AEW Booms and Duds: Kenny Omega took too long to beat … who?

AEW has hit a nice groove with their pre-taped episodes of Dynamite. Did that streak continue last night? Here are the “booms” and “duds” for the Apr. 22 episode.

It’s been a nice run for AEW in 2020, even during this pandemic.

Their decision to shift to mass tapings even with a limited crew has proven to be a smart and effective decision. It has allowed AEW to focus in on a manageable number of stories without diluting the overall product. This has provided a platform for some talent who were lower on the card to receive a spotlight to be exposed to fans.

Further, AEW has done remarkably in procuring video from talent, both at the tapings and from the homes of others. These trends continued tonight.

The biggest, and most welcome, change came in the form of videos highlighting talent not associated with The Elite, Inner Circle, or Jon Moxley (though they had some as well). I was particularly excited and engaged with one particular video, which will kick off the “booms” and “duds.”

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.

Boom: we’re finally getting to know Scorpio Sky

“I wanted to be a pro wrestler as much as I wanted air.”

Cheesy? Undoubtedly yes. Effective, engaging, and genuine? To quote a certain Hall of Famer, “Oh it’s true. It’s DAMN true!”

Not only do fans now know that Sky’s been surrounded by wrestling his entire life and that his momma told him he was destined for greatness (“You the real MVP“), but that a debilitating back injury could have ended his career before it really started.

The fact that his first instinct after being pain-free was to reenter the wrestling ring only reiterates to fan this is his passion, his calling. You could feel through his words and the video the authenticity of his emotions. Constantly hitting that “glass ceiling” and being disheartened at the lack of progress? That is all too relatable no matter the occupation for many of us.

It really added to the depth of the piece when he was shown at his mother’s grave. Even in death, his mother has a very large influence on him. He said he just talked to her one day at her grave and decided to give wrestling one more shot.

I am very happy that he did.

What’s been missing from Sky, specifically, is any sort of character build beyond his in-ring prowess. Much of the focus on SCU after losing the Tag Team Championship has been on Christopher Daniels as he was the initial target of “The Exalted One.”

Now that “Mr. Brodie” has moved on and we haven’t seen Daniels/SCU since the start of the pandemic, moving in the direction of Sky as a singles star isn’t just warranted, but exactly what I wrote that I wanted to see happen yesterday morning. I also said this is an opportune time to have a video like the one above, so it looks like AEW and I had similar thoughts.

It also only took two and half minutes, though a lot was packed into that 150 seconds. Could they have taken more time? Sure, but that’s why we’re getting multiple parts.

The video ended with a tease about the formation of SCU, which we will presumably see next week. I wonder if next week will be the last video or if there is one more left. Either way, this is a fantastic way for fans to connect with a future star, one fans have shown they want to support. I’m very much looking forward to connecting more with Scorpio Sky.

Boom: establishing talent with deliberate squash matches

“The Exalted One” Brodie Lee and Wardlow both impressed in their quick victories last night.

Lee, taking on Justin Law, utterly decimated his opposition in methodical fashion. He’s really playing the sadistic leader well; his facial expressions seem to reveal a sick pleasure as he’s considering just what to do next to his foe (and sometimes Dark Order members).

There is little wasted movement or emotion from Lee as “The Exalted One.” Every movement, every look, every gesture has a purpose. Being so methodical in his decimation adds a layer of fear to his character. The video package with Lee welcoming Preston Vance as “10” also added intrigue (more later).

He still has the best discus lariat in the game, and one of the best lariats overall (it’s hard to top the Rainmaker, though).

Moving to Wardlow, many fans weren’t sure what to expect of him in AEW … and then we saw him against Cody in that steel cage. Considering that was his first AEW match and it was so high-profile, Wardlow not only acquitted himself well, he was impressive.

Wardlow isn’t as tall as either Lee or Lance Archer, but he is strong and stocky; he kind of reminds of me a Michael Elgin-type. The best way to display his strengths and character in establishing him as a legitimate wrestler is through decisive victories like he had against Lee Johnson last night.

Johnson never had a chance. Wardlow hit a gorilla press into a powerslam, basically pulling off a one-man Viking Experience maneuver. After placing Lee on the top turnbuckle, he brought him down into a wicked rising knee that made Lee crumble.

Just look at the height and rotation on that F10 above. Wow! Of course, that’s going to be harder to accomplish on a wrestler of Moxley’s size, but it was still impressive nonetheless.

After having virtually no squash matches for the first few months of Dynamite, 2020 has seen several squashes across both men’s and women’s divisions which have helped build wrestlers in both. Using local, unsigned talent is an extremely effective way to incorporate squash matches without having it reflect on the records of signed AEW talent.

Hopefully, more squashes are on the menu in the future.

Boom: effective, story-driven video packages

Boom: showing footage from “Road to” and “Being the Elite”

First, color me surprised to see footage from both “Road to” and “Being the Elite” last night. After being told there would be no shoulder content, there seems to be a rather large amount of shoulder content.

Many (including myself) have clamored for AEW to show clips on Dynamite, particularly as they relate to major stories. It seems like we are finally seeing this change, and for the better.

Showing the clip of Cody (maybe overacting a little) talking to his brother, Dustin, on the phone where Dustin revealed he would retire if he didn’t win the tournament was a nice touch. Otherwise, how else would fans have known why the stakes of the match were so high?

They also showed highlights of the match between the Jackson brothers, Nick and Matt, including the outrageously hilarious spot where one brother hits a Canadian destroyer to the other off of a diving board and into a pool; I popped.

If you’re wondering why they wrestled, Matt wanted to make sure Nick was fully recovered after the attack by Inner Circle and could think of no better opponent for Nick to come to this determination.

This is exactly why they need to show these clips! Let us know what’s going on!

Second, the video packages last night were just another set of well-done videos. I already gushed over Sky’s video. Lee’s video continued a trend in what I feel is the right direction.

After criticizing his initial videos as being a man-child parody of Vince McMahon, the last few weeks have seen a more serious and less hyperbolic “Mr. Brodie” as he interacts with his Creepers. We saw him reward one for dressing in a shirt and tie with some sort of special assignment (still waiting for follow-up on this) two weeks ago.

Last night (above) we see Lee recruiting another member with a serious tone that only reinforces the message(s) he was sending to Vance. I think Lee has found who exactly “The Exalted One” should be.

“The Bubbly Bunch” was another goofy but entertaining video, though I could do without seeing Jericho or Jake Hager try to dance ever again.

The past few weeks have had videos for Moxley vs. Hager; Archer and Jake “The Snake” Roberts; a visit to Dr. Britt Baker’s office; Lee; and now Sky (as well as pre-match videos). This leaves me intrigued to see who will next receive the extended video treatment.

-Boom: the bubbling feud centered on Orange Cassidy and Jimmy Havoc

No one has quite captured the interests of fans like Orange Cassidy. As was written on his lower-third last night, his laissez-faire style isn’t for everyone (mainly Jericho), but it seems like it’s for most everyone.

Jimmy Havoc is someone I think is vastly underrated. Many view him as a deathmatch/hardcore specialist, but he was trained in the technical British style! He was placed into the weapons match role, so many fans just don’t know how good Havoc is as an in-ring practicioner.

I’m loving the build for this feud by having Havoc partnered with Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford, who I also wrote are future megastars (Kipelope? PeneleKip? The Fordians?). Turning Best Friends from their one-sided destruction at the hands of Death Triangle to these three should be fun, and the tag match next week should be full of memorable moments.

-Dud: Kenny Omega took HOW long to defeat WHO?

Omega is one of, if not the best wrestler in the world and that’s not just because we say so; AEW has constantly reminded us of this. He should have a “clean sheet” so to speak against lesser opponents, and only really be challenged by the mid and upper tier.

Why, then, is he not only taking several minutes to defeat Alex Angels, but giving Angels so much offense during the match? It really boggles my mind. It doesn’t help that he’s been on such a win streak (I think second only to Moxley) that I figured we would see Omega vs. Moxley at the third PPV in August or September.

Omega should have literally run through him with a V-Trigger for a quick victory. It’s not like Angels has been portrayed to be AEW’s version of the Premier League winning 2015-2016 Leicester City F.C.

Ironically, he did win the match with the maneuver, and I did appreciate that. Not every match needs to end with the One Winged Angel, particularly against jobbers.

Still, it should have ended quicker, and Omega needs to win these matches quickly and decisively. There were some squashes earlier, so why not add one more?

-Boom: good in-ring action throughout

From the opener to the main event, every match had great in-ring action. Though I thought Sabian should win (partly because I had him in my article yesterday), Dustin Rhodes was fantastic in selling his leg and in his comeback/finishing sequences. Who would have thought that arguably his best days as a wrestler would be 30+ years into his career?

Guevara and Allin seem set to have a long rivalry, like 1990s Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Every match is must-see.

The diversity in squash matches is welcome, and hopefully we see a squash at worst once every two weeks or so.

AEW’s base has always been solid in-ring action. They routinely show why.

We are a month away from Double or Nothing, still taking place outside of Las Vegas and with no crowd. The build to the PPV should begin in earnest next week. I’m expecting AEW to continue a run of great shows, but ramp up the intensity as we head towards one of their marquee events of the year.

Until next week, stay safe, healthy, and optimistic, readers!