I’m blessed to earn money by watching this show. Otherwise, honestly, at this point, I absolutely wouldn’t. I want it to be better. I really do. Tonight, it was simply without a pulse. I don’t know if that was the pathetic attendance numbers and the audio and lighting issues that came with that or what the deal was but for a show I’m not enthralled by eight times out of 10, this time, I could hardly stay awake — no exaggeration, if not for the WINC newsroom chat, I’d have been exploring Dream World halfway through. But what’s more valuable than money? Why, kids, that would be our most precious commodity: time. And AEW didn’t use its time wisely tonight at all.

Exhibit A: Eight-plus minutes for Wardlow and Trent Beretta (really?)

Exhibit B: A shade under 14 for Swerve Strickland and Jeff Hardy (what?)

Exhibit Punch-Me-In-the-Face: Roughly 9.5 for Adam Copeland (that’s “Edge” to Taz) and Minoru Suzuki (which, okay, that match was fun, but we had to go into overrun? Really? TONIGHT?)

We could talk, as I’m sure we’ve done time and again, about how AEW missed the boat with Wardlow following his TNT title run(s), but let’s live in the present for the moment which entails this dude, positioned as a monster more often than not, as well he should be, now playing lackey to “Hopalong” Adam Cole and his Midcard Menagerie. What’s to come of that? Who knows? But if we’re led to believe that he’ll just hand the AEW World Championship to Cole someday, he’ll have to be in the mix first. And if it takes him that long to dispose of Trent Beretta, that’s a long way off.

We could talk about why in the world Jeff Hardy is even getting 14 minutes of television time on this company’s centerpiece show at this point but I’m sure that point needs not even be made. Want to slow down someone as hot as Swerve, in storyline and in the match itself? Hot damn! Give him Jeff Hardy! That was a drag. And Swerve should not be involved in drags whatsoever.

And as for Copeland/Suzuki, I’d get after how Adam is just another dude now (already), main eventing against a fellow 50-something on a Wednesday, mind you, but unlike AEW, I’m mindful of your time. And I’ve had enough tonight too. Cheers.

Written by Jon Jordan