Team Regal is already getting very interesting. I like Wheeler Yuta's balls. I mean, if I were in his position, teaming with the permanently lifeless and uninspired Chuck Taylor, and seeing how Danielson and Moxley wrestle, I'd also be running away from Best Friends as fast as possible.

When Jericho pretented to turn a new leaf, only to form Inner Circle part 2, I wasn't so impressed. But now I get it. Jericho's surrounded himself by ass-kissers, people who exist only to stroke his enormous ego, it makes a lot of sense. It's entertaining, and I love his new look. Then he goes full sports entertainer :lol: I love it. Not only is it a great heel move, but I'm quite sure Jericho views himself as a sports entertainer than a pro-wrestler. Daniel Garcia, though, that's a surprise.

Jericho knows promoting WWE style as the better style will get him nuclear heat with the AEW crowd.

This whole angle is being done for Garcia though. Jericho will get him on the mic I bet each week to get him experience on the mic, as with both Big Magic and Jericho any mistakes or misplays he makes between the two of them they can recover. Then when he can stand on his own promowise (he main weakness) he will turn on Jericho. Garcia has like almost every big name backstage rooting for him, so who better to make damn sure he gets over, than Jericho himself.

This entire gimmick had to come from a conversation 2.0 and Jericho had on the differences between indy work and WWE work.  2.0 were always the guys in WRESTLING feds trying to do the WWE style, as they think it is the better style too.  

I think they want 2.0 and Daniel Garcia to be heels, but they're so damn likeable that it wasn't working. They finally found a way to get people to boo them out of the building even when they show up, talk shit, and kick ass.

Tony Khan: "I can't figure out how to make people hate 2.0 & Garcia."

Chris Jericho: "Hold my bubbly."

2.0 def are not going face. Ever booker tries it ONCE. It does not work well. When they actually want like real heat they are great at getting it too. Big Magic just has a mind for working smart crowds.

What could get fun, is 2.0 loves to swap their gimmick up the same way Jericho does, so this could very well lead to Jericho pushing crazy ass gimmicks onto 2.0 and them going out and doing them full stop. Be fucking great if they did a greatest hits of Jericho's past gimmicks but in tag team style week to week. Like one week they are the Painmakers, the next they are the Liontamers, another week they are the masters of 1001 holds.

Whenever there's an instance of a heel screwing a babyface, I can't help but think about how these heels would plan their actions in kayfabe. More often than not it makes no sense.

Wardlow vs Scorpio Sky. Decent match. Of course Wardlow gets the upperhand and starts powerbombing Scorpio Sky. Two powerbombs. Three powerbombs. On the fourth, Dan Lambert gets on the apron, Scorpio bails to the floor, and we get a sequence of events where Spears/MJF interefere and Sky gets the win.

Fantastic.

But what if Wardlow had decided to pin Scorpio Sky after the first powerbomb? Or the second powerbomb? Then Wardlow wins the gold. Sure MJF could rush the ring and beat the shit out of Wardlow, but he has the belt. Plan ruined.

In order for that sequence of events to happen, MJF/Lambert had to know that Wardlow would do exactly what he did at that specific time. Sure, you can base it on past experience, but that's Wardlow beating up jobbers. There's every chance he would take a championship match more seriously and go for the win after the first powerbomb instead of playing to the crowd. Did the villain's plans account for that? Of course not. Because pro-wrestling writing is often superficial.

Speaking of lazy writing, The Hardys.

Matt Hardy is a big bad heel, a dickhead. An arguably bigger dickhead in Andrade joins, Matt's disgruntled employees turn on him, and all of a sudden he transforms from businessman Matt to 90s tag team pioneer Matt and we're expected to cheer and forgive him for all his sins. All because his brother returned. To be fair, the crowd were heavily cheering for Jeff. Matt not so much.

This one I am less bothered about. The Hardy stable was shit for ages, so regardless of the means, at least that chapter of AEW history is hopefully coming to a close.

The match itself was really good, a fun showcase of both teams. Private Party looked great in defeat, they had some nice offense.

I've been a negative nancy over my past couple of posts. I was expecting to rebalance the scales by gushing all over Britt Baker vs Thunder Rosa. Alas, I cannot...

At least half of the spots in that match would make my "Wrestling Pet Peeves" thread, and the rest was either overgimmicked weapon high spots or sloppy/soft offense. A shame the match sucked, but at least Thunder Rosa got an awesome entrance and took her rightful place on the throne.

Mar 18, 2022 19:15:04 GMT Emperor said:

Speaking of lazy writing, The Hardys.

Matt Hardy is a big bad heel, a dickhead. An arguably bigger dickhead in Andrade joins, Matt's disgruntled employees turn on him, and all of a sudden he transforms from businessman Matt to 90s tag team pioneer Matt and we're expected to cheer and forgive him for all his sins. All because his brother returned. To be fair, the crowd were heavily cheering for Jeff. Matt not so much.

This one I am less bothered about. The Hardy stable was shit for ages, so regardless of the means, at least that chapter of AEW history is hopefully coming to a close.

The match itself was really good, a fun showcase of both teams. Private Party looked great in defeat, they had some nice offense.

That is a crowd issue not a story issue. All of Matt group have sketchy pasts and should be the heels. Private Party did nothing wrong. They were just a young team who wanted to learn from a person they idolized when they grew up. Matt trick Andrade into his failing business plan.

Jericho says he's not a wrestler, he's a sports entertainer is a flawless line. I can't wait to give him shit when he tells us to stop singing along.

I hope he changes his music now. Now THAT would be a heel move.

Jericho gonna be tagging with Garcia to help get him over big.

In 2012 if you would have told me BIG MAGIC & Jagged would be warming the fire for Jericho to get heat, I would have asked them what the fuck are they smoking?

I know right? Every time I see them on TV I still cannot believe what I am seeing.

The way they brought back The Hardys was dumb. I wish they put even a little thought into it other than “Hardy Boyz Reunion Tour 2022”

-AHFO is collapsing around Matt.
-he realizes his actions have hurt his family and Andrade is easily picking up the scraps.
-Matt tries to save face and even offers to step aside as leader, but the AFO kicks his ass anyway.
-fans chant for Jeff…but he doesn’t show.

Matt thought Jeff would have his back in the end but Jeff isn’t sure he wants to bail out “this” Matt. He wants his old brother back, not this selfish prick that lost his way.

Jeff refuses to join AEW until Matt proves he’s worthy. Matt could cut a couple vignettes from the compound, Tony could be shit talking on twitter. “Your selfishness might cost me a massive signing! Thanks a lot, 2nd best Hardy!”

Meanwhile AFO is better than ever. Private Party are quickly moving up the tag ranks. Butcher & Blade are stacking wins on Dark in brutal squash matches. Andrade is counting his money.

Of course we all know Jeff is coming, but they drag it out juuuust enough that we wonder if he’ll ever show up. Matt eventually emerges and calls out Andrade, because he needs to face him one on one, once and for all. Of course, AFO don’t let that happen and Matt is getting absolutely torn apart. Andrade would never face him like a man. He has no reason to!

Old Hardy music hits and Jeff finally makes the save.

EDIT: to take this one further, Andrade agrees to fight Matt one on one but only if they can beat the gauntlet. Hardys vs Private Party. Hardys vs Butcher & Blade. You’ve got a young upstart team on a hot streak to go through, and after that this brutal monster team that has been decimating everything in front of them for weeks.

The Hardys win of course, and Matt gets a chance to redeem himself completely by facing Andrade by himself. That would have been an excellent undercard story.

That scenario highlights just how difficult it is to format Dynamite. Because that would have improved things, but the AHFO is so low on the totem pole and you've got so many acts fighting for television time and some acts just hogging way too much of it to really connect with the fans. Sure you can use social media but I think fans are so savvy these days that they'd just call it a work or be against it because they felt like they were trying to be deceptive.

It's so difficult because I was thinking about a way to present the Bucks/UE split in a natural way but it's so difficult to blur the lines of kayfabe without it becoming Russo-riffic mumbo jumbo.