Tag: AEW Dynamite

Did AEW Dynamite Deliver a PPV?

Clive BallsLeave a comment

Tony Khan had every right to tout the May 10 episode of Dynamite as a PPV on TBS. The match card was stacked. Ring of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli faced off against ROH Tag Team Champ Rey Fénix, the AEW International Championship and the World Trios Titles would be defended, with a main event of Jon Moxley squaring off against longtime nemesis Kenny Omega in a steel cage. In between we’d get Anna Jay and Julia Hart in a No Holds Barred match and hear from Christian Cage and FTR.

On paper, it really did look like a PPV. But there’s a term in football: the game isn’t played on paper. Just because a card looks good, doesn’t mean it’ll stand up. One thing AEW does well is PPVs. Even when the company has had a rare dip heading into a PPV, it always delivers. So giving a nod to that standard for a TV show was adding pressure.

The opening bout between Fénix and Claudio had the stipulation that whoever won could challenge the other for their belt. Readers familiar with my opinions will know I’m not a fan of non-title matches where a champ can lose in order to serve as a qualifier (or “title elimination match”). It’s my view that if you’re fighting, the gold’s on the line.

Having said that, this was a smart compromise. It served as an eliminator, both could look strong regardless of outcome, and the Tag Titles being in the mix add another permutation. There’s more chance of finding a universe where Donald Trump is a quiet humble man, and Aqua followed up “Barbie Girl” with an album that surpassed Led Zeppelin’s excellence, than you are to come across one where Fénix and Castagnoli put on anything other than a high grade contest. If you don’t enjoy watching these two, you don’t really enjoy wrestling.

It started high tempo and never took a breath. Taz observed on commentary that they were only four minutes in, and there’d already been so much action.

Claudio winning is a shame in the sense it keeps Rey Fénix away from a big singles match but Khan is building the Swiss star into an indestructible force. It would be logical to assume he’ll choose Wheeler Yuta as his tag parter, and that’s who’ll eat the pin when the BCC face off against the Lucha Brothers.

The show definitely got off to a PPV-worthy start but this is where we should remember it is a television show. It would be remiss of Tony Khan to go all in [is that a pun? — Danny] on weekly programming as it’d make the big shows feel less grand. Unlike WWE PPVs that consist of extensive filler, AEW is more action packed which leaves little room for storyline expansion. With this being a TV show, there was need to punctuate the matches with developments.

We saw both Miro and Thunder Rosa return backstage and went to Tony Khan’s office. Both have been sorely missed. Yes, it’s a stacked roster but these two are world class talents. Thunder Rosa especially should be thrown straight back into the world title scene. Miro probably needs to earn some trust with Khan’s creative instincts before he’s main eventing.

Two different ways to progress a feud were also presented. FTR continued their troubles with Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett. Mark Briscoe came out to announce he would be the special guest referee at Double or Nothing when FTR’s AEW World Tag Title will be up for grabs. In what was supposed to be a drink to toast the creation of the match, Sonjay Dutt spat the spirit (I’m guessing a fine tequila) into Dax Harwood’s eyes. A blinded Harwood acted on instinct, and during the ensuing melee delivered a piledriver to Mark Briscoe. At this point, it should be mentioned Dutt must be a genius because there’s not a character I despise more in all of professional wrestling.

Dax could play the role of impetuous hothead well. They should lean into his unhinged, hit-first-ask-later side more often.

Christian Cage went down the other path to build his issues with Wardlow. He delivered a speech that begs the question: is Christian the best at cutting a heel promo in the world? MJF has a strong shout but Christian’s are delivered with such callous precision, it’s a close call. He managed to get a dead dad remark in too, just so you know the level he’s aiming for.

There are two types of people in the world. Those who prefer Coke over Pepsi. Those who think Edge is better than Christian. I am not in the Edge camp. Christian is a legend who delivers to a higher standard in every department.

The Trios match between House of Black and Best Friends and Bandido never really recovered from a stipulation that wasn’t fully utilised. It was an average part of the show where no one expected Malakai and his crew to lose. Even Julia Hart won in the match beforehand over Anna Jay. That probably was a better bout than the Trios Title defence, and the women sold the violence well, but it wasn’t on the level we’ve seen from other hardcore female matchups.

Slightly above the middling matches was the Orange Cassidy International Championship defence against Daniel Garcia. Again, no one would have expected OC to drop the belt here. It’s clear that Garcia is in some kind of holding pattern. He loses title matches but always looks strong. He put Cassidy through the wringer, his cockiness being the downfall. For a man who slayed the American Dragon, he needs another notable win soon.

Let’s cut to the chase on the main event. It wasn’t the best steel cage match we’ve ever seen in AEW. But it would never be like the Bucks and the Lucha Brothers. It was always going to be brutal. Bryan Danielson said on commentary that Mox doesn’t even wake up until he’s bleeding. And the blood flowed from both men.

You’d be surprised to hear that Jon Moxely became a top rope specialist, that most of his work was done from said rope. He wasn’t doing is best Rey Fénix impression though, he disassembled the top rope and proceeded to use its hook inside Omega’s mouth before choking him with the rubber covered steel.

Eventually both men went through the front of the cage following a V-trigger. Omega actually took the brunt of the damage, landing awkwardly on the lower portion of the cage.

Next, we entered swerve city. Moxley rolled Omega into the ring, both men now drained from barbwire wrapped chairs and landing on broken glass, and produced a screwdriver. Enter Don Callis, he snatched the tool from Moxley’s hand, pleaded not to be hit, which opened the door for Omega to launch Mox into a turnbuckle. Omega hit the One-Winged Angel, and well, nobody kicks out of that. Technically, Mox didn’t but he wasn’t pinned as Don Callis broke the three-count by  driving the screwdriver into Omega’s head.

The ultimate betrayal.

Was this episode PPV quality? Not quite, it lacked that unquantifiable ingredient that makes AEW PPV’s standout. This is okay. After all, it’s an episodic TV show and on that front we had storyline builds, returning wrestlers and still a couple of matches that were of the highest order.

The main event is one of those highly rated affairs. It wasn’t like the speed and art of the opening match, instead it was an exercise in violence and nuanced storytelling. Some may initially dislike the Callis turn but it is a masterstroke that fully opens up the rivalry between the BCC and The Elite. There is a clear distinction between the good guys and the bad, and it’s okay if you still want them all to win. With these two factions at loggerheads, the fans will never be the losers.

Moxley and Omega added another chapter to their rivalry and with this one, there will never be a thawing of the hatred. Mox has now broken up family. These two are AEW’s Batman and Joker, destined to square off forever, neither able to overcome the other in definitive fashion.

8/10

Tony Khan’s “War”: AEW Collision and What ROH Could Have Been

Clive BallsLeave a comment

First off, let’s be clear: there isn’t really a wrestling war right now. Tony Khan believes there is. Certain elements of the Internet wrestling community think there is (and actively partake in dropping bombs) and talent pretends there is when it’s contract renewal time. But the reality is, there can’t be a war when one company is so far ahead of the other in terms of TV ratings and revenue.

Nothing AEW achieves will put WWE out of business. WWE was recently valued as a $9.3 billion enterprise as it formed a new company following Endeavor’s acquisition and merger with UFC. That combination touted as being worth in excess of $21 billion.

Tony Khan couldn’t get a TV deal for Ring of Honor.

In the war between WWE and WCW, it was a fight to the death. This time—at best—it may slightly affect WWE’s bottom line if AEW continues to grow, and ran live events on the same days as WWE’s non-televised shows. AEW’s arrival has actually generated more chances for wrestlers to work. It’s opened up the wrestling world and brought in more fans, or at the very least, brought back those who had become disenfranchised.

What was notable in the Monday Night War was how WWE had to change its game. Vince McMahon’s natural inclination is to have PG, cartoony characters. When WCW produced an edgier product, Vince had to adapt. The Attitude Era was the result and has been viewed with nostalgia ever since.

In the modern day faux war, Tony Khan is the one holding the edgier, more adult based product. Blood may be banned in Stamford but Jon Moxley is contractually obliged to bleed every time he hears a bell ring. In this generation, the product closer to the Attitude Era has failed to win the ratings battle against RAW and SmackDown.

Eventually, the children currently watching WWE will outgrow it and migrate to AEW. Until then, Tony Khan needs to secure more viewership. Even the acquisition of big WWE names didn’t significantly budge the needle. CM Punk had a great Rampage debut but it didn’t translate into a massive return each Wednesday. Bryan Danielson is beloved by fans as one of the best wrestlers on the planet. He’s in a place now where he gets to prove it. The problem for TV ratings is, not many casual WWE fans care about wrestling, especially if it’s caked in violence.

The best way to directly compete with PG WWE is by creating PG content.

This is where Tony Khan faces a conundrum. AEW has a strong identity and style. Migrating to a PG show would all but kill the company. Its loyal fans (which are an organic fanbase) would leave, in the short-term it would fail to turn the heads of WWE viewers. The chances are, Tony doesn’t even see it as an option. But there are several (imperfect) solutions.

AEW’s TV shows are finally back in the groove after removing Ring of Honor content from weekly programming. Which brings us to option one. Ring of Honor, up to this point, has been presented along the same lines as AEW. Admittedly, its history doesn’t look like the natural fit for a PG presentation. But if you took a highlight reel from WWE’s Attitude Era, that would be a hard sell to a modern day TV exec for a PG Sports Entertainment show. Still, here we are.

ROH could easily be repackaged. The fact is, it failed to secure a TV deal after months of Tony Khan shilling the product on TBS and TNT. It would be superbly optimistic to expect the relaunched Honor Club to recruit a notable subscription count. Not many will pay $9.99 just for a weekly show.

Unless they are going to offer specials like Impact Plus, Tony Khan may need to return to the drawing board and turn ROH into the family friendly version of his universe. Women Of Wrestling’s ratings prove there is a market for a commercially friendly audience. Its ratings trounce Impact Wrestling, which itself is a solid product. He’d find it an easier sell to those in charge of cable channels to pick up a rejuvenated family version of AEW in the guise of a new ROH. There’d be enough separation between AEW and ROH to dispel fears that the PG audience may inadvertently be drawn to the edgier Wednesday and Friday shows.

The market exists to break WWE’s dominance (if not its profits) but the first rule of showbiz is to give the people what they want. The majority clearly want the soft version of wrestling that fills three hours of television every Monday night. Unless brand loyalty is so strong with WWE that people will watch it regardless of what they churn out. We know this can’t be entirely true. Ratings have improved since Triple H’s arrival as Head of Creative, proving it isn’t watched mindlessly by everyone.

Luring the WWE fanbase with a throwback product hasn’t made a significant dent into WWE’s coffers. It’s time to try with a direct imitation. It worked for WWE in the Nineties. DX was a reaction to nWo. The whole vibe of the Attitude Era was taking what WCW started and trying to do it better. History tells us they succeeded.

History has a way of repeating itself. Imitation is the best form of flattery. It’s time Tony Khan flattered WWE by creating a copy so good, it makes loyal viewers switch sides.

The rumoured AEW Collision show could be this vehicle instead of ROH. A two-hour Saturday show would need to resemble Dynamite’s story progression more than Rampage’s pure action dynamic. To differentiate, and prevent Rampage becoming irrelevant, this could be the PG show AEW has on offer. All the reasons listed above for changing ROH can be applied here instead.

Or we have the option to amalgamate and instead of it being AEW Collision, it is a ROH two-hour show called Collision headed by a returning CM Punk. The story is already written: he can’t work with the “children” in AEW and The Elite, so he’s dragged ROH to network telly.

The most outlandish—and biggest risk of all—would be for Tony to create yet another new brand. It would be free from AEW and ROH’s adult orientation and could start on a blank page. It could still use CM Punk in the role described. 

What Collision can’t be is Dynamite-lite, offering nothing new to AEW’s TV library. Being a two-hour show, all signs point to AEW needing a brand split. This would enable them to use their sizeable roster more effectively (and expect more free agents in the coming months following WWE’s buyout). But this alone won’t improve ratings or market penetration.

Tony Khan can’t win his imaginary war, but he can become something more like an equal than an afterthought if he acknowledges there needs to be a flavour for every fan out there. Whether its Collision or ROH he uses as the vehicle for this—or even a new brand—he needs to think outside of his box.

However, if he chooses to keep the new status quo and sit on one million viewers in order to maintain his vision, that should be applauded and respected. What he has created is the alternative many of us craved. And by its nature, alternative is rarely ever mainstream.

AEW Dynamite – First 3 Episodes Review

Clive BallsLeave a comment

Rather than dive into reviewing Dynamite prematurely and feeding into the ratings side of the Wednesday Night War, it was decided to let the dust settle. We were never going to understand everything after just one night, or two, but by three, we have a decent idea about what AEW is going to feel like on a weekly basis.

It was fitting that the debut fight saw Cody take to the squared-circle. He is a founder and face of the company. Unlike The Other Place, where connection to the powers that be buys unfair air time, Cody is legitimately a top tier star. He is World Champion level talent, he is recognisable as Mr AEW, he should be opening the first bout on TNT.

The match with Sammy Guevara helped build the stock of the youngster and storylines, with Chris Jericho entering the ring to give Cody a painful reminder of what to expect at the Full Gear PPV when the two face-off for the World Title.

It would take too long to cram all the matches from the opening three weeks into one article. Those have already been reviewed elsewhere. But to examine the tone and feel, we also need to consider direction. PAC against “Hangman” Adam Page gave us big hints. PAC made “Hangman” tap out, albeit after a low blow. It’s a sign the Geordie is well thought of in AEW. As for Page, is he destined to play the tortured nearly man for a period of time?

Of course, episode 1 saw Riho get the shock win over Nyla Rose. “Shock” is used sparingly there. Lots assumed Rose would get the strap first but that was based on the amount of media work and exposure. Riho, in many respects, was the safe choice. It builds another name and unleashes Rose as a person that wants to stomp through the division.

The first main event saw Jericho, Santana and Ortiz versus The Young Bucks and Omega. It was never a fair match. Moxley saw to that. He stole Omega from ringside, planted him through a glass table backstage, and the inevitable beatdown of the babyfaces ensued.

The Rhodes brothers ran to the ring, followed by Jericho’s newest buddies including the former Jack Swagger – MMA’s Jake Hager.

Which leads us into episode 2 and the best promo Jericho has cut in years. And that is saying something as Jericho doesn’t do bad promos. He derailed the crowd’s “We the People” chants, aimed at Hager. Jericho derided WWE and killed what could have become a career hindering, never going away chant in a simple but cutting line: “‘We the People’ sucks and it’s dead and buried. It was a stupid idea from bad creative and all that’s gone.”

The amusing thing is, the crowd lapped up the comment, Hager looked a little hurt. He’d been using the gimmick in MMA. Dense people of the Twitterverse, have remarked Jericho was a hypocrite in the promo. That he dogged WWE Creative while still hinting at his old gimmick, like The List. Jericho is his own invention. His creations did not require WWE Creative. He can recycle his old material to his heart’s content.

His latest creation is the stable now known as The Inner Circle. It looks like we’re heading for good authority figures trying to overcome an evil, dissident group that holds power.

The second episode allowed a few things to become clearer. Like, this is a wrestling show. The action goes at a faster pace. There are fewer segments than WWE. It’s in-ring action plus. I don’t want to say total, non-stop action as that would have a grossly unfair connotation. While we’re at it, the notion it’s WCW-lite is wrong too. This is new with a slight nod to the past.

Week two had a real sporting feeling. It wasn’t polished to within an inch of its life like The Other Place, to the point where a ring walk feels like a catwalk. This felt like combatants about to get it on. There was a big fight feel throughout. An atmosphere closer to a boxing arena than Vince McMahon’s circus.

AEW showed that shocks will come and not just for the sake of shocking. The Young Bucks – pre-tournament favourites – where eliminated in the first round tag match by Private Party. Also, expected results aren’t delivered with ease. Every win was worked for, from Moxley over Spears and The Inner Circle over Rhodes and Page.

The best compliment episode 2 received was from a friend who is a time lapsed WWE fan, he was genuinely enthralled and giddy with each and every match. This was without him knowing any of the characters beforehand. He took it on face value and said it was as good as WWE at its best.

Last Wednesday’s Dynamite completed the overview of how the show will run. The focus on in-ring action was underlined. It does seem to have a hard act on its hand of delivering top level matches, with its best talent, while avoiding over-exposure. Already, Moxley/PAC is announced for episode 4. That’s a PPV main event right there, given away on telly.

Mox went full Stone Cold and flipped a double-bird before delivering Paradigm Effect, setting up the beef. It’s also notable PAC undersold the finisher and needed a few more from the opponents of Omega and Page before swallowing the three-count. The win-loss record counts in AEW and PAC has a rep for not accepting defeats. Next week they need to avoid a convoluted finish to maintain integrity.

The Jericho/Allin Philly Street fight struggled with this. It was clear Allin was being put over during the inevitable defeat but it risked making Jericho look weak while giving the emerging star a 1 in his loss tally. Also, after WWE’s Hell in a Cell debacle, why risk the fans ire by having referee Aubrey Edwards call for a break during submission moves whenever Darby Allin reached the rope? The fans even shouted: “It’s a street fight”.

AEW has a great concept with Dark on YouTube. It needs to increase the length of that show and have jobbers fight one another more, building respectable records amongst themselves. These talents should then lose to big names on Dynamite, preserving the win-loss records of top tier stars. Otherwise, explicit jobbers will have records resembling 2-50, with the big names on the books having 50/50 stats at best.

AEW arenas have that big fight feel but big fights don’t happen weekly in UFC and boxing. Big stars need tune-up matches; in pro-wrestling context that means being fed jobbers.

This is a minor concern in an otherwise successful launch. Dynamite has a unique feel without being completely alien to lapsed fans. It satisfies those burnt by stupid ideas from bad creative. Now all it needs is time to build backstory and relax into not pulling out the big matches every single week. And that in itself shows how strong AEW has come out of the blocks: we’d be happy to see them apply the “less is more” rule.

Episode 1 – “Are You Elite” 2 Oct, 2019– 8/10

Episode 2 – “The Inner Circle” 9 Oct, 2019 – 9/10

Episode 3 – 16 Oct, 2019 – 7/10