AEW TV - 7/31 - 8/6/2024 - You Are The Last American Dragon

[Cobra Commander]

5 hours ago, SovietShooter said:

FWIW, Meltzer posted on Twitter during the show, that Fletcher making the save on Ospreay was a last minute change, because whomever was originally slated to face MJF is unavailable next Wednesday.  To follow up, he confirmed it was not originally planned to be Ricochet.

We got so close to having MJF vs Shane McMahon next week

[Technico Support]

1 hour ago, JLowe said:

Opening stuff was hot. I said on Bluesky that they’ve basically made MJF into a Trump-like character: thin-skinned, long-winded, insulting, occasionally racist, prone to cheating, a narcissist who presents himself as caring about America when it’s secretly all about himself. Basically a Hogan for the 2020s, but in a promotion that leans more progressive and therefore he is a heel.

You forgot to mention egregious amounts of spray tan.

[Craig H]

Boy do I hate MAGA Max, and not in the good way that you’re supposed to hate a heel. All screaming and shouting again, the cheapest heat, etc.

Opening match ruled. Loved Ospreay constantly getting cut off and Archer kicking out at one for the rough Hidden Blade and then getting killed with the proper hidden blade.

Darby beating Hanger was the most pleasant of surprises. Unhinged, out for blood Hangman fucking rules. Dude has the craziest eyes and the mustache is back. Darby takes a beating better than nearly anyone in wrestling. Loved the finish. I didn’t see that coming. I thought Hanger was going to give Darby one Dead Eye after another until the ref stopped the match. Page can easily afford the loss, Darby is setup to have a big match against Perry, and this Dynamite ruled…except for whatever the fuck Mone was talking about.

[COLETTI]

Mortos getting the Awful Waffle and WINNING?! Fuck yeah. 

Oh and funny that the announcers try to oversell how big Kamille is and then she's the same height as ref Aubrey. 

Edited August 1 by Coletti

[Niners Fan in CT]

15 hours ago, Go2Sleep said:

The match may be mediocre, or pleasantly surprising, but the tried and true character work is gonna carry the day no matter what.

I don't think Mercedes will allow it to be mediocre.  

This show..... was a show....  there wasn't much on it other than Darby/Hangman that I really liked.  There wasn't much I hated.  It just a step down from the previous few weeks but it's alright, hopefully they have some cool stuff planned for next week. 

[caley]

36 minutes ago, Craig H said:

Boy do I hate MAGA Max, and not in the good way that you’re supposed to hate a heel. All screaming and shouting again, the cheapest heat, etc.

 

It's dreadful. 

And without getting too political here, it's going to continue to flounder because a good chunk of a wrestling audience sees a flag and hypnotically beings to chant "U-S-A" no matter who's in the ring. In his WCW thread, SirSmUgly talks about a late 90s WCW match with the group of Steven Regal, Dave Taylor and Fit Finlay (heels) versus Rey Mysterio and Konnan (Faces) and the crowd starts the "USA" chant AGAINST the one who is from the US and for the guys who are from England/Ireland. 

So while, on paper, you could think it would be really funny to flip the tables and have a pro-America heel be the villain, there's always going to be a good chunk of the audience who just sees the American flag and goes "America? Good!" It doesn't hurt that Max CAN be funny (I mean, he hasn't really been funny in a while but the capacity is there) and you couple that with the flag and pro-US/xenophobic comments and it's not hard to get those fans to cheer for the one who they're supposed to be cheering against. 

[odessasteps]

You just need to look at how successful Daniel Richards was on the southern indys doing the Progressive Liberal gimmick to tell you about those things. 

On the other hand, Sam Adonis has been wildly successful in Mexico doing a pro USA gimmick, including the times when his american flag had a picture of You Know Who on it. 

[JLowe]

I think the gimmick is only gonna last through All-In, which is all it needs. And for everyone saying it won’t work, a crowd in bright red South Carolina was cheering for a Brit and an Aussie (who wasn’t even a face until he did the run-in).

[Technico Support]

4 hours ago, caley said:

It's dreadful. 

And without getting too political here, it's going to continue to flounder because a good chunk of a wrestling audience sees a flag and hypnotically beings to chant "U-S-A" no matter who's in the ring. In his WCW thread, SirSmUgly talks about a late 90s WCW match with the group of Steven Regal, Dave Taylor and Fit Finlay (heels) versus Rey Mysterio and Konnan (Faces) and the crowd starts the "USA" chant AGAINST the one who is from the US and for the guys who are from England/Ireland. 

 

It’s like thinking “Born in the USA” is a nice, patriotic song just because it has “USA” in it.

[The Green Meanie]

5 hours ago, Coletti said:

Oh and funny that the announcers try to oversell how big Kamille is and then she's the same height as ref Aubrey. 

Interestingly, they mentioned she used to play for the Lingerie Football League. I think that's the first time I've heard that league mentioned in mainstream sports media.

[odessasteps]

Doesn't help when the CEO wears 6+ inch heels to make the bodyguard not as impressive. 

[AxB]

8 hours ago, caley said:

It's dreadful. 

And without getting too political here, it's going to continue to flounder because a good chunk of a wrestling audience sees a flag and hypnotically beings to chant "U-S-A" no matter who's in the ring. In his WCW thread, SirSmUgly talks about a late 90s WCW match with the group of Steven Regal, Dave Taylor and Fit Finlay (heels) versus Rey Mysterio and Konnan (Faces) and the crowd starts the "USA" chant AGAINST the one who is from the US and for the guys who are from England/Ireland. 

So while, on paper, you could think it would be really funny to flip the tables and have a pro-America heel be the villain, there's always going to be a good chunk of the audience who just sees the American flag and goes "America? Good!" It doesn't hurt that Max CAN be funny (I mean, he hasn't really been funny in a while but the capacity is there) and you couple that with the flag and pro-US/xenophobic comments and it's not hard to get those fans to cheer for the one who they're supposed to be cheering against. 

If he's showing up to Wembley wearing Stars and Stripes gear, doing an America First gimmick, he'd be booed out of the stadium no matter who he was facing. The fact that he's facing England's own Ospreay is merely an intensifier.

Then after the match, he can throw all the USA shit in the bin and talk about how the American fans weren't there when he needed them.

[The Natural]

17 hours ago, Technico Support said:

MJF continues to be hot garbage on promos.  The worst, again, was him yelling I SAID SHUT UP to get a pop out of the quiet crowd.  So lame.  I’m saddened when I consider aspiring heels a decade or two from now will crib his 5th generation Betamax copy of real heel work, not knowing any better, like his cheap bullshit will become the standard and real heeling will be lost to time.

 

17 hours ago, JLowe said:

Opening stuff was hot. I said on Bluesky that they’ve basically made MJF into a Trump-like character: thin-skinned, long-winded, insulting, occasionally racist, prone to cheating, a narcissist who presents himself as caring about America when it’s secretly all about himself. Basically a Hogan for the 2020s, but in a promotion that leans more progressive and therefore he is a heel.

 

16 hours ago, Technico Support said:

You forgot to mention egregious amounts of spray tan.

 

10 hours ago, Craig H said:

Boy do I hate MAGA Max, and not in the good way that you’re supposed to hate a heel. All screaming and shouting again, the cheapest heat, etc.

 

10 hours ago, caley said:

It's dreadful. 

And without getting too political here, it's going to continue to flounder because a good chunk of a wrestling audience sees a flag and hypnotically beings to chant "U-S-A" no matter who's in the ring. In his WCW thread, SirSmUgly talks about a late 90s WCW match with the group of Steven Regal, Dave Taylor and Fit Finlay (heels) versus Rey Mysterio and Konnan (Faces) and the crowd starts the "USA" chant AGAINST the one who is from the US and for the guys who are from England/Ireland. 

So while, on paper, you could think it would be really funny to flip the tables and have a pro-America heel be the villain, there's always going to be a good chunk of the audience who just sees the American flag and goes "America? Good!" It doesn't hurt that Max CAN be funny (I mean, he hasn't really been funny in a while but the capacity is there) and you couple that with the flag and pro-US/xenophobic comments and it's not hard to get those fans to cheer for the one who they're supposed to be cheering against. 

This.

[The Natural]

Looking forward to Bryan Danielson vs. Jeff Jarrett.

[Log]

3 hours ago, The Natural said:

Looking forward to Bryan Danielson vs. Jeff Jarrett.

My hope is that Danielson goes full-Memphis, not JJ trying to wrestle a Danielson match. 

[The Natural]

7 minutes ago, Log said:

My hope is that Danielson goes full-Memphis, not JJ trying to wrestle a Danielson match. 

Agreed.

[evidence]

I hope this match doesn't end up with Jarrett going back heel. I kind of think that he at least stays in this role long enough to get to a match with Hangman (All In/All Out). 

[The Natural]

6 minutes ago, evidence said:

I hope this match doesn't end up with Jarrett going back heel. I kind of think that he at least stays in this role long enough to get to a match with Hangman (All In/All Out). 

Agreed.

[The Green Meanie]

....but is the world ready for Double J as a face?

[Jenalysis]

1 hour ago, Log said:

My hope is that Danielson goes full-Memphis, not JJ trying to wrestle a Danielson match. 

The transition from Minoru Suzuki to Memphis style seems pretty minor to me.

A Minoru Suzuki- Jerry Lawler match in the early 2000s could have ruled.

 

[Technico Support]

2 hours ago, Log said:

My hope is that Danielson goes full-Memphis, not JJ trying to wrestle a Danielson match. 

Maybe somewhere in the middle?  I’m not as much a fan of “Memphis style.”

Edited August 2 by Technico Support

[Log]

4 hours ago, Jenalysis said:

The transition from Minoru Suzuki to Memphis style seems pretty minor to me.

A Minoru Suzuki- Jerry Lawler match in the early 2000s could have ruled.

 

Now I want to see Suzuki/JJ with 90% of the match just Jarrett avoiding getting hit.

[Go2Sleep]

15 hours ago, The Green Meanie said:

....but is the world ready for Double J as a face?

Jeff Jarrett is an insanely good babyface, much better than a heel I'd argue. It's just the majority of national TV career has been as an over-pushed top heel that left him with years of lingering go-away heat.

[SovietShooter]

Y'know, that kinda makes me wonder... Danielson vs Jarrett would be face vs face.  So would Swerve vs Danielson. And although not out of character for AEW to do such a thing (Cole vs MJF last year for example), but it sure would make a lot of sense if Danielson were to turn full blown heel against Jarrett.  The All In crowd is probably going to be overwhelmingly behind Danielson in a face vs face match, and I'm not sure if Swerve getting booed works for his angle with Hangman. 

[Pete]

21 hours ago, The Green Meanie said:

....but is the world ready for Double J as a face?

Jett is actually a fantastic babyface when the situation calls for it - you don't work a 40-year career in wrestling if you suck at working both sides of the fence, especially when a good chunk of it was in Memphis.