HEYDORN’S AEW DYNAMITE RECEIPT 3/1: Bryan Danielson puts scorching bow on feud with MJF

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

-Orange Cassidy with another really good All-Atlantic Championship defense this week. Great match, but does anyone care? No. It was a fun watch, but the defenses mean nothing when the title means nothing. The All-Atlantic Championship is worthless at this point and therefore Cassidy has a ceiling on what he’s doing, regardless of how good it may be.

-Now THAT’s a Jon Moxley promo if I’ve ever seen one. Just excellent. It was Raw, but detailed and loaded with bullet points that can sell people on wanting to see Moxley vs. Page on PPV. The blood is going to turn some people off, but like it or not, it’s exactly what fits the character and story at this point. Thumbs up for me.

-So, for maybe the biggest Trios Championship Match that AEW can put on and all that they do to build the match is a 15 second attack from behind angle? Look, the Trios Championships are meaningless at this point, too. Much like the All-Atlantic. This match would have been a strong way to insert some meaning into them, but there just doesn’t seem to be any interest in doing the grunt work on the part of The Elite. Very disappointing.

-I like Powerhouse Hobbs winning that ladder match, but was he the right guy at this time? If Wardlow beats Samoa Joe at Revolution, the you have a compelling match between Hobbs and him, but an impossible task in terms of booking. So, maybe Joe goes over to setup Hobbs vs. Joe? Sidebar. Hobbs should not have to stand ON TOP OF THE FREAKING LADDER to win the match. He looked uncomfortable and it hurt his winning moment. Plan better, AEW.

-A simple, but strong go-home segment for Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Starks at Revolution. Heat on the heels. Simple, but Starks has a mountain to overcome now. Well done.

-Christian Cage brought an A+ promo to the game this week. He worked and manipulated the audience perfectly and got a ton of heat ahead of his match with Jungle Boy on Sunday. Jungle Boy’s response was a video? What??! Huge miss. Cage’s promo was supremely effective in building JB up and the audience anticipation for him up as well. JB not walking out and grabbing onto all of that is money left on the table. Plus, the video made no damn sense. JB couldn’t hit Cage with a chair, but he has no problem burying him alive? Big miss.

-Hook and Matt Hardy was sloppy, but Hook sold a bit. Thumbs up? It’s such a low bar so I’m not sure.

-Riho beating Toni Storm in less than 10 minutes because of Britt Baker interference is probably what the OG vs. Outsider story needed. That said, it’s not a great look for Storm who is a former world champion in AEW. I’m still just not feeling the story. They are putting effort in and giving the angles time on TV, but it just doesn’t matter to me at this point whether or not either side wins. After all, both sides are filled up with heels at this point in time.

-Boy, the AEW tag team division is in the mud. Stuck in the darn mud. With all the tag talent that AEW has access to these days, the fact that The Gunns vs. The Acclaimed is the primary feud is an issue in an of itself you might say. That’s the story of the division, though. So, if that’s the story, why muddy it up with teams that don’t matter. It’s not good to use two battle royales to crown two undeserving contenders for titles. It’s even worse to do that when those winners aren’t necessary for the match to exist anyway.

-Bryan Danielson surely made some people decide they would part with $50 this weekend for Revolution. He cut an excellent babyface promo that sold the match and silenced MJF. It was a nice touch and a smart way to show that MJF was shaken by Danielson. Danielson isn’t winning the title on Sunday, but he did more than enough to convince people he could. MJF vs. Danielson has seen it’s up and downs throughout the build, but this promo put a nice bow on the program going into the match. Thumbs way up.

CATCH-UP: 3/1 AEW DYNAMITE TV RESULTS: Sage’s “alt perspective” report on Face of the Revolution Ladder Match, Tag Team Battle Royal #2, More