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AEW Youtube Nonsense (Dark/Elevation, vlogs, etc.)


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2 hours ago, MoeCristyV.1.6 said:

Shafir's theme is so good. 

The "all business" character works, was interesting when they had their faceoff and Shafir started talking. Those Tehaka headbutts might have shook Shafir, she looked a little woozy when her arm was raised and if that was a sell it was impressive.

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10 minutes ago, JLowe said:

The "all business" character works, was interesting when they had their faceoff and Shafir started talking. Those Tehaka headbutts might have shook Shafir, she looked a little woozy when her arm was raised and if that was a sell it was impressive.

It was the first throw. Shafir landed on her head in a weird angle 

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AEW Dark 2/1/22 Quick thoughts.

Ogogo vs Kross: Ogogo is really trying here. He's trying to show personality, to customize what he's doing to his opponent. I think still has a way to go but he has an it factor that a lot of other people don't, so it's worth the investment. Maybe not as much so as it was a year ago for them given all the talent they've picked up and all the talent out there, but I do think he could be really good in a couple of years and he'd still only be in his mid 30s.

Ford vs Risk: I liked how Ford moved Risk around the ring. Nothing fancy but it was a bit of a Moolah trainee approach which always worked best for a mean, dominant heel. I don't think there's a lot of harm in throwing Ford at Jade for a heel vs heel spot, for instance. Otherwise there's not a whole lot to do with her with both champions being faces and one long scattered program over. Maybe if they wanted to shine someone underutilized like Hogan up for a title shot.

Marshall vs Liona: So QT 100% protected Toa here. Banana peel win out of nowhere. Toa really got a lot of stuff in. Had the crowd behind him. Teased a finish twice. But still, they should be protecting the guy more. I get heating Marshall up a bit for Hook or whatever, but Toa simply shouldn't be losing. There's value in the guy!

2.0 vs Bandit/Ish: I can see why someone might gravitate to Bandit in this one, but Parker really stood out. Lee's more of a loudmouth so it's easy to look past Parker, but he was really leaning on his opponents and came in with a chip on his shoulder. I love how nuts and bolts (mechanical) 2.0's tandem offense is while still differentiating from FTR while being another wrinkle of the same.

Archer vs Costa: Menace those kids Archer! It felt like an episode of jeopardy where i was trying to give Excalibur the answer (Stasiak!). Archer is a total killer in these but I'm not sure it transfers to actual matches enough.

Shafir vs Tahaka: Music remains great and different and Shafir figured out that she needs to walk out even slower to it. I don't know what it says about the match that everything was best early on before they were able to make contact with each other. All the misses were unique and go over what they were trying to do and probably got over what they achieved later. I got less of a sense that Shafir was filling the moments between things better than someone like Ford though.

Solo(no W!)/Comoroto vs Stewart/Casanova: Comoroto remains great. He knows just how much to give to get over his size. He'll stagger but not fall against these guys and then just break through them when it's time to shut things down. They should just lean into the Power and Glory vibes and do the Superplex. Honestly, wouldn't it be better if Comoroto's partner was Nese?

Nese vs Clayton: Clayton has size but he's super vanilla in these. Feels like the fourth guy in a mid-card stable. Maybe he's miscast as a face? Nese looked good here with his athletic counters and chained offense. Couldn't tell if they're still building to a Hook match or not.

Hogan vs Mazzerati: Good trash talk by Mazz. The moment at the end where she said she'd kick Hogan's head off and then walked right into the kick was beautiful. They really need to give Hogan a program already.

Angels/10 vs Davari/Khash: Davari looked like a real ring general out there. Always in the right place with the right timing. It showed. Khash asserted himself well, standing tall against Vance. It was Vance's birthday and they had him be face-in-peril with Angels as his partner? Angels worked the corner well but come on. Seemed a bit silly.

Martin/Sydal vs Bear Country: Permanent tape keeper right here. This would be one of those things that would slip onto a best AEW matches of the year comp just to give a little variety. I loved how in the moment they were and how they were obviously adapting on the fly and playing around with the studio crowd. The fake out standing moonsault was great. The actual missed moonsault that followed was one of the funniest things I've seen in forever, and Sydal calling for a suplex was almost as good. Let me put it this way. I bet half the roster couldn't have done this match and it's really important to have Dante in situations like this so that he can develop as a rounded out wrestler.

Moriarty vs Janella: Mostly good. A few too many kickouts in the end. I didn't love the pin exchange sequence. Moriarty remembered to sell when he was supposed to but I didn't always get the sense that he was inhabiting the situation fully. Janella streamed in and out into his complex stuff very well and I don't necessarily think the guy gets enough credit for what he can do as a base in that regard. Moriarty really needs the right opponent to keep his stuff grounded and Janella was definitely that. Post match promo was good in the theme but didn't quite get over the "Right now" bit well enough if he was going to make a bit out of it. If he wasn't, he should have switched it up.

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Elevation was kinda whatever this week, I couldn't even get up for the main for some reason. Proper Dark sounds like a good one though. Going to try and sneak that one in today while I work. Not sure what his contract status is, but I'm glad to see they're at least still using Janela. I know mileage may vary on that guy, but I really, really liked the lights out match with Sonny, and he looked to be in great shape on the GCW PPV

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37 minutes ago, Matt D said:

2.0 vs Bandit/Ish: I can see why someone might gravitate to Bandit in this one, but Parker really stood out. Lee's more of a loudmouth so it's easy to look past Parker, but he was really leaning on his opponents and came in with a chip on his shoulder. I love how nuts and bolts (mechanical) 2.0's tandem offense is while still differentiating from FTR while being another wrinkle of the same.

I didn't realize until this match that 2.0's name are Matt and Jeff.  UH OH!

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On 2/2/2022 at 9:54 AM, Matt D said:

Hogan vs Mazzerati: Good trash talk by Mazz. The moment at the end where she said she'd kick Hogan's head off and then walked right into the kick was beautiful. They really need to give Hogan a program already.

Absolutely!  She's a better talker/worker than most in front of her in the line.  It's rare to see AEW underutilized a talent, but there's clearly an argument to be made on the early positioning of Kiera Hogan.  

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I went out and brushed up on Danhausen over the last couple of weeks. That meant watching the Mike Bennett match, seeing the A&W unboxing, listening to the Oral Sessions interview. Not a ton. It gave me the sense that there'd be a lot of overlap in his act if I looked further, so I decided not to. One thing I saw posted elsewhere on his appeal was how relatable he came off as, that this is one of the most important things for people in their 20s right now in general. I can see that. What stands out the most to me with him is how hard he works to try to make everything work. I actually don't think he succeeds all the time either, or maybe even most of the time. You see missed opportunities up and down with the guy, but he's always trying and always striving. I imagine his misses or people watching the gears turning as he tries to come up with something in the moment has appeal to people, even if he's not as sharp in that moment as, let's say a Bobby Heenan, or even, I think, as sharp as he would have had to have been a decade or two earlier. To a big portion of the audience, he's more likable for his stumbles, basically.  

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You can definitely see the gears turning with Danhausen when he’s put on the spot, and there are definitely missed opportunities. The positive side of that is that he’s got so much raw charisma that he got himself incredibly over without being totally refined.  In a year he’ll probably have gotten better in ring through osmosis and he’ll be sharper on the mic. The DIY aesthetic is certainly part of his charm though.

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Best match on Elevation was the Acclaimed/Gunn Clubb versus Bigshotty Lee/Brock Anderson/Matt Sydel/Lee Moriarty.  The Ass Boys are only touching on their possible douchiness.  I can't figure out who is better in the ring, Bobby Fish or Trent Barretta,  Prolly Bobby Fish.  Julia Hart has progressed a little.

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I don't think it can be said enough how much I love Wright/Henry/Schiavone on commentary.  They're calling matches but are also just shooting the shit like the friends they are.  It really makes me feel like I'm at somebody's house and the older gents are having fun talking all kinds of stuff while there's wrestling on TV.

As for the matches I think I was most impressed by Julia Hart.  I was so used to seeing her happy self do kind of alright in matches.  She really brought the fire and I think this angle can be a good way to get her to up her game a lot more.

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Elevation 2/7/22

Fish vs Anthony: I'm vaguely thinking of how to cherry pick for a potential weekly SC thing. I don't really feel like I have time now but one idea would be to take an 80s-90s enhancement match and compare/contrast with something on these shows every week. Seems like too much work though. We'll see. Anyway, this would have been a great example for that. Fish gave Anthony a ton to the point where the announcers were creatively covering, talking about how Fish might have been using this as sort of a controlled environment sparring session to try new things and test himself. Anthony always looks good and the delayed vertical suplex stood out.

Diamante/Bunny/Emi vs Skye/Reckless/Aminata: Something to get Skye on the card, though being paired with a couple of named and known enhancement figures really does her no favors, especially given the finish (more on that in a second). I love the unity in the heel women's locker. Singing along for Emi, the triple submission with Bunny dancing about, and then the finish where all three hit their reverse headlock variation moves in tandem. Just oozing character and personality. Skye looked pretty good in there against Diamante and I'd like a Dark program of those two for a few weeks. Aminata got a little bit of shine but Reckless basically ran right into the heels' offense.

Scorpio Sky vs Wolf: Sky based for Wolf really well for his one bit of shine at the end (the walk up armdrag) and that looked great. Otherwise, he just crushed him as Page talked over it on commentary. I like the booth here but I'm still missing Kingston's edge.

Julia Hart vs Arie Alexander: Nice showing by Hart here. It's one thing to portray a character or a changed character, but she really walked the line, going from waving to looking annoyed and frustrated with everything on a dime. And the most important thing is to actually play it into what you do in the ring and it really showed in her aggression and the chip on her shoulder. Maybe she ends up heel, maybe not, but I think they should try her against Ford/Bunny for a mini program first.

Dante vs Solo: Solo doesn't deserve the "w". He's fine, perfectly fine. Where he should be. When he should be. Tries to interface with the crowd. Guy has to take a long look in the mirror and figure out how to get to the next level. I don't have an answer for him. The best stuff here was the tease of Comoroto vs Dante. Dante had some good mannerisms, capped off with staring Comoroto down on the finish.

Acclaimed/Gunns vs Brock/Lee/Lee/Sydal: Moriarty definitely works best in tags right now. He does his stuff and gets out and it never wears out its welcome. We talk up Bowens, and for good reason, but he still struggled on basing for some of Sydal's lightnng fast stuff, which is ok, but he's not all there yet and we shouldn't feel that he is. Brock looks better every week, though keep in mind he started from "brand new." The interaction between the Gunns and the Acclaimed remains very good, both the animosity and the camaraderie. Finish had a lot of moving parts but basically worked. Colton doing snow angles on the ramp after the match was maybe the best thing I've ever seen him do but it's more of an Austin thing and he should define himself differently.

Best Friends vs Chaos Project: I didn't love the shine here but it's because I was waiting for the antics. Once they started, everything was great. Taylor it running through both guys with a clothesline in the same direction after the hot tag was a fun spot I don't remember seeing before. The Chaos Project hug was a highlight. Luther is used pretty effectively in matches like this and Serpentico might be my favorite guy in the company.

Usually with these shows they're building towards Dynamite or Rampage by heating someone up and there wasn't much of that here. Wonder if that had something to do with the snowstorm or just that Dynamite seems underbooked so far.

Edited by Matt D
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It’s been such a pleasure seeing the rise of the Ass boys.  For anybody looking, tho there were very few, during the time he was buried by the salty critics each week, u could see what a potential pinball bump machine Austin could be. It’s heartwarming to see him find his way and reach toward his potential.  I highly doubt the Gunns win gold on Friday, but I wouldn’t mind.

Also, as  discussed, great to see some advancement with Julia Hart.  

Robert Anthony has a skill set I enjoy watching.  He could really benefit from working under a mask.  Which I believe was his modus operandi for an earlier Indy run?

I really wish AEW would offer more lower card v lower card matches on this show as opposed to local talent squashes, but it is what it is.  Dug that womens trios bout.  I like @Matt D pointing out the great heel locker room camaraderie the ladies have going on.  Bunny seems to really be finding her place.

I really wish I was on board with this commentary team.  Schiavone’s fine to good as the novelty-excitable-third-man-dad but much less effective as pbp lead.  I do sort of enjoy his Classic miscalls like the one proclaiming Austin holding the tights on the finish where clearly that wasn’t the case. I’ve  been patiently waiting for big Paul Wight to find a rhythm in the booth, but he’s done little to prove he’s anything but a bit of nuisance.  I’d love it if they passed along his position to someone else.  Chuck Taylor maybe?  Always enjoy King.  No complaints on Mark Henry who isn’t great but is worthy of the opportunity, like Paul has gotten, to develop.  I hope he figures it out.  Paul too.  It wouldn’t hurt for AEW to add another pbp guy- Riccaboni would be an excellent pick up.  I really like Tony in the Okerlund role, and wish we got a little more of that on this show. Any young talent appearing on Dark needs promo reps as much as in ring.

Edited by HarryArchieGus
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4 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said:

I really wish I was on board with this commentary team.  Schiavone’s fine to good as the novelty-excitable-third-man-dad but much less effective as pbp lead.  I do sort of enjoy his Classic miscalls like the one proclaiming Austin holding the tights on the finish where clearly that wasn’t the case. I’ve  been patiently waiting for big Paul Wight to find a rhythm in the booth, but he’s done little to prove he’s anything but a bit of nuisance.  I’d love it if they give his opportunity to someone else.  Always enjoy King.  No complaints on Mark Henry who isn’t great but is worthy of the opportunity, like Paul has gotten, to develop.  I hope he figures it out.  Paul too.  It wouldn’t hurt for AEW to add another pbp guy- Riccaboni would be an excellent pick up.  I really like Tony in the Okerlund role, and wish we got a little more of that on this show. Any young talent appearing on Dark needs promo reps as much as in ring.

Watch some current NWA and that will put some perspective on how horrible commentating can be.  Austin Idol makes anybody in the AEW booth look like 1976 Gordon Solie.

AND THIS!

 

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4 hours ago, HarryArchieGus said:

It’s been such a pleasure seeing the rise of the Ass boys.  For anybody looking, tho there were very few, during the time he was buried by the salty critics each week, u could see what a potential pinball bump machine Austin could be. It’s heartwarming to see him find his way and reach toward his potential.  I highly doubt the Gunns win gold on Friday, but I wouldn’t mind.

Also, as  discussed, great to see some advancement with Julia Hart.  

Robert Anthony has a skill set I enjoy watching.  He could really benefit from working under a mask.  Which I believe was his modus operandi for an earlier Indy run?

I really wish AEW would offer more lower card v lower card matches on this show as opposed to local talent squashes, but it is what it is.  Dug that womens trios bout.  I like @Matt D pointing out the great heel locker room camaraderie the ladies have going on.  Bunny seems to really be finding her place.

I really wish I was on board with this commentary team.  Schiavone’s fine to good as the novelty-excitable-third-man-dad but much less effective as pbp lead.  I do sort of enjoy his Classic miscalls like the one proclaiming Austin holding the tights on the finish where clearly that wasn’t the case. I’ve  been patiently waiting for big Paul Wight to find a rhythm in the booth, but he’s done little to prove he’s anything but a bit of nuisance.  I’d love it if they passed along his position to someone else.  Chuck Taylor maybe?  Always enjoy King.  No complaints on Mark Henry who isn’t great but is worthy of the opportunity, like Paul has gotten, to develop.  I hope he figures it out.  Paul too.  It wouldn’t hurt for AEW to add another pbp guy- Riccaboni would be an excellent pick up.  I really like Tony in the Okerlund role, and wish we got a little more of that on this show. Any young talent appearing on Dark needs promo reps as much as in ring.

I’d agree with this take. Tony is extremely effective as the internal voice of the viewer (“God I love pro wrestling” or “he just wore his ass out”), but not as the lead PBP guy. Like Tony is watching the show with you and reacting like we all are. He’s so good at that.

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Two really good matches on Dark- Lee Moriarty versus Anthony Henry and Wheeler Yuta versus Aaron Solo.  And actually Fuego Del Sol and Serpentico was really good too. YAY!  AEW!

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