AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES (7/31): Danielson-Swerve exchange, MJF-Ospreay exchange, Toni Storm, Mercedes Mone, Hangman vs. Darby build

HITS

MJF AND OSPREAY

I thought this was a strong way to start the show. Clearly, outside of the World Title match, this is the main focus of the company for All In. MJF continued to work on his transformation back to the heel he was for the initial 3 years of the company. Despite being called out for “low-hanging fruit” insults to the crowd, this seems to be his plan so as not to be seen as too clever and thus, likable.

Will Ospreay did a good job on the mic showing passion, but not going too much over the top. He had a great match with Lance Archer as you would expect, but it would have been better if Archer had been built up more. I’m tired of Archer showing up to win a few squash matches only to lose to a bigger star the next week. Giving him a sustained run would have made Ospreay’s victory mean more.

I did enjoy Kyle Fletcher being added to this storyline. He’s not quite ready to join the top of the card, but giving him these opportunities to talk in a big program should be helpful moving forward so when they are ready to push him, fans will have gone on his journey.

BRYAN DANIELSON AND SWERVE

This was the best part of the show hands down. Bryan Danielson has the ability to work the crowd, but also come off genuine in his words. He has an agenda to push and you know he is telling a story, but his delivery is so good that most fans completely buy into whatever he is saying. This is the Bryan Danielson we all wanted from the start and while it’s been cool to see him fight a wide range of competitors over the years, this is the guy who will sell tickets and get people to watch on TV.

As for Swerve, he gave his best promo in months. He was very straight-forward and everything he said was true. You could not disagree with him when he brought up Bryan’s injury issues. I found myself nodding my head when he talked about this being Swerve’s era. He looked like a star and the top guy in the company.

Now the match has big time stakes as well. I can see this going either way and that’s the best you can offer at a show as big as this one. The concern going into this week was whether they could pivot from Swerve and Hangman and Blood and Guts last week into this main event match with 4 weeks to go. I thought they did a great job doing that. I’m fired up for this and where it goes.

QUICK HITS

– I thought showing old clips to set up the match between Willow and Statlander was a great touch. They do this occasionally but need to do it more often.

– Taz was great during the 6-man tag match. Mentioning Tito Santana and his ridiculous “Matador” gimmick was a nice reference for us older folk! Plus, getting angry at Mortos for “stealing my spots” was a laugh out loud moment for me.

– I know the bar was low, but Mercedes Mone is improving on the mic. They are giving her a lot of chances and keeping it short which is the sweet spot for me. I like how they tapped the brakes a bit on this storyline as there is concern it may have peaked too soon. Keeping Britt Baker off TV was a good call, especially blaming it on the EVP’s, and hopefully they can fire it back up in the couple of weeks prior to All-In

– Darby and Hangman’s match was fun to watch. I was surprised by Darby getting the win, but they are clearly rewarding him for all he’s done and for what he puts his body through for the company. Hangman will have his time, but many fans have asked for more matches that are not predictable and this was one of them.

MISSES

MAIN EVENT BUILD

Once again, AEW failed to properly build their main event. Just putting Hangman vs. Darby on the screen during another match and mentioning it a couple of times is not enough. This needed a video package and perhaps backstage interviews, especially considering what went down at Blood and Guts last week. If AEW wants viewers to tune in and stay tuned in, give them a reason to.

WATCH IT BEFORE YOU AIR IT

I was disappointed the first time, now I’m just annoyed. During the Swerve video package early in the show, once again there was a website headline saying “Swerve named first African American AEW World Champion.” Come on! AEW is supposed to be the more sports-like wrestling company. Nobody is NAMED anything, they earn it in the ring. It just makes them look minor league to have that slip through and put on their show AGAIN!

EASY UP TONI

I know Toni Storm is trying to portray someone losing their mind, but her 30 second appearance after the Mariah May interview was way too over the top. Screaming like a maniac just made me feel uncomfortable. Easy up a little bit. I don’t think she needs to drop the gimmick, but come out looking more like Toni Storm and be a little more serious now that someone you trusted turned on you.

I thought Dynamite was a solid show this week with the top of both hours leading the way. It’s tough to keep things intriguing coming off a gimmick episode and having four more weeks to a PPV, but I thought they did a good job launching some meaningful storylines and keeping others going.

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! Subscribe free by searching “pwtorch” and subscribing to the PWTorch Dailycast. Send questions and comments for the show to allelitecc@gmail.com.