Performance Review
Evaluate Performance and achieved goals
Thank you for what you’re doing. I mean that, seriously. In a world of wrestling monotony, big league wrestling that gives some love to the fundamentals of 80s professional wrestling while also introducing all the cool stuff that’s come to wrestling in the years since is a pleasure to watch every week.
You stacked this week up after your solid Pay-Per-View and I appreciate that: a hot return for The Luchasaurus, Darby Allin challenging Jon Moxley like a badass, Awesome Kong, MJF follow-up, WARDLOW!!!, and… Scorpio Sky, World Title challenger?
I think your goal is to keep me interested and I’m still here.
I also recognize that it’s early and you’re figuring out exactly what you have, but I also think your goal is eventually to breakout and be something genuinely special and exciting in the wrestling biz and keep me as a fanboy. In that regard, there are some things I’d like to see you work on.
All the highlights this week were again out of the ring, and that’s not necessarily bad for a wrestling TV show but the issue I have is that right now the in-ring isn’t straightforward enough to be good TV wrestling but also not spectacular enough to be high-level big match wrestling. The matches have the impressive but convoluted spots of a big match, but the meat of something in between big and small and that in between place isn’t ideal. It feels both lacking and too much at the same time.
Regardless, a stacked show. Luchasaurus returned, MJF and Cody kept the interest moving, Chris Jericho was all over the place being a cock, and the Wardlow debut followed by Hangman Page vs. PAC was a heck of a one-two punch. I mean this show just kept moving, and only really felt it slowed down when… the wrestling started.
Jericho vs. Kazarian sequences in 2019 though, god damn pal. This is no mere wrestling show, this is a WRESTLING idea. I like it.
Discuss areas of excellence within performance
Your excellence this week was all about utilizing your male roster and telling stories with forward movement. At the end of the day, if you can master that the rest is pretty easy.
Utilizing the roster is key because there’s some talent on this roster. Luchasaurus is a freak, Darby Allin is a presence, and PAC is a bastard. MJF is a promo, Sammy Guevera is a shit, and Cody is a GOD.
Sometimes you just have to run with something and that’s MJF – the character and mic work is so good that the in-ring might not even matter. Guy did a longform promo then went toe-to-toe with Chris Jericho and barely skipped a beat. If he can match even half of the intensity of a Roddy Piper in-ring though… man do we have something. Wardlow debuting was very exciting too, both because he actually showed up and because MJF with a brick shithouse of a bodyguard like him sounds very cool.
I wouldn’t say they were excellent but I appreciated the Jon Moxley and Nyla Rose squashes too.
Stuff like the Orange Cassidy cameo during The Young Bucks/Santana & Ortiz brawl keeps a show like this fresh and fun even during what’s becoming a very tired wrestling angle of a pull-apart brawl followed by a big stage stunt. Santana & Ortiz have a phenomenal presence too.
Tag Champ Scorpio Sky pinning World Champ Chris Jericho was very cool as well.
Discuss areas of improvement
I’m not sure that Kenny Omega and his big black eye are very good at acting and I’m also not sure if the Jon Moxley character is working or if people just cheer him because he’s MOX.
The Dark Order in general needs work. I like the gimmick, the MOVES are impressive, but every match they have is this 10-minute Impress the Folks type of match where there are at least 2-3 awkward spots and it’s not getting them over.
Love you MJF but if the “Who the hell is Juvi?” line was read out as “Who the hell is Juventud Guerrera?” you would’ve had a moment in time that Chris Jericho or even El Dandy himself would have been jealous of. Like, if you don’t know who Jericho was talking about – how do you know his nickname is Juvi!? Don’t tell me the crowd was chanting the name… MJF wouldn’t listen to these geeks.
There are a lot of fresh ideas here, both from the old school and new schools of wrestling, but there’s some of this that feels a little… clean. And that’s not necessarily bad – this is a big league show with big league production. It’d be nice to see a little more grunge though. Like, another stage bump spot? Really? A little safe, a little played.
Develop future goals with set expectations
Find a balance between the length/quality/balls out-ness of your TV matches, otherwise keep on being you as I remain interested in what’s coming next.
Also I probably shouldn’t be able to track Chris Jericho‘s benders based on his face paunchy face.
Additional Feedback
Top Plays of the Week
3. Wardlow Debuts: I enjoy flipping out over surprise wrestling debuts, especially when they’re from a guy who had one of the coolest wrestling intro videos anyone has ever made months ago and then disappeared.
2. Scorpio Sky’s Codebreaker Kickout: Great timing, great pop, and it led to a shocker of a finish.
1. Darby Allin Challenges Jon Moxley: The coolest part of the show, no questions asked. Simple, surprising, and to the point.
Dum Dum’s Got Something to Say
3. Don’t do the full blown PPV recap video at the start of the show. C’mon Cody – show a little teaser clip and move on like JCP. Let them REGRET they missed it.
2. Let’s stop it with the Triple Threat matches. At the very least, put a buncha guys who can go off in it. Otherwise you’re just making things more complicated than they need to be. Darby, Shawn Spears and Peter Avalon is not the group that’s going to go off.
1. I appreciate the introductions. To Darby Allin, to Luchasaurus, to Sammy Guevera. Thanks for allowing these wildcard acts to succeed.
Costco Presents, The Crummiest Coupons of the Week
3. Cody and Chris Blow a Powerslam: Yeesh, guys. Not to be THAT GUY (even though I am by proxy of writing this out weekly), but why even do a powerslam in a brawl?
2. Brandi Rhodes and Awesome Kong: There’s still a lot of place-setting right now as we’re less than two months into Dynamite, but in the moment this stinks. Love Awesome Kong getting a run, but much like the rest of The Elite’s angles Brandi’s feels a little cosplay and isn’t as important as the show thinks it is. She went from Stephanie McMahon to Kevin Sullivan with no explanation.
1. MJF Says Juvi: GOD DAMNIT, MAXWELL
5 Questions
5. Why a powerslam in a brawl?
4. Another stage bump?
3. Is Shawn Spears in his best shape ever or was he always jacked and it just didn’t stand out when he was doing 10 chants?
2. Can the President be removed from office already?
1. I know the title is all prestigious and stuff but can we get Jericho vs. Scorpio Sky for the World Title on TV and then more matches like that?
Oh Yeah, The Wrestling
Jon Moxley vs. Michael Nakazawa opened the show and it was 30 seconds before Nakazawa took horrible Dirty Deeds bump and lost. Love Nak, love a Mox squash, but that was bad.
Jurassic Express vs. Dark Order was a fun-ish match with an awesome Jungle Boy hot tag but is the classic AEW match that is too much for TV but also not to the point enough for TV. Not buying Marko doing a tilt-a-whirl flatliner to big man Uno either. At least Luchasaurus made his big return after the match so the Jurassic Express act can get back to normal.
Fuck yeah at everything that’s Darby Allin: the theme, the skateboard smash, the wrestling. Not sure I needed Shawn Spears and Peter Avalon wrestling him in a Triple Threat though, even if he went over – could’ve just been Darby Allin smashin’ his skateboard for 10 minutes and I would’ve been happy. Joey Janela also ran off Spears because they’re feuding and whatnot.
Nyla Rose squashed Dani Jordan and it wasn’t good but it was also a squash so respect.
Kinda dug the PAC/Hangman Adam Page rubber match being less another halfhearted attempt at an epic and more PAC just killing Page like he was some 205 Live schmuck. Amazing.
SoCal Uncensored vs. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevera for the AEW World Tag Team Title was alright, more a match I appreciated the existence of with highlights here and there than anything must-see: Jericho vs. Kaz was bizzaro world, Sammy delivered, Jericho and Sammy did a cute pose, Scorpio Sky kicked out of a Codebreaker, and Scorpio Sky pinned Jericho with an inside cradle.
Official Star Rating
3.75 out of 5 Stars
