AEW Booms/Duds: The gritty brutality of Moxley vs. Hager

-Boom: adequately using talent that’s available

With the last few weeks with these taped shows and the lack of available signed talent, AEW has done a pretty good job of using local talent during Dynamite. Most notable is Suge D, maybe better known as Pineapple Pete.

(Jericho and Tony Schiavone couldn’t figure out if it was “Suge D” or “Shooge D,” which made me laugh.)

Suge D had gained a lot of notoriety as one of the members of the face crowd and last night, he was able to increase that notoriety in a match with Sammy Guevara. Sure, he lost pretty decisively, but he did his job well: make Guevara look like a future star. D’s selling was good, and he provided a nice athletic counterpart to Guevara’s own athleticism.

Justin Law also did fine in playing the literal babyfaced jobber with a glimmer of hope of winning against Shawn Spears. Spears didn’t even remove his shirt, and nearly lost the match when he allowed Law to grapple him like an amateur wrestling match. Spears won with his C4 finisher (running Death Valley Driver).

This helped establish Spears even more as an overly cocky heel who vastly overrates his skill and potential. He’s supposed to win decisively against the likes of a Law or a Suge D only to be defeated by talent higher on the card, such as his loss last week to Cody.

With Golden’s appearance discussed earlier, these three talents filled in admirably and satisfactorily played their roles. I’m assuming we’ll see more of them through the go-home episode before Double or Nothing, and I’m looking forward to their appearances.

-Boom: a multitude of formats for video packages

https://twitter.com/AEWonTNT/status/1250585955855069185

The first and third boxes contain the real stars of “The Bubbly Bunch.”

Jokes aside, AEW continues to produce unique video packages so that we don’t become bored with the typical promo videos and vignettes. Still, starting shows with “The Snake” promos is always a win.

I appreciated the video for Cabana before his match with Archer. If you only watch AEW and know of Cabana only through his appearances in AEW, the video did well to highlight who Cabana is and why we should care about him. Further, for many fans who think of Cabana as a comedy wrestler, this really flipped the script by portraying Cabana as someone who is taking the tournament and his match with Archer seriously.

I already discussed Baker’s video, but that image of her with the glove on and squirting liquid out of that needle is…chilling.

“The Bubbly Bunch” was great in that The Inner Circle members know their characters: arrogant “holes of the ass” who think they’re cool and amazing, but come off as annoyingly narcissistic and grating. Being able to hear from Santana and Ortiz was welcome since we really don’t hear them on the mic very much.

Hager’s daughter was also the star of his scenes with her “I don’t care” demeanor and look of utter indifference on her face.

It was also another creative way to have wrestlers on the show without being physically present. Being able to film from their homes/cars has provided AEW with a trove of material for their taped shows.

However, the most unique aspect of the videos last night were the interspersed predictions from both AEW wrestlers and other well-known personalities, such as Bellator’s Mike Goldberg and ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.

While the notable lack of women’s voices is glaring, these videos were a nice change of pace in two ways. One, they presented more debate fodder for families watching at home by providing different reasons for the outcome of the match.

I also find it amusing when non-wrestling personalities try to apply real-world logic to match outcomes. Does it really matter Hager has been choking people out in MMA with the arm triangle, for example?

Two, it showed that AEW does have a presence and is instilling an excitement for professional wrestling many haven’t felt (and seen) in decades. It also crossed some barriers, bringing in voices from MMA and comedy, and from well-known brands like Bellator and ESPN. Unlike when celebrities will do similar videos for WWE, these didn’t seem scripted and the personalities really seemed like they follow the product and stories. That goes a long way for wrestling fans.

After the sudden news yesterday, it was nice to spend two hours focused on an enjoyable show helped by the fact AEW wasn’t responsible for what happened. Slight dud aside with the start of the main event, I was pretty entertained considering I wasn’t in the highest of spirits when the show began.

I guess in these times, it’s more important than ever to support the wrestlers we love. Let’s remember this as we continue to decide just which wrestling product(s) we consume. Until next week dear readers, please stay safe.