AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES (1/3): Samoa Joe’s first Dynamite as World Champ, Cole’s explanation, Mariah May’s in-ring debut, Christian, Takeshita vs. Darby, subtraction of nonsense

Happy New Year to all and it is truly a new year for AEW. Coming off what was thought of by many to be a lackluster PPV last Saturday night (outside of the final three matches), this may be the most important episode of Dynamite I can remember. Tony Khan discussed at his post-PPV scrum last weekend, among other things, the re-commitment to a sports-like product moving forward and this show will go a long way in setting up what to expect from the product over the months ahead. For me, it had a Raw after Mania type of anticipation. So here we go.

HITS

STRONG START

The most important storyline coming out of Saturday night was Samoa Joe and the Devil. They wasted no time establishing the seriousness of Samoa Joe and what his reign likely will be about plus bringing out Adam Cole and the new Undisputed Kingdom dressed all in black. Cole showcased his mic skills and clearly explained what he did and why he did it. I’m glad the crowd booed Cole, allowing him to truly play the heel here. He’s a likable guy, but it was important to establish him and his group as guys you want to see get beat up. Everyone in the group was given a purpose.

Jay White and Bullet Club Gold came out and reacted like you would have expected them to, followed by The Acclaimed. Either one of these groups would be a solid first feud for the Undisputed Kingdom. Thank goodness Bullet Club Gold did not “scissor” The Acclaimed. Perhaps a few months ago they would have, but it’s a good sign of them reigning in the nonsense. All in all, a good set up with all of the Devil’s victims looking for revenge.

MARIAH MAY’S 1ST MATCH-DEONNA PURRAZZO DEBUT

Before this episode of Dynamite, I had never seen Mariah May wrestle. I was tempted to watch some matches online, but decided to let this match be my first introduction. First of all, she came out like a star. Great entrance with a little wink for the camera. Her match with Queen Aminata was pretty good. You could tell both wrestlers have experience, although I wish half of the match wasn’t wasted during a commercial break. Mariah did a little too much mugging for the camera for my taste, but it’s her first live match on a weekly TV show, so I’m sure little things like that will be adjusted as we go along.

After May insulted New Jersey, out came the debuting Deonna Purrazzo. She got a decent reaction in her hometown, but she’ll have to do a little more, in my opinion, to win over crowds in other markets. She was clearly VERY nervous, but didn’t fumble over her words and got her message across. While I wasn’t overwhelmed by both performers yet, I think they add a lot of promise to the women’s division and once they are comfortable, we’ll see some great matches and hopefully some great stories to go along with it.

CHRISTIAN CAGE

Only Christian is hated enough to get a “Luchasaurus” chant going for as long as he did. The guy should teach classes on how to be hated in today’s wrestling climate. Even though everyone saw it coming, I still couldn’t wait to see him thank everyone except Killswitch. Masterful. It was another mission statement for the future of his character and it was a nice touch to end it without someone coming down to set up a new program. Letting this segment speak for itself was a great decision.

TAKESHITA VS. DARBY

Wow. After missing a handful of weeks climbing Mt. Everest, Darby saved up a lot of big bumps and then used them up in the first five minutes of this match. This battle was all kinds of great. The punishment Darby takes is truly one of a kind. He made Takeshita look like a billion dollars. Bravo to two great performers who put it all on the line for our entertainment.

SWERVE VS. GARCIA (+HANGMAN)

Another great match between two guys who are the future of AEW. Garcia kicking out of a couple of finishers showed his toughness while Swerve continued to cement his role as a guy who is moving to the top of the card. Now the low blows afterwards seem to be an attempt to keep Swerve in a heel role, but I’m not sure if that’s a good idea as the crowd just loves to cheer him. Hangman Page has a legitimate reason to go after Swerve and make it his goal to prevent him from attaining what he desires.

SIDE HITS

– You have to give credit to that fan who was willing to don the polka dots and Dusty Rhodes wig in the front row and an extra nod to Tony Schiavone for acknowledging it slyly on commentary during the Orange Cassidy-Dante Martin match.

– I’m gonna need a behind the scenes instructional video on how Action Andretti chugs that bottle of water in two seconds.

– Toni Storm’s strong performance to conclude her promo — Chin.. Tits… Shoe.

– Main event promos throughout the show. Well done.

MISSES

WHERE WAS JOE?

Only one real “Miss” this week, but it was a big one. Starting the show with a message from Samoa Joe was good, but for your new World Champion not to be on the show live is a big mistake especially when you are trying to re-establish the importance of that title. It was good to have multiple wrestlers mention him throughout the show, but unless there was a legitimate reason he was not able to make it, it was a big mistake to leave him off the show.

I was very pleased with this episode of Dynamite. It was a solid reset that set up many new feuds and directions that I’m very intrigued about. They added a solid performer to the Women’s Division that should help strengthen it once she gets comfortable. Except for the dumb “dance battle” in the main event, there was no “nonsense” in this episode as they continued to put on a serious sports-like product. Nearly all of the matches were clean finishes as well. When you don’t have Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Bryan Danielson, MJF, and Adam Copeland and still have a very enjoyable show, that’s a good sign.

(For more on all things AEW, please check out The All Elite Conversation Club this Friday on the PWTorch podcast lineup. Send questions and comments to allelitecc@gmail.com to be a part of the show.)

RECOMMENDED NEXT: AEW DYNAMITE RESULTS (1/3): Keller’s report on Samoa Joe, Christian, and Adam Cole all speaking, plus Cassidy vs. Dante, Garcia vs. Strickland

OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: AEW Dynamite results (1/3): Powell’s live review of Samoa Joe’s first appearance as AEW World Champion, Adam Cole explains why he turned on MJF, Orange Cassidy vs. Dante Martin for the AEW International Title