SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
AEW DYNAMITE TV REPORT
NOVEMBER 6, 2019
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excallibur.
Ring announcer: Justin Roberts
Tonight after AEW Dynamite, join me live with guest cohost PWTorch columnist and podcast host Greg Parks to break down the show with live callers, mailbag, and an on-site correspondent from Charlotte, N.C.
•STREAM LIVE HERE ABOUT 5 MINUTES AFTER DYNAMITE
•CALL: (347) 215-8558
•EMAIL COMMENTS/QUESTIONS: wadekellerpodcast@pwtorch.com
•IF YOU DON’T LISTEN LIVE, SEARCH “WADE KELLER” ON YOUR PODCAST APP TO SUBSCRIBE AND THEN DOWNLOAD OR STREAM THE FULL SHOW AN HOUR OR SO AFTER RAW
[HOUR ONE]
-The AEW Dynamite opening theme aired. Then Jim Ross enthusiastically introduced the show as the camera panned the crowd and pyro blasted. They went to Ross, Excalibur, and Schiavone on camera who listed advertised matches – a match between Private Party and Dark Order to determine who would be added to the SCU vs. Lucha Bros. tag title match at Full Gear, Jamie Hayter & Sakura vs. Riho & Shanna, Cody’s announcement, and Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega. When Cody’s face appeared on the big screen, a big “Cody!” chant broke out. They also cheered when the main event graphics came on the screen. Ross then said Trent vs. Pac was up first.
(1) PAC vs. TRENT BERRETA (w/Chuck Taylor, Orange Cassidy)
The announcers talked about Pac and Hangman Page battling on PPV this Saturday night in a “rubber match.” Fans chanted “Pac, you suck!” Pac got in Cassidy’s face at ringside, then reentered the ring and went after Trent. Trent got the better of him. Pac took over and took it to Trent at ringside. Fans chanted “Pac, you suck!” again. Schiavone talked about the great crowd in Charlotte, then shifted to plugging the Dynamite event in Memphis, Tenn. with ticket launch this Friday. Pac landed a corkscrew dive to the floor, then a missile dropkick back in the ring. Fans were chanting “Let’s go Trent!” Pac scored a two count, then settled into a wrenching side headlock. The announcers touted AEW’s tag team division. They showed a cool camera angle from behind about the sixth row.
Cassidy nonchalantly entered the ring as Chuck distracted the ref. Pac then kicked Cassidy in the face and shoved him out of the ring. Fans were insanely into what was happening (such a contrast to Raw in Long Island on Monday). Trent took it to Pac next, including a flip dive of his own onto Pac at ringside. Nice impact on that one. Pac managed to not make it look like he was standing there waiting to catch him for any longer than necessary. Trent speared Pac on the floor. A “Trent! Trent!” chant broke out. Trent gave Pac a running knee from behind for a two count. Trent landed a tornado DDT for a two count. Pac took a great bump. Back at ringside a minute later, Pac surprised Trent with a sudden brainbuster suplex. Both were slow to get up. Pac landed a his Black Arrow finisher. The ref oddly stopped his count at two even though there wasn’t even a hint of a kickout. Pac then quickly applied the Brutalizer for the win via ref stoppage. Ross said Pac “got pissed” and turned it up a notch.
WINNER: Pac in 14:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: I don’t know what was supposed to happen there – probably Pac forgot to lift Trent’s shoulders before three to tell the story that he wanted to finish him with his Brutalizer submission – but the ref has to finish the three count there no matter what he thinks the finish is supposed to be. That looked terrible. On another note, why is Trent lasting that long with Pac? Trent is portrayed as a comedy mid-card tag team act. Pac is a top level intense “bastard” in a top singles match on Saturday. I don’t agree with the notion that a good 14 minute match is better than a more one-sided eight minute match because there’s a larger story AEW is telling, and a good evenly fought 14 minute match doesn’t always make sense for the two wrestlers in different places on the card. That said, it was a really good match and the crowd is insanely into this product. It’s such a refreshing contrast to the disintegration of goodwill and enthusiasm fans have with WWE right now – even those attending live events.) [c]
-Cody made his ring entrance. Schiavone interviewed him mid-ring. Schiavone said Charlotte is one of pro wrestling’s great wrestling cities and the birthplace of Cody. Cody said they’re not surprised that the arrival of Chris Jericho and The Inner Circle “has been blunt and strategic.” He said they’ve taken a scalpel to The Elite. He said they’ve been looking for them from the start. He said they’ve looked for names they could put their name on a card against. He listed himself, The Bucks, Kenny Omega, and his brother. Fans loudly chanted “AEW!” He said this Saturday he finds himself on the marquee “with our AEW World Champion, Chris Jericho.” Boos.
Cody asked for fans to indulge him as he rattled off some names – Eddie Graham, “Cowboy” Bill Watts, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. A loud “Dusty!” chant broke out. He said they were all titans in their business – both bell to bell and at the box office. He said those who saw them in person have memories that reverberate in their heart. He said there’s an air of controversy that surrounds some of them. He said in addition to being competitors, they were management “not unlike myself.” He said he’s told everyone how proud he is of AEW and the all-inclusive nature of the schedule and that they listen. “This is Ellis Island for a professional wrestlers. This is freedom!” They cut to fans standing and cheering. Then came an “AEW!” chant. He said when he hears the same criticism of being in management and in a title match, “I can’t not hear it.” He said with that said, he is announcing that if he doesn’t defeat Chris Jericho – at which point the crowd interrupted with a loud “You deserve it!” chant – and win Saturday, he will never challenge for the AEW Title again. Boos.
He shifted to what Jericho has said about him and their fans – calling him a “self-entitled millennial bitch.” He made fun of Jericho’s book being available for three dollars on Amazon or at flea markets. He said he neglected to read about the upbringing he had that was “so hard.” He said: “You talked about my silver spoon. Gosh, it must’ve been so difficult being the upper-class son of a famous hockey player. It is almost like we shared the exact same silver spoon, you stupid dick.” They cut to fans reacting to what he said. Cody said Jericho dismissed every accomplishment he made. He said Jericho is a carney succubus. He said Jericho needs this generation more than it needs him, and he’s surrounded himself with them. He said this isn’t about his dad – not the dead. He said it’s about the living – his mother, wife, and the 14 years it took him to go from undesirable to un-god-damn-deniable. His voice cracked as he said that. He paused and took a deep breath. He said at Full Gear he’ll beat him and become champion. He said The Elite are coming “and we are going to eat you alive.”
(Keller’s Analysis: Tremendous. Just great passion. I thought he was heading toward saying he wasn’t going to be in management anymore. I wish he’d have talked about what he did to earn the title shot rather than apologizing, in a way, for it.) [c]
(2) PRIVATE PARTY vs. DARK ORDER
They cut to a break a few minutes in with Grayson of Dark Order landing a springboard senton at ringside onto Kassidy. They cut to break at Dark Order gathered at ringside. [c]
In the end, Grayson hit a 450 splash for near fall, then set up for the Fatality on Kassidy, but Quen broke it up. Then Kassidy hit Uno with Silly String. Private Party then finished Grayson with Gin & Juice for the win. Ross touted the resilience and youth of Private Party, “two 27 year old kids.”
WINNERS: Private Party in 14:00.
-SCU came out as Private Party celebrated and trash talked them about their AEW Tag Team Title match on Saturday. The Lucha Bros. came out too.
-Ross said they received a video from Chris Jericho that they haven’t seen yet but are going to play. (Dangerous!)
-The video began with Sammy Guevara walking up to Jericho who was seated at a table. He suggested different bubbly for Jericho, who seemed lost in thoughts. Jericho picked one and then kissed him on the cheek. Guevara said Jericho is like a father figure to him. They showed Jericho in a bubble bath in his wrestling gear, sipping bubbly out of a bottle. “Soultrain Jones” (a/k/a Virgil from the WWF) talked about how he’s known Jericho since he was 12. “He was as driven back then as he is right now.” Santana said no one works harder than Jericho. Ortiz said Guevara isn’t a man; he doesn’t even have chest hair. A woman purporting to be Jericho’s “Aunt’s Friend from Church” said she knew when Christopher was a young boy, he’d grow up to be an AEW Champion. He said he hopes Jericho survives. Guevara said at age 48, Jericho is the youngest AEW Champion in history and in the prime of his life. Fans laughed. They showed Jake Hager, but he didn’t talk. They showed Jericho working out. The old lady said she knows Jericho is going to beat the shit out of Cody at full gear. Hager took another deep breath in front of a brick wall. Virgil said Jericho is like the Olive Garden bread sticks – unlimited. Fans laughed. Jericho said Cody has management meetings on Nov. 9 whereas all he has to do is sip a little bit of the bubbly. Jericho said it’s a lot of responsibility, but one he has to face “because I’m the cham-pay-own.”
(Keller’s Analysis: Tremendous. Start to finish. Love the old lady saying Jericho was destined his whole life to be AEW Champion. Virgil was a nice cameo. Good portrayal of Hager.)
-The announcers hyped Santana & Ortiz vs. The Young Bucks at the PPV, and showed Santana & Ortiz attacking The Rock & Roll Express last week. They hyped other Full Gear matches, too.
[HOUR TWO]
(3) RIHO & SHANNA vs. EMI SAKURA & JAMIE HAYTER
In the end, Sakura gave Shanna a Vader Bomb. Riho broke up the cover and then landed a double-stomp off the ropes. Sakura then leveraged Riho down with a Magistral Cradle after a series of reversals. Excalibur said Sakura gained momentum heading to Full Gear to challenge Riho.
WINNERS: Sakura & Hayter in (you’ll never guess…) 14:00.
-Ross threw to a video saying “the evolution of Brandi Rhodes continues.” Brandi talked about working so hard to get where she is today, but she is dismissed from her merit because of who she is. She said she’s seen as a pretty face getting an advantage because of Cody. She sat on a red chair and looked to be dressed up for Halloween. Awesome Kong’s image flashed on the screen. She said with her brains and Kong’s powers, they can create night terrors and rip through everyone’s dreams and make them long for what were their worst nightmares. She said they won’t be denied. “Who are the bullies now?” she asked.
(Keller’s Analysis: I like the idea of Brandi being the spokeswoman or leader of Kong – one might say “an advocate.” She was really good in this well-produced vignette.) [c]
(4) “THE CHAIRMAN” SHAWN SPEARS (w/Tully Blanchard) vs. BRANDON CUTLER
Cutler was already in the ring. They cut to the stage and Spears was sitting on a chair on the stage. “The Chairman has arrived,” said Excalibur. (Is this just meant to undercut or co-opt Vince McMahon’s title in WWE?) He stood and brought his chair to the ring; Tully Blanchard accompanied him. Spears revealed a t-shirt that said, “No More Garbage Wrestling.” They showed a clip of Spears using pliers to try to rip Joey Janela’s tongue out “earlier this week” on AEW Dark. Schiavone said, “That’s kind of crossing the line, don’t you think?” he said. (Uh, yeah. One might say that.) Schiavone talked about Tully’s legendary status.
Cutler took control early and landed a guillotine legdrop on the edge of the ring apron. Spears came back and threw him into the ringside barricade twice. Then he pummeled him with punches and landed a running knee. Back in the ring, Spears finished Cutler with his running Death Valley Driver.
WINNER: Spears in 4:00.
-When Spears went after Culter afterward, setting up a Death Valley Driver on a chair, Janela ran out, so Spears and Blanchard retreated. Fans chanted “Joey!”
(Keller’s Analysis: This was spot on the right presentation of Spears, and Cutler is valuable in this role.)
-A video package aired on the Omega-Moxley match. It included snippets of Mox’s promo last week. Omega said Mox shouldn’t act surprised the match is unsanctioned. “What did you think we were going to do, chain wrestle?” They showed past brawls the two had this summer. Omega said his best work was never when he was handed anything, it was because he had to sacrifice something. They showed footage of Moxley in a hospital with is elbow taped up, then tearing off bandages. They showed vintage clips of Moxley in a barbed wire match. Omega said he’s glad they’re going to a dark place and he can’t wait to see him there.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good video. They still haven’t really established who Omega is supposed to be for newer viewers, but at least he got to talk a bit and convey his quirky personality.) [c]
-Ring entrances took place for the main event. [c]
(5) KENNY OMEGA & “HANGMAN” ADAM PAGE vs. CHRIS JERICHO & “THE SPANISH GOD” SAMMY GUEVARA
Omega and Guevara entered the ring first, but then Jericho tagged in. Before locking up, Jericho tagged out and Guevara re-entered. He chomped his gum and acted cocky. Schiavone touted Omega as maybe the greatest wrestler in the world who can do anything. Omega and Page took turns beating up Guevara until he tagged in Jericho. Jericho made a comeback against Page and landed a missile dropkick. He stomped away on Page. Sammy tagged back in. He took control against Omega, but Omega caught Sammy mid-air on a springboard move with a dropkick. Sammy bailed out to ringside. The crowd stood and clapped as Omega signaled for a running dive to the floor. Jericho cut him off. Omega then knocked Jericho to the floor. As he set up a running dive and bound into the ropes, Hager hit Omega. Sammy took over again and played to the hard camera. [c]
They stayed with the action on split screen. Back from the break, Omega hot-tagged in Page. Page knocked Guevara off the ring apron. Then he dove onto him on the floor. Back in the ring he dropped Jericho with a wind-up lariat. Jericho went for a Walls of Jericho, but Page powered out. Omega entered and battled Guevara, but Omega backdropped him into the arms of Hager at ringside. Omega then finally flip dove onto both Hager and Guevara. Page then landed a moonsault onto Jericho and Guevara at ringside. Jericho distracted the ref as Pac came out and kicked Page in the crotch. Jericho hit the Judas Effect for the win.
WINNER: Jericho & Guevara in 14:00.
-Jericho, Guevara, and Hager attacked Page. Cody ran out for the save. Jericho ran away, but Cody caught Guevara with a dropdown uppercut. Cody yanked off his white jacket and tie. Jericho backed away and talked the whole way up the ramp. MJF then came up behind and whacked Hager with a chair, then tossed Jericho into the ring. Cody gave him a Crossroads. Fans chanted “Cody! Cody!” Cody looked down at the belt. Then he held up the belt.
Suddenly Moxley showed up with a barbed wire baseball bat, walking thorough the crowd. He climbed to ringside as fans chanted “Holy shit!” He entered the ring and stood opposite of Omega. Jericho hit a distracted Cody from behind and yanked him to the floor. Omega rolled out to ringside as Mox stood his ground in the ring. Omega returned with a barbed wire broom. Santana and Ortiz then knocked Moxley into Omega. They stomped away at both of them and then picked up the barbed wire weapons. The Young Bucks ran out for the save and delivered superkicks to clear the ring. Fans went bonkers as they dove through the ropes and tackled Santana and Ortiz. They brawled up the ramp as fans chanted “AEW!”
Santana and Ortiz set up Matt Jackson for a powerbomb off the stage, but Omega made the save. Omega then delivered a V-Trigger to Ortiz. Moxley delivered a Paradigm Shift DDT to Santana. Then he turned back to brawling with Omega into the entrance tunnel. Matt Jackson stood on the entrance tunnel and flip dove onto a crowd of wrestlers brawling below on the stage. He took out a cameraman, too. A very loud “Holy shit!” chant broke out. They closed with the Bucks, Cody, and MJF on the stage yelling down at Jericho & Co. Then they charged and brawled again.
(Keller’s Analysis: One hell of an ending to set up a bunch of PPV matches in one wild segment. Really effective.)
Tonight after AEW Dynamite, join me live with guest cohost PWTorch columnist and podcast host Greg Parks to break down the show with live callers, mailbag, and an on-site correspondent from Charlotte, N.C.
•STREAM LIVE HERE ABOUT 5 MINUTES AFTER DYNAMITE
•CALL: (347) 215-8558
•EMAIL COMMENTS/QUESTIONS: wadekellerpodcast@pwtorch.com
•IF YOU DON’T LISTEN LIVE, SEARCH “WADE KELLER” ON YOUR PODCAST APP TO SUBSCRIBE AND THEN DOWNLOAD OR STREAM THE FULL SHOW AN HOUR OR SO AFTER RAW
I can’t believe how biased these reviews are. It was an okay show. The finish of the opener was a botch and the closing segment was straight out of WCW Thunder.
” closing segment was straight out of WCW Thunder.” *** as if any pro wrestling match finish is original? It is quite rare for me to come across a closing segment that I think is really novel.
As for the opener being a botch, you did read where Wade criticized that, didn’t you? If so, how can you call “these reviews” “biased”? If anything, I feel that Wade sometimes is actively looking for something about which to be critical when such scrutiny may not really be needed.
Okay show if you love the boss. It’s a Cody Rhodes vanity project so what do you expect. All Cody, all the time.
I always wish new programs would come up with something different rather than just be “WWE lite”. They aren’t trying. They are just happy to be the WWE lite Cody Rhodes show.
I disagree completely. This product is NOTHING like WWE — I wasn’t crazy about the campy bad Brandi Rhodes video a couple of weeks ago. Everything hasn’t been great, but more than not has been very, very good. I don’t get any WWE vibe AT ALL, none, and to do so is almost giving WWE credit for AEW success — which IT DOES NOT DESERVE. Whatsoever.
This is more of a wrestling product. WWE is wrestling but it’s gotten so far out with all the stupid storylines and PC shove-women’s-wrestling-down-everyone’s-throats thing that this is a refreshing watch. Do they have a long way to go? Yes. I don’t mind Cody being the face of the promotion right now. I’m assuming Omega will probably take that over in the coming year, probably after a Cody heel turn. We’ll see. But it’s better than anything that’s happening in WWE in forever.
Seth Rollins? Yeah, that’s worked out real well, thanks to McMahon/creative. Roman Reigns? How’s that John Cena title reign going? I know. Let’s have a legends show and bring back Sgt. Slaughter, the Brooklyn Brawler, IRS, Ted DiBiase, and the same people again and again and again and again.
NXT is GAR superior to AEW. It’s not even funny.
FAR
No, that IS funny.
Cody Rhodes sucks.
Vince you what?
It’s WWE lite. There is nothing about the presentation that is done in any different way than WWE or WCW or every other promotion trying to be WWE has done for decades.
I grant you, the wrestling is VERY bad. Laughably so. But they are at least trying to put on WWE lite type matches.
They are pushing the boss down our throats. Cody is over with the handful of fans that go to the arena just because they want to cheer somebody. He’s just a guy. If he wasn’t the boss he wouldn’t be the guy being pushed. He won’t maintain crowd support and you know it.
I did laugh at you complaining about WWE bringing back legends is bad – to support a show that in 2019 is shoving Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho down our throats! Classic. Can’t make that up. I mean they did have Virgil! LOL
BTW – the current women in WWE – WAY better than anything Men or women – on AEW. It’s not close. That’s way you have more people paying for WWE network subscriptions, let alone watching TV shows – than watching free CodyEW.
My point — since you clearly missed it — is that they walk out the same freaking legends every single time they do a legends show.
You have a point, too — your hair covers most of it. Go back and re-read what I said. How old are you? WWE creative is horrible.
All kidding aside, let me ask you both this: do you really prefer the Lana-Lashley-Rusev crap to actual wrestling? Really?
Let’s play a game. Answer these questions for me.
1.) Who is the lead babyface on Raw? I would argue it’s Becky Lynch. It’s that helpful for the brand?
2.) I say WWE has quit creating stars and now the *WWE BRAND* is the “star.” The McMahons are treated more as “stars” than any of the actual wrestlers who are employed by them. So are all the legends. Prove. Me. Wrong.
3.) Watch the crowd at ANY freaking WWE show. Do they look engaged? Involved? Let me guess: the fans who are engaged don’t pay for the front row seats. Right? Make me an argument that there’s passion there. There’s not.
Waiting on your answers.
Cody Rhodes sucks. Deal with it. Becky Lynch is a bigger draw than he is.
What’s wrong with using the same legends every time they have a legends show once in a blue moon? Who cares? At least WWE doesn’t have a near 50 year old champion.
WWE lite? THe product is NOTHING like WWE and it is not supposed to be. The crowd is hot from bell to bell. The WWE crowd looks bored quite often. Anyone that defends WWE as a better product, you are either a troll or a mark. Or maybe you are just stupid? 🙂 Either way, shoo and eat your WWE ice cream bar and watch the bug zapper at the trailer park. Maybe Uncle Cletus will come over later in the pick up and take ya for a spin.
Only a mark would brag about paying for wrestling. What a fool. Go play with your dolls.
Jericho video was funny, Cody promo was great (even tho it’s tacky and unnecessary for him to say he won’t challenge for the title again six weeks into the promotion.). Omega/Mox video was fine, but it’s funny seeing the large gap in footage of Mox between before-WWE and current-AEW.
None of the matches connected with me. The opener was way too long and should not have been presented that way, for PAC’s sake. Obviously the finish was a horrible botch and that ref should be admonished heavily. You call things like a shoot so that stupid things like that don’t happen.
Private Party/Dark Order… 3rd place medals? Huh? WWE would be shat on for giving out medals like this. Private Party is too flippity floppity, the matches just end up looking like choreographed spot fests.
Womens tag… again, too long. Did I miss what Sakura did to earn a title shot? Just seems like they wanted to get the title on the ppv card so they hot-shotted this match.
Spears/Cutler… I would have a more over babyface in there with Spears. Spears himself is… Spears. A solid hand, nothing more. Did i miss why Janela is so heated towards him? Was there a match on Dark or some other youtube thing that I needed to do homework for to get this?
Main event… jazz hands Omega. Jericho looked old. Him standing there for awhile directly in the camera shot as Page was setting up his moonsault looked bad. His judas effect finisher was very well executed but I still don’t really buy it as a finisher – here it worked because it followed up on the low-blow.
Brawl to end the show… did not work for me at all. This type of stuff makes on-the-fence wrestling viewers and non-fans roll their eyes. Just a bunch of guys throwing crappy punches, sometimes cooperating with each other, then not.. its just a lazy way of getting everyone involved in a match on the ppv on screen to end the show, but doesn’t do anything to bolster or further the feuds (granted that was already done through video packages).
Overall the hot crowds are still carrying these shows as AEW enjoys this period of still being new and fresh. A large portion of the roster still hasn’t seen TV. Matches are still going too long with too few pinfalls to justify the action – they don’t come across as fights, they look like dances more times than not. Despite Mox’s character, I don’t agree with doing yet another unsanctioned match, it’s a trope the company is relying on too heavily, and is too easy a way to get around the W-L records they want to stress as being important.
Dominic,
Your opinion is pretty funny. Perhaps you enjoy the 50/50 booking of WWE and the disengaged crowd that likes to chant AEW or boring?
Four months ago I got AXS tv and started watching New Japan. Since then I have not seen RAW or Smackdown. Never cared about IMPACT. NXT or, as I like to think of it, Ring of Honor 2.0 is showing up the main roster big time.
Then there is AEW. I want to like it, but it has become so far removed from what wrestling was. It’s nothing but high spots, and some are taking so much time to set up, its embarrassing. It’s not wrestling. It’s not the Vince clown show, but it’s not wrestling. They are no longer wrestlers. They are 2 guys, or girls, acting out a script. There is no heat…at all. Nobody believes. So for what ever it is, it’s pretty entertaining. It’s just not wrestling.
Right now I would argue that the most believable wrestling on the planet is NJPW. And the most believable wrestler is Minoru Suzuki. Why? Because over there they believe. They make you believe. Suzuki is an absolute maniac. His feud with Liger, and his promos to set it up, have been nothing short of brilliant. Those two guys honestly looked like they wanted to KILL each other! That’s heat. That makes you believe. That is wrestling.
I agree. NXT is a better wrestling show, AEW is the better entertainment show. I hope AEW does well, but it’s not my style of wrestling for the most part.
I was burnt out on wrestling several years ago, but it was Kota/Nakamura from WK9 that saved it for me and got me back in. I’ve loved NJPW ever since. I love the different presentation, how it’s treated like a sporting competition, and is that much easier to buy into.
Valid points on a lot of this; I like New Japan, too. I just like wrestling, and what WWE has been giving us since 2001 isn’t it. In fact, you can pretty much argue, since WCW sucked its final four years (yes, four; I didn’t like 1997-2000, and 2001 only had 2 1/2 months), that wrestling hasn’t thrived since the turn of the century.
Rooting for AEW. I defend it here because they’re making an effort that McMahon won’t make. They’re not perfect, either. Continental, Memphis, JCP, Mid-South — they’re not coming back. I know that. But I’m rooting for AEW and New Japan to pull us back to closer to wrestling programming than crappy sports entertainment.
Explain why you think ARW is better than NXT. This should be interesting.
I can, fairly easily. WWE’s product is overly scripted. That’s kind of like saying Santa Claus’s suit is an off-red. It’s an understatement. I don’t think NXT is a bad product, not like Raw and Smackdown. And the shame of all of it is that there is so much talent top to bottom in their company.
But the biggest problem WWE has, in my own opinon, now, is that everyone seems the same. Yes, everybody has some gimmick to differentiate them, but none of them ever breaks out because of many reasons:
1.) The stupid, beyond stupid, storylines like Lana-Rusev-Lashley, and too many to mention here. Here are a few more: Summer Ray-Dolph Ziggler shower stuff; Vince McMahon fights Shawn Michaels and “God” is Shawn’s partner; the Undertaker “kills” Paul Bearer in cement; the kiss-my-a$$ club; I can literally name a hundred. They’re awful. I don’t know, seriously, how old you are, but that’s not wrestling, it’s like a B-movie. It’s really bad, and it’s why people who aren’t fans make fun of wrestling fans.
2.) The scripted promos. I could list this like every other reason. It is so bad. I don’t know your frame of reference, Vince, how far you go back. But wouldn’t you prefer people come out and at most have some talking points, and be free, rather than have to remember recited lines written by people who weren’t even fans? That wrote for freaking soap operas?
3.) Vince McMahon himself. The only reason NXT is watchable is because Paul Leveque is the headmaster. If McMahon had the reins, it would be like Raw JV. I hate it most when people say, “this is something out of the 80s, or the 90s.” Heck no, it’s not!
Rattling on is easy. Look, I know you’re a fan, and I am, too. I know when WWE really concentrates, they do a lot of things right. Their video production is second to none, like to anyone. When they really get involved in a wrestling-oriented storyline, like Flair’s retirement and the end with Michaels, Hogan-Savage-Elizabeth, and some others, they’re outstanding. Right now, they’re just spinning their wheels. It’s just way too corporate, and I think I’m right when I say a big reason for that is Stephanie’s leadership.
Sorry for the late response. I’m a writer myself, which is probably why this bothers me so much, and I had a few deadlines.
Vince the WWE mark still making excuses for the terrible low rated product. 🙂