00:00 Welcome to the WrestleTalk News, I'm Pete Quinnell.
00:12 On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltz has discussed what is considered a lot of negativity
00:16 surrounding AEW right now, and unfortunately, that trend continues.
00:21 Some of that negativity has reportedly been linked to poor ticket sales, not enough TV
00:25 time to go around for the size of the AEW roster, and more recently, Kevin Sullivan
00:29 being fired as the head of post-production.
00:31 Not just because he was fired, but because the one doing the firing was Mike Mansouri,
00:35 a former WWE executive.
00:38 A WWE guy firing an AEW original.
00:42 The optics, reportedly, aren't opticking too well.
00:45 But let's focus in on that second point.
00:47 Not enough TV time for all the wrestlers AEW has at its disposal.
00:51 It's been a long-running problem for AEW, whether it be the lack of TV time for its
00:56 women's division which has been heavily criticised, seemingly important and emotional
01:00 stories being moved to a show with less eyes on it like Rampage, or those stories being
01:04 given lacklustre payoffs without too much focus placed on them.
01:07 And we've even now seen some wrestlers publicly state their displeasure with their lack of
01:11 TV time, such as Britt Baker on X posting about getting zero minutes of live promo time
01:16 in 2023.
01:17 But it seems that act in particular has some wrestlers in hot water backstage.
01:22 Sean Ross Sapp on Fightful's The Hump mentioned that Bryan Danielson and AEW's disciplinary
01:26 committee have begun fining wrestlers based on social media conduct, with Sean adding
01:31 that he's specifically heard of at least one or two people who've been fined by him.
01:35 This comes off the back of a potential injury scare from Bryan Danielson himself at the
01:39 collision tapings that took place on Tuesday.
01:42 Fans in attendance were left uncertain whether Danielson had injured himself in the C2 match
01:46 against Andrade El Idolo as he was bleeding from around the area of his orbital bone injury,
01:51 and had an injury angle to close the show.
01:52 However, Fightful Select confirmed that this was in fact just an angle, and was always
01:57 part of the story, so rest easy guys, Danielson isn't injured.
02:01 But on the subject of injuries in AEW, it's been 18 months since we've last seen Kyle
02:06 O'Reilly on our screens, as he's been off suffering from a neck injury that has
02:10 seen him undergo neck fusion surgery, as well as complications resulting from that surgery.
02:16 From the last update we'd heard, there was no timetable for his return, but now a more
02:20 positive update has come out.
02:22 Fightful Select is reporting that O'Reilly has been backstage at AEW recently, and could
02:26 be returning before long, after it looked like him returning at all could have been
02:30 quite unlikely.
02:31 Kyle O'Reilly is the devil confirmed.
02:33 Over in WWE now, there's been plenty of speculation that after completing the merger
02:37 of WWE and UFC, being given back power over creative before having that power immediately
02:42 rescinded by his new boss and then immediately selling 30% of his stock in the company resulting
02:46 in an extra nearly $700 million for himself, that Vince McMahon might be up to something.
02:52 Would he be leaving WWE now that his power over the week-to-week TV has gone?
02:57 What does he need that extra money for?
02:59 According to Justin Barasso of Sports Illustrated, sources within WWE reportedly shared that
03:04 Vince McMahon has no intention of leaving WWE soon.
03:08 Vince reportedly needed that money to be more liquid, but what that money is actually for,
03:13 we don't know.
03:14 Vince reportedly has no plans to leave and will continue working with TKO for the foreseeable
03:18 future with whatever projects are assigned to him by CEO Ariy Emanuel.
03:22 Though as of the time of this report, there was no mention of assignments Vince is currently
03:26 working on.
03:52 With Christmas classics such as Silent Necklace, the festive favourite Little Bracelet Boy,
04:19 and it simply wouldn't be Christmas without the Carol
04:48 of Christmas.
05:17 It's Thursday, you know what that means.
05:35 Time for my review of AEW Dynamite… in about 5 minutes.
05:42 The show opened on possibly one of the stiffest matches the Continental Classic, nay, all
05:47 of wrestling can do - two bastard type Pokemon, a Roosh vs Jon Moxley.
05:53 This didn't have the intense pace as last week's Roosh vs Mark Briscoe match, but
05:57 they more than made up for it with crowd brawling, pushing the limits of what a referee, or me,
06:03 as a viewer, will accept as a ring count.
06:06 But also forgive them, because that's when I saw someone holding an 'I love Oli Davis'
06:10 sign.
06:11 I love you too, random Canadian man.
06:14 The crowd brawling also gave us the spot that took the crowd from excited to crazed - Roosh
06:19 smashing a beer in Mox's face.
06:21 Not our first alcoholic beverage attack of the night.
06:24 Mox countered Roosh's Tranquillo pose with double middle fingers, and the finish had
06:28 Roosh kick out of the Death Rider, but then pass out in Mox's joke.
06:32 Rather awesomely, Roosh came to as the bell rang, confused and angry that he had just
06:37 lost a match.
06:38 Broderick Strong then came out on the ramp to scream people's names.
06:41 He warned Samoa Joe about getting burned by MJF because MJF is the Devil, and then told
06:49 Rane.
06:50 He's sick of living with the consequences of his actions - a great heel line - to stand
06:55 up out of his wheelchair like a miraculous healing event.
06:59 Emphasis on the heel.
07:01 He finished by saying he's been held back for too long.
07:04 We then cut backstage for my favourite thing on this episode - a seamless, terrifically
07:09 scripted Rane interview, where she was originally waiting outside MJF's locker room.
07:14 But Hangman Page walked past instead.
07:16 He cut a promo on Swerve, saying they'll be forever bound, and he'll never let Swerve
07:20 get what he wants the most - presumably the world title.
07:24 Then MJF comes out and launches into a back and forth I didn't know I wanted so much.
07:29 Max beat Hangman for his first diamond ring, yeah, but Hangman finished that by buckshot
07:34 lariating him.
07:35 MJF thinks Hangman is actually the Devil.
07:37 Page says it's far more likely an insecure Max.
07:41 MJF said Hangman 'puts people to sleep'.
07:44 CM Punk AEW return confirmed!
07:47 Samoa Joe stepped between them, as they've got more immediate worries facing the Devil
07:51 later on.
07:52 They reintroduced Hangman, immediately heated him back up, they kept the Swerve feud going
07:57 while starting a tantalising new story with MJF, and we got Max accusing Page of being
08:02 the Devil.
08:03 Someone I had never considered, but actually really like.
08:07 Hangman infamously has his kayfabe demons.
08:10 He recently took Swerve to Hell and drank his blood.
08:15 And later on, we maybe even got his weapon of choice.
08:21 In a disappointing payoff, but I understand you want to draw this out, Samoa Joe and MJF
08:25 vs the Devil and Friend presumably never happened because Max was attacked backstage in the
08:30 parking lot.
08:31 Devil from NXT confirmed.
08:33 But most interesting is the crime scene evidence.
08:36 Hold L2 to scan for clues.
08:39 Aha!
08:40 MJF was hit over the head with a bottle of beer.
08:45 And Hangman has been known to enjoy a beer in his darker moments.
08:49 Mark Briscoe needed to beat Swerve Strictland in their Continental Classic match, otherwise
08:53 he'd be eliminated from the tournament.
08:55 He'd still compete, but it'd be for nothing.
08:58 The added stakes elevated the drama even higher, with Briscoe working as the underdog babyface,
09:03 getting a great final few minutes of mere falls, but a Death Valley Driver on the apron
09:07 from Swerve and then a stomp put him away.
09:09 It's great for Strictland, setting up a huge points clash against Moxley at Winter
09:13 is Coming next week, but a Shane Mark wasn't booked stronger in the tournament.
09:18 Mariah May wouldn't tell Renee who her glamorous debut match will be against, because tonight
09:22 is all about Storm - a meatline referencing the movie their relationship is based on,
09:28 all about Eve - which went into, for me, the best display of Toni Storm's new gimmick
09:33 so far.
09:34 I've not been into her character.
09:36 Not that it's bad.
09:37 I think it's actually very well developed, with a distinct visual style and supporting
09:41 cast.
09:42 It's everything a high concept gimmick should be.
09:44 But sometimes, not everything is for everybody, and this hasn't been for me.
09:49 But what I more took against was how that gimmick was overshadowing and thus undermining
09:53 the Women's World title.
09:55 I didn't like her Full Gear win against Shida because of that.
09:58 But here, against Sky Blue, she's found a far more effective balance of gimmick and
10:02 in-ring wrestling.
10:04 Firstly introduced by the host of Turner Classic Movies Ben Mankiewicz, Storm debuted a few
10:08 new bits of offence, like sitting on Luthor's shoulders, or the wind-up punch, that were
10:13 really fun.
10:14 She beat Blue, and then set up a feud with a returning Riho right after.
10:17 While it's still only one women's match per episode, this actually felt substantial,
10:22 rather than Dynamite's usual lipstick service.
10:25 The final C2 match of the night saw Jey vs Jey.
10:28 It's Jeybowl.
10:30 Come on, Jey.
10:32 Like Briscoe, Jey Lethal also needed to win or risk elimination.
10:35 Like all of Lethal's tournament matches, though, him losing was very predictable.
10:40 But the added stakes again heightened the drama, after a minute of tense Blade Runner
10:43 attempts wiped one with a technical pin.
10:46 And the main event was Christian vs Adam Copeland, 40 years in the making, for the TNT title
10:52 in Montreal.
10:53 When Copeland debuted in AEW, I wasn't that excited about seeing him wrestle Christian,
10:58 like the Hardys or the Dudleys.
10:59 I never cared about their team infighting.
11:02 So it's a testament to both men that I couldn't wait for this match.
11:06 And it had the big fight feel of a pay-per-view - star power, blood feud, decades of history,
11:11 and the title all making a potent mix.
11:13 They wrestled for a very good 15 minutes before the shenanigans began.
11:17 Edge slightly bumped into referee Bryce Remsburg, so Christian just kicked the ref in the dick.
11:22 He got the title, but ended up colliding into Edge with a double spear.
11:26 With both men down, Nick Wayne's mum - who's got it going on - got the title herself and
11:32 used it on Copeland.
11:33 Christian hit a kill switch, then stomped Edge's head onto the belt, trying to injure
11:38 his neck to win.
11:39 You could argue this was a heel turn for Nick Wayne's mum.
11:42 But Copeland did batter her son's head in with a chair last week while she cried, so
11:46 it's actually kind of justified.
11:48 I think the dysfunctional family unit of Christian, Nick, Nick Wayne's mum and Kill Switch is
11:53 going to make for fantastic TV.
11:55 And I expect we'll get a TNT title rematch for World's End.
11:59 AEW Dynamite is 80%, but where is Sasha Banks going next?
12:04 AEW or WWE?
12:07 Watch on to find out.
12:08 (upbeat music)
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