AEW Dynamite - 1/8/2020

[Casey]

Just now, NoFistsJustFlips said:

I think you're mistaking Sonny Kiss for Big Swole. I know I saw Big Swole out there. I don't remember seeing Sonny Kiss involved.

Sonny Kiss ran down with Big Swole, but he stayed outside the ring. The announcers even mentioned him.

[NoFistsJustFlips]

Just now, Casey said:

Sonny Kiss ran down with Big Swole, but he stayed outside the ring. The announcers even mentioned him.

I must have missed that. Awkward on me, lol.

[TheVileOne]

Honestly I really enjoyed the ending for tonight's show. I figured Moxley was going to bait and switch Jericho, but I like that they sold it for like five minutes before turning on him. I figured once the other Inner Circle members left the ring it was going to happen. So, did I see that coming? Yes. But they actually laid it in and let the angle breathe for a few minutes before they pulled the trigger.

Sometimes predictability can be good when you do it the right way.

[Eivion]

33 minutes ago, Casey said:

The cronyism extends way beyond just QT, Cutler and Dr. Luther though. You can't bring up the "bad" workers and not bring up the fact that people like Best Friends or Hikaru Shida were signed because of their connections to one or more of the EVPs.

Shida was not connected to any of the EVPs. Even Riho barely knows/knew Kenny despite the story they sold of them being friends.

[TheVileOne]

The Nightmare Collective and Dark Order stables seem too similar and they are now running at the same time on the same show.

What happened to Evil Uno and Dark Order punishing the dude with the bad punches? After that YouTube video, I was looking forward to that. Also, since that was a good video for the Dark Order, they should put that stuff on TNT as well and not relegate it to YouTube only, especially if they are getting close to 2 million viewers with the DVR numbers.

[John from Cincinnati]

23 minutes ago, TheVileOne said:

What happened to Evil Uno and Dark Order punishing the dude with the bad punches? After that YouTube video, I was looking forward to that. Also, since that was a good video for the Dark Order, they should put that stuff on TNT as well and not relegate it to YouTube only, especially if they are getting close to 2 million viewers with the DVR numbers.

The call-out was an internet thing. Doesn't bother me that the response is also an internet thing.

Also, all Dork Order content should be relegated to the tubes as supplemental content. Why subject TNT viewers to that garbage? 

[Ultimo Necro]

Disappointed with everything other than the tag match & Jericho on this show.

I didn’t really enjoy last week outwith Sammy G, either.

Not a great start to the year in all honesty 

[Brian Fowler]

I didn't see anyone mention this, apologies if I missed it: 

The car probably isn't getting destroyed. According to Meltzer, it's Shad Kahn's actual $750,000 car he let them use for the angle because he's enjoying AEW so much.

Opening tag was fun though.

Women's title was rocking until it got stupid. I know they've said that they don't want to do non-finishes and DQs, but that would be better than this much interference then having a pin. Riho and Statlander worked great together though. Kong being so obviously broken and washed is sad. Is the other girl in the Collective any good? 

I was also disappointed in Brandi on commentary. There was at least one time she sat in with Kevin Kelly and whoever on NJPW World and was shockingly good at the job. But her doing heel schtick just sucks. She's no good at it, and she's a pretty good face valet.

I thought The Dark Order segment was... Fine. The faces being smarter, coming out all at once and standing tall helps. Daniels/Guvera was good enough.

The Brotherhood vs Lucha Bros was really fun.

JE vs BF and Cassidy was fun but not much else.

Moxley/Inner Circle was exactly what it should be. The face is smart, the heels are dumb, the face gets over on them. Rinse repeat. Moxley should get over huge if they keep that up until Revolution.

[TheVileOne]

1 hour ago, West Newbury Bad Boy said:

The call-out was an internet thing. Doesn't bother me that the response is also an internet thing.

Also, all Dork Order content should be relegated to the tubes as supplemental content. Why subject TNT viewers to that garbage? 

It seemed significant. If they are running with this as one of the top storylines, seems like important information.

[DreamBroken]

I liked tonight's show and didn't think it was bad. Opening tag was fun, I like Omega & Hangman together and glad the forced 'miscommunication' spots didn't force a turn yet. Enjoyed what we got of Riho/Kris but figured we knew going in that there was going to be some sort of interference, whether from Nightmare Co or Nyla or even Britt with her in the crowd. Actually thought Brandi was hilarious on commentary, maybe my favorite role for her yet. "They looked pissed off, whats wrong with them" when they showed Shida & Britt randomly together and her banter with Excalibur. I know Kong isn't looking great but I hope Mel Cruise has a good showing next week. Was digging Rhodes Bros/Lucha Bros a lot, awesome finish with the Dustin Destroyer followed by Cody Cutter into the end. DDP and MJF were great,  love that DDP is going to wrestle next week. Six man tag was a lot of fun and felt like everyone involved shined a bit, especially Cassidy. Thought Daniels/Guevara weaving in multiple stories was pretty cool. Lastly felt the closing segment was excellent. Went in expecting an ordinary predictable segment as obviously no way Moxley was joining but it went on just long enough that I thought he was really going to be in for a little while. Fantastic work from him and Jericho in the end, fitting to have a DDP/Outsiders style moment. Looking forward to next week, a 2 part Bash at the Beach should make for a fun event, and Pac/Darby sounds pretty cool.

[paintedbynumbers]

I don't think anyone else brought this up but for a show that really seemed to promote the Memphis legends weeks before the event, they really didn't do much with them on camera if at all.  Lanny Poffo got some time but that was really it.  Marko got the pop he did because he is from Memphis.   It was an ok show but nothing special.  Really wish the women's match would have ended clean.  The Moxley angle was predictable but the bigger problem I have is say we get Moxley-Jericho on PPV in February.  Where do we go from there?  Omega seems to be going down a road to feud with Page, Cody and MJF have their thing going, who is left for Moxley if he wins?  Pac? He's had a title shot.  Who is left for Jericho if he wins?  Darby? Dustin?    It's hard to predict which direction AEW wants to go in. 

[Brian Fowler]

Long term, I'm fairly confident the plan is a Jericho/Omega rubber match.

[J.T.]

Not the strongest show they've put on.  It worked out for me because I flipped to NXT just in time to hear the announcement that the Time Splitters are going to compete in the Dusty Tag Tournament.

I never thought I'd see the day where Kong needed protecting, but here it is.

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

Years of Ben booking has me convinced the Dark Order is going to be led by Colonel Parker.

[Technico Support]

I'm not as down on this show as some but god damn, the bad stuff was really bad.

The good:

• Good matches up and down the show despite two fuck finishes (see below).  Omega & Page vs Luchas felt like it could have ended a few spots earlier than it did but still really good.
• I didn't mind some bits of Brandi on commentary, calling Excalibur "Xibit," calling Baker dumb, etc.  I do agree that she did nothing to advance the angle on commentary, though.
• I like how they're drawing out Page/Omega.  Vince would have had them turn six times by now.
• Loved Excalibur's heartfelt shout out to John Ian.
• Great promo by MJF.  I had issues with his promo last time because he kept stopping to troll the fans whenever he started losing heat.  None of that this time.  Excellent.  Loved him checking his phone, looking bored, while DDMe shilled everything under the sun.
• Very noticeable on the show how AEW keeps the majority of their stuff in-ring.  No bullshit skits where you're wondering why an invisible cameraman is there and why you feel like a moron for watching.
• Fun end-show angle.  It really did look like Moxley might join them for a little bit.  Chris totally should not have signed the title to the car until he had Moxley locked down Loved sad Hager cradling Jericho's head.
• Next week's show looks good.

The bad:

• Two interference finishes in a row is just bad layout/booking.  
• If the storyline is that Daniels has doubts as to whether he still has it, so much so that he considers joining Dark Order for a few seconds, then the angle could have only been strengthened by having Guevara go over clean.  Also, losing a match due to a guy talking on a mic 30 yards away is some corny-ass WWE shit, second only to losing because you're distracted by someone's music.
• I thought we'd get a clean finish in the women's match after thwarting the interference, which would have been cool.  But nope.  Also, Statlander walking over to the ropes for her finish (of course to allow the interference) was fucking dopey as shit.  Building Statlander as a big challenger for weeks, and then giving us this bullshit finish, was awful.
• Beautiful.  So the women's division is booked around this group:
  • Two women who really can't go
  • One woman who is an unknown
  • An over the hill indy guy nobody knows or gives one shit about
• Butcher and Blade are jobbers and that sucks.  Maybe give them a squash match soon?  Damn.
• DDP shilling like Ron Popiel out there was too much.  I hate to paint AEW as "the higher-ups' friends and family show" but The Rhodes Brothers going over clean when they're not an established team and are not in an angle to challenge for the belts, Brandi getting a huge angle, Jericho's nobody friend getting a job, and Page getting to hog camera time to hawk his shit is all a bit much.  

 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Technico Support

[eikerir]

I'm making my way through the show now but Brandi calling Excalibur, Xzibit was hilarious.

 

[cubbymark]

12 minutes ago, RolandTHTG said:

Years of Ben booking has me convinced the Dark Order is going to be led by Colonel Parker.

And Bunkhouse Buck will show up and kick each and every one of their asses with his cowboy boots and brass knuckles.

[hammerva]

Just now, cubbymark said:

And Bunkhouse Buck will show up and kick each and every one of their asses with his cowboy boots and brass knuckles.

Given their punching ability in beat downs there is no way in fuck the Dark Order is tied to a Fuller

[Rehabilitated Rick]

Too many cooks in the kitchen. It was always going to happen. Too much creative liberty creates overlaps and with no trade-offs, we get shit like the Dark Order and Brandi Rhodes' American Horror Story cult in back-to-back segments. Who is the authority here? They have Arn and Malenko directing the shows, they need to speak up. Don't get me wrong there's plenty of good, but the bad really sticks out like a sore thumb. I'd kill for whoever books NXT to book AEW talent filmed in AEW arenas.

Also I'm over the tag team matches, time for some real showcasing.

[Godfrey]

I really enjoyed Omega and Page/Private Party as well as Rhodes/Luchas. The slow burn with Adam Page is awesome. If they play it right they could have a world class heel turn OR a fake out leading to an even better face run. That and the Mox/Jericho angle are the only ones that are working perfectly right now, although I agree turning Christopher Daniels’ botch into a mini-redemption story was neat too (even the Dark Order stuff worked with it). All that felt good even if the crowd wasn’t always there. And I was more into Marko Stunt this time around because he was way over and wrestled to his size a little better.

I hate to pile on but this Nightmare Collective stuff is awful. Its insulting to the fans to hype a match for weeks in a company promising sports-like presentation and then deliver a TNA at their worst level angle. I was really stoked for Riho/Statlander and now they’ve disappointed me, the wrong emotion to evoke. Brandi did not deliver the right message on commentary unless they’re transitioning the NC stuff into more of a generic heel stable instead of a cult. She’s supposed to be the mastermind, she can’t then say she doesn’t control her minions, it goes against the whole gimmick. Also: What’s the point of adding a huge dude to a group in the women’s division? Are they going to do intergender matches? And he immediately lost any heat he might have had when Riho, the smallest woman on the roster, took him down. And that’s not just Luther either. I guess Butcher and the Blade are at the Heath Slater level of getting wiped out by barely mobile legends when they could’ve been a major addition to the tag ranks. AEW has a bad habit of robbing people of any mystique shortly after their debuts and I find it a little infuriating.

Mixed bag show for me. The good was good but the bad was baaaad.

Edit: it just occurred to me that Brandi is getting Baron Corbin-style heat. Not what you should be aiming for.

Edited January 9, 2020 by Godfrey

[Technico Support]

Also tired of seeing Frank Thomas hawking discount dick pills

[Jiji]

Big Dave spoke to how last night's match exposed Statlander and even though I couldn't bring myself to watch the whole thing, it wasn't just the Nightmare Collective stuff that sucked about that match. I think Riho is a very sympathetic babyface who is pretty good and sometimes very good in-ring but not somebody who should be the cornerstone of a top notch women's division (yet though she's been wrestling forever so who knows how much better she's going to get). Statlander has all the potential in the world but is green. They've done a good job of building her up but she's nowhere near ready to be champ even in a division as limited as this. Their best bet right now is probably to run with Shida. Start building up her personality so she's not just "pretty darn good wrestler." If Khan and Omega want this thing to turn into a strength of the show, they absolutely need to get Tessa Blanchard the minute she hits free agency. From there, try to add a vet or two from WWE or the indies and choose four women to really build the division around. More than anybody, the women need a performance centre equivalent. Omega has talked about how important this is and you know he is pushing for it but I reckon it's not financially viable at this stage. Instead, the women need to be taking in all of the indie bookings they can get in the meantime. 

[NikoBaltimore]

I actually don't mind that the women's division is going against Nightmare Collective.  I would have been just fine with some tag matches happening leading up to a Riho/Statlander match at Revolution.  But they did shoot themselves in the foot by attempting it last night though I think they'll be able to salvage this come PPV time.  And I love Kong but she's too broken down for this.  As for Luthor I've heard a lot about him through Jericho's podcast but have no desire to see him on TV.  Hopefully he's just a temporary addition until Brandi kayfabe banishes him for incompetence.

That aside I did like the show.  I had a feeling that they wouldn't have a hot crowd there so that didn't surprise me.  But despite that there were still some pretty fun matches in Rhodes/LB and JE/BF.  After Marko's interview on the Road To special it was great seeing him get that hometown love.  I'm not as down on him as others may be and hope for better things with him.  As for Moxley I loved the wink to the camera he gave to let us know his plans.  I can see why it may have gone long but letting them have some bubbly and a false sense of security was a nice way to ensure that he had Jericho alone to do his move.

[cubbymark]

22 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

Also tired of seeing Frank Thomas hawking discount dick pills

I suppose it is the TNT corporate synergy that has Frank Thomas shilling dick pills instead of Conrad Thompson. 

[Craig H]

I really didn't have the same problems with this show that some of you had. A couple of you mentioned the crowd was dead and I think that may have been your own feed or audio. On my end the crowd was active and engaged and pretty hot all night. This was actually one of the first times I thought the music sounded loud and clear and that the audience was mic'd well too.

The Nightmare Collective stuff was shit and spooky pervert factions and angles just don't work in 2020 when they're done like this. If they want to fuck with Kris then just beat the shit out of her and draw the DQ. DQ's AREN'T BAD. Yeah, no one wants a DQ in a title match, but if you do it well to setup something else then it can work.

As for what could make the women's division work, beyond signing Tessa the instant she can sign somewhere else, I would say they should do everything possible to sign Io and Kairi Sane as well. Both of their contracts are coming up and both would be a huge upgrade to the women's division. They also may be available before Tessa as well. I know there's the thought that Io and Kairi might both go to Stardom, but this is one of those times where it would make sense to shell out the big bucks for recognizable stars. The other huge signing and probably the biggest one would be Charlotte Flair. There was the story from a month or two ago of Charlotte and Andrade filing trademarks for different names, which leads me to believe they're looking to protect themselves in case they jump ship. If AEW could have Riho, Shida, Statlander, Nyla, Charlotte, Tessa, Io, and Kairi all under the same roof...holy shit, that would be fucking amazing and you can instantly point to AEW as the premiere destination for women's wrestling in the US. Signing "big names" doesn't need to just be limited to the men. Signing a Tessa or a Charlotte or maybe even Io and Kairi would be just as big as signing a big name male wrestler.

But enough of that. Like I said, I thought this show was pretty good for the most part. Dark Order were treated like how they should be treated, which are spooky perverts that get owned by the higher skilled wrestlers on the roster. I liked the furthering of the story between Kenny and Page. Everything between them is clicking and the slow burn is working better than most of the other storylines going on. The 6 man tag was...ok? At first I thought it was a match purely for the live crowd because of Marko, but it wound up being a showcase for Jungle Boy and I thought he looked great here.

Cody and Dustin vs Lucha Bros was pretty good, but I wasn't feeling Arn talking for Cody. This just really highlights how little sense it makes for Arn to be managing Cody. Cody is one of the best guys on the mic in all of wrestling and having Arn speak for him is weird. I get that the idea is that Arn is protecting Cody from making a mistake that seasoned person like himself wouldn't make, but it would be better for Cody to be smarter and headstrong on his own than to have old man Arn talking for Cody.

Loved the main event angle, but I thought it ran too long. The beginning was a real WTF because I actually thought Mox was joining up with Jericho and then we'd see an angle play out between them where there's dissension between them and then they got me again when Mox was like nah, just fucking with ya.

This episode was uneven at times, but far from the worst one they've done both from the product on the screen and the technical side with audio and presentation.