KME
Team Rocket
Posts: 796
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Post by KME on Sept 20, 2023 5:39:34 GMT -5
The camera work is still a definite negative and along with the audio issues desperately needs sorting, at times it makes the product look very small time. I also wish Tony and co would take a slight break from open challenges in so many divisions at the same time and hope we get a couple of genuine storylines, especially Mox. Normally I hate the "where's the stories!" bad faith bullshit but in this instance I think it's valid. Ticket sales and ratings are always difficult, as others have said it can take a while for them to pick up and reflect any improvement in the product. There's also the fact lots of shit things are popular and many fantastic things less so, it's not always a huge indicator of quality and it's always unclear how much the ratings we see actually mean to those who make the decisions.
All that aside I really like most of what they're doing at the moment and tbh I think they've had an amazing year. Just thinking about everything we've had from all timer Dynamites like the LA Forum, Detroit and Dynamite 200 shows, and the usual consistency throughout the year, all timer PPV's like Revolution, All In, Forbidden Door and All Out, one of the absolute best matches ever in Omega/Ospreay, Hangman rejoining the Elite and the BCC feud, Omega vs Vikingo, one of their best ever storylines in MJF/Cole, their biggest ever crowd by a mile and one of the biggest ever full stop in London, a new show in Collision that's received loads of praise (even if some of it is in bad faith from those who want an AEW show that doesn't resemble AEW)some fantastic additions to the roster in Jay White, Aussie Open etc, an all timer title reign from Orange Cassidy and reigns from MJF and FTR that are growing in quality all the time, a title run from Kris that has already surpassed Jade's with back to back main event bangers over the course of a few days, one of the best televised matches ever in FTR/BCG 2/3 Falls, massively improved character work with the likes of Toni, Roddy, Christian etc, backstage promos getting waaay better and less like throw away segments, a lot of genuinely funny gimmicks from Nana's dancing to Cardblade to Garcia's dancing to Toni's shoe throwing to Roddy's Adaaaaaaaam-ing to MJF doing Steiner Math, the women starting to get more main events and a what looks like a permanent move away from the death spot and so on and so on.
I read all the time that AEW is struggling on screen and I just never really see it, it feels like an ultra consistent product to me. Conversely I saw huge praise for WWE yesterday for 'knocking everything out of the park' and "that's why they're doing well now and AEW isn't", and it was referring to things like wheeling out legends to beat down current stars, a merger that lead to hundreds of firings, doing whatever one step further than jumping the shark is with the Bloodline stuff and improved PPV's that still aren't as acclaimed as AEW's best, and actually seem to be decreasing in quality as the year goes on, the last two for example don't even appear to be well received. Not to mention it was off the back of a dismal Raw that I watched because I couldn't sleep, littered with the sort of thing people wanted an alternative because of, the no contests and DQ's, really short matches, weird booking decisions, Nia Jax... if AEW put on a show like that I can't even imagine the reaction. Normally wouldn't make the comparison but WWE being 'hot' now is regularly mentioned as a reason for AEW not doing as well in certain areas and I just find it baffling all round, anything AEW do that's below par and the sky is falling while WWE appear to be able to deliver some absolute shite and nobody seems to mind. The bar just seems to be far lower for the bigger company and higher for the underdog in a way I've never really seen before. It's quite sad really, a lot of people really deserved the monotony that we had for so long.
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Post by The anti-ratings Luddite on Sept 20, 2023 9:07:33 GMT -5
On the whole, I'm enjoying the product more the past month than I have the past year. It's not that the product had been BAD, but post-Scrumgate AEW felt like 2 ideologies crashing into one another and they didn't always get along.
As mentioned, the production needs tightened up. I for damn sure don't want it to be WWE-level, and the moment I see 3d graphics or whatever on screen during an entrance is the moment I check out, but WWE production simply does not make mistakes and they are ALWAYS on the right camera to catch whatever needs to be seen the most. AEW could learn from that.
Open challenges and tournaments are also becoming a little stale, but by the same token... if you're pretending it's a real sport, it's logical to have it work that way.
I also think that some major character revamps/realignments need done, especially on the Collision end with acts like HoB, Andrade, etc., but we're getting there.
And this isn't a complaint post - I really am a happy fan overall, just pointing out some things that I think could be tightened up.
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Post by Denny Zen is Cooking™ on Sept 20, 2023 9:18:21 GMT -5
On the whole, I'm enjoying the product more the past month than I have the past year. It's not that the product had been BAD, but post-Scrumgate AEW felt like 2 ideologies crashing into one another and they didn't always get along. As mentioned, the production needs tightened up. I for damn sure don't want it to be WWE-level, and t he moment I see 3d graphics or whatever on screen during an entrance is the moment I check out, but WWE production simply does not make mistakes and they are ALWAYS on the right camera to catch whatever needs to be seen the most. AEW could learn from that. Open challenges and tournaments are also becoming a little stale, but by the same token... if you're pretending it's a real sport, it's logical to have it work that way. I also think that some major character revamps/realignments need done, especially on the Collision end with acts like HoB, Andrade, etc., but we're getting there. And this isn't a complaint post - I really am a happy fan overall, just pointing out some things that I think could be tightened up. Quoted for truth. WWE's rampant use of CGI/AR makes it outright nauseating to watch sometimes. It's 2023, but the majority of the graphics they use would have been at home on the PS3. They can be frustrating, but I'll take AEW's production issues over WWE's overproduced nonsense 100% of the time. As to the thread topic itself, AEW does feel like it's settling back into the role as "the wrestling fan's alternative" that it held from 2019-2021 in my opinion. On the whole, I still thoroughly enjoyed AEW for the last 2 years, but, for a litany of reasons, it had started to feel substantially more like WWE-lite than it used to.
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Post by The anti-ratings Luddite on Sept 20, 2023 9:32:18 GMT -5
On the whole, I'm enjoying the product more the past month than I have the past year. It's not that the product had been BAD, but post-Scrumgate AEW felt like 2 ideologies crashing into one another and they didn't always get along. As mentioned, the production needs tightened up. I for damn sure don't want it to be WWE-level, and t he moment I see 3d graphics or whatever on screen during an entrance is the moment I check out, but WWE production simply does not make mistakes and they are ALWAYS on the right camera to catch whatever needs to be seen the most. AEW could learn from that. Open challenges and tournaments are also becoming a little stale, but by the same token... if you're pretending it's a real sport, it's logical to have it work that way. I also think that some major character revamps/realignments need done, especially on the Collision end with acts like HoB, Andrade, etc., but we're getting there. And this isn't a complaint post - I really am a happy fan overall, just pointing out some things that I think could be tightened up. Quoted for truth. WWE's rampant use of CGI/AR makes it outright nauseating to watch sometimes. It's 2023, but the majority of the graphics they use would have been at home on the PS3. They can be frustrating, but I'll take AEW's production issues over WWE's overproduced nonsense 100% of the time. As to the thread topic itself, AEW does feel like it's settling back into the role as "the wrestling fan's alternative" that it held from 2019-2021 in my opinion. On the whole, I still thoroughly enjoyed AEW for the last 2 years, but, for a litany of reasons, it had started to feel substantially more like WWE-lite than it used to.
I think part of the reason it started to feel WWE-lite was because Tony got to reap the benefits of "the great purge" WWE was going through. It's not like WCW or TNA where he just signed whoever had worked for WWE just because of that, but for a year or so it definitely felt like I was watching Black and Gold NXT under the AEW logo. By the same token, when you've got can't-miss talent like Adam Cole and Swerve, you damn sure better feature them.
While I've questioned Collision's time slot, I appreciate the way it's allowed talent to have TV time to get to breathe, to try things out, to have matches longer than 5 minutes, and just on the whole it's allowed AEW to make better use of their previously bloated roster.
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Post by Denny Zen is Cooking™ on Sept 20, 2023 9:55:56 GMT -5
Quoted for truth. WWE's rampant use of CGI/AR makes it outright nauseating to watch sometimes. It's 2023, but the majority of the graphics they use would have been at home on the PS3. They can be frustrating, but I'll take AEW's production issues over WWE's overproduced nonsense 100% of the time. As to the thread topic itself, AEW does feel like it's settling back into the role as "the wrestling fan's alternative" that it held from 2019-2021 in my opinion. On the whole, I still thoroughly enjoyed AEW for the last 2 years, but, for a litany of reasons, it had started to feel substantially more like WWE-lite than it used to.
I think part of the reason it started to feel WWE-lite was because Tony got to reap the benefits of "the great purge" WWE was going through. It's not like WCW or TNA where he just signed whoever had worked for WWE just because of that, but for a year or so it definitely felt like I was watching Black and Gold NXT under the AEW logo. By the same token, when you've got can't-miss talent like Adam Cole and Swerve, you damn sure better feature them.
While I've questioned Collision's time slot, I appreciate the way it's allowed talent to have TV time to get to breathe, to try things out, to have matches longer than 5 minutes, and just on the whole it's allowed AEW to make better use of their previously bloated roster.
For sure. I think it was a combination of an influx of WWE talent, and the terrible CM Punk "real world title" angle making Collision/Dynamite feel like a hard brand split, which is my absolute least favorite aspect of modern WWE. I think the pseudo "brand split" apparently ending is a major part of AEW feeling like it's getting back to itself over the last month or so.
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Post by kingoftheindies on Sept 20, 2023 9:57:15 GMT -5
On the whole, I'm enjoying the product more the past month than I have the past year. It's not that the product had been BAD, but post-Scrumgate AEW felt like 2 ideologies crashing into one another and they didn't always get along. As mentioned, the production needs tightened up. I for damn sure don't want it to be WWE-level, and the moment I see 3d graphics or whatever on screen during an entrance is the moment I check out, but WWE production simply does not make mistakes and they are ALWAYS on the right camera to catch whatever needs to be seen the most. AEW could learn from that. Open challenges and tournaments are also becoming a little stale, but by the same token... if you're pretending it's a real sport, it's logical to have it work that way. I also think that some major character revamps/realignments need done, especially on the Collision end with acts like HoB, Andrade, etc., but we're getting there. And this isn't a complaint post - I really am a happy fan overall, just pointing out some things that I think could be tightened up. I have long had a theory that because of how good AEW was from the start and how good they were out of the pandemic they are held to a much higher standard than WWE in a lot of ways. Not that WWE is bad right now. I think they have a few things that are working REALLY well and a bunch of things that aren't... but the things that are are so good that you have to watch it. I also think that in terms of AEW being bad it's more that for large stretches it felt like nothing was happening... but I also think the Punk drama/influence also had a dark cloud hanging over the product for a lot of fans. Cause I still maintain since really Full Gear AEW has been fairly consistently really good. A few hiccups here and there, but very enjoyable. But I do honestly believe the Punk stuff effected the vibe for many people
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Post by The anti-ratings Luddite on Sept 20, 2023 9:59:22 GMT -5
I think part of the reason it started to feel WWE-lite was because Tony got to reap the benefits of "the great purge" WWE was going through. It's not like WCW or TNA where he just signed whoever had worked for WWE just because of that, but for a year or so it definitely felt like I was watching Black and Gold NXT under the AEW logo. By the same token, when you've got can't-miss talent like Adam Cole and Swerve, you damn sure better feature them.
While I've questioned Collision's time slot, I appreciate the way it's allowed talent to have TV time to get to breathe, to try things out, to have matches longer than 5 minutes, and just on the whole it's allowed AEW to make better use of their previously bloated roster.
For sure. I think it was a combination of an influx of WWE talent, and the terrible CM Punk "real world title" angle making Collision/Dynamite feel like a hard brand split, which is my absolute least favorite aspect of modern WWE. I think the pseudo "brand split" apparently ending is a major part of AEW feeling like it's getting back to itself over the last month or so.
I do like the way Collision was originally pitched, in that there are certain talents you are going to see featured a lot more on Dynamite than Collision, and vice-versa, but it's not a hard and fast thing.
"Saturday is an easier day for me to work for my home life" is one of the Good-boss things Tony's done that I hope he keeps up.
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Post by HMARK Center on Sept 20, 2023 11:45:36 GMT -5
On the whole, I'm enjoying the product more the past month than I have the past year. It's not that the product had been BAD, but post-Scrumgate AEW felt like 2 ideologies crashing into one another and they didn't always get along. As mentioned, the production needs tightened up. I for damn sure don't want it to be WWE-level, and the moment I see 3d graphics or whatever on screen during an entrance is the moment I check out, but WWE production simply does not make mistakes and they are ALWAYS on the right camera to catch whatever needs to be seen the most. AEW could learn from that. Open challenges and tournaments are also becoming a little stale, but by the same token... if you're pretending it's a real sport, it's logical to have it work that way. I also think that some major character revamps/realignments need done, especially on the Collision end with acts like HoB, Andrade, etc., but we're getting there. And this isn't a complaint post - I really am a happy fan overall, just pointing out some things that I think could be tightened up. I have long had a theory that because of how good AEW was from the start and how good they were out of the pandemic they are held to a much higher standard than WWE in a lot of ways. Not that WWE is bad right now. I think they have a few things that are working REALLY well and a bunch of things that aren't... but the things that are are so good that you have to watch it. I also think that in terms of AEW being bad it's more that for large stretches it felt like nothing was happening... but I also think the Punk drama/influence also had a dark cloud hanging over the product for a lot of fans. Cause I still maintain since really Full Gear AEW has been fairly consistently really good. A few hiccups here and there, but very enjoyable. But I do honestly believe the Punk stuff effected the vibe for many people Honestly, the whole "different standard for different promotions" thing isn't really anything new; some of that is earned (e.g. if you market yourself as a workrate promotion, it'll stick out much worse when you have some inevitable clunker matches), but some of it's that people will grant a bit more leeway to that which they're familiar with, while being more critical of something different. It's why you'll see some people watch a given weekly wrestling show and routinely talk about how much of it they didn't like yet still show up for it next week, but who might be just as likely to watch a different company, see one segment or match they think is bad, and conclude that's enough to write the whole thing off. Not totally judging for it, I get there's only so many hours in a week and taking the time to get to know a new product can just be time consuming, but over the years when I'd see people go on about what they don't like in WWE, TNA, or whatever else it just made me wish they'd find a show they like. Wouldn't mean never criticizing it, of course, but it's so much more fun to discuss a product you more thoroughly enjoy.
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Sept 20, 2023 18:26:26 GMT -5
I have long had a theory that because of how good AEW was from the start and how good they were out of the pandemic they are held to a much higher standard than WWE in a lot of ways. Not that WWE is bad right now. I think they have a few things that are working REALLY well and a bunch of things that aren't... but the things that are are so good that you have to watch it. I’ve always felt like it was the other way around, and it’s WWE that gets held to a higher standard. Because of their track record and historical baggage, fans generally keep an arm’s length away from truly immersing themselves into any hot angles that happen, because “It’s only a matter of time until it goes bad”. Thus, the only counter to that is for WWE to be on it, pretty much flawless literally EVERY week. AEW has had its ups and downs already, but only the most cynical fans of theirs are at that pre-emptive point of judgment of “I will actively choose to not care about this because I don’t expect it to be good”.
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