Friday, December 11, 2020

AEW Dynamite (Dec. 9th, 2020): Slow Down A Bit, Kid


So, I guess we should talk about this Dynamite show... and probably Impact too, but I've got less to say about that one, hence no musings. But we'll save that for after the break.

Just as an aside, I'm not covering the whole show; just some of the more notable bits that I can recall from memory. For what it's worth, this was a fairly busy show with a lot of stuff going on. Hopefully, things slow down for the next episode.

So... the Impact show is something that I just breezed through for the most part. An empty studio show with a bunch of stuff happening and no effort to get potential new viewers familiar with any of the characters since this was their most watched show in ages. There's a pretty good Sami Calihan promo hyping his rivalry with Eddie Edwards over that errant baseball bat hit across the face from yesteryear - I'm amazed I actually remember that angle - and there's a neat bit where the reigning Impact World champion is refused entry to the parking lot... yes, the reigning world champion of your company was shut out by a portly security officer, which is a hell of a first impression for new viewers... but other than that, the only notable bits were the two AEW segments. The first being a paid ad with the two Tonys and the second being the awesome interview between Josh Matthews and the Don Callis/Kenny Omega team... and since those segments are online, it renders the whole episode pointless if you're just tuning in for the AEW stuff.

Tony Schiavone does a reunion with STING, who then roams around and talks for a little bit, being somewhat dismissive of Cody and glancing at face paint "successor" guy Darby Allin, sitting in the crowd. This segment lets you know that Sting exists, Cody is suspicious, and Darby is Darby. It doesn't say a whole lot, but it plants some seeds.

And then Schiavone does an interview with SHAQ and Brandi. Words are exchanged, Shaq says something that easily offends Brandi, and Brandi tosses water to hit face... this was horrible. Brandi is reaching Stephanie-levels of change-the-channel irritating, Shaq looked bored out of his mind, and Schiavone looks like he's going to quit the business for another eighteen years. I get the push for outside talent to try and get more eyeballs on the product - it's a common thing in wrestling that sometimes works in their favor; the Tyson thing at Wrestlemania XIV being a prime example - but this was just awful, awful shit. The dirt worst.

On the plus side, it did give us that wonderful shot of SHAQ that was worthy of immortalization on the blog. Thanks, guys.

Zombie Cosplay Girl defeated Jobber in a minute, then keeps beating her to bring out Shida for the save. Zombie Cosplay Girl gets hit with the kendo stick, but does the Undertaker sit-up seconds later to really drive home the point that I really miss the Boogeyman.

AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and Impact EVP Don Callis arrive via helicopter to pretty much cut the same interview that they did on Impact for the folks who didn't watch Impact... which probably renders the whole "watching Impact" thing a complete waste of time. I'll admit that I did dig the Impact segment a little better, but those hoping for some kind of follow-up from there to here were undoubtedly disappointed by the lack of "huge announcement" that was teased on the Impact show. Man, you can take the TNA out of Impact, but you can't take the TNA out of Impact.

Before anyone brings it up, yes, Callis did explicitly kept Kenny from mentioning this announcement as we're not ready for it. Some people would call it bait and switch, but it's just the heel teasing the audience further. If this was a taped show, then it's possible that this was taped first before they did the Impact segment and nobody knows what the announcement was going to be. The Impact interview did tease Kenny becoming a belt collector of sorts, much like an Austin Aries or Ultimo Dragon run... that could be intriguing if the cards are played right.

Show opened with a pretty good Young Bucks vs TH2 tag match, which the champs won. FTR also beat some blonds. There was also a bunch of other stuff, but I've forgotten some of it.

Sorry about this, folks. Had a lot on my mind this week, but Dynamite provided a nice break from the mundane. I just wished they slow down a bit and let me digest all this stuff.

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