Re: Domination 4 Feedback
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2023 10:47 am
Voila.
Blind reaction as I finally get to sit down and read this show...
THAT'S RICH - So Alex Reyn is on a "close the plot hole" vendetta journey it seems. I don't have any problem with this as Freddie Rich is a great character and there is history. Now allow me to literally shoot the elephant in the room.....in a league where it seems people are more and more disliking mentioning other feds outside of Global, why would you base a match or an angle as a continuation of what happened in another league? Fact of the matter is that Reyn has better things to do (and really so does Rich) and this is more vanity than anything. Great segment, but this angle should never have been worried about. Sometimes the past is the past (says the guy writing an NPC bragging about beating Reyn twice.....but realize I don't think I ever actually say what fed it was in, do I?)
MUMS THE WORD - Alfie schmoozing a Mom! Love this. I'm not keen on even teasing anything romantic here as history on TV shows means there is a better than even chance any solid edge that Amber has will be smoothed over as she gets pushed behind Alfie. It happens on almost every TV show, and please we need to remember that this is what this is....a TV show first. This was a funny segment that had me chuckling at it, but again it was because of Alfie being the center, which starts proving my point....this was NOT an Amber segment done for her betterment for a match or etc.
ALERT BUTTON - Not a fan of handguns in any wrestling angle. I realize this is a TV show first, but even the Pillman angle with Stone Cold was really strange when a gun got introduced into it. Not a bad segment even though it felt a lot like a "Friday" style reference with the couch and etc
WAR - Doritos Man....oh my. Scott needs to be eval'd for this one. and I suspect it won't be the last of these.
DANGERFIELD MOMENT - I wrote it and I still cannot believe the spell check in textpad nor the website submission didn't give me a heads up on that gaffe. Either way, hope it did what was needed and built enough interest in the squash to come lol
JUST FOR KICKS - I actually enjoy the complete opposite nature here for Angel compared to Bianca....I dig it. This was a solid segment that gave us some character elements but also seemed to feed a direction. Nice stuff.
PRINCIPE VS DAVID - I was reading and enjoying and then this sentence appears: "Still, despite the referee’s warnings, Principe does the most out of his four and a half seconds, wearing down Bianca’s leg as per his tactic of choice." LOL my inner 12 yr old laughed there. I loved that this match allowed Principe to actually show himself a little more than previous outings, but I hate that a character I think has always been one of Keegan's diamonds in the rough for his stable is getting beaten down so often by the ladies. Perhaps if his spurts of good were more than 4 and a half seconds.... lol Early Angel references (as well as the closeness of the segment from Angel) made her showing up almost a foregone conclusion, but it worked well and these two are building well.
MAKE NO BONES - I *REALLY* liked this. It starts off with general clownery by X as far as messing with Informer and the usual banter about an upcoming match. I loved Informer talking about KC being a veteran and all of that, but Chameleon showing up and starting an even better back and forth was fun. "Did you know there are 27 bones in the human hand?" And the heat gets cranked up immediately....loved it. Still not a massive fan of the name Crusader X, but the character has been really solid and I love this a lot.
DIFFERENT GRAVY - "Always a bridesmaid" being stated in a segment with "gravy" in the title was too much. Button is a treasure of fun. I especially loved that Blaine actually gives a preview of the next segment/match and announces the main event
KID CHAMLEON VS CRUSADER X - "during the first match" statement by Alie seems strange as this is not the opener. Was it supposed to be? Another match that perhaps was not as contested as it could have been, but Alfie on commentary during this was great. It was a fun match and best match of the night so far.
FAMINE - Scott probably knows I wouldn't find this one extremely gratifying. This, while well written and what not, lost me the moment Doritos gets discussed in the same way Jesus is discussed. Not a fan at all....and I doubt I read any more Doritos segments.
THE DREAM JOB - And now Big Aug has backup! This will be interesting! I liked this segment as it told of a reunion and furthered a storyline even indirectly. I loved it.
DREAM VS THE GREAT WALL - And he gets to be on commentary for the match! Love that too. Way to show up. I have no idea why a 100% pinfall percentage means anything, but I love finding a way to hype the big man up more. It is like claiming Andre was never slammed, even though he had been more than once. Daniel Dream with an impressive showing , even though I would have liked TGW to get a stronger showing. Still a fun match and Dream is easily one of the top guys in the locker room for title contention.
OLD MAN YELLS AT A CLOUD - No idea who was even involved in this as it started. No names to let us know who we were seeing sing to each other. It weakened the piece on a whole.
PRICE OF FRIENDSHIP - This had an interesting swing to it. VIP is on Giovanni;'s mind but he just found out that Global is being investigated. By whom, you ask? Brady and Strauss are mentioned and if you have never been in a league with Keegan you may not know them, but they are the tag team The Law and both are larger, brutal individuals with law enforcement backgrounds....which means this just got interesting.
LEGEND SPEAKS - I love that Darring pays respect to the last opponent. That is old school, which is kind of the entire gimmick for LSD. Then he is led to discussing Reyn, and they have history too. I love how it was brought up without mentioning specific leagues or what not. Great stuff here.
CHAT WITH MASTER SISTERS - I'm still not in love with the team name. I understand it, but it just doesn't hit me right. I don't know. There are a few like that and it doesn't affect their skill in their segments. This segment was trying to bring them out a little and I don't know if any network would allow the "cum" comment, but Global gets more leeway in that department I would assume. my only nitpicky thing is that it isn't overtly stated that they are interviewed for a written publication....so when Dawn says that the readers will call it foreshadowing.....that is't accounted for in the segment and makes it awkward as this is a TV show. Solid stuff to bring out the ladies' characters some....but that perceived continuity thing (easily fixed next time out) was my only issue there. Good stuff
STARTING THE FIRE - The one take away from this is that Keegan has fully sacrificed his Jed Johnson character to Valorie. He's done. Yet the entire segment makes great points....she really "won" the match by using what was described as legit moves and she is technically a rookie. Her answer, while being a goody teacher of kids, is to haul off and embarrass Jed again. Val has a mean streak in her for sure....but the character needs work for consistency.
AMBER LEE VS SANDERS - Sanders got only a single offensive exchange. Amber is billed at 6'2" even if only 170, but that is a much more believable size than others I have seen over the years. I just feel one scoop slam and a missed leap should not be all that has Amber in trouble...she needs a legit match with someone who tests her and they have back and forth exchanges multiple times. Hopefully at the big event, we see something.
MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH - got the name at the end, which is fine for how the segment was written. I vaguely remember Truth elsewhere, even though I do not believe we ever saw it pay off anything massive. I'm hoping the time spent on this will lead to the storyline he can finally give us. Looking forward to it.
ATG VS BIG AUG STRENGTH COMPETITION - These two are gold. I know it is same handler, but the back and forth during the entire arm wrestling contest was fun. Then the second point "You just mad you all do not work as hard at tugging as I do!" I see what you did there, you tosser....then everything turns into a brawl. This was a very fun segment and these two characters are so fun. Good stuff.
REYN VS GEMINI - Say Goodbye to Gemini. He did his job here. I will say that I truly think perhaps a tad more could have been done, but this was supposed to be a victory and borderline squash for Reyn....the borderline just got dropped. LOL The first victim of the plot hole vendetta tour is now over and if that is the case, the Riches, Darren Best, Sean Darring, and perhaps even members of the Global announce crew need to watch out.
PESTILENCE - Nope.
RETIREMENT PLANS - The mere mention of Metal Militia brings a smile to my face of some of the past, if I am remembering correctly. Aren’t these the trailer boys that literally had on the job training in the ring in SCW? lol They were fun if that is who they were. The segment had a couple of times where "Mad Son" was written "Madson" not sure which was the wrong way. Overall a good segment to set stuff up.
EPISODE 4: NEW HOPE - Star Wars blasphemy for the title. lol I do love the continuity for "Carnival Dawn." That was funny to see. This sets up another match for I assume next Domination.
RAH VS ALFERSON - Alf Alferson....what could have been. Keegan will understand that. This match turns into the brawl between EZ Rah and Jerry David that has been brewing on every episode of Dom since Global opened. These two have a really good exchange....in fact good enough to rate on a match scale for this show! And in the end it leads to Big Alf getting a victory. I love a 1-0 record for "The Standard-bearer"
DEATH - Nope.
PHYSICAL CHALLENGE COMPETITION - Wires keep getting crossed and we are getting strength competitions and what not from two separate angles on the same show. Not sure how this is happening, but with the craziness that Aug and Aleczander turned into.....I doubt we get the same here. I was surprised Health Fanatics won the competition and I love the way this angle is shaping up. But I love both teams and this has been fun to read and see how it goes.
MAIN EVENT: DARRING VS BUTTON - Calling out these there have only been a few Global singles main eventers for the flagship show and 2 of them meet tonight is a great continuity item. Good stuff. The entrances are done well and worked in with some commentary added in...and the action was really solid. This was the match of the night as both men looked really good in the battle and had chances to show off. This is the main event, so it should be the best match on the program. The match even went to the arena floor. Button was always in consideration for title shots elsewhere and now Keegan lets him shine some here before Darring ultimately gets the victory. Great, Great match!
PREPARE FOR TROUBLE/MAKE IT DOUBLE - Global has become known for a cliffhanger-style segment to close the show. Here we have some mystery people showing up and promising trouble for Global....and once more, they are and have been close the entire time. The ominous message closes the show.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
This show is a step back from 3, but not the worst in history. The solid match for the main event, coupled with some great work from Big Aug/Alec, health Fanatics/PTA and even Jerry David and EZ Rah (Alferson!) helped keep this from Dom 1 territory.
I give it an overall score of 6.7/10
Many of the placement errors seemed better this time out, so cheers for that. I do think a segment or two could and should have been moved between the strength competition and the Reyn/Gemini match to give transfer time there. The same can be said for the final 2 segments....as there would need to be time off camera to remove the gym stuff from the competition before the main event.
If I had to pick top contenders for the first champion - Dream, Darring, Big Aug, and maybe Reyn (we haven't really seen him work just destroy without any real danger)
On to DOM 5 as a go home show! Bring it!
Every good love story has an antagonist trying to break them up, or in this case just wants the best for her little girl.