BRM Reivews the 7/29/2020 Dynamite (a bad show saved by some decent wrestling, but not enough)

[Big Red Machine]

Please tell me that Burger King barcode won’t be there for the whole show.

Taz is on commentary, but instead of replacing one of the bad announcers, they have him replacing Excalibur. Uch.

THE INNER CIRCLE vs. ORANGE CASSIDY, BEST FRIENDS, JUNGLE BOY, & LUCHASAURUS (w/Marko Stunt)- 4/10
Even before the match started, the announcers were harping on this point that “one official cannot possibly correctly referee a match with ten people in it,” which just makes the company look bad for booking a match that can’t possibly be officiated well.
That big train of dives in the beginning had this terrible, slow, forced feel to it where instead of feeling natural it feels like everyone gets hit and then they all purposely move into position to get hit with the next one. The stuff with Swagger and throwing Marko right at Luchasaurus was the worst of it, but all of the others were bad, too.
Luchasaurus throwing Marko and him making contact with Hager should have been a DQ. That’s clearly him willingly getting involved in the match and making contact with a member of the other team. Marko’s big f*cking victory dance was the most obnoxiously heelish thing I’ve seen on a wrestling show in a long time. Marko Stunt is supposed to be a babyface.
From there, we kill any momentum we had by doing dumb comedy sh*t with Orange Cassidy and a big group hug. And then the babyfaces get cut off moments later. Good. They deserve it.
The heels hot the heat on Trent for a while. Luchasaurus got the hot tag. Jericho was going to hit him with the bat but Orange Cassidy stopped him. Sammy avoided Luchasaurus’ finisher and was going to hit a big top rope move when Matt Hardy’s music played. Matt then came out from the crowd and shoved Sammy off the turnbuckle, allowing Luchasaurus to hit his finisher and get the win. In other words, the heels were about to win fair and square when another babyface interfered to further a feud where I’m not even sure what they’re feuding over but it couldn’t have been that heated because the last time we saw them together, Matt calmly sat on commentary for Sammy’s main event match and offered to let Sammy pick which of his gimmick’s he’ll be for their match, instead of, say, angrily yelling at Sammy, or trying to fight him during the post-match brawl.
Also, the fact that Matt came out from the crowd even though his music played is a little bit problematic. I know that this happens relatively often on wrestling shows (and I don’t like it when it does), but the dynamic is slightly different here because Matt is buddies with the babyface owners of the promotion, and this was done to screw over a group of people who the babyface owners of the promotion have had an on-and-off feud with for almost a year now.
Even given that framing, this probably wouldn’t bother me if it was an isolated incident, but it’s not. Time and again in AEW, we see decisions made by the babyface owners of the company that benefit the babyface owners of the company inappropriately. From this to MJF not getting a title shot despite having the best record in the company and being ranked on top for so long, to the ONLY match in the promotion’s history that didn’t affect anyone’s record being a match where Omega had to fight Moxley in an environment where the hook was that it would probably favor Moxley, to Cody getting to defend his title against a bunch of undeserving tomato cans instead of real challengers, to Brandi Rhodes running her own heel cult and no one saying anything to her about it, we constantly see the babyfaces who are in charge of the show getting away with whatever they want and being allowed to make decisions that benefit them, with no one calling them out on it. It’s a very bad pattern that shows that the people putting the show together don’t put any thought into the implications of the things they put on their show.

JON MOXLEY PROMO- great!

AEW TNT TITLE MATCH: Cody Rhodes(c) (w/Arn Anderson) vs. Warhorse- 7/10
This Warhorse guy comes off like someone trying to play a role instead of coming off like a real person. He was also introduced as weighing “four-thousand pounds of heavy metal.” Uch. It’s a shame, because I really loved the match and thought it was excellent for the time it got. If this guy didn’t come off like such a cartoon, I’d say they should sign him (or, even better, that ROH, TNA, or MLW should sign him, as AEW’s roster is already too large).

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- decent
Dark Order jobbers came out and attacked Cody and Warhorse. Arn squared up to fight them but of course they didn’t make a move towards him because Arn’s not going to bump and having Arn beat them up would be too much, even for Creepers.
Instead the save was made by “Cody’s long-time friend” Matt Cardona, F.K.A. Zack Ryder. They’re obviously not that good friends, though, because if they were, Cardona would have been running out to save his friend instead of the f*cking casual stroll he was engaging in here. Cardona beat up the losers.
I know I just said that AEW’s roster is too big and I’ve been very against AEW bringing in former WWE guys who have been used in jobber roles on worldwide TV for so long, but Ryder is a guy I would make an exception for. I think he’s probably the single guy with the most goodwill built up enough the fanbase and who feels like he was screwed over by WWE the most that I think he can recover much easier than bringing in, say, Curt Hawkins or someone like that.

THE INNER CIRCLE INTERRUPT TONY SCHIAVONE’S PLUG FOR ALL OUT 2020- bad
Did we ever get an explanation for why Jericho is still wearing that jacket with the orange juice all over it? Can I come up with a reason for this in my head? Yeah- he wants to constantly be reminded of what Orange Cassidy did to him until he gets his revenge. But if that’s the case, he needs to cut a promo and TELL US THAT. Otherwise, it’s just Jericho wearing a ruined jacket that Jericho has been complaining about the smell of (and, as an aside, if the jacket smells that bad, other people need to sell it a little bit. I can buy that Jericho is used to the smell by now, but Tony Schiavone should at least wince back from it at first).
Sammy Guevara cuts a promo on Matt Hardy for screwing him out of his match. Jericho announced that in two weeks he will be facing Orange Cassidy in a match where if Jericho wins, Orange Cassidy must repay him the $7,000 for the jacket. Fine. Also, next week, Jericho is challenging Orange Cassidy to a debate. Yes, you read that correctly. Jericho also claims he has lined up a “special guest moderator that’s gonna blow people’s minds.” Well… that’s going to be terrible.
The Inner Circle left, but not without more dumb jokes. Jericho’s jacket now smells like “cat pee.” LAX have basically been turned into Jericho’s comedy sidekicks. You cannot possibly tell me that everyone in this group other than Hager are not complete and total clowns after this segment, and the plan appears to be for them to stay clowns.

FTR’S OFFICIAL CONTRACT SIGNING- odd
They’re in an office with their lawyer and AEW’s lawyer and Tony Schiavone. Arn Anderson also showed up because FTR wanted him to look over the contract because he’s a “tag-team consultant” and an expert in the field of tag team wrestling.
Arn reads over the contract and notes that the tag rope and 10-second rule will be “strictly enforced” in FTR matches. It’s never a good sign when you’ve gotten to the point where the enforcement of a f*cking basic rule is something that needs to be specifically added to a contract in a way that is supposed to make the match or wrestler the contract is for feel special.
Also in their contract is that August 12th will be “Tag Team Appreciation Night, hosted by FTR.” Isn’t that the show where they just booked the big Jericho vs. OC rematch? Kind of odd.
Speaking of odd,:Arn Anderson’s presence here. I assume they want to establish some sort of connection between Arn and FTR, with the most obvious (but certainly not only) direction from there being a heel group of Cody, FTR, and Ryder (w/Arn) vs. the Elite, and that’s all fine and good (although turning Ryder heel seems like it could be swimming upstream), but the reason for Arn’s presence here was just plain weird. He’s basically functioning like their lawyer, reading over the contract to make sure certain things are in there, which is very awkward when they’ve already got a lawyer there with them.
Adam Page showed up to be an alcoholic. Speaking of alcoholics, Page either doesn’t know (even though most fans do) or- even worse- doesn’t care that Arn is one, so he tries to push some alcohol on him.
He gives some to FTR and they toast to the mid-Atlantic. FTR insult Page’s whiskey, but Page takes no offense. I’m sorry, but I’m not into this stupid frenemies crap they’ve been having FTR do with everyone.

AEW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Adam Page & Kenny Omega(c) vs. the Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson)- 7/10
Colt Cabana was on commentary for this match, with Brodie Lee and a masked Anna Jay standing beside him. Anna was completely stoic, while Brodie Lee paced around. Colt said that this is a “huge opportunity” for him and that “Brody got me in the commentators’ booth.” Really? F*cking Orange Cassidy, who is so lazy that he wouldn’t even look up the rules to a ladder match before participating in one managed to get himself on commentary several times, but Colt couldn’t manage to do so? And he thinks being on guest commentary is a “big opportunity? Is Colt a moron?
The match was fine for the time it got and its place on the card, but it definitely feels like Omega is being wasted in this spot.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- snore
Brodie snatched some sort of paper from Colt Cabana and sent both Cabana and Anna Jay to the back. The announcers said that this was because he didn’t want Colt and Anna to see what he was about to do. He knows this is on national TV, right? I’m sure someone will show them a clip.
Brodie yelled at and shoved Evil Uno & Stu Grayson, then cut a promo saying that the Dark Order is everywhere and that Page has angered him for the last time and must now pay. Meanwhile, the Bucks hopped the guardrail to back up Page & Omega.
Some Creepers hopped the guardrail and surrounded the ring. FTR ran out and hit Brodie Lee with their now-signature Styrofoam cooler, and all of the babyface frenemies beat up the jobber heels.

BRITT BAKER PROMO- meh
Britt says that she will give Big Swole a match with her, but only if Swole beats an opponent of her choice. Her delivery was good, but since when does Britt Baker have booking power?

DIAMANTE VIDEO PACKAGE- good

DIAMANTE vs. HIKARU SHIDA- 4.25/10
I know this is something of a nitpick, but I really didn’t like the opening spot where Shida offers a handshake and Diamante responds by smirking, giving a “look at this girl, thinking she’s worthy of a handshake with me!”, and then pie-faces her. If you’re trying to earn a job, being a dick to someone for no reason seems like a bad idea. I know that this is wrestling and there are heels, but if she’s a heel then she should have been a heel last week, too. I guess you can argue that she’s doing it to get in Shida’s head and throw her off her game, but if Diamante loses and still stays around, I’d like to see her actually be a heel instead of this being one of those Cody things where she’s randomly being a heel this week just because.

Shida won a match that was not very good.

THE RULES FOR THE DEADLY DRAW WOMEN’S TAG TEAM CUP TOURNAMENT ARE EXPLAINED- I know I’m usually one for explaining the rules, but the first three bullet points here easily could have been summed up as “the tournament is a random draw,” which is exactly what the first bullet point read. The color thing will become obvious the moment the first person draws her slip and the announcer says “Hikaru Shida will be on the red team” or whatever. “All competitors must draw a color” is the kind of thing that you have to write in the contracts so that no one does anything bullsh*tty, but I think the fact that that was a rule was something that every fan would have assumed was a given. Ditto for “all selections are final and must be appealed,” which was the fourth line. This really felt like the they were just filling up space on their slide.

NYLA ROSE PICKS HER COLOR- Oh dear Lord, WHY?!
Vickie Guerrero was there, too. They have a bit of chemistry together, but Vickie doesn’t add anything for me. I much preferred Nyla’s promos on her own, and this felt like yet another pairing where they’re going to be going for humor.
Anyway, Nyla has drawn purple… and Dasha reveals to us who the other person that drew purple was: Arianne… FKA Cameron from the Funkadactyls. You know… the one who once tried to pin an opponent who was laying FACE-DOWN. This is the sort of person that I would have avoided bringing in if I was AEW, even just for one match.

MJF’S STATE OF THE INDUSTRY ADDRESS- HATED IT!
He’s got an entourage now. He’s at a podium and there are flags in the background and he’s giving a political speech style of promo. Uch.
He’s complaining about the decision-making of the people in power. He claims that the reason that is never “spotlighted two weeks in a row” is because “a certain individual is afraid of being upstaged two weeks in a row.” He talks about people who were “calling for change” “when this company first started” and says that the leaders are not delivering it, saying that this “revolution” has “turned into a dictatorship.” He specifically complains about “a guy on top of the card who gets to do whatever he wants, say whatever he wants, and wrestle whoever he wants, just because he came from the place of “titans.” Naturally he’s talking about… MOXLEY?!
Did he say the wrong name? He meant to say “Cody,” right? Moxley wasn’t here when the company started; Cody was. Cody is the one who has been acknowledged as having backstage power, and Cody is the one who every week either gets to do open challenges or have his manager bring in tomato cans for him to fight who don’t even work for the company, never mind having done something to earn a title shot. And it’s Cody who seems to have license to say whatever he wants, going off on these self-indulgent tangents for minutes on end (or maybe Jericho, who seems to get to say naughty words more often than anyone else). Moxley just cuts normal wrestling promos.
He then claims that during Moxley’s title reign, there has been an increase in FLIPZ on the show and there isn’t much pure wrestling and blames this on Moxley for not leading by example. He also accuses Moxley of cosplaying (his word) as Steve Austin. I don’t get that vibe from Moxley at all. He’s a badass babyface brawler who’ll fight anyone, with solid technical wrestling skills to go along with his hardcore bent. That description fits Steve Austin, yes, but it also fits Kevin Steen, Terry Funk, Homicide, Eddie Kingston, the Briscoes, biker-Taker, Pete Dunne, Ilja Dragunov, Togi Makabe, Shingo Takagi, babyface pre-JBL Bradshaw, a babyface Terry Gordy, babyface Pentagon Jr., and I’m sure I’m missing about eight different top babyfaces from Puerto Rico over the years. If there is anyone in this company that is coming off to me as Austin wanna-be’s it’s Page and The Revival for both doing the Southern thing and using booze to try to get over, and neither of those acts are anywhere close to feeling like the Austin similarities are problematic.
I know MJF’s a heel so he’s allowed to lie, but there is a difference between telling a blatant lie for heat (think Vince, Jericho) and rambling on and on like this. Then he started talking about RATINGS. Uch. I don’t care who’s a better draw. I care who’s a better kayfabe wrestler and wins more wrestling matches!
His last bit was pretty good, but the whole “announcing my candidacy” bit just killed it for me. That sort of thing (and, really, the whole set-up) made this into a joke when MJF himself seemed so deadly serious about it until then.
So yeah. This kind of didn’t make any sense to me for all of those reasons.

Ross told us we’d have “another update” to “the MJF scenario” from MJF himself next week. That wording was atrocious, and while I don’t mind MJF being the one to give us an update next week, the idea that they’d be able to throw together a meeting between MJF and Tony Kahn in five seconds, including agreeing that MJF would be the one to tell everyone the results of the meeting next week, was way too fast for me, and especially because it was something that just plain didn’t need to be announced right away. This is something that you can wait to announce until the end of the show, or until tomorrow or even the day after.
Also for next week, we’ve now got a twelve-man tag pitting the Dark Order of two Creepers, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, Brodie Lee, Colt & Cabana, against Adam Page, Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, & FTR. They had better enforce the ten-second rule in this match like was stipulated in FTR’s contract. And if they don’t, that had damn well better be acknowledged with FTR being upset about it in a segment no later than the following week’s Dynamite.

The graphic for the Jericho/OC debate also has a logo with a 2020 in it. I’m getting worried that they’re going to do that stupid thing where they try to be “current” by constantly making references to the fact that there is a presidential election going on.

NO DISQUALIFICATIONS TORNADO TAG TEAM MATCH: Ricky Starks & Brian Cage vs. Darby Allin & Jon Moxley- 5/10
Darby didn’t show up when his music hit, and we were told he was missing. Taz cut a promo. He was great as always. I guess someone criticized him at some point for standing in front of Cage during promos.
Ricky Starks got to talk for himself. He was very good. He came off like what Sammy Guevara would be if Sammy weren’t a clown. That said, I’d like to see him given some real credibility in the ring, because he seems like some random pretty-boy who doesn’t fit in with Taz and Cage at all (he and Cage both have bodies, but they are vastly different). After cutting his promo, Taz went to do commentary instead of being a manager, which I was fine with. It shows confidence in his wrestlers, and also explains why he doesn’t get involved in this no DQs match.
It turns out Darby was hiding on top of the entrance tunnel so he could start the match off by diving onto the unsuspecting heels. A high-risk ambush is still an ambush, so this is actually kind of heelish in my book. Also, he sure is lucky that Taz and Cage didn’t come out the other entrance (unless AEW one tunnel for the babyfaces and one for the heels, in which case it’s fine).
They did weapons spots and some dives. Starks loses his first big match. That’s not good. He has yet to win a match on Dynamite, and this immediately makes him feel like he was just added to Team Taz so that Cage would have a job-boy for situations where AEW wanted him in a match against someone but didn’t want him to get beaten and didn’t want to do a non-finish.

It was announced after the match that #5 contender Darby Allin will get a title shot next week. Even if we factor in Darby getting the pin in this match (which I think is fair) and assume that MJF’s ego is so large that he really does want the title shot at All Out 2020 like he said instead of just wanting a title shot, this is still bad because what is even the point of having numbered rankings if the #5 guy gets a shot before the #2 guy even though the #2 guy is not only ranked higher, but has both more wins and fewer losses (10-1 vs. 8-4)?
By the way, the guy currently ranked #2 is Lance Archer. This would be the same Lance Archer who usually runs around attacking people for no reason whatsoever, and who last week did so while cutting a promo DEMANDING to be given better competition. If you’re wondering where he was tonight, the answer is that he was sitting at ringside all night like a good little boy and did not attack or even make a threatening move towards anyone. This is the sort of thing that drives me f*cking nuts. People have been claiming that “Tony Kahn is a detail guy,” but I’m starting to think that if that’s true, it’s only true in the literal sense that he was the one who brought up the fact that Matt Hardy needed to be in the back for the post-match angle that they were planning on doing on the 5/27/2020 Dynamite and so he came up with the idea of Marc Quen being injured and Matt helping him to the back, and Tony is a “detail guy,” singular, because he contributed this one detail, and hasn’t actually done anything else like this.

When I fantasy book a promotion that uses the “episodic weekly TV show building up to a big PPV” format, I use several reference sheets. One has my long-term plans, with PPV matches sketched out as far ahead as I need them to be, usually with just a short note about what the basis of the angle or story will be, but sometimes with more detailed notes on the timing if it’s necessary. Then I have the sheet for the current PPV cycle, where each PPV match or other important story gets its own section with its own little schedule of what I’m doing on each TV show to move that story forward or build up that match.
Then there is the actual writing sheet, where I take the angles from each feud for an individual show TV and put them all together, figure out the order, time the show out, and generally turn something from shorthand notes into a format for a wrestling show. And at the very top of that sheet, I have a list of everyone on the roster. This list has two key uses. The first is so I don’t have to refer to the big document that is essentially my show bible when I’m just looking for a name to fill out a spot on the card. The second- and more important, for the purposes of this discussion- use, is that on that list I have notes. For example, if someone is on a winning streak but they aren’t in my notes for that particular show because the way I am advancing their story on that show is their PPV opponent is cutting a promo, I’ll have a little note next to their name that says “can’t lose” so I don’t accidentally grab them when I need to give someone else a big win. Or if someone is in hot water with management and I have a “zero tolerance policy” type of thing going on, I’ll note that next to their name so that I don’t book them in a match where they are involved in any shenanigans unless I can find a way to follow up on it within the context of that story. And after I’m done writing each show, I double-check to make sure I didn’t use anyone in a way that contradicts the notes I have made on my list.
I think that AEW would greatly benefit from something like this, because if I were booking AEW, next to Lance Archer’s name I would have written “crazy psychopath who attacks people for no reason!” and then, when I check my list the day before the show, I would know that I can’t have the crazy psychopath who attacks people for no reason and is demanding more competition SITTING IN THE F*CKING CROWD LIKE A NORMAL, WELL-BEHAVED PERSON!



This show had some good wrestling on it, but so much of the other stuff was extremely frustrating. AEW’s lack of internal consistency, storytelling ability, and self-control when it comes to comedy are becoming HUGE problems for them, much more so than they were back in the fall.



STUPID ANNOUNCER QUOTES:
1. Taz misuses the term “sacrificial lamb.”
It’s a special throwback stupid announcer quote!

2. Tony Schiavone gives the excuse that Aubrey Edwards lets the wrestlers get away with breaking the rules “because that’s what the fans want to see.”
By that logic, Aubrey shouldn’t be counting any pinfalls for heels because the fans want to see the babyfaces win. The job of the referee isn’t to give the fans what they want! A cursory glance at any professional sporting event will tell you that. The referee’s job is to enforce the rules, ensure fair play, and watch out for the safety of the competitors.

3. Jim Ross “I’m not sure that there’s a better one-on-one performer in this ring right now than Stu Grayson.”
You mean the guy who has made his career as a tag team wrestler and has wrestled a grand total of ONE singles match in AEW? Which he lost? Trying to put someone over is one thing, but this is just plain being ridiculous. And that’s not even counting the fact that when Ross said this, Grayson was currently engaged in a chopping battle with KENNY OMEGA.

4. Upon hearing that FTR would be teaming with Page, Omega, and the Bucks, Ross and Schiavone immediately wondered if this meant they were now members of the Elite.
How f*cking dumb can you be? They’re just teaming up for a week to help against a mutual enemy! We just had the same thing happening earlier tonight and you morons weren’t asking if Best Friends and Orange Cassidy were members of Jurassic Express!

[XIV]

Taz is on commentary, but instead of replacing one of the bad announcers, they have him replacing Excalibur. Uch.

If this isn't sarcasm, it should be. Excalibur is an atrocious commentator.

[Thelone]

Stunt MUST do his stupid spot every single match and act like the most obnoxious asshole in the world. The thing is, if this is all he can bring to the table, JUST DUMP HIS ASS ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND NEVER LOOK BACK.

Anyway, let's keep going with this Jericho-Cassidy feud for some ungodly reason and have this hot Guevara-"whatever he is today" Hardy program as well.

Cody beat the Ultimate Warrior cosplayer like everyone knew he would, then his good ol' friend not-Zack Ryder made his debut and became the 100th guy under contract I suppose, but more on that later. Also can't wait to have him turn on Cody for no particular reason and do the Spears program all over again.

Remember when the Inner Circle wasn't just a group of goofs? Yeah, me neither at this point.

Cody must be linked to everything on the show, isn't he?

Page/Omega won another match and can we just move on to the program with the Revival at this point?

Shida had a bad match with a green girl to the shock of no one. She can carry someone who's half decent, but not every random stiff in the universe.

So we have the new "let's put Brandi on TV no matter what it takes" scheme with this random tournament when they can barely find a worthwhile challenger for the champion. And then there's the Cameron thing... I just love the justification of her presence being "Oh, but she's just here to be destroyed by Rose when she eats the pin in this mess", and I'll give you a few reasons as to why this is stupid anyway :

• Why are we even having this random ass tournament right now (besides the Brandi thing)? Again, they're struggling to find something to do with her champion, but they'll find SIXTEEN women to fill up this shit somehow. Just can't wait to see how horrible this will be...
• Cameron was awful and more importantly, hasn't wrestled in FOUR YEARS. Yeah, she was planning to work some indies before THE PLAGUE happened, but I find it hard to believe that she's somehow even passable now.
• This is the same promotion which passed on Purrazzo (and countless others I'm sure), jobbed out Ivelisse in her debut to some clown, and still hasn't done anything with the cosplay girl after that big debut A MONTH AGO (but she's on Dark next week apparently)
• I don't care if she's a short term hire or not, AEW really needs to stop hiring anything that breathes at this point. So far in the COVID era, they've signed Lee, Hardy, Archer, Cage, Starks, Jay, Abadon, Kingston, The Revival, Ryder, Guerrero and I wanna say one or two Dark Order goofs.

Anyway, this women's division is horrendous, also the sky is blue...

You know, I remember when EC3 did the exact same thing four years ago in TNA and even back then, I thought it sucked ass. It's actually crazy how the situation is exactly the same with the undefeated cocky prick going on about how the champion is ducking him and how he's better than anyone else. Also this segment did the worst rating of the night for AEW apparently, which tells you how much of a draw the women are and how this came off as a WWE talking segment.

As for Khan being a detail guy or whatever, I think there's a good reason why he wanted Cornette to be involved in AEW in the first place. I don't think Cornette is this great booker, but he knows how to keep track of and have everything make sense. You don't want him to book 80s JCP (Cody's already there for that), but to polish the little details and keep inconsistancies away as much as possible.

[Big Red Machine]

Taz is on commentary, but instead of replacing one of the bad announcers, they have him replacing Excalibur. Uch.

If this isn't sarcasm, it should be. Excalibur is an atrocious commentator.

I enjoy him a lot more than Schiavone or Ross, the former of whom is a nepotism hire who comes off like he doesn't give a sh*t, and the latter of whom feels like he's trying so hard to model to me not just how I'm supposed to be reacting but also what I'm supposed to be reacting to (essentially using his announcing position as a pulpit to try to reeducate viewers) that he comes off like a combination of the worst habits of a WWE announcer and a territorial announcer, with some Jim Cornette preachy-ness thrown in.

[XIV]

He’s also just been exposed as previously using racist language on a wrestling show. So.

[XIV]

I agree that JR and Shiavone are basically collecting paychecks at this point. Taz is the best announcer they’ve got there, by far.

But Excalibur is hard to listen to.

[Thelone]

Schiavone at least seems to care enough not to detract from the product, unlike Ross who will pretty much bury everything he thinks is ridiculous (which is a lot). Excalibur is grating with the constant TOPE SUICIDA and just yelling every big move in general.

Also, didn't they hire that Goldenboy guy who did Fyter Fest last year and was pretty decent , then did mostly fuck all with him afterwards? I don't think it's his main gig, but I would have him with Schiavone and a rotating third color guy depending on the situation/match. Ross can do those sit-down interviews and maybe trot him out for serious, important matches he wanna call, Excalibur can just go away for all I care, and never put Marvez in front of a camera ever again.

[Big Red Machine]

He’s also just been exposed as previously using racist language on a wrestling show. So.

Just been exposed? That used to be half of the gimmick of PWG commentary.

[Big Red Machine]

Schiavone at least seems to care enough not to detract from the product, unlike Ross who will pretty much bury everything he thinks is ridiculous (which is a lot). Excalibur is grating with the constant TOPE SUICIDA and just yelling every big move in general.

I appreciate that Excalibur at least knows the moves and the history. I think he's a competent play-by-play man. While Schiavone doesn't detract from the product in the same way Ross does, he detracts from it by seeming like he doesn't care enough to do his research or learn anything.

[XIV]

Schiavone at least seems to care enough not to detract from the product, unlike Ross who will pretty much bury everything he thinks is ridiculous (which is a lot). Excalibur is grating with the constant TOPE SUICIDA and just yelling every big move in general.

I appreciate that Excalibur at least knows the moves and the history. I think he's a competent play-by-play man. While Schiavone doesn't detract from the product in the same way Ross does, he detracts from it by seeming like he doesn't care enough to do his research or learn anything.

I'm just not personally a fan, I don't enjoy his style of commentary. He just varies from discount Mauro Ranallo all the way to just clueless.

JR distracts from the product horrifically. And how he's not been more chastised for referring to Sonny Kiss as "her" on a regular basis is quite amazing. But both Jr & Schiavone are just riding their legend status at this point.

[Big Red Machine]

Schiavone at least seems to care enough not to detract from the product, unlike Ross who will pretty much bury everything he thinks is ridiculous (which is a lot). Excalibur is grating with the constant TOPE SUICIDA and just yelling every big move in general.

I appreciate that Excalibur at least knows the moves and the history. I think he's a competent play-by-play man. While Schiavone doesn't detract from the product in the same way Ross does, he detracts from it by seeming like he doesn't care enough to do his research or learn anything.

JR distracts from the product horrifically. And how he's not been more chastised for referring to Sonny Kiss as "her" on a regular basis is quite amazing. But both Jr & Schiavone are just riding their legend status at this point.

Wikipedia tells me that Sonny is gender-fluid, so I'm fine giving Ross the benefit of the doubt and assuming he asked Sonny how Sonny wanted to be referred to at the moment before each match. If that's not the case, though, I, too would ask how he hasn't been disciplined. AEW did a nice job with the woke smokescreen in the beginning, but at this point it's pretty clear that it was- *ahem*- only smoke and mirrors, if you will.