BRM Reviews the 10/2/2019 Dynamite
Posted: Oct 2nd, '19, 23:07
FANCY OPENING VIDEO PACKAGE- There wasn’t one! HOORAY! They just had a short, colorful (VERY colorful) action-packed video package. If I could pick one nit, it would be that some of the images went by a little too fast to grasp that I was seeing a name like the former Adrian Neville.
In more of a real mistake than a nit, Tony Schiavone absolutely should not have said that they were “back on TNT for the first time since 2001.” “Hey! Look at us! We’re WCW!” is one of the single worst things he could have said in this situation that wasn’t some sort of racial slur.
CODY VS. GUEVARA VIDEO PACKAGE- GREAT!
SAMMY GUEVARA vs. CODY RHODES (w/Brandi Rhodes)- 6.75/10
Cody’s entrance took WAY too long. Also, him getting the big goofy thing with the elevator platform while Guevara coming out from a regular entrance tunnel made Cody look like a giant douche. And that’s fine, if the story eventually becomes that Cody is full of himself, but at the moment, the guy who is supposed to be the babyface is coming off like a douchebag.
Okay… Schiavone REALLY needs to shut up about the year 2001. Talk this up for being “the first match in AEW Dynamite history,” not “the first wrestling match on TNT since 2001.” Mere minutes later (if that) he also told us that he was “thinking about the first match ever on TNT” “on our show, Nitro, in 1995.” Now Ross is bringing up WCW, too. OH MY G-D! How was “DON’T TALK ABOUT WCW!” not the first f*cking bullet point on the list they gave the announcers?
Cody gets cut off when Guevara pulls Brandi into the way of Cody’s dive. The problem with the spot was that just moments earlier, Brandi had been in his face and yelling at him like a total heel. It doesn’t make what he did okay, but it makes the Rhodes look like heels as well, so I have very little sympathy for Brandi. Brandi would later interfere behind the referee’s back, hitting Guevara with her shoe. Again… like a total heel.
Cody wound up getting the win in a match that was very good, but nowhere close to the blow-away match I’d want as the first match on my TV show. I do think the Cody parts of the video package were a perfect choice for very beginning of the show so I understand Cody needing to be in the opener, but this match needed to be better.
POST-MATCH SEGMENT- fine
Guevara got in Cody’s face after the match but it was a swerve for the predictable handshake. This did distract Cody enough for Jericho to run out and kick his butt. I like the booking here, as it both get Jericho on the show in the first segment as well as being the beginning of the build to Cody getting a title shot, which I think is a natural direction to go, as he is a big name in AEW who is nonetheless expendable at the moment in terms of being able to do a job to Jericho without being established as being a class below the big-name WWE star.
It’s also good to have someone who the announcers were talking about as having a shot at being in the title picture if he wins (and who has yet to lose a singles match in AEW) actually wind up with a title shot sooner rather than later. Lots of promotions say that wins and losses matter, but talk is cheap.
JERICHO BEATS CODY UP THROUGH AN ENTIRE COMMERCIAL- We had to watch this with picture in picture. It was not a good look for AEW to keep the camera rolling for what was 95% Jericho posing. When we got back from the commercial, Jericho was using a chair on Cody. Despite several minutes having passed since the attack began, not one person has come out to help Cody. Even Brandi- a trained wrestler- is just standing there, watching. Referee Aubrey Edwards just stood there waving her arms at Jericho, the very picture of an ineffective pro wrestling referee. This is not a visual I would have wanted on my first show. If your pitch is that you are different than the competition, BE DIFFERENT.
Jericho eventually grabbed a mic to tell us he is the champion as he headed up the ramp. Ironically, he forgot his title belt at ringside. Schivaone told us that Jericho had “a different look in his eyes than I’ve ever seen before,” exposing that he hasn’t been watching the product.
BRANDON CUTLER vs. MAXWELL JACOB FRIEDMAN- 5/10
Excalibur’s quick intro of Cutler made him feel like someone who was only in the company because he is friends with the Young Bucks. MJF then cut a scathing promo on him and the entire crowd. You can almost ignore the rating for this one, as it was a very effective showcase for MJF.
AN INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN SMITH & JASON MEWS TURNS INTO A TAG TEAM SEGMENT- bad
This was cross-promotion for the new Jay & Silent Bob movie, which stars Jericho. It was not good, and came off as exactly the sort of thing you’d have seen in WWE’s guest-host era, with the celebrities seeming to have no real knowledge of the product and only being here for the plug. At least they kept it short, though.
Jack Evans & Angelico came over to insult them. Then Private Party wandered through the crowd to bring Jay & Silent Bob some beer. Then they left. Why were they in the crowd? There were several million better ways to set up a plug of the tag team tournament than this.
SCU VIDEO- They act like goofs.
TONY SCHIAVONE INTERVIEWS SCU- bad
In his very first sentence Schiavone managed to flub SCU’s name and accidentally refer to the company as “OVW.” If I might offer a suggestion, only use Tony in pre-tapes from now on.
Scorpio announced that Daniels and Kazarian would be representing SCU in the tag team title tournament because they have the most experience together and have had the most success together. That was the only good part of this.
After that happened, the Lucha Brothers came out. Fenix said that there was a reason that they were the best tag team in the world, and Penta said that that reason was “CERO MIEDO!” The man is just a walking catchphrase and set of spots at this point. SCU also did their catchphrase, which prompted the Lucha Brothers- the babyfaces- to attack SCU for no adequate reason. Backstage officials and referees and Atlas Security instantly streamed out to break this brawl up. Where were all of these people when Jericho was beating Cody up with a chair for several minutes?
This whole thing was like a parody of pro wrestling, where it was all catchphrases and fights for the sake of having a fight. Mix that in with Schiavone’s utter failure, and you’ve got a pretty darn bad segment.
JERICHO & LAX IN THEIR LOCKER ROOM- Apparently we’re doing the WWE-style “just pretend the cameras aren’t there” nonsense. Very disappointing. Like I said before, if your pitch is that you’re different from WWE, then BE DIFFERENT.
ADAM PAGE vs. PAC- 8/10
Apparently there are no count-outs in this match.
This was a match with a real big-fight feel to it that should firmly establish both of these men as big deals in the mind of someone who hadn’t seen them before (or at least hadn’t seen Page before). The heel finish here was definitely the right call.
SINGLES MATCH TO CROWN THE FIRST-EVER AEW WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPION: Nyla Rose vs. Riho- 8/10
Dr. Britt Baker, DMD was on commentary for this match. She didn’t say anything useful. The story of the match was the size difference, and I’m a huge sucker for a “big vs. small” story. This was an awesome match that starts this championship’s life off on the right foot.
POST-MATCH SEGMENT- meh
Michael Nakazawa came out to interview Riho. He was over the top and felt like his heel self, so I really didn’t care when Nyla attacked him from behind. She then went after Riho and was about to hit some move off the apron when Kenny Omega came out and made the save. Where was Kenny when his pal Cody was getting his ass kicked by Kenny’s mortal enemy earlier?
CHRIS JERICHO & LAX vs. THE ELITE (Kenny Omega & the Young Bucks)- 6.75/10
They did some spots, then Moxley showed up a few minutes in and attacked Omega right in front of the referee… and this was somehow not a DQ. They brawled into the crowd, leaving the Bucks at a disadvantage. If there are no DQs then why don’t Cody or Page run out to even things up? Even worse, the cameras followed Omega and Moxley rather than the actual match. Security and referees and backstage officials aren’t breaking this fight up, either. Moxley gave Omega Death Rider through a glass coffee table, thought it looked like it should have hurt Moxley more than Kenny, as he was the one who was clearly going through it.
The story of the match from that point on was the numbers game, which the Bucks eventually lost. I see the value in doing things the way they did, but I absolutely would not have done this in the main event of my first show. You want a match that really delivers in the ring, and you don’t want to screw the fans out of the advertised main event (and in most cases you’d also want a clean finish as well).
POST-MATCH SEGMENT- bad
We got our third post-match attack by the heels. Cody came out to make the save for the Bucks. Where were they when he needed them earlier? Sammy Guevara came out and hit Cody in the nuts, which brought out Dustin Rhodes to make the save for Cody. Again… where was Dustin earlier when Jericho was beating the sh*t out of his brother with a chair? Dustin got some good shots in but was then cut off by a man who hopped the guardrail. Jim Ross identified this man as “Jake Hager, from Bellator.” A good effort, but we all know who that is, and his indy run has been extremely underwhelming, so I’m really not excited to see him. And I’m someone who actually liked Jack Swagger!
Hager runs wild on the babyfaces, and absolutely no security or officials or anyone has come out to stop this fan who jumped the guardrail and is beating up the wrestlers. Upon watching their heroes getting beaten up, the crowd chanted “WE THE PEOPLE!”
This segment would have been fine if we hadn’t seen so many post-match attacks already and it hadn’t suffered from the logic issues brought about by the inconsistency of when fights were broken up and when they weren’t.
This was a pretty good first show from AEW, although I do think the decision-making in the main event hurt it. I also think it would have been a good idea to have something announced for next week other than just the tag title tournament.
AEW has been trying to tell us that they’re different from WWE, but I didn’t really feel that while watching it. It was like WWE with the annoying little ticks stripped away, which meant it was certainly more enjoyable overall as there weren’t things like WWE’s cult-speak adding more straws to the camels back over the course of the show, but they didn’t do anything to positively inspire me, either. It was two hours of a generic wrestling promotion, rather than something that stood out with its own identity.
The biggest negative, though, was the announcing. Schiavone was terrible, saying nothing useful, bringing up WCW WAY too often, and occasionally flubbing things. Ross wasn’t terrible, but he wasn’t good either. I realize that these men have a certain nostalgia value for many fans, but I think Ross’ place is as a sort of master of ceremonies/host and Schiavone’s is as a backstage interviewer in pre-tapes. Find someone else for Excalibur to handle commentary duties with.
In more of a real mistake than a nit, Tony Schiavone absolutely should not have said that they were “back on TNT for the first time since 2001.” “Hey! Look at us! We’re WCW!” is one of the single worst things he could have said in this situation that wasn’t some sort of racial slur.
CODY VS. GUEVARA VIDEO PACKAGE- GREAT!
SAMMY GUEVARA vs. CODY RHODES (w/Brandi Rhodes)- 6.75/10
Cody’s entrance took WAY too long. Also, him getting the big goofy thing with the elevator platform while Guevara coming out from a regular entrance tunnel made Cody look like a giant douche. And that’s fine, if the story eventually becomes that Cody is full of himself, but at the moment, the guy who is supposed to be the babyface is coming off like a douchebag.
Okay… Schiavone REALLY needs to shut up about the year 2001. Talk this up for being “the first match in AEW Dynamite history,” not “the first wrestling match on TNT since 2001.” Mere minutes later (if that) he also told us that he was “thinking about the first match ever on TNT” “on our show, Nitro, in 1995.” Now Ross is bringing up WCW, too. OH MY G-D! How was “DON’T TALK ABOUT WCW!” not the first f*cking bullet point on the list they gave the announcers?
Cody gets cut off when Guevara pulls Brandi into the way of Cody’s dive. The problem with the spot was that just moments earlier, Brandi had been in his face and yelling at him like a total heel. It doesn’t make what he did okay, but it makes the Rhodes look like heels as well, so I have very little sympathy for Brandi. Brandi would later interfere behind the referee’s back, hitting Guevara with her shoe. Again… like a total heel.
Cody wound up getting the win in a match that was very good, but nowhere close to the blow-away match I’d want as the first match on my TV show. I do think the Cody parts of the video package were a perfect choice for very beginning of the show so I understand Cody needing to be in the opener, but this match needed to be better.
POST-MATCH SEGMENT- fine
Guevara got in Cody’s face after the match but it was a swerve for the predictable handshake. This did distract Cody enough for Jericho to run out and kick his butt. I like the booking here, as it both get Jericho on the show in the first segment as well as being the beginning of the build to Cody getting a title shot, which I think is a natural direction to go, as he is a big name in AEW who is nonetheless expendable at the moment in terms of being able to do a job to Jericho without being established as being a class below the big-name WWE star.
It’s also good to have someone who the announcers were talking about as having a shot at being in the title picture if he wins (and who has yet to lose a singles match in AEW) actually wind up with a title shot sooner rather than later. Lots of promotions say that wins and losses matter, but talk is cheap.
JERICHO BEATS CODY UP THROUGH AN ENTIRE COMMERCIAL- We had to watch this with picture in picture. It was not a good look for AEW to keep the camera rolling for what was 95% Jericho posing. When we got back from the commercial, Jericho was using a chair on Cody. Despite several minutes having passed since the attack began, not one person has come out to help Cody. Even Brandi- a trained wrestler- is just standing there, watching. Referee Aubrey Edwards just stood there waving her arms at Jericho, the very picture of an ineffective pro wrestling referee. This is not a visual I would have wanted on my first show. If your pitch is that you are different than the competition, BE DIFFERENT.
Jericho eventually grabbed a mic to tell us he is the champion as he headed up the ramp. Ironically, he forgot his title belt at ringside. Schivaone told us that Jericho had “a different look in his eyes than I’ve ever seen before,” exposing that he hasn’t been watching the product.
BRANDON CUTLER vs. MAXWELL JACOB FRIEDMAN- 5/10
Excalibur’s quick intro of Cutler made him feel like someone who was only in the company because he is friends with the Young Bucks. MJF then cut a scathing promo on him and the entire crowd. You can almost ignore the rating for this one, as it was a very effective showcase for MJF.
AN INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN SMITH & JASON MEWS TURNS INTO A TAG TEAM SEGMENT- bad
This was cross-promotion for the new Jay & Silent Bob movie, which stars Jericho. It was not good, and came off as exactly the sort of thing you’d have seen in WWE’s guest-host era, with the celebrities seeming to have no real knowledge of the product and only being here for the plug. At least they kept it short, though.
Jack Evans & Angelico came over to insult them. Then Private Party wandered through the crowd to bring Jay & Silent Bob some beer. Then they left. Why were they in the crowd? There were several million better ways to set up a plug of the tag team tournament than this.
SCU VIDEO- They act like goofs.
TONY SCHIAVONE INTERVIEWS SCU- bad
In his very first sentence Schiavone managed to flub SCU’s name and accidentally refer to the company as “OVW.” If I might offer a suggestion, only use Tony in pre-tapes from now on.
Scorpio announced that Daniels and Kazarian would be representing SCU in the tag team title tournament because they have the most experience together and have had the most success together. That was the only good part of this.
After that happened, the Lucha Brothers came out. Fenix said that there was a reason that they were the best tag team in the world, and Penta said that that reason was “CERO MIEDO!” The man is just a walking catchphrase and set of spots at this point. SCU also did their catchphrase, which prompted the Lucha Brothers- the babyfaces- to attack SCU for no adequate reason. Backstage officials and referees and Atlas Security instantly streamed out to break this brawl up. Where were all of these people when Jericho was beating Cody up with a chair for several minutes?
This whole thing was like a parody of pro wrestling, where it was all catchphrases and fights for the sake of having a fight. Mix that in with Schiavone’s utter failure, and you’ve got a pretty darn bad segment.
JERICHO & LAX IN THEIR LOCKER ROOM- Apparently we’re doing the WWE-style “just pretend the cameras aren’t there” nonsense. Very disappointing. Like I said before, if your pitch is that you’re different from WWE, then BE DIFFERENT.
ADAM PAGE vs. PAC- 8/10
Apparently there are no count-outs in this match.
This was a match with a real big-fight feel to it that should firmly establish both of these men as big deals in the mind of someone who hadn’t seen them before (or at least hadn’t seen Page before). The heel finish here was definitely the right call.
SINGLES MATCH TO CROWN THE FIRST-EVER AEW WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPION: Nyla Rose vs. Riho- 8/10
Dr. Britt Baker, DMD was on commentary for this match. She didn’t say anything useful. The story of the match was the size difference, and I’m a huge sucker for a “big vs. small” story. This was an awesome match that starts this championship’s life off on the right foot.
POST-MATCH SEGMENT- meh
Michael Nakazawa came out to interview Riho. He was over the top and felt like his heel self, so I really didn’t care when Nyla attacked him from behind. She then went after Riho and was about to hit some move off the apron when Kenny Omega came out and made the save. Where was Kenny when his pal Cody was getting his ass kicked by Kenny’s mortal enemy earlier?
CHRIS JERICHO & LAX vs. THE ELITE (Kenny Omega & the Young Bucks)- 6.75/10
They did some spots, then Moxley showed up a few minutes in and attacked Omega right in front of the referee… and this was somehow not a DQ. They brawled into the crowd, leaving the Bucks at a disadvantage. If there are no DQs then why don’t Cody or Page run out to even things up? Even worse, the cameras followed Omega and Moxley rather than the actual match. Security and referees and backstage officials aren’t breaking this fight up, either. Moxley gave Omega Death Rider through a glass coffee table, thought it looked like it should have hurt Moxley more than Kenny, as he was the one who was clearly going through it.
The story of the match from that point on was the numbers game, which the Bucks eventually lost. I see the value in doing things the way they did, but I absolutely would not have done this in the main event of my first show. You want a match that really delivers in the ring, and you don’t want to screw the fans out of the advertised main event (and in most cases you’d also want a clean finish as well).
POST-MATCH SEGMENT- bad
We got our third post-match attack by the heels. Cody came out to make the save for the Bucks. Where were they when he needed them earlier? Sammy Guevara came out and hit Cody in the nuts, which brought out Dustin Rhodes to make the save for Cody. Again… where was Dustin earlier when Jericho was beating the sh*t out of his brother with a chair? Dustin got some good shots in but was then cut off by a man who hopped the guardrail. Jim Ross identified this man as “Jake Hager, from Bellator.” A good effort, but we all know who that is, and his indy run has been extremely underwhelming, so I’m really not excited to see him. And I’m someone who actually liked Jack Swagger!
Hager runs wild on the babyfaces, and absolutely no security or officials or anyone has come out to stop this fan who jumped the guardrail and is beating up the wrestlers. Upon watching their heroes getting beaten up, the crowd chanted “WE THE PEOPLE!”
This segment would have been fine if we hadn’t seen so many post-match attacks already and it hadn’t suffered from the logic issues brought about by the inconsistency of when fights were broken up and when they weren’t.
This was a pretty good first show from AEW, although I do think the decision-making in the main event hurt it. I also think it would have been a good idea to have something announced for next week other than just the tag title tournament.
AEW has been trying to tell us that they’re different from WWE, but I didn’t really feel that while watching it. It was like WWE with the annoying little ticks stripped away, which meant it was certainly more enjoyable overall as there weren’t things like WWE’s cult-speak adding more straws to the camels back over the course of the show, but they didn’t do anything to positively inspire me, either. It was two hours of a generic wrestling promotion, rather than something that stood out with its own identity.
The biggest negative, though, was the announcing. Schiavone was terrible, saying nothing useful, bringing up WCW WAY too often, and occasionally flubbing things. Ross wasn’t terrible, but he wasn’t good either. I realize that these men have a certain nostalgia value for many fans, but I think Ross’ place is as a sort of master of ceremonies/host and Schiavone’s is as a backstage interviewer in pre-tapes. Find someone else for Excalibur to handle commentary duties with.
