What did you think of Dynamite/Rampage?
Join John & Wai at a special start time of 12pm ET tomorrow on YouTube as they deliver their live report.
Some of the TV audio was polluted by some loud mouth trying to scream over Mercedes Monet. I hope he wasn’t being gross.
Toronto showed up tonight, good work to everyone that braved that awkward TTC route to the that arena.
I like that AEW is trying some new production techniques out, cutting to Renée during Kingston’s entrance and cutting to the Bucks in Gorilla during the match.
The hockey fight and the jerseys were hilarious.
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The I Quit match and the Women’s Street Fight were what stood out on both shows. Copeland and Cage can move on from this program, despite some overbooking near the tail end. The handcuffs finish was genius. I almost expected that Mercy* (Moné for those scoring at home) was gonna do a run-in during the street fight but that feud with Willow is loading up.
Does AEW airing both shows back to back a sign of them moving Rampage to Wednesdays?
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Kurtis from the 519-
Writing this live on the Go train home after one hell of a show. First time writer long time fan of the show
-A great main event by the two hometown guys, great action, drama, great use of the Canadian tropes and nice to see Copeland with another great performance in his hometown after his last WWE match there. Good to see the heels finally get their comeuppance
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The Hook/Jericho match really didn’t do much for me. Hook did his best Lesnar impression with the Germans but Jericho seemed off in the match. It feels like with all the talent AEW has on the roster, he doesn’t fit anymore but not sure if TK would ever scale back his usage, given how much Jericho meant to TK when AEW first started up. What do you think his future/direction is with AEW moving forward?
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Swerve and Osprey were the two most over guys in the building and the future of AEW, a collision at Wembley seems like the long game for those two.
-Good rampage but not a fan of Rocky Romero taking most of the match with Takeshita, felt like he could’ve used a dominant win over Rocky heading into next week. The main event was solid but the crowd seemed low energy by the time the ladies came out
Overall a fantastic show, high energy crowd and a great 3 hours of AEW. Looking forward to Collision in London in a few weeks
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I thought this show was a bit of a fall-off from the heights of last episode. I was left wanting by Eddie-Okada and didn’t think that match delivered to its potential. Hopefully, Eddie gets to come back down the line. Feels like Will Ospreay’s repeating the same thing on the mic, just by using different analogies. I’ll still have a nervous breakdown when he drops Bryan on his head with the Tiger Driver, though. Edge and Christian ruled. Unbelievable match.
Cody From Maine
Despite the live experience, hopefully you guys saw instances of AEW’s continued effort in updating their presentation. For example, Renee’s interview during Kingston’s entrance, different camera angles, etc. It’s so refreshing to see the two biggest companies break away from the tired standards of “how wrestling is supposed to be presented.”
Really fun main event. I hope Copeland continues with the “Cope Open” moving forward. Weekly defenses against younger guys who will gain so much from as little as ten minutes of ring time with him. Similar to John Cena with the US title. And hopefully Christian has something eventful lined up as well. This heel run has been outstanding.
On the other hand, there’s Chris Jericho. 2022 was one of the stronger years of his career, but that feels like a lifetime ago. Last year was a mixed bag at best, that saw any optimism evaporate once the Kylie Rae allegations came to light. I don’t know if I can call crowds apathetic, given that they aren’t silent, but boos aren’t the goal right now. Despite his best efforts with wild brawls and giving 90% of a match to Hook, he has not escaped that story. Whether you call it go-away heat, X-Pac heat, whatever, he has it. It was evident tonight, just as it was live in Greensboro and Boston earlier this month. Time off and another reinvention of his character might help, but it doesn’t seem like a guarantee.
Lastly, I’m very intrigued to see what happens within the world title picture over the next few months leading up to Wembley. Three weeks ago, Swerve was the most over guy in the company and the most popular choice to be the next World Champion. I don’t think he’s either of those things anymore, having been surpassed by Will Ospreay. Does Swerve still get the title? Is it a four month reign? If longer, what do they do with Ospreay and how long do you hold off on putting him in the title mix? It’s a good problem for AEW to have.
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Just a few thoughts:
So, HOOK beating Jericho should have meant more but Chris Jericho has really fallen down in stock for a myriad of reasons. I can’t get into it. It’s really unfortunate.
Takeshita on Rampage again? Decent match against Romero but why is Takeshita not getting the Dynamite or the Collision spots? Yes, I know not everyone can be on the B or A show, but Takeshita should be positioned to be a top tier heel ready to challenge any number of baby faces, not just Rampage duty in a desperate attempt to draw a select few diehards. He’s got the momentum from the Ospreay match and the in ring skills to keep him in the main shows.
Feeding him to Swerve is almost a reaction to this very sentiment, however Takeshita shouldn’t just be a stop gap, like HOOK was. Keep him in the mix.
Ospreay on the mic is like printing money.