AEW TV - 5/29 - 6/4/2024 - I'm Turning On Willow, I Really Think So!

[The Natural]

32 minutes ago, Log said:

Will you both fucking drop it, please?

People should use the Ignored Users feature more. I've got it for the few that annoy me here. Turns out 8 got Johnny Cash.

Edited June 1, 2024 by The Natural

[JLowe]

Rampage was solid, guess they wanted to make sure the Lucha Brothers got highlighted in LA.

Thought Penta might have seriously hurt LardLad on the apron destroyer, it was a close one. For just a hot minute, I thought they were going to put Penta over but then Takeshita shut it down.

My wife loves Timeless Toni Storm, she even went to the site to see how much that new Toonz figure costs ($30, so she said never mind). I told her she should look up how she looks without the glamour makeup, that she’s basically a Cali surfer girl and she was shocked. I know my wife saw her wrestle on TV before the Timeless character, but thought I’d share that anecdote about how great the character is. Also, an excellent, very giving match against Viva Van. Toni is very gifted at integrating comedy and character work while also kicking ass (sometimes literally).

I’ve been a high guy on the board about Kyle O’Reilly for a while, and I’m enjoying this mini push, building him as a dangerous JTTS. This was a solid “MMA type guy takes out the big muscular guy” match.

Main was fun stuff, I like Fenix’s wrestling a lot more than Penta and this had some great spots in it. The PiP work with lots of ringside action was smart, enough to keep the viewer engaged while not something where they’re having to stall to avoid a pinning situation.

I commented elsewhere but Hechicero as part of Cage of Agony is weird. The Saraya-Harley promo was goofy and nonsensical. The Jericho stuff was unnecessary.

[Iron Moose]

19 hours ago, SovietShooter said:

I don't understand the point of mixed tag matches at all, if you aren't going to have men and women fight each other, let alone having titles for it.

But, if you're gonna do it, Orange/Willow, Trent?/Stat, King/Hart, Sammy/Tay, Cole/Baker... and that's without any deep cuts like Strong/Shaffir, Fletcher/Blue...

 

Saraya or Harley and Zak Knight, Anna and Jack Perry, Mariah or Toni with Luther, Taya and Johnny, Adora and one of the Infantry, and that's before you fire up the RNG. You could probably get something fun out of likle... Starks or Wayne and Starkz, too.

[AxB]

Athena and Keith Lee would terrify the division. Team Texas!

[just drew]

53 minutes ago, The Natural said:

People should use the Ignored Users feature more. I've got it for the few that annoy me here. Turns out 8 got Johnny Cash.

On it. 

[Zakk_Sabbath]

6 hours ago, Just Dave said:

On it. 

I take full responsibility, I figured we were having too much fun with the Chappelle stuff so I thought the blue collar thing was a nice olive branch to the more country folks among us - I regret the error

[Zakk_Sabbath]

7 hours ago, Iron Moose said:

Saraya or Harley and Zak Knight, Anna and Jack Perry, Mariah or Toni with Luther, Taya and Johnny, Adora and one of the Infantry, and that's before you fire up the RNG. You could probably get something fun out of likle... Starks or Wayne and Starkz, too.

Hey, that gives me a great idea: a really cool way of eventually turning Nick Wayne babyface would be having Billie trying convince him to abandon the evil family. Doesn't necessarily need to be a young love-angle, but I bet you there's a whole lotta people out there who could identify with that one. People* complain there aren't enough stories, but I bet you they could get a helluva lotta mileage outta that.

Edit: *to be clear I don't necessarily agree with them, but something along these lines might be right up their alley - that's a large reason why I thought it was kinda shitty the Ang Parker/Ruby stuff was mostly relegated to Rampage

Edit 2, unrelated to the above but I didn't wanna be a dick and triple post: @JLowehard, hard agree on KOR. I was talking the other day with a couple guys here about kind of having it stuck in my head that he's a tag guy (just because I always super enjoyed reDRagon here and in WWE, and what little I've gotten to see on ROH reruns) and whether or not that was a fair criticism, but that dude is shutting me up hugely and I can't f'n wait now to see him vs Ospreay tn (even if the finish is a relatively foregone conclusion) - I am glad to say I was thinking all wrong here.

Edited June 1, 2024 by Zakk_Sabbath

[Nice Guy Eddie]

Ospreay/O'Reilly was awesome. If I could chop that match up into fine particles, shape it into a nice fat line, and snort it with a $100, I would. That's how much I enjoyed it. 

[Jamal]

On 5/30/2024 at 8:15 PM, Niners Fan in CT said:

Did you see their NJPW match?  

Yes and I agree that it was really good but got overshadowed by the injury. I know they are going to kill it.

[Curt McGirt]

I skipped ahead to Collision. Fairly squash-heavy episode, but when it hit hard it really hit hard -- the guy who got hammered by Shane Taylor out of midair then BOUNCED on the Package Piledriver knows, and the guy who got shotgun-dropkicked directly into the buckles at 1000 MPH really really knows. I didn't catch what happened to Drake but the crowd seemed amazed that he hit the moonsault. Johnny AEDub vs. Claudio was fun, and I think I finally nailed why Taya is so perfect for wrestling: she looks like a cartoon character. It's a comparison that's been on the tip of my tongue for years now and I wasn't quite able to nail it until now. She's a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It totally works. Anyway, after all that we got the main. They just couldn't resist the stupid "gotta hit the other guy before collapsing" Kawada delayed sell, more than once, but that's a small blot on an otherwise great match. O'Reilly wasn't a heel. It was face vs. face, a pure athletic competition between two guys with unreal stamina and physicality, and worked well in those parameters. Meltzer probably had to change his pants but me, I liked it just fine. Those two would make a hell of a tag team. 

[Ace]

Forbidden Door Spoilers:

Spoiler

Toni Storm sent a video to challenge Mina Shirakawa to a match. Mina accepted and even did the chin,tits,shoe bit.

 

 

[Johnny Sorrow]

7 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Ospreay/O'Reilly was awesome. If I could chop that match up into fine particles, shape it into a nice fat line, and snort it with a $100, I would. That's how much I enjoyed it. 

So, your sobriety is in danger because a billionaire coke head makes matches . Dude, be careful watching this shit.

Edited June 2, 2024 by Johnny Sorrow

[AxB]

Not sure who let the dying Cow into the arena for the FTR promo, but it surely did Moo a lot while they were talking.

I hope we can get Lio Rush vs RUSH at some point. Just not in a Russo-esque "winner gets the rights to the word Rush" and loser has to change their name gimmick. Lio is great at being the spectacular flier working from underneath and doing sneaky reversals to get to his comeback, RUSH is great as a dominant, controlling force. They would gel really well. Lio vs Roddy was a nice solid match.

Always wondered if The End of Heartache referred to the idea that Roddy's finisher made you fall in love, so your heart would ache no longer, or if it's supposed to be that the move is suffused with the essence of Heartache, so it's destructive on both a physical and emotional level? Or maybe the idea is that it kills you, so your heart is no longer aching because it's not beating either. It's... a very unusual name for a move.

Nigel got bleeped, but I think he said the guy was built like a Shit Brickhouse. 

Bit of miscommunication in the Workhorsemen vs Garcia & Shibata match, JD Drake was preparing for the running Cannonball in the corner but Henry pulled the opponent out because he though Drake' leg wass injured. And then seconds later, Drake did a Moonsault. Guessing it was just a tweak thing that he was able to walk off during the match. 

Thunder Rosa vs Reina Dorada was very short, and very basic. Right up until Rosa set up her finisher by doing a Dominator which was inches away from landing very dangerously. Not sure that's the move you want to be using in a match with someone who is green like that (assuming Dorada is green, I dunno).

Cage of Agony might fall into the Sid trap, where they can have a better, more satisfying match if it's a two minute squash, than if it's a competitive, back and forth 12-15 minute struggle. But pulling off a standing Fallaway Slam (so a... Standaway Slam?) is pretty nutty. And doing a Give Him the Bumps (have a guy down on the floor, everyone grabs an arm or a leg, Hoik him up in the air as high as you can and let go; We used to do that at school for a laugh) as a trios finisher is something that should have been invented years ago.

Toni and Mariah with another excellent promo. Nigel immediately attempting to abandon commentary to meet them in the bar was funny. Toni should win Best on Promos this year, for sure.

Johnny TV, wrestling for a promotion owned by former DVDVR poster Coach Tony K, with former DVDVR poster Chris Hero agenting backstage, decides that tonight, for the first time in his career, he shall procure the CRAVATE~! was amusing to me and me only. And then the Cesaro match got a lot of minutes. Well, the delayed vertical suplex alone got a decently long amount of time, and they did a bunch of stuff both before and after it as well.

West Coast Wrecking Crew with just the two of them, they're solid, but they have a "We're just wrestlers who wrestle" to them. Neither guy is especially charismatic, so they're just kind of there. But put them in a trios with Tom Lawler, and suddenly they're a lot more fun. But in this case, the match was an STP showcase, so having them be understated and Just Here to Wrestle worked for what this match was. I want to see Shane Taylor and Roddy Strong have a Chop battle. I think it might be deafening.

Killswitch beating up all 3 Iron Savages backstage was somehow less devastating than the time he was in the ring with them (Jurassic Express vs Bear Country in a "This match exists to hype Godzilla vs Kong movie" match; Boulder tore his bicep doing a crossbody catch).

Nigel put over Will Ospreay working a Hard-Hitting Japanese style. It's sad, how few British wrestlers work a British style. But our wrestling got colonised after WoS died. Shame. Anyway, this face vs face match was based around Kyle being technically superior and controlling Will, Ospreay trying to make comebacks with his athleticism and Kyle cutting him off. Now considering the main criticism that Ospreay detractors have is that he doesn't sell things long term, having this 25 minute match be based around him taking damage and trying to survive it is probably a case for the defence. Now, he doesn't do the "As a WWE main eventer, I magically heal all damage when it's time for my comeback" thing. He does do the Kobashi "Adrenalin Rush one move and collapse" thing a couple of times. And he does hit his moves using the damaged arm perfectly first time, and then sell the arm after hitting the move, but... it's not egregiously bad. He was still selling while celebrating the win, so that's something at least.

It was a decent show. Worth watching for sure.

[The Natural]

Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson at AEW Dynasty 2024 was definitely Will's best match under AEW contract. Second was the Casino Gauntlet match on AEW Dynamite this week. Third either vs. Roderick Strong at AEW Double or Nothing 2024 or Kyle O'Reilly here.

[COLETTI]

Tagging users doesn't work for me but re: Drake's moonsault, from A.M.B's post on page 6 of this thread - 

 

Quote

I’ve always loved JD Drake but he looked extra porky and slow since the last time I saw him. Then he blew out his ankle and the match went off the rails for a bit. Ref looked like he wanted Drake to stay out and have them go home but Drake finished the match and even hit his moonsault with a bad wheel which got the biggest pop of the night.

 

[Curt McGirt]

Will did have to TALK TO SAMPSON! so at least the selling lasted that long. And thank you for reminding me that Kobashi did the hit-move-then-sell too. 

WCWC have the most generic logo on the asses of their trunks, it looks like a moving company or an HVAC repair outfit. 

Reina looked fine to me in that she was just there to get twisted up by Rosa and that's what happened. There were no flubs or anything so I dunno what this green talk is. Rosa seemed pissed about the kickout on the finisher so gave some extra tweak to the submission -- but then again she is always angry so what else is new. 

[Curt McGirt]

3 hours ago, AxB said:

Not sure who let the dying Cow into the arena for the FTR promo, but it surely did Moo a lot while they were talking.

Thankfully whoever that dude was finally got yelled down by somebody. Then again FTR Gun is maybe one of the worst promos on the roster and he was just stumbling and bumbling like always out there. Hit all his marks, but there's no flow. 

[Just Adam Bay Bay]

4 hours ago, The Natural said:

Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson at AEW Dynasty 2024 was definitely Will's best match under AEW contract. Second was the Casino Gauntlet match on AEW Dynamite this week. Third either vs. Roderick Strong at AEW Double or Nothing 2024 or Kyle O'Reilly here.

I had to reread your post because at first I was like where’s the Kenny match rank before I realized that was before he’d signed with AEW. I’d throw the Takeshita match somewhere in the top 3 personally, but I don’t know which of the other two you had I’d knock out (obviously not Danielson as that was top level).

[Curt McGirt]

~ RAMPAGE ~

Takeshita vs. Penta: Boring. A lotta thigh slapping, and not just from Penta. I was looking forward to maybe the stiffest guy on the roster busting up one of my least favorite, but no. Penta does jump over the top rope and blindly splat on the floor, and there was a nice lariat at the end, so that was nice but not enough to save this chunk 'o molasses.

Singh vs. Avalon: Pretty Peter looks pretty weird and acts accordingly frightened in his response to having this match. Satnam does exactly what he has to do. Something important that doesn't get pointed out is that he has a lot of personality, and isn't just your standard growling giant, he's arrogant and funny. 

"Leave no man untested" from Cage was stole from the behind the scenes footage of Anvil Neidhart working on his promo in Wrestling with Shadows haha

Van vs. Storm: Viva Van looks like Skye Blue's older sister. The butt-butt scenario is hilarious. For a match with comedy in it this is absurdly stiff work, really wish the commercial break didn't block out a great chunk of it.  

Kyle O'Reilly makes faces while he beats a guy up

Fenix does the Kobashi no-sell to hit a German right after he eats a Poison Rana. That says about all I want to say about that match. 

EDIT: Ewwww, I gotta give a shout to the finisher Fenix busts out. That was fuckin' NASTY. 

Edited June 2, 2024 by Curt McGirt

[Go2Sleep]

7 hours ago, AxB said:

And doing a Give Him the Bumps (have a guy down on the floor, everyone grabs an arm or a leg, Hoik him up in the air as high as you can and let go; We used to do that at school for a laugh) as a trios finisher is something that should have been invented years ago.

How could you forget the Spirit Squad???

Great episode of collision, though. COA quick squash was fun. Killswitch randomly destroying the Iron Savages. Thunder, STP, and Garcia/Shibata semi-competitive matches all seemed above the AEW average. I think it helps when the opponents aren't regulars on TV so they go a little harder. Claudio/Johnny was a more high-effort than I expected as well. Lio/Roddy and Ospreay/KOR were both really good. Lio is great at balancing quick offense that keeps a higher-ranked opponent off balance while still bumping like a madman and making the opponents moves look like death. KOR/Ospreay seemed to go past standard AEW TV level and into AEW ppv opener level. Generally speaking, it would probably help AEW's ppvs a lot if they did more matches like this on TV and kept the ppvs at 3 hours or a little over.

Swerve and Ospreay are gonna come up with some absolutely insane shit for their match and I can't wait. No way Will loses his "steals the show at FD" streak this year.

Edited June 2, 2024 by Go2Sleep

[just drew]

I'm going to try to be careful how I word this, because I mean no ill will towards the person behind the performer, but I don't understand the appeal of Kyle O'Reilly at all. Again, I'm glad he's healthy and he's able to ply his trade again, but that guy has the charisma of a manila envelope. Why are we using precious tv minutes featuring a guy that does not appear to have the ability to attract and maintain viewers? 

There were parts of this show I really dug. I'm on board for COA. Hechicero getting added to the mix is weird, but like, in a good way, like the first time I put strawberry jelly on my chicken and egg biscuit. Now I can't live without it.

Everything Ospreay does is dope. 

Toni Storm is a treasure. Just an absolute gem. Weird, wonderful, goofy. Unhinged in the best way possible. One day a few years down the line I'd like to hear more about what has inspired this gimmick. Mariah May has piles and piles of "IT." An absolute star. The future of the AEW Women's division is bright. I'd love for them to sign Becky to bring more legitimacy, but this time a year ago I would've said the company needs her and now I'm not sure they do. They have a growing list of future stars; Mariah, Willow, Skye, Harley Cameron, Mina, Stat, and Anna Jay. Add that to Athena and Toni and Thunder Rosa and Saraya and Jamie Hayter... that's a hell of a division. It feels like I'm forgetting someone. Nah, that's all the stars. ;).

I think right now AEW's biggest issue is a lack of credible challengers, particularly to the tag titles. It's too soon to do FTR/Bucks again, and they've broken up Best Friends. I think Marc Quen is hurt again. The Acclaimed will work in the short term, but I'd love to see them put the Tag Titles on like, Danielson and Moxley while they reset the division after All Out. Let them Freebird with Claudio. 

Lots of good things happening in AEW right now. Get the TV rights deal done and assure your long-term future. Then worry about growing and expanding. 

 

[tbarrie]

4 minutes ago, Just Dave said:

I'm going to try to be careful how I word this, because I mean no ill will towards the person behind the performer, but I don't understand the appeal of Kyle O'Reilly at all. Again, I'm glad he's healthy and he's able to ply his trade again, but that guy has the charisma of a manila envelope. Why are we using precious tv minutes featuring a guy that does not appear to have the ability to attract and maintain viewers? 

Because he seems to be an excellent ring mechanic, and guys like that are useful when you want one of the characters fans care about to win an exciting match without jobbing out one of your stars.

Honestly, I'm wavering a bit i my disdain for the Bland Kyles. I can even correctly identify which is Fletcher and which is O'Reilly more often than not, which a few months ago I would have identified as a nigh-impossible feat.

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

The world needs way more Tito Santanas - perfectly capable wrestlers who will boost your superstars while not hurting them, and can be credible opponents for your up and comers - than I think people realize. There's nothing wrong with someone who is never going to be your world champion, but is there to make sure your world champion (or the person who may eventually be your world champion, or will face your world champion) looks good.

But to do that, you need to invest time in them so they remain credible and visible, or else you're beating a guy that doesn't matter. Think of Kyle O'Reilly as a Tito Santana, and your problems are solved.

[tbarrie]

Just nitpicking a bit, but would it be more accurate to specify "late era Tito Santana"?

It was before my time, but my understanding is that when Tito was IC champ, the IC champ was generally the second biggest star in the company (or at least close to it); he was expected to draw crowds for the B-shows he headlined. Which would suggest mid-eighties Tito was a lot more over than the role players you're describing.

[Curt McGirt]

Now that KOR has gotten away from that Adam Cole/Roddy Strong stink I almost kinda like him. Showing up looking like this pale, possibly dying and homeless dude definitely engendered sympathy. I haven't watched any Davey Richards but I imagine they are very similar -- sooper INTENSE vibe, MMA steals, ridiculous facial expressions -- yet he can be taken seriously. It was smart giving him a squash before the Ospreay match where he gets to win with the armbar too.