Another Wednesday (actually Thursday for me) and you know what that means! Yes, jobberville is back. This was live from Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the UWM Panther Arena. I think this was one of the more interesting places for AEW to appear because now they’ve completely gone off their “safer” target markets into places that I’m not certain they’ve been to yet. So I will say that the crowd felt a little more tepid than the previous ones even though the show itself looked sold out. But I will add more to that later.
Orange Cassidy Vs. Matt Hardy
A strange match to have on Dynamite especially as an opener. I suppose they wanted to warm up the crowd by putting this one on. Matt got busted later in the match from a crossbody block off the top rope where Cassidy hit Matt’s face. Afterwards, he had a severely bleeding nose that went all over the place and looked bad. So injury one of the night in sloppy elite wrestling.
Weirder yet Cassidy got the win further cementing the notion that Matt at this stage is just a midcard jobber. It’s a shame because he’s one of the few guys who can work that has experience in the company but really hasn’t done much, even though he can pull out a decent match. Later in a backstage tweet, Matt cut another promo on Cassidy saying this wasn’t over, but since that wasn’t broadcast on TV, they’ll probably save it for Elevation or Dark or maybe even Rampage.
Malakai Promo
Told Brock to give up. Honestly, I wish Brock did do exactly as Malakai suggested but not for the in ring reasons.
Chris Jericho Promo
So now Jericho wants one last match with MJF and is putting everything on the line, except fully quitting AEW. But he’s pretty much going to become a broadcast announcer permanently for Rampage. Really? You’re announcing the results ahead of time, Chris? It didn’t work out so well for Cena. But at least they got the booking right for that feud.
In one of the more sensible “interruptions” for an interview, MJF does come out to Jericho’s invitation eventually and accepts the challenge. It’s funny because MJF himself was saying, “Why don’t you leave me alone?” I’m like for godsakes this has gone on way too long and the horse has been beaten to death. If the broadcast announcer stipulation hadn’t been added to the match, I would’ve guessed Jericho beating MJF. Now, I definitely know it’ll be the opposite. So why do that when Jericho could potentially put someone else over?
Varsity Blondes Promo
Brief but they should have done this a week before or on Dark/Elevation. Why do you need a pre-match promo? The idea of a promo is PROMOTION. Meaning you are promoting something that you want to sell. The people have already bought the tickets so these segments are wasteful in terms of consuming TV time. Sure the promo wasn’t bad and it didn’t go on extraneously, but shaving a minute here or there could instead lead to actual matches, which has been my absolute frustration for their live TV the entire time.
Varsity Blonds Vs. Lucha Bros
Tag team eliminator match. Not a bad match. I think Brian looked the best along with Rey Fenix, whom I have not seen much of up until recently. Griff needs to figure out what his role is on the team. Either he bulks up big time to use his height advantage or become a Robert Gibson. I’ve heard him behind the scenes and he seems like a bright fellow but he seems lost or just going with the flow at the moment.
The after birth with Jurassic Express and Lucha Bros teaming up on the Bucks was okay because they got the last laugh. The Lucha Bros got the win and I’m uncertain they’ll beat the Bucks in the cage. At this stage, I really hope they do, not because I like the Lucha Bros (I’m indifferent) but because the Bucks just don’t need the titles at this point.
Red Velvet Vs. Jamie Hayter
I was really curious about this match. Jamie looks like a future star because she’s got size, power and I enjoy her accent and how she talks. Velvet is sloppy and I want to like her but she messes up a lot. They did a weird spot to me where Velvet did two suicide dives to the floor, both which made me cringe because of how she nearly wrecked herself in the past with one. I couldn’t tell if she decided to do the 2nd because she felt she messed up one but they lead to nothing.
Velvet also got the botch of the night where she missed the Standing Moonsault Press and the announcers managed to quickly recover for her. But at least she sold it enough and Jamie seemed smart enough to recover and stomp Velvet’s head in a bit to hide the issue. Hayter won with a tremendous lariat, which almost stands out in a situation where everyone else is doing stupid moves that look like garbage or that they botch up. I was and wasn’t surprised Hayter got the win in and in this case I think she deserved it just because she was the one that looked good in all of this.
They did yet another post-match after birth with crutch girl and Britt doing another beat down of Velvet. There was a weird mixed reaction here and when Kris Statlander came out to make the save, there again was a mixed reaction.
It’s pretty obvious that AEW wants to use Britt as a heel but until she gives up the DMD aspect in her promos and ditches Tony Schiavone, no one is going to accept her as a heel. The problem in AEW is that outside of Thunder Rosa, none of the other women wrestlers are over enough to convince the audience to take Britt seriously as a heel. And now that Statlander is getting a PPV match, it’s not going to help either person. I’m pretty sure the plan in the near future is for a re-match between Thunder Rosa and Britt so they might save that until November by feeding Britt the rest of the division.
Dark Order Backstage Segment
So the only good that’s coming of this is the potential for the Job World Order to finally split up because they have too many people in a single faction that doesn’t get used and has no meaning without Brodie. The thing is that there are maybe 1-2 guys in that group that has a slim chance of eventually getting over because they have some talent but are hindered by remaining associated. Their “leader” is a fat goof and I think if two of them unmask they would at least be recognizable by the audience as having identities rather than being jammed up in a situation that really has gotten none of them over as individuals. And I hope to god that Hangman Page doesn’t return to reform them and take over as the leader. That would be purely anti-productive.
CM Punk Interview
For the casual viewer, this was the show. Not going to lie. This is the only segment that got a real reaction from the crowd. And it’s simply because they actually cared about the person in the ring. The biggest thing here was Punk casually hinting at Daniel Bryan’s signing. Now, THAT got a pretty nice pop and pretty much sealed the deal on the 2nd worst secret in that company.
Oh and the best part about this (besides the indirect Bryan reveal)? NO INTERRUPTIONS! What a concept! Tony got to be an announcer and conduct an actual interview! It was simple the place was great! Why can’t Tony Khan see this and realize this is what should be the norm rather than having 50 after births and run ins on every segment, promo and match?
Eddie Kingston / Jon Moxley / Darby Allin Vs. The Wingmen
So somehow The Wingmen got on Dynamite. How? Why? What did they deserve to get to this spot? No one has seen them on TV for a while. Like a LONG time. I’m not talking about Dark nor Elevation. Just positioned into TV time where people would care about the individuals involved.
The Wingmen look like another circus act. There’s one guy who looks like a legitimate athlete but he’s mixed in with a fat goof, an idiot on the floor and a babbling Brazilian. I think matches like these where guys who aren’t seen on TV in a while, people who lose consistently and just look like jokers have no right to be on TV. I think it hurts the product. How can you come from CM Punk to JD Drake? Back in the 80s and early 90s, JD Drake would be one of those guys that you’d see Lex Luger squash in less than a minute with a Torture Rack because that’s the kind of ceiling he would have. This has nothing to do with ability but perception and you could tell the audience didn’t care except when Darby or Moxley did anything.
Then an after birth happened with Daniel Garcia. Daniel Garcia may very well become a star one day but no one is currently buying him because he doesn’t get the big wins on TV. He doesn’t look convincing physically. He’s thin and short of stature. He’s like Steve Rogers prior to the steroid treatment and becoming Captain America, except that Garcia doesn’t have natural charisma. And a lot of that is due to size and physique. But I guess he’s getting Darby Allin in the near future.
Tay Conti with Alex Marvez
The worst interviewer in wrestling is with Tay. As per Marvez’s usual segment, Tay gets nothing in because she’s immediately interrupted by The Bunny. So they’re wrestling on Rampage. Tay does get a few heavy hits in which looks good but they’re starting to promote the women’s battle royal for All Out. I like Tay a lot and think she has come a long way. Oddly, I do agree with The Bunny in having Tay get away from anything associated with the Job World Order because she’s a rising star and they are not.
Christian Cage Interview
Don Callis comes out, looking ridiculous along with Omega and his goofs. The segment does no one any favors and ends up with Frankie Kazarian making a save after The Elite try to beat down Christian. I think sometimes there’s some low key things going on where Omega and his buddies just end up making their opponents look bad to the point where the crowd becomes lukewarm over time. Hopefully, if Omega encounters CM Punk, he’ll override Omega and whomever he encounters from that group.
Jon Moxley Backstage Segment
Basically, announcing that he’ll be facing Satoshi Kojima at All Out. I used to watch Kojima in NJPW in ’97. 1997. I guess Moxley is getting his fantasies fulfilled in wrestling all the NJPW stars and beating them on American soil. I imagine eventually Tanahashi will show up and Moxley will wrestle him for the IWGP US Title too.
Nightmare Factory Vs. The Gunn Club
Paul Wight is the special broadcast announcer. Ick. This is basically a Dark/Elevation special match that got promoted to Dynamite so that Paul could get his time with the ever bland QT. Again, this is another one of those show killers where you have a bunch of people the audience is completely indifferent to getting precious TV time. And this happens because the consistency in showing people every week is bad.
QT, of all people here, got pinned by one of the Gunns (I don’t know and I don’t care) because Paul Wight stood up. They’re advertising the All Out show as Wight’s first match since 2020 but the guy he’s facing already has lost on a TV episode with 5 other job guys. So why should anyone care about QT? They could’ve had Aaron Solow lose here and the two guys you needed to protect would’ve been fine. I describe QT Marshall as AEW’s version of the Brooklyn Brawler, except that QT gets mic time and more wins than he should. He’s fine as a backstage guy I’m assuming and he has enough talent to put people over for a “modern” match. But beyond that he’s never going to be a world champion, he’s not a main eventer, he’s someone that no matter how hard Cody had tried could not get over. It’s not going to happen and I suspect that after him revealing that he does the TV, he’s not a bright enough guy with good self-awareness to figure what his real spot should be and how to maximize upon that.
Dan Lambert, Scorpio Sky, and Ethan Page Backstage Segment
Of everything that AEW has been doing (CM Punk withstanding), I will say that the Dan Lambert segments have become my favorite thing. You can say whatever you want about him but this guy can cut a promo. His promo here was old school and he doesn’t pull any punches. Plus, he’s fucking hilarious in how he’s ripping on millennial punk little fucks.
I do think that having Page and Sky associated with him sounds odd but the way Lambert put them over made me actually care about their credentials. If Page and Sky can transfer Lambert’s description of their capabilities into becoming serious fighters rather than “aerial acrobats” that he’s criticizing, these two can go far here. Like do the short serious matches where they just blast their opponents with kicks, legit moves and submissions. I know Page himself has admitted to having the stink of some old videos he made hurting his career. But the way you dispel those is becoming deadly serious, hurting people in a convincing fashion and stop goofing off. You can have attitude behind the scenes in these promos, but if you’re not executing in front a crowd, then you’ve lost the point you were trying to make. Bottom line: we’ll see where this goes and judge when it happens.
Malakai Black Vs. Brock Anderson
There was a small Arn Anderson promo just before but I’m skipping straight ahead because I already made a statement about pre-promos promoting the matches that will happen in the same night.
Regardless, Malakai has a great entrance. Brock came out to no pops. Maybe his dad did but Brock doesn’t look intimidating and is unconvincing because he’s still green. Malakai allowed Brock to get a few moments of offense in but I suppose the lesson here in the match was teaching Brock how to sell because Malakai mostly destroyed the guy (rightfully so) and later would give Arn a small beat down too to prove his point.
Lee Johnson tried to make a save where Malakai scooted out of the ring. Now, I read some people who mentioned that they perceived Malakai leaving the ring as cowardice. But I didn’t see it that way. It’s not like he scrambled out of the ring. He rolled out and didn’t want to be bothered by Lee. Either way, I guess that the current plan is for Malakai to go through the Nightmare Factory. Not sure if this means he’ll eventually face Cody again. But this is the problem with these never ending feuds. As far as I’m concerned, Malakai shouldn’t face Cody again. He put the guy away. Malakai should only face Cody at All Out as long as he goes through everyone else. And I think Cody should put over Malakai even bigger at All Out so Malakai can go onto bigger things rather than being involved in an unending feud the way QT was. Because at least with Malakai, he’s over whereas QT and his group of second rate jobbers never were going to be over.
Final Thoughts
This show was not as frustrating as last week’s Dynamite but I did read a large amount of criticisms. I think the main thing is the perception of who managed to get TV time like The Wingmen, The Factory and the Gunn Club. Also, I really believe no one cares about the Dark Order and their stupid drama. Those segments just are ratings killers because the people involved have zero polish, credibility (maybe Billy Gunn at one time until The Rock annihilated him) and care. Brock vs Malakai really belonged on Dark, in terms of what Brock can do. Arn and Malakai can be involved in the main event on TV but Brock is too green and has nothing at this stage besides his father.
The other thing is that having CM Punk towards the middle of the show was such a weird placement. Even when he came out, I thought that the audience noise was much lower than what it needed to be. I think they should’ve started with CM Punk coming out to warm the crowd up just because his segment would be the one grabbing people. The preceding matches and segments just seemed to help further drag the life from the show and it’s obvious that many people probably came to see just CM Punk.
But those jobber matches just really sucked the life remaining in the show. I get that they want to give their “talent” more air time but the people they almost democratically try to involve have no momentum. They’re consistently placed on Dark or Elevation for one reason or another and no matter how hard they try, these people will not get over under almost all conditions.
I mean look at the Wingmen in how they did not even receive an entrance because they effectively gave two big entrances to Darby Allin/Sting and Jon Moxley. You’re basically telling the audience that these guys are jobbers and should be viewed as such because we want to give all the attention to our main stars. Great, so why both having a match two weeks before one of the four big annual PPVs which builds nothing and does nothing to get anyone over?
The only logical match in this show was the tag match because you have a focus on a tournament that is between the teams that matter. And I don’t see any harm in these teams losing to each other because they’re pretty much on par with one another. So how come AEW is so afraid of doing more of these types of matches on their TV where at least you have people who you pose the question “who really can beat whom?”
Right now, Dynamite is built more like a glorified version of Dark or Elevation. The only thing different is that you get to see 1-2 main event level guys per week and no indy goofs.
The last thing I want to address is that crowd. That crowd just wasn’t hot and I can’t tell if it’s because that state has a bunch of cheese eating, milk drinking Karens, but I’ve been to libraries with more energy than that place. The only time it got energized was when CM Punk came out and I thought that was somewhat shameful compared to the much hotter Chicago (then again that was almost unfair).
Yet this could be a telling situation for AEW. I think this is a combination of factors beyond the location itself because the crowd did come alive eventually, but only for someone they cared about. The people that they tried to put in front of them like the Wingmen, The Factory, The Gunn Club and Brock Anderson just had no oomph. And I think it’s because AEW might internally view these people as “stars” because their head cheese not only is a mark but has these guys under contract and figures let’s put these people on TV and hope that they get over.
But the inconsistency in booking, the bad match flows (or just bad matches in general), the constant run-ins, the generally poor promos from the wrong people that suck the wind out of the show (e.g. Kenny Omega, Alex Marvez), etc. just are forms of self-sabotage. I read many people on reddit, some of whom are probably trying to get their interest back into pro-wrestling or perhaps first time AEW viewers, comment “do these people have run ins after every match? Is there an interruption after every promo?”
The thing is that these shows are very jarring to watch. They make no sense, you feel baited-and-switched and you get these worthless, heatless jobbers who mean nothing to people because they’re used to doing clown gimmicks on the indies serving to audiences in the 100s who are used to talking to them in the parking lot of merchandise booths. Also, these interviews and matches mostly never give the audience a chance to breathe (except the CM Punk one but I think he’s rightfully in control over his segments). There’s no ordering to how the shows are built.
Compare this to Nitro back in the hot period of mid to late 96 – most of the 97. Nitro had a pretty decent formula. Start with a hot opener, usually a cruiserweight match to get the crowd involved, get a few more matches in, maybe 1-2 on going feuds, but leave with an NWO segment that creates a hook for the following week. I’m not saying having a static show for the rest of eternity but at least create something that builds or has a structure or provides anticipation.
At any rate, I feel pretty drained after watching this show again. I think a lot of this is just lack of experience and the fact that the company hasn’t done big crowds in a while nor the fact that many of the talent have experience with this situation. There are a few bright spots here and there so I will continue doing these reviews until it becomes unbearable.