SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.
-The sky is blue and Orange Cassidy was in another opening match on AEW Dynamite. Why the hell not? In a period of time where AEW programming has been in a funk, Cassidy still gets strong reactions, seems to understand the television performance aspect of the job, and has good matches.
-Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho works for me. Its a perfect feud to set Cole up as a babyface, while getting him back into the groove from an in-ring perspective. Britt Baker’s involvement hasn’t worked. It’s just to much and not necessary. AEW needs to let Cole be Cole and that’s it.
-Really enjoyed the interactions between Darby Allin and Jack Perry throughout the show. They came across as likable, but competitive — a tone that was severely whiffed on during their first interaction a few weeks ago.
-Ok, I loved the promo vignette from the Blackpool Combat Club. Loved it! So great! Wait. Am I supposed to? Well, that’s the question. Obviously, they are being presented as heels, so the answer is no. That answer opens up another question, though. Why are they heels??? I’ll never understand turning two guys in Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley that were your most over babyfaces. Sometimes your destiny chooses you and in the case of Danielson and Moxley, they are more valuable to AEW as good guys. They may not like it, but it’s the truth. Now, if they must be presented as heels, then you 100% cannot green light a promo like this. Really good, but also really bad stuff at the same time.
-A fine little match between Saraya and Willow Nightengale, but a strange swerve by Hikaru Shida. Why swerve there? A more definitive approach to her return and allegiance would have hooked the audience in a more impactful way.
-“Open House?” Sorry, I just can’t get behind the specialty stipulation or a dark, twisted, cult-like faction being “Open House.” I’m willing to let this play out, but it seems like the perfect formula to have the SAME EXACT TYPE OF TRIOS MATCHES THAT WE’VE SEEN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF DYNAMITE.
-Nice to see The Acclaimed pick up the win in the battle royal. The battle royal itself? Ehh, not much to it.
-Serious Kenny Omega does it again. Really good backstage promo by him and one that did a nice job in framing up the entire BCC vs. Elite feud. Well done.
-Wardlow squashed someone. I mean, that’s always fun to see I guess. A TNT Championship with Christian Cage is a smart way to go here. Cage can regularly pull strong heat from the crowd and is a formidable challenger with credibility. It was rocky getting here, but they made it.
-The entire time Ricky Starks vs. Juice Robinson was on the screen, I just couldn’t stop thinking, “this is what is happening with Jay White right now?” Was the match good?
-Good main event and this four pillars storyline very much needed it. First, AEW was smart to weave the story of this match throughout different parts of the show. The match itself was executed to a “T.” In the end, MJF and Sammy Guevara got off the same page, the four pillars match was a reality, and the long-standing “tension” between Jungle Boy and Darby Allin can now be manipulated further as opponents instead of partners. I don’t think this match is a strong title match for one of AEW’s four major events of the year, but this week was a step to make it stronger given the tough circumstances it faces.
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