AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES (6/19): MJF vs. Rush, Swerve-Ospreay promo, Owen Hart Tournament brackets, The Acclaimed’s win, MJF-Ospreay tease

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With less than two weeks until Forbidden Door, the pressure is on AEW, starting with this week’s Dynamite, to get the fans fired up for the PPV. They’ve done a good job in recent weeks in setting up matches and making them matter but now is the time for it to ramp up and I went into this week’s episode excited to see what they had in store. Let’s see how they did.

HITS

MJF VS. RUSH

I expected a hard-hitting battle and we sure got that. It was an impressive return match for MJF, who didn’t look very rusty at all, and Rush certainly matched him when it came to physicality. After a tad too much silliness at the start, they really got going and the crowd was with them the entire way. This was much better than MJF quickly dispatching a jobber or a lower-card wrestler. This helped establish MJF as a serious threat to the top of the card. Hechicero should be a quality opponent at Forbidden Door and we should see some direction for the remainder of the summer following that expected win.

SWERVE-OSPREAY PROMO

Well, that had to be the best title program promo AEW has put on TV in quite a while. Picking up from where last week’s show ended, Swerve and Ospreay held nothing back and built this match into what should be appointment viewing. The passion was there and everything they both said made perfect sense. I’m curious if this was the apex of the build or if we’ll have anything else next week. If they do more, it’ll have to try and match or exceed what we saw on this show and that may prove difficult. I’d prefer a clean match at Forbidden Door, but it looks like the Callis Family may be a factor in the finish. Either way, this should be a great main event that got a boost from a heck of a promo.

QUICK HITS

– A big back body drop that actually worked in the MJF/Rush match.

– Mark Briscoe “the sequel” — Another amazing promo from Mark Briscoe had me smiling and laughing the entire time. I’m glad they put him right back on the show this week and he was part of another 8-man tag match that was a blast to watch.

– I know some don’t enjoy Okada doing comedy but for what he’s being asked to do, he’s hitting it out of the park.

– While The Acclaimed have lost momentum over the months, I think it was important to establish that a “lesser” team can win an eliminator match once in a while to mix things up. I’m still hoping The Elite takes them out and they go away for a bit to refresh themselves, but I fear the crowd reaction to their win may change things if that’s the direction they were going to go.

– I love that they are setting up a future match between MJF and Will Ospreay. That was a visual that will stay in most fans’ memories to look forward to down the line.

MISSES

NOT ENOUGH LEARNING TREE!!

Just kidding! I still like it, but small doses are the key!

BRACKET REVEAL/MAIN EVENT PROMOTION

Last week, I praised AEW for showing video packages for the main event and building it up during the show. This week, they were back to frustrating me. First, it took 90 minutes to get a promo from Claudio and we didn’t get much from Pac at all. The announcers may have mentioned it a couple times and the graphic was on the screen, but this is your main event! Build that up throughout the show folks!!!

Second, the bracket reveal for a tournament where the winner’s get a title shot at your biggest show of the year should be a HUGE deal. It also should be promoted throughout the show. That’s something where you put a timer on the screen.

Third, Jeff Jarrett??? I know he was tight with Owen and I know he has history as a contender, but he has not been presented as a threat to anyone over the years in AEW other than to be in over-produced matches. They can have their place in the mid-card, but he has done nothing to be seen as one of the top eight contenders for the title.

I know it comes as no shock to most who read this column, but I enjoyed Dynamite as usual this week. There are always things they can do to improve and I hope every week that they listen to my wise words!! Seriously though, the first part of the show was fantastic with the MJF match and Swerve/Ospreay promo. They continue to do a good job building to Forbidden Door and I’m looking forward to next week and the PPV as well.

Continued thanks to everyone listening to The All Elite Conversation Club on the PWTorch Dailycast podcast lineup. Joel Dehnel and I have a great time breaking down all things AEW! Send questions and comments to allelitecc@gmail.com.