I was fortunate enough to be able to attend both AEW Dynamite LIVE and the AEW Rampage tapings this week, held in from Charleston, West Virginia. It was an experience that delivered unbelievable satisfaction on every level imaginable, and it was a true testament to the type of event that live pro wrestling can be.
AEW cares about its fans, and this is no secret, Tony Khan is often criticized for “booking for the fans” and not for the stories at hand, and while that can be problematic, it actually rarely is for Khan and AEW. Instead what results is a true, immersive, and live, satisfying professional wrestling experience for fans old and new, and also for families of all ages.
Note: The Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center is where I cut my teeth as a young lad, taking in the NWA (Flair! Rhodes! Sting! The ROad Warriors! Rock and Roll Express!) and then later WCW live shows and PPVs. From several house shows per year, to PPV events like The Great American Bash 1987 and WCW’s Souled Out 1999, I have been heading to Charleston for most of my live pro wrestling for decades.
But AEW…AEW live is another animal altogether. And it continues to grow and adapt to the times we are living in, with Triple H taking the reigns of the mighty WWE machine, Khan and company at All Elite Wrestling are buckling down and pushing that envelope even farther, all the while providing fun for every single person in the arena.
The crowd was hot from the time Justin Roberts, the Dapper Yapper, takes the ring for the AEW Dark tapings. And this man does not get enough credit – he is the ringmaster for everything happening in the arena all evening long, some 4+ hours. We watched him learn the names of local talent debuting on AEW Dark, entertain the crowd between matches and during commercial breaks, and even keep us on time while he would always count us all back in from commercial. He engaged every fan in that arena, and couldn’t have been happier about doing so.
Dynamite goes live and I hadn’t heard or seen a word all week if we’d hear from CM Punk or Moxley following their face-to-face last week. I had written it off.
Cue “Cult Of Personality.”
And just like that my night has been made as I am a die-hard CM Punk fan and have been since his ROH years. A scathing promo covering Hangman’s unprofessional words from months ago, to downright tearing down Moxley, and Punk is hitting on all cylinders and we are all ready for the All-Out main event in 3 weeks…except now we get that match next week on Dynamite (adapting to the times, like I said!).
The show rolls on, the opening contest arrives with a complete PPV worthy outing from arguably the greatest professional wrestler on the planet in Daniel Bryan and the younger upstart Daniel Garcia – brutal, calculating, and vicious. Bryan impresses and Garcia goes over, then both Chris Jericho and the legend Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat all get involved. Fantastic!
Mox and Punk head again into the arena, another pull apart session! Let’s go!
Then The Gunn Club hit the ring and squash The Varsity Blondes. Their Dad, the great Billy Gunn, congratulates them…just as his boys then turn on their father! The Acclaimed then ARRIVE and make the save, and Daddy-Ass joins them while Billy’s kids possibly leave for new management under Stokely Hathaway. Another crowd-pleasing segment!
Another surprise as Jungle Boy comes out for a promo and calls out Christian Cage. Cage offers a truce, but Jungle Boy doesn’t bite and they set up a match for All-Out. I so-so promo from Jungle Boy, but Christian continues to be an absolute genius since his return to professional wrestling. Another well done crowd pleaser of a segment.
The show moves well into the 2nd hour as we get Toni Storm v. Kilynn King…good, solid match and a nice finisher from Storm. Her feud with Thunder Rosa has been nearly non-existent, but they will square off at All-Out for the AEW Women’s World Championship. Thunder Rosa should win that match and let’s hope they move her and that title up to the front of the card in the coming weeks, as she deserves much better than she’s been given as champion.
And then the main event…with the return of Kenny Omega! A great, fast-paced, well-worked match with Omega looking like he had not missed a step despite having been out of action for time that was nearing 300 days. The Elite go over, and hopefully AEW will split up Andrade’s group and give us the real Andrade, singles competitor and championship contender.
Dynamite goes dark and Omega stays in the ring and thanks the crowd for always supporting him. He leaves us all feeling content and appreciated, as do The Young Bucks who break character and I believe all 3 are now fully faces again.
In the end, I am not sure what more any fan could ask for from their pro wrestling show: Punk v. Mox on the stick, a Bryan Danielson clinic, a double turn, solid in-ring work, and a returning Kenny Omega. Top to bottom it was a fantastic show.
But that’s not even the best part of the evening.
My friend’s son turned 10 on the day of Dynamite in Charleston. He made a sign that said it was his birthday. He was greeted by fans around the arena with happy birthday wishes – reminding me that we are all family in this world of pro wrestling. And even Justin Roberts even called out the boy’s sign between matches and he led a Happy Birthday sing-along for the young boy named Zack Black.
As Dynamite moved into the Rampage tapings, the evening, for us, would become the stuff of legend: many fans left and we were encouraged by Tony Khan to all move down and fill in the empty areas (which would make for good TV of course!). So we did, and then things went next-level…
By the end of the night, my buddy’s boy was in the ring celebrating his birthday with DanHausen and The Best Friends, as DanHausen also had a birthday on that day. They again sang him Happy Birthday and turned him loose, back to us in the front row area…and then Tony Khan made his way out to give his regards as well…that’s right, the owner and creator of All Elite Wrestling came to wish Zack a Happy Birthday, and then move on to mingle and chat with fans who remained at ringside as the teardown of the ring and surrounding areas had begun.
The night was over, but we all had memories that will last a lifetime.
From one event, just one evening, AEW gave us a multitude of experiences that will last forever. All Elite Wrestling created MOMENTS…and that is ultimately what live professional wrestling is all about.
All Elite Wrestling continues to cater to the fans and while they are not growing in the demo for television ratings, they are absolutely thriving in the live event environment. Charleston, WV…a rural community with a rich wrestling territory history, was SOLD OUT, as have so many other Dynamites and PPV’s been recently. Fans are watching, fans are attending, and fans are appreciating what AEW is giving them – a live experience that gives us gracefully-aging legends, young, new, and eager talents, and bright, emerging stars all the while celebrating the wrestling fan, and family, in us all.
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