SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.
-An excellent opener between Claudio Castagnoli and Rey Fenix this week. Awesome match. This needed business context though and piece of the puzzle was left out in the cold. The match had major implications on ROH with the double jeopardy stipulation. How about selling that? When does that stipulation happen in ROH. Where can you watch it? ROH is a cold, cold product right now, but it’s because it’s not promoted — even when their world champion is featured on primetime television. This match was good, but nothing came of it because of the lack of impactful framing.
-Miro and Thunder Rosa are back??! They do exist.
-The idea of the four video packages on the four pillar contenders for the world title at Double or Nothing was a smart one. Really smart, actually. Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, and Sammy Guevara aren’t real title challengers, but these videos worked to present them as such and in most ways it worked. Thumbs up on the concept and execution of three.
-Guevara’s video was beyond ludicrous. This guy was paling around with MJF just a couple weeks ago and now he’s presented as a role model for kids and someone to get behind because of the journey he’s been on? Gimme a break. This was awful. Guevara is a heel and shouldn’t be talking like anything else other than that. The video was completed out of touch with the Guevara character that has been on television and therefore made him look out of touch as a credible challenger to the world title. Bad.
-FTR vs. Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett isn’t exactly marquee, but it’s a tag match for the tag titles. Thumbs up to that. If anyone can make this match good, it’s FTR and the segment this week worked fine to move the feud along.
-Jay Briscoe’s involvement is interesting and should help add a layer of drama to things, though the angle with Dax hitting him with a piledriver this week felt a little contrived. Still, a thumbs up feud for the PPV.
-Chris Jericho vs. Adam Cole is going to happen at Double or Nothing and my guess is Cole interferes in the Jericho/Roderick Strong match next week once it leaves the building. I mean, why else would it be falls count anywhere?
-Tony Khan has a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT to make next week. Normally, I’d poke a little fun his way about always making huge announcements, but next week’s one genuinely deserves that crown if reports are correct. So, I won’t.
-Another good Orange Cassidy International Championship defense. Does it matter? Who knows? It’s fun to watch and Cassidy was one of a few high points on the show again this week.
-Christian Cage did not need to reference Arn Anderson’s son in his promo this week. Just too far and sure, it got heat, but it also was in incredibly poor taste. He had the heat before that.
-I like seeing Julia Hart get victories because her credibility in House of Black is important to build and hype up from time to time. The match wasn’t particularly good, though. Both women seemed a step off from one another, which led to awkward moments and exchanges.
-As for the rest of House of Black, the House Rules match was fine, but the gimmick is already too silly thanks to Best Friends and their “No Witches” stipulation. What are we doing here? Comedy with House of Black? That group has way too big of an upside to be bogged down with something like this.
-The Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega cage match went exactly how you’d think a Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega cage match would go. Almost exactly. This was violent and bloody and yeah, if that isn’t your thing, look away. In the end, Moxley got the win with the help of a Don Callis heel turn. So, in a vacuum the turn worked. Callis needed to go heel because let’s face it, he’s a damn heel. The problem was nobody ever bought the guy as a babyface to begin with and therefore, the turn was an inevitability. AEW did what they could to establish him as good guy Kenny’s guy, but nobody bit on it. Still, there is an avenue where Callis can talk next week and define what happened and why things went the way they did. There is heat in that promo, so hopefully AEW takes advantage and goes that route.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.