AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES (7/5): MJF-Cole comedy, Nick Wayne vignette, Promos, Taz’s commentary, Britt Baker, Jericho and Callis

I considered this an important time for AEW. A couple of weeks removed from Forbidden Door, it was key that they put on a string of solid shows to raise the excitement for the rest of the summer leading into All In and All Out. With a number of future venues lacking in ticket sales, putting a good product on TV week after week is crucial to building excitement in the brand. Let’s see if they were able to do that with Dynamite.

HITS

DARBY ALLIN & ORANGE CASSIDY VS. KEITH LEE & SWERVE

Fun spots and a story woven in. That is what I call a successful segment. What a difference the crowd made for this opener as well. More on them later, but Orange Cassidy’s bit with Keith Lee looks and sounds a lot different with a crowd being so into it. Darby Allin selling on that toss from Keith Lee was so impressive and harkens back to Lee’s debut. This match also had a ton of unique spots that proved the wrestlers and producers put a lot of effort into this one. The Lee-aided superplex off the top rope was nuts as was the Lee steps spot with Darby screaming in agony. It was also a great job not rushing to the next thing and allowing us to see Darby and Orange spending time with the crowd taking pictures and signing autographs. Great opener to the show.

NICK WAYNE VIGNETTE

I had heard the name Nick Wayne and knew he was a young man who AEW had signed and was supposed to be a big deal. That two minute vignette told me all I needed to know to be intrigued and get excited about him. AEW has been up and down when it comes to debuts in the past, but this is a fantastic first step and I’m looking forward to the follow-up and his match with Swerve next week.

TAZ’S COMMENTARY

Taz has been on a roll on commentary recently. Ripping on Bollywood Boy’s tan and cracking up Excalibur was a lot of fun. And that’s just it, Taz is just so relaxed and having a blast that it comes through the TV and makes the show enjoyable even during enhancement matches. His enjoyment of the mention of Balzac, Alberta also hit me right in my juvenile funny bone.

Honorable mention to Excalibur’s “Did a dumpster capsize? No, that’s just Don Callis.”

JERICHO AND CALLIS

Another solid segment that was entertaining to watch and set up a storyline worth investing in. Jericho acknowledged his losses, stated he needed to make a change, then teased joining Callis’s group. This all worked for me bigtime.

PROMOS, PROMOS, AND MORE PROMOS

It’s about time AEW committed to solid promos to preview matches and there were a ton of them in this episode. First, Wheeler Yuta’s best promo ever to set up the main event. He’s come a long way. Not only was it a good idea to promote the main event during the show, but the Yuta video package showed he has the intensity to get me fired up to see a main event that I was pretty sure I knew who was going to come out on top. Yuta also did a great job in that main event. I bought him as a threat.

Acknowledging Eddie Kingston’s victory over Kenta while furthering the story with Moxley was a smart move. Do more of this!

The promos from C.M. Punk and Samoa Joe for Collision were stellar. Great use of old footage and two guys who know how to get you fired up to see a battle. They did a much better job this week to make you want to tune into Collision so hopefully they keep this up.

MJF & COLE

I know there may be some pushback on whether the World Champion should be messing around with over-the-top comedy stuff, but I was smiling and laughing through all their bits and if you looked at the crowd, at least 90 percent were smiling and eating it up. MJF wrestling like a babyface, then making Cole cheat was genius. The selling, the hot tag, yelling for “double clothesline,” “boundaries,” “Do the thing!”, “I’m totes gonna shove his face in the cake” – I loved it all. You know the fun won’t last, so I don’t think there is any chance of MJF losing his edge once it all goes bad.

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MISSES

BLIND ELIMINATOR TAG TOURNAMENT PROMOTION

So, three weeks after introducing this thing:

1. We don’t know how the brackets work.

2. I couldn’t remember if they mentioned how many teams were going to be in it.

3. They announce three of the teams and play coy by not announcing previously who MJF & Cole were going to fight.

4. I notice during the first commerical in split-screen (not picture in picture) that it was the Butcher and Daddy Magic? Huh??

5. They are still in the process of pulling names?? Three weeks after they start?? Makes no sense.

LACK OF BRYAN DANIELSON FOLLOW-UP PART 2

Last week, I wrote how I thought it was a HUGE error to not mention Bryan Danielson’s broken arm and build upon that. In this show, exactly 43 minutes in, Excalibur mentions during the Blood & Guts promo, “with Bryan Danielson and the broken arm…” Oh, really?? He broke his arm?? Unless I’m a diehard fan and reading up on things, I would have no idea this happened. This was the first mention of it. Just a bad, bad follow up. Again, they had a chance to make this a big deal with a top star in your company beating arguably the best wrestler in the world with a broken arm and it’s mentioned in passing ten days later.

BRITT’S LACK OF INTELLIGENCE

I don’t like picking on the women’s match because there is usually only one of them on Dynamite, but they really need to do a better job. First, the match itself wasn’t as good as I hoped considering the participants. I’m fine with one or two sloppy moments, but surprisingly the chemistry didn’t seem to be there for these two. Again, why wouldn’t Britt bring help knowing that the Outcasts interfere EVERY SINGLE TIME! It’s just dumb and Britt deserves to lose by falling for the distractions and not having anyone else there to counteract the heels especially in a match that she says is so important to her. Please fix this.

MINOR MISS – GET PEOPLE IN THE SEATS

Considering the low ticket sales in upcoming arenas, it would have made a lot of sense for the broadcast to highlight how much fun it is to be in the live audience at Dynamite. As someone who attended both shows in Detroit over the past year or so, it truly is a great atmosphere and a great time. Show that to those watching on TV in order to help fill those seats over the next month.

FINAL THOUGHTS…

Outside of the misses, I felt this was a stellar show. It had a ton of great matches and a lot of story development and set up the next week or two very well. I feel like there is a reason to tune in to Collision and Dynamite next week to see how these stories continue. That’s a successful way to run a promotion. Who knows what the ratings will be for this show and for Saturday, but if they continue to put on shows like this, you’ll see a turnaround.

RECOMMENDED: AEW COLLISIONS HITS & MISSES (7/1): Bryant evaluates Hobbs vs. Dustin, Joe vs. Strong, MJF vs. Ethan, Christian, Jay White

OR CHECK OUT ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON LAST NIGHT’S DYNAMITE AT PROWRESTLING.NET: AEW Dynamite results (7/5): Powell’s review

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