La Zona Muerta

This week saw an interesting Dynamite in a few ways. I’m not sorry to see the residency come to an end… we’ll get to that, but the show was bookended with some stuff that makes me VERY hopeful for the future. Look, I nitpick AEW every week. I wouldn’t say it’s my JOB; but it’s largely a transcription of what I yell at my TV every week, and the few dozen of you who are kind enough to care enough about what I have to say want to see my thoughts… oftentimes those thoughts take the form of criticism. So instead of negativity or worrying about the ratings getting it in the neck (HO HO, SEE WHAT I DID THERE. TOPICAL)… I’m going to concentrate on what I consider to be VERY positive signs.

AEW is not always good at striking when the iron is hot. But it is EXCELLENT at spotlighting who the next future stars will be. Last night, they were jumping up and down and LITERALLY TELLING YOU that Kyle Fletcher is going to be the MAN in this promotion. No, probably not on September 20th… probably… but he WILL BE. No question. I told you last week how HUNGRY the guy is, both on and off screen. He proved it again last night, frankly outshining Hangman Adam Page, someone who I think is excellent on the mic and perhaps even underrated. Kyle laid out his case for wanting to be the heavyweight champ… and pointed out that he is ONLY TWENTY SIX OF YOUR EARTH YEARS OLD. Good Lord. Imagine being that good, that capable, that driven at 26.

On the other end of the spectrum, the slow, seemingly never ending, almost to the point of floundering Danny Garcia heel turn… they FINALLY pulled the trigger, having him lay out Darby Allin while Darby was locked in combat with Jon Moxley. Arguably, this is a guy who could have, maybe SHOULD have been in the Blackpool Combat Club / Death Riders all along, but now he’s FINALLY aligned with them and it instantly revitalizes him, gives the Death Riders a shot in the arm, makes one wonder about how he and Wheeler YUTA, the other DR young gun and Garcia’s eternal rival on the independent circuit, can possibly coexist… so many possibilities blossom open from this one action. THIS is the sort of stuff AEW absolutely EXCELS at, even if the slow burn sometimes takes longer than you might want, because you know none of those stones will be left unturned. Again, they are TELLING you that a cat like Garcia is their future. Garcia is BETTER for having been in the Jericho orbit, for having feuded with Bryan Danielson, for being paired with Daddy Magic and occasionally the other guy… and now he’s going to get a whole new string to his bow. THE RED DEATH RIDER IS HERE.

Then, you still have FTR doing something with Adam Priest and (now Tom Billington, and while those guys aren’t gonna win, it is further codifying them to the AEW audience. Michael Oku will be here on the next Collision, again, not winning, but getting him in front of those eyeballs. This is a company that wants to make sure puzzle pieces are in place for the next several years.

While I’ve got FTR on the brain… I saw some gnashing of teeth about FTR having another clash with Priest and Billington. The reality is, for some of the really hardcore, really online audience… FTR still has go away heat. I get it, I do. Before FTR Bald became Tony Khan’s second strongest online soldier (first place goes to Ricochet, somehow, a transformation I could have never seen coming), his presence was toxic on screen, online and even in the locker room. The matches were either amazing (the Briscoe Trilogy) or awful (the Bucks series). Since the heel turn, since abandoning the round peg in a square hole “my daughter is sick” babyface junk… FTR has been compelling and delightful, finally becoming what they have PRETENDED to be for years… the quintessential shameless 80s style heels. If they still rub you the wrong way, again I get it, I understand, they did a LOT of damage. But I implore you to give them another chance. With the addition of Stokely Hathaway, a tremendous manager with so many false starts in AEW FINALLY getting to show what he’s capable of, this act has become must see, in my opinion. Gleeful in their shameless heeldom, picking fights with the crowd, making the opponents look GREAT, showing ass as necessary… it’s a quantum leap forward in their work as far as I’m concerned. It sucks that they will be losing to the odious Edge at the pay per view (yes, yes, I know those guys are all friends in real life), but FTR have become so materful, so effortless with the heel schtick that they will get their heat back right away.

There’s some stuff I’m less than enthused about… the Arena residency is coming to a close NONE TOO SOON for me as I’m sick of the chants (still a sign of boredom, not engagement. I’m sorry, but it’s true) and forced ECW nostalgia. The show looks low rent and cramped on TV. The women’s stuff just seems like the same issue remixed over and over and over and needs a big shake up, as far as I’m concerned (although Alex Windsor has been a welcome addition). I don’t like bringing back Kenny to write him out immediately. I think the MJF / Mark Briscoe stuff is pretty dreadful and I have no faith that Mark Briscoe will come out on top. The Hurt Syndicate are still choking up the TV screen. Blah, blah, blah. But there’s SO MUCH good stuff. Don Callis and his group slowly becoming the main bad guys is wonderful. Ricochet making a fool of me as he becomes a delightful upper mid card problem for good guys to overcome. The Young Bucks’ fall from grace… I know the comedy is too much for some but for me, it’s just right. The complete 180 degree turn in my enjoyment of the Death Riders. There’s a lot to be into right now and no reason to think that will end when All Out does.