Alexander from Portland
Was it me or did the women’s championship look minuscule? Solid show front to back. Have to say my favorite part of the night was seeing PAC win. I’m so looking forward to seeing him regularly on TV.
My question: it seems like AEW needs a secondary belt. Do you think there should be a gimmick behind what it is? Would it be tacky for AEW to have an Intercontinental Championship?
Absolutely loved the final 30 minutes of the show. Women’s Championship final minutes, right through the closing angle of the show had a real energy.
Hager shouldn’t really feel like a big deal… But he did. Between commentary playing him up as a debuting MMA fighter rather than a guy from the WWE, combined with the crowd energy and the angle, it all just clicked.
Overall the show had some small hiccups, but to me the good easily outweighed the awkward moments and downtime in the middle of the show.
I enjoyed the show a fair bit, though I won’t say it was exactly great. The main event was wild and Pac and Hangman was very enjoyable. I’m not super sure if putting a Cody match to begin your show was the best idea if you’re wanting to be an alternative but hey, it all worked out by the end of the night. Nyla looked scary at times tonight and I really hope Cutler isn’t hurt too bad.
I’m interested in seeing more for sure, the ending angle has me wanting to see what happens next.
Also, hearing Tony Schiavone call MJF a prick on live TV was surreal to me. 7/10
Hey guys,
Quick feedback, I disagree with a previous poster and I thought Jake Hager looked intense and incredible, just don’t let him talk! Good show. Some parts went slow and other parts were good.
I like some Kenny Omega matches but I think his setups are so over pronounced that he takes me out of the match. Throwing hands up in the air and lifting his leg 4 feet off the ground to start a rope run it just a mood killer. Don’t get me wrong , the end result is great but take it down a notch Kenny.
Thanks and good night!
John from Montana
This show exceeded my expectations. I thought the opening match was hot and made Sammy Guevara look like a star against Cody. The main event exceeded expectations and I never thought I’d pop to see the former Jack Swagger in a wrestling ring again.
Tony Schiavone hasn’t lost a step, and I actually think he made JR better. I think Excalibur was a little nervous next to those 2 but he held his own.
My only real issue with the show was the timing and pacing, but I have a feeling the Brandon Cutler/MJF match had to end early.
I switched over to NXT for the overrun and it really looks minor league compared to AEW, I have a feeling they are going to have to take NXT on the road soon.
Tonight was a great night to be a wrestling fan - 8 out of 10
Jon from Baltimore
Good start for AEW. I was there live and the crowd was definitely mixed. They were totally dead for the PAC/Hangman match and the first half of the women’s title match. Really woke up during the false finished of the title match though and during the main event. I was really bummed though as someone who has never seen Kenny Omega live that I only really got to see him for a minute or two. I’ll definitely be back the next time they’re in town but they have some pacing issues to figure out especially during commercial breaks. Excited to watch the TV version back to see if it moves quicker.
Jesse from the 6
Was the main event no DQ? If not, why the heck didn’t the ref throw the match out after Moxley interfered? For a promotion that is trying to mimic a sports presentation, that was really poor.
And why would Cody shake Guevara’s hand after he attacked his wife? That’s just stupid.
Do you think debuting on the same day as the NHL season opener will hurt Dynamite in the ratings in Canada?
Take Care
Dave in Boston
As an avid Nitro fan from back in the day, AEW Dynamite has gotten me excited to watch wrestling each week for the first time in years.
Loved everything.
NXT on the other hand looked low rent minor leagues, and have zero interest in watching next week.
Cheers
Ric C. from Cleveland.
I thought Dynamite was a great effort for their debut. There were hiccups, but they will find their voice and pacing in time. The crowd was electric and really made the matches feel greater than the sums of their parts. AEW seems receptive to feedback so I have no doubt that we’ll see the formula refined in the weeks to come.
I really enjoyed the show. It was great to hear JR and Tony call wrestling together after all these years. There was a nice blend of marquee matches and enhancement matches. The Mox interference was a great moment. Jake Hager always evokes a meh feeling, but I did like how they presented him. I’m excited to see where things are going!
Brandon from Oshawa
A few hiccups production wise, but a solid start and I loved how they handled commercials.
Commentary was the best its been yet. Schiavone is excellent.
Thought Nyla should have won the title, I dont like how they’ve handled her so far.
A stable of more than 3 guys? Sign me up. I was worried they were going to use the same ending as DoN with Moxley attacking Omega, but happy to see the show finish the way it did. Hager came off great.
Jay from Colorado
Fantastic debut episode and a real treat from start to finish. Excellent wrestling all around, and my highlights were too many to list. Nyla and Riho exceeded expectations, and the use of the picture in picture commercial breaks was genius. The Jericho beatdown of Cody during the break was masterful especially since there were insurance and pharmaceutical commercials playing on the side. I know it wasn’t intentional but it got me to reply it a few times.
I gotta give Jack Swagger respect for commiting to a long term storyline. A few years back he came onto WWE TV and said he was was going to be a “huge problem” only to dissapear never to be seen again. And tonight he delivered on that promise. Bravo Jack, bravo.
What’s going on, brothers?
No, really…What is going on??
Prime-time wrestling on TNT, being called by Tony Schiovane, and featuring a pair of beloved B-List celebrities from the early 2000’s. Am I back on the Satellite of Hate?
In all seriousness, there was very little about this show that was worthy of hate. The crowd was hot, the production looked great, the commentary was fairly smooth, & the in-ring action was solid.
There were some awkward moments and a few dead spots scattered throughout the program, but that is to be expected with a roster & production team adjusting to live broadcast TV.
I thought Rhio, Guevara, & Hager came out of the show looking like potential stars; and Nyla Rose as a heel is probably where she should have been positioned from the company’s launch.
All in all, I thought this was a respectable debut. NXT had the better in-ring product tonight, but AEW was unquestionably the better TV show. I give this 7.5 “SCU is more qualified to run the country than our current administrations” out of 10! 
David from Vaughan
Pretty solid show from start to finish. The crowd was very hot throughout the night. I really enjoyed the opener and the Page and Pac match. Not much in the way of promos on this show but I wouldn’t expected it as they still have a lot to establish. One negative however, they still have to work out a lot of hiccups with the production. I found the cut away to commerical break during Jericho’s attack on Cody espcially awkward. Anyways guys keep up the great work.
7/10
Louis from Long Beach
Who would have thought a Jake Hager run in as your show ending surprise would get this kind of reaction in 2019, I was really happy for him. Overall I would say the show was a solid if unspectacular start. Nothing blow away but nothing terrible. However, the booking of the trios match in the main event threw me off, was it a no dq? Can you just interfere in a match in AEW and the ref’s do nothing, just thought it was a bit odd. Overall I’m interested to see how AEW handles stables because I think putting Sammy with this group can do a lot to possibly elevate him as he has the in-ring skill to be something interesting. 7/10.
Charly From Maryland
Hey guys! Went to the show with my brother and friend, and what a show. The arena was super excited from the beginning. The dark match was Cima vs Darby Allen, everyone behind Darby Allen in the end Allen won. Cody and Sammy Guevara was an great opener. Jericho attacking Cody in the end got my whole section to chant Jericho. Where I was I really couldn’t here the promos. Sometimes the mic would cut off or wouldn’t be on. The low point was the MJF vs Cutler match. What a promo from MJF. Hangman vs PAC was a fairly good match. With pac just taunting the crowd during the break. But the last 10 mins they turned it up. The Women’s match was amazing everyone was behind Riho. Lots of chants for her and honestly Nyla rose and Riho didn’t disappoint. Especially the bump that Nyla rose took on the chairs. The main event was spectacular, when Moxley came out it was loud as hell in the arena. Also what a horrific bump on the table Omega took. But man I never expected Swagger to come out i didn’t think it was him until my friend pointed it out. Someone in the back screamed “it’s the next Five Horseman” other than that what a show!
Also the dark matches were the Lucha bros,Jack Evans and Angelico vs Private Party and best friends, but the biggest pop was Orange Cassidy, with Cassidy jumping from the top rope with his hands in his pockets.
Brit baker and Allie vs Penelope Ford and Bea Presley was alright but people were leaving
And Luchasaurs, jungle boy, and Marko Stunt vs Scu was exciting
For my first wrestling show it was very good and memorable
Noah from Vaughan
Absolutely loved the ending sequence. Between the moxley and Omega brawl, nick jackson hot tag and the emergence of Hager I thought it was just tremendous. I love the idea of a faction to fight the elite and it came across so well during the closing angle. Huge SHOUTOUT to Riho and Nyla for a tremendous match. Glad Riho won. 8.5/10 show for me. Do you guys think the decision was made to have Riho win the belt because they didn’t want both world titles to be held by heels right off the bat?
Nick and Jasmine from North Carolina
Overall really enjoyed the show. It was really nice to see a number ex-WWE superstars, and not have them feel like ex-WWE stars. The more mature tone was a nice departure from the usual WWE style, and I’m glad that they didn’t feel the need to overdo it with the TV-14 rating. The show was well paced, and it will be interesting to see how they do when they start incorporating more promo segments.
As two people who work in media, the sound mixing has been a pet peeve of ours for all of the shows so far. While not terrible, the fact that the entrance music doesn’t really come through on television as well as WWE broadcasts makes it hard to really learn anyone’s theme, but that’s being nit-picky I guess.
Since she has to be up for work at 2am, Jasmine usually can’t stay up past the first hour of Raw or through a full episode of SmackDown, but she was awake and engaged through this whole show.
While not perfect, this was a strong debut episode, who’s ending has us excited to see where the product goes from here.
Kishan from Toronto
Overall I really enjoyed the show, it was…refreshing. There should be a rule that a weekly wrestling television show can’t be longer than 2 hours, makes it more digestible.
Really liked the opener, good pace. Crowd was super hot throughout the show.
Womens title match was great, sucks that TSN won’t be showing the picture in picture but glad TNT has adopted it.
Closing angle was very cool, all the elite guys laid out and the heels and standing tall, very clear lines drawn for the audience. Hager being introduced as muscle and not a main player out of the gate is best. Build him up with your audience, don’t make the mistakes Impact did bringing in a lower mid-card WWE guy right into your main event mix.
Other than some of the transitions to commercial break at the beginning production was good. Any more info on the ONE Championship relationship? 8/10
Ryan from parts unknown
I enjoyed it. Even the commentary was good tonight. I can’t really offer much more insight than anyone else, so I’ll just say I’m glad TSN picked it up. Definitely gonna be watching next week.