What a difference a day makes. Take Friday, for example. WWE Smackdown has become appointment television on account of Bloodline drama and the career renaissance of L.A. Knight, not to mention what happened last week. If you weren't paying attention (and I can hardly blame you for growing disenchanted with the blue brand of old), The Rock made a surprise appearance and verbally trounced poor Austin Theory, who has now been upbraided by both Rocky and John Cena. Time will tell if this kind of treatment will help the still-sprouting Theory, but at least he can say that he played a part in a segment that "did a number."
I wasn't joshing about Smackdown being appointment television. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually look forward to tuning in each week. The same cannot be said for AEW's Dynamite, a flagship show bereft of a flag or a ship. It's strange to cling to nostalgia when it comes to a company so young, but four years ago, AEW was a buzzword. It had been two decades since Vince McMahon had to worry about a rival promotion, and while the roster was thin at the time (Chris Jericho notwithstanding), prospects presaged a new alternative that fans could feast on. A TV deal meant that there was room enough at the dinner table for such an enterprise. Would competition beget better wrestling?
Man, I was on board for AEW. I attended a couple of Dynamite tapings, I bought the merchandise, and most importantly (for the purposes of this column anyway), I watched the shows religiously. Ever since CM Punk was expatriated from the premises, I have lost a lot of the zeal I once held for Tony Khan's pet project. It has become clear that the snake has no head, to steal a Corrosion of Conformity songtitle. The worrying lack of structure behind the scenes brings WCW to mind. And I want to be optimistic. I want to root for the underdog, but good heavens, recent events have made it hard for me to keep my chin up.
It's pretty simple. On one channel, you've got The Bloodline, you've got Judgment Day (and all of Dirty Dom's heat that comes with it), you've got perennial babyface Cody Rhodes, you've got a respectable tag team division, you've got NXT on the rebound (watch out for Bron Breakker), you've got Io everloving Sky, and you've got The Rock. On the other channel, you've got Orange Cassidy saying that he's tired. You know what, dude? So am I.
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