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AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES
Wardlow Defeated Scorpio Sky – MINOR HIT
Well paced and well worked match, but this match felt like it was missing something. There was dumb logic, like when the ref visibly sees Dan Lambert attacks Wardlow and does absolutely nothing about it. It’s not that though. Maybe a lack of chemistry? Scorpio Sky was demolished tonight, getting nearly zero true offense in, and the little bit that was coming from his outside help. I don’t know the answer, but it felt like the fans did. The crowd was noticeably quieter than previous weeks. Could just be the acoustics of the stadium, but AEW needs to lock that kind of thing down each week and make sure the crowd is well mic’d, because if they want someone like Wardlow to become a star then they need fans at home to hear it. Wardlow’s World can’t become a thing if the audio is mono and uninspired. If the Powerbomb Symphony is out of tune. It can if it’s the 15-minute live version of Freebird. You knew exactly what song they were playing before a sound was ever produced, because the crowd wanted you to know.
A personal nitpick, I’d like to see more selling in Powerbomb starting position. It’s the kind of thing that can really sell the ferocity of the moves.
Jon Moxley Segment – HIT
Another excellent promo from Moxley. The intensity and delivery was perfect and he recapped his last few weeks and set up the story for his defense tonight. Truly inspired work.
Smart Mark Sterling Segment – MISS
This is dumb. Maybe I just don’t like Mark Sterling the character? It just feels like any time he’s onscreen I know someone is getting dragged down with him. That’s not a good feeling to have.
Christian Cage/Matt Hardy Segment – MINOR HIT
Man I love the line “we just had Blood and Guts and I’m the Cage everyone’s talking about”. That’s just fun writing. The Jeff Hardy comments are a little uncalled for, not because I think it’s offensive, but it could risk stressing the locker room out wondering that if they go into rehab or make a mistake if they’ll end up the butt of a joke in an Acclaimed rap or as promo fodder for a heel that doesn’t need to go there. I quite like how they’re handling Ministry Luchasaurus and this heel turn. In a weird way he has more of a personality now than he did before. He’s acting through his movement. It’s working for me.
Blood and Guts Video Segment – HIT
Excellent segment showing the brutality of this match.
Claudio Castagnoli/Jake Hager Segment – MINOR HIT
Alright segment giving some personality to these two and setting some stakes for their match next week. Not the strongest work from Claudio but you don’t have to worry much about getting upstaged on the mic when you’re across from Jake Hager.
Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland Defeated The Butcher and The Blade – MINOR MISS
Elevated squash match showcasing Lee and Swerve. Well performed but nothing special.
Post Match Angle with Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks, Young Bucks – HIT
I love that Hobbs is getting more time on the mic. His natural charisma is starting to shine. Starks was great but something was weird where the audio and video weren’t synced and it was hilarious. It’d be really cool if the Bucks could garner some heat without calling back to their efforts in starting the company. It wasn’t great the third time, let alone the eighth.
Malakai Black Segment – MINOR HIT
Great promo selling the challenge Mox is in for against Brody King.
Eddie Kingston Segment – MINOR MISS
Started off great, with Kingston building up the value of the TNT belt by shouting out Wardlow on his win. This derailed though with Ruby Soho. She was clearly moving and keeping her hand there under her own power. There was no one holding her. This is like watching Game of Thrones and seeing a Starbucks cup in the background.
Dark Order Segment – MINOR MISS
I appreciate the love for Brodie Lee but this segment was aimless. Uno said they were starting a new chapter without talking about what the new chapter was.
Strong use of Hangman Adam Page to send the crowd home happy and Marshall home sore.
Rush Defeated Penta Oscuro – MINOR MISS
Great showcase for Rush. The athleticism was off the charts and usually made up for the rough spots in the match.
Sonjay Dutt/Jay Lethal Segment – MINOR HIT
Simple promo making Lethal and co. come off like sleazy heels.
Orange Cassidy, Danhausen, Mark Sterling Segment – MINOR HIT
Silly segment to set up a match between Cassidy and Nese.
The Acclaimed and The Ass Boys Defeated Defeated Ruffin’ It, Bear Country and Fuego Del Sol – MINOR MISS
The start of this match, with Austen stealing Max Caster’s mic, was excellent work building on last weeks story. The ending and civil ass war should be fun.
Post Match Angle with Billy Gunn – MINOR MISS
This just felt dumb. Why would he turn on the Acclaimed after last week? Just feels like lazy writing.
Miro Segment – MINOR HIT
Great work from Miro setting up some beef with Malakai Black. Can’t wait for that.
Toni Storm and Thunder Rosa Defeated Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir – MISS
The fans didn’t give this one a chance, and based on what I saw, I can understand why. The start of the match was boring with Rosa and Storm beating up Shafir. The match didn’t get much better after that.
Jade Cargill/Stokely Hathaway Segment – MINOR HIT
Good segment setting up the logic from last weeks turn for Leila Grey. Good work from Cargill making sure there are consequences should she not pan out.
Daniel Garcia Segment – MINOR HIT
Good, yet clunky, promo from Garcia.
FTR Segment – HIT
Great promo from the Top Guys. Calling out the Briscoes is interesting, with previous reports indicating WarnerMedia suits didn’t want them involved with AEW. Must not be the case anymore, but FTR saying “one last time” could be taken as a one-off.
Jon Moxley Defeated Brody King – HIT
The outcome was never in doubt, and that works both to this matches benefit and detriment. The action was great, but it felt like watching a movie after the trailer spoiled the twist ending. Brody King did an excellent job for himself. He and Lance Archer have that “hoss that’s the initial title challenger” segment of the roster down pat. Moxley was good as usual.
Overall – MINOR HIT
Last weeks episode of AEW Dynamite felt like the perfect mix of storytelling in and out of the ring. This wasn’t quite up there with that, but that in and of itself is a tall order. This was a good episode with some notable parts that didn’t work. The beginning hour was fabulous, and the final match worked but lacked the drama of a match where the outcome was in question. If they continue working on tightening things up there could be some big improvements in the near future.
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