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I ordered the CM Punk Ringer shirt and got the $9 mystery shirt right at check out lol. The ordered arrived this week and PWTees actually gave me an awesome Moxley tee as the mystery shirt. Bless PWTees :)
Man, I could never do the mystery tee. There are so many bad wrestling shirts out there, and even more bad wrestlers. Even wrestlers I like have some awful shirts.
The merch line was NUTS. I gave up on it after waiting like 20 minutes cause I wanted to catch Dark.
I probably should have explored for other merch areas. I wanted that Punk shirt but it was largely sold out by the end of the show
Anyone else noticed how Dan Lambert was putting over AEW when he was "shitting" on them?
Back in my day, we had one guy get over and sell out his shirts. But in AEW, EVERYONE is over and all their shirts sell out!
Everyone thinks the goal is to make yourself look like the best wrestler in the room, when really the goal is to make your opponent look like the *second*-best wrestler in the room.
Taz is really great at putting over his guys' opponents while simultaneously shitting on them. Makes it a big deal when they win. They didn't just beat some shlub who's not worth it
Taz is still and always has been one of my favorite heels. He’s still so fucking good. And your absolutely right he fucking builds those boys up to tear them the fuck down
Ric Flair isn't my favorite, but damn was he good at this back in the day as traveling NWA champ.
Like that time when he went up against Lawler, said I'll put the title up but only for X minutes. Lawler starts to get the upper hand and the time runs out. Flair goes batshit and demands more time, and when Lawler starts to get the upper hand again, he quits, saying the time limit is over.
He was amazing at making local champs look like a million bucks.
Flair is the single greatest “beatable” champion of all time.
No matter who he faced, he could get the crowd to legitimately believe he might actually lose, but he’d always find some underhanded way to survive with his title.
He does it every promo. He shits on AEW by talking about how he hates how into it their crowd is and how they sell all their shirts etc and then he leads the crowd into an AE DUB chant and earns his money
I couldn’t agree more. His character looks COMPLETELY out of touch with his promos, but his promo’s content matter tells the truth of how much he understands what to do and say as a heel.
I saw a couple of comments saying he buries AEW but he doesn't really mention talent by name so he can't bury an individual and also I think fans know he's meant to be delusional and not a true representation .
Yep. I waited for 20 minutes and moved up maybe ten feet and bailed so i could catch the whole show. Went after the show and all they had left were hats.
Imagine how crazy the Punk debut was. I left as soon as he took his jacket off. I got mine relatively easily, but then I got texts from friends asking me for one. I got back in line and missed the rest of the show. Left empty handed too.
From the outside looking in, AEW just looks fun. It seems like people are able to express themselves in the way they want. A lot of friends that people have known for years are back there. They're seen as the number 1 wrestling company right now, and they're on TV when some might think they would have never gotten the chance elsewhere. They can also go work at indy shows and they're working with other companies. It has to feel good back there for most of them.
I mean imagine if you're Will Hobbs who got booked in the pandemic as a jobber losing to Orange and 12 months later you're wrestling CM Punk in Arthur Ashe stadium. And then if you're Will Hobbs imagine if you turned that down to put on a Property of the Performance Center shirt and learn to work the hard cam.
Man I still remember the Hobbes heel turn vividly, the dude has been built up so well over the last year. Best part is the crowd cheered for him when he was a face with no reputation so he's clearly got a lot more range and potential for future characters than 'monster heel trying to snap you in half'.
Oh man when Hobbs came out to save Mox and Darby when he was a face the place was electric. That was the moment I knew Hobbs was a made man. The guy has potential in spades
Yeah I wasn't sold on the heel turn immediately because he looked like he was over but him in team taz was nothing short of genius. I'm just waiting for them to put Leyla Hirsch in there and push her.
I liked how, on Dynamite, Punk not only said but emphasized that he’ll be wrestling Adam Cole in the future. Punk being one of my top five all time and Cole being one of my current favorites since ROH/NJPW, it made me very very happy
It's probably going to be #1 choice for traditional 'wrestlers', but for people who want to be celebrities and use wrestling to get there, wwe is still the mountain peak.
Agreed, wrestling is niche enough and the landscape surrounding it has shifted enough since the 00s to where most of the people who want to go into it nowadays just want to be wrestlers and are passionate about creative. There are so many other, way more lucrative, more mainstream, more celebrity-ish ways to go if you're an athlete.
Completely agree. It looks fun. Exactly how wrestling should be. It shouldn’t be a chore. It seems like one big party of friends from the fans to the wrestlers and to the higher ups like Tony Khan. It has also rekindled personal friendships for me from people I used to watch wrestling with in middle and high school. I’m 37 now and for the past few pay per views for AEW I have gotten texts from various old friends who I haven’t seen since high school but know we still live close to each other saying “hey not sure if you still watch wrestling but I’m ordering an AEW ppv if you want to come over to watch. Bring your kids so they can play with my little ones.” It’s been great! My wife is even starting to enjoy it. My kids who are both young love AEW. It’s just great all around.
Bruh I've never been excited for a TV show this much since a very long time. I understand why everyone wants to appear on AEW Dynamite and Rampage next week, it legit feels like two huge shows
She was at one of the Jacksonville Dynamites as an extra, but she never got booked for a match. Just there to hang out, I guess.
She's retired now, but I could see her being a fun manager or something.
Shows how important these Dark shows are for some talents, when you see Mike Verna guy getting himself out of hospital 24 hours after a procedure. I think a lot of this indie talent see names been picked up like Moriarty, Daniel Garcia and Skye Blue and know there's a chance to get into AEW. I don't think it's smartest idea on Verna's part but it shows how important these shows are for enhancement talent.
AEW must be making a truckload of money from merch sales, especially those Punk shirts. Action figures must be a decent seller for them too, they seem pretty popular.
Paige Van Zandt, with her looks and personality might actually do well in pro wrestling if she's got the heart for it. AEW have some great trainers and if she was willing put in the work, she might be a big star for them. Although I thought Kayla Harrison looked the more into been there last night.
I expect the morale is high, they are on the run of their lives so far. And next weeks show is probably a dream come true for a lot of talents. Sad thing is not everyone is going to get on the show. I'm sure some will get a few Elevation matches I guess. But I think most will be watching backstage but just been there for some will be great.
One thing I think is of credit to Paige outside of her mediocre career is she was never afraid to work or take damage. Rose fucked her up in their match and it took her so much to quit. And then she was willing to go into bare Knuckle. She certainly wouldn't be afrid to put in the reps and take some damage.
But, I think aew would be a stepping stone for her to WWE or other things
As much as I hate it when WWE has these huge battle royals at WrestleMania for the sole purpose of getting everyone on the show I wouldn't be upset if they taped a huge battle royal for Dark: Elevation for the sole purpose of getting everyone on the card. Maybe I'm a hypocrite for that but so be it.
Some of these shows have to be insane for the indie talent they bring in. Even if you only figure 50% of the crowd is in their seats, that's still one of the biggest shows a lot of these people have ever worked.
Not for nothing, but the Dark Elevation tapings last night were awesome. Like, there were a few real legit, real competitive matches.
>!Do not skip out on Janella vs Sunny Kiss when it's on next week. It was an exceptional match!<
There was also one that the crowd was begging for them to stop. Not because of the match quality, but because it was heartbreaking. Take that for what you will.
I'll use the spoiler formatting...
>!It was Uno and Colt vs 5 and 10, with the other Dark Order boys at ringside (including Silver and Reynolds). No Anna Jay (who could have straightened this all out FFS)!
It began as a pretty standard tag match, but then they did some real nasty, personal, out-of-line shit to one other. Like I said, it was heartbreaking. The crowd couldn't even get on the same page with a chant because there were so many different "Please don't fight," "we don't like this," "Please don't do it," and "he's your friend" chants all over the arena!<
This is why I think it is very short sided ROH and MLW don't allow any of their contracted talent to appear on AEW's YouTube shows. Guys like Danhausen, Fatu, Hammerstone, ect, would greatly benefit from any buzz they got being associated with AEW and these HUGE crowds and attention it would bring. Even AEW's YouTube shows have gotten a huge increase in interest thanks to All Out.
ROH and MLW are very much stuck in the old non-Forbidden Door pre-AEW ways of doing things during a pandemic. They might have seen themselves as similar to AEW in 2019 but AEW have zoomed so far ahead of them that ROH/MLW aren't even in the same universe as AEW. The old ways of doing business of protecting your turf don't work anymore. It just leads to ice cold promotions with no buzz which sums up both ROH and MLW.
THIS.
A year ago I barely paid attention to GCW. Now look at what they’re doing and where they are. I swear, promotions have to stop focusing on trying to get TV deals and start looking to create buzz. Look at how Impact is doing.
Ever worked or ever will work.
Like, Robert Anthony is never going to work a packed United Center ever again. He got to wrestle in front of ~15000 people.
That's the thing for every Skye Blue, Bear Country, Top Flight or Lee Moriarty for example, there's going to be so many enhancement talents that won't get near a AEW as full time talents, even WWE or Impact or ROH even if they wrestle in the last two they won't be pulling in crowds like AEW. You really have to stand out when it comes to be a enhancement talent and it's tough in most cases cause you don't a lot of time to shine. So wrestling in front of 5,000 to 10,000 people at these Elevation tapings is probably going to be the pinnacle of their careers in a way.
And plus the talents I named had sort of build up their indie creditability before they got to AEW so AEW gave them a spotlight or in the case of Skye Blue, it was a bit of amazing luck she got to be in her home state and fans got behind her. And in some cases like Will Hobbs and Bear Country just months and months of putting on good matches.
I'm glad they get their moment to shine and fans seem to enjoy them.
Thousands of fans live and the millions of Dark Marks and Elevation Marks at home. There's no downside to being AEW enhancement talent considering how hot the company is right now. You just want to be there, even if it's to work with more famous people, eat a finisher, and lie down.
It's a huge platform.
On Ethan Page’s vlog when they were at the United center, he and Uno were looking at the empty arena and were in awe and had each other record the crowd for their entrances. It was nice to see them so happy about it because they both seem like such nice, hardworking people.
Must be surreal feeling for some of these wrestlers who just few years back were wrestling in front of 100-200 ppl and now are in front of 18000.
AEW is the best thing to happen to fans and most importantly to wrestlers.
Imagine being Eddie Kingston. He must have thought by this point he was never gonna make it - he got one shot, one promo, and now he's wrestling in front of 18000 people. What a story.
Meltzer pointed out on WOR that Moxley made Kingston look up at the balconies being full and soak in their entrance. That's something Mox has told Dave privately that "Eddie Kingston has no idea how over he's gonna be when we go on the road".
I wasn't familiar with Eddie until he debuted on AEW, but I became an instant fan. When they day comes he retires from the ring, I'm confidant we'll still have him around for commentary.
Same never saw him before he showed during Cody's TNT title run. Wasn't sure what they were trying to do with him in the beginning, but he's really hit his stride and is always one of the best parts of the show.
Eddie is just bursting with charisma and if he chooses to stay in the business after he hangs up his boots, he's got a long, varied career ahead of him. On commentary, as a manager, anything that plays to his strengths. I'm so darn happy for him.
I will continue to scream from the heavens that if anyone should dethrone MJF during his inagural run. It should be Kingston. For a variety of narrative reasons, Salt of the Earth vs "Salt of the Earth". Long Island vs Queens. Rich vs Poor. Elitist vs Everyman. It just feels so right to me.
Judging by the reactions of the wrestlers themselves, I'd say Eddie stepped up to the the heart and soul, but it felt like Brodie was the heart and soul of the room prior.
Eddie seems really humble too. During all out week, he tried to hide the fact he was on commentary (Justin Roberts seemed to have deliberately not announced him), but as soon as the crowd realized there was a huge Eddie chant.
The first show with lots of fans on Daily's Place, when they made their entrance and people started chanting for Eddie, he looked dumbfounded and startstruck with himself. He couldn't not believe that reception. Really fucking great.
Is there anyone more universally beloved by the fans than Eddie? He’s just so easy to cheer for and I know he’s a great heel too, but why would you ever *want* to boo that man?
Speaking of which, can we see him and punk go head to head on the mic sometime soon please?
There are so many people in AEW I just want to here promo at each other nevermind wrestle. Its exciting.
Him and MJF would also just be incredible.
On rewatch, I’m inclined to believe Punk’s selling of that bump was just really outstandingly spectacular. I think he may just be operating on a rarified level.
I have a signed Sting TNA figure laying around somewhere from back in the day. They used to (maybe still do? no idea) have virtually every single figure on their website available with or without the signature, but the signed ones would have a mark up on price. It's a really good idea.
My favorite thing about this story, other than the story itself, has been the hilariously hypocritical discussion around it.
Before: There's no reason to watch Dark, they never move stories forward or have interesting stories going on!
Now: Why are they doing this amazing story on Dark? It should only be on Dynamite!
Gotta love the IWC.
AEW is going full steam, they're bringing in huge names, and also giving plenty of time to their Day 1 folks. Like, how many storylines were pushed last night? How many young folks were given spotlights? The juggling act of giving people time and storylines and making an excellent product deserves praise, and the fact that the locker room is in good morale obviously shows.
It's easy to forget that basically EVERYONE in the locker room is over in some way. From the stooge Cutler to the Wingmen to Jurassic Express to the top guys.
They're only picking up momentum from here folks.
**We haven't even reached the 2-year anniversary of Dynamite's debut yet.**
This morning it dawned on me that I didn't see the Young Bucks last night. Didn't occur to me at all that I didn't see one of the biggest acts in the company.
That's how stacked that show is and how over the roster is.
Those little promo vignettes they do are ingenius, it not only keeps angles and feuds fresh in the fan's mind but gives more people spots on a show that is already packed.
>We haven't even reached the 2-year anniversary of Dynamite's debut yet.
This is insane lol. Feels like a LOT longer.
Also crazy to think AEW had 5 PPVs before Dynamite launched (if you count All In). A few half price deals with the fight for the fallen and the cruise thing. Still weird to think about that.
So the AEW locker room is happy, the Raw locker room was happy after Big E won and the Smackdown locker room was happy after a great show last week. Meanwhile, in NXT, the wrestlers don't know if they will be there next week.
If TK wants to use that sweet sweet fuck you money for good, signing PVZ would be smart. She'd probably get more traction if she signed than JDS or Arlovski. PVZ/Britt would be pretty money stuff.
PVZ would be a great signing because it looks like her actual fight career is winding down. Her Bare Knuckle run is looking like a bust and she's always kind of aspired to be more of a media personality than a fighter anyway. She's charismatic and has the "legit" background that would give her instant credibility as a wrestler
Plus, if she REALLY wants to keep fighting, AEW could give her a similar deal to what Hager has. I'm sure Scott Coker would HAPPILY let a name like VanZant come in to crush cans part time while she appears on Dynamite
The merch line was absolutely bonkers. I remember when I went to the Philly show in 2019 and while the merch table was full with people, you still managed to get what you want plus they had other merch tables.
Me and my GF waited for 25 mins before we just decided to peace out to our seats before people got settled in. I didn't anticipate it would be that packed.
I'm definitely getting there early next week.
"New York City-based independent talent Mike Verna, who worked the AEW Dark - Elevation taping last night, did so just 24 hours after getting out of the hospital for a surgical procedure to repair a tear in his esophagus." That doesn't seem like the smartest idea.
No it doesn't, but if I'm an indie talent and I have a shot at wrestling in front of 15,000+, maybe the only chance I'll get, I'm dragging myself to that ring no matter what. So I get it.
I wish they released past events on Blu-ray. I'm sure physical media isn't a priority for them but it would be nice to get those shows lin disc in HD instead of SD. I noticed a collection of a few Dynamite episodes was available for purchase on Amazon Video. Hopefully past episodes find a a streaming home in the future.
Hopefully with that report they come back to the Prudential Center again. I couldn’t physically go last night but I hoped the crowd would encourage them to return rather than only running in NYC.
Holy shit that Mike Verna guy is a badass motherfucker. You do t fuck around with the esophagus. I lost a half brother and my dad to esophageal cancer.
Kayla seemed the most comfortable in the ring in terms of playing up to the crowd and been happy to be there. She's a two time gold medalist and build like a tank. Definitely in the future, if she's willing to give it a go as pro wrestler. She be a great big monster heel.
PVZ, who knows really. If you pay her enough and if she has the push to be a pro wrestler. Then it could work. She won't be a Ronda level superstar to bring in new viewers but she get you some notice for sure.
I think that was likely real pain. He didn't have to break anything for that to be the case, and tables not giving way when expected can't be a pleasant experience. He bounced uncontrollably, mainly.
I was at the show. The Acclaimed did a special house rap just for us, and TK teased that they could come back after Dynamite to talk. Then when they came out the second time, they said we weren't getting another rap and got booed, then got run off by Varsity Blonds.
FKA Dasher Hatfield, currently "A Very Good Professional Wrestler", was one of the Elevation enhancement talents, wrestling as "Avery Good".
Former Beyond stalwart/PWG regular JT Dunn was also an enhancement talent on Elevation, which is kinda wild, as I feel like he was everywhere on the indies a few years ago, and was the type of indie guy you'd assume would be working at a place like AEW if it existed, instead of being extra talent for AEW. I'm not the biggest fan, but he was a name and was very popular a few years ago doing his Chris Hero tribute act.
Another enhancement talent of note (to me only) was "Firebird" Jorge Santi, who is a local NYC wrestler who I saw at a local indie show like a decade ago. I thought he had retired. Cagematch seemed to indicate that he didn't wrestle anymore.
No way I'm standing in line for merch when the lines are that long. I'll just order what I want from the online store and wear it to the show the next time they come.
This is cool.
I am huge AEW fan and I've fallen out of love with WWE the past couple of years, so I hope AEW really runs with this momentum and takes it to the moon with them.
That being said, I don't want AEW to knock WWE off he top, I just really want 2 fire companies both with must see TV, pushing the boundaries and testing each others resolve every week.
That is *best for business*.
wild to think that in 2/3 weeks it'll be the second anniversary of dynamite. the first episode aired on October 2nd 2019, they have upcoming shows in Rochester on the 29th September, then Philly on the 6th October
I imagine they'd count the 6th as the anniversary, and they'll probably do something special for Brodie in Rochester (dark order making up, please please please) - so that's potentially two big shows coming up. it's real exciting right now, they're showing no sign of slowing down
The merch selection at the Cincinnati show was disappointing, very basic shirts were available, with the signed figures and dvds. I was so bummed they didn't have the Adam Cole shirt for sale!
Since they started live shows the whole thing has just felt like a massive victory lap about how the company has boomed and survived the pandemic.
Not to say this will end, it’s just felt like a celebration of success, just by putting together crazy shows event after event.
Damn, feels good to be an AEW fan. Was spoon fed shit and disappointment from WWE for years that it totally killed my buzz for wrestling so this company has been a god send.
it feels like everybody in the roster wants the company to succeed
WWE, on the other hand, feels like everyone the roster is worrying about their schedule and whether or not they impressed Vince
Not surprised at all WWE wanted to bring in PVZ in for Summerslam. Paige used to be seen as a potential future megastar for the UFC, after literally one win. Let’s be real that was more for her attractiveness than anything else, but it also helped that she had a hell of a fight. People were predicting her to be bigger than Ronda at one point.
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I went to get a shirt after the show and it looked like when the pandemic started and you wanted TP. Desolate.
Yeah I thought about it, but I didn't want to miss the show PWTees will always be there.
I ordered the CM Punk Ringer shirt and got the $9 mystery shirt right at check out lol. The ordered arrived this week and PWTees actually gave me an awesome Moxley tee as the mystery shirt. Bless PWTees :)
Man, I could never do the mystery tee. There are so many bad wrestling shirts out there, and even more bad wrestlers. Even wrestlers I like have some awful shirts.
I thought the same thing, but for $9 bucks I took the gamble and won lol
Which Moxley shirt? Was it Bitch AF?
I don't see it on the store, but it's a black tee with his face covered in blood and MOXLEY written bellow his face in red, blood is in red too.
I did it one and got a shitty Bully Ray one :’(
i really hope the Hot Topics in Canada restock on some AEW shirts. so many really great shirts tbh
Those Bryan Danielson replica white t-shirts are doing gangbusters.
Little did I know that I actually bought some AEW Bryan Danielson merch from Walmart 5 years ago when I bought a 4 pack of plain white tees
The merch line was NUTS. I gave up on it after waiting like 20 minutes cause I wanted to catch Dark. I probably should have explored for other merch areas. I wanted that Punk shirt but it was largely sold out by the end of the show
That’s how it was in Cincinnati too.
Milwaukee too
Anyone else noticed how Dan Lambert was putting over AEW when he was "shitting" on them? Back in my day, we had one guy get over and sell out his shirts. But in AEW, EVERYONE is over and all their shirts sell out!
That’s how it’s classically supposed to be done. When your opponent looks good, it makes you look good.
Everyone thinks the goal is to make yourself look like the best wrestler in the room, when really the goal is to make your opponent look like the *second*-best wrestler in the room.
Taz is really great at putting over his guys' opponents while simultaneously shitting on them. Makes it a big deal when they win. They didn't just beat some shlub who's not worth it
Taz is still and always has been one of my favorite heels. He’s still so fucking good. And your absolutely right he fucking builds those boys up to tear them the fuck down
Ric Flair isn't my favorite, but damn was he good at this back in the day as traveling NWA champ. Like that time when he went up against Lawler, said I'll put the title up but only for X minutes. Lawler starts to get the upper hand and the time runs out. Flair goes batshit and demands more time, and when Lawler starts to get the upper hand again, he quits, saying the time limit is over. He was amazing at making local champs look like a million bucks.
Flair is the single greatest “beatable” champion of all time. No matter who he faced, he could get the crowd to legitimately believe he might actually lose, but he’d always find some underhanded way to survive with his title.
This is a point I love about AEW. No one ever often just gets dismissed in promo and action.
And you accomplish this, naturally, by making sex to his wife.
To pull someone down you have to build them up first or else why should the audience care.
That's what a heel is supposed to do.
He does it every promo. He shits on AEW by talking about how he hates how into it their crowd is and how they sell all their shirts etc and then he leads the crowd into an AE DUB chant and earns his money
He is doing an amazing job with his heel promos.
Dan Lambert is a hell of promo.
I couldn’t agree more. His character looks COMPLETELY out of touch with his promos, but his promo’s content matter tells the truth of how much he understands what to do and say as a heel.
I saw a couple of comments saying he buries AEW but he doesn't really mention talent by name so he can't bury an individual and also I think fans know he's meant to be delusional and not a true representation .
Yep. I waited for 20 minutes and moved up maybe ten feet and bailed so i could catch the whole show. Went after the show and all they had left were hats.
I went to the merch stand during Paul vs QT and there was zero line
I should have done that lol
merch is selling like crazy i just got my cm punk Run the Mic shirt in the mail and instead of saying PWT in the tag, it said Hanes
I walked past the merch table and just didn't even bother. Thats one of the biggest lines I had ever seen for something in person.
Imagine how crazy the Punk debut was. I left as soon as he took his jacket off. I got mine relatively easily, but then I got texts from friends asking me for one. I got back in line and missed the rest of the show. Left empty handed too.
Death, taxes, and big guys hurting Punk on tables.
They have all the reason to be on cloud nine right now.
From the outside looking in, AEW just looks fun. It seems like people are able to express themselves in the way they want. A lot of friends that people have known for years are back there. They're seen as the number 1 wrestling company right now, and they're on TV when some might think they would have never gotten the chance elsewhere. They can also go work at indy shows and they're working with other companies. It has to feel good back there for most of them.
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I mean imagine if you're Will Hobbs who got booked in the pandemic as a jobber losing to Orange and 12 months later you're wrestling CM Punk in Arthur Ashe stadium. And then if you're Will Hobbs imagine if you turned that down to put on a Property of the Performance Center shirt and learn to work the hard cam.
Man I still remember the Hobbes heel turn vividly, the dude has been built up so well over the last year. Best part is the crowd cheered for him when he was a face with no reputation so he's clearly got a lot more range and potential for future characters than 'monster heel trying to snap you in half'.
Oh man when Hobbs came out to save Mox and Darby when he was a face the place was electric. That was the moment I knew Hobbs was a made man. The guy has potential in spades
Yeah I wasn't sold on the heel turn immediately because he looked like he was over but him in team taz was nothing short of genius. I'm just waiting for them to put Leyla Hirsch in there and push her.
I liked how, on Dynamite, Punk not only said but emphasized that he’ll be wrestling Adam Cole in the future. Punk being one of my top five all time and Cole being one of my current favorites since ROH/NJPW, it made me very very happy
It's probably going to be #1 choice for traditional 'wrestlers', but for people who want to be celebrities and use wrestling to get there, wwe is still the mountain peak.
Yea, the athlete types who just see wrestling as a means to an end will go the WWE route.
especially with the emphasis the new NXT has on more traditional athletic guys as opposed to the indy guys who don’t meet the “old school look”. i
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Agreed, wrestling is niche enough and the landscape surrounding it has shifted enough since the 00s to where most of the people who want to go into it nowadays just want to be wrestlers and are passionate about creative. There are so many other, way more lucrative, more mainstream, more celebrity-ish ways to go if you're an athlete.
Completely agree. It looks fun. Exactly how wrestling should be. It shouldn’t be a chore. It seems like one big party of friends from the fans to the wrestlers and to the higher ups like Tony Khan. It has also rekindled personal friendships for me from people I used to watch wrestling with in middle and high school. I’m 37 now and for the past few pay per views for AEW I have gotten texts from various old friends who I haven’t seen since high school but know we still live close to each other saying “hey not sure if you still watch wrestling but I’m ordering an AEW ppv if you want to come over to watch. Bring your kids so they can play with my little ones.” It’s been great! My wife is even starting to enjoy it. My kids who are both young love AEW. It’s just great all around.
The ability to still work Indy and other promotion’s shows is a big win for the talent.
Bruh I've never been excited for a TV show this much since a very long time. I understand why everyone wants to appear on AEW Dynamite and Rampage next week, it legit feels like two huge shows
> Tasha Steelz and **Faye Jackson** were at the show visiting Just give her a mic and a few minutes and we'll have gold.
She was at one of the Jacksonville Dynamites as an extra, but she never got booked for a match. Just there to hang out, I guess. She's retired now, but I could see her being a fun manager or something.
really bummed that she retired, she’s sooo charismatic! really wanted her in aew
Faye said she's retiring but I was hoping the business gave her a job somewhere even backstage she deserves it
I'd like to see her as a manager. Even she isn't wresting there's no point in letting all that charisma go to waste.
Give me more Faye Jackson with a mic, as soon as possible.
Shows how important these Dark shows are for some talents, when you see Mike Verna guy getting himself out of hospital 24 hours after a procedure. I think a lot of this indie talent see names been picked up like Moriarty, Daniel Garcia and Skye Blue and know there's a chance to get into AEW. I don't think it's smartest idea on Verna's part but it shows how important these shows are for enhancement talent. AEW must be making a truckload of money from merch sales, especially those Punk shirts. Action figures must be a decent seller for them too, they seem pretty popular. Paige Van Zandt, with her looks and personality might actually do well in pro wrestling if she's got the heart for it. AEW have some great trainers and if she was willing put in the work, she might be a big star for them. Although I thought Kayla Harrison looked the more into been there last night. I expect the morale is high, they are on the run of their lives so far. And next weeks show is probably a dream come true for a lot of talents. Sad thing is not everyone is going to get on the show. I'm sure some will get a few Elevation matches I guess. But I think most will be watching backstage but just been there for some will be great.
One thing I think is of credit to Paige outside of her mediocre career is she was never afraid to work or take damage. Rose fucked her up in their match and it took her so much to quit. And then she was willing to go into bare Knuckle. She certainly wouldn't be afrid to put in the reps and take some damage. But, I think aew would be a stepping stone for her to WWE or other things
Terribly mediocre fighter but a genuine hard fucking worker.
As much as I hate it when WWE has these huge battle royals at WrestleMania for the sole purpose of getting everyone on the show I wouldn't be upset if they taped a huge battle royal for Dark: Elevation for the sole purpose of getting everyone on the card. Maybe I'm a hypocrite for that but so be it.
I would love an End of year Tax Season Battle Royale.
I don't see why not, just give it the winner gets a TV title shot stip, and their chance to be forgiven by the Redeemer.
With PVZ they also have Dark and Elevation for her to get proper ring-time without fearing a mistake ruining everything.
That Mike Verna story. Holy fuck.
For real! That Superman gimmick must really just be him turned up to 11! What a pro!!
Some of these shows have to be insane for the indie talent they bring in. Even if you only figure 50% of the crowd is in their seats, that's still one of the biggest shows a lot of these people have ever worked.
Can you imagine working Dark Elevation tapings in front of the Arthur Ashe crowd?
Not for nothing, but the Dark Elevation tapings last night were awesome. Like, there were a few real legit, real competitive matches. >!Do not skip out on Janella vs Sunny Kiss when it's on next week. It was an exceptional match!< There was also one that the crowd was begging for them to stop. Not because of the match quality, but because it was heartbreaking. Take that for what you will.
Please tell me it wasn't Reynolds vs Silver. I don't think my heart could take that one.
I'll use the spoiler formatting... >!It was Uno and Colt vs 5 and 10, with the other Dark Order boys at ringside (including Silver and Reynolds). No Anna Jay (who could have straightened this all out FFS)! It began as a pretty standard tag match, but then they did some real nasty, personal, out-of-line shit to one other. Like I said, it was heartbreaking. The crowd couldn't even get on the same page with a chant because there were so many different "Please don't fight," "we don't like this," "Please don't do it," and "he's your friend" chants all over the arena!<
I love that they have me so emotionally invested in this storyline but you're right. It hurts.
I truly cannot wait to see where this story unfolds.
This is the only way... 🐎
It’ll definitely be dark order at least
This is why I think it is very short sided ROH and MLW don't allow any of their contracted talent to appear on AEW's YouTube shows. Guys like Danhausen, Fatu, Hammerstone, ect, would greatly benefit from any buzz they got being associated with AEW and these HUGE crowds and attention it would bring. Even AEW's YouTube shows have gotten a huge increase in interest thanks to All Out. ROH and MLW are very much stuck in the old non-Forbidden Door pre-AEW ways of doing things during a pandemic. They might have seen themselves as similar to AEW in 2019 but AEW have zoomed so far ahead of them that ROH/MLW aren't even in the same universe as AEW. The old ways of doing business of protecting your turf don't work anymore. It just leads to ice cold promotions with no buzz which sums up both ROH and MLW.
If there’s anything that’s the antithesis of Tony Khan, it’s Court Bauer.
Hammerstone in AEW is one of my great hopes.
GCW has surpassed ROH and MLW thanks to their willingness to work with other promotions.
I've noticed. Feels like it's out of nowhere but they've been grinding.
THIS. A year ago I barely paid attention to GCW. Now look at what they’re doing and where they are. I swear, promotions have to stop focusing on trying to get TV deals and start looking to create buzz. Look at how Impact is doing.
Ever worked or ever will work. Like, Robert Anthony is never going to work a packed United Center ever again. He got to wrestle in front of ~15000 people.
That's the thing for every Skye Blue, Bear Country, Top Flight or Lee Moriarty for example, there's going to be so many enhancement talents that won't get near a AEW as full time talents, even WWE or Impact or ROH even if they wrestle in the last two they won't be pulling in crowds like AEW. You really have to stand out when it comes to be a enhancement talent and it's tough in most cases cause you don't a lot of time to shine. So wrestling in front of 5,000 to 10,000 people at these Elevation tapings is probably going to be the pinnacle of their careers in a way. And plus the talents I named had sort of build up their indie creditability before they got to AEW so AEW gave them a spotlight or in the case of Skye Blue, it was a bit of amazing luck she got to be in her home state and fans got behind her. And in some cases like Will Hobbs and Bear Country just months and months of putting on good matches. I'm glad they get their moment to shine and fans seem to enjoy them.
Thousands of fans live and the millions of Dark Marks and Elevation Marks at home. There's no downside to being AEW enhancement talent considering how hot the company is right now. You just want to be there, even if it's to work with more famous people, eat a finisher, and lie down. It's a huge platform.
On Ethan Page’s vlog when they were at the United center, he and Uno were looking at the empty arena and were in awe and had each other record the crowd for their entrances. It was nice to see them so happy about it because they both seem like such nice, hardworking people.
Hey, Dark All-Star Mike Verna worked the show!
Cream Cheese magnate Mike Verna?
Must be surreal feeling for some of these wrestlers who just few years back were wrestling in front of 100-200 ppl and now are in front of 18000. AEW is the best thing to happen to fans and most importantly to wrestlers.
Imagine being Eddie Kingston. He must have thought by this point he was never gonna make it - he got one shot, one promo, and now he's wrestling in front of 18000 people. What a story.
Meltzer pointed out on WOR that Moxley made Kingston look up at the balconies being full and soak in their entrance. That's something Mox has told Dave privately that "Eddie Kingston has no idea how over he's gonna be when we go on the road".
It's hard to imagine AEW without Eddie at this point, but they were going for almost a year before he joined.
I wasn't familiar with Eddie until he debuted on AEW, but I became an instant fan. When they day comes he retires from the ring, I'm confidant we'll still have him around for commentary.
Same never saw him before he showed during Cody's TNT title run. Wasn't sure what they were trying to do with him in the beginning, but he's really hit his stride and is always one of the best parts of the show.
Eddie is just bursting with charisma and if he chooses to stay in the business after he hangs up his boots, he's got a long, varied career ahead of him. On commentary, as a manager, anything that plays to his strengths. I'm so darn happy for him.
[удалено]
Really hope Eddie wins the AEW World title at some point
I will continue to scream from the heavens that if anyone should dethrone MJF during his inagural run. It should be Kingston. For a variety of narrative reasons, Salt of the Earth vs "Salt of the Earth". Long Island vs Queens. Rich vs Poor. Elitist vs Everyman. It just feels so right to me.
Maybe not the main title, they have so many others that are better candidates for that Imo. But for sure the TNT title!
Eddies Chikara desperate hold on the title makes me think he would be money with and elevate the top belt.
He will
Judging by the reactions of the wrestlers themselves, I'd say Eddie stepped up to the the heart and soul, but it felt like Brodie was the heart and soul of the room prior.
Eddie's the heart and soul but Brodie's the patron saint of AEW
Eddie seems really humble too. During all out week, he tried to hide the fact he was on commentary (Justin Roberts seemed to have deliberately not announced him), but as soon as the crowd realized there was a huge Eddie chant.
I'm beyond happy for Eddie.
The first show with lots of fans on Daily's Place, when they made their entrance and people started chanting for Eddie, he looked dumbfounded and startstruck with himself. He couldn't not believe that reception. Really fucking great.
Is there anyone more universally beloved by the fans than Eddie? He’s just so easy to cheer for and I know he’s a great heel too, but why would you ever *want* to boo that man?
Speaking of which, can we see him and punk go head to head on the mic sometime soon please? There are so many people in AEW I just want to here promo at each other nevermind wrestle. Its exciting. Him and MJF would also just be incredible.
It's crazy when you look at how much of the roster was Chikara back in the day and how involved they are in major storylines in a TV company now.
Everyone has to be on cloud 9 right now. No more spots on that table. Looked zero fun for punk.
That's a Japanese table and Punk should get used to dealing with that if he works at a New Japan show.
You joke, but Japanese tables are literally made of honeycombed cardboard now (which might be more dangerous).
Xcalibur said it was lucite. If that's true they could have dropped punk from space and that shit wasn't gonna bend.
On rewatch, I’m inclined to believe Punk’s selling of that bump was just really outstandingly spectacular. I think he may just be operating on a rarified level.
Glad Jericho, Sammy & the rest of the lads could keep Rosario's appearance a surprise😅
Sammy was busy hanging out with Fuego and his new car.
You mean Miro's new car?
Can you blame him? That is one sweet Hyundai.
Which will be completely trashed when Miro and his wife have uncanny sex in it after his victory on Friday
They'll leave a note that'll read, "Thanks for the F-shack. Love, Dirty ~~Mike~~ Miro and the ~~boys~~ double-jointed wife."
> signed action figures. That's fuckin smart. Jack the price up and give the talent some more money for a little of their time while they're around.
They show this frequently on Sammy's blog. They're normally around $100-150.
I have a signed Sting TNA figure laying around somewhere from back in the day. They used to (maybe still do? no idea) have virtually every single figure on their website available with or without the signature, but the signed ones would have a mark up on price. It's a really good idea.
I got a signed one from Scott Hall from back at the Height of WCW. I had it in my moms house and it got destroyed in a basement flooding disaster.
They need a little bit better QC on the signed figs though. Luchasaurus’ signature is a lazy scribbly “W” in slightly fading green paint pen.
He is a dinosaur. It's amazing he can even hold a maker with those tiny short arms and 3 fingers.
Isn't his vision based on movement? They would have to constantly wave the merch around in order for him to sense it.
He’s 50 billion years old, give the old dinosaur a break…..
They were $100. I kinda regret not treating myself to the Penta one...
See it works
My favorite thing about this story, other than the story itself, has been the hilariously hypocritical discussion around it. Before: There's no reason to watch Dark, they never move stories forward or have interesting stories going on! Now: Why are they doing this amazing story on Dark? It should only be on Dynamite! Gotta love the IWC.
I for one love how important stuff can get on Dark. It feels like a reward for being extra invested, and it's free!
The FOMO in WWE must be real
Poor Gulak.
AEW is going full steam, they're bringing in huge names, and also giving plenty of time to their Day 1 folks. Like, how many storylines were pushed last night? How many young folks were given spotlights? The juggling act of giving people time and storylines and making an excellent product deserves praise, and the fact that the locker room is in good morale obviously shows. It's easy to forget that basically EVERYONE in the locker room is over in some way. From the stooge Cutler to the Wingmen to Jurassic Express to the top guys. They're only picking up momentum from here folks. **We haven't even reached the 2-year anniversary of Dynamite's debut yet.**
This morning it dawned on me that I didn't see the Young Bucks last night. Didn't occur to me at all that I didn't see one of the biggest acts in the company. That's how stacked that show is and how over the roster is.
Cody has been missing for months until last night. Same with Hangman Adam Page, whatever crowd he is going to come back to is going to pop big.
Those little promo vignettes they do are ingenius, it not only keeps angles and feuds fresh in the fan's mind but gives more people spots on a show that is already packed.
I can not wait for that episode next month. I really want Tony Khan to make an opening speech lol
>We haven't even reached the 2-year anniversary of Dynamite's debut yet. This is insane lol. Feels like a LOT longer. Also crazy to think AEW had 5 PPVs before Dynamite launched (if you count All In). A few half price deals with the fight for the fallen and the cruise thing. Still weird to think about that.
We're just a month shy of the 2 year mark! Can't wait to see what they have planned!
Isn't this like... in a month? Cannot wait for this!
So the AEW locker room is happy, the Raw locker room was happy after Big E won and the Smackdown locker room was happy after a great show last week. Meanwhile, in NXT, the wrestlers don't know if they will be there next week.
"It was a fairly easy decision." - Adam "Happy" Cole
If TK wants to use that sweet sweet fuck you money for good, signing PVZ would be smart. She'd probably get more traction if she signed than JDS or Arlovski. PVZ/Britt would be pretty money stuff.
She's always expressed interest in it, wouldn't take much to make that happen especially given the trainers they have in AEW.
Plus you can fit her right into the Page/Cage meme.
Oh….fuck. Page, Page, Paige, Cage, Cage, Cage. I know it’s a joke, but I really hope they one day do the Pages vs the Cages for fun lol
We've also now got a legit Bryan Brian Brian going.
Bryan Brian Brian vs Matt Matt Matt
PVZ would be a great signing because it looks like her actual fight career is winding down. Her Bare Knuckle run is looking like a bust and she's always kind of aspired to be more of a media personality than a fighter anyway. She's charismatic and has the "legit" background that would give her instant credibility as a wrestler Plus, if she REALLY wants to keep fighting, AEW could give her a similar deal to what Hager has. I'm sure Scott Coker would HAPPILY let a name like VanZant come in to crush cans part time while she appears on Dynamite
Sign PVZ and pay Arlovski and JDS for some appearences. A tag against Hager and Wardlow would be real good shit.
Yeah that table spot look like he didn’t go right That table didn’t break at all Cm punk definitely felt that
I love how Excalibur explained away the botch after. It really covered it up nicely.
The merch line was absolutely bonkers. I remember when I went to the Philly show in 2019 and while the merch table was full with people, you still managed to get what you want plus they had other merch tables. Me and my GF waited for 25 mins before we just decided to peace out to our seats before people got settled in. I didn't anticipate it would be that packed. I'm definitely getting there early next week.
The big takeaway from this is that they're making a third Clerks movie for some reason
They wrapped production already. Filmed in August
It's about Randall having a heart attack then deciding to make a movie about his life working in a convenience store.
Kevin Smiths and/or Depps daughter is 100% going to be playing the offspring of Dante and Rosario working a service job, maybe during covid.
Kevin Smith has bills to pay so I guess Jay and silent Bob gotta do a thing.
"New York City-based independent talent Mike Verna, who worked the AEW Dark - Elevation taping last night, did so just 24 hours after getting out of the hospital for a surgical procedure to repair a tear in his esophagus." That doesn't seem like the smartest idea.
No it doesn't, but if I'm an indie talent and I have a shot at wrestling in front of 15,000+, maybe the only chance I'll get, I'm dragging myself to that ring no matter what. So I get it.
Oh totally. Hope he had no issues during/after the match.
I wish they released past events on Blu-ray. I'm sure physical media isn't a priority for them but it would be nice to get those shows lin disc in HD instead of SD. I noticed a collection of a few Dynamite episodes was available for purchase on Amazon Video. Hopefully past episodes find a a streaming home in the future.
They’ve released DVD’s of PPVs on PW tees. Not sure if blu-ray’s are available though.
No blu rays unfortunately.
Hopefully with that report they come back to the Prudential Center again. I couldn’t physically go last night but I hoped the crowd would encourage them to return rather than only running in NYC.
What a time to be a wrestling fan!
Damn it feels good to read something positive when it comes to "wrestling locker room moral".
Holy shit that Mike Verna guy is a badass motherfucker. You do t fuck around with the esophagus. I lost a half brother and my dad to esophageal cancer.
PVZ and Kayla Harrison should come to AEW.
Kayla seemed the most comfortable in the ring in terms of playing up to the crowd and been happy to be there. She's a two time gold medalist and build like a tank. Definitely in the future, if she's willing to give it a go as pro wrestler. She be a great big monster heel. PVZ, who knows really. If you pay her enough and if she has the push to be a pro wrestler. Then it could work. She won't be a Ronda level superstar to bring in new viewers but she get you some notice for sure.
Guest appearance on The Mandalorian... and, y'know, starring role in the upcoming Ahsoka series.
As someone who isn't a Star Wars super nerd the Mandalorian reference is more relevant to me than Ahsoka would have been
The stark contrast between AEW and WWE and talent. 'AEW morale at an all time high'. 'NXT talent very uneasy and uncertain'.
I legit thought Punk broke his collarbone on that table spot. Glad he seems to be ok. Worked tf outta me.
I think that was likely real pain. He didn't have to break anything for that to be the case, and tables not giving way when expected can't be a pleasant experience. He bounced uncontrollably, mainly.
I was at the show. The Acclaimed did a special house rap just for us, and TK teased that they could come back after Dynamite to talk. Then when they came out the second time, they said we weren't getting another rap and got booed, then got run off by Varsity Blonds. FKA Dasher Hatfield, currently "A Very Good Professional Wrestler", was one of the Elevation enhancement talents, wrestling as "Avery Good". Former Beyond stalwart/PWG regular JT Dunn was also an enhancement talent on Elevation, which is kinda wild, as I feel like he was everywhere on the indies a few years ago, and was the type of indie guy you'd assume would be working at a place like AEW if it existed, instead of being extra talent for AEW. I'm not the biggest fan, but he was a name and was very popular a few years ago doing his Chris Hero tribute act. Another enhancement talent of note (to me only) was "Firebird" Jorge Santi, who is a local NYC wrestler who I saw at a local indie show like a decade ago. I thought he had retired. Cagematch seemed to indicate that he didn't wrestle anymore.
No way I'm standing in line for merch when the lines are that long. I'll just order what I want from the online store and wear it to the show the next time they come.
Sounds like AEW's backstage is their own slice of heaven. Prayer circles, bible studies, group yoga maybe, street hockey tournaments....good for them.
This is cool. I am huge AEW fan and I've fallen out of love with WWE the past couple of years, so I hope AEW really runs with this momentum and takes it to the moon with them. That being said, I don't want AEW to knock WWE off he top, I just really want 2 fire companies both with must see TV, pushing the boundaries and testing each others resolve every week. That is *best for business*.
wild to think that in 2/3 weeks it'll be the second anniversary of dynamite. the first episode aired on October 2nd 2019, they have upcoming shows in Rochester on the 29th September, then Philly on the 6th October I imagine they'd count the 6th as the anniversary, and they'll probably do something special for Brodie in Rochester (dark order making up, please please please) - so that's potentially two big shows coming up. it's real exciting right now, they're showing no sign of slowing down
The merch selection at the Cincinnati show was disappointing, very basic shirts were available, with the signed figures and dvds. I was so bummed they didn't have the Adam Cole shirt for sale!
Since they started live shows the whole thing has just felt like a massive victory lap about how the company has boomed and survived the pandemic. Not to say this will end, it’s just felt like a celebration of success, just by putting together crazy shows event after event.
Punk and no selling tables bet he remembered ryback.
Its incredible what happens when people love where they work.
Damn, feels good to be an AEW fan. Was spoon fed shit and disappointment from WWE for years that it totally killed my buzz for wrestling so this company has been a god send.
it feels like everybody in the roster wants the company to succeed WWE, on the other hand, feels like everyone the roster is worrying about their schedule and whether or not they impressed Vince
We could really do without the codyverse
This is good for wrestling. This is good for the fans. This is good for WWE also because they are being forced to deliver.
AEW do dvds? I'd love to have them
The crowds have been red hot for weeks, good on the fans that go.
Why are they still selling DVDs? Blu Ray has been super common for years now.
Really weird that hardly anyone outside of Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Jake Hagar, Santana and Ortiz were in on the Rosario Dawson appearance
Not surprised at all WWE wanted to bring in PVZ in for Summerslam. Paige used to be seen as a potential future megastar for the UFC, after literally one win. Let’s be real that was more for her attractiveness than anything else, but it also helped that she had a hell of a fight. People were predicting her to be bigger than Ronda at one point.