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AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES
Jon Moxley Defeated Rush – MAJOR HIT
This was a HARD hitting match that acts as a fantastic opener to the show. Moxley did a great job putting Rush over to fans who may not have seen him before. Rush proving he can go with the best says a lot. Regal putting Rush over as being too violent for WWE is something I’m sure my comrades here will expound on more intelligently than I ever could.
Post Match Angle with the Jericho Appreciation Society – MINOR HIT
This was alright. This had a lot of bravery. Giving Anna Jay that much mic time was brave. She wasn’t horrible, but she is much too stiff still. Moxley absolutely stole this. Putting on that kind of a match and then talking up a match like that. The way he called back to the different shades and iterations of Jericho. This should be great.
Dante Martin Segment – MINOR HIT
Martin and Jay are in the same boat. Martin was better than he’s been. He is noticeably loosening up. He still has a ways to go before you really feel what he’s saying.
Trios Championship Announcement – MINOR HIT
After being teased for what feels like years, the trios belts are finally official. The announcement seemed befitting of the belts at least, so I can’t say I’m disappointed. The most interesting thought about this is that this must mean Kenny Omega, Adam Cole or both are nearing return. That’s exciting.
Ricky Starks Defeated Danhausen – MINOR HIT
This was a fun little squash. Danhausen was incredibly over and will likely push for third loudest pop of the night (behind Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley).
Hook Defeated Ricky Starks – HIT
This match was fantastic. Hook is starting to look more and more like a bonafide wrestler, rather than what you’d expect to see from an MMA fighter. His movement is smoother than half of the roster and it’s clear he’s learning how to move to smoothly flow from spot to spot. The finale of the rochambeaux reversed into the submission hold was fantastic. This puts Hook in a fantastic spot where he can regularly be featured on Dynamite but have minimal stakes while he continues to improve. In fact, I wouldn’t mind if they retired the belt at some point when they decide to have him challenge for the TNT title. His father created the belt, and end with his son. George Lucas would approve of that kind of poetry.
Even before the match ended and Starks picked up the mic, fans were chanting for Hook. It’s like Danhausen is a metal rod, gathering all the charisma and swagger that Hook embodies and channels it into the audience, until the energy spills over as soon as the gospel-esque opening of Action Bronson’s tune starts. It’s like a wrestling version of Beatlemania. With shockingly similar haircuts.
Post Match Angle with Will Hobbs and Ricky Starks – MINOR MISS
Ricky Starks killed this promo. He is truly talented on the mic and to be able to do such good heel and face promos is something few people can do. The Will Hobbs turn was well done but the zoom in during the first hit felt very WWE, in a really bad, epilepsy-inducing way.
The Acclaimed Segment – MISS
Simple segment from The Acclaimed setting the stakes for their match against the Youthful Ass. The Acclaimed need some level of direction though. They’re stuck on Ass Island
Sammy Guevara Defeated Dante Martin – HIT
It really is weird that Sammy Guevara joined the JAS after all the stuff in the ending of the Inner Circle, with the backstage filming and MJF manipulation. It’s an awkward transition, but he got more reaction from the crowd than I expected. Sammy really perfected his heel in-ring character. The cocky heel Kip up is such a fun move. Dante is the perfect face opponent for him. They match each other in agility and they have great chemistry.
Post Match Angle with Anna Jay, Ruby Soho, Eddie Kingston and Ortiz – MINOR MISS
Basic beatdown to further the story that started at Blood and Guts II
Daniel Garcia Segment – MINOR MISS
Nice little promo from Garcia hyping up the main event. Daniel Garcia is coming into his own on the mic. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jericho took him under his wing.
Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh, Sonjay Dutt and Best Friends Segment – MISS
This was incredibly goofy, and fans will be split on it. Dutt, Singh and Lethal came off like bumbling idiots and Best Friends came off like just idiots.
Jungle Boy Segment – HIT
Wow. This was easily the best promo JB has done. He lost the “aw shucks” and came out intense and determined. The longer it went, he started to lose it, but he did well. Christian picked a good time to interrupt but Cage’s shtick is really played out by now. I imagine they’ll want to stretch this to All Out. That’s going to be a lot harder than they think it will.
Young Bucks Segment – MINOR HIT
Planting Seeds for Hangman rejoining the Bucks make the trios tournament much more interesting in my opinion. Treating this like an awkward meeting between exes was smart.
Swerve Strickland Defeated Smart Mark Sterling and Tony Nese – MISS
Dumb little 2-on-1 match for a feud whose story makes absolutely no sense. Nese got a little offense in but Swerve dominated for the most part.
Post Match Angle with Keith Lee and Josh Woods – MISS
This was ok I guess. Introducing Josh Woods is certainly a choice. I’d have rather seen an in-house performer rather than bringing in someone new. New wrestler reveals are only surprising when people care about them.
House of Black Segment – MINOR HIT
The feud between Miro and Black is fascinating. They’re such charismatic performers and deserve prime tv time. Brody challenging Darby to a coffin match should be an amazing match.
All-Atlantic/Womens Chanpionship Recap Segment – HIT
Nice little segment showcasing the international affairs of the AEW roster. Showing the All-Atlantic belt getting defended weekly should build interest in fans eyes for when they’ll see it defended live.
Thunder Rosa Defeated Miyu Yamashita – MINOR MISS
Hard hitting bout. Rosa and Miyu had little chemistry together and both felt like they were overthinking their moves. Miyu controlled the match in a similar way to the Moxley/Rush match before Rosa took over. The women’s division feels really stale right now. Cargill and co are fun but the second belt feels like it’s splitting the division in two, yet somehow recycles the same opponents. Hopefully they can turn it around.
Daniel Garcia Defeated Bryan Danielson – MAJOR HIT
Excellent match between Danielson and Garcia. Both men came out swinging. Danielson literally did, attacking Garcia before the bell rang. From there both men traded offense until they fabekay’d a head injury for Bryan. Some won’t like that, for obvious reasons. I can say from experience concussions aren’t fun but it didn’t bother me. I’m consciously trying to think that now that Danielson is a parent he’s going to be more careful with his health, and not be the wrestler who hid concussions in his youth because of his drive. This is a huge win for Garcia, regardless of the cleanliness. He’s a heel. Let him be a heel and enjoy the win.
Overall – MINOR HIT
This was another strong episode of Dynamite. I was worried from the start with Jim Ross being on commentary the whole episode, but they did a good job of making sure every word counted to conserve his energy. Very strong bookends to the show. The middle was a little slow but not enough to derail the whole episode.
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