Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,094
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Post by Mozenrath on Dec 26, 2021 23:12:19 GMT -5
It's very good. It's probably the most consistently good any mainstream wrestling company has been in quite some time.
(Impact's been doing well for itself, too, these past couple of years, but I don't think I'm being unfair in saying they're kind of skirting the line currently of what would be considered "mainstream". Like, they're rebuilding, and I respect that, but it is what it is.)
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bob
Salacious Crumb
The "other" Bob. FOC COURSE!
started the Madness Wars, Proudly the #1 Nana Hater on FAN
Posts: 78,402
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Post by bob on Dec 26, 2021 23:17:35 GMT -5
it reminded me that watching wrestling can be fun and enjoyable again
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Dec 26, 2021 23:21:24 GMT -5
It's immeasurably better than WWE. I suppose that's enough, especially for folks who basically want the WWE formula but with significantly more competent execution. There's a fanfiction quality to all of it, like playing around with pre-existing toys and doing new permutations of them without any broader vision or creative thrust. On that level, it's TNA except that the money mark is a millenial workrate smark this time around. Which is an upgrade, really, now that the audience that's left watching non-WWE pro wrestling in the US is also mostly millenial workrate smarks. Like us. Way back when all this started, I said it seemed like we were getting a wrestling promotion finally taking the obvious step that WWE missed the boat on and targeting nerd culture. And they have, but it feels like they've also run afoul of all nerd culture's worst excesses. It's a deeply insular product gatekeeping itself with continuity from decades-old defunct promotions or the VP's personal webshows as the foundations of major feuds, with a couple commentators with no clue what's going on and the third so wound up in showing off his trivia knowledge he never actually explains or elaborates, giving the impression that the whole promotion is resentful to the idea of casual outsiders intruding into its safe space. There is genuinely strong storytelling on display here frequently (at least by pro wrestling standards), but so much of it is in service of trying to elevate mediocre-at-best talent, united in being friends of the VPs and/or guys who came up through the same circles. It's probably not intentionally a racial issue (but it might be, considering the public leanings of certain notable figures), but the sheer fact that if you aren't either from that background or a WWE alumni they're star-struck by, your ceiling is going to be elevating guys from that background, and that's lead to years of an environment where all the pet projects are mediocre white men and/or Scorpio Sky. It could be a lot worse, but for the last year they've largely driven me away from watching except when I know one of my favorites is going to be on, and then I find myself morosely wishing there was somewhere better they could go.
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Post by robferatu on Dec 26, 2021 23:34:56 GMT -5
It's the alternative to the WWE's product that professional wrestling needed, but I also think that it's more of an acquired taste and not going to signal a new boom period in the industry.
I feel like AEW's creative have mastered the art of long term storytelling, and no greater proof of that is Kenny Omega and Adam Page, but at the same time they sometimes drag storylines of less significance too long (ex. Team Taz/Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara/Matt Hardy, and Miro and Kip Sabian/Best Friends).
With that said, when something doesn't appear to be working or clicking. It seems the company is willing to acknowledge that and either put an axe to it (ex. The Nightmare Collective) or change directions (ex. the Dark Order).
All and all, I enjoy AEW'S product and feel like it has filled a much needed niche in industry.
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Post by smokinvokoun86 on Dec 26, 2021 23:42:21 GMT -5
I’ll add more to my response, it’s made me passionate for wrestling again. When I was a kid, wrestling captured my imagination, there was a period in the 90s and early 2000s when I was obsessed with it. Then WCW died, and WWE was less and less fun, and while I would keep up, it never felt the same, unless is was CM Punk or Bryan Danielson related, because they helped me get back somewhat and check out Indy wrestling and I followed them to WWE where they became my favorites. But the product sucked, and still does. Tried to get into TNA and that became awful as well.
So I pretty much stuck to being a casual fan and watching older stuff. The WWE network was really the last vestiges of my fandom, but I rarely, if ever, watched the newer stuff. Strictly watched older wrestling, I also followed prime NXT, but that’s about it.
And the product being bad sort of got me away from posting here as much, to flat out disappearing in the mid 2010s. And only lurked to find out what was going on.
Then All In happened, and that got me buzzed a little bit, but then Double or Nothing 2019 happened and now I’m fully back. AEW is everything I ever wanted in wrestling and stuff I didn’t even know I wanted. As I said, sure it isn’t perfect, the women’s division needs more work. But being excited for wrestling again, that’s something you can’t put a price on.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2021 2:26:52 GMT -5
AEW helped save my wrestling fandom. The Kenny/Okada series and seeing the Young Bucks live at an ROH show convinced me wrestling could still be fun. But AEW has made televised pro wrestling appointment television for me again, for the first time in at least a decade (probably much longer than that).
It's not perfect - I think that, for lack of a better term, the original feel of the company has been diminished. Part of the appeal of AEW at the start, for me at least, was that I was seeing all these wrestlers who I'd first seen on the indies finally get a shot in a televised company - going from seeing Joey Janela, Private Party, Alex Reynolds, and Kris Statlander in a rec center in Rahway in front of *at most* 1,000 people, to seeing them on prime time television doing their shtick pretty much unchanged, was really cool and unique. Now a huge chunk of AEW's TV time is dedicated to people who I've already seen plenty of in WWE. I'm certainly not saying that Cole, Malakai, Punk or Danielson have been detriments to AEW - far from it. But the vibe has changed, and it feels like the company lost something.
Also, Tony Khan taking over the booking was a boon in 2020, but I feel comfortable saying that in 2021 his booking has gotten lazier. There are a lot more rematches, feuds are generally either way too short or way too long, heel promo segments tend to be extremely repetitive week-to-week (Dan Lambert and Britt Baker have gone from excellent promos to channel-changers for me), and turns are either draaaagged out (Cody, Wardlow) or super abrupt (Danielson). This is all stuff I've criticized WWE for, and though AEW has absolutely earned the benefit of the doubt in their execution of these elements (I've no doubt the Wardlow turn, whenever it *finally* happens, will be electric), a lazy trope is still a lazy trope no matter who's doing it.
Having said that, AEW is still the best wrestling in the world as far as I'm concerned, even with its flaws.
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Post by A Platypus Rave on Dec 27, 2021 2:26:59 GMT -5
Overall they're pretty good.
they have had a bunch of really big technical mishaps this year though that they need to tighten up some.
and yeah, I know that WWE WAAAAAAAAY overdue DQ and count out finishes but there is nothing wrong with them on their own and AEW has done fine with other stuff that the WWE overdoes or fails to followup on. As it is it feels like the refs are powerless to or just refuse to enforce the rules.
I pointed it out in one of the Britt Baker threads that I don't get why they bother distracting the ref for their run in attack because there's no reason to believe the ref would do anything about it.
and I do think it actively hurts the product, because it makes being a heel harder... it took FTR a pretty long time to get into their groove because of it since almost all of their act didn't work in AEW because it was all dependent on the bending of the rules... which again is kinda pointless if the rules don't matter... and like trying to hype a no holds barred match or something seems kinda silly when the refs just let shit go anyway.
and no I'm not saying I want every match to end in DQ/count out... I'm also fine with even if it was like Bryce was more lenient with count outs or something... but the basically anarchy they have now needs to be tweaked.
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Bad Moon
Unicron
for reasons known only to the goblins that live in my brain
Posts: 3,091
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Post by Bad Moon on Dec 27, 2021 3:54:27 GMT -5
The most fun I've had watching wrestling since Lucha Underground. I'm actually invested in these people and wanna see what they're gonna do next. Yes there's been a lot of missteps and fumbles along the way, but the good far outweighs the bad.
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,547
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Post by Bo Rida on Dec 27, 2021 4:48:51 GMT -5
On the whole the most I've enjoyed wrestling in ages. I can watch every Dynamite and rampage and very rarely skip anything or feel it was bad. Most matches mean something, I'm interested in a far higher percentage of the roster than usual and even if the result is predictable how they win matters. Being so successful in a pandemic is impressive.
But I feel there are cracks. Loose rules being the biggest. Over exposure of some especially on the mic, fueds being too long or short, angles being too much build for little payoff (Bucks vs Don was awful). MJF looks set for the world title soon but feels like he's already had that run of rarely suffering any setbacks.
As much as I support the way things matter because opportunities are rare and big names are kept apart it's increasingly going to cause issues. Sammy's piss poor tnt title run was so disappointing, all that investment for that? He and Jericho are both cold so even that fued won't mean much if they did it now. Others won't even get that reign, although a trios title will help.
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4real
Wade Wilson
Posts: 27,800
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Post by 4real on Dec 27, 2021 5:15:36 GMT -5
With WWE being so bad particularly this year it’s been nice to have an alternative and AEW is so much more enjoyable than WWE is.
Is AEW perfect no but you seem to get more value out of their shows than WWE’s. They also have likeable characters they don’t screw over at every turn.
So more positives but all the possible dream matches still on the table are mouthwatering. Punk, Bryan & Cole coming in gave the company a massive shot in the arm. Characters like Darby Allin & OC have grown on me. MJF is continually awesome and I want him as World Champ in 2022. Hangman’s rise to the top was perfectly played. Miro & Malaki Black have been rejuvenated in AEW. The tag division is crazy stacked. The music used for wrestlers is great and the licensing for Mox, Ruby, OC & Jungle Boy has been a great move. Taz on commentary is great & Hook well is Hook that’s all you need to know. Feuds are also generally not dragged out to have constant rematches despite a few exceptions.
Negatives: obviously Cody in general. The guy is putting on great matches though but the character needs to be sorted out. The match announcements for Dynamite & Rampage are too fast slow the shit down for goodness sake. The Women's division is improved but still needs work. Others on the roster need to get up to Britt’s level. Dark Order’s popularity also needs to be taken advantage of a tad more. Too many beatdowns after matches. Also don’t put an 8 man tag on the same card as a 10 man tag when you have an hour show. The casino battle royale is trash. Shawn Spears is just there. Christian Cage needs to be given more to do. Scorpio Sky is incredibly boring and Ethan Page needs to split asap. Sami Guevera needs a hot feud badly (Jericho maybe?).
Also no Gunn Club v Paul Wight resolution and Brian Cage where at thou? Ricky Starks also needs to get up to MJF’s level at some point this year.
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Venti
Unicron
Posts: 2,999
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Post by Venti on Dec 27, 2021 5:19:21 GMT -5
There's been a couple of things I enjoyed here and there, but for the most part AEW has been a huge disappointment in my eyes.
It's just not for me personally, I feel like it's all of the things I dislike about modern/indy wrestling all put together.
I don't know how the past couple of months have been. Other than small clips, I haven't watched since they had Orange Cassidy beat Powerhouse Hobbs in the tournament match. That was the point I was like "yep I'm done with Dynamite and Rampage"
Despite that, I'll still check out clips involving Danielson, MJF, Hangman etc. And I still skim thru Dark to see some of my other favorites who don't really get used on TV.
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ASYLUMHAUSEN
Fry's dog Seymour
GIFs | Shitposts | Fun
Posts: 24,376
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Post by ASYLUMHAUSEN on Dec 27, 2021 9:41:32 GMT -5
•Wednesday is appointment TV for me in a way few shows have ever been…like I will rearrange my entire schedule to make sure I’m at home at 8pm on Wednesday’s unless it is unavoidable. Believe me, at this point in MY life that says a LOT.
•between tickets to one of the early Dynamites & T-shirt purchases for me AND my son it is the most money I’ve spent on wrestling since the peak of the attitude era…if not EVER.
•it has reinvigorated my love of mainstream wrestling to a point I never figured I’d reach again. I am more invested in the weekly comings and goings and whatnot than I have been in a product in at least 20 years.
•it made coming here super fun….and not just a “eh, whatever” visit to MST3K the product in Raw or Smackdown live threads by posting unrelated GIFS to pass the time.
It’s not perfect - nothing is - but damnit I love it. And I’ve never ended a show and felt negative toward it (certain segments? Sure. The early lambert stuff…THAT Cody promo…)
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4TheGlory
Vegeta
The Fun One At Parties
Posts: 9,749
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Post by 4TheGlory on Dec 27, 2021 9:46:15 GMT -5
They are pretty much the only company I'd pay money to see at this point. Both live and PPVs
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2021 9:57:17 GMT -5
Like a good deal of others AEW brought me back into wrestling. It’s the best thing to happen to wrestling in the US since WCW closing in my opinion. Having a viable 2nd major company lifts the entire pro wrestling sphere.
I love that AEW acknowledges the world of wrestling. Since AEW started so many promotions have been mentioned and represented.
I think for cons, and I may be in the minority, AEW could really use a booking team. Khan taking over booking in 2020 helped a lot, but I still feel some of the biggest issues would be solved with a team focusing on it. The womens division, so many run ins, some feuds going too long/short, reigning in some people who shouldn’t have as much control over their stories (sorry Cody), and other inconsistencies could be helped by a dedicated team compared to just Khan book all four shows (he may have handed off the reins of Elevation and Dark, but still). I love the long term story telling, and think Khan should be the main voice, but some other voices may help rough out edges.
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markymark
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 18,310
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Post by markymark on Dec 27, 2021 9:59:14 GMT -5
AEW helped save my wrestling fandom. The Kenny/Okada series and seeing the Young Bucks live at an ROH show convinced me wrestling could still be fun. But AEW has made televised pro wrestling appointment television for me again, for the first time in at least a decade (probably much longer than that). It's not perfect - I think that, for lack of a better term, the original feel of the company has been diminished. Part of the appeal of AEW at the start, for me at least, was that I was seeing all these wrestlers who I'd first seen on the indies finally get a shot in a televised company - going from seeing Joey Janela, Private Party, Alex Reynolds, and Kris Statlander in a rec center in Rahway in front of *at most* 1,000 people, to seeing them on prime time television doing their shtick pretty much unchanged, was really cool and unique. Now a huge chunk of AEW's TV time is dedicated to people who I've already seen plenty of in WWE. I'm certainly not saying that Cole, Malakai, Punk or Danielson have been detriments to AEW - far from it. But the vibe has changed, and it feels like the company lost something. Also, Tony Khan taking over the booking was a boon in 2020, but I feel comfortable saying that in 2021 his booking has gotten lazier. There are a lot more rematches, feuds are generally either way too short or way too long, heel promo segments tend to be extremely repetitive week-to-week (Dan Lambert and Britt Baker have gone from excellent promos to channel-changers for me), and turns are either draaaagged out (Cody, Wardlow) or super abrupt (Danielson). This is all stuff I've criticized WWE for, and though AEW has absolutely earned the benefit of the doubt in their execution of these elements (I've no doubt the Wardlow turn, whenever it *finally* happens, will be electric), a lazy trope is still a lazy trope no matter who's doing it. Having said that, AEW is still the best wrestling in the world as far as I'm concerned, even with its flaws. How is Wardlow turn dragged when he hasnt had any momentum since...the Hager feud? Recently he has starting getting pops from the crowd but its not time yet to fully turn him face.
Unfortunately Danielson heel turn was due to Mox going to rehab, so its not anyones fault tbh.
Lambert at the start was really bad, took him some time to finally learn how to cut a proper promo.
If we are talking about rematches then Shida vs Serena is a good example, when Leyla Hirsh vs Statlander which a random match got better reception than Shida/Serena 3 you know there was something wrong.
Overall they're pretty good. they have had a bunch of really big technical mishaps this year though that they need to tighten up some. and yeah, I know that WWE WAAAAAAAAY overdue DQ and count out finishes but there is nothing wrong with them on their own and AEW has done fine with other stuff that the WWE overdoes or fails to followup on. As it is it feels like the refs are powerless to or just refuse to enforce the rules. I pointed it out in one of the Britt Baker threads that I don't get why they bother distracting the ref for their run in attack because there's no reason to believe the ref would do anything about it. and I do think it actively hurts the product, because it makes being a heel harder... it took FTR a pretty long time to get into their groove because of it since almost all of their act didn't work in AEW because it was all dependent on the bending of the rules... which again is kinda pointless if the rules don't matter... and like trying to hype a no holds barred match or something seems kinda silly when the refs just let shit go anyway. and no I'm not saying I want every match to end in DQ/count out... I'm also fine with even if it was like Bryce was more lenient with count outs or something... but the basically anarchy they have now needs to be tweaked.
For some reason they want to make the refs as competent as the NFL ones
FTR was struggling because not only they couldnt adapt to the AEW style right away but also they were bland as faces imo.
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rocket
Don Corleone
Posts: 1,801
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Post by rocket on Dec 27, 2021 10:17:27 GMT -5
To be fair, Leyla/Kris didn't happen when people were still exhausted after an hour-long world title match.
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Post by YAKMAN is ICHIBAN on Dec 27, 2021 10:31:24 GMT -5
WWE old and busted
AEW new hotness
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Dec 27, 2021 10:35:46 GMT -5
Speaking for my own opinion of the promotion, it’s been very good. Never feel like I’ve wasted my time watching an AEW show. I’m probably never going to be one of these PRAISE TONY FOR SAVING PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING FROM EVIL SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT types, but that’s just my own personality. Fact is, I’m invested in it in terms of my time, my emotions and my money.
As it pertains to the wrestling business as a whole… Best thing that’s happened to it in like 20+ years. A legitimate, national-level alternative that puts fans first with a wide variety, high quality roster of talents. Do they have room to improve? Definitely, especially as it pertains to their women’s division and to featuring a bit more of that wide variety of talents. But they’re very well-entrenched into the marketplace.
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RKTaker
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 16,306
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Post by RKTaker on Dec 27, 2021 11:23:27 GMT -5
What I like: - concerted effort to bring in known stars. Addition of Punk and Danielson, as well as secondary big players like Black and three fourths of UE. People who generally treat the business seriously and present it as such. - forbidden door matches. Reminds me of the territory days. - opportunities for good, young talent to get exposure, like Darby and MJF. - an alternative to WWE. What I don't like: - overly staged high spots especially those involving dives to the floor. - inconsistent booking. Garcia and 2.0 are all over TV for several weeks then disappear. - too much ga-ga. - Brandon Cutler. - opportunities for bad young talent to get exposed by putting them in front of people too soon. - the Codyverse. - QT. - The thing that i don’t get with people saying “wrestlers just disappear” is that AEW has ALWAYS rotated out people on tv, sure the bigger names are on it every single week but the mid card guys they always swap out they have been doing this for 3 years now. Also it’s not like the people who aren’t on Tv disappear entirely they have matches on Dark and Elevation
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Post by Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story on Dec 27, 2021 11:30:30 GMT -5
AEW to me is clearly the best, most worthwhile promotion to watch these days. Compelling matchups, good stories (for the most part) and a crazy roster. they brought back my favorite of all time in CM Punk, so props to them for that.
I think there's some room for improvement in some areas, namely stories going on too long and midcarders/lower card folks getting lost in the shuffle at times. I also think the diversity problem folks bring up is real and they could stand to have a few more women's matches on the show too.
Other than that, I think it's mostly a good promotion. I think I can count on one hand the number of shows I've thought were truly bad.
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