AEW - All Elite Wrestling (*Spoilers for Latest Show*)

LineOfBeauty

showpony1 wrote: »

Anthony Kahn is saying nothing happened afterwards which makes Kingston look stupid for selling the bomb.

He has form for this as he also publicly blamed that perfect 10 guy when he opened up Cody Rhodes hardway with a gimmicked chair in the media "scrum".

Also interesting he didn't talk about that chair incident in kayfabe in interviews after the way he did this bomb.

I mean, he didn't say "nothing" happened though because he's made out that Omega's bomb was a dud. Saying nothing happened would be saying that the ring exploded as planned and it went great. Obviously there's a gap in logic with the Kingston selling of the spot, I don't think anyone can avoid that but you work with what you're given in a less than ideal scenario. If you've a better solution to it other than "make the bomb go off right" then I'd love to hear it.

Do you think maybe you're analysing TK's media scrums a bit too much? What did you want him to say after that?

showpony1

LineOfBeauty wrote: »

Also, what? That last assertion is crazy and entirely unfounded.

I am just giving my honest analysis of his post-show interview.

LineOfBeauty

showpony1 wrote: »

I am just giving my honest analysis of his post-show interview.

It's a bit weird to accuse someone of, what I assume you meant as, being on drugs without any kind of proof or body of history to back it up. Like really weird.

showpony1

LineOfBeauty wrote: »

If you've a better solution to it other than "make the bomb go off right" then I'd love to hear it.

My initial thought at the time watching it was that it was an Omega/Donald ruse all along & there was never a bomb, which was an option for commentary to say to cover. Rather than everyone pretend that something that didn't happen did.


James Ross could barely speak a few minutes into the show he should have been prepared for so i wouldn't be expecting quick thinking like that from him.

LineOfBeauty

showpony1 wrote: »

My initial thought at the time watching it was that it was an Omega/Donald ruse all along & there was never a bomb, which was an option for commentary to say to cover. Rather than everyone pretend that something that didn't happen did.


James Ross could barely speak a few minutes into the show he should have been prepared for so i wouldn't be expecting quick thinking like that from him.

I'm being pranked here, right?

Agent Coulson

LineOfBeauty wrote: »

I'm being pranked here, right?

You're only getting that now took you long enough :pac:

LineOfBeauty

Agent Coulson wrote: »

You're only getting that now took you long enough :pac:

Thank God, I thought I was going insane.

showpony1

LineOfBeauty wrote: »

I'm being pranked here, right?

We had one of the biggest botches in my lifetime in the main event on an otherwise average to poor show and lads won't accept honest criticism of the AEW product & Anthony Kahn, sad to see.

beakerjoe

Im enjoying the full names gimmick.

Kenneth Omega has a nice ring to it.

beakerjoe

They'll be fine. **** happened, they have the fall out, but fans will soon get passed it.

LineOfBeauty

beakerjoe wrote: »

They'll be fine. **** happened, they have the fall out, but fans will soon get passed it.

I posted this elsewhere and I'll throw it out here too. Nobody is defending the awful end to the show, it was bad, s*** happens.

We've just had an episode of Raw where Sheamus and Drew run into each other with stairs on their heads like children and take a ridiculous bump and Orton continues to puke oil because a character presented as a child and an evil dirty swamp wizard wont leave him alone but I swear nobody even talks about it anymore. I have theories as to why that is but whatever. My point is that these two companies are held to very different standards, that's not even a complaint because the standard should be higher than what AEW delivered to close the ppv Sunday and higher than what we see on WWE programming every week.

But to not acknowledge the difference in standards to what each company is held in is infuriating.

LineOfBeauty

beakerjoe wrote: »

Im enjoying the full names gimmick.

Kenneth Omega has a nice ring to it.

It took me a good 2 minutes to work out that Donald is Don Callis.

beakerjoe

LineOfBeauty wrote: »

It took me a good 2 minutes to work out that Donald is Don Callis.

Same.... I was like "Whats Trump got to do with this?"

LineOfBeauty wrote: »

I posted this elsewhere and I'll throw it out here too. Nobody is defending the awful end to the show, it was bad, s*** happens.

We've just had an episode of Raw where Sheamus and Drew run into each other with stairs on their heads like children and take a ridiculous bump and Orton continues to puke oil because a character presented as a child and an evil dirty swamp wizard wont leave him alone but I swear nobody even talks about it anymore. I have theories as to why that is but whatever. My point is that these two companies are held to very different standards, that's not even a complaint because the standard should be higher than what AEW delivered to close the ppv Sunday and higher than what we see on WWE programming every week.

But to not acknowledge the difference in standards to what each company is held in is infuriating.

I agree and disagree.

I agree that everyone should be held to the same standards. But with WWE, especially since Bray Wyatt appeared 6 years ago, we have come to expect more and more bollox from him and WWE. When WWE do something thats horse****, its more accepted because "what did else did you expect from them?".

We just expected better from AEW. I dont mean to say I told you so, but I forseen this weeks ago. Its been a huge error for AEW. Big audience, big hype and a big gimmick match. They should have played it a bit more safer.

LineOfBeauty

beakerjoe wrote: »

Same.... I was like "Whats Trump got to do with this?"




I agree and disagree.

I agree that everyone should be held to the same standards. But with WWE, especially since Bray Wyatt appeared 6 years ago, we have come to expect more and more bollox from him and WWE. When WWE do something thats horse****, its more accepted because "what did else did you expect from them?".

We just expected better from AEW. I dont mean to say I told you so, but I forseen this weeks ago. Its been a huge error for AEW. Big audience, big hype and a big gimmick match. They should have played it a bit more safer.

I agree that they judged the ppv wrong. Bryan Alvarez repeated over and over his line for promoting a ppv which was "underpromote and overdeliver" and I agree with that wholeheartedly. They promised too much with the big signing (anything other than Cena, Lesnar or Punk was going to be disappointing) and they promised too much with the exploding barbed wire deathmatch (a match that no major company in North America have done since ECW and in which they promised a huge spectacle which they failed to deliver) so I agree lessons should be learned from both of those things.

showpony1

beakerjoe wrote: »

I agree that everyone should be held to the same standards. But with WWE, especially since Bray Wyatt appeared 6 years ago, we have come to expect more and more bollox from him and WWE. When WWE do something thats horse****, its more accepted because "what did else did you expect from them?".

We just expected better from AEW. I dont mean to say I told you so, but I forseen this weeks ago. Its been a huge error for AEW. Big audience, big hype and a big gimmick match. They should have played it a bit more safer.

I agree on Bray Wyatt beakerjoseph, i do wonder for how long other talents will accept being sacrificed to do nonsense with him, and creative will get bored of it eventually.

The Matt Hardy character always annoyed me more than Bray though - He was still doing that nonsense on this debut on AEW and Chris Irvine selling for him as a credible threat, you can tell Matthew genuinely thinks its genius stuff.

While it was nonsense in the main event, at least it was funny & worth watching for a talking point. As a casual AEW viewer, i was more startled having seen Adam Page previously working excellent PPV matches, working with an old Matthew Hardy in a Monday Raw standard match, along more WWE old boys arriving on board, worrying direction for the company.

beakerjoe

LineOfBeauty wrote: »

I agree that they judged the ppv wrong. Bryan Alvarez repeated over and over his line for promoting a ppv which was "underpromote and overdeliver" and I agree with that wholeheartedly. They promised too much with the big signing (anything other than Cena, Lesnar or Punk was going to be disappointing) and they promised too much with the exploding barbed wire deathmatch (a match that no major company in North America have done since ECW and in which they promised a huge spectacle which they failed to deliver) so I agree lessons should be learned from both of those things.

I think they will learn. This will blow over but it will be used as a stick to beat them with by their detractors.

showpony1 wrote: »

While it was nonsense in the main event, at least it was funny & worth watching for a talking point. As a casual AEW viewer, i was more startled having seen Adam Page previously working excellent PPV matches, working with an old Matthew Hardy in a Monday Raw standard match, along more WWE old boys arriving on board, worrying direction for the company.

Ah its a holding feud. I have enjoyed his association with the Dark Order but I believe he is losing momentum. He's the guy IMO that should be beating Kenny eventually. But they have to keep him strong until then. The Hardy feud is ok, its doing very little for me though.

That said I enjoyed their match more than expected.

J. Marston

LineOfBeauty wrote: »

I posted this elsewhere and I'll throw it out here too. Nobody is defending the awful end to the show, it was bad, s*** happens.

We've just had an episode of Raw where Sheamus and Drew run into each other with stairs on their heads like children and take a ridiculous bump and Orton continues to puke oil because a character presented as a child and an evil dirty swamp wizard wont leave him alone but I swear nobody even talks about it anymore. I have theories as to why that is but whatever. My point is that these two companies are held to very different standards, that's not even a complaint because the standard should be higher than what AEW delivered to close the ppv Sunday and higher than what we see on WWE programming every week.

But to not acknowledge the difference in standards to what each company is held in is infuriating.

They are not comparable.

One is just another Raw.

The other is Moxley/Omega, AEW's two biggest guys, in the main event of AEW's Wrestlemania (Cody's words) and it ended in a laughing stock. The hype machine was off the charts, don't blame people for ridiculing it when it ends with something like that.

LineOfBeauty

J. Marston wrote: »

They are not comparable.

One is just another Raw.

The other is Moxley/Omega, AEW's two biggest guys, in the main event of AEW's Wrestlemania (Cody's words) and it ended in a laughing stock. The hype machine was off the charts, don't blame people for ridiculing it when it ends with something like that.

Again nobody is defending AEW and they certainly overpromised on what they deliver. That's all legitimate criticism. Though I think saying the Orton/Fiend/Bliss stuff is relegated to just the weekly show is facetious at best, it's one of the main angles they're doing that's gone through multiple PPV's and will be a prominent part of the actual Wrestlemania.

RollieFingers

Magic Alexa and her spells and jack in the box, arsonist Orton and his evil body double, eyeball matches and the Fiends funhouse antics are all way way worse than anything AEW has done, including the woeful Hardy stuff and the post match 'explosion'.

AEW made a ridiculous mistake, WWE purposefully put this stuff out on a weekly basis. There's levels to this wrestlecrap and WWE are in a league of their own.

CastorTroy

It's the beginning of the end, going the same route as TNA. They spend big money signing the likes of Paul Wight and Christian, that they can't even afford decent pyro for an "explosion".






:pac:

realhorrorshow

Still haven't caught an AEW event live, although I was very tempted this time. Did manage to watch it back (almost) in one go, which was nice.

Opener was decent, nothing spectacular. It annoys me that they have an enormous asset, a heel who gets genuine heel heat, and they have him come out to a singalong entrance song. Sidenote, the Judas love-in is one of my least favourite elements of AEW and one of the few things I skip through. Interested to see where the Inner Circle stuff goes, I've been enjoying all the manoeuvring and interpersonal stuff between those guys.

I like the was AEW handle battle royales, and this was one of their better efforts. Lots of story beats which I'm sure will be expanded upon over the next while, and the best wrestlers won because they are very good at wrestling, which is always refreshing. Fenix is incredible but he needs to slow down a bit, seemed like he was legit hurt at the end as a result of that insane suicide dive. Like the long term storyline of Jungle Boy always putting in a huge effort but never quite getting the job done, they're building him nicely. It was a small sample size but seems like John Silver is extremely over. Pac/Fenix vs the Bucks will give us some banging wrestling but I don't expect too much build wise.

Thought the women's match was really good and told an interesting story, fans didn't seem to care though which is a shame. Shida raking the eyes was noteworthy, nice to see a bit of bite from her.

I really enjoyed seeing the intensity from Miro, wish he had just carried Chuck to the ring and beaten the hell out of him tbh. Could have Orange come out after the bell to make the save if you want to make him look good. Miro is definitely improving, but needs to get away from Kip. Kip is best as Penelope's valet IMO, not sure why she doesn't wrestle more, or even talk. Don't think Taylor has really adapted to being on TV, he gave some jobber a falcon arrow and two piledrivers on Dark recently, absolute nonsense.

Anything involving Hangman is worth watching IMO, and his match was about as good as it could be. There's no need for Hardy to be wrestling singles matches on PPV in 2021. Enjoyed the ending, I'm a fan of the Hangman x Dark Order stuff.

Ladder match was ok, some good spots but overall nothing special. The brass ring was stupid. Cody shenanigans were eye roll worthy, but at least he didn't win. Don't really care about Scorpio vs Darby, but I'm sure it will be a good TV match.

The Christian Cage reveal with his old TNA theme was a serious nostalgia buzz for me. Hope his body has held up because he is (or at least was) a great wrestler who didn't really rely too much on athleticism, at least not in TNA. Think he could be really good in AEW. But think they went about the announcement completely arseways. Christian coming out as a surprise or even entering the ladder match cold have created a lot of buzz but all the hype set everyone up for disappointment. Don't really get the point in building it up so much, would the prospect of a signing reveal sell enough PPVs to be worth it?

I liked the street fight, although I seem to be in a minority. Don't think a PPV is the right time to broadcast this kind of thing though, the awkward commentary kind of takes away from the atmosphere. Might be better off on YouTube or as a TV special.

The main event started well, the rope 'explosions' were a bit disappointing, but just about good enough that I could suspend my disbelief and enjoy it. The fans were into it too. Really went downhill when the Good Brothers got involved. I don't care what they did in Japan, I can't stand them, get them off my TV screen. The finish was obviously awful, so so disappointing. I feel bad for Eddie, who has come from nowhere to absolutely knock it out of the park over the past while. He's told a great story with Mox, culminating in a poignant and emotional face turn. Real goosebumps stuff. Only to be made look a fool by one of the most underwhelming wrestling moments in quite a while. Only way to maybe kayfabe it away is for Eddie to admit that he lay there because he was embarrassed, that he dropped the act and revealed his true colours, for no reason.

Hopefully this is the impetus for AEW to really work on their production values, it's honestly extremely poor across the board. I know that a lot of wrestlers help out on the technical side of things, but they need to hire some pros to give them some direction. It's kind of concerning that they seem to be satisfied with the product they're currently putting out and don't seem to be doing anything to improve it.

Headshot

Ya i agree wholeheartedly on production values, they are still lacking in AEW even after nearly 2 years being in business.

Stuff like the echoing during the back stage interviews

When Inner Circle had that answers and questions bit last week, the microphone didnt work for one person's question

Camera work missing out on important developments at ring side

Its annoying that they are still making these mistakes

beakerjoe

Headshot wrote: »

Camera work missing out on important developments at ring side

I much prefer the camera work in AEW to WWE. It feels like they realisticly shooting the action. WWEs camera angles telegraph everything.... like Edges attack at EC.... you knew it was coming from the camera angle.

Then there is the cut... 3 seconds.... cut.... 4 seconds..... cut.....3 seconds cut..... production. It is hard to watch without feeling dizzy.

Headshot

beakerjoe wrote: »

I much prefer the camera work in AEW to WWE. It feels like they realisticly shooting the action. WWEs camera angles telegraph everything.... like Edges attack at EC.... you knew it was coming from the camera angle.

Then there is the cut... 3 seconds.... cut.... 4 seconds..... cut.....3 seconds cut..... production. It is hard to watch without feeling dizzy.

That's a fair point

When I say camera work, there was a woman's tag team match ( cannot remember the participates) but one wrestler did a spear outside the ring while the camera focus on the wrestlers in the ring really doing nothing of note

I thought the spear would get some attention?

Headshot

Small bit of Christian Cage on Oral Sessions

https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2021/03/christian-cage-on-why-he-chose-aew-over-wwe-edges-reaction/

Following his big signing this past Sunday at AEW’s Revolution, Christian Cage is now ready to reclaim his rightful position as both an in-ring competitor and trainer for the younger talent. This week, Cage spoke to Renee Paquette on her Oral Sessions podcast about how confident he is to showcase his charisma once again.

“If I didn’t have the confidence that I would be able to go like I did, I wouldn’t be attempting this,” Cage mentioned. “This is something that I take pride in. If I’m involved with something, I’m all in on it. I’m coming back to prove I’m one of the best, in my mind – I hate to say this – to ever do this.”

Coincidentally, Christian and Edge have both seen their comeback stories take flight as of late. Cage, who was in Edge’s corner last year during his return at the Royal Rumble, is happy to have the “Rated R Superstar” in his this year, especially now that they’re rivals on different promotions.

“Well, he was one of the very few people who knew. When I told him what I was thinking, he was very supportive,” he noted. “When you get to that point where you think it’s gone, and then it comes back, it’s like what just happened?

“When he came back at Royal Rumble from the year previous, he’s always been good at keeping his nerves in check. I’ve never seen him nervous before. And he was super nervous for that Rumble. I was there to lighten the mood. And he kind of did the same for me. It’s just reverse roles. He’s a great sounding board.”

Although most fans believed Christian was going to sign with WWE following his Royal Rumble appearance this year, Cage admits that he wanted to weigh his options before making a final decision. With this being his final stage in his career, he wanted to make sure that he was going to seal the deal with a company that had his best interest at heart. And for him, that was AEW.

“It happened really quick,” he replied. “I wasn’t sure how it was going to go after. All the talks I had were very cordial. Obviously, I’m good friends with you and good friends with your husband, Jon. He talked to me and, you know, had his opinions on it, and it kind of made me think, ‘Ok. Maybe I am doing myself a disservice if I don’t at least discover all of my options.’

“At this final stage of my career, I ended up having a conversation with Tony [Khan], and it just escalated pretty quickly and went very fast. Within a week, it was a done deal.”

Continuing on, Cage also revealed that wanting to wear multiple hats in the industry was another big factor that determined his choice to head to AEW. Now, he’ll be able to perform, train and do other work behind the scenes with his new contract. He also wanted to clarify that he had no ill-will towards WWE; he just thought AEW would provide him with more opportunities to showcase his talents both on and off the screen.

“Of course. There’s always that life-altering decision that has a lot of thought going into it. Obviously, I had a lot of time to think about this,” he admitted. “What I really needed was the best platform for me to showcase this and where I can help the next generation. That’s kind of what I felt here at AEW…There’s something intriguing about that to me. And I like a challenge. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it wasn’t a hard decision.

“There’s nothing wrong with WWE and how they do things. I needed this for me at this point.”

Before concluding his interview, Cage briefly spoke about the trials and tribulations he faced when trying to get medically cleared for his comeback run.

“So, I went up to Pittsburg after the one [I did] in Tampa. And I went through a five-hour test,” he mentioned on how his comeback came to be. “I had to do a full 45-minute workout and balance tests. They had me wear these ski goggles on my face, and they were putting lights in my eyes to see my reaction. I saw four different specialists in those five hours. It was very thorough.

“I had a discussion with that doctor after, and he said the same thing the other doctor in Tampa said…He told me not to go to the ring with any fear or anxiety because I was going to make myself more susceptible. He said, ‘You can’t go in there thinking that you’re going to get hurt. You’re not a greater risk now than you were in your life or in your career. You have to go in there with full confidence that you’re going to be fine.’ I felt that way going into the Rumble. It did not cross my mind once.”

ThePott

Oh yeah for the record, I do prefer AEW's camerawork to WWE. The hyperactive cuts ruin the WWE stuff for me but I think there is room for improvement for AEW on that front at times. Production wise they're nearly there they just need a tiny bit more polish.

LineOfBeauty

ThePott wrote: »

Oh yeah for the record, I do prefer AEW's camerawork to WWE. The hyperactive cuts ruin the WWE stuff for me but I think there is room for improvement for AEW on that front at times. Production wise they're nearly there they just need a tiny bit more polish.

The polish thing is correct.

For me, NJPW are the best around in that respect and there's stuff they do that all big companies should be doing where it comes to camera work.

showpony1

realhorrorshow wrote: »

Really went downhill when the Good Brothers got involved. I don't care what they did in Japan, I can't stand them, get them off my TV screen.

I'd agree with this - Gallows looking like an idiot in his big baggy leather trousers and we're meant to believe they're cool because of "too sweet" or something.

realhorrorshow

realhorrorshow wrote: »

The Christian Cage reveal with his old TNA theme was a serious nostalgia buzz for me. Hope his body has held up because he is (or at least was) a great wrestler who didn't really rely too much on athleticism, at least not in TNA. Think he could be really good in AEW. But think they went about the announcement completely arseways. Christian coming out as a surprise or even entering the ladder match cold have created a lot of buzz but all the hype set everyone up for disappointment. Don't really get the point in building it up so much, would the prospect of a signing reveal sell enough PPVs to be worth it?

Completely agree with all this. I think they honestly would have been better announcing the signing last week on Twitter like they did with Big Show.

Let's be honest, not many care about Big Show in 2021 but it was the shock of the signing that created a bit of a buzz.

Everyone thought Christian was definitely under WWE contract after appearing in the rumble so if AEW announced randomly on twitter that he had signed (or he showed up on dynamite/PPV without speculation) it would have been brilliant. By the time revolution rolled around most had figured out that he wasn't under WWE contract so it completely took away from the surprise. And obviously Tony Khan completely overselling the signing didn't help. I agree they went about it all wrong.

I've been watching the Christian Cage compilation on the Impact plus app. He had some absolute bangers in his time there tbf