The All Elite Wrestling Discussion Thread

[Self]

Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Turning the entire Elite heel (or teasing it, with Cody & Kenny) is so weird. I don't know if they can't tell the difference between being bad ass and being a heel, or if they're trying to recapture the Bullet Club/2010-12 PWG days when they built a following. I like them a heels (a contradicting sentence that sickens me) but unless they want to be yet another heel wrestling company, they need to be heroes.

[Jaysin]

While I don't like the way they got to the match, I am excited for FTR vs Bucks.

[Jaysin]

Just read something rad.

 

Lance Storm doesn't consider himself fully retired and he wants to have one more match. Storm and Jericho have both said in the past that they made a pact after their first career match ever(against each other), that their last match would also be against each other.

 

Since Lance got fired by WWE, I'm hoping that match happens for AEW at some point. They're two of my all the favorites and I think Lance is one of the most underrated wrestlers ever.

[Derek B]

I'm always in for a Storm vs Jericho match, would be amazing to see them have their retirement match together to bring things full circle ain a beautiful way.

 

Unrelated to that, Nick Comoroto has been on Dark the last couple of weeks and I've been very impressed with him. I hope to see a lot more of him, and also the brothers tag team that was on Dark this week because they look like the kind of fun spot monkey team that AEW seems to thrive on and who doesn't love a brother tag team?

[milamber]

- Wardlow vs Page was great. The MJF/Sammy stand-off was fun. More teasing of the future Wardlow babyface turn. Nice pop for Page.

- Kingston vs Sydal was good. Mox and Eddie with killer promos again. Sydal is underrated.

- Young Bucks pulling a Cody with that stipulation.

- The Inner Circle & MJF segment was entertaining but went too long as usual. I like how they set up the PPV match.

- Cassidy vs Cody © was good.

- Hirsch vs Serena © was good. 2 for 2 on performances for Hirsch. She's a better fit in AEW than she was in Stardom.

- The Spears squash was OK as an angle to put over Sky.

- Penta vs Omega was my MOTN. Another delightfully egotistical entrance.

 

Another strong show building to Full Gear. The crowd sounded louder than usual which added a lot.

[cappyboy]

- Wardlow vs Page was great.

 

Indeed. Very fun much. Guy I watched grow up before my eyes elsewhere in Adam Page vs a guy who's doing it now in Wardlow. Quite impressive how far Wardlow gone from being an apparent random lump of muslce when he debuted to the talent he shows now. If AEW did something like the Slammies, Wardlow would have to be a nominee at the very least for Most Improved.

 

The MJF/Sammy stand-off was fun.

 

Agreed. I find this conflict to be particularly amusing in the light of what both men were prior to AEW. When both were in MLW, Sammy tended to be an afterthought. Almost seems like they didn't know what they had in him back then. Where MJF been a star from the first time I saw him and had his own stable before making the jump up to AEW. Seeing MJF treat Sammy like he's still the afterthought in the setting where Sammy's flourished just makes this subplot all the better

 

More teasing of the future Wardlow babyface turn. Nice pop for Page.

 

Feels like this match really benefitted both men as Wardlow looked tough and fought hard in defeat while Page got to advance to the showdown we all knew was in the cards at some point. And the pop for Page doesn't surprise me at all. People had been behind him ever since the "cowboy excrement" promo early on

 

- Kingston vs Sydal was good.

 

Two quality veterans who are among the best in the respective styles. Just what you would hope for on a weekly show like Dynamite. Even if the average bear might not have known Eddie priior or knew Matt better under the Bourne handle

 

Mox and Eddie with killer promos again.

 

Oh no doubt. And two guys who do it with a very underrated mic skill. Conviction. You can talk about both having charisma if you want. But both guys drown any showmanship within what they say in intensity and the ability to make you believe they mean every word of it.

 

Sydal is underrated.

 

And yet the guy seems to have a very serious problem. Maybe it's all just in my head and how my personal filiters hear him. I don't know. But it's been years since I could buy Sydal as a face. Going back as far as his "Reborn" run in Ring Of Honor, I've found him incredibly smarmy and insincere in promos. I know we're all supposed to feel for him because of the botch at the battle royal. And we're supposed to see the mystical elements as how he stays in balance. But again it all feels so fake. If Sydal were to have the spot in Dark Order that Colt Cabana holds right now, that would feel so much more of a fit. Dude has the ill-fated debut to live down, he's long had the suspect personality and he knows so much better than Cabana how to be a convincing plastic banana. If AEW weren't in turn and tease overdrive right now, I'd be begging for Sydal to make one. Maybe once these current ones are all made and have time to bake in, Sydal can be next.

 

- Young Bucks pulling a Cody with that stipulation.

 

And this suggests to me they are about to get the belts. This isn't like Cody who had a place he could retreat to when the stipulation went against him. Cody had the TNT title scene coming that he could be a fixture in. If the Bucks lose and can't ever contend for the belts again, what is their safety net? Do they climb over each other to take Cody's place away from him? Do they start a six man division and who could they even get to tag with them as they are now in character? This stip feels tantamount to just flat out advertising the title change.

 

- The Inner Circle & MJF segment was entertaining but went too long as usual. I like how they set up the PPV match.

 

The segment was good. I really enjoyed it. It's the match I don't get. If MJF gets in this way, it would seem to corrode Jericho's hold on leadership a little too quickly. If MJF doesn't it would seem to make him look lesser than. Which I can't imagine is what they want right now. It really feels like they want MJF to set up a power struggle within the Inner Circle and I fail to see how a match between the two at this juncture makes that tussle appear at all balanced. I mean MJF is good but do you really want him looking that much stronger than Jericho so early on?

 

- Cassidy vs Cody © was good.

 

No argument here. Cassidy as a character may seem a little much at times but certainly can't question the man between the ropes.And I've always enjoyed the Rhodes brothers

 

-

Hirsch vs Serena © was good. 2 for 2 on performances for Hirsch. She's a better fit in AEW than she was in Stardom.

 

And two words kept echoing loudly through that match for me. Team Tazz. Team Tazz. TEAM TAZZ!! One of the really cool things in AEW is where stables in most companies seem to forget the women, Dark Order can have their Anna Jay, The Nightmare Family can include Brandi and the Kingston Family can have their Bunny. I may have quibbles about Allie's character shifts in 2020 but another topic for another time. She's there and in this sense that is good. So if the gender diversity works for Dark Order, The Nightmare Family and the Kingston Family, why not Team Tazz? Feels like Hirsch would be a perfect fit as much as her style resembles Tazz's. Might need development before she's in his league but the foundation is there.

 

- The Spears squash was OK as an angle to put over Sky.

 

And I am so glad the squashee was a newbie rather than someone like a Pillman Jr or an Avalon who has a history beyond AEW. No need to waste someone you might need to build up later in that quick of a massacre.

 

- Penta vs Omega was my MOTN. Another delightfully egotistical entrance.

 

And good story on both sides. Could Kenny reach the shiny showdown with his former partner in the tourney final vs could Penta overcome the family turmoil to spoil Kenny's apparent date with destiny? I don't know if we're going to see the Lucha Bros explode or not. I would like to hope not given how turn crazy the company feels right now. The better story might be Kingston showing how good a general he is by holding these two together. But the Lucha Bros could go either way right now and it wouldn't surprise me.

 

As for the entrance, my favorite part was the Lucha Brother masks on the sweeping girls. Talk about a caustic burn in an alpha-dominated, testosterone-filled field like pro wrestling. If the Lucha Bros were to interfere against Omega at Full Gear, I could see that being a fun curveball given the attack on their collective manhood that was.

[milamber]

When I say Sydal is underrated I mean in the ring. Watch his last few Dark matches. Once known just for his high flying, he now has a stong submission game as well. I really want to see him face Angelico. Promo work is lacking for sure. The same could be said of Serena Deeb btw.

[cappyboy]

When I say Sydal is underrated I mean in the ring. Watch his last few Dark matches. Once known just for his high flying, he now has a stong submission game as well. I really want to see him face Angelico. Promo work is lacking for sure. The same could be said of Serena Deeb btw.

 

Oh I hear you about the ring work. He's also been in the ROH Pure Title tournament and shown off the expanded repetoire there. Dude's been terrific on that front. Right there with you where you intended to focus

 

Not sure the Deeb comparison works though. She may not be an impressive speaker. But she is able to project her alignment. The charisma could be better but I don't find reason to question her sincerity. I don't know if its his off-camera personality bleeding onto it or just my personal perception. But it's been ages since Sydal's cut a face promo that didn't make me feel like I could oil my door hinges with it. I'm not looking for him to be Cody on the stick or anything. As long as I could believe he meant the good things he was saying the way I do when Deeb speaks, that would be fine. But he's lacked that credibility for quite a while now and that's the problem I was speaking of.

[Self]

As lame as I think repeating the Cody Rhodes never-again stipulation is, it doesn't have me a little more interested in Bucks vs FTR. Are they out of ideas to the point they're going to repeat themselves? Or will they go another way with it? It's such a weird stipulation to add. It makes sense given the Buck's year-long journey in AEW (albeit a little petulant given it's only been a year) but changes the match into being about purely them, instead of about their rivalry with FTR. I would have saved this for a rematch. The first match didn't need it. It didn't need any of this convoluted 'build'.

[CQI13]

Crazy speculation of Omega joining with FTR. Who would you guys use as the 4th guy?

[Self]

It would depend why they're teaming up. What connects them? What are their goals? Fourth man should become obvious.

 

If I was just putting names together, I'd pick... Sammy Guevara. Or Brodie Lee. I think if they want to introduce yet another heel stable then you need to kill/turn/absorb one of the existing ones.

[scmurph01]

As lame as I think repeating the Cody Rhodes never-again stipulation is, it doesn't have me a little more interested in Bucks vs FTR.

 

To me it telegraphs that the Young Bucks are winning the tag titles. If they don't, what do they do with them? Now if they change the stipulation that the Bucks cannot challenge FTR for the belts ever again, then the outcome is in doubt.

[Peppermint Rage]

To me it telegraphs that the Young Bucks are winning the tag titles. If they don't, what do they do with them? Now if they change the stipulation that the Bucks cannot challenge FTR for the belts ever again, then the outcome is in doubt.

 

it could be a total bluff, they could go full douche and just say, naw changed our minds and back out immidetly. could set up some interesting tension cody.

[milamber]

it could be a total bluff, they could go full douche and just say, naw changed our minds and back out immidetly. could set up some interesting tension cody.

 

They are EVPs and only Tony outranks them so they could be bluffing (but that would require an explanation as to why even bother). Cody could have gone back on his stipulation but he's a man of his word.

[soxfan93]

I was really disappointed in the stipulation. I was hoping they would embrace the old school mentality of FTR and give us a 45 minute 2/3 falls match.

[milamber]

Hopefully there's more to the story. Bucks have been heelish but they finally supported Cutler on Dark. I'm still hoping for a full blown heel turn.

[Jaysin]

I love Mox and Kingston, but if AEW is smart they'll have Bucks and FTR as the main event. I just can't imagine anyone having to follow the tag title match.

[CQI13]

I love Mox and Kingston, but if AEW is smart they'll have Bucks and FTR as the main event. I just can't imagine anyone having to follow the tag title match.

 

Will they get killed because "WoRlD tItLe ShOuLd MaIn EvEnT!"?

[Matt_Black]

Am I in the minority thinking that FTR aren't all that great? Don't get me wrong, they are a very solid tag team. However, while their shtick may have gotten giant heat in the territories circa '85, now they just seem, to me at least, boring as characters. Or, to quote Cody, "You're not 'old school', you're just lazy."

[milamber]

FTR vs Bucks will be exciting to watch but I think Mox vs Kingston will be my personal favorite because of the build. In and out of the ring they have an ability to hook me into whatever they are doing.

[Jaysin]

Am I in the minority thinking that FTR aren't all that great? Don't get me wrong, they are a very solid tag team. However, while their shtick may have gotten giant heat in the territories circa '85, now they just seem, to me at least, boring as characters. Or, to quote Cody, "You're not 'old school', you're just lazy."

 

I think they're fantastic. Like a combo of Arn/Tully and Midnight Express. They're not my favorite tag team in AEW(Santana/Ortiz and Lucha Bros have that designation), but I love FTR. It's obvious they're enjoying wrestling for the first time since their NXT days.

[Peppermint Rage]

They are EVPs and only Tony outranks them so they could be bluffing (but that would require an explanation as to why even bother). Cody could have gone back on his stipulation but he's a man of his word.

 

I guess the idea is that they believe what they're saying now, because they're confident they're not gonna lose. but once they lose they could go back to being smug and petulant, and basically go, actually no, and immediately go back to fighting for the gold, or wait a bit and do the same thing, so that faces have the gold when they decide to change their minds

[Jaysin]

AEW picked up another tag team, Bowens and Caster. I don't watch Dark so I haven't seen them team up, but I've seen Caster cut a very good vignette before and saw a pretty solid match he had.

[milamber]

Dark was a bit skippable this week but Johnson vs Sammy was great and I'll always watch Ricky Starks wrestle. Nice to see Kilynn King pick up her 1st win.

 

Cutler has lowkey one of the best storylines in wrestling and he's underrated on the mic.

 

[Jaysin]

Just read part of an interview with Tony Khan and he seems awfully high on Eddie Kingston. Eddie has such a good story. He toiled on the indies for 18 years. Always stuck up for himself and other people of color. I know we are supposed to cheer for Mox, but Eddie's story is so damn good.