AEW TV - 9/4 - 9/17/2024 - Look At This Hologram, Everytime I Do It Makes Me Laugh

[Pete]

2 hours ago, SovietShooter said:

Or just like, all the pennies every bank in Lexington had. Fill up that bulldozer scoop to the top, and dump it from real high to get a waterfall effect...

Nah, you could actually do a ton of damage to the car with 700,000 pennies. This was way funnier and not at all mean-spirited, which fits OC while simultaneously exposing Jericho as a preening yutz who can't handle any sort of adversity no matter how trivial it may be. Great character work for both guys.

[HarryArchieGus]

Re: Darby v Danielson. Darby v Mox and Nigel v Bryan and the logic

Every drippy podcaster is calling this out as having a logic hole. Overlooking so much about what we know about all involved. First, why would everybody assume Mox is correct about Danielson not coming back or being ready for Grandslam? Do we also believe him when he says 'I'm gonna need you to hand that title shot to me' as some sort of 'Fact'? He's a heel who believes he's put Danielson on the shelf for longer than he will be (it's a pretty regular trope). Further, Darby Allin has been hearing Mox call him out for weeks. Darby logically assumes Danielson couldn't possibly be 100% by Arthur Ashe. Of course he doesn't wanna win that way. Does he need to spell that out? It's no leap that he wants to avenge the Danielson attempted murder and take out Mox. He'd take the Moxley challenge without it. He admires him, or did, and knows if Jon challenges him then he has to accept. To Darby, Mox is definitely a, if not thee, measuring stick. Sidenote, was this Darby's best promo? Then we go to the back, Daniels reiterrates what a risk this is for Darby followed by Nigel, the heel-weasel that he is, taking advantage of the situation. A couple quarter hours later, he comes out with a contract and annouces a match that couldn't possibly be signed... yet. Excalibur on commentary says 'will Danielson even be able to compete?' Nigel closes with 'will Bryan Danielson join me or have we seen the last match of the 'American Coward'. Balls in your court'. It seems to me the match awaits an inevitable signature. All the loud voices I heard this morning also complained about this being 'Non-Title'. Maybe it will be, but Danielson could amend that in the two weeks that follow. I'd say Nigel is a legend that deserves to jump the line. Whatever the case, Danielson v Nigel means more than the title to me, and I have to assume much of the audience. I thought this was brilliant hotshotting to move a signifcant amount of tickets. 

Edited September 12 by HarryArchieGus

[Zakk_Sabbath]

@HarryArchieGusI agree - well said.

And assuming arguendo that there are a couple minor plot holes:

We are getting Nigel vs Dragon in New York.

I repeat:

We are getting Nigel vs Dragon in New York.

I don't give a shit if the angle was that a magic fairy came down, gave Darby amnesia, and he simply forgot about the title shot, because (say it with me):

We are getting Nigel vs Dragon in New York.

To borrow a phrase from the Champ himself: FICKLE!!

[Octopus]

I think there is a lot that is cumbersome, whether due to execution or expectations, but I find the current state of the world title picture extremely fascinating.

Danielson is the champ who is a legend on his last legs. Wisdom of the GOAT and an unmatched spirit to match paired with a history of injury issues and internal thoughts of hanging up his boots (at least full time lol). He was attacked by his former partner so brutally that he is questionable going forward.

His former partner, Mox, has gone militant and extreme. Feeling that the origins of why they teamed together in the first place has faded away as they have gotten too soft. Playing both into the history of their group and the alleged and shown in character immaturity of characters like The Elite. A very AEW thing to do, play off the universe at hand. As an extremist, Mox took matters into his own hands by attacking Danielson and it has had the foundation laid by looking for Darby for some time now. Demanding the title shot he hasn’t earned, yet feels he deserves.

Darby is the holder of the title shot has faced very recent defeat against Jack Perry. He is a clear future of the company, but with his mentor Sting leaving, he couldn’t win recently. Ironically, mentors leaving was an implied gripe Mox made about Danielson not having the heart to keep this former cold-bloodedness. Darby has the chance to face the beloved champion but due to pride of defending the company he is loyal to, is putting that opportunity on the line.

While the champ is questionable from being plastic bagged, Danielson’s long time rival turned comedically villainous commentator is calling him out. Using this as an opportunity to challenge Bryan when he’ll likely not show up or (which is more likely) show up extremely hurt and beatable. 

Meanwhile, the ultimate opportunist, Christian, is lurking waiting for a moment to strike. He got stopped before, yet now the former alliance that prevented it has fractured. 

Anything can happen! I love that. The specifics and moments you could argue didn’t land (execution, crowd reaction, not being what we guessed) but where we are at is pretty exciting. It does understandably create anxiety. Anxiety being a fear of what could go wrong and an uncertainty of the future. A few months ago, I was dead set on the best card for All In was Swerve vs Ospreay and Danielson vs McGuiness. Instead, I got a match that literally made me tear up. I’m giving AEW the benefit of the doubt here and instead of being anxious for the fear of Darby not getting a Tacoma moment, I’m marveling at the state of things and how enjoyable I’m finding the product. That if course isn’t directed at anyone and is merely giving my experience of the company regaining my trust.

Grand Slam is soon and WrestleDream is a month away. I really liked the time between All In and All Out. Let’s see if they can keep the good times rolling.

[Leonidas]

Also Nigel loves Christian so could see shenanigans happening with the Patriarchy same night

[HarryArchieGus]

High voter on the 258th episode. The Moxley promo to open was fantastic. I said 'Goddamn, Goddamn!' The interspresed clips were excellently spliced. Outside of 'Misirlou', this was a rare case of score music working well in a promo. Dark and simple and perfect. I liked that shot of Darby arriving on his skateboard. I'm a fan of arrival shots, and could care less if somebody wants to claim that as 'WWE'. Sure, steal it. The Christian Cage promo was quality heeling with straight faced hilarity - his usual greatness. His son Nick tells him 'ppl say I have infinite aura'! The dark CTE hilarity! The Don Callis/Ospreay/Fletcher promo that followed was strong. Ospreay continues to nail everything. I loved the Mark Davis reminder quip. I miss Davis. Lio Rush v Jack Perry was a nice showcase. I loved Perry fucking with Andretti and making chia-head look the fool. Sets up another challenger for his burnt strap. Hangman promo and segment was incredible. Page is doing his best work since the early 'hold my beer' era. He and Jarrett could be thrilling. The BCC/Private Party/Kommander/'Enhancement Talent' beating segment was fantastic. I needed to see the new crew kill some ppl. Pac rules in ring and on the mic. Ricochet v Sammy Guevara was excellent. Happy to see Ric get one of these under his belt. Sammy too. Good reminder of what he's capable of. The post match save gave me a momentary hope that maybe Guevara could actually work as a babyface. Beast v Ricochet, yes please! The Okada promo that followed was fantastic. Closing in on Takeshita v Okada! It's funny how Don Callis, the biggest heel in the company, somehow keeps getting his guys over, strangely, as babyfaces. The Darby Allin/Jon Moxley promo was completely captivating. Some of Darby's best mic work. I'm in love with this deranged Moxley character. Stoked for Darby v Mox. The brief Christopher Daniels/Nigel segment got me very intrigued. The Mariah v Queen bout lived up to my expectations. Great stiff strikes. Queen continues to impress, and Mariah is sensational. It seems this Lexington crowd could've used a good strong coffee tho. Good Jacksons promo, boohoo to poor you Bucks haters. For what it was, I really enjoyed the Learning Tree v Savages. The first Savages match I didn't skip in awhile. Neat seeing Bill and Boulder square off. Keith needs to move on from that lame flipping stunner. Loved the 'C'mon Baby' pinfall. The shenanigans that followed totally worked for me. As somebody mentioned earlier, this was totally on brand with OC. I liked that it wasn't a great spectacle, but an underwhelming amount of coins, it was like one of his lazy elbow drops. Jericho was funny here, which hasn't always been the case thru this Learning Tree era. I also really liked the Bill babyface tease here with the 'friends' line. And then... Nigel McGuinness' promo was exceptional. I think he just sold a few tickets. The Hook promo that followed was also excellent. He's been studying Dad's work. Roddy's a good dance partner, and I loved how Hook put him over here. The Casino Gauntlet also lived up to expectations. I've been thinking this Division could really use some bigger singles stars pairing up, and Fletcher/Ospreay are perfect. More doormat stars should form a duo - it worked well for Swerve/Ketih Lee once upon a time. Hanger/Omega too. Kinda blows my mind how these Casino matches have all had such great flow and so few mistakes/awkwardness with so many guys involved. The Outrunners entrance/initial rally was truly an all time Dynamite highlight for me. They looked so legit and their hometown era crowd were awesome here. It felt like a classic ECW Arena moment to me. I wanted them to win, but I'm all for them going on a run and properly building to a Tag TItle match. Nonetheless, I was very pleased with the finish and so looking forward to the Bucks v Fletcher/Ospreay. That's a match for the Jacksons to sink their teeth into. So to speak. I thoroughly loved this show. AEmuthafukkinDub!

[tbarrie]

6 hours ago, SovietShooter said:

Or just like, all the pennies every bank in Lexington had. Fill up that bulldozer scoop to the top, and dump it from real high to get a waterfall effect...

If they went all pennies, they'd have needed 700,000. Could they get that many?

 

...wait a minute. It's 2024. Why do you all still have pennies?

[Curt McGirt]

I just want to know if Nigel ends up having enough hair to do the stupid frosted-tips liberty spikes again. Maybe find a hairdresser to make him fake ones.

[Zakk_Sabbath]

2 hours ago, tbarrie said:

...wait a minute. It's 2024. Why do you all still have pennies?

I looked into this during the pandemic because I got curious about what would happen if we had to stop using physical money: the claim is that it's to keep inflation down (big lol) -  I guess the idea is, if im looking to sell you something that's 50 cents at cost, pennies make it possible for me to sell it at 51-54 cents to make a profit, instead of only being able to go directly to 55 cents rounding to the next smallest coin, thus squeezing you for more than I should've theoretically been able to

[hobo joe]

Pennys and nickels both cost more to produce than they’re worth. There has never been a coin in circulation worth as little as a US penny is currently

Who gives a fuck about that, though? We’re getting Danielson vs McGuinness again and fuck it if it makes sense.

 

[username]

6 hours ago, Zakk_Sabbath said:

We are getting Nigel vs Dragon in New York.

You forget the golden age ROH Nigel rule though: never assume he's gonna be healthy enough for a NYC show until the bell actually rings 

[KriskitaKoloff]

That Mox promo was something special...and intense. I rewatched it a few times now. The ex BCC strutting through the back with that dark ambient music playing and the camera panning to the side to see Bryan being carried out was fantastic. I need a t shirt for Mox that says "diplomacy has failed, today I choose war".

[The Green Meanie]

So BCC turned on Bryan because he got soft and went against Lord Regal's teachings. It wasn't the angle I was expecting, but I can see it working.
That, in turn, brought us to why Mox wanted to speak with Darby. He wants Darby's title shot so he can be the one to retire Bryan. That makes sense again.
Pac came out with them but Yuta did not. They didn't attack Yuta which makes me believe that they're going to eventually force him to choose which way he's going to go, especially since he's still 1/3 of the Trios Champions.

Something that I realized after the show, however....
Would any of this have happened if The Lucha Brothers had re-signed? If Death Triangle is still intact then there would have been no reason for Pac to gravitate toward the BCC.

My household erupted in cheering once we heard/saw The Outrunners come out, and even more so for that fleeting moment we thought they'd win that match. I hope AEW is fully aware of how over they are and act accordingly, eventually.

Once I saw Nigel demand to talk to CD about Tony Khan I knew exactly where they were going to go with it. And by jove, they pulled it off! We had heard rumors about Nigel training for one last match, against Bryan, and I'm happy to see it.

[odessasteps]

The rumor is that the Lucha brothers were going to win the trios belts. So, maybe? 

[ExcellenceofAirPollution]

Thought this was a great PPV follow up.  Lots happened and everything moved and flowed well.  They did a lot of parking garage stuff with arrivals and whatnot that I enjoyed.  Show felt different in a way that I can't quite put my finger on

I dig this Moxley.  Opening pre-tape promo with the tension building atmospheric music was dope.  I dug Pac's promo during the show too, "I've seen the light and finally have a purpose" or whatever while gesturing to Mox fit Pac's tortured/searching character and set Mox up as a pied piper cult leader taking his own path to "bring the feeling back".  I liked Mox being vague with Darby and telling him he doesn't have time to explain everything to him.  Great stuff.  I just listened to Meltzer reading it as him trashing the company (and For Great Justice here) and I'll just say I didn't get that vibe at all and agree with HarryArchieGus. 

I feel like between the music at the beginning and the "I don't have time to explain the plan to you" stuff that Mox just watched Mr. Robot for the first time

Hangman promo and confrontation with Jarrett was dope too.  "WHO ASKED YOU?  WHO ASKED YOU?"

Lots of good storyline progression between the Mox stuff, Nigel finally getting his match, Callis family intrigue and another tease for Takeshita/Okada, and Mariah bringing Mina back for the celebration.  FTR and GYV have had a decent build.  Tease of Stokely in the crowd during the main event too after The Acclaimed entered.

I like the return to Jericho and Cassidy after so long, it's cool to revisit old feuds and bring up the backstory.  Amazing they kept that jacket, probably for this exact reason.  The coin thing was pretty funny, good inversion of the usual car destruction.  Definitely needed more coins though for the visual impact.  The buffing/detailing work that Bentley is going to require shouldn't be taken lightly!  I hope Jericho adds that to what Cassidy owes him....in fact lets get weeks of Cassidy racking up a bigger and bigger debt

Really good wrestling on the show too.  Jack Perry and Lio had a fun match, love seeing Lio on Dynamite.  I dug Sammy and Ricochet a lot, they did some cool shit and Ricochet looked a lot more comfortable than he did against Fletcher IMO.  The crowd chanted "this is flippy" and "flip forever" which I didn't love.  Good showing for both though and I liked the tease with Mortos, that's gonna rock.  Mariah and Aminata was solid.  Main event was a fun mess and I was more than fine with Ospreay/Fletcher winning

[The Green Meanie]

3 minutes ago, ExcellenceofAirPollution said:

Hangman promo and confrontation with Jarrett was dope too.  "WHO ASKED YOU?  WHO ASKED YOU?"

Oh! That's something else I wanted to mention! I'm glad they FINALLY acknowledged The Dark Order pointing out that Hangman is a BAD FRIEND, but I wish they had done more other then what Uno had said.

[NikoBaltimore]

While watching this back I noticed Big Bill give Jericho a confused look when Chris said "And if you think you have a friend you're probably being used."  I think it's a bit soon to do a Bill face turn but looks like they're laying the foundation for that to happen.

As for the title match I don't see how this benefits Darby.  He by rights should win so he can get his title win at WrestleDream.  But I can't see Mox losing either after going this direction.  And in trying to find an ending that works there just simply isn't one.  If Mox cheats or Bryan gets involved it cheapens the match which for title matches/opportunities TK has been mostly careful on making those clean.  So if it's a clean loss for Darby then that's almost worse because it just proved what Mox said this week.  Darby might be bulletprooof but that only goes so far.

[HarryArchieGus]

Around 8am Thursday morning, the Outrunners music hit, and my stomach was full of butterflies. That pop! When they got in the ring and started tearing up all the teams my eyes suddenly became filled with tears of joy. I fought them back, but to no avail when Truth and Turbo hit the megapower handshake elbow I couldn't hold back any longer. Another great example of the endless possibilities in pro wrestling in the year 2024. And something that could only have happened in AEW. Two of the most unselfish performers becoming stars. At least for one night.

[AxB]

5 hours ago, ExcellenceofAirPollution said:

  I hope Jericho adds that to what Cassidy owes him....in fact lets get weeks of Cassidy racking up a bigger and bigger debt

 

A great idea, with only one drawback. The natural place for a final, conclusive match to climax an angle about a babyface owing a heel money, is on a show called Double or Nothing. But that PPV is usually in May, and I don't want the feud to last 9 months.

[RazorbladeKiss87]

2 hours ago, NikoBaltimore said:

While watching this back I noticed Big Bill give Jericho a confused look when Chris said "And if you think you have a friend you're probably being used."  I think it's a bit soon to do a Bill face turn but looks like they're laying the foundation for that to happen.

 

I saw that too but was half asleep so I'm glad I didn't imagine it. Hopefully Big Bill gets to destroy Jericho. 

Seeing NEWZ sites taking Nigel's "Oasis will play me to the ring at Grand Slam" at face value, which is just insane. 

[Curt McGirt]

Re: Oasis, TK has a lot of money, but he's not a miracle worker. 

Speaking of which surely TK has a warehouse for all the AEW stuff somewhere where he keeps shit like Jericho's jacket. Maybe the REAL GLASS windshield. Nick Gage's pizza cutter. 

I'm gonna have to pass on taking a post-lunch nap and watch at least the Moxley stuff today before work

[RazorbladeKiss87]

1 hour ago, Curt McGirt said:

Re: Oasis, TK has a lot of money, but he's not a miracle worker. 

 

I wonder what it would take to get them to the States for one song? As far as I've seen, they don't even have their full line up announced for the reunion shows. 

[YouHaveUntil5]

If a less than zero chance of something happening exists, it’s Oasis playing at an AEW show before their actual reunion tour starts. 

[Zakk_Sabbath]

Sorry I got got by the fake Roderick/Danielson news the other day but this one's direct from TK and I am PSYCHED:

 

https://x.com/TonyKhan/status/1834350734869234052?t=P7ZceQbLeXOztrv1KTJINA&s=19

[odessasteps]

I didn’t realize this tour is at least partially due to one brother getting a divorce and losing half his money. L