The All Elite Wrestling Discussion Thread

[aXminster]

That was a rough main event. Mercedes Martinez, who is someone that nobody cares about (I think it's like her 3rd match in AEW) against Deonna Purrazzo, making her AEW debut with zero hype and no buzz. And to have them follow Fénix vs Dante? The rest of the show was not that good either.

[Blackman]

That was a rough main event. Mercedes Martinez, who is someone that nobody cares about (I think it's like her 3rd match in AEW) against Deonna Purrazzo, making her AEW debut with zero hype and no buzz. And to have them follow Fénix vs Dante? The rest of the show was not that good either.

 

I guess you are right. I'm not a wrestling geek, but I know Mercedes and Purrazzo, so I'm guessing the avg AEW fan does too. If they're in the main event though, that's a headscratcher. Too late imo for Mercedes to get a push. She was a big thing on the indies but I never understood. Her ring work is very solid but she doesn't stand out.

[Jaysin]

Granted, I wasn't sober but I didn't think there was anything wrong with Mercedes and Deonna's match other than Mercedes winning.

 

Deonna is one of the best wrestlers of any gender on the planet IMO and should be at the top of the food chain in any division she's in. I'm afraid that her dropping the ROH title will mean she won't be in ROH any more and back to Impact only. I still watch her segments on Impact anyway, but I'd prefer her somewhere that I fully invest in the product.

 

Mercedes getting a world title(of sorts) before retirement is fine by me though. She's a fun worker with a mostly believable style. She is a tad bit on the "old" side by industry standards, but I mean, she's six years older than Serena Deeb, but looks much younger than Deeb.

[Thane of Fife]

That was a rough main event. Mercedes Martinez, who is someone that nobody cares about (I think it's like her 3rd match in AEW) against Deonna Purrazzo, making her AEW debut with zero hype and no buzz. And to have them follow Fénix vs Dante? The rest of the show was not that good either.

 

I mean, speaking as someone who never watches AEW, Mercedes Martinez vs Deonna Purazzo was enough of a draw to get me to watch the show.

[Mootinie]

The problem with Mercedes Martinez is that AEW have had her lose to Thunder Rosa, lose to Thunder Rosa, and lose to Jamie Hayter in her three TV singles matches so far. Then they put her in the main event and expect the audience to care.

[milamber]

- Jeff vs Fish was solid.

- Excited for Jungle Boy/Ricky.

- BCC vs AFO was good. They showed the Regal promo!

- Wardlow vs Morrisey was solid. Wardog destroying security was glorious.

- Baker the History Maker. Ruby fired up.

- Interesting promo from Hangman. I figured Punk would be the one leaning heel.

- Takeshita spotlight! ROH guys jealous.

- Santana vs Jericho was good.

- Pillman's promo needed a better script. Finally some progression with Julia. I like the Baddies.

- Fenix vs Dante was my MOTN.

- Hyped for Rosa/Deeb. Dance with the Meat Man.

- Mercedes vs Deonna © was good but I wish it had gone longer. Could have used an intro video to give casuals a reason to care. Not surprised by the result but I hope TK signs Deonna one day.

[milamber]

That was a rough main event. Mercedes Martinez, who is someone that nobody cares about (I think it's like her 3rd match in AEW) against Deonna Purrazzo, making her AEW debut with zero hype and no buzz. And to have them follow Fénix vs Dante? The rest of the show was not that good either.

 

The ladies did well, IMO, but it felt like they were pacing it for 15 minutes, got the signal they were low on time so they rushed to wrap it up in 10 minutes.

 

Fenix vs Dante and Jeff vs Fish should have been swapped.

[Matt_Black]

Deonna and Mercedes definitely could have used more time. There are a few segments they could have made shorter or even cut entirely. It's especially funny because Thunder Rosa mentioned the criticisms of the women's division, and the women not getting enough time is arguably THE biggest criticism.

[milamber]

- DMD & Hayter vs Storm & Ruby was good.

- Kingston getting real via phone. Nese dodging Hook.

- Hookhausen is a work in progress. He turned down birthday chips Rooting for Dax to beat Cole.

- Yuka vs Dark Riho was great.

- Good Spears promo. Looks like Lambert & Ethan are still heels but Sky might be turning babyface despite the Conti line. Ethan crushing it on the mic again. Jungle Boy getting his licks in on Ricky.

- Lethal vs Takeshita was my MOTN. Joe! Joe! Joe!

[aXminster]

Pretty fun Rampage. I like the early start time, it's way better than midnight for me.

[Matt_Black]

Pretty fun Rampage. I like the early start time, it's way better than midnight for me.

 

I don't get home from work until at least 7:30 pm EST, so I think it's awful. And the worst part is that they keep moving the Rampage time slot around for no good reason at all.

[Dalton]

I selfishly loved the 5:30pm EST start time because I logged off of work and watched Rampage right away. It's a horrible timeslot obviously, since half the country or more is still working then.

[Jaysin]

I don't get home from work until at least 7:30 pm EST, so I think it's awful. And the worst part is that they keep moving the Rampage time slot around for no good reason at all.

 

It's being moved because of other sport contracts.

[Matt_Black]

It's being moved because of other sport contracts.

 

Right. No good reason.

[Jaysin]

Right. No good reason.

 

Those other sports get higher ratings and make TBS/TNT far more money than AEW does. Warner has plenty of good reasons to do it.

[Matt_Black]

Those other sports get higher ratings and make TBS/TNT far more money than AEW does. Warner has plenty of good reasons to do it.

 

Yeah, and I don't have to like it.

[aXminster]

The best Dynamite in a long time. MJF's segment is once again a home run. I just couldn't stop laughing. Jeff vs Darby was incredible. Storm vs Hayter also very good. Hope they pull the trigger and push Hayter to the moon asap, she is AEW's total package in the women's division.

[milamber]

- Cole vs Dax was great. Shame Dax lost.

- Punk vs Silver was good. Punk using the Buckshot Lariat and his promo were perfect.

- Nese squashing Danhausen was a bold choice. Hook shook his hand

- MJF contract signing was a masterclass. Boo Wardlow lol. The spoof video lol.

- Jungle Boy vs Starks © was great. Biggest win of Ricky's career. Swerve messed up. Lee!

- JAS segment was cheesy fun then BCC, Kingston & PnP showed up for a quick beatdown. Rosa/Deeb hype.

- Hayter vs Storm was good.

- Looking forward to Hangman/Takeshita.

- Jeff vs Darby was great. The ladder spot was insane and Darby ate most of it. Would have preferred Darby win but at least AEW treats their veterans right.

[Matt_Black]

And a reminder, tomorrow night, Rampage will be on at 5:30pm EST because of the Westminster Dog Show or something stupid like that that I don't care about.

[Jaysin]

Dan Lambert calling Tay Conti "Whorehausen" has had me laughing for hours. Every time I stop thinking about it, it randomly pops back in my head and I giggle all over again.

 

The Billy Gunn stable segment was so freaking dumb, but I couldn't stop chuckling. Gunn Club and Acclaimed acting like little kids was so damn cheesy, but it fits. I was sports entertained.

 

It's amazing the kind of shape Butcher has gotten into since he debuted. He looked like a rando taxi driver when he debuted, but now he looks like a total bad ass. Blade got into amazing shape too, but Butcher's change was much more dramatic.

 

I'm so confused on what's going on with MOTY and Sammy. The crowd wants to cheer for Scorpio and boo Sammy and Tay, but AEW seems like they want MOTY as heels despite the crowd reaction. Sammy comes across like a scumbag, lean into that. Amplify his real life sleaze factor.

[milamber]

- Death Triangle vs AFO was good. Studoius Kyle lol. HOB blow-off match setup.

- Spears vs Boulder was a solid squash.

- Mark is right to be scared of Hookhausen. Nese in the mood for some gambling.

- Riho vs Ruby was my MOTN.

- Billy has 2 new favorite sons lol.

- Jade is killing it. Shida's injury is obviously a work to get heat on Deeb but then she tweeted about not being injured so... Statlander is a good replacement.

- Kazarian vs Sky © was great. They got me. I thought Sky was turning. Just keep them away from Sammy & Tay now.

[aXminster]

On paper, it looked like a great show. In reality, it was like there was something off the whole time. I actually turned off the TV and went to bed in the middle of that Serena Deeb promo.

 

The show is looking more and more like NXT and I was never a NXT fan to begin with. Really not enjoying this direction lately.

[Blodyxe]

Just had this thought after catching Page/Takeshita...

 

Takeshita is great, but Page gave him way too much in their latest match. From the action standpoint the match was awesome, but thinking logically, how can you book your champ to wrestle such a close match against a total newcomer? Jay Lethal defeated the guy faster on Rampage, and even though Lethal is very good, he isn't booked very strongly in AEW.

 

I don't watch AEW regularly, but Page didn't feel like the main guy there. It's also weird that he wrestled in the second match. At least put him in a better place, he's about to headline your next pay-per-view.

 

Hope his match with Punk is a good one, even though I can already see Punk vs. Joe for the title on the horizon. No real intigue in the outcome

[milamber]

Dynamite:

 

- Joe vs Johnny Elite was solid. Not the Johnny people were expecting lol. CHAOS to the rescue.

- The Young Bucks/Hardy Boys build has moved from BTE to Dynamite.

- Takeshita vs Hangman was my MOTN. The GTS finish and face-off were perfect. Loved the shoutouts to DDT veterans and El Generico. Always enjoy Punk on commentary.

- Swerve & Lee vs Workhorsemen was a fun squash. Looking forward to big tag team match at DON. Christian putting Jungle Boy through his paces. Jade stole the backstage segment the moment she walked on-screen.

- The Wardlow lashing segment was fantastic. MJF is one of the few wrestlers who can handle any crowd with ease. Roppongi Vice with big ambitions.

- Kyle vs Fenix was great.

- BCC & Kingston's Crew/JAS segment was entertaining. That was MJF level heeling from Jericho. They finally denied the crowd Judas lol. This feud needs to end with Blood & Guts.

- DMD vs Itoh was solid. Itoh-chan! Shame she didn't bring her International Princess Title with her.

- Nice spotlight for Deeb. The feud desperately needed more build.

- Jeff vs Cole was solid but rushed. Brawl!

 

 

Rampage:

 

- HOB vs Dark Order & Feugo was good.

- Spears vs Damo was solid. Didn't recognize Damo without hair.

- Feels like Bucks vs Hardys and BCC vs JAS are being rushed to stack the PPV.

- Velvet vs Statlander was great. Loved the one-handed lift spot. Ruby handled herself well on commentary.

- Best training montage ever lol. Can't get enough of Ethan on the mic. Sammy, Kaz & Conti vs Ethan, Scorp & PVZ soon? Solid burn from Toni.

- Jade's run out of viable opponents so we get a random Anna Jay re-run which doesn't need to be on PPV. Feels like it's almost time for Jade to drop the TBS title to Statlander or Ruby.

- Dante & Sydal vs BCC was my MOTN. Jericho/Regal beefing on commentary was fun. Brawl... and we're out of time!

 

Danielson turning his ramp accident into a work on the post-show was glorious:

[Jaysin]

I think Ruby has a future as a commentator when her in ring career is done. Not saying she's the second coming of Bobby Heenan or anything, but she was still very good.

 

She has underrated mic skills.