Something I love about AEW's Ecosystem

[Mozenrath]

I love that a lot of this shit just... makes sense.

Faces and other faces generally get along alright, but have conflicts, obviously. Heels get along with some other heels, but it's not a foregone conclusion, and most of them detest MJF or give Dark Order a wide berth, even if they might fawn over Jericho or jeer top faces like Cody or Moxley together.

Managers have conflicts with each other and professional rivalry, and Taz will mention interest in some talents like Scorpio Sky on commentary as someone he'd like to manage, while also talking about what Starks and Cage learn under him. Guest announces like Omega or Ricky Starks acknowledge stuff not immediately relevant to their own storylines.

Shit that happened elsewhere, when relevant, will be acknowledged, like Kingston putting over Ortiz, Santana, and Diamante on Unrestricted while saying they've got to do their own thing, and they know who to come to if they aren't getting treated right. NWA and AAA titles being defended on the program without some kind of hard on for making it seem like they're afterthoughts.

A lot of this seems like it should just be expected, but wrestling gets it wrong so often. I have occasional issues still with AEW's handling of some storylines (Shawn Spears with the weighted glove getting no acknowledgment from Khan, faces give zero shits about him trying to cripple people like Jessy Sorenson with a shot to the back of the neck), but for the most part, it's the easiest company today to buy as a coherent entity.

It really does add to the engagement with the show if it feels like we actually get something out of paying attention to details, and won't just get frustrated at the show doing whatever it wants.

[Dub H]

Basically AEW's World Building and Continuity is great.

Everything most big wrestling companies give 0 shit about,AEW gives a big importance to it.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Lance Archer actually calling out Eddie's earlier comment about the Battle Royal result made me excited, because it shows how interwoven everything truly is. Everyone interacts with each other, MJF even brought up the stables and how he himself might start looking to get his own goon squad to keep up

Another small thing I liked about tonight was even how MJF interacted with everyone around ringside, even guys who are lower on the ladder like Serpentico and Luther when MJF tried to make Serpentico kiss the ring Luther backed him up. I dunno I just... really like when the wrestlers are people. Face or Heel, they interact with EVERYONE different.

[Glitch]

I like how feuds don't just erase from existence because wrestlers move on to feud with different guys. It's more like a feud is paused while a wrestler grapples elsewhere. Multiple feuds happen at the same time. A feud will start up again when wrestlers cross paths again.

[camphor #BLM]

(Hope this isn't too far off topic, it feels to me like "summarizing the cool stuff")

This all sounds like they are individuals with attitudes, personalities and opinions. Which is great, because the friction between individuals -- who respond like individuals to the different situations they're in -- makes for engaging drama.

Narratively, that kind of thing is HARD if everything about every individual's every response has to be funneled through "booking", because booking has to do extra work to make everyone distinct.

...Or that kind of thing is EASY if like, every individual is allowed to somewhat be the boss of their own attitudes, personalities and opinions.

Obviously it can go too far, with some Pipsqueak "verbally going into business for himself" and no-selling the Big Bad --

but given that you can (arguably should) organize Matches with a light touch: "Booking is the boss of who wins, and maybe strongly suggests the basic arc/story of the match because of what booking wants to happen next for both guys -- but now You Two and maybe a Road Agents work out the specifics"

it's surprising it's so rare to have Interactions and Worldbuilding work with a light touch too -- "here's the goal of what you're doing and basically what happens next, you guys work out how you get there as your character would"

[Deleted]

I love that it feels like one big world. In WWE, when people are feuding it's like they are in a bubble and don't interact or cross paths with people from different feuds. AEW actually feels like a shared universe where all these people know each other.

[Fade is a CodyCryBaby]

My favorite thing about last night was the world-building. From a 2 hour show. Gave you so much to think about, you almost can’t remember it all. I don’t want to harp on it, but that’s how wrestling felt when I got into it in ‘98.

[Bo Rida]

It's nice that you actually have to watch the show to get the most out of it, a gif or even a recap video will miss a lot out.

It's such a small thing but the Bucks getting fined for superkicking the announcer was welcome, shows that actions have consequences. That follows through to most things serving a purpose and having consequences, eg destroy Sue's car get beat up in a car park fight.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Things matter.

Over the years, television writing has gotten to the level where even mediocre shows are at the point where if something happens and they make a big deal out of it, it's something that will probably be picked up on in future, while mainstream wrestling never really kept up. The WWE, even when it's doing well, only cares about the run up to the next major PPV, anything after that won't matter unless there's a belt involved, and Impact, well, for much of it's existence, it was written by Russo. It's nice being able to trust that something happening will generally lead somewhere, even when there are missteps like the Brandi angles, they try to blow them off in some way.

[Cyno]

The thing I like about most is how they usually address something that isn't working. In other promotions, they either stick with it or quietly drop the whole thing and pretended like it never happened. In AEW, they pivot or refine. It's already worked out for Hangman Page, Dark Order, and Brandi.

I also like how they do long-term storytelling. It's something that continues even during separate, individual feuds, like Hangman's whole arc since the end of last year. We're starting to see where that finally leads to with the Elite falling apart.

[Mozenrath]

Sept 20, 2020 13:17:13 GMT -5 Cyno said:

The thing I like about most is how they usually address something that isn't working. In other promotions, they either stick with it or quietly drop the whole thing and pretended like it never happened. In AEW, they pivot or refine. It's already worked out for Hangman Page, Dark Order, and Brandi.

I also like how they do long-term storytelling. It's something that continues even during separate, individual feuds, like Hangman's whole arc since the end of last year. We're starting to see where that finally leads to with the Elite falling apart.

They did change things up with Page, but it's interesting that they apparently always planned for Hangman to lose the title match, so they knew that was already in the cards. Makes sense, given Jericho was literally part of what even got them the TNT deal, so having him as first champion was basically a must.

[Cyno]

Sept 21, 2020 5:12:30 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

Sept 20, 2020 13:17:13 GMT -5 Cyno said:

The thing I like about most is how they usually address something that isn't working. In other promotions, they either stick with it or quietly drop the whole thing and pretended like it never happened. In AEW, they pivot or refine. It's already worked out for Hangman Page, Dark Order, and Brandi.

I also like how they do long-term storytelling. It's something that continues even during separate, individual feuds, like Hangman's whole arc since the end of last year. We're starting to see where that finally leads to with the Elite falling apart.

They did change things up with Page, but it's interesting that they apparently always planned for Hangman to lose the title match, so they knew that was already in the cards. Makes sense, given Jericho was literally part of what even got them the TNT deal, so having him as first champion was basically a must.

Yeah, looking back I don't think they ever considered Page for the first champ, but I think the lackluster match he had with Kip Sabian did make them rethink their long-term plans with him.

[Mozenrath]

Sept 21, 2020 13:19:21 GMT -5 Cyno said:

Sept 21, 2020 5:12:30 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

They did change things up with Page, but it's interesting that they apparently always planned for Hangman to lose the title match, so they knew that was already in the cards. Makes sense, given Jericho was literally part of what even got them the TNT deal, so having him as first champion was basically a must.

Yeah, looking back I don't think they ever considered Page for the first champ, but I think the lackluster match he had with Kip Sabian did make them rethink their long-term plans with him.

Maybe so, though I think it may have hurt Sabian a bit more. It's weird to think that he was initially a face at this point, given how much he's leaned into the heel turn he got only a little ways into the Dynamite era.

[eJm]

I’m just going to poke my head in and say that Page/Sabian was fine and I liked it (loved parts of it) but I’d be a doofus if I said I didn’t understand why that would have hampered both man’s pushes at the time.

[LastCall]

Another great thing is that they can take mistakes/accidents and spin them into positives. Stuff like Jericho losing the belt, the Dark Order creeper with the crap punches, that one fan trying to get to Moxley, and plenty of other stuff were used for character development and/or storyline progression.

And it's great that they actually run with whatever the fans find popular. The whole Mimosa Mayhem match stemmed from how everyone loved how Jericho said "A little bit of the bubbly."

[Bang Bang Bart]

Sept 20, 2020 11:26:19 GMT -5 Bo Rida said:

It's nice that you actually have to watch the show to get the most out of it, a gif or even a recap video will miss a lot out.

It's such a small thing but the Bucks getting fined for superkicking the announcer was welcome, shows that actions have consequences. That follows through to most things serving a purpose and having consequences, eg destroy Sue's car get beat up in a car park fight.

Dynamite is the one wrestling show where actually tuning in every week pays off to see stories unfold on a weekly basis and have it all make sense.

[Garyspivey]

Sept 21, 2020 17:23:42 GMT -5 LastCall said:

Another great thing is that they can take mistakes/accidents and spin them into positives. Stuff like Jericho losing the belt, the Dark Order creeper with the crap punches, that one fan trying to get to Moxley, and plenty of other stuff were used for character development and/or storyline progression.

And it's great that they actually run with whatever the fans find popular. The whole Mimosa Mayhem match stemmed from how everyone loved how Jericho said "A little bit of the bubbly."

If you watch BTE a I love that it has become canon that Nakazawa sabotaged sydal

[Mozenrath]

Sept 21, 2020 16:53:11 GMT -5 eJm said:

I’m just going to poke my head in and say that Page/Sabian was fine and I liked it (loved parts of it) but I’d be a doofus if I said I didn’t understand why that would have hampered both man’s pushes at the time.

I think it'll benefit from hindsight, watching it back again, it just really didn't do it any favors that it was face versus face and probably too even considering one of these guys had a title match coming up and the other didn't. I get they wanted to tease a draw like Cody and Darby got, but that pairing fit the story more.

Still, I would love to see the two face off now, given we're much more acquainted with them.

[thehottag]

I try not to bring up WWE a lot, as it looks like I'm going tit-for-tat, but as it's the only wrestling I watched for over a decade it's hard not to compare.

You hear loads of 'bRiNg BaK dA aTtItUdE eRa' comments online, because people remember that's when wrestling was fun. Most people think of it as a time of violence/sexism, but that was just the late '90s "Xtreme" set dressing. What made it fun was the array of characters, storylines & unpredictability of the product. If you missed a show, you could miss a lot, & so they became must-watch.

Nowadays, WWE seems very through-the-motions. Take Randy Orton, for example. He's a known name, a star, but his character has remained unchanged for seemingly years. He occasionally gets put in feuds, but it doesn't usually amount more than 'Orton is challenging for the belt, & he might win, because he's Randy Orton'. For all intents & purposes, he's an action figure, someone to bring out to have a few matches, then put away again, the same each time.

Dynamite has existed for less than a year, & yet I can think of so many character arcs. Cody Rhodes was challenging Jericho, got betrayed by his best friend, went through the trials from hell to get to MJF, won the TNT tournament, took on the indies as champion, lost the belt in a squash, & now seemingly is slowly turning heel. And that's just one wrestler!

Characters & storylines collide with each other too, making them feel part of a shared world. Again, comparing to WWE, wrestlers feel like they're in bubbles, not interacting with those outside they're feuding with. Say we're building up Orton for the title, any match he has just feels like filler, because it's against someone with no storyline or direction. But on Dynamite this week, when Kazarian wrestled Page, they brought up Kaz's win-loss record, his veteran career, his history in singles matches... it felt like two fleshed out people, rather than a means to an end.

This creates anticipation regarding ongoing storylines. Colt Cabana has been recruited by the Dark Order, but has started to see their meaner side. Does he start to rally against them? Or does he allow himself to become more vicious to gain the approval of the Exalted One? The fact most matches on the show have direction & story allows us to become more invested.

I don't like everything the company do, but they do so much right that it's easy to overlook the flaws. I consider myself an AEW fan first & foremost, & the fact it's easy to watch in the UK is just the icing on the cake.

[kingoftheindies]

I have said this about AEW that I like. There are matches on Dynamite where you know whose going to win but it doesn't take you out of the match. The wrestlers actually get a rub where as WWE tend to do similar things and fans just don't care