SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Bryan Danielson vs. Anthony Bowens: HIT
This was a good match. Probably the best I’ve seen from Anthony Bowens in singles competition. He may be one of the more under-rated prospects on the AEW roster right now.
Bryan Danielson has been wrestling more frequently than I expected, but I’m all here for it. He looks as good as I’ve ever seen him, and he has a seriousness to his demeanor that I rarely got to see in WWE. While Adam Cole is goofing off with the Super-Clique and Punk continuing his happy tour, Bryan Danielson is delivering must-see television every single week.
C.M. Punk/Eddie Kingston Segment: MINOR MISS
There is plenty to dissect here. I will divide my analysis into different sections:
Eddie Kingston’s Content. Kingston is referring to backstage stories that virtually no one knows about and sound very implausible. C.M. Punk, Samoa Joe, and Bryan Danielson are the last people in this industry anyone expect to gossip backstage about a fellow superstar’s weight and other aesthetic qualities. In fact, they were the ones who broke those barriers in mainstream wrestling. So, Eddie Kingston’s premise just falls flat on its face to me.
In addition (minor point), his line about AEW being “the only professional wrestling company in the world” wasn’t the best choice of words. I understand this is a dig as WWE, who doesn’t like to brand themselves as “pro wrestling,” but this statement also ignores the existence of AEW’s partners like NJPW, NWA, Impact, and AAA. How am I supposed to take any other company’s title matches on Dynamite seriously if I believe his words? Kingston really should have used better words here. Maybe “best” instead of “only.”
C.M. Punk’s Content. Punk being THIS bothered merely at being interrupted and then trying to convince us that he was a high-schoolish gossiper in his ROH days, and still being proud of it, completely flies in the face of the constitution of his character all these years. He may be thinking that becoming a Triple H-like heel is the only way to get the crowd to turn against him, but it doesn’t make for a believable storyline. As much as I’ve been itching for Punk to go heel, or at least lean into heelish tendencies and start a slow transition, this is not a good path.
Crowd Reaction. The crowd didn’t really know who to get behind. They just cheered/booed based on the merit of the points, and were mostly just awkwardly juggling their emotions. I think the delivery was good enough that many probably walked away satisfied, but their live reaction came off a bit “confused” on TV.
Delivery. Kingston’s delivery was excellent, and Punk played his role well. While I have issues with content, and I don’t like the childishness of the incessant “fight me” lines at the end, both wrestlers had a degree of fire and conviction that is rare to see in wrestling these days. However, good delivery alone doesn’t cut it for me. It’s not enough to save an implausible storyline.
Red Velvet vs. The Bunny: MINOR HIT
I like that they had a video build to this match on Dynamite this week. I encourage AEW to keep doing that. The match itself was short but solid with Red Velvet going right after Bunny before the bell, which is made sense given the brass knucks attack earlier. Good to see Jade Cargill at ringside to tease Red Velvet’s next opponent in the TBS championship tournament.
Main Event Interview: MAJOR MISS
Mark Henry referenced BTE and John Silver leaned right into that again. Regardless of how comical it was in BTE, it is bad practice for AEW to reference a YouTube show, let alone one that has its own contours of reality (pretty sure I remember someone dying on that show). On top of that, John Silver, once again, sounded like he wanted to have a friendly arm wrestle with Adam Cole and share a beer afterward.
Adam Cole had the right tone, but he couldn’t save this interview. I’m sure he’s fond of Dark Order’s BTE antics in real life and doesn’t want to mock that too much in his promos, but that leaves virtually nothing else for him to address.
Adam Cole vs. John Silver: HIT
The underwhelming build for this match aside, this was a good main event. Jon Silver’s feats of strength are believable, and when you combine that with his speed, you have a wrestler who can put on an entertaining match with just about anyone. At the same time, Adam Cole is just a fantastic all-round professional wrestler.
Commentary: HIT
The commentary was fine tonight.
Overall Show: HIT
The wrestling on this show was very good. The promo work was underwhelming.
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