BRM Reviews the 4/28/2021 Dynamite

[Big Red Machine]

ADAM PAGE vs. BRIAN CAGE- 5/10
Taz was on commentary for this match. Team Taz (minus Taz and Hook) jumped Page from behind during his entrance and beat him down until the Dark Order came out to make the save. This was a fine way to do essentially the same thing they’ve been doing with Page and the Dark Order in every Page match recently, but to do it in a slightly new way so that it doesn’t feel stale. Cage was able to get off a powerbomb on the ramp, setting up the story of Cage being in a dominant position going in, and keeping that up for most of the match. Page got a memorable spurt or two of offense in, but Cage dominated most of the match and won in six minutes.
I liked the booking here. I think Page needed to be slowed down a bit since they don’t seem to be moving him towards Omega fast enough to get him there by the PPV (he’s earned a shot with his wins, but they haven’t really been doing much to move him and Omega towards each other), but at the same time, they’re making enough of a big deal about his victories and his ranking that him not getting the title shot at the PPV would feel odd. Cage serves as a PPV-worthy speedbump for him on his road to the title, and depending on how they do things and what the plans are, this could also be used to build to whatever exactly they are building to with Cage and Starks.

BULLET CLUB PROMO- terrible
Callis was okay, but then Omega spoke about how he was definitely not intimidated by anything that happened last week. If he had just left it there and let us guess that he was putting up a front, that would have been fine, but instead we then got a horn honking and they all got terrified and spilled their drinks on themselves, and then it turned out that Nakazawa (who is also apparently their chauffer) “pushed the wrong button.” Then he tried to be serious again.
Then he said that if Kingston wanted to wrestle him, he would have to face Michael Nakazawa first. This is a fine (if obvious) trap in storyline, but I have no interest in Kingston facing either Nakazawa or Omega.
And, of course, no explanation was given for how they magically got out of the trailer last week.

AEW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE ELIMINATOR MATCH: The Young Bucks vs. the Sydal Brothers- 6/10
These “XYZ Title Eliminator” matches mean that if the challengers win, they earn a title shot. Shouldn’t that be automatic anyway? But even if it wasn’t, they need to pick a new name, as this sounds like it’s either a title match or like there is some sort of stipulation where the Sydals can’t get a title shot anymore if they lose, which isn’t the case. If nothing or no one is being eliminated, why would you stick “eliminator” in the title?
The Bucks managed to pull a twin switch even though their facial hair is nothing alike. Even worse, the referee who fell for it was Rick Knox, who has known them forever. They won after a punch to the dick and a BTE Trigger.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- decent promos wasted by poor booking
SCU came out to challenge the Bucks to a tag title match. They talked about “new attitudes” a lot. Speaking of “new attitudes,” didn’t your third member recently develop a new attitude? That seems like something you should address.
Anyway, these guys haven’t been on Dynamite as a team (and Daniels AT ALL) for over four months, but now they’re the #1 contenders because they’ve been beating jobbers on Dark. Obviously this sets up a match where they either win the titles or lose and have to break up, but this whole journey of theirs has been handled so badly that I really don’t care.
If you’re going to do this story, you have to make it feel important! You have to put (at least some of) the matches on your main show and you have to have them cut promos talking about how much it means to them to stay together and make it back to the top and you have to put them against opponents who you have built up to the point that people think there is a snowballs chance in hell that they might actually lose so that people get invested in the matches and therefore get more invested in the story because they have seen these two overcome so much to stay together.

JADE CARGILL VIDEO PACKAGE/PROMO- She says she doesn’t want a manager because they all want a percentage of her earnings. That’s fine… but then why does she want these managers to impress her? I guess theoretically they can give her a manage with a different title that makes more sense and frame it as her paying them to take care of her business arrangements (like Heyman and Brock) rather than the more old-school manager style that AEW seems to prefer where the manager makes a cut of the wrestler’s winnings. Personally, I think the former makes more sense in most situations (and especially where the person in question is not on the undercard or being portrayed as a rookie).

ORANGE CASSIDY (w/Trent?) vs. PENTA EL 0M (w/Alex Abrahantes)- 4/10
Penta & Abrahantes cut a fine promo before the match.
The match started off with much stupid, pointless gaga. So what if the other guy won’t back down from your dumb taunt, Penta. JUST PUNCH HIM! From there we transitioned to the stupid clown sh*t, and suddenly OC cares enough to actually wrestle instead of doing the weak kicks he was doing two seconds before.
They did a bunch of moves. They also did one spot with the pockets that I’m sure some people thought was clever but didn’t really work for me. Did OC successfully prevent Penta from hitting the arm breaker by stuffing his hand in his pocket? Yes. But then Penta just got up and stomped on OC’s arm a bunch of times, so what did this really do? It didn’t feel like a part of a story so much as a spot about the pockets that they came up with.
Once again, Abrahantes interrupted the match with a promo. This time he got his ass kicked but the babyfaces got the microphone and OC decided to hit Penta with it to set up the win. I didn’t really care for the babyface using a weapn when he didn’t have to, but I’m not going to say it was totally unwarranted given the situation, either. If you like SPOTZ and Orange Cassidy schtick, you’ll like this match. If you’re looking for a story, look elsewhere.

EARLIER TODAY, TONY SCHIAVONE INTERVIEWS DR. BRITT BAKER, DMD- decent

INNER CIRCLE/PINNACLE PARLEY- AWESOME!
They cut promos on each other rather than making shoot comments and trying to be funny. This is all I’ve been wanting. Rather than the coin toss, Sammy Guevara said that the Pinnacle could have the advantage and that he would start for his team, which really feels like the right choice, and Sammy stepping up and offering feels like a real step forward as a babyface for him, while the rest of the Inner Circle not questioning this feels like the first actual babyface thing they have done.

EDDIE KINGSTON vs. MICHAEL NAKAZAWA- bad
Nakazawa is sitting in the ring in his “backstage worker” clothes, with a headset on, and holding a laptop. Excalibur told us that this was “not a sanctioned match,” but if that’s the case then why did no one come to get Nakazawa out of the ring. What was booked for this time?
Kingston came out and said that he wasn’t going to put up with this “Sports Entertainment crap.” You mean like a group of people mysteriously disappearing from a trailer in the middle of a segment?
Kingston demanded that Omega come out to fight him. Omega came out on the stage and told Kingston that he doesn’t get the champ just because he calls him out. Nakazawa hit Kingston in the back with the laptop twice, but Kingston was able to counter his attempted Angle Slam and easily dispatch him with a Backfist to the Future. Kingston threatened to Pillmanizer Nakazawa’s ankle if Kenny wouldn’t fight him. Kenny said he didn’t care. That’s the second time they’ve done that angle, in eleven months.
Kenny said they have another lackey and sent Brandon Cutler out. I don’t understand why he is their servant. Doesn’t he have a wrestling contract with AEW? If they try to fire him for disobeying, can’t Tony Khan just rehire him?
Anyway, Cutler crawled out, having already been attacked by Jon Moxley. Moxley attacked Omega and tossed him into the ring. They threaten to Pillmanize Omega’s ankle unless Callis agreed to give them a title match. Just kidding. Instead of a title match, they apparently just want a tag match against Nakazawa and Omega. And wasn’t it the Good Brothers who did the Pillmanizing on Kingston’s ankle? That match will happen next week… assuming that Callis doesn’t just claim that match was agreed to under duress and not follow through.
So yeah. This was nothing but a really stupid way to set up a match with a painfully obvious fall-guy. I also can’t help but notice the conspicuous absences of the Young Bucks and Good Brothers. I’m not saying that the heels’ plans have to be foolproof, but for their plan to be “we’ll ambush Kingston with one jobber and have another jobber as out back-up while the four guys with actually credibility go take a nap” makes it look like either the heels are idiots or like the segment is phony because people who logically should show up don’t… and that’s an issue in FAR too many segments in AEW. People who should logically be involved are not involved for no reason other than the fact that the booker didn’t want them involved at that moment.

TONY SCHIAVONE’S INTERVIEW WITH TAZ IS INTERRUPTED BY CHRISTIAN CAGE- not good
Apparently Cage being the FTW Champion is still a thing.
Christian claimed that Taz will leech off of the members of Team Taz. Based on what we’ve seen in the year or so since Team Taz was formed, this doesn’t ring true to me at all. Christian challenged Taz to send more guys after him.

KRIS STATLANDER (w/Orange Cassidy) vs. PENELOPE FORD (w/Kip Sabian)- 5.75/10
Statlander made her big return FOUR WEEKS AGO and they’re only booking her in a match on Dynamite now? Way to squander any momentum she had.
The action was mostly good. During the finish, the camera was focused on a confrontation between Kip Sabian and Orange Cassidy, who were supposed to be done feuding a month ago. There was no reason to do that spot. I also didn’t like Statlander booping her fallen opponent after the match. It feels like heelish taunting.

TEN VIDEO PACKAGE/PROMO ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO “BRING THE TNT TITLE BACK TO THE DARK ORDER” BECAUSE BRODIE LEE USED TO HOLD IT- didn’t like it
I appreciate that they’re trying to give this some meaning, but 1) it feels dropped out of nowhere because they’re bringing it up for the first time less than an hour before the title match, and 2) I’m sorry, but when I think of 10 and Brodie Lee, I don’t think of Brodie being a nice guy. I think of Brodie gladly allowing Moxley to break 10’s arm instead of returning the stolen AEW World Title belt to Jon Moxley. I’m sure that all of the thing people have said about Jon Huber are true and he was a wonderful person, but Jon Huber is not Brodie Lee, and trying to turn the Brodie Lee character into some sort of saint on the air just because the (lacking a better term) actor who played him died feels completely phony to me because the character we were exposed to for seven months was anything but a saint. He was quite the opposite.

THE NIGHTMARE FAMILY (Dustin Rhodes, Billy Gunn, & Lee Johnson) vs. THE FACTORY (Q.T. Marshall, Nick Comoroto, & Aarow Solow) (w/Anthony Ogogo)- 3.5/10
The Factory all driving what I guess is Cody’s private bus? Justin Roberts clearly knew he was in it, too, which means that AEW knew about this theft before they pulled up to the building. Also, while theft is obviously wrong, having your own bus with your logo all over it and giving it a f*cking NAME is pretty douchy, so it doesn’t exactly raise my opinion of the Nightmare Family that they have one.
I can’t help but notice that Cody is once again suspiciously absent.
The Nightmare family slowly ambled out to ringside to brawl with the Factory before the bell. Once again, Anthony Ogogo was kind enough to not get involved even though 1) he’s a heel with no morals and 2) it wasn’t even a match so there was no professional reason to not get involved, either.
Billy Gunn’s ribs are taped up after suffering one punch from Anthony Ogogo a week ago. Oooookay. They do realize that at this point, he can’t ever hit someone without causing severe damage. That’s how strong they’ve made his punches seem. And if they’re going to commit to that, I think it’s great… but I don’t think they’re actually going to commit to it.
Ogogo took each guy out with one punch. Solow (who was already down) got over to Q.T. to make the tag, and Q.T. came in and pinned Johnson. Well… so far so good with committed to Ogogo’s punch being just that good.
POST-MATCH SEGMENT- terrible, contrived, bullsh*t
After the match, Comoroto hit Dustin with a cowbell attached to a bullrope. Q.T. sent his students to the back, and then stayed out on the ramp in order to… um.. uh… so he could be alone when Gunn Club came out to attack him. They beat him up two-on-one and from behind, which really doesn’t make them look good. The non-Ogogo students came back out because… um… because we needed the babyfaces to win with round and that can’t happen with Mr. Superpunch involved, I guess.
Q.T. retreated back to the bus, but there’s f*cking Cody now hiding in the bus, and he beat Q.T. up. Cody hiding in the bus isn’t a contrivance because one assumes that he figured Q.T. would have to come back to it at some point during the night. My problem with this is that if Cody was healthy and able to fight, why wasn’t he IN THIS MATCH?! His plan was to wait until AFTER Q.T. had already had a match, and then attack him. What a f*cking coward!
Out of kayfabe, of course, this exposes the whole bus thing as something that happened so that Cody could come back in a (supposedly) cool way, which makes everything about the bus feel contrived in hindsight. In the middle of the (supposed) babyface beating up the heel and getting his revenge… we cut to a replay of Ogogo’s Superpunch helping his team win. When we came back, Cody was following Q.T. up to the top of the truck (because that’s not suspicious editing). Also, Aubrey Edwards followed them up there to get them to stop fighting. N top of the truck, Cody put Q.T. in a Figure-Four Leg Lock. You went on top of the truck to do a freakin’ submission hold? Really, AEW?
It was then announced that Cody Rhodes vs. Q.T. Marshall has been booked for next week’s show. I just saw Cody beat Q.T. up, and they spent the first match in this feud illustrating to me that Q.T.is no match for Cody in the ring so Cody has nothing to accomplish by pinning him, so why should I have any interest in this match?
Also, apparently next week’s whole show will be called Blood & Guts. In a vacuum, I wouldn’t mind this at all, but naming your whole show after the gimmick match in the main event is definitely something that WWE is known for doing and that people get annoyed at, so if I were AEW, I would have avoided doing it. Yes, part of the reason it’s a problem in WWE is that aside from possibly Hell in a Cell, all of the gimmick match names are not good names for a show, whereas Blood & Guts is a fine name for a show (although I think it’s kind of a stupid name for a match), but if you’re AEW- or, really any wrestling company who is trying to be an alternative to WWE, I would take great pains not to do anything that is the sort of thing that people get annoyed at WWE for doing. It’s a minor gripe, but I do feel obliged to mention it.

Apparently Michael Nakazwa is now “MT Nakazawa.” Why did that happen? Also, someone please tell Schiavone that it doesn’t matter if Omega and Moxley are involved: Calling ANY match with Michael Nakazawa in it a “huge” match comes off as being full of sh*t.

They also announced that Jon Moxley will defend the IWGP US Title against Yuji Nagata in two weeks. I’m always excited to see Nagata, but I will admit that Moxley doesn’t even crack the top five of guys in AEW I’d want to see him against. I’m sure the match will be good, but it kind of feels like a waste when you could have had, say, Nagata vs. Hager.
For the record, my top five for Nagata would be:
1. Jake Hager
2. Kenny Omega
3. Miro
4. Christopher Daniels
5. Angelico

They tried to talk Nagata up as being a big deal by having Tony Schiavone note that he used to call Nagata’s matches back in WCW. How about instead of pointing out how old the guy is you instead tell me about the titles he has won?

Wait… now there is a four-way “Tag Team Eliminator” match for a title shot that doesn’t involve the champions? At this point, in the past three months in AEW, an “Eliminator” has been 1) a single-elimination tournament for a title shot, 2) a non-title match you earn a title shot if you beat the champs, and 3) a regular #1 contendership match between multiple potential challengers. Are they incapable of coming up with any other term? Why would you do something that can only confuse people?
And it gets better. This eliminator match will be contested between Jurassic Express, The Acclaimed, Varsity Blonds (who I don’t think have even won a match on Dynamite), and SCU. Earlier tonight they told us that SCU were the #1-ranked team in the company and told us that they hadn’t lost a match in four months… but apparently that’s not enough to just get you a title shot. No. You have to win a #1 contendership match, too.

KIP SABIAN & MIRO FINALLY SPEAK BACKSTAGE- good, on balance
Miro beats him up and first shouts “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?” He then beats him up some more while shouting “ARE YOU TRYING TO STOP ME?!” Then he tells Kip “it’s time to pay your dues” and slams his arm in a door. Then he hugged him and said “I forgive you.”
The positives:
1. Miro came across like a violent, dangerous psychopath.
The negatives:
1. Slamming someone’s arm in a door and running their head into a locker and choking them is certainly overboard, but when Miro’s first question was “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!” and Kip framed this by admitting that he hadn’t talked to Miro in a month when we know Miro has been trying to contact him, it did make me think that he deserved at least a slap. What a bad friend. (I mean… clearly Miro is, too, but if Kip had just gone to talk to Miro the first time his supposed best friend had said “can we talk,” this probably would have been averted.
2. This is clearly intended to turn Sabian babyface, but if you’re going to do that, it’s best to not remind us that he is a bad person by having him try to cheat in Penelope’s match earlier.
The positive far outweighs the two negatives here, but the negatives were things that were so easily avoidable (the first by doing this the week after Arcade Anarchy, and the second by not having him try to interfere in the earlier match) that not avoiding them makes this very frustrating

AEW TNT TITLE MATCH: Darby Allin(c) (w/Sting) vs. 10 (w/the Dark Order)- 7.5/10
What did this guy do to deserve a title shot, exactly?
Darby has delivered consistently in pretty much everything he has done in AEW, and this match was no except. The story here was 10’s size and power advantage against Darby working the hand. I wasn’t a fan of Darby tearing the mask and poking 10 in the eye, but seeing as how it came after Ethan Page’s interference, I’m willing to cut Darby some slack. This definitely raised my opinion of 10 as well, but then name, mask, and gimmick all make it impossible for me to get behind him.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- very good
We got a nice show of respect after the match, at which point Dark Order left. Ethan Page then came back to cause a distraction, allowing Scorpio Sky to hop the barricade, slide into the ring and take out Sting’s knee. Scorpio locked Sting in the heel hook while Page made Darby watch. Lance Archer made the save, with Jake Roberts once again only coming out at the end.


This was another typical episode of Dynamite. Is there some great stuff on the show? Yes. But there are many more things on the show that are not just bad but frustratingly bad because they would be so easy to clean up and get right.


STUPID ANNOUNCER QUOTES:
1. Jim Ross claimed that the Young Bucks have undergone “an amazing metamorphosis of personalities,” but that’s not really true. These were the same assholes who were going around kicking innocent non-wrestlers last summer for the ridiculous reason that they thought it would help them add some “edge” to their game.

[Thelone]

ADAM PAGE vs. BRIAN CAGE- 5/10

They desperately need to rebuild Page before he's ready to (supposedly) dethrone Omega. The obvious first step is GET HIM AWAY FROM THE DARK ORDER. I don't care that they're entertaining on BTE/Guevara's vlogs/whatever, they're a joke faction that's bringing everything they're in down to their level. Second, he needs to be in actual feuds so he can show personality and give the impression that he's progressing. Maybe that's just me, but I feel like he's only over (and that's being nice) because of COWBOY SHIT, DRINKING and not much else, which is no different than Dillinger with "Ten", Roode with "Glorious", Biesse Friends' hugging spot, Cassidy's whole schtick, and you get the idea.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- decent promos wasted by poor booking

I don't know if it's here or somewhere else, but someone once said that Khan assumes way too much of his audience and doesn't understand that the vast majority isn't watching Elevation/Dark/BTE. What's happening with a lot of those guys they're only "building up" on Youtube is that it becomes obvious when they appear on Dynamite that they're only here to be jobbed out and forgotten about two seconds later. If you want people to care about this Addiction storyline, you need to put them on the real show once in a while between the endless squashes on Youtube to build anticipation and give the illusion that they might pull it off. Imagine if WCW only built up Goldberg's streak on Worldwide and Pro before squashing the Flock on Nitro for the US title : I'm not saying it would have gone over like a fart in church, but it definitely wouldn't have been such a strong star-making moment either.

EDDIE KINGSTON vs. MICHAEL NAKAZAWA- bad

How long is this feud between Omega and Moxley going to last? Omega has been the champion for FIVE MONTHS and done nothing besides feuding with the former champion and the Elite preschool drama. The only thing with any kind of juice (the belt collector gimmick) is barely mentioned on AEW TV.

TONY SCHIAVONE’S INTERVIEW WITH TAZ IS INTERRUPTED BY CHRISTIAN CAGE- not good
Apparently Cage being the FTW Champion is still a thing.

Well we all know being inconsistant is the cornerstone of good booking, right?

KRIS STATLANDER (w/Orange Cassidy) vs. PENELOPE FORD (w/Kip Sabian)- 5.75/10
Statlander made her big return FOUR WEEKS AGO and they’re only booking her in a match on Dynamite now? Way to squander any momentum she had.

She squashed Amber Nova a couple of weeks ago I think. As for the post-match booping (can't believe I'm actually writing this...), they should actually go there and give Statlander an edge (no Bucks, go away). Make it clear that she's "being an alien" for MINDGAMES and not because she actually is.

TEN VIDEO PACKAGE/PROMO ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO “BRING THE TNT TITLE BACK TO THE DARK ORDER” BECAUSE BRODIE LEE USED TO HOLD IT- didn’t like it

I mean, they needed to call it quits with this clown show eighteen months ago, but obviously that's not happening. Instead, let's parade the dead guy's 8yo kid around (he might be nine now for all I know), because that's not a desperate way to keep this faction relevant at all.

THE NIGHTMARE FAMILY (Dustin Rhodes, Billy Gunn, & Lee Johnson) vs. THE FACTORY (Q.T. Marshall, Nick Comoroto, & Aarow Solow) (w/Anthony Ogogo)- 3.5/10
[...]
Q.T. retreated back to the bus, but there’s f*cking Cody now hiding in the bus, and he beat Q.T. up. Cody hiding in the bus isn’t a contrivance because one assumes that he figured Q.T. would have to come back to it at some point during the night. My problem with this is that if Cody was healthy and able to fight, why wasn’t he IN THIS MATCH?! His plan was to wait until AFTER Q.T. had already had a match, and then attack him. What a f*cking coward!
Out of kayfabe, of course, this exposes the whole bus thing as something that happened so that Cody could come back in a (supposedly) cool way, which makes everything about the bus feel contrived in hindsight.

I remember when he came back from the Brodie loss as an evil 19th century british banker (or whatever he was trying to portray), then had to explain months later on Twitter that it was (yet another) obscure reference to Superman that even comic fans didn't get and got called out for.

I don't really have a point, that's just what Cody does.

It was then announced that Cody Rhodes vs. Q.T. Marshall has been booked for next week’s show. I just saw Cody beat Q.T. up, and they spent the first match in this feud illustrating to me that Q.T.is no match for Cody in the ring so Cody has nothing to accomplish by pinning him, so why should I have any interest in this match?

But not-Saitama will be there I assume, hit Cody with his punch of doom, and then he will no sell it like he did with Pentagon's armbreaker thing.

They tried to talk Nagata up as being a big deal by having Tony Schiavone note that he used to call Nagata’s matches back in WCW. How about instead of pointing out how old the guy is you instead tell me about the titles he has won?

Yeah, that's probably the last thing they should mention. Even the youngest guy who was still in WCW in 2001 is in his very late 30s nowadays (Jimmy Wang Yang is 39 apparently).

And it gets better. This eliminator match will be contested between Jurassic Express, The Acclaimed, Varsity Blonds (who I don’t think have even won a match on Dynamite), and SCU. Earlier tonight they told us that SCU were the #1-ranked team in the company and told us that they hadn’t lost a match in four months… but apparently that’s not enough to just get you a title shot. No. You have to win a #1 contendership match, too.

Especially since SCU has been #1 for a few weeks already.

AEW TNT TITLE MATCH: Darby Allin(c) (w/Sting) vs. 10 (w/the Dark Order)- 7.5/10
What did this guy do to deserve a title shot, exactly?

Total coincidence I'm sure, but he was bumped to #5 for this week.

[Big Red Machine]

ADAM PAGE vs. BRIAN CAGE- 5/10

They desperately need to rebuild Page before he's ready to (supposedly) dethrone Omega. The obvious first step is GET HIM AWAY FROM THE DARK ORDER. I don't care that they're entertaining on BTE/Guevara's vlogs/whatever, they're a joke faction that's bringing everything they're in down to their level. Second, he needs to be in actual feuds so he can show personality and give the impression that he's progressing. Maybe that's just me, but I feel like he's only over (and that's being nice) because of COWBOY SHIT, DRINKING and not much else, which is no different than Dillinger with "Ten", Roode with "Glorious", Biesse Friends' hugging spot, Cassidy's whole schtick, and you get the idea.

I agree with you about Page needing to get away from the Dork Order and about what go him over to the next level, but I think that unlike with Best Friends and Dillinger, he was always someone who people knew had a lot of potential. Maybe it was the way he was booked in ROH or the very fact that Gedo was interested in him, but he always felt like an up-and-comer with real potential.

I don't know if it's here or somewhere else, but someone once said that Khan assumes way too much of his audience and doesn't understand that the vast majority isn't watching Elevation/Dark/BTE. What's happening with a lot of those guys they're only "building up" on Youtube is that it becomes obvious when they appear on Dynamite that they're only here to be jobbed out and forgotten about two seconds later. If you want people to care about this Addiction storyline, you need to put them on the real show once in a while between the endless squashes on Youtube to build anticipation and give the illusion that they might pull it off. Imagine if WCW only built up Goldberg's streak on Worldwide and Pro before squashing the Flock on Nitro for the US title : I'm not saying it would have gone over like a fart in church, but it definitely wouldn't have been such a strong star-making moment either.

This is a WONDERFUL example.

How long is this feud between Omega and Moxley going to last? Omega has been the champion for FIVE MONTHS and done nothing besides feuding with the former champion and the Elite preschool drama. The only thing with any kind of juice (the belt collector gimmick) is barely mentioned on AEW TV.

I've been thinking about this, too, and I've come to the conclusion that they did not come up with a story that was long enough for the time they have. If you've got fourteen weeks between PPVs, I figure you'll want to come up with a story that has at least eleven or twelve notes in it so things are moving forward pretty much every week. What we get from AEW often doesn't feel like it really moves things forward. This week's angle could have happened exactly as it did if lat week's silliness had never happened.

As for the post-match booping (can't believe I'm actually writing this...), they should actually go there and give Statlander an edge (no Bucks, go away). Make it clear that she's "being an alien" for MINDGAMES and not because she actually is.

That would certainly be a way to salvage this.

[Thelone]

I agree with you about Page needing to get away from the Dork Order and about what go him over to the next level, but I think that unlike with Best Friends and Dillinger, he was always someone who people knew had a lot of potential. Maybe it was the way he was booked in ROH or the very fact that Gedo was interested in him, but he always felt like an up-and-comer with real potential.

The issue is that he's been a blue chipper for almost EIGHT YEARS at this point and felt like he was about to break out maybe once : in the Decade with Whitmer. Maybe Gedo had plans for him for 2019 and onwards (he was in the '18 G1 after all), but it never felt like he was more than cannon fodder like Chase Owens, Yujiro, and... Skullman? Page is a guy who never got the ball before, or even any ball for that matter. He needs to have a run with the TNT or even Cage's stupid FTW belt to give him feuds, promo time and something to flesh out a character/personality, not just a catchphrase and silly shit on his chyron.

I've been thinking about this, too, and I've come to the conclusion that they did not come up with a story that was long enough for the time they have. If you've got fourteen weeks between PPVs, I figure you'll want to come up with a story that has at least eleven or twelve notes in it so things are moving forward pretty much every week. What we get from AEW often doesn't feel like it really moves things forward. This week's angle could have happened exactly as it did if lat week's silliness had never happened.

I feel like they're trying to have a "satisfying" ending to this rivalry because the death match """explosion""" was, well, awful. Of course, it's pretty clear they're running on empty now because that match was most likely the blow-off (pun not intended) of the Omega-Moxley feud.

That would certainly be a way to salvage this.

I'm not sure they understand that Statlander is a fairly big, imposing girl and shouldn't have such a stupid gimmick or hang out with goofs. Rose is beyond salvageable and on the older side anyway, Melanie Cruise is terrible (although I feel like they've quietly released her), and Kong was already shot six years ago in TNA, so Statlander can definitely fill a void here. Put her with the goofs for too long, and she will be labelled as a goof herself in the no-so-distant future, especially with the booping and confused puppy faces.

[Big Red Machine]

I agree with you about Page needing to get away from the Dork Order and about what go him over to the next level, but I think that unlike with Best Friends and Dillinger, he was always someone who people knew had a lot of potential. Maybe it was the way he was booked in ROH or the very fact that Gedo was interested in him, but he always felt like an up-and-comer with real potential.

The issue is that he's been a blue chipper for almost EIGHT YEARS at this point and felt like he was about to break out maybe once : in the Decade with Whitmer. Maybe Gedo had plans for him for 2019 and onwards (he was in the '18 G1 after all), but it never felt like he was more than cannon fodder like Chase Owens, Yujiro, and... Skullman? Page is a guy who never got the ball before, or even any ball for that matter. He needs to have a run with the TNT or even Cage's stupid FTW belt to give him feuds, promo time and something to flesh out a character/personality, not just a catchphrase and silly shit on his chyron.

There is a difference between having plans for someone and Gedo seeing talent in someone. I think it's one of the flaws in his booking that he'll sign someone because he thinks they have talent, then bring them in to be a stable's designated jobber, which- at least to me- pretty much kills their push when he tries to start it. (In fairness to Gedo, Page is the only person I can think of who he specifically brought in and did this to, but I think it has hurt the likes of Henare and El Desperado and similar when he has tried to start pushing them).
But the mere idea that Gedo chose Page to be in Bullet Club gave him something of a boost, and while Delirious' booking got in the way more often than it helped, Page always delivered when given the chance, and even against opponents you might not expect him to like Punishment Martinez and Kaz.
Then AEW came along, and I think that up until this Dark Order story started, they had done a good job keeping him feeling like he was moving upwards, even if the overall stories were floundering.
That being said, I completely agree that he needs a run with some secondary title some point.

I've been thinking about this, too, and I've come to the conclusion that they did not come up with a story that was long enough for the time they have. If you've got fourteen weeks between PPVs, I figure you'll want to come up with a story that has at least eleven or twelve notes in it so things are moving forward pretty much every week. What we get from AEW often doesn't feel like it really moves things forward. This week's angle could have happened exactly as it did if lat week's silliness had never happened.

I feel like they're trying to have a "satisfying" ending to this rivalry because the death match """explosion""" was, well, awful. Of course, it's pretty clear they're running on empty now because that match was most likely the blow-off (pun not intended) of the Omega-Moxley feud.

That's possible, although if their idea of a blow-off with Moxley and Omega was a match full of interference, then that's not a good sign.
I'm curious exactly how much you think this would have affected their plans. What do you think the big matches for this upcoming PPV were originally planned to be? Coming out of the PPV with the angle they did, my instinct would have been either Omega vs. Moxley again or possibly Omega vs. Kingston, or Moxley & Kingston vs. Good Brothers... that was pre-Bucks turn, and now that the Bucks have turned on Moxley, Moxley & Kingston vs. Bucks also makes sense, but they really only feel like they're building either Moxley or Kingston towards Omega, and aren't really building up anyone else (Page, Christian) either.

[Thelone]

I'm curious exactly how much you think this would have affected their plans. What do you think the big matches for this upcoming PPV were originally planned to be? Coming out of the PPV with the angle they did, my instinct would have been either Omega vs. Moxley again or possibly Omega vs. Kingston, or Moxley & Kingston vs. Good Brothers... that was pre-Bucks turn, and now that the Bucks have turned on Moxley, Moxley & Kingston vs. Bucks also makes sense, but they really only feel like they're building either Moxley or Kingston towards Omega, and aren't really building up anyone else (Page, Christian) either.

I don't think it would have changed much in terms of matches frankly, just bypass more pointless Omega/Moxley interactions. Most likely, Moxley and Kingston take a few weeks off to sell the damages of the explosion, then come back and team up because "you can only trust your true friends" or whatever, and you move them to the tag ranks.

[Big Red Machine]

I'm curious exactly how much you think this would have affected their plans. What do you think the big matches for this upcoming PPV were originally planned to be? Coming out of the PPV with the angle they did, my instinct would have been either Omega vs. Moxley again or possibly Omega vs. Kingston, or Moxley & Kingston vs. Good Brothers... that was pre-Bucks turn, and now that the Bucks have turned on Moxley, Moxley & Kingston vs. Bucks also makes sense, but they really only feel like they're building either Moxley or Kingston towards Omega, and aren't really building up anyone else (Page, Christian) either.

I don't think it would have changed much in terms of matches frankly, just bypass more pointless Omega/Moxley interactions. Most likely, Moxley and Kingston take a few weeks off to sell the damages of the explosion, then come back and team up because "you can only trust your true friends" or whatever, and you move them to the tag ranks.

So you don't think they would have still been feuding with Omega, Gallows, and Anderson? Do you think someone else would have been in Moxley's place for the Bucks to turn on?

[Thelone]

So you don't think they would have still been feuding with Omega, Gallows, and Anderson? Do you think someone else would have been in Moxley's place for the Bucks to turn on?

Omega? No.
Meh Brothers? As a roadblock, sure. To be fair, I don't think they add anything since the Bucks' turn, so jobbing them out to Mox/Kingston before they leave would be fine.

As for who could have been in Moxley's place, Cutler could have worked. We all know he's best buds with the Bucks and that would have made the turn less obvious at least (also Moxley came off like a complete moron for trusting the Bucks and their blatant trap). They've been treating him like dirt since the Bucks joined anyway, so it wouldn't have been ridiculous to see them "turn" on their best friend, only for him to keep being a loyal servant afterwards because he knows he'd be nothing without them.