The following editorial was written by Dominic DeAngelo and does not reflect the opinions of WrestleZone as a whole. We encourage you all to discuss Dominic’s thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this post and follow him on Twitter @DominicDeAngelo and listen to his Get The Tray Tables podcast exclusively on WrestleZone Radio.
As the throngs of fans, AEW talent and press all began disperse their own separate ways into the massive funhouse that is MGM Grand after what was a very enthralling, yet very chilly pool party last Thursday, I found myself at a loss at what to do next in this land of Las Vegas, a place I’ve never been. I looked at my phone and it was only 7:30. Plenty of time for some Sin City hijinks, but hell, I’m 33 so what seemed like a wild way to contemplate my next move?
“I’ll take a Blue Moon,” I said to the as I saddled up to the bar at Losers (my goodness, how fitting a name for this Vegas lonestar), a country-themed saloon with a damn decent singer strumming behind me.
“An orange?” Heck yeah I’ll take an orange. In my travels as a beer novice, I found Blue Moons are widely panned as a somewhat cop-out beer, especially if you get an orange, but dammit, Dean Martin used to sing Blue Moon and “what happens in Vegas”…
As I chatted with the bartender Jojo about her love for Chris Jericho, I ordered two more at eight whopping dollars a pop (Fremont Street this was not & doe-eyed, lost-in-the-woods tourist I was), but not before I remembered I had some time to catch some David Copperfield – master illusionist. A long-time college friend of mine who I haven’t seen since college has been working for the show for seven years now so I shot her a message:
Poof, and just like that I was magically transported from Losers to the Copperfield Theatre and oh, what is this? By the straps of The Great Houdini’s straight jacket – a Blue Moon pounder happened to appear in my hand! (the fourth and final for this lightweight night – again 33)
Akin to the AEW presser mere hours before, David Copperfield and his show was full of surprises, but there were two aspects that were distinctly different. Difference #1: unlike AEW, I wasn’t permitted to take pictures of Copp nor any tricks of his trade and difference #2: unlike Copp, what AEW put on earlier in the night wasn’t any illusion.
Tony Khan, “Brandi” Officer Rhodes and those (now) four Elite EVPs refused to pull the old 20-year old rabbits of convention out of a hat, but Thursday was a visual decision to saw in half the long-cemented ideals of mainstream wrestling. They’ve form partnerships with global promotions and made a conscious effort to not lean heavily on the stars with already built-in name cache. The production that they put on for that chilly pool party was simple, yet dazzling enough for the small screen in your living room (something in which Cody Rhodes gave major credit to longtime WCW Nitro producer Keith Mitchell). And from the “Nitro debut” Scott Hall impersonators that were The Best Friends to the massive Kenny Omega reveal, the surprises varied enough to foreshadow the signs of a healthy, diverse roster that focuses on every division and feuds palpable enough to latch onto.
Big props for the production & presentation of yesterday's @AEWrestling Ticket Announcement Party. @CodyRhodes gave major credit to Keith Mitchell & his team for the job they did. Look at the amazing @MGMGrand backdrop in some pix I sniped for @WRESTLEZONEcom in this thread #AEW pic.twitter.com/Jpz06ACsvM
— Dominic DeAngelo: Pro Wrestling Writer (@DominicDeAngelo) February 8, 2019
And that frigid air? It didn’t stifle any of the electricity that the hundreds in attendance had and that included its stars. Brandi, Cody and Nick Jackson all shared a genuine buzz of excitement as they lined up for our scrum interviews, eager to answer questions of any sort. The atmosphere was much like Chicago’s All In and the initial Starrcast – everybody was happy.
The true magic of this company is charged by three key elements: the money behind it, the optimism for it and concerted effort made by its talent to bond with their fans.
One moment that encompasses the latter two happened as I was exiting the pool area still completely unaware of my Blue Moonlit night with Copperfield. A swarm of fans were looking for autographs as The Bucks, Kenny & Cody all made their way up to the MGM main floor as they separated from the pack, hopping on the escalator. Nick Jackson encouraged one missed fan to hop on as he signed that one last item.
Plenty of indication that we’re all along for this ride. Everybody, fans and talent alike just have to keep that magic going.
