If nothing else Heyman being in creative meetings looks like it’ll mean the writers remember Cedric exists…now to get EC3 on TV.
Bischoff had nothing to do with Murphy & Liv appearing on TV this week - he probably doesn’t know who either of them are. He was scheduled to be backstage at SmackDown, but wasn’t there, he’ll at least be on road this week for RAW, so presumably he’ll be backstage for his first show next week.
3 interesting names being brought in for the RAW Reunion:
Alicia Fox - first the time since being sent to rehab
Melina - first WWE appearance in 8 years
Sycho Sid - may possibly be his first WWE appearance in 20+ years
Santino Marella, Kaitlyn, Jillian Hall & Patterson and Brisco are also announced from outside the usual 30 or so they either have backstage already or bring in for the annual nostalgia fest.
It’s time for the Wednesday Night War… Will Vince kill AEW, or his own show?
(They’ve squibbed it though – unlike RAW and Smackdown, which don’t get shown on the Network for a month after their free-to-air showing, NXT will be on the Network the next day.)
So AEW’s first episode of Dynamite was pretty damn old-school conventional. A few little in-match botches but It certainly didn’t end with Randy Orton corpsing twice over a collapsing set and prolonged awkward kinkiness… and yet somehow they kept the crowd entertained without that.
Though I’m not sure how the main event wasn’t an early disqualification: a slightly different table spot there.
And at the actual end: I AM THE TABLE!
Also:
Sammy being a star. Riho!!! And the sadly-spoilt-a-few-days-earlier Swagger.
“Professional wrestling’s “Wednesday Night Wars” officially started on cable television last night, when the new weekly AEW wrestling show debuted to 1.4 million viewers, besting USA Network’s “NXT,” which put up 891,000 viewers (down 11% from last week’s show). Among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic, “Dynamite” scored 878,000 viewers to “NXT’s” 414,000 (up 1% from its week-ago broadcast).”
That placed AEW in the number two spot on Wednesday night for cable TV. NXT was tenth.
NXT down 24% from debut two weeks ago, but AEW grew the total viewers rather than simply cannibalising them.
Yeah, that’s a pretty safe way to get an initial reaction: open with Becky, then bring in King “Broken Throne” Corbin and get The Man and The Rock to layeth the Smackdown on that jabroni’s candyarse.
The Four Horsewomen get the opening match. Lil Naitch only holds the ropes open for one of them, of course.
Charlotte elbowed Sasha in the face during her top tope moonsault, drawing blood.
Kevin Dunn has been told to fark off? No absurd camera shake/zoom/cuts on every bit of contact!
THAT IS HUGE.
Ha, bring in RAW’s champion (for the moment) so they can plaster the “Beast Slayer” entry text up there, and kill the show momentum with Firefly Fun House .
Shinsuke’s opening flipping arm bar on Rollins was AMAZING. So smooth.
Interesting choice to go directly from Shane-flies-onto-Owens-on-table to ad break to Owens-flies-onto-Shane-on-ladder. The whole match was fast-forward spot-spamming.
Bye Shane.
As noted above, the main event: Jesus H Christ on a farking stick, and instantly forgotten.
Given Smackdown is arguably now the official A-show, I hope it survives the extra “attention”.
No Johnny Smackdown… and in side news Jeff Hardy caught driving drunk AGAIN.
