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Saturday Dynamite - 10/23/2021


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Danielson and Dustin were amazing. I really like how AEW goes "hey, we have two all time great wrestlers sitting around the locker room. Let's give them 15+ minutes with no bullshit" on a fairly regular basis. 

Bucks/Kenny/Cole are such an unbelievably great group of douchebag heels. They get more hateable every week, and I can't wait to see Jungle Boy make one of them tap and Hangman take Kenny's head off.

Cody/Black was a really fun match. I think it was too early for the match to happen, and way too early for Cody to beat Black, but the match itself was great. 

The FTR promo was good.  MJF was a perfect dick per usual. 

I hope Archer recovers quickly. 

This show rules.

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I liked Dustin vs Danielson. It was good. And there were some specific moments that were great. The narrative didn't come together exactly as I would have liked though. There were little bits that they alluded to: Danielson having trouble with Dustin's long legs on rope breaks, Danielson wanting to win with a different submission hold every match, Dustin being defiant because he was over the hill or overlooked and no one was giving him a chance in the tournament, Dustin pulling out desperate offense because of that, maybe Dustin not wrestling an opponent as small as Danielson for a while and struggling with that for a bit, maybe the idea that Excalibur raised at the end that Danielson had been working over Dustin's midsection to soften him up for the guillotine (?) but none of it was overt enough for my liking, given the wrestlers that we had. Dustin's great at getting all this stuff over. They should have leaned into it a lot more, let it sink in, maybe picked something to focus on more clearly. Danielson's kind of coming off as technical, kick-happy Hansen to me, just with a few smarter, educated counters and spots. It's up to his opponent to survive him. And that makes for good, intense, hard-hitting matches, but it doesn't always make for the best stories. It's a personal choice, but I'd rather see the match serve the story they're trying to tell then the story serve the match and the action. (And the key to that is often letting things breathe more and leaning into the selling, emotional and otherwise).

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You know, I really did feel like an asshole last night for not being sure about the whole situation with Archer, but boy it's nice to see that the usual miserable fucks came into this thread to remind me that I'm actually not a bad dude ?

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I’m not going to defend the booking of the main, but Cody definitely started not selling and rushing his comeback at the end because the timing of the schmozz stuff in the middle got messed up and they were about to go off-air. 

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Actually, one of my favorite bits of Danielson vs Dustin was the post match, when Danielson was sort of bathing in it and then he realized that Dustin was being checked on by medical staff and he sort or rushed over to check on him too. You get the sense that he, as a character, is so into the moment now that all of the chains have been taken off of him and he's able to compete on this level for the first time in a decade+ that he's not entirely in control of his own intensity. That's going to boil over at some point, presumably.

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3 hours ago, eikerir said:

 

DMD is mind and body, sorry Tay you're not right here, but it's hard to suggest you're not.

3 hours ago, A_K said:

Anyone who thinks Cody Rhodes does not have an element of creative control lives in cloud cuckoo land. What a deadbeat parasite that guy is. A poor man’s Jeff Jarrett. 

The anti-Cody sentiment goes from realistic 'why is Cody a babyface' to Jeff Jarrett comparisons in one thread page flip to the next.  You can hate Cody for his silly neck tattoo, or his American Dream, his entrance music, his gorgeous wife, or whatever you like, but to suggest this guy who has strongly put over so many of his peers and kept himself (sure he has some pull) at the mid-card for the majority of his run has done anything but help this company to where it is lacks facts or 'science' in your op eds.  Cody is a gifted promo (but the patriotic promo! The patriotic promo!) and an above average wrestler (most of his matches are good to excellent) with a great look and fire.  Boohoo, if you don't like him, he's a bonafide star and he isn't hording titles or the spotlight.  Taking a win over Malakai Black is completely fine.  Sure, I would have liked to see Black go 3-0, but it was a really good match and there's no doubt that Malakai Black rebounds just fine.       

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I loved Danielson/Dustin so much because it had all the things you said it had in it, Matt, while not needing to be hamfisted about any of them. The announcers called attention to most of them too. It was a very good match on the surface, but when you add the attention to detail stuff like Dustin's determination to not be a pushover and put on a better performance than his last TV match (Malakai) along with the other things mentioned, I think it elevates it to greatness. Loved Dustin countering the Danielson comeback special with the powerslam. Repetitive and predictable spots like that, particularly ones not set up better, should be punished in rematches or matches against wily vets or students of the game. 

Jeez, that Danielson line on Kingston was mean-spirited. We are getting Danielson vs Moxley unless there's a pivot because of The Notebook, but it would be sweet if Kingston could humble Dragon a bit. Definitely more than just shades of his old ROH persona leaking through here. I feel like this tournament ends with Moxley, out of desperation after being pushed to his limit by Bryan, kicking Danielson in the nuts after some sort of ref shenanigans and hitting the paradigm shift. Something like that. A move from his perspective that can be justified by motivation to fight for his family regardless of consequences and it gives Bryan's first loss purpose (cementing a top guy's turn) and an out to keep him strong, possibly setting up a rematch too. Should be great however they pull it off but babyface Mox has had his run and needs a new purpose. Grumpy, tired new dad. Does he still use wild thing? If the turn works you could see stuff like small scale versions of the infamous Onita deathmatch in NJPW entrance. 

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28 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said:

The anti-Cody sentiment goes from realistic 'why is Cody a babyface' to Jeff Jarrett comparisons in one thread page flip to the next.  You can hate Cody for his silly neck tattoo, or his American Dream, his entrance music, his gorgeous wife, or whatever you like, but to suggest this guy who has strongly put over so many of his peers and kept himself (sure he has some pull) at the mid-card for the majority of his run has done anything but help this company to where it is lacks facts or 'science' in your op eds.  Cody is a gifted promo (but the patriotic promo! The patriotic promo!) and an above average wrestler (most of his matches are good to excellent) with a great look and fire.  Boohoo, if you don't like him, he's a bonafide star and he isn't hording titles or the spotlight.  Taking a win over Malakai Black is completely fine.  Sure, I would have liked to see Black go 3-0, but it was a really good match and there's no doubt that Malakai Black rebounds just fine.       

He’s a 36 year old career mid career who left the previous company because he could not pull a dime or hack it at the top end of the card despite his god-given hereditary name and fell into gold by Khan creating AEW, and who through his entire run in this company (the first few months aside) has either bogged it up with unattractive dirge (everything involving the “Nightmare Family” - has there ever been a more vacuous or unsubstantial ‘faction’) or caveated every incoming stars run against him by having the ‘last call’ (see: Brodie, Malakai). To be honest if we’re getting into it I’m a millionaire myself - do you really think I’m offended by him having a “gorgeous wife” or pyro on his entrance, or even the nature of his promos? No: the vulgarity comes from his utterly tasteless self-aggrandisement, the continual pushing to of his tried, hokie act and tired agenda when so many other talents are more deserving of the TV spot. He’s not a “meta genius” - he’s a one dimensional, utterly predictable bore who is getting booed by live crowds because that’s exactly what he is - a predictable, uncreative bore. The booking and how it is continually chopping fresh & more interesting acts is revolting. Malakai as a result has now peaked and it’s all downhill from here to a novelty act.

Edited by A_K
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11 minutes ago, A_K said:

He’s a 36 year old career mid career who left the previous company because he could not pull a dime or hack it at the top end of the card despite his god-given hereditary name and fell into gold by Khan creating AEW, and who through his entire run in this company has either bogged it up with unattractive dirge (everything involving the “Nightmare Family” - has there ever been a more vacuous or unsubstantial ‘faction’) or caveated every incoming stars run against him by having the ‘last call’ (see: Brodie, Malakai). To be honest if we’re getting into it I’m a millionaire myself - do you really think I’m offended by him having a “gorgeous wife” or pyro on his entrance, or even the nature of his promos? No: the vulgarity comes from his utterly tasteless self-aggrandisement, the continual pushing to of his tried, hokie act and tired agenda when so many other talents are more deserving of the TV spot. He’s not a “meta genius” - he’s a one dimensional, utterly predictable bore who is getting booed by live crowds because that’s exactly what he is - a predictable bore. The booking and how it is continually chopping now more interesting acts is revolting. Malakai as a result how now peaked and it’s all downhill from here to a novelty act.

Thanks for sharing your income.  It really helps understand your position.  Parroting WWE's viewpoint on a performer and assuming that's what everybody sees is also a key indication of your stance.  The overly sensitive and absurd take on Black peaking and going downhill from here tells me clarity might be an issue for you.

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Ruby's had just a really good run. One good match after another up and down with the heel roster. I want to see her against Baker again honestly, because both of them are very good at mugging, but in entirely different ways. Britt's great at looking at the camera and smiling or winking or whatever and Ruby does the stick-out-the-tongue thing in a way that makes her really seem in the moment. There's a cool contrast that can be leaned into there.

Fish looked good against Greene but I don't like them using the up and comer guys as nobodies on Dynamite that don't really get to show much. Greene got to get his big top rope move off but he could have been literally anyone else in the world past that. Find a way to highlight them more but still get over the "star." Felt like this was a little more of the same as the Yuta vs Mox match with the whole bullying theme.

Archer vs Kingston was really fun for what we got (which was more complete than I was expecting). I love Archer chopping Eddie in the corner and Eddie responding instantly with an eyepoke. I badly want to see Archer team with Luther and Serpentico now. And then he could start using Luther as a weapon too. It'd be great. Anyway, Archer really doesn't need to be doing flips and things. He has that Sid presence that pretty much unique in 2021 wrestling and he should be leaning into that with the power moves and over the top violence. The dives just dilute the act. Glad he's ok though. Looking fowrard to Danielson vs Kingston. I have to go back and watch their 2010 singles match.

Edited by Matt D
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The Brodie "feud" isn't really fair, since Brodie got sick basically right after that match and we aren't even really sure where he would have went post dog collar match versus Cody. It seemed like he was positioned for a feud with Hangman, and that would have been great for both of them, and let's be honest - the stuff with Cody and Brodie was actually really good, with Brodie putting in some of the best stuff of his entire career, both promo and match wise. Plus, just like WWE - especially at the time - there were no crowds to gauge reactions against, so in a purely story sense, the babyface overcoming to monster heel is basically wrestling 101. Right call here most likely, if not a little too soon for that rematch. But if they would have waited, with hindsight being what it is... Brodie would have had to relinquish the title anyway.

It's really too soon to say if this is the peak for Malakai, that seems pretty reactionary to something that just happened under 24 hours ago. Cody (and the Bucks, and Omega) put over a lot of fucking people in the early days of AEW, so much so that people were questioning that booking choice. Private Party over the Bucks? Omega had a pretty bad 2019, kayfabe wise anyway. Cody putting over MJF, and not winning the title VS. Jericho when Cody was RED fuckin' HOT (and that stipulation that they haven't went back on? that was Full Gear 2019, and it's now coming up on the 2021 version of the event and they've stuck to it).

I hate to be @John from Cincinnatiover here about Cody, but comparing him to TNA Jeff Jarrett is just fucking crazy.

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4 hours ago, AxB said:

As far as Jungle Boy vs The Elite, you're supposed to be exasperated that they keep beating him up. It's build to him getting a bigtime win when the odds aren't stacked against him, innit?

This is where I think the angle is going.  I'm not entirely convinced it will get there, though.  We've seen this angle go sideways plenty of times over the years when someone in creative gets cold feet or the heel uses his "backstage powarz" to get the finish changed.  Or, worse, the angle goes off as intended, but the babyface got beaten down and jobbed out so many times en route to his big revenge win that the crowd no longer cares.   We'll see.  Meltzer has claimed that the long-term plan for Jungle Boy has always been to push him hard, but they apparently decided to hold off that until they got crowds back, and now the window of opportunity may have passed.  Hopefully not, though.

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Jungle Boy should beat Cole at the ppv. Whatever happens I need that Christian turn and feud ASAP. They did a great job setting the table for that. Agreed on last night being a clear sign of improvement for JB on the mic. 

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Cody is nowhere near peak Jarrett or HHH. I just want his actions aligned with whatever story they are trying to tell. Tweeners should be organically created by the crowd, not manufactured by the bookers. It's not a meta, nuanced characterization as he's intending - it's an active hinderance into investing in his stories. 

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