LIVE immediately after AEW Dynamite
Steve Grows Weed
In the context of a wrestling television show, was that footage not every other backstage segment on the show? Two people argue and shit gets violent. So it lessens the impact in my opinion. But Punk didn’t look physically provoked in any way.
They really had to work hard to shoehorn that footage into this feud. I’m primarily an AEW watcher but I can’t defend this. Tony or whoever makes this call needs to grow thicker skin and stop openly punching up.
Let this shit leak, “accidentally”, if you absolutely have to show your side. But not days after some interview and not part of the actual television product.
Bad form.
Shitty episode overall. Sad to say.
2 Likes
Jordan from the Bronx
I’m a bit wrestled out from being at ROH and both nights of Mania. AEW had one of it’s lighter wrestling nights I can remember. I wonder if that’s a conscious choice, but I can say that it was welcome one this week.
The Punk footage being shown is a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I can understand why. WWE personalities spent a good portion of Wrestlemania Week talking down about AEW in the press. AEW did the “let’s all be friends” promo with Copeland last week, and a complete 180 this week, with the All In footage and Will Ospreay’s promo. I can appreciate them using the video to attempt to add heat to Bucks/FTR, while also giving Jack Perry something to come back to (I would assume as a victim heel).
However, I can’t help but think about Tony Schiavone’s face at the end of it, where he looked like he was having “Butts in Seats” flashbacks. This is the type of stuff that we see get reenacted on Dark Side of the Ring, but we have actual video footage. What if Arn and Sid or Joey Styles and JBL had video? This was a peek behind the curtain that we’ve never had before.
It won’t change anyone’s mind. Punk fans will love him more. Punk detractors will hate him more. AEW diehards will continue to watch the show, AEW hate-watchers will continue to justify their disdain for the product. I can’t say that AEW is better or worse for airing it, but I was entertained by the goofiness of it all. Hopefully, we can all finally move the hell on.
1 Like
Andrew from Cape Breton
The controversial footage was something to behold, despite not being all that impressive. My feelings on it are fluctuating. At first, I enjoyed that the Young Bucks were blaming FTR for it, and FTR coming out to tell the other side of trying to move on. I felt they were trying to deliver what was advertised, and it was an obvious publicity stunt that they were trying to weave into the feud. And then, I heard the CM Punk chants, which is an awful look. The footage is short and it didn’t show much. The biggest problem with it was, it didn’t change anything. People are criticizing and defending Punk and all have different perspectives on what everyone saw.
The worst part about it was that it should have been put on last. After the footage, it felt like the show didn’t matter as much. Hell, I thought the Will Ospreay segment was much better. If AEW really wanted to be sympathetic and feel like underdogs, Ospreay did a much better job with his shots at Triple H for questioning his grind.
It’s important to take risks. This wasn’t WCW 2000 bad as some are claiming, but it could have been done better. Nobody is thinking about Ospreay’s promo, Dustin bleeding, Mariah May’s love triangle, or Adam Copeland doing lucha moves. AEW Dynamite is the best wrestling show with the most variety, and nobody is talking about that because of that footage.
The “damning” footage from Wembley did the opposite effect. It just made AEW look worse off. It’s like fighting with an ex over who gets the last word. Tony Schiavone’s silence said it all. It made the rest of the show really distracting. Copeland/Penta was very good and are they really going for a whodunit story for Mercy? The shine is starting to fade if they don’t get her in the ring sooner instead of later.
Kurtis from the 519
Overall I am very meh on AEW this week. Coming off the last PPV and attending the Toronto Dynamite, i was high on the product, the highest I had been in quite some time. I am sure the Punk/Elite drama will be discussed at length so I am going to stay out of it as I am beyond burnt out from it at this point. As a once die hard AEW fan, I find my love for the promotion slowly dying each and every time this situation is brought up.
I am really looking forward to Dynasty. Ospreay vs Danielson and Swerve winning the title are two things I am very much looking forward to in this era of AEW. Swerve is one of my current favourite members of the roster and I am excited to see him finally have his crowning moment. The Copeland match was excellent and I have been loving his current run. So many fresh faces/talent for him to work with and it’s done wonders for his career. Really looking forward to more Cope opens.
Side note thanks to both of you and everyone at POST for all the coverage over Mania weekend. I appreciate how hard you all work and it certainly does not go unnoticed by myself and everyone else in the community. Cheers to you both
Cody From Maine
The bickering between companies, and their fanbases, has gone on since before AEW ran their first show. Being The Elite invaded the parking lot during Raw, Hunter dropped the “piss ant company” line at the HOF, etc. The footage won’t change any of that, nothing will.
Punk’s end in AEW and everything after is the modern day Montreal Screwjob in terms of staying power. It’s never going away. While the footage absolutely makes Punk look worse than what he tried to portray as he was the clear cut aggressor, it’s unlikely that anyone’s opinion changes on him at this stage. So I understand those who wanted “AEW to take the high road and ignore it”. But I also understand their reasoning for not.
Between Helwani’s interviews with Punk, Cody and even Josh Barnett, AEW’s name was out there. Levesque further fanned the flames with the not so thinly veiled comments towards Ospreay. And on WWE’s biggest week, AEW managed to get attention and built intrigue towards Dynamite. And then used that, not only to strike back at Punk, but to try and further the storyline between the Bucks and FTR, while also setting the stage for Jack Perry’s return.
I can’t currently view this as a mistake because of that. Time will tell, but I certainly can’t agree with anyone who has the take of “what was the point?”
4 Likes
I’m not really going to comment on the content of the show - but I do want to comment on something you guys said when you first heard the news that they were going to air the footage.
Specifically, “This feels like WCW”.
How is that?
Why doesn’t this seem like one of many things WWF did throughout the mid-90’s when they were fighting back and punching up against perception?
Jim Cornette’s opinion pieces on RAW taking aim at WCW. DX invading Nitro. Billionaire Ted. “Bret screwed Bret”. Fake Diesel and Razor. I could go on.
Why do we romantisize ECW’s fighting spirit, whether it be Steve Austin shooting on Hulk Hogan and WCW. Or Shane Douglas attacking Flair for years on promos. Or Heyman’s entire identity of “us vs. them”.
And when WCW was behind, they did their things too. Revealing RAW results. Bischoff challenging Vince.
But you know what? All of the things I listed didn’t make the effort AEW did tonight.
Absolutely none of those things were an attempt to spin into an angle such as tonight. They put the focus on FTR and Jack Perry.
Anyway, my point is two fold.
One, for a year plus, whenever Tony avoided commenting on Punk, he was got eye rolls by plenty of podcasters and journalists . Tony does the opposite tactic now, and by many there is ammo to attack and pearl clutching. The company, to some, literally cannot win.
Second. This isn’t WCW level stuff. This is professional wrestling stuff. This is the same thing that has always happened for decades, whenever there is a battle for attention and perception. AEW is simply following the tradition of punching up.
And in terms of the way Punk has handled it, and leaked stories, etc for the last 18 months, maybe it was about time.
2 Likes
Live at Dynamite tonight. Interesting that plans changed just thirty minutes before the show. The ROH announcer girl (Dasha?) ran down the card for Dynamite at the start of the night, and said that we would be seeing the backstage footage, right at the top of the hour. It didn’t end up being shown there, apologies for the e-mail John, but when it was shown later, I was able to get a couple CM Punk chants going. As for the footage, nothing notable, pretty much what we already knew.
I hope that they come back to Charleston, but when I arrived to the arena, they were outside trying to recruit people to come in and be seat fillers. They handed them wristbands, and speaking to one, they were told to come back to that area ten til eight, and they would let them in for free, to fill the empty seats. Probably not a great sign.
After Dynamite, Tony Khan came out and talked to the live crowd. He announced that RVD would be returning on the April 20 Collision. Justin Roberts also filled time, teasing Tony Schiavone Appreciation Night. The crowd chanted for Tony to make a speech. Tony said, “Bryce Remsberg flunked out of college.” Justin then teased that it was the ringside tech, Bob Appreciation Night, of which there was no speech given.
Luk from Quebec
Was definitely hard to focus on the wrestling matches on tonight’s Dynamite, as we all expected this footage idea took away from the show rather than add to it. While I’m sure they’ll maybe get a small boost in rating, it makes AEW and especially Tony Khan look really bad. This doesn’t add any heat to the FTR Bucks feud whatsoever, they would have needed an amazing creative idea to tie it all together and it wasn’t there. Ultimately that’s both the blessing and curse of AEW: just like WWE in the Vince era, it’s largely a one man show, and nobody has the power to tell the billionaire when something isn’t a good idea. At this point I’ve really lost faith in Tony Khan being the right person to lead the company and its creative, the difference is that AEW doesn’t have a son-in-law available to take over and steer the ship right.
Short and bittersweet: I think the tide has turned, and AEW has made a critical misfire on the way this ALL IN footage was presented in the body of the show.
I think the stench of late stage WCW IS in the air for this fledgling company and it makes it more and more glaring the fact that the handling of CM Punk was a huge misstep in the grand scheme of things. It just never goes away, and Phil is laughing all the way to the bank while AEW continues to suffer from misfire after misfire in its creative direction, at the expense of the most impressive talent roster this side of North America. A damn shame.
Please.
Anybody who is calling this late stage WCW either never watched late stage WCW, or, has completely forgotten it.
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Dude, I watched. I remember all of it. Just my opinion.
Just because I say it has the stench doesn’t mean it’s a complete replication or something.
This was bad step, but here’s hoping it’s not a death knell.
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Jay from Windsor
I’m baffled that they showed this footage. The CM Punk/Elite/Perry drama is one of the biggest black eyes in this companies history. It divided their fan base, and did nothing but damage. They finally seemed to have gotten past this mess with recent signings, Stings retirement, etc. so what do they do, they bring it back up. Very disappointing.
I may not know much about WCW in 2000, but I have seen every episode Happy Days. Watching AEW jump the shark in real time last night was pretty incredible. What an absolute clown show. It makes a lot of sense why TK has refused to acknowledge or discuss criticism of the promotion previously because clearly he isn’t built for this shit. Just stick to talking about how great everything is man.
Putting aside all the Punk stuff, who the hell was asking for Lee Moriarty and Shane Taylor?? That’s a throwback to AEW Dark. Brutal booking. It’s like, “ok, everyone saw what they came to see. You can change the channel now.”
1 Like