AEW Booms and Duds: Why is Mr. Brodie a Vince McMahon parody?

With our new normal of empty-arena shows, AEW spiced things up with last night’s edition of Dynamite. There’s a new men’s championship (TNT Championship), and the first four announced participants competed together in a tag match.

After repeated calls from fans (such as myself), AEW introduced the TNT Championship Tournament on the Mar. 30 episode of “ROAD TO DYNAMITE.”

While we didn’t know the parameters of the championship (such as who qualifies and if you are allowed to be in the tag/world title pictures) heading into Dynamite, we did know it was an eight-man bracket.

We also knew four of the participants in Cody, Shawn Spears, Darby Allin, and Sammy Guevara.

I have advocated for months now to build a secondary title around a foursome of Allin, Guevara, Kip Sabian, and one of either Joey Janela, MJF, or Jungle Boy.

Particularly with the first two, they have gained a lot of momentum and star power through their affiliation with The Inner Circle (Guevara) and Allin’s matches with Cody, Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, and Guevara.

This championship, hopefully, will be used to create more stars rather than reinforce the star power of those at the top of the card. This doesn’t mean the likes of Cody or Kenny Omega can’t compete for the title; I just think it would be better if they challenged for the TNT Championship without capturing the title.

Than again, having someone like PAC or Adam “Hangman” Page win the title and have a six to 12 month reign as champion while defending the championship regularly may raise the prestige of the title as it is bequeathed to someone like Allin or Guevara.

Beyond setting up the TNT Championship Tournament, there were many notable occurrences on last night’s show.

Before that, as a reminder of my criteria, I’m not going to run through each match/segment. Rather, I will identify a couple of segments that either worked (“boom”) or didn’t for whatever reason (“dud”).

My criteria includes quality of match/segment and how it starts and/or builds stories. After all, we watch partly to be caught up in the stories. If a great work-rate match happens with no context or bearing on the stories, it’s going to be a miss.

Also, just because something is a hit/miss doesn’t mean it was an overwhelming choice. The selection could be 51 percent hit, 75 percent miss, and so on.

There are other subtleties to my criteria, but those are pretty much the parameters.

Let’s also agree that we should all be grading these shows on a bit of curve for pretty much any promotion. Rosters are limited right now, and for AEW, wrestlers have the option of staying home.

Boom: Archer, Guevara, Allin continue to impress

I’ve gushed before about how both Guevara and Allin seem to be on the path to superstardom, so I’ll briefly touch on them here before moving onto Archer.

Guevara just continues to grow into the smarmy, arrogant, pretty-boy heel. His constant advances towards Brandi Rhodes (which I think he’s only doing to infuriate Cody) just makes you want to slap him for Brandi. The compulsive need to bet on delayed vertical suplexes during the match with his partner Spears was hilariously agitating.

Guevara also takes the most wicked, painful looking bumps in AEW. If you have a chance, rewatch that nasty spike bump he took on Cody’s Cross Rhodes. My neck feels like it needs a brace after watching him.

With Allin, not only did we see another death-defying move as he Coffin Dropped from the top of a pole to the outside, but we saw further character development. Frustrated at losing to a leverage pin and Cody’s absence during the finish, Allin gave Cody a forearm shiver when Cody tried to gather Allin after the match. With them potentially meeting in a semi-final match, this could be really good.

This is the first action we’ve seen of Archer in AEW. However, Jake “The Snake” Roberts debuting and introducing Archer to the audience has helped build his hype, particularly the promos the last few weeks. The little video promo from Roberts before Archer entered once again let us know there’s a fearsome man about to make his mark.

Archer marched to the ring with reckless abandon, even kicking someone at ringside (Tony Schiavone said it may have been the ringside doctor). Stunt was the perfect foe to really highlight the size and power difference, particularly since Stunt wrestles with little fear since every opponent has a size advantage.

His lower-third informed us he was spotting Archer a foot and a half in height and 156 in size. Basically, Stunt was giving up a toddler in height and my weight after a BBQ feast to Archer.

Stepping right to Archer showed that fire in Stunt. That is, until Archer hit him with a nasty lariat before the bell rung.

Stunt had about 15 seconds of offense during the match only to be thoroughly destroyed. Archer’s chokeslam had Stunt a good nine feet in the air. His Blackout finisher looked even more impressive because of how easily he was able to manhandle Stunt’s body.

Then, he literally chokeslam threw Stunt from the ring apron over the barrier and onto the babyfaces watching at ringside. Poor Orange Cassidy took the brunt of Stunt.

With Archer’s involvement in the TNT Championship Tournament, giving him a defiant and definitive victory was a great call in the possibility of Archer as the TNT Champion. Speaking of the tournament…

Boom: what should be an exciting tournament

To start the show, AEW revealed the rest of the bracket to determine the inaugural TNT Champion.

While prior to the reveal of the bracket I had been hoping for a Guevara-Allin rematch in the finals, seeing them wrestle next week (possibly as the opening match) should provide an energetic start to the tournament.

That’s part of the beauty with most of the potential finals matches: there are stories that will connect the wrestlers beyond being in the tournament and wanting to become the first TNT Champion.

Cody vs. Dustin sells itself (remember their incredible first match?). Would Cody be able to defeat his older brother to capture his first championship in AEW, or will the elder Rhodes win another battle for the older brothers by channeling his younger days?

Cody vs. Sabian would be a rematch of Cody’s victory on the Jan. 29 episode of Dynamite. If Sabian defeats Cody for the title, not only does that skyrocket Sabian up the card, but what effect does it have on Cody?

Cody vs. Archer has been building since Roberts made his AEW debut. His client, Archer, has made known his intentions to beat The Elite beginning with Cody. All roads seem to point to this match, and a victory for Archer (coupled with a dominant run through the tournament) would firmly establish him as a top heel act.

What about Allin vs. Archer in a “David vs. Goliath” match? I shutter at what Allin might put his body through, but also very intrigued at what he might do during the match.

Guevara and Dustin have a noted history (as Dustin does with most every member of The Inner Circle). What if The Inner Circle members help Guevara win, setting up a feud between them and The Natural Nightmares?

The main event tag match also helped create anticipation for a potential Cody-Allin rematch. A semi-final match between the two building on this moment and their previous matches might be the match of the tournament.

I think most of us fans are suckers for brackets and tournaments, so hopefully we can all enjoy what should be some fantastic matches.

Dud: a parody of Vince McMahon is not what I was expecting for “Mr. Brodie”

Last week, I discussed how the recent portrayals of The Exalted One, “Mr. Brodie” Lee seem to be a disparate representation of the character from the previous months that built to Lee’s reveal. Well, this week kept down the same path.

We had another Vince McMahon parody. Lee insisted on being called “Mr. Brodie” and became infuriated when a member of Dark Order (maybe 7 since 8 and 9 were in the tag match?) referred to him as “The Exalted One.”

Last week, he made an example out of a Creeper who sneezed. This week, yawning is a sign of weakness. Why?

It’s also a bit jarring to see Lee all suited and booted when the Creepers are wearing masks and spandex, and then having Lee make his entrance in garb that looks like something you would find in Elder Scrolls or Dragon Age.

Further, shouldn’t Dark Order focus on the five named members instead of randomly assigned numbered members? Even if that’s not the case, doesn’t having Dark Order lose matches even after The Exalted One’s reveal further indicate they’re not a tag team or stable to be taken seriously?

Then again, these videos have instructed the viewers they’re not to be taken too seriously.

It’s disappointing not only because many of us had high hopes for Lee as The Exalted One and what it could do for Dark Order as a whole, but also because this is just not how The Exalted One was portrayed in the months leading up to his reveal.

At least to me, with all the mind games and tactics used against SCU and Christopher Daniels, specifically, I though The Exalted One was supposed to be a methodical, conniving, and intelligent yet brooding leader who wanted to wreak havoc on AEW.

Rather, we have an egomaniacal man-child who physically releases his frustrations onto those he’s supposed to lead. Where did the disconnect happen, and more importantly, why?

There’s still time to reverse course and make Lee and Dark Order legitimate, serious acts. That time, however, is short. Step away from the McMahon parodies and revert back to what drew our interest in the first place: the mysterious, brooding intelligence of The Exalted One.

-Boom: a good night of video packages

Watch that package hyping the no holds barred AEW World Championship match in two weeks. You can feel the passion and vigor from Moxley, and the utter disdain and malice in Hager’s voice. Even if a little long, it was really well done.

I was thoroughly surprised with Hager since this type of more genuine character escaped him in WWE (not all his fault), and his promos were below average. Did you all catch that “ruthless aggression” quip, too?

We also had the continuing saga between Matt Hardy and Chris Jericho through the use of Vanguard-1. Yes, it was a bit voyeuristic, but straddled the line of slapstick wrestling humor without overdoing the absurdity. Jericho’s mini-feud with Vanguard-1 continues to make me laugh, and who can hate Jericho “releasing the hounds” to chase Vanguard-1? His dogs were just too cute.

Schiavone informing us the video had been sent ahead of time and edited together to make sense for the viewer was so refreshing since in WWE, the invisible camera rules all.

Lastly, the feature on the recovery of Nick Jackson, and the effects it is having on his brother, Matt, was well done. Is Nick suffering from a concussion? Will Nick be ready to go come their match with The Inner Circle, and if not, does Matt embark on a singles career? (Remember, this is all in kayfabe.)

All in all, AEW is showing they have little hesitance in using extended video packages to build stories, even if it doesn’t always help (Dark Order).

 -Boom: another great opener

Not much to say about the opening match between Omega and Trent besides it was a good match that worked as the opener. While a bit surprising Trent lasted nearly the entire 20 minutes, it was believable if you consider Trent’s mini-run a couple months ago against Lucha Bros. It also further helped make Trent a bonafide singles threat off of those matches and his hard-fought loss to Omega last night.

Clearly, AEW management sees some sort of singles potential in Trent.

Omega did what Omega does: just be arguably the best wrestler in the world. His fluidity mixed with his technical acumen and athleticism make every Omega match a treat to watch. The stat on his lower-third about winning six straight singles matches heading into his match last night plants the seed that he may try and become “Kenny 2 Belts” and capture the AEW World Championship.

I’m intrigued to see what transpires.

-Boom: Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. growing even more into her “heel” character

During the Shida-Jayy match, the camera showed Baker a couple times at ringside, mostly as she was belittling #1 contender Shida. At one point, she was even eating what looked to be a terrible chicken sandwich while Shida battled Jayy on the outside. Shida tweeted Baker told her it’s because Shida’s match was “boring.”

Then, during the main event along with the other heels watching at ringside, she joined in beating down (I think) Allin. She took it to another level by using her high heel to beat on him, though she was using the flat part instead of the actual heel. Just think of the damage that could have been done if she did use her heel?

That prompted Santana to tweet “All Latina moms were clappin and screaming in this moment…”

Do yourself a favor: click on that tweet and this one and save those photos for your “Reactions Memes” folder. You won’t be disappointed.

An overall good episode, Dynamite was exceptional in building anticipation for the TNT Championship Tournament. Though I may have made a change or two as to who’s involved, this tourney that begins next week should be fun to watch.

In the meantime, please stay safe and indoors as much as possible. See all of you dear readers next week!