12 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Oct 2)

2. Commercial Breakdown

AEW Dynamite
AEW

British AEW fans were undoubtedly screwed when the company unveiled their far-from-ideal TV plans last week and while the FITE.tv viewing experience was generally good, the way they handled the commercial breaks detracted from the viewing experience.

Most breaks were filled with long shots of the building from a high vantage point, with the house microphone still connected. That's fine, but you know the in-arena awkwardness that ensues as soon as a live show goes to ads, leaving the fans twiddling their thumbs and the wrestlers just kinda hanging around in the ring? FITE's approach brought this to stream viewers.

Curiously, Dynamite's first commercial break was filled by a continuation of Chris Jericho's beatdown of Cody. This saw the angle stretched far beyond its natural end, leaving 'The Painmaker' with too much time to kill and, as entertaining as he is, it showed. It was as awkward as it was unideal.

This is something AEW and FITE will likely work on over for future shows, but their night one execution wasn't great.

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Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.