Dynamite - 4/13/2022

[JLowe]

The other thing with the “lights out” is that they’re already using it for House of Black “run-ins”, so my immediate reaction was that we were going to be shifting HoB to ROH and feuding with Joe. Also, Singh had the same pony nub and almost the same outfit and shoes as Wardlow. And was slower than Marina Shafir.

[Hagan]

This whole rigmarole is evidence of the balance a growing company has to make. No one is going to quit watching a show after a lame two minute ending. Nor does it negate the fact that 95 percent of that show absolutely rocked. But - AEW for better or worse is founded on the idea of fanservice for parasocial online fans so anything that deviates slightly from "this isn't what I want on this show" gets excessive blowback. Like, most weeks I find five percent of Smackdown even remotely watchable (Roman, Sasha/other women) and the rest either disposable or trash. This show had two terrible segments and some of the reaction is like it's a '99 Thunder. 

As always, companies just need to do what they need to do and ignore the overreactions. Suzuki and Joe rocked. Great match. Ending wasn't for me but not everything a wrestling company does will be. 

 

Edit for more thoughts: on the "one women's match per TV show" rule. I mean, I think it's kind of clear that TK may be to the women's division what Gedo was to the junior tag division. Like, you have to have a women's division. You have to feature women but I get the feeling that it's way less of a priority than everything else. I mean, it will take AEW developing a truly massive Sasha Banks level ratings draw matched with ability for it to gain any real momentum as a integral part of the show.  

Edited April 14, 2022 by Hagan

[Coletti]

Overall good but weird show. Certain things came off very clunky, like FTR seemingly challenging the losers of the tag match, that could have been covered by commentary saying they were coming out to confront the champs but reDRagon being cocky cocks interrupted that. Also, Marina Shafir could have benefited from a better opponent, somebody who could have sold the terror of having a Terminator trying to fuck your shit up. Then that ending, I mean dude is fucking huge and if he can actually perform, why not? But the lights out, as people have mentioned, really makes you think there's going to be a big fucking deal in the ring when they come back on. AEW really could stop with the cold debuts unless you know what somebody who's going to get a mega pop.

All that said, lots of good wrestling, and it looks like the rest of the week has some good shit coming up too!

JR seeing the young dude in the audience that looked like him. That ruled. 

[Pete]

56 minutes ago, JLowe said:

I mentioned in my overview of the Austin show that there were people in the crowd who were trying to be clever with a Let’s Go Brandon chant during his Elevation match.

See, at least that's in context.

[TheVileOne]

Running through the whole show:

* Dynamite was a good show overall, and it's just too bad they ended it the way it did and it leaving a bad taste in everyone's mouths. It was not well executed, and it was like a bad WWE ending. 

* Having Marina Shafir vs. Skye Blue as the only women's match this week was a mistake. I see what they were doing with Shafir. They tried to make her look like an ass kicker and dominant to build her up for a match with Jade Cargill. The problem is that AEW hasn't really been sufficiently pushing or building up Shafir at all. Up until this point, Blue and Shafir have had like a handful of matches on Dark or what have you. Then AEW suddenly thrusts them on primetime cable, and the crowd was absolutely dead silent for this match. They didn't know how to react and had no reason to. There's only been some minor references to Marina Shafir wanting to challenge Jade Cargill on TV. They put this match out on TV when Shafir isn't well established on AEW TV to build her up as a title contender. This match was WWE-esque sabotage. I think it did an unfair disservice to both women.

* CM Punk vs. Penta was really good, one botch aside. Punk is working really good now, despite being 43. I also think it's good not to have him wrestle every week either. I'm assuming this is all part of building Punk up for a Double or Nothing match with Hangman, so once Hangman is done with Cole, they will show that Punk is full-on going after the title. Punk's top-rope rana looked really good, and I think they sold that spot properly.

* Wardlow/MJF is progressing nicely. Wardlow is really over, and they are going to have to do something with him soon, whether it's winning the TNT title or what have you. I guess my issue is, where does MJF go from this feud? This feud was the natural progression from Punk/MJF, but how do you transition MJF to the world title level or higher, especially if Wardlow beats him? I'm actually looking forward to Shawn Dean's next coach segment on the Guevara vlog after this win.

* Jurassic Express vs. Redragon was also really good. Luchasaurus is really good. I remember his match singles match with Wardlow sometime back really impressing, and he continues doing that here. He reminds me of a more athletic version of Kane. His kip-up also looks a lot better than Drew McIntyre's. I enjoyed the post-match shenanigans this time around. FTR seems to finally be having their moment here. I kind of feel like they were floundering as part of Pinnacle and they were jobbing in almost all their big matches. Now they look like legit stars, and they are super over, even more over than the current AEW tag champs. 

* Joe vs. Suzuki, considering both men's age and wear and tear, especially Joe's, they did a good job. Starting with the chop fest was perfect. I'm not sure this was the right match to headline this week, especially with that awful, goofy ending. It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

* Black Pool combat promo was good. I also like that we finally got some uninterrupted promos this week. It was getting tiresome and noticeable when week after week you get promo interruptions like 10 seconds in. The problem is that Wheeler Yuta is the odd man out in the Blackpool Combat Club. All these guys are well defined and good talkers. Bryan Danielson has been an underrated talker for basically 17 years. Yuta needs to develop more of...something. Yeah he's tough and a good wrestler. He can bleed and take an ass whooping, but what else is there? His name is Wheeler Yuta. He's tough. A good wrestler, and that's about it. He still seems like he's in that Randy Orton 2002 phase of his career, except he doesn't have the whole "I'm Bob Orton's son" thing going on.

* Hayter vs. Storm promo segment was good. I'm glad they gave them some promo time, and once again, a nice interrupted promo segment to set up their upcoming match. 

* Hobbs & Starks vs. Lee & Swerve was really good. Of these four, I really think Hobbs is a future star if they play their cards right. Dude looks like he's gotten into fantastic shape. His spinebuster looks awesome, and he looks like he's just steadily improving and getting better. I'm glad Hobbs picked up the win here after help from Taz. That said, and I'm sorry to Keith Lee fans, but I feel like Hobbs' work kind of overshadowed everyone in this match.

If Dynamite really wants to break from the format, they need to let some women with actual heat wrestle on these shows and don't sabotage the women and a hot crowd by putting an AEW Dark match out during Dynamite.

Edited April 14, 2022 by TheVileOne

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

11 hours ago, Cobra Commander said:

Wondering who would be a good 4th/5th guy to backup Kingston/P&P

Sting and Darby might still be busy with Andrade past the coffin match

I guess the Hardy’s could stumble down the ramp

Trent and Chuck Taylor have probably crossed paths with Eddie and P&P in some setting that I didn’t watch.

I think LAX makes the most sense at this point from a storyline perspective.

Otherwise, like the idea of Best Friends as to not add more guys into the mix unnecessarily.

[DEAN]

Oh man!

 

[BrianS81177]

Settle down Hollywood Deanetico

(Please don't ban me)

[HarryArchieGus]

2 hours ago, christopher.annino said:

Certain things came off very clunky, like FTR seemingly challenging the losers of the tag match, that could have been covered by commentary saying they were coming out to confront the champs but reDRagon being cocky cocks interrupted that.

The timing of the cutaway was a bit of an issue there.  Seemed to me like they were heading to the ring to challenge the Champions.  As indicated by Jungle Jack's worrysome expression.  O'Reilly and Fish cut them off.  But now we likely get a no doubt fantastic Fish and O'Reilly-FTR bout prior to the potential triple crowning.  FTR-Red Dragon was one of the few WWE-related matches of recent years that I caught, and it was 'spectacular'!    

Edited April 14, 2022 by HarryArchieGus

[ExcellenceofAirPollution]

Absolutely loved Team Taz v. Lee & Swerve.  So much talent and charisma in that ring, all 4 working their asses off and a super hyped crowd.  Ricky being so over was dope.  Super talented in the ring, plus I've been filling some gaps in my Dynamite backlog and I've grown to really enjoy him on commentary

I thought the crowd really added to the show except when they didn't in the two spots.  I liked the announcers constantly putting over how this was a make up date for a show cancelled by the pandemic making them seem like they'd been pent up with rabid anticipation for AEW.  Little stuff like that really puts it over as a hot product.  AEW's TV is a great advertisement to come see it live because it looks super fun

Penta-Punk was a good style clah, tag title and trios were really fun.  Going into the title match I thought ReDragon might win but by the end I think JE retaining was the right call.  The end to me looked like FTR coming down to challenge JE and ReDragon intercepting, I wasn't confused by it, and I won't complain about a 3 way program.  Seems like eventually ReDragon should have the ROH belts and FTR should have the AEW, and I guess send Luchasaurus back home to Mexico with the AAA belts!

Joe and Suzuki beat the piss out of each other and I loved every second of it.  I also love how over Suzuki is to the AEW crowd, and you can tell there's some people who probably didn't really know who he was before he started showing up in AEW, but they sure as shit know now!  There was one girl in the front row with her parents who was definitely NOT into the brutal tenderizing of flesh, lol

The ending sucked and I agree with everyone who's pointed to the lights going out being a big part of the problem.  Save it for HoB or a superstar debut.  I was expecting something big when the lights went out and yea......On the plus side he looks like a younger, more mobile Khali and I'm on board with that in theory

I don't like so much ROH on AEW tv, but maybe that's just me.  I haven't cared about ROH in a long time, and aside from when the Bullet Club was in and they were working with NJPW I wasn't much of a fan of basically the last decade of the product for the most part.  I also don't have enough time to keep up with AEW as is (I almost never watch the web shows) and I don't even watch WWE!  Expecting people to support AEW AND ROH, plus NJPW and all the other promotions out there.....it's too much for me

My other takeaway is how cold the two world title programs are.  Not great.

 

[The Great ML]

Push Hobbs. That is all.

[TheVileOne]

 

WWE bots hijacked Nielsen.

[Infinit]

This puts things in perspective 

 

[TheVileOne]

14 minutes ago, Infinit said:

This puts things in perspective 

 

Battle of the Belts still comes off like a C-level show that they haven't put much hype into at all. Really no one was talking about Battle of the Belts II this week. 

[caley]

That Suzuki-Joe match was so much fun. I liked that Suzuki seemed to be having fun. The end was a bit abrupt but they were short on time. The debut was a flop because of the aforementioned "lights out" gimmick but also because the way you debut a new "big" guy is to bring him through the tunnel and down the entrnceway so the audience can get a long look at just how big he is. If he's already in the ring, you don't get that feeling of unavoidable dread as this mountain of a man should bring.

Also, this should be his theme music, because it's awesome and seeing him lumber to the ring to it would be amazing plus it makes me reminisce on 'Master of the Flying Guillotine"
 

 

[Shartnado]

Punk vs Penta was clunky but told a story by the end.

Dragons get fucked by Dinosaurs and like it! But if this was just a way to give us FTR vs ReDragon, I'm so fine with that!

Skye Blue... what? Yeah, Safir is indeed a problem!

Sports Entertainment rules supreme, as Garcia pins Kingston once more.

Huge win for Hobbs.

Hook vs Nese, yeah, make it a double. Allin vs Andrade coffin match? Keep the tab open!

I had no idea that the main event was going to be Suzuki vs Joe! This is for certain kinds of people. Crazy amount of variety, inside one episode. Holy crap.

...oh, and THIS was the better way that Lethal was talking about?

Edited April 14, 2022 by Shartnado
Really, Lethal?

[TheVileOne]

I think Tony Khan needs to think of a better plan for ROH than making AEW two-branded show. They have too little TV time for their roster as it is. Now they are using Battle of the Belts to service an ROH title match with two guys not even under contract.

I'd say it's time to officially dissolve ROH for good.

Unify the titles. Keep the Pure Title as its own thing. Regal and Blackpool Combat Club can revolve around Pure title. 

Edited April 14, 2022 by TheVileOne

[Shartnado]

1 minute ago, TheVileOne said:

I think Tony Khan needs to think of a better plan for ROH than making AEW two-branded show. They have too little TV time for their roster as it is. Now they are using Battle of the Belts to service an ROH title match with two guys not even under contract.

This is true. I mean I love the size of the available roster, but something has to be done to it in the very near future, before the novelty of this insanity wears off!

[(BP)]

My appeal to the man himself. 

Tony, you can still stick the landing on the Singh project and last week’s Twitter discourse by beginning a storyline about you getting tricked by the same bots that made WWE put the belt on Mahal. Think about it! 

[ExcellenceofAirPollution]

oh yea, Kingston with the Trump style 'Thump' shirt was epic trolling in the deep south!  Shades of Punk in his pro-choice t in Texas.  I think the crowd was confused by it, he didn't get his usual massive pop on the hot tag

Edited April 14, 2022 by ExcellenceofAirPollution
pro-CHOICE. Jeez EOAP....

[Guest Stefanie Without Stefanie]

2 minutes ago, ExcellenceofAirPollution said:

oh yea, Kingston with the Trump style 'Thump' shirt was epic trolling in the deep south!  Shades of Punk in his pro-life t in Texas.  I think the crowd was confused by it, he didn't get his usual massive pop on the hot tag

That was how JYD had the word "thump" printed on the back of his tights.

[Shartnado]

1 minute ago, Stefanie the Human said:

That was how JYD had the word "thump" printed on the back of his tights.

Yeah, I figured that was a reference to the Mid-South main eventer, not some meta level trolling. If a part of the audience took it that way, because they were too young to understand that reference, I can't help you there!

[ExcellenceofAirPollution]

6 minutes ago, Stefanie the Human said:

That was how JYD had the word "thump" printed on the back of his tights.

Indeed!  That's half of why it was so great!  It was a JYD shout designed to look visually like a Trump logo

Edited April 14, 2022 by ExcellenceofAirPollution

[tbarrie]

I see the Thunder Rosa-Nyla Rose segment is getting some love, but not nearly enough. That was awesome. Rosa was smart enough to know what was going to happen but still fell into the classic blunder of underestimating your enemy's love of cake. So she still got her ass kicked. Masterful storytelling.

[Guest Stefanie Without Stefanie]

10 minutes ago, ExcellenceofAirPollution said:

Indeed!  That's half of why it was so great!  It was a JYD shout designed to look visually like a Trump logo

...? It was designed to look like JYD's tights, not a Trump logo.