By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite Hits
“Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy vs. Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin for the AEW Tag Team Titles: Whatever Private Party gained from beating the Young Bucks and having a brief run with the tag team titles was undone by The Hurt Syndicate. Private Party were out-cooled and manhandled by Lashley and Benjamin. I feel for Quen and Kassidy considering that they were supposed to be the babyfaces in this feud and their opponents showed zero interest in being traditional heels. But the simple truth is that The Hurt Syndicate are cooler and more over than Quen and Kassidy, so putting the titles on them seemed like an easy decision.
Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega: More mixed feelings. The back and forth exchange between Ospreay and Omega was flawed. Ospreay said he couldn’t remember the last time they were in the same ring and weren’t throwing punches at one another. Um, last week? And then Omega misquoted Ospreay when he claimed Ospreay said he didn’t remember the last time they faced each other in the ring. It was sound logic when Omega said he would never join forces with Ospreay because the last time they met Ospreay dropped him on his head and stabbed with a screwdriver. For some reason, this led to Ospreay getting pissed at Omega and calling little prick. And then Don Callis looked like a fool for interrupting his enemies just as they seemed to be on the verge of fighting one another. Perhaps worst of all is that Omega went from saying he’d never align with Ospreay to joining forces with him just minutes later. Despite all those issues, Ospreay and Omega came off really well during the crowd pleasing brawl with the Callis family, and I am looking forward to their tag team match with Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher. So while this segment had its issues, the babyfaces somehow came out of it looking good.
Jamie Hayter vs. Julia Hart: Another good match from Hayter and Hart. Hayter went over to even up their current series at one win each and then wasted no time in calling for the eventual rubber match. It was nice to hear Hater speak for a change. Her ring work wins over live crowds, but who is she? It felt like Hayter was on here way to becoming the face of the women’s division before her long injury layoff. She can get back to that point, but she needs to establish a persona that clicks with the fans.
Swerve Strickland vs. AR Fox: The well worked match that one would expect from these two followed by a post match bro handshake (The Outrunners were somewhere crying gimmick infringement). The Ricochet and Prince Nana side drama was hokey and uneventful. I get what they were going for, but I just didn’t buy the performance of either man once Ricochet held the scissors to Nana’s throat.
AEW Dynamite Misses
Cope vs. Pac: One of the big flaws of this episode is that they opened with the two most appealing segments on paper in the Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay meeting and the AEW Tag Team Title match. It’s not that I didn’t have any interest in seeing Cope and Pac meet for the first time, but it just didn’t feel like their match belonged in the main event position. The match was fine aside from going longer than necessary, but it simply felt like it lacked importance in the storyline. The post match angle with the Death Riders taking out Cope and Jay White didn’t leave me anxious to see Moxley defend the AEW World Championship match against either man. And while they did show that FTR and the Rock-n-Roll Express had been laid out backstage by the Death Riders, where was Powerhouse Hobbs? Did he just moved on from his issues with the Death Riders because he’s feuding with the Learning Tree?
The Death Riders: The usual vague Jon Moxley promo about how he’s building something followed by an eventual Death Riders beatdown angle. The faction grabbed my interest when it debuted. It seemed like Moxley’s promos were actually leading to something. Wheeler Yuta came off like a tortured soul who was being brainwashed by Moxley and the others. I’m still fine with Marina Shafir being the strong and silent ass kicker. But I really hoped that Claudio Castagnoli and Pac would develop actual characters rather than coming off like Henchman 1 and Henchman 2, and now Yuta has reverted into the role of Henchman 3 by no longer acting conflicted by his actions. Is this faction ever going to evolve or will it continue to be underwhelming and repetitive?
Hangman Page, Christopher Daniels, MJF, and Jeff Jarrett: Page winning a quick squash match over Tyler Shoop was fine, and MJF and Jarrett delivered better promos this week. But the storylines involving these four men just aren’t holding my interest. When AEW launched, the company was trendy and featured a lot of fresh faces. These days, AEW is featuring too many wrestlers who are north of age 50 and the cool factor is gone. There’s nothing wrong with featuring an aging veteran or two if they click with the audience like Sting did or as Chris Jericho once did. For instance, Christian Cage’s act still gets strong heat and The Hurt Business are over. But AEW could launch a senior’s division at the rate they are going. It’s time for Tony Khan to make some tough decisions on some of the older wrestlers and get back to showcasing younger talent and creating new stars who are far more likely to connect with younger viewers.
Whatever was left of the original ideas behind AEW has completely evaporated. The rare bright spot of a younger talent (Ospreay) being given the limelight is tampered down with the likes of Lashey, Copeland, Moxley, Jarrett etc etc etc.
AEW isn’t fun, or cool, or edgy, or original. It’s simply TNA 2010. Mostly a collection of older talent jumping on the money-mark express, with the occasional “cant miss indie talent” and NJPW “star” tossed in for the hell of it. Can these folks still have a good match? Sure. Do they get a pop from the ever-dwindling but still enthusiastic AEW fans? They do. But there is just so damned much wrestling available now, why would anyone other than a true WWE-hater take the time to search out AEW at this point? I have no clue.
AEw might be an alternative for the wrestlers (which is still a positive) but not-so-much for the viewer. It’s nearly unwatchable at this point: Terrible booking and stories, completely low-budget look and production, & announcing that makes one miss the late Don West.
As it stands on 1/23/25, AEW is not salvageable. No longer do I think “Oh if Tony would just hire a booker this could be better.” No it can’t. This promotion is the Dallas Cowboys of wrestling – bad ownership, bad coaching, overpaid talent that ustabe someone. With the new TV money, AEW won’t go away any time soon -even if it should, but that doesn’t make it good, doesn’t mean its gonna get better.
I cannot argue with a thing you’ve said. Used to be a huge fan. I no longer watch any of it
I agree with a lot of what you wrote, but I do take issue with the idea that it can’t be salvaged. I think most of us would have said the same about TNA 2010 (I don’t remember specifics about that year off the top of my head, but I’m going with it here since you used that comparison). Here we are 15 years later and the company is still going and the product is so much better than it was. While I’ll never understand how TNA managed to stay afloat financially during so many rough years, the fact that they are still around and have improved dramatically should give us hope that AEW could do the same. The biggest obstacle is that where TNA struggled for so many years to find the right people to run creative and it improved once they did, Tony Khan doesn’t seem to have any interest in giving up control of creative. I asked him about it once during a media call and he didn’t rule out giving up the book, but there’s been no sign of him actually doing it.
The difference is that TNA mostly reinvented itself completely out of the spotlight. Unless someone at WBD decides to pull the plug, and Tony can’t get his dad to buy him another major network time slot, then there’s no place for AEW to hide the awkwardness of a direction change or a hard reset.
If you book it (properly), they will come. Think back to how shitty the WWF was right before they shook things up and created the Attitude Era. Heck, think of how shitty WCW was shortly before Bischoff took over and the Nitro era started. Both of those products (and TNA) were way worse IMO than AEW is now. It can be done. Do I have any faith that it will happen? Unfortunately, no, because I think a big part of the reason AEW is exists is because Tony Khan wants to be a booker. It’s hard to have faith that he’ll turn it around, and it’s hard to imagine him hiring a booker if he can’t.
I don’t think they have 1/10th of the talent that either WWF or WCW had in those situations. I looked over the roster recently and felt like I was overly generous finding 24 men and 10 women I think a good booker could build around, with none of them feeling like a true main event star. Part of that is due to how badly current booking has damaged guys.
I legitimately don’t see anyone there who has the potential to have the combination of size, skill, in ring logic, charisma, promo, and youth to be the next breakout star the way a Stone Cold or Rock did. I don’t even see a Michaels or Hart level potential. There’s also nobody, short of maybe Roman Reigns, that you could build an NWO type of outsider faction around like Bischoff did.
BTW, here’s who I would use as a starting point if the company did a hard reset:
Anthony Bowens
Austin Gunn
Big Bill
Bobby Lashley
Brody King
Buddy Matthews
Cash Wheeler
Colton Gunn
Dax Harwood
Jay White
Juice Robinson
Kenny Omega
Konosuke Takeshita
Kyle Fletcher
Mark Briscoe
Matt Cardona
Nick Comoroto
Powerhouse Hobbs
Ricky Starks
Samoa Joe
Shelton Benjamin
Swerve Strickland
Tommy Billington
Will Ospreay
Anna Jay
Mariah May
Jamie Hayter
Julia Hart
Kamille
Kris Statlander
Megan Bayne
Queen Aminata
Toni Storm
Willow Nightengale
TGO…You are in a generous mood, my friend…1/2 of those people could change careers and no one would ever notice.
Anthony Bowens – yes
Austin Gunn – maybe
Big Bill – were he not big he’d just be Bill
Bobby Lashley – ancient
Brody King – limited
Buddy Matthews – solid in ring, death on the mic
Cash Wheeler – getting older
Colton Gunn – see above
Dax Harwood – see above
Jay White – TK’s booking has killed him
Juice Robinson – see Jay White
Kenny Omega – Best they have if he can stay healthy
Konosuke Takeshita – Overrated
Kyle Fletcher – def in the top 5
Mark Briscoe – older, lots of miles
Matt Cardona – See Briscoe
Nick Comoroto – No idea who this even is
Powerhouse Hobbs – Generic
Ricky Starks – See Jay White
Samoa Joe – too old
Shelton Benjamin – See Joe and Lashley
Swerve Strickland – not my cup of tea but the fans do take to him
Tommy Billington – maybe
Will Ospreay – top 5
Id add Hangman Page, but with a better gimmick
Anna Jay – Very limited, and has had a LONG time to (not) develop
Mariah May – Def a star
Jamie Hayter – Also a star
Julia Hart – great look, im not sod on her in ring abilities tho
Kamille – very very limited
Kris Statlander – outstanding
Megan Bayne – Diamond in the rough
Queen Aminata – hmmm, maybe
Toni Storm – Not as good as people think she is, but still maybe the best they have
Willow Nightengale – See Powerhouse Hobbes
I also agree that none of those names seem like the breakout SCSA, Rock, Cena type that AEW would need to build around. Grabbing a FA like Roman or Orton would only pop a brief Punk-type rating.
I usually enjoy booking-from-the-couch but Im at a loss. I WOULD chance the production, presentation and announcers tho. They need a full reboot in those departments.
Aew struggles with thinking everything they do is the best/biggest thing ever. They also think everyone’s a star. This all leads to no one being a real star.