HEYDORN’S DYNAMITE RECEIPT 4/6: FTR’s babyface elevation continues after classic with Young Bucks

This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.

-Adam Cole and Christian Cage had a really nice opening match to this week’s AEW Dynamite. Smooth, fun, but definitive in victory for Adam Cole. He’s on a path toward the world title, so it was a necessary booking strategy to take. Nothing cute, just a heelish win. Good stuff.

-Thank you, Adam Page! Clearly, he reads this column every week, because the fire I’ve been advocating for was on full display. Page was scorching. He looked the part of a champion, authentically felt livid with Cole, and confidently addressed the championship situation. This is the Adam Page we need to see more of. No doubt on display and no passive expression either. Great stuff.

-Holy Samoa Joe, Batman. What a debut. Joe got a massive pop and owned it with a presence that only he can provide. He’s in the perfect company right now.

-Looks like Joe vs. Lethal is on the horizon, minus whatever Joe does in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. A fine first feud, but Tony Khan needs to pivot elsewhere pretty quick. Who knows how many matches Joe has left in him? Let’s start seeing some of the fresh, intriguing stuff get lined up.

-The MJF and Wardlow stuff is just fantastic. They’ve created a scenario in which Wardlow will draw just for destroying security guards. MJF set the hook for that on next week’s show. “I’ll have the most security ever next week!” Lol. That should be fun.

-Does anyone else just want to see Wheeler Yuta destroy the Best Friends? All in favor?!

-Watching Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti makes me pine for Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis. The Guevara and Conti schtick is that bad and so out of touch. Two promising acts are teetering on the edge of losing credibility unless they turn heel sooner than later.

-Eddie Kingston has such an intense, but poetic promo delivery. He can articulate violence with the best of em and heats up whatever he’s doing because of it.

-More of this Jade Cargill. You can see things clicking for her each week. She gets the game and is playing it very well right now. As her in-ring work develops, she’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

-The Hardys/Butcher & Blade tables match was an absolute disaster. Not only were the rules undefined, but the action was sloppy. Tony Khan needs to pull back the reins on Jeff and Matt. They are leaning way too much into their 1999 gimmick and are too old to be doing so.

-And the Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb feud continues. Shoot that into my veins. Both women have been so good within the program and a logical next match is a showdown in the women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Love this.

–The FTR vs. Young Bucks tag team match was just fantastic. Everything you could have wanted between those two teams. And, don’t look now, but FTR is strongly getting over as babyfaces. MJF had a hand in that, The Bucks did this week in putting them over effectively, but Cash and Dax are clicking too. They are likable. Harwood opening up about some personal issues let the audience in a bit. That coupled with their obvious passion for what they do has resonated. Tony Khan may need to think about getting those AEW Tag Team Championships on them at some point to keep their momentum going, while framing his tag division as anchored by the best team in the country.

CATCH-UP: HEYDORN’S NXT 2.0 RECEIPT 4/5: Curious booking and inconsistent performances invade the product