BEING THE ELITE #177 Thoughts
Oh, and since everyone was wondering, my kids went as Kiki and Gigi this year.
BEING THE ELITE #178 Thoughts
How do people not watch this show every week?
AEW DARK REVIEW
1.Spears vs Nakazawa **
2.Big Swole, Martinez vs Allie, Gibbs **1/4
3.Jurrasic Express vs Janela, Havoc ***
Thoughts:
MJF should do commentary more often, especially if we can't get Taz back. Him and Excalibur working the booth reminds me of PWG. Spears going from the chair shot heard around the world to working with Nakazawa on Dark is a bit sad, to be honest. One of the few things I've truly felt was a misstep so far. At least he won this, even if it was a lot more even than you'd expect. Skip that one, either way, which was average-at-best. The women's tag wasn't much better, sadly, with a run-time that went too long and several issues mixed in along the way but it got far better at the end, at least. I love the backstage stuff they show on these. The main event was far better than the rest of the in-ring content this time, too. Marko was wearing his new mask out but not to compete in, answering the question I had rather quickly. Good stuff with a touch of comedy. Jurassic Express remains wildly entertaining as a group, even without Luchasaurus. Janela gets taken out by Spears after.
In all, this was a solid hour but far from required viewing. Outside of Omega/Janela, Dark has yet to provide much must-see action but it still serves a valuable purpose and is still fun to watch the promotion evolve and find their footing.
Overall Rating: 55/100%
AEW DYNAMITE REVIEW
1.PAC vs Trent ***1/4
2.Private Party vs Dark Order ***1/4
3.Riho, Shanna vs Emi, Hayter ***1/4
4.Spears vs Cutler **1/2
5.The ELITE vs Inner Circle ***1/2
Thoughts:
I largely love the even nature of the matches from AEW, slowly allowing for everyone to get over and have a chance to shine. The opener was a good display of that approach, with the bastard getting to look like a...bastard and a star while Trent got to still come off well, too. Fairly good start to things.
Cody cut a promo after that has the wrestling world on fire right now. I love the added stipulation here and I sincerely enjoyed the hell out of this one. The amount of fire and passion Cody showed here was magic. Please, watch it!
Up next, tag action with bronze medals on the line. I dig that, actually. Fits the sports approach they are aiming for. Like the opener, this wasn't required viewing but fairly good either way and a nice way to keep the show moving along. Private Party was the right call!
I loved the next package and humorous touches and I am actually pretty excited about this title defense. I sincerely have no idea who's winning. That's a good thing.
Women's tag action kept the theme going for the night, working well and helping push the weekend's title match a bit. It should be a great contest. Note that Hayter and Shanna looked good, too.
Brandi's promo rocked!
Up next, Spears picked up a decent win over Cutler in just over three minutes. Cutler had a nice underdog thing going but the right man won and largely looked dominate. Put the secondary title on him. The Janela run in after (and mention prior to the match itself) proved that Dark is being treated as an important part of the brand instead of an afterthought like WWE would.
Good Omega/Mox package and a very good main event. I don't love finishes like those, but it was logical and didn't take too much away. Add in a chaotic after-match finish to close the episode and, in all, this was another very fun 2 hours.
Overall Rating: 75/100%
AEW COUNTDOWN THOUGHTS
Insert cheap plug here, but there was CZW footage here and on Dynamite and CZW is set to start airing live on Fite starting at the end of the month.
If you want a last minute way to pump yourself up for the show, this countdown video is well worth seeing!
AEW DARK REVIEW
1.Big Swole vs Shida ***
2.Rose, Leva vs Shazza, Royal **
3.CIMA, SCU vs Kip, TH2 ***
Thoughts:
The women's division has been one of the weakest parts of AEW so far. Not for a lack of talent, but it just hasn't jelled as much as the rest of the show and the general booking has been an afterthought at times. The opener here was a nice showing, at least and it does look like things in this regard are getting better. The follow up got Nyla back on track in what was basically an extended squash while Bates read a book.
The main event was a good close to the episode, and I wonder if there is still a plan for an Asian SCU like they teased and when we'll see the Strong Hearts back, too. Note that AEW put out a lot of content this week yet it never felt like too much. I can't even make it through a single episode of Raw on Hulu, for fucks sake.
Overall Rating: 65/100%
AEW RANKINGS + THOUGHTS
Men's
Champ: Jericho
1.Cody
2.PAC
3.Page
4.Omega
5.Mox
Women's
Champ: Riho
1.Emi
2.Baker
3.Shida
4.Allie
5.Rose
Tag Team
Champs: SCU
1.Lucha Bros
2.Private Party
3.Young Bucks
4.Dark Order
5.Best Friends
Thoughts:
With Full Gear, this will look VERY different next week. In all, I dig the approach and largely agree in kayfabe with the listings. I look forward to them adding their "secondary" belt so that we can see how they handle that, too.
FULL GEAR PREVIEW
Matches & Predictions
1.Baker vs Bea
This one is announced for the Buy In. They feuded throughout the Summer, with Bea actually fucking up the dentist, but they haven't done much in the way of building this one up. Maybe because of Bea pulling double duty? Either way, they have a plan for Britt and her winning here seems most likely.
2.Janela vs Spears
This could be interesting. I thought Spears was being set up to be a top heel but has so far been more of a midcard name since falling against Cody. Janela has been loosing and needs a big win to get back on track. Tully will likely be involved a bit. I'll go with Spears winning, since he seems to be in the middle of a mini push right now, but really it could go either way.
3.Page vs PAC
The rubber match! Page looks like he's gotten over finally and PAC has been a glorious bastard. This should be fantastic, but PAC really should get the nod here. Maybe have one of the Elite accidentally cost him the match to help further the heel turn tease we've been seeing.
4.Young Bucks vs Proud N' Powerful
I'm not big on the new name for Santana and Ortiz as a duo, but that's not really a big deal. What matters is this should be awesome. Don't expect to see them fall in their first ppv match and, really, first true contest in AEW. The Bucks have built the division and have been putting everyone over to show it off. Expect a four star battle!
5.AEW Tag Titles: SCU(c) vs Lucha Bros vs Private Party
Cluster spotfest action with everyone getting a chance to shine before SCU retains? Yup, that's exactly what this will be. Don't expect any surprises, though.
6.AEW Women's Title: Riho(c) vs Emi
While the division has been the weaker part of AEW so far and despite the build to this one feeling half-hearted, this still has a solid story mixed in and should be a very fun defense. Riho will retain here.
7.AEW World Title: le Champion, Jericho(c) vs Cody
Jericho dropping the belt here didn't seem likely last week. Yea, he's working New Japan early January, but that seemed like it wasn't going to change anything. He's been doing great with the belt and I love the Inner Circle plot, which works best with him holding gold. That said, Cody's fire promo and the added stip has left me uncertain. Had he said he wouldn't challenge Jericho again, that'd be one thing. He said he'd never challenge for the belt again in general if he lost, though. So, unless the pull a 180, that's a big deal. He's over as hell and would likely be a great champ, at least. I have no idea who is winning and I love that. I just hope we don't get any bullshit, which is a fear I have in the back of my head and something I fear would be a bad call at this point for AEW. We'll see...
Thanks to anyone who read all of this. Please, take a moment to comment here, on Facebook, etc and let me know what you're predictions, thoughts, etc are.
