SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
HITS
ATTENTION TO SELLING FULL GEAR
Whether viewers feel Full Gear has been built well or not, AEW made a concerted effort on this go-home show to address every match on the upcoming PPV and try to sell it to their fans. I thought the November Rain video was well done outside of some audio mixing issues that for some reason they still can’t completely get right. While there was no real home run of a segment during the show, I felt many of them did a good job of making fans want to see what happens on Saturday night.
QUICK HITS
– The 90 seconds of interaction between Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher was a great tease for what is likely to be the match of the night at Full Gear. This has been the best built story for this show.
– Bobby Lashley still looks amazing at 48 years old and dispatched of fan favorites Joe Keys and Cheeseburger in dominant fashion. His match with Swerve should be a good one.
– While the emotional heaviness came out of nowhere, I thought Roddy Strong did a good job in his promo that followed MJF’s odd “trailer park” segment. The one exception was when Strong said he “had not slept a wink in a week”. Yikes. You know that would kill you, right?!
– Mariah May continues to portray herself as a star and I’m sure that she will indeed have a memorable “celebration” at Full Gear where we find out where Mina’s loyalties lie and if a certain wrestler comes out of “retirement” to ruin the fun.
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Dynamite: CLICK HERE (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
MISSES
O’REILLY CONFRONTS COLE
While it may have been an intriguing idea, I felt Kyle O’Reilly’s speech to Adam Cole further hurts Cole’s cool factor. I don’t think anyone wants to see a sad and depressed Cole at this point or a former running buddy giving him the tough love. This entire storyline has been a mess from the start. I’d prefer for this to end as soon as possible, though I expect Cole has to end up fighting MJF at some point before it does.
GET MERCEDES IN THE RING
The more AEW has Mercedes Mone walking around with a microphone and taking shots at fans’ sports teams, the worse things get for her character. They did her no favors by hot-shotting Kris Statlander to become a babyface after everyone got used to her being a heel. This should be a good match to watch, but for Mercedes to be worth her salary, they need to build a challenger that brings out the best in her and vice versa. (FREE ATHENA!)
ORANGE CASSIDY BUILD
I went into more detail on this on my podcast (the All Elite Conversation Club) with Joel Dehnel, but I felt this storyline looked good on paper, but the execution has been a bit of a mess. Orange Cassidy may be the reluctant leader, but he just looks like a dope going out to face 5 people and getting beat down without help. Then, when he should be serious, he throws the comedy kicks while his hands were restrained.
If his goal was to make sure his friends did not get hurt like Chuck Taylor, then he should have been more clear about that. Nobody really thinks he has a chance at Full Gear and that’s not what you want in a main event match. That is why I am thinking there will be a major angle at the end of the show with a possible returning star.
This was an interesting episode of Dynamite. I am looking forward to Full Gear because AEW always comes through with great PPV’s, but the build could certainly have been better. A big mistake was making many of the big matches on the card “Chapter 1” of their stories. That makes it more predictable and gives it less stakes.
There’s still a lot of work to be done to improve the product, but I’m encouraged by the current ticket sales for Full Gear that the atmosphere should be great which makes the show feel bigger and more important.
Don’t forget to check out the weekly free podcast I’m part of, “The All Elite Conversation Club” that typically drops on Fridays the PWTorch Dailycast lineup. Joel Dehnel and I have a great time breaking down all things AEW! Search “pwtorch” on your podcast app to subscribe. Send questions and comments to allelitecc@gmail.com.
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RECOMMENDED NEXT: AEW Dynamite Ratings Report (11/20): Ratings and viewership for final Full Gear hype with Cassidy vs. Yuta in main event, plus 1 and 2 year ago comparisons
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Powell’s AEW Dynamite Hit List: Orange Cassidy vs. Wheeler Yuta, Darby Allin vs. Claudio Castagnoli, eight-man tag match, the final push for Full Gear
(You can always reach PWTorch editor Wade Keller at kellerwade@gmail.com. You can also send live event results and news tips to pwtorch@gmail.com. Also, we’re always looking for volunteer contributors to help us round out of coverage of the pro wrestling scene.)
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