SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Another week and another special Dynamite as the holidays approach. It’s Holiday Bash from Washington D.C. with a promising card and a couple of intriguing promos. Can they make the current storylines more interesting and follow up on the surprise return of Toni Storm last week? Let’s find out.
HITS
OLD SCHOOL MJF
The storyline is still a mess and I’m looking forward to it being over, but it was nice to see the old school superheel MJF addressing the crowd. Sure, there was some low hanging fruit. One of which was, my goodness, he picked the wrong team to insult in D.C.. I am a Washington native and fan, and the Wizards have been an awful team for about 40 of the last 45 years. The fans in the area know they suck so there was no cheap heat for MJF to get there!
I was thoroughly entertained in the segment and liked the twist of Adam Cole’s recorded response setting up a live Cole attacking him. It shows how important it was to have Max there heeling on the crowd so the reaction to Cole was much more positive than he had been getting when MJF was sending in recorded messages. Again, I’ll be glad when this feud is over, but it was refreshing to see the old Max show up and hopefully he’s going to be a mainstay on TV as we head into the new year. They need stars like him.
ROCKSTAR TONI STORM
I know my podcast partner Joel Dehnel will roll his eyes when he sees that I put this as a “Hit” but I’m sorry pal, I am digging the amnesia angle so far. It may be something that has a short shelf-life but if you enjoyed the Timeless character, then this should also work for you. Toni is crazy. She has mental issues and this is part of her story. We will see where it leads and if it falls apart over the next few weeks, then I’ll backtrack on it, but for now, bring on the Rockstar!
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Dynamite: CLICK HERE (or search “wade keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
OSPREAY VS. DARBY
Oh, hell yeah!! This was phenomenal. It was one of the best TV matches of the year. These two had amazing chemistry right from the beginning. The crowd was fired up at the start, but the way the two built the story of the match had the fans’ excitement rising throughout and outside of the commercial break, they did not settle down the whole time. Speaking of the commercial break, this was so good I stayed with it through the break which is rare for me.
Darby may have a reputation as a stuntman type of wrestler, but this match should put that to bed. While he will take crazy bumps like the coffin drop on the edge of the ring, he is right up there with the best in pure wrestling agility. Ospreay’s storytelling in the match was stellar as well.
While I very much enjoy matches with a lot of movement and athleticism, this one stood out because the characters are well defined, fans are invested in them, and there were stakes to the match. Bravo.
MOXLEY IS IN CONTROL
One thing you don’t often see in successful wrestling stories is a very smart heel. Jon Moxley is just that. He is psychologically playing Orange Cassidy, Jay White, and Hangman Page at this point in the narrative. He feels more comfortable fighting against all three of them at the same time because he knows their egos can’t handle it. He is in better shape in retaining his title knowing that if he gets in trouble in the 4-way match, those three will bail him out due to their selfishness. They are not banding together to fight the evil Death Riders. They have their own agendas and that works just fine with Mox and his group.
QUICK HITS
– I loved how they ran down the entire card at the top of the show with short backstage promos mixed in. It gave the viewers a clear understanding of what was going to be on the episode. They do not do this enough, so here’s hoping my praise in this column can motivate them to do it every week!
– Mercedes vs. Anna Jay was a solid opener. The quality of the match shows how much better Anna has gotten as well as being in the ring with a talent like Mercedes. If AEW wants Mercedes to become the star they were hoping for, put her in more matches like this on TV and less scripted backstage promos.
– Hey, they finally referenced Kenny Omega’s impending return and showed a great video package hyping it!
– I like Nick Wayne’s new look. He looks older and more menacing.
– The Hurt Syndicate continues to be presented as a dominant faction and the fact that Ricochet was angling to be added to the group, and that he was turned down for now, makes the group itself seem like a big deal.
– The crowd sure loved Swerve Strickland in D.C.! — I like how he called out the heel-turning Ricochet who is quickly becoming the “this guy gets on my nerves” character.
MISSES
LACK OF ATTENTION TO DETAIL
This was a solid show, but if I had to nitpick one thing that continues to happen is the lack of attention to detail in where they put certain taped segments and how they would make more sense if moved to a better place.
One example was a great recap of the Continental Classic matches from Collision last week. This was played halfway through the show when it would have been more effective much earlier and before any CC matches on Dynamite so fans could get caught up if they missed Saturday.
Another example is when FTR starts a promo assuming everyone knows what happened to them on Saturday night. Collision had 246,000 viewers. Dynamite has more than double that. It takes 15 seconds to show the audience that the Death Riders attacked them before you hear from FTR. How about doing that? Showing the video during the segment was better than nothing, but the audience needs context BEFORE we go to them.
This was a great episode of Dynamite that moved storylines forward and gave viewers some excellent matches. This is the type of show that can start getting positive attention back on the product if they are able to sustain it. Please do!
Don’t forget to check out the weekly free podcast I’m part of, “The All Elite Conversation Club” that typically drops on Fridays the PWTorch Dailycast lineup. Joel Dehnel and I have a great time breaking down all things AEW! Search “pwtorch” on your podcast app to subscribe. Send questions and comments to allelitecc@gmail.com.
Stay right here and keep the flow going. We think you’ll like to read this next…
RECOMMENDED NEXT: AEW DYNAMITE RESULTS (12/18): Amin’s alt-perspective report on Mercedes vs. Anna Jay, Pac & Yuta & Pac vs. Cassidy & White & Hangman, Ospreay vs. Pac and Shelton vs. Mortos in Continental Classic, more
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: AEW Dynamite results (12/18): Powell’s live review of Will Ospreay vs. Darby Allin and Shelton Benjamin vs. The Beast Mortos in C2 matches, Mercedes Mone vs. Anna Jay for the TBS Title
(You can always reach PWTorch editor Wade Keller at kellerwade@gmail.com. You can also send live event results and news tips to pwtorch@gmail.com. Also, we’re always looking for volunteer contributors to help us round out of coverage of the pro wrestling scene.)
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