Lawful Metal Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 They announced Colt Cabana coming out to do AEW Dark commentary with Excalibur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodear Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 (edited) The name Pepper Parks sounds like he should be dating Tony Stark. Edited December 19, 2019 by Goodear 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerva Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Well they needed a consistent Dark commentary guy so it is fine. At this point Dark is the dark match show and has no relevance to main product. Although maybe it should given some of the quality matches. Maybe you need to watch if you want to see the next star coming but otherwise you aren't missing anything. As long as he stays in that role and/or some matches here and there I have no issue with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 4 minutes ago, Jamal said: Cool to see Kris doing so well. I saw her, for the first time, at SHIMMER against Allysin Kaye and could definitely see the potential. I’m torn on whether I want to see her actually defeat Riho or not since I’ve enjoyed her as champion. I do like Brandi’s unit thus far. Waiting for them to throw Melanie Cruise in the ring too. The obvious finish is Brandi and company fucking Statlander out of the title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyLaw Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Is the Dark Order’s plan to eventually recruit all of the other tag teams, so they have no competition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawful Metal Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Why isn't Brandi just Cody's manager or something? When Bunny was interfering in the tag match, Brandi should've been there to stop that. Motivations in AEW are a little weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerva Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 1 minute ago, JonnyLaw said: Is the Dark Order’s plan to eventually recruit all of the other tag teams, so they have no competition? Their plan should be to recruit as many AEW fans as possible so it seems like people care about them. Maybe they can recruit Meltzer or Alvarez 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 42 minutes ago, Oyaji said: Jesus Christ. I don't want to hear about Dave being an AEW homer ever again. He said this was a tipping point and it was WCW. Basically because it is not NJPW America it isn't what people were hoping for. Hyperbole to the max. Ooor, could it be that different people want different things? I was JUST coming here to say something about this. Holy fucking shit, Dave is off of his fucking rocker and everyone saying he's all in for AEW can shut up. I said something about this a couple weeks ago, but Dave is the biggest WWE supporter I know of. I've never heard anyone make more excuses for what is something that is barely watchable and say week after fucking week that it's not as bad as WCW. If I had hair, I'd pull it out listening to Dave say WWE isn't that bad or make excuses for it or whatever. And then this fucking guy has the audacity to go on and on and on about how AEW is WCW, how AEW is kicking viewers to the curb, and say, AFTER 30 MINUTES TALKING ABOUT EVERYTHING GOOD THAT WAS ON DYNAMITE, that in fact Dynamite wasn't good. Jesus Christ...Like, Dynamite was fine. It was pretty good actually and didn't do anything close to death bed WCW did or kick viewers to the curb. I think Meltzer is just very disappointed that AEW isn't the US version of NJPW and isn't a vanity project for Omega and the Bucks. I really think he thought that it was going to be pure sports wrestling with Omega and the Bucks on top of everyone, which is hilarious because before this all really got going, you had multiple people on here and elsewhere say that Dynamite was just going to be a vanity project for Omega and the Bucks, that they would only be putting themselves over because that's what Hall, Nash, and Hogan did, and so on. WOR was Meltzer at probably his very worst when it comes to reviewing a wrestling show and was probably his worst take ever on a wrestling show and I say this as someone who nearly hates the Dark Order, who thought the closing angle went over like a fart in church, and how the ending to the main event fell flat. Like you said, different people want different things and Dave doesn't have a clue for what people want. He knows what he wants and then that becomes what everyone else wants. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintedbynumbers Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 9 minutes ago, Craig H said: I was JUST coming here to say something about this. Holy fucking shit, Dave is off of his fucking rocker and everyone saying he's all in for AEW can shut up. I said something about this a couple weeks ago, but Dave is the biggest WWE supporter I know of. I've never heard anyone make more excuses for what is something that is barely watchable and say week after fucking week that it's not as bad as WCW. If I had hair, I'd pull it out listening to Dave say WWE isn't that bad or make excuses for it or whatever. And then this fucking guy has the audacity to go on and on and on about how AEW is WCW, how AEW is kicking viewers to the curb, and say, AFTER 30 MINUTES TALKING ABOUT EVERYTHING GOOD THAT WAS ON DYNAMITE, that in fact Dynamite wasn't good. Jesus Christ...Like, Dynamite was fine. It was pretty good actually and didn't do anything close to death bed WCW did or kick viewers to the curb. I think Meltzer is just very disappointed that AEW isn't the US version of NJPW and isn't a vanity project for Omega and the Bucks. I really think he thought that it was going to be pure sports wrestling with Omega and the Bucks on top of everyone, which is hilarious because before this all really got going, you had multiple people on here and elsewhere say that Dynamite was just going to be a vanity project for Omega and the Bucks, that they would only be putting themselves over because that's what Hall, Nash, and Hogan did, and so on. WOR was Meltzer at probably his very worst when it comes to reviewing a wrestling show and was probably his worst take ever on a wrestling show and I say this as someone who nearly hates the Dark Order, who thought the closing angle went over like a fart in church, and how the ending to the main event fell flat. Like you said, different people want different things and Dave doesn't have a clue for what people want. He knows what he wants and then that becomes what everyone else wants. I've said this before and I'l say it again. Wrestling is art and is subjective. Who's to say anyone's opinion is better than anyone elses? What has Meltzer really done to show that his opinion matters more than anyone else who has followed the sport for decades? I know Chris Hero loves the guy but what do the majority of workers think of Dave? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hagan Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Chris Jericho and Steve Austin seem to respect the guy but your mileage may vary on if they know what a good wrestling opinion is. Loving the overreaction to Dave's take. Dude really can't win on opinions. A over-pushed heel act killing your top babyfaces who have already taken loss after loss is hard to spin as a great move and, yeah, is exactly the mistakes WCW made and are exactly the mistakes WWE makes. Everyone pumped on last night's finish must also be really loving King Corbin and co. running roughshod on Smackdown. But hey - the ratings tell the story. Maybe the Dark Order as a main event angle will click but we all gotta be surprised how Omega and co have been booked. The company was literally created because they were free agents and so far they've been used to heat other guys up. It's a strategy that is pretty antithetical to how most companies start. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenalysis Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 I really think Omega and the Bucks know that they only got a few years left on their bodies, and they want to make a company that will last beyond them. The problem is you gotta make it 5 years to make it 50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 2 hours ago, hammerva said: I can't imagine that anyone knew that Rhea vs Shayna would be the main event and thought an angle with a dead in the water Dark Order beatdown would actually be better. I mean even AEW biggest fan boys aren't high on the Dark Order. WWE announced a few days ago that Cole/Balor would open the show last night, so I imagine plenty of people assumed Ripley/Baszler would main event. And I'm a huge AEW fanboy and I'm pretty high on Dark Order. It needs a lot of work, but I'm here for it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 You have to break some eggs to make an omelet. Up until last night, the majority of people had been praising the Dark Order vignettes. Then they came out and they're trying to establish this group or horde as something more than just jobbers. I mean, there were 20 of the fucking dudes. If 20 dudes get their asses beat by 6 or 7 wrestlers, then that looks bad. They do the opposite and have the numbers win and people say it looks bad. Also, the top babyfaces aren't taking loss after loss. Cody and Darby both won and Cody has a winning record. The Bucks had been on a winning streak and beat PnP last week. Kenny and Page won last week and Kenny won a gang of matches leading up to it. Page has won a bunch of matches too. Arguably, based on how everything has been positioned, Moxley is the top babyface, Darby, Cody, and Jungle Boy are in that conversation too, the Bucks and SCU are both the top babyface tag teams, and all of these people have been booked strongly. This notion that all they do is lose is ridiculous. People must all be ignoring that storyline going into the tag title match last night and it was something discussed on commentary was that this was way too soon for the Bucks to have their title shot because they just went through hell the previous week. SCU were sold as the fresher and healthier team and they beat a weakened Young Bucks team. That's logical booking. Yeah, I think the Dark Order sucks and I would like it if they just moved on from them because at least for the live crowd and me they don't seem like they're getting over, but I appreciate that they're trying to get them over. We've also seen evidence that Omega, the Bucks, Cody, Tony, and others are more than willing to fold a shitty hand or push all in when the time is right. I think with the Dark Order, they may have misread the positive buzz for their vignettes and thought they were ready for this spot. Now they're probably going to take a loss on them, but I have way more confidence in this promotion or if something similar happened in NXT or even Impact these days than I would with Raw or SD course correcting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodear Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 I don't see this being related to WCW. The NWO beat the shit out of the faces on that show all the time but those were stars beating up stars. This is more like Baron Corbin's nameless security team and the Bollywood Boys beating up the Shield and New Day at the same time. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORELOCK Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Meltzer has his head up his own ass regardless of which wrestling promotion he's talking about. He's valuable as a historian but I don't know why people lend so much weight to his opinions on current wrestling. His influence, which is all over every US promotion if not worldwide, has been very negative overall as far as what I personally am looking for in a wrestling product. I look forward to the day that wrestlers are more concerned with telling logical stories in the ring with psychology than they are with chasing his star ratings. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawful Metal Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 The only thing I care about the Dark Order is the fat dude from the vignettes who wanted to join so he could make friends. Spotted him in the ring (well, a fat creeper at least). I didn’t want him to get hurt even though he was the one attacking people. They made me care about that dude, at least. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVA Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 The reaction to last night’s episode is a fascinating example of recency bias at work, I think. By most accounts, the rest of the show was fine, and even quite good in spots, but the last thing everybody remembers is the Dark Order angle, and so there’s this perception (at least among a vocal contingency of the online discourse) that the booking is off the rails and the promotion is in peril. And, unfortunately for AEW, they have to live with that being the narrative for 2 weeks. I’ll be interested to see what kind of show they respond with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerva Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 (edited) That is one thing on Meltzer I completely disagree with on his hot take yesterday. He keeps talking about how the Elite/Bullet Club is weaker since AEW got started. Listen if you thought the main purpose of the promotion was to make the Bucks, Adam Page, Cody, and Kenny Omega look strong then you shouldn't have created the fucking company to begin with. this is like thinking that a NWO based brand in WCW would have worked. Maybe for a couple months but that is it Besides they aren't looking "weak" anyway in the end. The Bucks ultimately won their feud with LAX and will definitely handle the Dark Order. Kenny Omega is ultimately going to get hot again. Cody is going to get some shine back against MJF (who is more important to the build of this company in my opinion). Now Adam Page has become an issue and I am not sure what they can do for him. Edited December 19, 2019 by hammerva 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 It amuses me that Punk is working with (not for, I know) WWE and now Cabana is working for AEW 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kang Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Meltzer wants AEW to be more workrate pro wrestling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Another thing that amuses me is that, going back to the WON HOF thread, Ibushi is closer to the HOF than Omega... probably because Omega is doing AEW and Dave isn't sure if he likes what Omega is doing there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig H Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 It's one of the more amusing stories now with Dave souring on AEW because it wasn't an NJPW clone. I mean, that's what ROH tries to be and look where they're at. To an extent, NXT is NJPW-lite and they're treading the same viewership water and seem to have a different audience than AEW. From the outset, the EVPs set out to run a wrestling promotion with long term booking, a tag team division that matters, not dicking over their fans, and delivering an all inclusive product. They've largely done that. At no point did they ever say they would be the best sports style wrestling show and that's how they would be an alternative to WWE. Even with the Dark Order shit and some other stumbles, I still think Dynamite is fun as fuck to watch and it never feels like 2 hours. It's never a chore to watch and I like seeing the storylines develop. It's everything Raw and SD aren't and so this makes it a refreshing alternative to me, much like NXT is a refreshing alternative because it's just good matches and super simple storylines. I have problems with NXT too, but they're different than the ones I have with AEW and that's fine. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 (edited) Nxt is nwa lite more than NJPW lite unless they've changed dramatically since i stopped watching. I love the variety show approach AEW is taking. It's not perfect and they are still trying to figure out how to pace a show perfectly so that main event is consistently the most important thing but I like what they're doing, clearly. It's part PWG and part ECW. Personally I would like for matches to be more like Cody's match structure than the PWG with money approach most of the other matches take. Clearly defined characters wrestling fairly traditionally but with 2019 moves. The psychology is more important than pace but you don't need to slow it down at all times or do mandatory rest holds. There's a happy medium for me between the two that they haven't quite found yet. I'm fine with them pushing guys above their station here and there. They've done it incredibly well with three babyface future stars in Allin, Scorpio (less sure about him), and Jungle Boy Jack Perry. The heel side hasn't worked so well with Spears and Dark Order after last night's angle. They could recover the DO from this misstep but I don't think rushing into a feud with the top guys is where they need to be unless Page is actually joining them. It would fit character wise with what he's been doing but the crowd loves them some cowboy shit. Edit: to be clear, I am not arguing all of the matches should be like Cody's just the "generic aew match" structure had a bit more emotional depth than spots for spots' sake. Edited December 19, 2019 by Oyaji 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kang Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RRR Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Would it be more fair to say Dave expected AEW to be more like a televised version of PWG and not NJPW?! Just throwing it out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts