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AEW - NOV 2021


The Natural

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Dark 11/23/21

Silver/Reynolds vs Dean/Bravo: I think I've seen about what I'm going to see in Reynolds at this point. He's solid, but he's the straight man of the ground who hits his stuff soundly and plays face-in-peril and makes everyone else stand out. It's fine, but I think there's still room for him to have some more unique aspects if he wanted and he could make some money off that. Maybe an eyepatch. Danielson can take his eye out. That'd be good. Infantry have kind of frustrating tandem offense. It's not tricked out enough to stand out but it's not so simple that they can really hone making it look straightforward and crisp. That "deal" move which is sort of a twisting full nelson leg sweep facebuster thing is dumb and even just a Stroke or full nelson Russian leg sweep would be better. What Reynolds does very well is hit the tandem stuff with Silver, which is how this ended.

Riho vs Dean: I don't know Dean's deal but she came off like a 80s Moolah trainee to me, with that sort of pushing around, hairpull offense and that's not a bad way to stand out a bit in 2021. Everything looked pretty good here but I think Riho should use the Northern Lights as her finish instead of as a set up (after a kick out) for the stomp.

2.0/Garcia vs Soriano and... two other guys: Love, love, love the double tags. Just a constant rhythm that makes sense and follows rules. The violence flows. Really present tag team wrestling in how they work it back into their own corner. I like how the tap happened before Garcia even sat back. Nice to get over that the Scorpion is dangerous even without that.

Hogan vs Mimi: I get why they don't have more for Hogan but it's a shame as she shows solid babyface skills. Both of them here worked the crowd well. I liked the clapping up out of the chinlock and how that was timed and the mat slapping that followed. Taz's joke about Bobby Fish throwing off Excalibur was pretty good. Nothing wrong here.

Bear Country vs Lennex/Carter: Awesome squash. The pile driver (Thunder fire driver? Rikishi driver?) onto the other guy was amazing in theory. I've never seen that but it's such a cool idea. It didn't look 100% in execution but you get the idea it hurt everyone involved that wasn't a bear, so you're cool with it. Then the pile up slam and the electric chair bear splash and just good times all along so long as you're not a wimpy.

Greene vs Ryan: Got to heat Greene up for Cole. Not a lot too this but he got to hit three big moves and have an ok counter or two. The belly to back was nasty. The body press was Karagious-esque but I think it's supposed to be. The crucifix driver looked a lot better in the slow mo, so maybe they need to figure out how to shoot it. Real sense of TBS studio days of a winded post match promo. Ok showcase.

Janela vs Clayton: Eh, this was fun. I had fun with this. Feints, distraction, antics, bs. Janela should lean into things even more. It's not so great that he teases the coast to coast only to do a run across the apron chinlock to screw the fans but then uses a top rope elbow drop as his finisher. Clayton came off like a Power Plant guy to me, and some of the quick cuts from production meant I didn't get a sense of his offense as much as I'd like.

Emi Sakura vs Valentina Rossi: One last match with Lulu. It was great how the crowd immediately started chanting Valentina only for Emi to charge across the ring and scream at them, making them stop. She hasn't done the Romero Special (Freddy Mercury version) in this run yet, and the studio crowd sort of went for it, so that was nice. Rossi's scream and then charge in fit the match but I wouldn't suggest her doing it against other opponents. Emi really should only do the stomp/clap/sing once before her corner splash instead of twice. Just saying. For 2022, I kind of hope we get an Anna Jay vs Emi Sakura mini feud. Queen vs Queenslayer. It writes itself.

Hardy vs Aldridge: Hardy probably gave him a bit too much here, especially after how timid Aldridge was in the pre-match mic bit. Would have been fine to dodge the headbutt off the top instead of the splash that came later. Johl is a guy who needs some spotlight matches to justify his existence there so at least he got to do things. Knox is not the greatest at positioning himself in a way to miss interference. That was an issue with the Janela match too, even though Joey was doing his best to help.

Acclaimed vs Anderson/Johnson: This was ok. Anderson is getting more comfortable in the ring every week even if there are positioning and timing issues that are blatant and show how much we take for granted with more seasoned wrestlers. That bit where he got in and out was pretty bad. Bowens and Johnson had a really nice exchange and the kip up bit with Johnson and Caster later on was cute. I like Bowens' pacing and how they controlled the ring in general. Anderson will get there.

Wardlow vs Crash Test Dummy Perez: I've seen Wardlow refuse to give more powerbombs when the fans have been chanting "one more time" before, because he is a heel, but here, there was just no helping it. Perez needed to be power bombed. It was his destiny. Someday, they're going to have Wardlow turn face on MJF and it'll be pretty glorious and he'll be the most over guy in the company and I really hope they have a plan for what's next for him then.

Comoroto vs Moriarty: Full worldwide point. Really good match. I love how hard Moriarty had to work for that arm. It was like a puzzle box where he might have to try a couple of different moves to get another shot at it. Comoroto was great with the escalating chipped away selling. I like how he tossed Moriarty out for Solo because that plays at your perceptions. He's so big and strong and dominant that he shouldn't have to do that. Comoroto's strength cutoffs on the armwork were all good. The finish worked because it showed Comoroto's power and arrogance and was a banana peel finish that protected the heel but still got over the face.

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Good on Kenny Omega reaching out. The Forbidden Door has helped both AEW and NJPW. Minoru Suzuki the biggest beneficiary. We've had Tomohiro Ishii, KENTA, Rocky Romero, Yuji Nagata and Satoshi Kojima. Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Zack Sabre Jr and Yano are must haves.

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I worry the eventual Wardlow turn on MJF might go the same way the "lackey turns on The Miz" bit went at least twice, where Riley/Sandow were incredibly over leading into the turn and during the feud, but then had nothing going for them away from Miz.

I do think Wardlow is more talented than either of them though, and Tony has generally been a better booker than modern Vince...

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4 minutes ago, Brian Fowler said:

I worry the eventual Wardlow turn on MJF might go the same way the "lackey turns on The Miz" bit went at least twice, where Riley/Sandow were incredibly over leading into the turn and during the feud, but then had nothing going for them away from Miz.

I do think Wardlow is more talented than either of them though, and Tony has generally been a better booker than modern Vince...

I'm with your 2nd paragraph, here. Wardog is way, way too good for that. It'll be more of a Diesel or Batista feel, I think. And the long term stuff has been so well done, it truly wouldn't surprise me if they let it simmer longer until MJF one day becomes champion.

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On 11/24/2021 at 9:29 AM, Matt D said:

Dark 11/23/21

Silver/Reynolds vs Dean/Bravo: I think I've seen about what I'm going to see in Reynolds at this point. He's solid, but he's the straight man of the ground who hits his stuff soundly and plays face-in-peril and makes everyone else stand out. It's fine, but I think there's still room for him to have some more unique aspects if he wanted and he could make some money off that. Maybe an eyepatch. Danielson can take his eye out. That'd be good. Infantry have kind of frustrating tandem offense. It's not tricked out enough to stand out but it's not so simple that they can really hone making it look straightforward and crisp. That "deal" move which is sort of a twisting full nelson leg sweep facebuster thing is dumb and even just a Stroke or full nelson Russian leg sweep would be better. What Reynolds does very well is hit the tandem stuff with Silver, which is how this ended.

Reynolds has struck me as a neo Christian before Christian figured out his formula. Solid but lacking a physical or emotional superlative to provide a hook for the audience. I totally agree he needs something to stand out since he is currently the most average wrestler alive. Honestly he is super deep in the AEW shuffle and will stay there unless something changes. 

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Well, think of a tag team. You've got the shorter guy, big beard, really strong, does all of the power moves. Really loud, outgoing "look at me" personality type. And then you've got the taller guy, long black hair, quieter, more reserved. Doesn't make as big of a first impression.

Are you picturing Silver and Reynolds, or the Hart Foundation?

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3 hours ago, Goodear said:

Reynolds has struck me as a neo Christian before Christian figured out his formula. Solid but lacking a physical or emotional superlative to provide a hook for the audience. I totally agree he needs something to stand out since he is currently the most average wrestler alive. Honestly he is super deep in the AEW shuffle and will stay there unless something changes. 

 

It's that which gives me a massive soft spot for Reynolds.  I've kinda adopted him as my guy to cheer for, the same way I did Taichi in NJPW.

 

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Two years in, I think Beaver Boy Alex Reynolds is having a terrific run.  He and Silver are fantastic.  Not unlike any sport you need character guys and strong components to each part of the card.  Reynolds has been excellent in that middle card.  A comparison to Christian is fair.  Christian did alright for himself, and Reynolds will too.  Nothing wrong or out of sorts here at all. 

I'm hoping to see Fenix healthy enough that the Lucha Bros can start working weekly title fights.  A bout v Silver and Reynolds sounds like a 'banger'.

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