmania is starting to really rev up. I mean we could all see she was capable in ring, but on the mic too!?! Not suggesting this was blowaway, but solid stuff. I like the camera angle of having ppl facing away from the crowd, but they need to work on the camera placement ever so slightly. Looking forward to Mercedes heel turn (please!). OC/Trent v Bucks was okay. The OC/Trent team was a bit disappointing. None of their matches were as good as they usually deliver separately. Bucks did what they could, and I'm very happy they're moving on. Totally for Trent getting a bit of a push if that's where this goes. Dude's fucking awesome, and has been forever. I'm glad they're at least trying something with the Frenz. Not at all into this lame idea of keeping them together forever as babyfaces doing the same nothing. The reunion will be well worth all of this. Where does Chuck side!? Mariah May v Rosa was fine for a Thunder match. May did what she could and looked great doing it. Hopefully this Toni bout ends Rosa in Main programs and on TV every week. Penta promo, right on! Cope v Penta works for me. Swerve-Joe signing was nicely plotted out. Builds nicely to the Dynasty. The way Joe and Swerve were moving together suggests this could be a helluva bout! Another excellent Hour fitty of Pro-Wres on a Thursday morning. I've seen the 'hot' product on the other channel and if it was all that was offered I would not be watching weekly Pro Wrestling in 2024. AEmuthafukenDub still ruling the world for quality television, and it's not even close.

Edited April 4 by HarryArchieGus

[TheVileOne]

Tony Khan feels gotten to right now. And he can't seem to handle Triple H being in charge of WWE. He talks a big game on social media, but when it comes time to talk to reporters, it's all "I'd prefer not to talk about it. I can't say anything about that."

[Technico Support]

Man, this episode.

I was really checked out of the first hour because I was fucking around trying to teach myself iMovie for a project I'm working on.  Not that I would have enjoyed it anyway.

I liked Copeland's promo until Meltzer, r/squaredcircle, et al told me I was supposed to think otherwise.

I'm sure Ospreay/Hobbs and Danielson/Archer was damn fine pro wrestling, but with no stakes and the outcome never in doubt, I just could not bring myself to care.

Gunn/White was my +10 match of the night.  Just fucking horrible to book Jay White like this.  Yes, he's supposed to be a scumbag heel, but to book this kind of shit vs your roided up grandfather was trash.  Someone earlier in the tread called Gunn a "mascot" and that really hit the nail on the head.  White is absolutely not supposed to be Chavo in Chavo vs Hornswoggle.

Jericho/Hook is garbage and even the fans are sick of Jericho glomming on to hot acts like an AARP-aged Winnipegan barnacle.

The Young Bucks and Best Friends saved the show.  I loved them shouting out Jungle Boy AND nobody has mentioned them telling Sue "CRY ME A RIVER!" at the end.  Tremendous match.  I hope they have plans for Trent so he doesn't become Mike Santana.  Dug Excalibur shouting out PWG, which is where Chuck and Trent were first called "Best Friends" and won DDT4.  I'm holding out hope they'll be back.

Willow is amazing and the fans LOVE her.  Holy shit was she over.  This is 100% a heel angle and it'll be a disaster if A) Willow wins the belt and B) Sasha wins it from her without turning heel first.  Sasha sasha-ing out to the ramp to kill Willow's amazing face promo was the god damn worst.  And having rankngs when Sasha can just declare #1 contendership is dumb.  WTF is TK doing?

Thunder Rosa is unlikable.  Always yelling into the camera about not being held down, how nobody can stop her and whatnot.  It's like these modern pop songs about the haters not holding you down and all that shit.  THIS IS MY FIGHT SONG, TAKE BACK MY LIFE SONG BLAH BLAH BLAH Look Karen, nobody cares.  Your "adversity" is 85% your fault.  Thunder Rosa definitely owns a shirt that says "if you can't take me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best."  She's going the Deonna route of being another babyface the fans are ambivalent about, working a feud vs a heel that they love.  Real losing battle here.

I haven't finished the show yet but I will tonight.  I love both Joe and Swerve so please Jesus give me something I can enjoy.

 

Edited April 5 by Technico Support

[Curt McGirt]

Sasha, Rosa and Deonna are all delusional heels who think they're faces. Would make for a fine faction, hint hint...

[Octopus]

*stands on desk*

I……..liked the Edge promo!

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

1 minute ago, Octopus said:

*stands on desk*

I……..liked the Edge promo!

Be careful not to fall, that desk has a wobbly leg.

[Leonidas]

Standing on the same desk I thought the Archer/Danielson match was motn. Did you see that running leg kick BD did at one point? He legit sprinted at him and kicked his hamstring as hard as he could. It looked... real. Which is why we're here after all. Love for Archer to get some gold as a thank you for heating up his opponents for the last five years. 

[mystman]

13 hours ago, AxB said:

Jay White isn't supposed to be the Stan Hansen of AEW, he's supposed to be the Rat Boy Ogawa. 

I think he's being paid closer to Hansen than Ogawa. He was the hottest free agent when he was signed. And I wouldn't even want to see QT Marshall get beaten down for 15 minutes by geriatric Billy Gunn. It was one of the worst segments in AEW history.

[Octopus]

46 minutes ago, Stefanie Sparkleface said:

Be careful not to fall, that desk has a wobbly leg.

https://streamable.com/ns4asn

 

[AxB]

1 hour ago, mystman said:

I think he's being paid closer to Hansen than Ogawa. He was the hottest free agent when he was signed. And I wouldn't even want to see QT Marshall get beaten down for 15 minutes by geriatric Billy Gunn. It was one of the worst segments in AEW history.

And why should I give a shit how much he's being paid? I'm not his accountant.

[HumanChessgame]

2 hours ago, Stefanie Sparkleface said:

Be careful not to fall, that desk has a wobbly leg.

Next week they're going to start a tournament for the "Wobbly Furniture Support Title" so if you come out victorious you'll have something to prop it up with.

I thought Danielson/Archer was really good on account of how Archer is basically their Kane/Big Show "big guy they try and heat up once a year to make him look imposing for a new program then forget about him" yet Danielson made him look like a threat and got a great big guy/small guy match out of him.

It wasn't until reading about the promo here that I realized Edge's promo was supposed to be some response to Punk's interview.

With some more time and a proper buildup you could have thrown Osprey/Hobbs on a ppv and it would have really cooked with gas. The match was great but AEW has a bad habit of putting two guys who don't need to lose in a program or match with eachother.

[The Green Meanie]

5 hours ago, Technico Support said:

Man, this episode.

Thunder Rosa is unlikable.  Always yelling into the camera about not being held down, how nobody can stop her and whatnot.  It's like these modern pop songs about the haters not holding you down and all that shit.  THIS IS MY FIGHT SONG, TAKE BACK MY LIFE SONG BLAH BLAH BLAH Look Karen, nobody cares.  Your "adversity" is 85% your fault.  Thunder Rosa definitely owns a shirt that says "if you can't take me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best."  She's going the Deonna route of being another babyface the fans are ambivalent about, working a feud vs a heel that they love.  Real losing battle here.

 

5 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

Sasha, Rosa and Deonna are all delusional heels who think they're faces. Would make for a fine faction, hint hint...

*ahem* http://deathvalleydriver.com/forum/index.php?/topic/10845-aew-march-2024/&do=findComment&comment=1360417

  

14 hours ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

You don't purchase a new belt design for a belt you're about to scrap. Fuck.

You do if you're WCW. Not saying AEW is WCW, I absolutely adore AEW, but you all know WCW WCW'd. (Yes, I'm using that as a verb from now on.)

[Shartnado]

Adding some more thoughts:

Why do I keep thinking Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" for the past few times Archer's music hits the chorus?

I was kinda fine with the Adam Copeland rah-rah speech. I agree with the sentiment. I did have a problem with the word "fun". Please don't use that in pro wrestling context. "Fun" will forever be all the things Vince made people do, on programming and otherwise. Having a blast or having the time of your life is fine, "fun" should be like saying "Benoit" or "Vince" in pro wrestling context from now on.

Copeland vs Penta should be different.

If Willow beats Julia for the TBS title, only to lose it to Mone, that's probably not great. Maybe Julia will somehow retain, and the big rematch of Willow vs Mone will be saved for later? Then again, there's tons of potential matches for Mone, maybe there's no point in saving it for later, I'm not sure?

[The Natural]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LaHatHBK2hQ

[tbarrie]

On 4/3/2024 at 11:28 PM, EVA said:

JAY WHITE getting dominated by Billy Gunn—and not even getting to win off the low blow—is legitimately insane booking. A potential Mania main event-tier prospect getting his ass handed to him by a mascot. What are we even doing here?

It shouldn't have come as a surprise, though. Billy Gun has been the least giving old guy in AEW since day one.

And I'm worried this next comment will get me put on Jenalysis's "kick him in the balls" list, but... Jay White, a main event-level talent? I don't see it.