[h=4]70 days[/h]This is mine.
On One Condition
I’m liking Thomas Keeling Sr. he seems a lot more serious and potentially a lot more sinister than his son, which could lead for a nice dynamic going forwards if that translates to Team HOSS. Kelly however seemed to flip flop in this segment between wanting HOSS in DEFIANCE and not wanting anything to do with them. Personally I’d have had Kelly make it much clearer that she personally didn’t want anything to do with HOSS, but she can’t deny that they’re a draw. Also I’d have had her have more confidence in Ty by saying “when he beats you” rather than “if”. That’s just a minor detail though.
Andy Sharp vs. Reinhardt Hoffmann
Digging the seamless transition between summary and promo. I think we can all learn from that. As for the contents of the promo, I kind of dug that less. I don’t know what it is, I’m trying to work it out, but I think Andy’s lines didn’t sound like a person sounds when they talk. “I’d like to eventually be champion someday” just doesn’t sound like a sentence when read aloud, even when it is. Also, that line makes him sound like he wants the title, but he’ll wait in line, while in the next breath he says with confidence that when he gets the shot he’ll take the title from Penn and he doesn’t want to wait around for it.
Been There, Beat That
I’ve always enjoyed Aleczander’s lines. Seth’s got the British insults down to a T and they’re not overused either, which is nice. I’m also interested in the slight gimmick changes for Angel and Aleczander. HOSS going forward are going to be very welcome returns in my book.
Inequality
Chance Von Crank is also a welcome return, although I really hope Dan keeps him realistic and grounded. cVc can be such a good character and is genuinely unlikeable but interesting enough to keep you reading. He’s a genuine heel, and that’s so rare in efedding because you get so many people that want their guys to be absolute assholes, but they’re so cool they get cheers, or they want their characters to be bad in a way that if they faced another heel they could easily work as a face. cVc is heel all the way through, and this obvious feud with Harmony is such a good fit for him.
Jake Donovan vs. Jason Natas
A serious night of returns. I know the name, but the character of Jason Natas doesn’t immediately spring to mind, so it would have been nice to get a little reminder of his character out before the match started. The match itself was fine, and I’m really liking the changes made to Donovan. He’s far from my favourite of Blue’s characters that I’ve seen, but this whole pyromaniac thing he’s got going on bumps him up quite a bit.
Prey - Part 1
I can also see Omega being a big part of DEFIANCE going forwards, which I think a lot of people can. I won’t echo, Evan here, but I agree with everything he said. Embellishment would have gone a long way here.
Getting Personal
Keep this up, Blue. Seriously. Jake has always, and I really do mean always, been a Troy Matthews sort of character. One that’s there, and we all know is there, but never got over because there’s just not been enough of a character there. Keep developing Jake and he could easily become something great.
Prove It
This felt very, very 4th wall breaking, which when it’s actually masked in context is a nice little feature to be able to slip in. I really hope Keyes can do something special, because he’s such an interesting character that’s been around for what feels like a long time, but he’s not really done much. I know nothing about him, but I feel like I know him… know what I mean?
Harmony vs. Howlin’ Joe Wolfe
Another good summary match. The format of all three summarized matches have been different so far though, so I can see why James wants to make them more uniform. Chance has always been very vocal, so I’m surprised he wasn’t more… boisterous when he came down to the ring. Maybe mentioning how he was mocking her could have done that. Leading a sarcastic chant of ‘Har-mo-ny’ or something, you know?
Sunshine & Title Shots
Evan did the leg work, I tidied up Eugene’s lines. Couldn’t be happier with what Evan has done here though.
So, Here’s the Deal, Curtis
I think Curtis came round to the idea of Booya being in control of his title far too quickly. Other than that this was a decent segment that puts a nice twist on things. Looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Dusty Griffith vs. Ajax Gore
Good match. But, even if James argues it, there is absolutely no way that Ajax should have kicked out of the Atomic Powerbomb and nobody could ever convince me otherwise. Kicking out of finishers is a big match thing, not a debut TV match thing. It might be unexpected, but it just shouldn’t happen.
When Hans Met Franz And They Pumped.. Each Other Up?!
This is the best segment of the night simply for using the word ‘todger’. The dialogue actually made me question whether HOSS and Booya were aligned at one point, which I don’t recall.
Angel Trinidad vs Tyrone Walker
Yet another good match. We’ve not had any that I’ve found to be bad tonight, which is really nice. Angel is going to be a big player in DEFIANCE if he continues down this road, and the Old Man River of DEFIANCE never seems to be hurt taking a loss, so that’s good.
Family Matters (Did We Do That?)
This is pretty damn late for Ryan to be turning up. I get that’s addressed at the start of the segment, but surely this sort of segment should, at the latest, be midway through the show, not right before the main event. It sort of begs the question why would Ryan turn up at all. Other than that, I love this. Dan and LT have such a chemistry together and it shines through every single time they appear together. This segment right here gives us so much to work off of going forwards. I can’t wait for the next few shows.
Bulges
Love it. The right mix of comedy and seriousness. Seriously, this arc is gonna be off the chain.
Jonny Booya vs. Colton Thorpe
A decent main event, but it would have been nice to see a full match with commentary in this slot. It would have just really set this match apart from the rest as the main event. I want to see what Colton Thorpe can do because I have literally no idea who he is. Please remember going forwards that not everyone (i.e. me) reads stuff from any other fed, and this goes for all new faces in DEFIANCE, so anything done in UTA, jOlt, PRIME, or anywhere else people’s legacy characters have been means nothing to some of us. If anything, Get over what they’re in DEFIANCE to do and how they’re going to do it, then take it from there. Don’t rely on stories told elsewhere to get over, because in my mind that’s nowhere near as effective in gaining and holding my attention.