AEW Dynamite 8/25: CM Punk makes his first appearance on Dynamite

[GD]

https://i.imgur.com/hq9ejcK.jpg

[BigCrippyZ]

Not that it's a bad thing, but that's a busy card. At least two segments and 6 matches, and you have to figure that Christian and/or Omega will get a segment as well, plus they may be doing other stuff in setting up other matches for All Out. Should be fun.

[Jordan]

The card has potential. I'm assuming Big Money Matt's tussle with The Orange One is the main event, unless CM Punk's angle takes the last spot on the show. Hoping for some big answers as to the All Out card tonight.

Matches confirmed.

Omega/Christian
Punk/Darby
PAC/Andrade
Bucks/Lucha Bros or Jurassic Express or Varsity Blondes
Wight/Marshall
Women's Casino Battle Royal

What is likely...

Britt Baker/Thunder Rosa or Statlander
Cody/Malakai Black
Pinnacle/Inner Circle (either one on with with Jericho/MJF or a stable match because I can't see the others left off the card)
Mox/Sting/Kingston vs Garcia & 2.0 (can't see another way in for Mox and Kingston right now and 2.0 and Garcia have been pushed too hard to miss the PPV)
Miro/Cassidy I think this will get set up tonight or very soon. I can't see OC not getting a good match on PPV.

That would be 11 matches which is a lot but that's what AEW did last year at All Out with two them being on the pre-show.

[Jordan]

And I forgot about Starks/Cage. Perhaps they will do two Casino Battle Royal matches.

[Evil Vito]

They teased Miro/Kingston as well but that seems more likely for Arthur Ashe. Kingston and Santana/Ortiz getting matches at Grand Slam would be real good (on the main show as well, not any Dark/Elevation tapings they may have)

[Damian Rey 2.0]

I want Santana and Ortiz to win the tag titles at grand slam so badly. Make that the main and get the pop of a lifetime for them.

[Jordan]

They teased Miro/Kingston as well but that seems more likely for Arthur Ashe. Kingston and Santana/Ortiz getting matches at Grand Slam would be real good (on the main show as well, not any Dark/Elevation tapings they may have)

I was assuming that match could happen some time before All Out or perhaps even at All Out but either way they didn't really drop a hint that I know of as to the time or location of Kingston/Miro. But yeah Ashe would be good.

[Triple A]

Damn Dynamite is on 4 AM - 6 AM where I am @... will see if I'm still up...

[drave]

Is it even allowed? :)

[Triple A]

idk if it's on regular TV but have YouTube TV and a VPN brother

[drave]

pls don't get caned.

[slik]

PWTorch reported that with DVR added, Rampage ended up with 1.4 million viewers so I am curious to see how Dynamite does.

[Triple A]

Feel like this Dynamite will prob do pretty well but sensing that it will return to "baseline" in a week or two after the PPV

[Bad News Gertner]

PWTorch reported that with DVR added, Rampage ended up with 1.4 million viewers so I am curious to see how Dynamite does.

DVR should not count towards viewers. AEW is desperate.

R.I P

[slik]

Feel like this Dynamite will prob do pretty well but sensing that it will return to "baseline" in a week or two after the PPV

Not a great card this week, not sure why TK wouldn't load it up more to 'hook' viewers

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Lucha Bros, Darby, Moxley, Eddie, OC, Punk, Black, Britt

It’s missing Miro but otherwise I’d fuck this episode hard

[Jordan]

Lucha Bros, Darby, Moxley, Eddie, OC, Punk, Black, Britt

It’s missing Miro but otherwise I’d fuck this episode hard

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/2w5OTxyLaSwaQ5uIw5" width="480" height="270" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/wwe-wrestling-2w5OTxyLaSwaQ5uIw5"></a></p>

[slik]

Would be 'shocking' IMO if Cyndi Lauper joined AEW as CM Punk's manager

[slik]

Definitely prefer The Meg airing before Dynamite instead of Transformers or The Accountant

[slik]

lol brock lesnar guy

[Jordan]

Brock Lensar guy is fucking everywhere man wtf I hate him. Wrestling is better at home anyway, asshole.

[Jordan]

Damn I thought Big Matt would get the main event this week!

[Jordan]

OC has the best theme song ever.

[slik]

OC here to teach Curtain Jerker Hardy a lesson

[Jordan]

OC here to teach Curtain Jerker Hardy a lesson

https://media.giphy.com/media/JoVhoQLMqQkjxe0D0p/giphy.gif

[slik]

LOL this is a great crowd

[Jordan]

BIG MONEY

[Jordan]

We are used to Dynamite starting off with a bang but not so much this week!

[Jordan]

Owwww that splash mountain was intense!

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Beautiful sitout crucifix bomb

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Money <a href="https://t.co/eu9MAwJc4S">pic.twitter.com/eu9MAwJc4S</a></p>&mdash; SkullsMedia.com by GIFSkull (@SkullsMedia) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkullsMedia/status/1430684169202331653?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Sepholio]

Ouch I think Matts nose might be broke or something.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Oh man OC broke Matt’s nose on the crossbody

[slik]

Damn, Matt Hardy busted open bad

[Jordan]

Goddamn Matt got busted up! Blood is awesome I love this match now!

[Evil Vito]

:lol: OC with the half-assed DELETE taunt

[slik]

This is a really fun opening match

[Jordan]

Whoa... that really heated up. Some really good offensive moves in that. I though that crossbody looked painful when it hit but man, that was a gusher.

[GD]

That was an awkward pinning combination...

[Jordan]

Lots of accidental blood in AEW. I "don't want" anyone to get hurt but also I really enjoy it when it happens.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at Orange beating Hardy via face full of nuts.

[GD]

Jericho now in favor of vaccines after FDA approval.

[xrodmuc316]

Jericho wearing gloves and a jacket like its winter, but also no shirt :rofl:

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Jericho still an all time promo

[GD]

Jericho wearing gloves and a jacket like its winter, but also no shirt :rofl:

Man, you're really grasping at straws.

[slik]

Really a fantastic crowd

[GD]

Jericho back to WWE confirmed.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Ooh I so called this a week ago

[Evil Vito]

This is good, I figured they’d need a career stip if they were gonna justify one last match

[Jordan]

I really hope MJF loses so that Jericho doesn't go do commentary for Rampage.

[xrodmuc316]

Man, you're really grasping at straws.

Howso, by thinking what Chris Jericho is wearing is great?

[slik]

lol sore udders

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Maybe MJF will win and they set up the rematch at All Out with Jericho’s career on the line.

I am so SMRT

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KeepWrestlingAliveGetVaxxed?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KeepWrestlingAliveGetVaxxed</a> <br><br>Love it. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AEWDynamite?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEWDynamite</a> <a href="https://t.co/uV9rU5oeLH">pic.twitter.com/uV9rU5oeLH</a></p>&mdash; God’s Unwanted Daughter (@StephSottile) <a href="https://twitter.com/StephSottile/status/1430687165973938178?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Evil Vito]

Full time commentary for Rampage means working an hour a week. Sounds like a sweet deal to me.

[slik]

this is sort of laid out like a SD so far with promos and segments (not a bad thing, smart)

[Jordan]

Varsity Blondes have the combined charisma of a Steve Armstrong promo.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Lucha Bros for all the awards

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Julia Hart being an actual 19 year old makes this group feel a little weird.

[slik]

JR calling Pillman fat basically lol

[slik]

Its over when it's in the book

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Other than Mysterio, I can’t think of a single wrestler who makes all the rolls and flips look like necessary chaos instead of flippy shit as well as Rey Fenix does.

Generational talent

[GD]

Just learned about Pat McAfee's condition. Damn...

[Jordan]

Other than Mysterio, I can’t think of a single wrestler who makes all the rolls and flips look like necessary chaos instead of flippy shit as well as Rey Fenix does.

Generational talent

Totally agree. It's a shame that Rey went to WWE instead of AEW because a long running program with The Lucha Bro's would have been insane.

Just learned about Pat McAfee's condition. Damn...

Yeah, I hope he turns out okay. He has Covid and is quite sick for those who aren't aware.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

I love how much Tony loves Britt Baker

[Evil Vito]

Jamie Hayter is a serious hottie

[Jordan]

I hope Jamie Hayter takes some hair care advice from her new friend Britt Baker. Baker has some of the most beautiful plush hair in the business. Just imagine how it smells, so good. Jamie's hair is a mess! Fried, dried and oh wowww... I am certainly not Haytering that ass my god what a rump. So supple.

[GD]

Yeah, I hope he turns out okay. He has Covid and is quite sick for those who aren't aware.

104 F is no joke.

[Jordan]

I think top to bottom AEW has the hotter women's division. Oh my that dive from Red Velvet was LEGIT. Awesome. Velvet is pretty damn good.

[Evil Vito]

Just learned about Pat McAfee's condition. Damn...

It sucks but also important to note he’s at home with a high fever instead of in the hospital on a respirator because he was fully vaxxed.

[slik]

Would be 'out of nowhere' if Abaddon came out and made this match a triple threat IMO

[Jordan]

LOL @ Red Velvet moonsault. wtf.

[Jordan]

Goddamn that will be a botchamania feature.

[GD]

It sucks but also important to note he’s at home with a high fever instead of in the hospital on a respirator because he was fully vaxxed.

Agreed.

I know fans are speculating about Sasha Banks. Hope she's not dealing with mental health related issues.

[Evil Vito]

More Dark Order fighting, my heart now hurts :(

[slik]

crowd really quiet all of a sudden

[GD]

LOL @ Red Velvet moonsault. wtf.

Yeah, she seemed pretty off towards the end after awkwardly rebounding from the ropes.

[Evil Vito]

Jamie Hayter is absolutely yoked

[slik]

crowd awake again

[slik]

sort of

[Emperor Smeat]

Other than Mysterio, I can’t think of a single wrestler who makes all the rolls and flips look like necessary chaos instead of flippy shit as well as Rey Fenix does.

Generational talent

Closest to those two might be El Hijo del Vikingo in AAA.

[GD]

Ugh! Eff that annoying fan chanting Darby.

[slik]

Good CM Punk promo

[Evil Vito]

Punk not being able to resist the chance to tell us Bryan us coming too :lol:

[GD]

Oh fuck! CM Punk gave a hint! HS!

[slik]

Wooooooow at the DBry tease, loved that

"That's somebody's else schtick and you might need to be a little patient"

[Jordan]

CM Punk is the man. The Danielson spot in that promo was just awesome. He is super cool.

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Excuse me<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AEWDynamite?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEWDynamite</a> <a href="https://t.co/ILQv2dHo9j">pic.twitter.com/ILQv2dHo9j</a></p>&mdash; WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) <a href="https://twitter.com/WrestlePurists/status/1430698290522296325?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[slik]

Would be crazy if Miro found Triple A and beat the shit out of him to teach him a lesson for running a newz site!!

[Jordan]

Wooooooow at the DBry tease, loved that

"That's somebody's else schtick and you might need to be a little patient"

BrySon*

[Supreme Olajuwon]

I really liked Darby’s tree face paint. Hope he brings it back for All Out

[GD]

AEW's graphics department needs an overhaul.

[Evil Vito]

I enjoyed a lot of what AEW did in the pandemic. It wasn’t all roses but it helped provide 2 hours where I was mostly entertained and it felt like something “normal” in a world that was anything but.

But man, this show just seems to get better every week since they’ve been back on the road and the energy of the live crowd just adds even more.

[Evil Vito]

JD Drake channeling his inner Roadkill

[Supreme Olajuwon]

I’m gonna make it clear right now. I love JD Drake and his Amish Roadkill cosplay.

[Jordan]

JD Drake dressed as THE BOSS! I love it.

[slik]

Wish Drake had a cape

[slik]

damn jezebel daniel garcia

[weather vane]

Stiff slap there.

[slik]

wwe esque acting segment

[Evil Vito]

Stiff slap there.

Stiff is very much now I feel with Allie and Tay on screen, I’m all for that match

[Sepholio]

YES I FINALLY SCORED AN XBOX SERIES X THANK YOU AEW!!!

Sorry. Carry on.

[slik]

If Malakai is the main event I assume Cody returns

[Jordan]

YES I FINALLY SCORED AN XBOX SERIES X THANK YOU AEW!!!

Sorry. Carry on.

Did you really?

[rez]

mmm hot

[slik]

Bran Cutler #1

[Sepholio]

Did you really?

Yep. Was trying for the awesome af new Halo themed one and during the process of getting screwed by the internet for an hour on that one the regular old black Series X also went live on the same site and I just happened to notice it and grab one real quick while everyone was still spamming the other lol.

I have managed to score all 3 super hard to find items this year now cuz I already pulled a PS5 and a RTX 3080 out of my ass.

[rez]

Brandon and Don remind me of

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81GKTMsr7HL._SL1500_.jpg

[Sepholio]

now I want some fruit stripe. Those are the best tasting 10 seconds one can experience on this Earth.

[rez]

HOLD MY SCARF

[weather vane]

Kojima.

[Evil Vito]

Mox vs Kojima, damn

[slik]

Brandon Cutler #1

[slik]

Paul Wight in the house tonight

[Jordan]

Mox vs Kojima, damn

LOL, yeah. I mean Kojima is great and all but he's not Tanahashi, Ishii or Suzuki.

[Jordan]

Paul Wight in the house tonight

This show just got A LOT bigger.

[Evil Vito]

LOL, yeah. I mean Kojima is great and all but he's not Tanahashi, Ishii or Suzuki.

NJPW were never sending in the big guns with a stadium show the same day as All Out

That said I think Mox vs random NJPW dudes will eventually land us there

[Jordan]

NJPW were never sending in the big guns with a stadium show the same day as All Out

That said I think Mox vs random NJPW dudes will eventually land us there

Plus the NJPW roster seems to be plagued with constant covoid cases so they will be thin as is.

[Jordan]

END THIS GODDAMN MATCH

[Sepholio]

yesssssss here comes a godly promo

[slik]

Powerful undefeated streak

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">COLTON GUNN IS AEW’S UNDERTAKER. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AEWDynamite?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEWDynamite</a></p>&mdash; KeepUpWithKayfabe (@KeepUpWithKFabe) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeepUpWithKFabe/status/1430707799600869381?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Sepholio]

LMAO The bastard child of Marilyn Manson and Tony Hawk LOOOOOOOOL

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WHATS ALL THIS!!,!:&amp;.)/&amp;.€ <a href="https://t.co/whbO89FQzZ">pic.twitter.com/whbO89FQzZ</a></p>&mdash; kam reunited with finn (@kipbalor) <a href="https://twitter.com/kipbalor/status/1430707736837300226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Jordan]

JR just said "The Paul Wight" lol.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Dan Lambert > Paul Heyman

Prove me wrong

[Evil Vito]

Dan Lambert might be the best promo in the business

[Jordan]

LOL "safe spaces" Dan Lambert for Man of The Year.

[BigCrippyZ]

Lambert and Callis are phenomenal.

[Jordan]

Rampage card is good.

[slik]

Where is Ricky Starks

[#1-norm-fan]

CM Punk is incredible at what he does.

[Evil Vito]

Yeah Cody probably making his “grand return” and very few will care

I like Cody enough but he’s wayyyyyy down in the pecking order of people I care about in AEW at this point

[Jordan]

I once read that Malakai Black was a legit Satanist.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Mallister Black is a god damn super villain and any entertainment company who would release him is a fool for the ages




I’m not trying to say they’re retarded but that’s what I mean

[slik]

I once read that Malakai Black was a legit Satanist.

Most satanists are athiests, which I believe he is

[Jordan]

When Malakai Black was 15 he was charged in the ceremonial murder of over a dozen dogs and cats from his neighborhood. He was nearly charged as an adult but was able to get away with being charged as an adolescent. He spoke to his lawyer about Aleister Crowley and how he was inspired to try and make a connection with Satan face to face by opening up a portal with the ceremony and subsequently was in a youth correctional facility until he was 17 and had court ordered therapy until he was 21. Allegedly he believed the reason the ceremony wasn't a success is because he wasn't able to offer a human sacrifice.

[slik]

arn ded

[Evil Vito]

Pretty weak ending tbh. Good ep though.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at Black nailing Arn in the nuts after Arn thought he outsmarted Black by blocking his Black Mass kick.

Fun show overall this week. Not one of AEW's better shows in terms of ring action but everything else delivered.

[Jordan]

Well that was a bit of a disappointing ending.

[Evil Vito]

Yeah so Black squashes Lee Johnson next, does nothing but spin the tires

So many of these AEW Dark regulars have no purpose on Dynamite aside from squash duty and that’s only gonna get worse as the company keeps on adding.

I mean shit Andrade’s been with the company since May and wrestled once. MJF rarely actually wrestles. In fact other than Jericho’s labor angle it’s felt like everyone in Pinnacle/Inner Circle stopped wrestling except for the odd match against each other. Lance Archer goes weeks if not months between Dynamite matches. Miro squashes someone every 3 weeks or so. Men of the Year finally have an angle after not doing anything for months.

And they’re adding Bryan and possibly Adam Cole and fucking Bray Wyatt on top of this? I really don’t know how the hell they’re gonna manage all of this.

Only benefit might be you could feasibly give a lot of guys “off seasons” via taking them off screen for a few months and cycling guys through

[weather vane]

I think that’s the plan. Time off.

[BigCrippyZ]

You also have to remember that going forward Bryan and Punk are going to have limited actual in ring schedules and likely won’t be on every TV show/taping. Punk allegedly will wrestle 11-13 matches a year and Bryan probably similar if not even less. Jericho will probably be somewhat similar going forward. Plus segments with them can obviously be cut shorter than matches can. That will help giving folks coming up more time against similar up and comers. Really curious how this works. Won’t be shocked if Rampage gets more time at some point soon too.

[Bad News Gertner]

Pretty weak show this week. Vince Russo must have booked the show with all the talking.

[Vastardikai]

Saw a few things as they popped up.

1. Lambert is such a strawman version of another critic of their product, I am surprised he didn't end his promo with "Thank you, Fuck you, Bye!"
2. Orange Cassidy impresses me. He is so into his character, he's even half assing doing moves properly and safely.
3. Send Red Velvet to Mission Pro for six months. Keep her off TV. For her own safety and the safety of everyone who shares a ring with her.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

How many times has red velvet botched? The moonsault tonight but I don’t recall her fucking up prior.

[BigCrippyZ]

I don't either. She's not great but I don't recall any obvious screw ups that blatant.

[slik]

I feel like this was not the episode to do if you had a bunch of new eyeballs tuning in...I'm not really sure what TK was thinking. It wasn't a disaster or anything it just...maybe should have been more of a slam dunk...

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Yeah the show moved forward some stories along and giving us an almost finished case for the ppv, but it was a big drop in fun and excitement compared to last weeks crazy ass episode.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Apparently the show sucked. Great first impression with a bunch of new fans, guys. You fucking morons. No surprise. Funny at this point.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Bryan Danielson will have a great debut, then the first match of the next show will be Luther vs. Chuck Taylor.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Hahaha, I just saw an amazing post from someone who sanely pointed out that this could be compared to TNA getting Hogan and Bischoff in 2010. They ran down the first Hogan/Bischoff show and compared it to AEW, and...yeah, hard to argue with TNA actually being better.

Keep in mind that TK talks shit about Russo. Sorry, bud. At least that guy had been producing shit television for longer.

[Evil Vito]

LMFAO Noid didn’t even stay away for a whole week

[Evil Vito]

I don’t think you can have a MAJOR SURPRISE every single week so expecting that isn’t realistic and it’s probably not good that they did enough debuts in a short window of time that people are expecting stuff like that constantly. I think it was a good ep that did what it needed to but probably could’ve done with some restructuring in the order instead of ending the show with Lee Johnson awkwardly making the save.

I’d have had the Black/Brock match and Lucha/Varsity matches flipped. Close out the show with the tag match since it was more fun and because you ended with Jurassic/Luchas fighting off the Bucks which naturally segues into the upcoming Rampage match.

[Jordan]

Nobody is expecting a major surprise every week, just a great show. Booking so many matches with talent that we don't know or care about is not any way to capitalize on a huge news week. Brock Anderson was in the main event. They should have made a much better match for Malakai, I get the story being told and yes Malakai does come off like a star but that was a bad main event. This episode with the exception of Hardy vs OC was like a glorified episode of Dark.

[Noid]

Hahaha, I just saw an amazing post from someone who sanely pointed out that this could be compared to TNA getting Hogan and Bischoff in 2010. They ran down the first Hogan/Bischoff show and compared it to AEW, and...yeah, hard to argue with TNA actually being better.

Keep in mind that TK talks shit about Russo. Sorry, bud. At least that guy had been producing shit television for longer.

What a fucking accurate comparison with no cognitive bias whatsoever! Haha! Bloody oath mate.

[Mr. Nerfect]

LMFAO Noid didn’t even stay away for a whole week

Yeah, believe it or not it’s hard to give up something you’ve been addicted to for 20 fucking years when you have strong opinions on it. Very cool to laugh your fat ass off at them. :y:

[Mr. Nerfect]

Nobody is expecting a major surprise every week, just a great show. Booking so many matches with talent that we don't know or care about is not any way to capitalize on a huge news week. Brock Anderson was in the main event. They should have made a much better match for Malakai, I get the story being told and yes Malakai does come off like a star but that was a bad main event. This episode with the exception of Hardy vs OC was like a glorified episode of Dark.

Yep. Just book some fucking good wrestling. Not that difficult.

[Mr. Nerfect]

LMFAO AEW couldn’t even keep up their momentum for a week. ;)

[drave]

Your addiction seems self-destructive :(

[Evil Vito]

Whilst the ending wasn't my cup of tea that was probably due to the awkwardness/clumsiness of the execution of it more than Lee Johnson himself. Feel like you could've just ended with Black being badass and put a Johnson promo on Twitter or YouTube or whatever to get to the next squash match.

[Evil Vito]

There's this weird criticism that continually gets thrown at AEW which is "casual viewers haven't heard of that person".

It's such an ignorant view of how people watch television, like the moment a new character shows up on a TV show, maybe portrayed by an actor we don't recognize, we go, "wait, who the fuck is that???" and switch over to another channel instantly.

Beyond that, I've seen people saying that "no casual fan will know who Satoshi Kojima is" - no, probably not, that's why they spent an entire promo telling us who Satoshi Kojima is and why he's important, and will likely do the same thing next week.

If anything, they may have leaned in a bit too hard on the notion that new viewers are watching for CM Punk so let's throw in people that lapsed fans would know. Matt Hardy was in the opening match, Billy Gunn popped up, Paul Wight had an angle, and then of course you've got Jericho, Sting and Christian on the show. It's fine to feature some of these dudes but you didn't need to cram 'em all onto the show.

[Fignuts]

They keep putting moxley against new japan's old men who can't really go anymore. I get not wanting to send any big guns in the current environment, but why not one of the younger up and comers? Or a mid carder like Ishii or Goto? Probably gonna send Tenzan over next.

[Frank Drebin]

Moxley vs Aja Kong

[Emperor Smeat]

Saw a few things as they popped up.

1. Lambert is such a strawman version of another critic of their product, I am surprised he didn't end his promo with "Thank you, Fuck you, Bye!"

He had a very similar character/gimmick during his time in Impact several years before AEW existed.

It only feels like a knock-off Cornette because of Corny being the most well known loud mouth critic of AEW and Lambert turning the dial up a notch with his character in AEW.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bq820W3YdRI" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Jordan]

There's this weird criticism that continually gets thrown at AEW which is "casual viewers haven't heard of that person".

It's such an ignorant view of how people watch television, like the moment a new character shows up on a TV show, maybe portrayed by an actor we don't recognize, we go, "wait, who the fuck is that???" and switch over to another channel instantly.

Beyond that, I've seen people saying that "no casual fan will know who Satoshi Kojima is" - no, probably not, that's why they spent an entire promo telling us who Satoshi Kojima is and why he's important, and will likely do the same thing next week.

If anything, they may have leaned in a bit too hard on the notion that new viewers are watching for CM Punk so let's throw in people that lapsed fans would know. Matt Hardy was in the opening match, Billy Gunn popped up, Paul Wight had an angle, and then of course you've got Jericho, Sting and Christian on the show. It's fine to feature some of these dudes but you didn't need to cram 'em all onto the show.

I disagree with you here. It's one thing to have Darius Martin, Garcia or 2.0 on the show, a guy like Ben Carter or even Feugo Del Sol. Those guys are awesome and you don't even have to know who they are to see that.

But putting The Gunn Club who are lame as fuck, Aaron Solo, QT Marshall and Nick Comaratto (who looks good but sucks dick) on the same show is absolute dumb fuckery.

I have no issue with the crew who faced off with Mox, Darby & Eddie, that was a good match.

Also when the hell is anyone going to realize that Pillman Jr. sucks and has charisma fit for a Georgia Middle School gym show. And Griff Garrison sucks even more and belongs in speedo wrestle porn.

[Evil Vito]

Yeah I don't think Gunn Club vs. Factory achieved anything that a Wight/Marshall backstage vignette couldn't.

My central point though is that I see a lot of people kvetching about how AEW is "phoning it in" when they book people a casual audience wouldn't know and I disagree with that. Introducing unknown people to a big audience is a good thing. But make it people who are interesting, not the damn Factory.

I don't mind the Varsity Blonds but it might be because I have a soft spot for Griff Garrison watching Sammy's vlog. Killer theme. Julia Hart really is too green for TV though. She is legal (19) but doesn't even look it so having her out there prancing about in a cheerleader outfit feels pretty cringe. Not sure why she was thrust directly onto TV with minimal training.

[Emperor Smeat]

They keep putting moxley against new japan's old men who can't really go anymore. I get not wanting to send any big guns in the current environment, but why not one of the younger up and comers? Or a mid carder like Ishii or Goto? Probably gonna send Tenzan over next.

I'd assume its a mix of scheduling and creative issues with the other stuff they have going on like the upcoming Stadium shows. Plus any potential COVID quarantine issues that could pop up since NJPW would be risking losing a notable name for the start of this year's G1.

[Jordan]

Yeah I don't think Gunn Club vs. Factory achieved anything that a Wight/Marshall backstage vignette couldn't.

My central point though is that I see a lot of people kvetching about how AEW is "phoning it in" when they book people a casual audience wouldn't know and I disagree with that. Introducing unknown people to a big audience is a good thing. But make it people who are interesting, not the damn Factory.

I don't mind the Varsity Blonds but it might be because I have a soft spot for Griff Garrison watching Sammy's vlog. Killer theme. Julia Hart really is too green for TV though. She is legal (19) but doesn't even look it so having her out there prancing about in a cheerleader outfit feels pretty cringe. Not sure why she was thrust directly onto TV with minimal training.

I don't see it as phoning it in I see it as attempting to "make guys" or girls, but the people they are choosing are not extraordinary. Lee Johnson sucks and looks like a total nerd last night in his khakis all bunched up around his butt.

[slik]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">AEW Dynamite last night on TNT was watched by 1,172,000 viewers on average, the most since April 14. <br><br>620,000 viewers were aged 18 to 49 (0.48 rating), the 2nd highest ever, only short of the debut on Oct 2, 2019 (which was a 0.68).<br><br>�� Read more: <a href="https://t.co/DA5iytim8y">https://t.co/DA5iytim8y</a> <a href="https://t.co/UNCqhcNAGV">pic.twitter.com/UNCqhcNAGV</a></p>&mdash; Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonThurston/status/1430984408165752834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Mr. Nerfect]

Your addiction seems self-destructive :(

It’s very unrewarding and disappointing. It doesn’t bring me any genuine unhappiness. It’s jarring to think about how much I used to care and how little I don’t now, but my life is filled with other things and is otherwise fruitful.

It’s just not even fun to say wrestling sucks anymore. It’s all so...boring.

There's this weird criticism that continually gets thrown at AEW which is "casual viewers haven't heard of that person".

It's such an ignorant view of how people watch television, like the moment a new character shows up on a TV show, maybe portrayed by an actor we don't recognize, we go, "wait, who the fuck is that???" and switch over to another channel instantly.

Beyond that, I've seen people saying that "no casual fan will know who Satoshi Kojima is" - no, probably not, that's why they spent an entire promo telling us who Satoshi Kojima is and why he's important, and will likely do the same thing next week.

If anything, they may have leaned in a bit too hard on the notion that new viewers are watching for CM Punk so let's throw in people that lapsed fans would know. Matt Hardy was in the opening match, Billy Gunn popped up, Paul Wight had an angle, and then of course you've got Jericho, Sting and Christian on the show. It's fine to feature some of these dudes but you didn't need to cram 'em all onto the show.

Except that’s not what it is at all, is it? It’s more akin to watching a medical drama and instead of seeing someone dressed as a medical professional, you see a firefighter treating someone with liquorice sticks. There’s a horse running the ER. The chief of med is 14 years old. That actually sounds way more exciting than AEW.

Screaming “It’s Satoshi Kojima!” and saying he’s a Japanese legend isn’t explaining why. Nor does it explain why anyone should give a shit about Japanese wrestling anyway. How many Japanese actors can the average movie-goer name? Maybe Takeshi Miike? And that’s pretty obscure knowledge.

People want something that satisfies their preconceptions, and when it challenges them to create new pathways, isn’t just doing so haphazardly and disrespectfully.

They keep putting moxley against new japan's old men who can't really go anymore. I get not wanting to send any big guns in the current environment, but why not one of the younger up and comers? Or a mid carder like Ishii or Goto? Probably gonna send Tenzan over next.

There’s probably a few factors here. Moxley is a bit of a mark and might be doing that himself. Pushing for it and TK is spineless, so what’s he going to do? It could also just be that New Japan is taking AEW for a ride. This “Forbidden Door” has led to jack and shit so far.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">AEW Dynamite last night on TNT was watched by 1,172,000 viewers on average, the most since April 14. <br><br>620,000 viewers were aged 18 to 49 (0.48 rating), the 2nd highest ever, only short of the debut on Oct 2, 2019 (which was a 0.68).<br><br>�� Read more: <a href="https://t.co/DA5iytim8y">https://t.co/DA5iytim8y</a> <a href="https://t.co/UNCqhcNAGV">pic.twitter.com/UNCqhcNAGV</a></p>&mdash; Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonThurston/status/1430984408165752834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Oof. People were expecting 1.5 million and the like. Not the most exciting number. Wouldn’t surprise me if it started stronger and dropped way off.

[Bad News Gertner]

Yeah I was expecting higher.

R.I.P

[Damian Rey 2.0]

That episode didn’t deserve that many views. I wonder if they’ll have any carry over going into their All Out go home week. Nonetheless that’s a great number.

[Triple A]

Finally watched this episode and agree that it was kinda weird... some kinda bad matches on it

Def don't like how they keep having guys like "The Factory" and Lee Johnson and Gunn Club on when they have so many other really good guys who seem to wrestle on Dynamite like once every 5 months...

[Triple A]

Still feel like Rampage is gonna hurt AEW maybe, causing cool ideas to be spread too thin instead of only having to focus on one good show per week...

[Triple A]

Jamie Hayter so hot... beautiful large ass...

[Triple A]

Don Callis the best part of the show

[xrodmuc316]

They keep putting moxley against new japan's old men who can't really go anymore. I get not wanting to send any big guns in the current environment, but why not one of the younger up and comers? Or a mid carder like Ishii or Goto? Probably gonna send Tenzan over next.

Moxley can't go either. If it's not a death match or a bunch of hardcore crap, he gets exposed very quickly. It is smart of him to work old guys that can't go because he can keep up with them.

[Damian Rey 2.0]

Still feel like Rampage is gonna hurt AEW maybe, causing cool ideas to be spread too thin instead of only having to focus on one good show per week...

I think it’s going to help them. They only had two hours of TV time to tell all the stories they have going on. They do a good job of building up feuds and characters via vignettes but now they can do that on rampage and get guys who aren’t on TV a lot more ring time on air.

I also love that they don’t give everyone s match every single week. It’s not needed.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Yeah, it turns out they crept towards 1.2 million for CM Punk segments, then people tuned out. Just because some people like CM Punk, it does not mean those people are going to like the slap-ass antics on the rest of the show.

A similar thing will probably happen with Bryan. Fans of his will tune in to see him. Maybe. Some of the time. For a while. But they’re going to switch off the rest of this awful product.

You have to have the stars and be good.

[Noid]

Yeah, it turns out they crept towards 1.2 million for CM Punk segments, then people tuned out. Just because some people like CM Punk, it does not mean those people are going to like the slap-ass antics on the rest of the show.

A similar thing will probably happen with Bryan. Fans of his will tune in to see him. Maybe. Some of the time. For a while. But they’re going to switch off the rest of this awful product.

You have to have the stars and be good.

What would be an enticing card for you?

[Lock Jaw]

Taped this show while I was gone to "give it a chance" and "see what they do" with the "CM Punk boost".......

Gonna try to watch it now....

[Lock Jaw]

Opening up the show with Orange Cassidy lolAEW

[Lock Jaw]

Annnnnd they've already lost a lot of potential viewers with this Orange Cassidy kicks vs DELETE

[Lock Jaw]

Noticed this on Rampage too, but the ringpost cameras are terrible. Maybe if you want to use them for a replay, go ahead, but don't cut to them live please.

[Lock Jaw]

Confused by Matt Hardy..... doing a heel "Big Money" gimmick but still doing the DELETE thing and getting the fans to chant with him occasionally....

[Lock Jaw]

Damn @ Matt getting busted open

[Lock Jaw]

Decent little match, if a bit too long, and with a ridiculous finish...

[Lock Jaw]

While AEW's production values are seriously lacking, I have to give them credit for their use of pyro

[Triple A]

What do you mean about production values specifically...

[Lock Jaw]

Good Jericho/MJF segment... this is probably what they should have started the show with.....

Gotta say MJF looks and sounds like someone I could never buy in a million years beating Jericho cleanly, let alone 3 times (don't know if the other two times were clean, but I heard the last one was?)

[Lock Jaw]

What do you mean about production values specifically...

Sets, lighting, camera angles, graphics, etc....

[Lock Jaw]

Hate how Penta has to do the Cero Miedo thing after like every other move....

[Lock Jaw]

Fun little tag match, but of the "fast paced no-psychology" type that burns me out after awhile of watching it...

[Lock Jaw]

Oh, they replaced Vickie Guerrero with Chavo as Andrade's manager? Good idea..... though still wish Zelina Vega went to AEW with him....

[Lock Jaw]

Women's match too long and not interesting..... tired now....

[Lock Jaw]

Dark Order intolerable

[Lock Jaw]

Nice short and sweet promo/appearance by Punk.... really put over Darby as well as create interest in seeing the match

[Lock Jaw]

Really so super smart putting Sting with Darby.... instantly gives Darby tons of credibility...

[Lock Jaw]

Moxley theme so terrible for him.... went back and listened to his original AEW theme and it was very good IMO....

[Lock Jaw]

Oh damn it happened again.... even though they announce Mox and Kingston together I assume Kingston was a fan for most of that entrance.... the camera angles pretty much ignoring him did not help....

[Lock Jaw]

Beefy Mox....

[Lock Jaw]

Dumb move at having some jobber jump Darby instead of just giving him the spotlight....

[Lock Jaw]

Christian out here looking damn good!! Especially with a title on his shoulder

[Lock Jaw]

Don't like my boys Chris Jericho and Christian using curse words....

[Lock Jaw]

Don Callis working hard to make Kenny Omega.... except it left me still not caring about Omega and more about Christian beating up Callis.... overall, got Callis over more.... unlike a manager like Paul Heyman who always got his client over first (most of the time)

[Lock Jaw]

Billy Gunn looking swol

[Lock Jaw]

Still so much left in this show.... even 2 hours is "too much" for a wrestling show these days IMO....

[Lock Jaw]

Didn't care about that Gunn Club match at all....

[Lock Jaw]

Liked that promo by that dude with Scorpio Sky & Friend..... seems promising....

[Lock Jaw]

Cool entrance by Black, but this eye thing he has been doing looks dumb

[Triple A]

Still so much left in this show.... even 2 hours is "too much" for a wrestling show these days IMO....

It was prob the worst Dynamite in several months tbh! Not a good show to put on with all the new fans they were potentially getting... Hopefully next week is "back to normal"

[Lock Jaw]

Falling asleep.... tired....

[Lock Jaw]

Yeah, overall not a great show... RIP AEW...

[Mr. Nerfect]

Don't like my boys Chris Jericho and Christian using curse words....

I usually don’t mind swearing, but every time I hear a wrestler doing it it feels like a 15 year old boy thinking he’s cool for using potty mouth in front of teacher.

Obviously the fake and forced language of the WWE is annoying too, but there’s a more organic and mature middle-ground where you can talk like a real human being that isn’t trying so hard to be cool.