AEW Dynamite 4/7/21 feat. The Finale of the Wednesday Night Wars

[Emperor Smeat]

Card for tonight's show:

– Mike Tyson returns

– Jon Moxley & The Young Bucks vs. Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers

– TNT Championship: Darby Allin (c) vs. JD Drake

– The Bunny vs. Tay Conti

– Hangman Adam Page vs. Max Caster

– Jurassic Express vs. Bear Country

– The return of the Inner Circle

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">From WWE: &quot;Congratulations to AEW on a successful premiere. The real winners of last night's head-to-head telecasts of NXT on USA Network and AEW on TNT are the fans, who can expect Wednesday nights to be a competitive and wild ride as this is a marathon, not a one-night sprint.&quot;</p>&mdash; PWI (Pro Wrestling Ilustrated) (@OfficialPWI) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficialPWI/status/1179831731576283137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[slik]

Huzzah to the end of the Wednesday night/Thursday afternoon toxicity

[erickman]

good nxt is on usa tonight i can dvr one and watch one live now which one do i watch live.

[Jordan]

I'm only really interested in whatever happens with MJF/Jericho, Tyson, Lucha Express and Bear Country. But I'll be watching live this week. HERE WE GO

[Damian Rey 2.0]

TIME FOR SOME COWBOY SHIT, I RECKON

[slik]

Hangman the #1 contender, nice

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Thank God Bowen got booted

[slik]

I had no idea Castor was older than Hangman

[erickman]

today is beer day they need james storm to show up.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Hangman the #1 contender, nice

Hope they hold off on giving him a title shot. Build him up and build the hype for him to finally go over Omega.

[erickman]

Hope they hold off on giving him a title shot. Build him up and build the hype for him to finally go over Omega.

yeah they need omega to be the belt colector

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Whoops

[Emperor Smeat]

That was a sweet looking clothesline by Page.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I really like both these guys but they don’t seem to mesh at all

[slik]

Fun opener

[Emperor Smeat]

Hangman vs. Max Caster was pretty good. Could probably have scaled back a bit on the shenanigans near the end.

[Triple A]

Match was OK, with a really good last couple of mins... Thought Caster was actually gonna win after hitting him with a chain

[Triple A]

AEW's commentary team makes the show so much better... unlike NXT's freaking unbearable team that makes me want 2 turn it off within 10 seconds any time I watch........

[Triple A]

Crowd seems like it sucks tonight... giving the show a weird low energy

[Triple A]

What is going on with this crowd... sounds like 8 people are there

[Evil Vito]

“Oh yeah we have an alien with us too” :lol:

[Evil Vito]

Kris Stat = sex

[Evil Vito]

Kris Sexlander

[rez]

Mmm

[Jordan]

I didn't really care for Max Castor, he's not quite ready for a match on that level with Hangman yet. I really want more OC on the mic. Glad Trent is back too. Best Friends and Death Triangle is of major interest to me. I wish Hangman wasn't the number one contender but maybe he can get screwed out of that spot and start a program with someone else like Cage or something.

[slik]

inner circle super over

JR stanning Godzilla, as he should

[slik]

pineapple lmao

[slik]

Jericho bloodshot eyes

[slik]

why was jericho having wet dreams at 25

[Damian Rey 2.0]

This is a good promo

[Damian Rey 2.0]

why was jericho having wet dreams at 25

WHY WEREN’T YOU!!???

[Evil Vito]

I would only have wet dreams if I stopped jacking off, and LOL at the idea of that happening

[slik]

Great promo by jericho

[Emperor Smeat]

Had to step out for a bit.

Did anything happen after the Best Friends stuff but before Inner Circle's segment?

[Triple A]

Interesting @ doing the "Blood & Guts" match on Dynamite...

Wonder if Jericho will face Tyson at the PPV or something.......

[Triple A]

Had to step out for a bit.

Did anything happen after the Best Friends stuff but before Inner Circle's segment?

Nope, just commercials

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Blood and guts baby. Can’t wait.

[Jordan]

JESUS CHRIST that's what Jericho can DO BABAY. Awesome promo. That was fantastic.

[Emperor Smeat]

Nope, just commercials

Thanks.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Please turn the bucks heel tonight

[slik]

RIP my notifications


https://i.postimg.cc/9QnpRHtt/Screenshot-2021-04-07-at-7-34-13-PM.png

[Jordan]

Jericho just turned around everything going stale for him in one promo. He's the fucking man when he wants to be.

[Emperor Smeat]

Is that Godzilla vs. King Kong film any good?

Haven't seen it yet nor bothered reading any real reviews since it came out.

[erickman]

how far can they toss marko stunt kong better throw him far.

[Triple A]

Is that Godzilla vs. King Kong film any good?

Haven't seen it yet nor bothered reading any real reviews since it came out.

It's terrible....... Barely had any idea what was happening or why it was happening... Felt like I started watching halfway into the movie and had no explanation... Just wanted to watch them fight but the "action" is only like 10% of the movie and the rest is a horrible boring story!

[Emperor Smeat]

Bear Boulder holding both Jungle Boy & Luchasaurs at the same time would have been a cool spot had Luchasaurus not just slide right off of Boulder on his dive.

[slik]

wish jim ross was dressed as godzilla to cross promote

bbqzilla

[Triple A]

Bear Boulder... what's the other guy called?

[Triple A]

Bear Bronson... cool

[erickman]

It's terrible....... Barely had any idea what was happening or why it was happening... Felt like I started watching halfway into the movie and had no explanation... Just wanted to watch them fight but the "action" is only like 10% of the movie and the rest is a horrible boring story!

that sucks i figured 30% would be fights might as well watch the 60s kong vs godzilla that movie kicked ass

[slik]

Is that Godzilla vs. King Kong film any good?

Haven't seen it yet nor bothered reading any real reviews since it came out.

It's pretty fun

[slik]

It's terrible....... Barely had any idea what was happening or why it was happening... Felt like I started watching halfway into the movie and had no explanation... Just wanted to watch them fight but the "action" is only like 10% of the movie and the rest is a horrible boring story!

have you seen Kong: Skull Island or the other two Godzilla movies bc the plot has a lot to do with those three films

[Emperor Smeat]

Jurassic Express vs. Bear Country was pretty good even if it was a bit messy at times.

It's terrible....... Barely had any idea what was happening or why it was happening... Felt like I started watching halfway into the movie and had no explanation... Just wanted to watch them fight but the "action" is only like 10% of the movie and the rest is a horrible boring story!

Shame since the film sounded cool on paper.

Think that's been a problem with most of Godzilla's recent films where they focus too little on him and/or action scenes in favor of too much on non-Godzilla stuff.

[Sepholio]

I thought the movie was decent. It can be hard to follow though unless you know exactly whats going on or if u dont catch a couple things when they are briefly mentioned.

[Triple A]

have you seen Kong: Skull Island or the other two Godzilla movies bc the plot has a lot to do with those three films

Nah I didn't...

[slik]

qt marshall damn evil jezebel

[Damian Rey 2.0]

That was a good segment by dollar tree heel QT Marshall.

Also Godzilla v Kong was great.

[Jordan]

Great promo from QT and crew.

[Emperor Smeat]

Still not really feeling QT Marshall being the boss of a stable but that promo by him was really good.

:lol: at QT referencing Aaron Solow being known as just Bayley's boyfriend before they broke up.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Cena AND Austin on dynamite ads? Wow

[Emperor Smeat]

First Cena has a commercial during AEW's show and now Stone Cold does the same.

Wonder who will be next from WWE to have a commercial airing during a Dynamite show.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at Jake Roberts & Lance Archer interrupting another Sting interview.

AEW took the criticisms of their Sting interview segments and turned it into a running gag with Jake Roberts and Lance Archer.

[erickman]

ethan has the best looks during that.

[Emperor Smeat]

Hook looked like he wanted to beat the crap out of Ricky Starks during that Team Taz talk.

[Triple A]

I hope JD Drake has a good match and gets signed. :)

[slik]

Ethan Page is attractive

[Triple A]

Darby rules so much... every match very fun and "hard hitting"

[Emperor Smeat]

JD Drake's new gear looks better than what he had before.

[Triple A]

JD Drake's new gear looks better than what he had before.

What did he have before? In EVOLVE I think he just wore plain black tights with no shirt... doesn't have the best look...........

[Triple A]

Reminds me kinda of CW Anderson who didn't have the best look but could have really good matches...

[slik]

dynamite and takeover top 2 trends on twitter, good 4 both

[Emperor Smeat]

Took a bit to heat up but that TNT title match was very good.

[Emperor Smeat]

:eek: at Darby getting launched by that pounce by Butcher.

[Emperor Smeat]

What did he have before? In EVOLVE I think he just wore plain black tights with no shirt... doesn't have the best look...........

Yeah that's what he mostly wore on AEW Dark & Dark Elevation.

[slik]

are the bushwackers still alive, would be funny if they joined dark order IMO

[slik]

The JeriBelly strikes

[Emperor Smeat]

AEW's janitor is going to be pissed when he/she finds out Inner Circle broke that door.

:lol: at Tyson randomly showing up.

[Triple A]

are the bushwackers still alive, would be funny if they joined dark order IMO

Just checked and both alive...... Butch is 76 and Luke is 74

The original Demolition also alive... Ax is 73 and Smash is 61... Crush DIED however in 2007 at the age of 43

[Triple A]

Tyson looks good

[Emperor Smeat]

Everything about that Pinnacle vs. Jericho & Tyson segment was both cool and goofy at the same time.

[Jordan]

That was fucking awesome. Tyson is the best.

[Emperor Smeat]

Huh so you can say "shit" but not "bullshit" on TNT.

:lol: at Britt's plan to get a Women's title shot is to just exploit the loophole in AEW's Rankings system.

[slik]

great use of Tyson

[Evil Vito]

Tyson is a treasure

[erickman]

allie loves the camera

[slik]

the camera loves allie too

[Loose Cannon]

I’m finally watching AEW for the first time in months . I watch the highlights on YouTube a good bit so I kind of know what’s going on . Also you guys clued me in on all the factions lol

Two things :

1) I turned it on at 8:52 and I’ve seen like 50 wrestlers so far and only one match

2). For god sakes , slow the fuck down . Every segment is chaos . Everyone is talking fast and rushing . It’s like they are trying to fit the whole roster into the show. Lance Archer shouldn’t be talking a mile a minute . He’s a monster . Mike Tyson comes in and immediately starts punching people . Have a quick stare down ...gees. Slow it down guys . It’s like watching a car wreck

I did like the Darby match . That jobber guy won me over .

[Jordan]

I thought it was great Spears was chosen to take the beating from Tyson. Just loved the whole segment.

[Evil Vito]

Man Spears getting the shit punched out of him is the best possible use of him

[slik]

I really hate this Sesame Street autism commercial....it's so annoying

[Emperor Smeat]

Bunny vs. Tay was pretty good.

[Triple A]

The Bunny so beautiful.........

[rez]

Horny

[Evil Vito]

Tay Conti is so fucking good. Probably the most improved worker in AEW over the past year.

[Jordan]

Tay Conti is so fucking good. Probably the most improved worker in AEW over the past year.

:y::y:

[Emperor Smeat]

I’m finally watching AEW for the first time in months . I watch the highlights on YouTube a good bit so I kind of know what’s going on . Also you guys clued me in on all the factions lol

Two things :

1) I turned it on at 8:52 and I’ve seen like 50 wrestlers so far and only one match

2). For god sakes , slow the fuck down . Every segment is chaos . Everyone is talking fast and rushing . It’s like they are trying to fit the whole roster into the show. Lance Archer shouldn’t be talking a mile a minute . He’s a monster . Mike Tyson comes in and immediately starts punching people . Have a quick stare down ...gees. Slow it down guys . It’s like watching a car wreck

I did like the Darby match . That jobber guy won me over .

Yeah that is a problem they have where they cram a ton of stuff in a show but at the same time also why Dynamite usually feels way more energetic and lively than WWE's shows.

[Evil Vito]

Lmao Jericho vs Dax Harwood being “one of the biggest matches in the history of Dynamite”

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Man Tay Conti and Shida on TV at the same time? My pipi was so happy.

[Emperor Smeat]

Women's division getting multiple segments for another week in a row.

Wonder if that rumor about TNT being the reason why they had very little screen time before was true after all. Something about TNT officials not being that fond of women's wrestling and/or wanting their time spent on stuff that could draw better ratings instead.

[Loose Cannon]

It’s 1000X more enjoyable then RAW, but damn I feel like I need to have a few Red Bull’s before I watch .

The matches have been real entertaining and I haven’t seen any shitty backstage segments like guys riding around on scooters, which is a plus

[Loose Cannon]

Also I love Omega . He’s by far my favorite

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Please turn the Bucks heel

[rez]

Man Tay Conti and Shida on TV at the same time? My pipi was so happy.

Mine

[slik]

Just checked and both alive...... Butch is 76 and Luke is 74

The original Demolition also alive... Ax is 73 and Smash is 61... Crush DIED however in 2007 at the age of 43

RIP KONA CRUSH

[Jordan]

I don't know about you guys but I am ready for a Big Paul Wight match on Dynamite soon. Let's get it.

[slik]

zoned out a bit of main event via it being young bucks

[Triple A]

Don Callis is great

[Triple A]

Matt Jackson being a dumb motherfucker,

[Triple A]

Hope Moxley gives Matt Jackson a Paradigm Shift through a glass table

[Emperor Smeat]

Young Bucks are way better acting as insufferable annoying twats than this melodramatic stuff they keep trying to pull off in AEW.

Match was very good until it scratched to a grinding halt because of the Bucks shenanigans.

[erickman]

time to play the nwo music

[Evil Vito]

Heel Bucks >>>>> Face Bucks

Shame they’ll just turn straight back in another week or two. They need to pick a lane.

[Evil Vito]

Either way, really nice ep :y:

[Triple A]

Good ep

I'm a fan of the chaotic stuff where tons of stuff happens

[erickman]

yeah i guess mma will be good after wrestling

[Volare]

Good shit and fun as usual. Card is fucking stacked next week.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I liked that ending. A lot. And I like that Omega regularly plays a punching bag for Moxley.

[Loose Cannon]

One day I hope Matt Jackson goes heel and turns on his brother . To me he’s clearly the Better Buck. I’ve seen them together for far too long .

[Emperor Smeat]

This week's show was very entertaining but also one of their weaker ones in a while.

TNT title match ended up being the best match on the show while the biggest weak point was the final few minutes of the main event. Young Bucks starting to feel like Cody where they overdo or over-think their booking leading to their stuff dragging or being way less interesting than it should be.

[erickman]

I liked that ending. A lot. And I like that Omega regularly plays a punching bag for Moxley.

i thought they were going to take mox out so he can go to japan and see his wife

[Loose Cannon]

Young Bucks are way better acting as insufferable annoying twats than this melodramatic stuff they keep trying to pull off in AEW.

Match was very good until it scratched to a grinding halt because of the Bucks shenanigans.


Bro yeah the acting wasn’t the greatest .

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at ONE FC's debut fight on TNT ended up being a DQ.

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Very upset that the Wednesday Night Wars lasted 80 weeks instead of 83 weeks.</p>&mdash; Garrett Kidney (@garrettkidney) <a href="https://twitter.com/garrettkidney/status/1379820039814152198?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[erickman]

Bro yeah the acting wasn’t the greatest .

yeah they need to learn heel turn not just stand there 5 mins. i so want to hear cornette bitch about it.

[erickman]

the guy who got dqed on one heeling it up in interview you put me in a cage.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I’m curious when they’re going to write off Moxley. He went from being unstoppable to eating pins from Omega 3x since their title match. Of course none of them have been clean, but I don’t wanna see him continually losing either.

[Loose Cannon]

Oh is he hurt or something ?

[Bad News Gertner]

Wow, pretty terrible show. 3/10.

[Volare]

Oh is he hurt or something ?

Preggo Renee.

[Emperor Smeat]

I’m curious when they’re going to write off Moxley. He went from being unstoppable to eating pins from Omega 3x since their title match. Of course none of them have been clean, but I don’t wanna see him continually losing either.

I'd assume by the end of this month since he does have a big indies match left on his to do list before going on a break. Also has a Yuji Nagata match in NJPW on the horizon.

Moxley vs. Josh Barnett at Bloodsport 6 is happening at the same time as tomorrow's Night 2 show for NXT TakeOver.

[Loose Cannon]

Preggo Renee.

Oh right the dad thing lol

[erickman]

that would be a good way to write him out josh barnett takes him out aew films it.

[Emperor Smeat]

The ONE MMA show after Dynamite was pretty entertaining and something I'm going to stick with for watching after Dynamite for the time being.

This Rodtang guy was a beast in the main event. Basically was playing with his food for Round 1 and then almost utterly destroyed his opponent in Round 2. The other guy was gushing blood as if he was pulling a Britt Baker from a few weeks ago.

[Triple A]

Would be interesting if Tyson turns on Jericho and allies with MJF next week...

[slik]

really want bushwackers to debut next week

[slik]

imagine bushwacker luke hitting a canadian destroyer on max castor

[Mr. JL]

How the fuck does Mike Tyson get an episode on Dynamite?

[xrodmuc316]

NXT was better tonight.

[slik]

The Wednesday Night "war" finally ends


https://i.postimg.cc/52BFTgVv/2021-Apr-07-WED-Final-Cable.png

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">AEW: 688,000<br>NXT: 768,000<br><br>The end.</p>&mdash; Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) <a href="https://twitter.com/bryanalvarez/status/1380252027792490496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Jordan]

Damn WWE won afterall.

Me and AEW fans now...

https://static3.thesportsterimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/crush-anim.gif?fm=gif&frame=all&q=50&fit=crop&w=740&h=555

[xrodmuc316]

The Wednesday Night "war" finally ends


https://i.postimg.cc/52BFTgVv/2021-Apr-07-WED-Final-Cable.png

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">AEW: 688,000<br>NXT: 768,000<br><br>The end.</p>&mdash; Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) <a href="https://twitter.com/bryanalvarez/status/1380252027792490496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Well well well, would you look at that.

NXT will forever be on a winning streak, AEW will forever be on a losing streak! :rofl:

And with that, AEW can...

<marquee scrollamount="35">https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hslguG1h3Qk/hqdefault.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/originals/50/3d/c1/503dc119dc87e7da979aebafb3fe47d5.jpg</marquee>

[Jordan]

Hopefully that rating is a big wake up call for AEW. There are a lot of thing that need overhauled, Omega and this Elite storyline for starters. Too many jobbers all through the show. It's just got to get a strong focus on the top talent and push away. The top talent is obvious and the talent that sucks is obvious. I think this week is a good week to check out the quarter hour views and drop offs, I hope see one posted here once Dave writes it up.

[Emperor Smeat]

I'm surprised AEW still managed to top NXT in terms of the key demo since if there was a week for NXT to pull off the very rare double victory moment, it was this week.

Looking at those numbers, the bulk of NXT's gain this week came from old people while they took a hit with young people. AEW managed to actually go up with younger people but didn't spike anywhere as big as NXT did for their old people group.

[xrodmuc316]

I'm surprised AEW still managed to top NXT in terms of the key demo since if there was a week for NXT to pull off the very rare double victory moment, it was this week.

Looking at those numbers, the bulk of NXT's gain this week came from old people while they took a hit with young people. AEW managed to actually go up with younger people but didn't spike anywhere as big as NXT did for their old people group.

So, in other words, AEW can...

<marquee scrollamount="35">https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hslguG1h3Qk/hqdefault.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/originals/50/3d/c1/503dc119dc87e7da979aebafb3fe47d5.jpg</marquee>

[Fignuts]

Hopefully that rating is a big wake up call for AEW. There are a lot of thing that need overhauled, Omega and this Elite storyline for starters. Too many jobbers all through the show. It's just got to get a strong focus on the top talent and push away. The top talent is obvious and the talent that sucks is obvious. I think this week is a good week to check out the quarter hour views and drop offs, I hope see one posted here once Dave writes it up.

I don't have a lot of faith in then righting the ship, so to speak. At the end of the day, it's a group of guys doing what they want with no creative filter to put their foot down and say "no, we're not doing that". Tony Khan is too much of a mark to be that guy.

That said AEW still has its moments on every show. It's still an OK wrestling show. Just not what it could be.

[Jordan]

I agree that they definitely have their moments each show. It is the best wrestling show on right now but the misses are major. It is frustrating because AEW came at the right time for me, I was really tapping out of WWE and for the most part wrestling in general. AEW reignited that interest big time but as they are petering on the brink of Total Nonstop Action I am getting less and less interested in watching live every week, and some weeks not watching even on demand.

I think they need to get the belt off of Kenny ASAP, back onto Mox and end this Elite storyline altogether. Somehow they need to get a main event program that will get people talking, that could be Mox/MJF/Jericho in some kind of three way program or just Mox/Jericho... They need to do something exciting with Christian, he should be working off of Jericho in some way that would obviously be money. They also need to do something exciting with Paul Wight. It's silly that nobody wants to book him in his best possible way. Unstoppable monster. I don't know maybe that is done with but he has to do something interesting. He's too big of a name to go to waste with over a month in and no hint of a program. Push Cage, push Archer, push Cody, push OC. I'm not sold on Darby, sorry I know he has some really fun matches but as a draw I just don't know that he will make it there. Maybe I'm wrong on him because I have a personal bias after seeing him treat one of his friends who is an addict so poorly on youtube Jackass like videos. Ah man wouldn't it be great if The Death Triangle had like 25 minutes each week and the Young Bucks went back to Japan for half a year, or to TNA or whatever, just somewhere to get something fresh about them.

Tony did an interview once saying how they struggled the first few months of AEW but I totally disagree. The debut up til Full Gear was fucking amazing and some of the most fun wrestling I've ever enjoyed watching. Whatever was going on then was a lot more straight forward and we hadn't seen so many angles drawn out for months and months and interweaved with other stories and turns and debuts and so on and so forth.

[Fignuts]

Death Triangle needs a major push. Lucha bros should be the ones to take the belts off the bucks and PAC needs to be back in the main event scene. He's one of the best guys they have both in the ring and on the mic.

All the hype around omega joining AEW was based on him being "The Best Bout Machine" in Japan and its mind boggling how we've seen none of that from him in AEW. He's had good matches but nothing on the caliber of what he did in Japan.

Marko Stunt needs to fuck off. He doesn't belong there. I don't mind small guys taking on bigger guys, but there's a limit. I'm not gonna sit there and watch a guy that looks like he'd struggle against my 85 year old grandma, make guys twice his size bump for him. And Luchasaurus is sloppy as fuck. Jungle boy is the only good one from that group.

Darby impresses me because he's so fucking fast, while at the same time makes everything look so smooth. He reminds me of the original Tiger Mask in that regard.

[Emperor Smeat]

Tony did an interview once saying how they struggled the first few months of AEW but I totally disagree. The debut up til Full Gear was fucking amazing and some of the most fun wrestling I've ever enjoyed watching. Whatever was going on then was a lot more straight forward and we hadn't seen so many angles drawn out for months and months and interweaved with other stories and turns and debuts and so on and so forth.

He revealed in a past interview that at least one big reason for why certain stuff has been getting drawn out longer than before is due to them wanting to save as much big stuff for when crowds return.

Problem is this pandemic has gone on way longer than they expected which is why more cracks keep popping up in their booking since they can't go back into normal routine. Also them eventually having to bite the bullet and do stuff they wanted to save but now under less than ideal conditions like the upcoming Blood & Guts match.

[Jordan]

He revealed in a past interview that at least one big reason for why certain stuff has been getting drawn out longer than before is due to them wanting to save as much big stuff for when crowds return.

Problem is this pandemic has gone on way longer than they expected which is why more cracks keep popping up in their booking since they can't go back into normal routine. Also them eventually having to bite the bullet and do stuff they wanted to save but now under less than ideal conditions like the upcoming Blood & Guts match.

I get it. But like you said the pandemic isn't temporary and they really shouldn't be acting as if it is. They should go full force and if they lose certain reaction then so be it. The ratings do not hinge on crowd reaction. Thankfully they are doing blood and guts in May. I hope they double down and end up doing Stadium Stampede at Double or Nothing with the same teams.

[Emperor Smeat]

It pretty much boils down to a mix of them vastly underestimating how long this pandemic was going to last and them fearing over losing too many big money making moments and matches if they just acted as if everything was normal.

WWE is in a similar boat in regards to the former since they didn't think their stay at the Performance Center and ThunderDome was going to last beyond the summer. Main difference is WWE has a massive money coming in from their tv and Peacock deal unlike AEW (and other promotions) so they don't have those same financial and booking worries.

Like that Blood and Guts match would have easily sold out AEW's New Jersey show had it taken place at the time but now its going to make them way less money due to it being in front of a much smaller paying crowd but AEW felt they couldn't hold off on doing that promised match any longer. For some reference the Prudential Center in NJ has a capacity of around 16k for events while Daily's Place is still limited to around 1k for big shows.