AEW: Making Wrestling Fun Again
Live report from AEW Dynamite in Philadelphia.
The lights, the pyro, the fire, the music, the chants, the bubbly. AEW Dynamite was the hottest ticket in Philly.
I almost didn’t get one. Fearing that ordering online would be a fool’s errand due to AEW’s numerous sell outs, my brother and I went down to Temple University to try our luck at the box office. Ninety minutes before tickets went on sale, nobody was there. Feeling optimistic, we grabbed lunch as I gave the high school senior an unofficial college tour. When we returned an hour later, there were 10 people in line. We weren’t worried until tickets went on sale and it was clear that the first two guys in line were scalpers trying to gobble up as many as possible. After close to 30 minutes, people in the line became restless, challenging these greedy charlatans to name a pro wrestler. After an awkward silence, one of the scalpers finally mumbled “The Rock.”
These two clowns tried to gobble up #AEW tickets to resell them. Making everybody else in line frustrated beyond belief. When one guy asked “Do you even have a favorite wrestler?” There was awkward silence until the red shirt said “…The Rock.” #AEWPhilly @AEWrestling pic.twitter.com/MQJ5bIX4kK
— The Wrestling Estate (@TheWrestlingEst) August 16, 2019
As time ticked away and seats were being snatched up, I gave up hope and tried to buy three online. When we finally made it to the ticket counter, the cashier said he could only give us two seats together and one in a different section. That wasn’t going to work, so we settled for the two and my youngest brother got screwed. (He wasn’t willing to sit through a Dark Order match, anyway.) Somehow, I messed up the order and ended up purchasing an extra seat in a different section, which I was gratefully able to give to a former coworker and fellow wrasslin’ diehard who had the time of his life at AEW Philly.
Real talk: #AEWDyamite was the most fun I’ve had at a pro-wrestling event in years. Thank you to @CodyRhodes, @TheBrandiRhodes, @theAdamPage, @MattJackson13, @NickJacksonYB, @KennyOmegamanX, @IAmJericho and everyone at @AEWrestling for a truly memorable night in Philadelphia. pic.twitter.com/xrT2PinP1Y
— David Onda (@David_Onda) October 17, 2019
We did, too. As a matter of fact, AEW Philly was the second best wrestling event I’ve ever attended. (Nothing will surpass witnessing The Streak end and the Miracle on Bourbon Street.) You could feel the electricity throughout Temple’s campus. Inside Maxi’s, the local watering hole/pizza joint, there were a lot of people wearing wrestling shirts while playing entrance themes and “Judas” on the jukebox. This poor guy wearing an AJ Styles hat left just before my brother played “They Don’t Want None.”
The Liacouras Center is such a great venue for pro wrestling. Sitting on Broad Street gives it that big city vibe, and with just over 10,000 seats, it’s large enough for a spectacle, yet small enough for a good view anywhere in the arena. I’ve attended three prior shows at The Liacouras Center: Lockdown 2009 (Bully Ray signed my T-shirt in the lobby), Bound For Glory 2011 (Hulk Hogan’s last match in the United States) and a TNA house show in 2013 headlined by Mr. Anderson beating Bully Ray in a steel cage.
While they were all fun in different ways, none matched the excitement of AEW Dynamite. The sold out crowd was red hot, welcoming everyone from Justin Roberts to Temple grad Bryce Remsburg to MJF with open arms. Surprisingly, Hangman Adam Page had one of the most subdued reactions of the night. The crowd popped for Joey Janela, DDP (on the video screen), Riho, referee Aubrey Edwards, Lucha Bros, Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, Cody & Brandi, Dustin Rhodes and The Young Bucks.
The second loudest ovation went to former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Taz, who handled commentary for AEW Dark.
— TAZ (@OfficialTAZ) October 17, 2019
Birthday boy Kenny Omega received the biggest ovation of the night, perhaps even louder than The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Considering how he’s been booked in the company, the crowd’s reaction caught me off guard. But then I scoured the Internet Wrestling Database and discovered this was Omega’s first match in Philadelphia since 2010. That can’t be right. The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and leader of the Bullet Club never wrestled at the 2300 Arena for Ring of Honor? Regardless, Philly loves him like he’s the second coming of Rocky.
Without spoiling AEW Dark, let me just tell you Joey Janela faced Brandon Cutler to open the show, Nyla Rosa and Leva Bates cooled everybody down after the street fight and Cody, Dustin and the Bucks tore the house down with Private Party, T-Hawk and CIMA. After the main event, Cody brought a kid dressed as Orange Cassidy into the ring and let him pin him to the crowd’s delight and MJF’s dismay. That’s the kind of moment that makes you a wrestling fan for life.
I’m not sure which chants were heard on TNT, but the AEW Philly crowd lived up to its reputation, shouting “You sick fuck!” when Chuckie T threw Scorpio Sky’s shoe away and then gnawed on his foot. Sky mounted a comeback, prompting chants of “You’ve got one shoe!” Then, he threw his shoe into the crowd…and a fan threw it back! “He’s got no shoes!” echoed throughout the arena. Whether that becomes part of his gimmick remains to be seen, but rest assured that Scorpio Sky is the future of AEW.
People in my section were disappointed that Luchasaurus was sidelined due to a hamstring injury. His popularity amazes me because when he wrestled in House of Hardcore, he looked like a joke. The same Philly fans didn’t react to him at all. But now he and Jungle Boy are one of the hottest acts in wrestling. The same can’t be said for Marko Stunt. His flossing drew boos and he’ll always carry the stigma of being too small to be taken seriously. However, I enjoy watching him and his torture at the hands of Fenix and Pentagon was the best match of the night, and one of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen. Pentagon murdering “Babysaurus” over and over again, including a one-handed military press slam, while Fenix battered Jungle Boy outside the ring was tremendously entertaining.
Speaking of murder, Moxley earned “CZDub” chants, which seemed to melt his heart. There were dueling “Fuck him up, Kenny, fuck him up!”/”Fuck him up, Moxley, fuck him up!” chants, which added a Rated R, big fight feel to the family friendly environment.
Of course, Jericho is our beloved champion, with the AEW Philly crowd even singing his entrance theme. “Thank you Jericho!” and “Bubbly” chants reverberated during the street fight, but the crowd quickly turned at the first rope break. The City of Brotherly Love will support you all the way, but don’t dare insult our intelligence. You can tape a man’s hands behind his back and still get your ass kicked, but don’t ever call a rope break in a street fight!
#AEWPhiladelphia was exhilarating…thank you @IAmJericho! #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/PrOKMd7x0b
— John Corrigan (@Notready4Radio) October 17, 2019
AEW Dynamite can’t sustain this momentum forever. Only three episodes in, everything feels fresh and each show has featured marquee matches. Before that appeal fades away, you need to experience the energy when AEW comes to your town.
For the first time in ages, it’s fun to be a wrestling fan.
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