IN LAIMAN’S TERMS #476 – Thoughts on AEW: Dynamite

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Thoughts on AEW Dynamite: Title Tuesday

1. I get to watch Dynamite live tonight, which Wednesdays I’ve been catching either a few hours after or the next day for a while, and how fortuitous in the realm of timing. In a few days I head off to Washington to see WrestleDream live. Use the link above to email me if you want to come say hi.

2. The cinematic style and the depth of the promos that Mox is cutting are freaking brilliant. Interesting though, Mox can’t sign off without punching an object. Darby punched a car after saying he was ready to get stabbed. Who won, really?

3. So how long before Wheeler Yuta turns on Danielson and costs him his career?

4. Why does Danielson sound like he’s hosting a Zoom meeting on this audio feed?

5. Remember when the popular talking point in the IWC was that Danielson was amazing in the ring but couldn’t cut a promo? Yes, I have been covering wrestling that long.

6. Speaking of Darby Allin, he’s oddly desperate to be thrown around by resident perpetual barker, Brody King. I was about to remember the Hoodlum table attack, but in something that shows tremendous improvement on AEW’s part, they do a quick little PiP recap of their encounters. Nicely done!

7. Darby is playing exposition fairy, but not in a way that is distracting or that sounds forced. That is incredibly hard to do in the best of times.

8. IT WAS ME, BRODY! IT WAS ME ALL ALONG, BRODY!

9. Finally, Brody cuts off storytime with Darby Allin, baybay to remind us all that he should be pissed off at Switchblade, er… that he needs a savior. Well call Remy Zero, because somebody save me indeed!

10. Darby is showing a level of fire since the Mox feud started that I didn’t know he had in him. I’m not saying all his promos sounded apathetic, but also that was kinda his thing.

11. Darby gets punched out, and then responds by attacking Brody King with… a rock? Did he get that from the Warriors junkyard where he was reliving that time he almost got the Kevin Nash-Punisher treatment?

12. Please don’t be another pull-apart brawl, please don’t be another pull-apart brawl, oh hey it’s not another pull-apart brawl.

13. Jake Roberts is here with Renee, which means Lance Archer made television in a way that isn’t beating up local indy talent in the corridor. But it’s a backstage segment, how long before it gets interr… it got interrupted by Don Callis, time efficiency!

14. I guess we all like surprises, okay then. Are we going to go full go-home show vibes for western Idaho… I mean Eastern Washington? There’s enough urban blight there for Darby to do a sequel to the cinematic match from 2020, make a go of it!

15. Next we have Komander, the lucha wrestler who puts on a great show but never wins, facing Hologram, the lucha wrestler who puts on a great show and always wins. I wonder who will win?

16. Oh these new camera shots, the show aesthetic has been majorly upgraded recently. And hey, there’s Daniel Garcia, finally! And hey, Jeff Jarrett on commentary because he somehow became not only the most popular he’s been in decades recently, but also has an affinity for Zipchair gaming.

17. It is Hologram’s Dynamite debut, and I particularly like how they used Collision to build him up for months and slowly gather his momentum. I suppose Dark and Elevation used to function for such reasons, but now that he’s finally in a match on Dynamite, it does feel like a bigger deal.

18. Having been there for the Collision that caused me to go to Sioux Falls on purpose, Hologram’s entrance is so damn cool with that new stage setup and the wide screen. I’m also a big fan of not having to turn my head to see what’s going on there, which is why I got WrestleDream seats in a very similar spot. The more you learn.

19. Is this really the time to bring up Bryan Danielson’s match? Is this how it comes full circle from Velocity in 2000 where Danielson’s match was full of commentary about whatever the main event in WWF was at the time??

20. Good JBL, Hologram! That was almost as scary as the head-first dive on Beast Mortos. Scares me how close he gets to being dropped right on his head, to the point that I don’t know how he wasn’t!

21. Other than a corner sequence that was a little over-forced, this has been just as much fun as would be expected.

22. A 450 into the knees cannot feel good on the chest, or on the knees of the recipient.

23. I am not sure what the hell happened, but they managed to turn it into a powerbomb counter from the ropes? I think?

24. That Poisonrana, otherwise known as the Bret Michaels spin cycle, looked rough. Or maybe that’s intentional, who knows? Jeff Jarrett points out it’s the finishing move, and it turns out he’s right. That was definitely a match.

25. Jake the Snake comes out to interrupt the Team Hell No gimmick: Lucha Edition, and they’re attacked by… LFI? Is Rush in both factions now? Is Jake Roberts now Jake the Assistant? That seems like a role that would’ve been reserved for Jake from State Farm in years past. What the hell is happening?

26. You know, I was just sitting here thinking, “you know what would be even better than hearing Chris Jericho try to be Christian Cage last week on Dynamite? How about if we play it over again?” Wait, no I wasn’t.

27. Briscoe is in super serial mode, and that’s the most terrifying he’s looked since he’s been in AEW.

28. Daniel Garcia comes out, zip-up vest and all, making sure to spend some time with the kids at the aisle side. That’s nice to see. After that confusing match ending a while ago, he hasn’t been around.

29. Does this have salmon jacket fake retirement vibes to anyone else right now?

30. Yep, there’s that swerve (no Strickland), even if it was a little meta. Thrilled to see he’s sticking around though.

31. I like the line that he’s not the one who gets “little bro’d” by everyone in the back. He turned up the volume in a way that he’s done so well since the MJF feud got in full swing and it really works for him. He almost did the dance on the barricade but I think it was a little too unstable.

32. Another great recap video, and Nana and Swerve going at it verbally has been immaculate. Shelton debuting was awesome, Swerve looking ominous and dangerous, so perhaps Bobby Lashley will be making a debut in response to this return on Saturday? I’m intrigued.

33. Renee fangirls a little hard by doing a Mercedes promo, and she reacts like she’s a cynical Frenchman at the Independence Inn.

34. Daniel Garcia is greeted by friends old and new, including… is that Colt Cabana back there?

35. Willow fighting Britt Baker for a chance to face Mariah at WrestleDream… Or not, maybe I didn’t hear something? Entirely possible. Here comes Saraya, with the Outcasts music instead of the garbage anthem. Nyla is in here too. Also Jamie Hayter! There’s a significant portion of that Outcasts/Originals feud that faded away after doing nothing for months in the ring here. Good times.

36. Nyla’s showing off tonight, and she does a dive into the pile from the top rope, right on. Somewhere, Nigel is clamoring to replace Jarrett on commentary to give Mariah her flowers.

37. After easily the best storyline of the year met its conclusion at All In, they really didn’t have much to follow it up with, did they? Is this a case of Cargill Stalling Syndrome, idling in place until Stat/Toni comes back? Or perhaps until Grand Slam in Australia? I’m not sure, but it seems stilted since then.

38. Jamie gets a chair in on Saraya. Harley stops it and screams like Brother Zay getting thrown in the air by Keith Lee. Penelope Ford? Returns, I guess? Jamie chases her off, so she’s not taking the L here. That was weird. Nyla gets tossed off the top rope and takes a nasty bump on the apron. Hopefully that was exactly how she wanted it, because I know I worry too much.

39. Willow pulls out the Meeting of the Minds, of all things, and pins both Saraya and Harley. That ending was fun, and it means we get Willow/Mariah on Saturday. I ain’t mad about that.

40. Willow must be the most trusting person in the world to fall for that fakeout from Mariah.

41. More Big Bill and Bryan Keith talking, less Jericho everything, please.

42. They go backstage to confront… Rocky Romero? They’re trying to make him realize his value because it does not at all in any way sound like a cult whatsoever. Can this go away please?

43. Good to see Switchblade back, and he’s got his pet goblin with him. No fake pyro either, but when you have that excellent BCG theme, this one just doesn’t measure up. Someone’s already in the ring, so even Switchblade’s slightly more charismatic cutout and perpetual HAM winner could win this one relatively quickly. And that’s no disrespect to the wrestler in the ring themselves, just how these things go. Switchblades are temporary, but Cardblade is forever.

44. “There’s no one quite like Juice.” Understatement of the millennium.

45. Is the crowd not mic’d well or does my hearing that bad? I’m not sure. The sound mix in general seems odd tonight, at least from my reading of it.

46. Once upon a time, Switchblade was gatekeeping the IWGP title from Hangman and a few others. Oh how the turns have tabled.

47. Means we’re getting Switchblade/Hangman on Saturday? I’m down for that.

48. Hook: Lost in Spokane, searching for whoever hurt his dad. Kip Sabian accidentally thought it was a Christian segment and bumped out. Oh, wait, it is. Hook covered for Kip after nearly taking him out. I’m so glad he got the camera crew to follow him around for… that.

49. I like Emi Sakura, but I’m pretty sure the last time I saw her on TV was when she… challenged for the TBS title in Minneapolis when I was there live in November last year. Somehow, Title Tuesday has become the even less likely place for a title to change hands than Battle of the Belts. Not to mention, this follows a four-way match earlier in the night for the right to a title shot.

50. I really want to like Jarrett in this role, but it’s not hitting for me. At least not tonight. Maybe Spokane just takes it out of everyone, I don’t know.

51. Emi taps out. Good match but the vibes of this show are just weird. Stat made a save and either there was no reaction or Stati-fire walk with me just isn’t hitting after the abrupt face turn. Maybe they gotta go back to the Black Lounge and regroup.

52. Oh hey Stokely, randomly not with Stat anymore for reasons. Another person trying to recruit Private Party, because it’s gone so well for everyone else. I mean, Scorpio Sky showed up there and went full Shut Up, Harold because we haven’t seen him since. Forget the Jericho Vortex, who went to the Forever Party but got kicked out for not being on the guest list?

53. Ospreay, Takeshita, and Ricochet in the same match on Saturday, how are we supposed to cope with that?

54. Someone must’ve told Ospreay he’s happy like a golden retriever, because now his coat lives up to that reputation.

55. I’m so freaking tired.

56. Lance Archer is in the “Don Call Family.” Does that mean Hobbs is out, or will this be the full Meat stable?

57. Don Callis sent Takeshita? Whoa, who could’ve seen that coming? He seems like such a trustworthy guy.

58. There was a pop loud enough for even me to hear.

59. Please retire the phrase “best wrestler in the world” for at least a few months.

60. Callis gives him the big old smack, but in no way will someone be attacking him within a few seconds.

61. Takeshita comes out first, but then Kyle tries to stop him. We get a staredown between those two and Kyle is conflicted. You know time has passed because the screwdriver is neon green now.

62. Ricochet comes out to make the big save. That whole segment seemed weird too.

63. The adventures of Action Andretti and his angry water continue. Why hasn’t the Learning Tree trying to recruit him? That makes more sense than Rocky Romero.

64. Jack Perry says that Shibata has a turkey leg in his… Goodness, HAM likely over right there. Not who I expected.

65. Does Yuta turn on him tonight or to cost him the match on Saturday? A few things were just too convenient last week. It’s the most intriguing Yuta has been since his BCC initiation.

66. Did Claudio and PAC manage to make Moonlight Sonata an entrance theme? That is impressive.

67. Please do not have an overrun like last week, I am trying so hard to stay awake.

68. Wheeler Yuta has been “off his game” the last few weeks? He went full RAGEHAM last week and won the match. He’s been distracted for sure, but it hasn’t cost him in the ring. Quite the opposite.

69. Was the Forbidden Door-esque nature of last year’s WrestleDream a one-time thing? None of the matches seem to have that flavor, though there’s still time to add something. I don’t know. Anything that gets the NJPW ring announcer back on the show is fine by me.

70. The only good thing about the expediency of fhis storyline is that we won’t have the will he/won’t he turn drag on for Wardlow/Luchasaurus/Hayter lengths of “ohhhh almost turned but didn’t.”

71. Mox shows up and PAC tries to go all Death Triangle on things, but Wheeler is all “that remains to be seen” and and ends up tapping out. Danielson goes through the ropes to attack Mox up the ramp.

72. Danielson continues attacking backstage while Yuta is getting attacked three-on-one in the ring. Stop! Hammertime. Will this be the motivation for Yuta turning on Danielson? He was too busy going after Mox to notice what was happening? Too busy “YES”ing to help him out?

73. Of all the go-home shows I’ve ever seen, this was certainly one of them. Onto Saturday!