This show will be remembered for Will Ospreay and MJF’s titanic 59 minute clash. Though I had minor complaints with the psychology of Will’s knee, I nonetheless found the match spectacularly enjoyable, and the show’s high rating is almost exclusively down to the quality of that match. The rest of the show was merely solid, but after that opening hour that was really all that was needed. The teams for Blood and Guts were finalised, I enjoyed the main event until the premature DQ and The Elite were a fun presence throughout. A solid episode of TV highly elevated by an epic dream match which more than delivered on it’s hype.
Tonight on AEW Dynamite, MJF and Will Ospreay engage in a dream match for Ospreay’s International Title. Champions also collide in the main event as World Champion Swerve Strickland takes on Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada. Elsewhere on the card, Mercedes Mone battles ‘The Native Beast’ Nyla Rose and Mariah May addresses her shocking beatrayal of Toni Storm. Lets get at it!
MUST WATCH Will Ospreay vs MJF
At 59 Minutes and 58 Seconds, this was definitely a marathon of a match. This was extraordinarily well worked by both men, with some hugely enjoyable bits of character work and a knockout ending. Ospreay fighting so hard, passing up all the possible opportunities he could’ve taken a cheap way out and refusing to hit the Tiger Driver, only to be taken out in the most heartbreaking way imaginable. The spots are too plentiful to mention, from Ospreays diving Hidden Blade to the multiple styles’ clashes. The arm psychology was also fantastic from Ospreay, and provided a fantastic match-long story. However, the psychology of Ospreay’s knee was weaker. To go from being unable to walk to it quickly becoming a non-factor is sadly poor selling, and despite wanting to overlook it in favour of the quality elsewhere, it did take me out of the match at numerous points. Therefore I do reluctantly drop it marks, while acknowledging the exceptional quality of the match.
Result: MJF by Pinfall via Knockout Punch
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 4.75 Stars
Slightly irritating promo from Max Caster, but gets the point across fine that The Acclaimed are in Blood and Guts. Did its job.
Mercedes Mone and The Young Bucks have an entertaining interaction, with Okada;s pining exceptionally funny.
GOOD The Learning Tree Promo
This promo runs down Jericho’s attacks of previous weeks before setting up his match next week against Minoru Suzuki. Seeing Suzuki is always huge fun, and the attack line from Jericho about his attacks being avoidable tragedies is particularly entertaining. However, it’s a shame to see that the psychotic air that Jericho possessed on last week’s Dynamite and Rampage has dissipated a bit, which has lessened my interest a tad. A good promo from Jericho, but not as good as his promo from Rampage last week.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
Mercedes Mone and The Young Bucks have an entertaining interaction, with Okada;s pining exceptionally funny.
GOOD Mercedes Mone vs Nyla Rose
A short but sweet match between a powerhouse face and a smaller cocky heel. Nyla was really over here which was great, and despite some initial sloppiness, I enjoyed the match’s conclusion whereby Mone couldn’t get the Lockjaw in and so resorted to a Bank Statement instead. The post match brawl was a great addition, and the gimmick of the person in the Sting mask will always make me smile.
Result: Mercedes Mone by Submission Via Bank Statement
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars
Great promo from Jack Perry furthering his feud with Darby Allin. Him beating up Cutler was a really good arc to his character, a ruthless man who doesn’t care about Elite loyalties.
GOOD Mariah May Promo
A well delivered explanation from Mariah, though I would’ve taken this opportunity to introduce a new Mariah rather than continuing the cosplay. The cosplay went slightly against the content of the promo itself. Also, the final line from Mariah was baffling, using ‘All About Mariah’ instead of the multi-layered and infinitely more catchy ‘All About May’. Well delivered and with some solid content, but I wanted a bit more.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars
GREAT Swerve Strickland vs Kazuchika Okada
People will complain here about the DQ finish, but because of their rarity on AEW TV it did make sense, even if it was still a bit lame. The finish was saved by a good post match brawl, finalising Blood and Guts and allowing for a fun finish of Darby descending from the rafters. The match itself started slow but had an incredibly fun final few minutes. The DQ undoubtedly took the wind out, but I was nevertheless thoroughly enjoying the action until it came to an abrupt end. A fun main event, though inevitably hurt by the quality of the opener..
Result: Kazuchika Okada by DQ
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
Overall…
This show will be remembered for Will Ospreay and MJF’s titanic 59 minute clash. Though I had minor complaints with the psychology of Will’s knee, I nonetheless found the match spectacularly enjoyable, and the show’s high rating is almost exclusively down to the quality of that match. The rest of the show was merely solid, but after that opening hour that was really all that was needed. The teams for Blood and Guts were finalised, I enjoyed the main event until the premature DQ and The Elite were a fun presence throughout. A solid episode of TV highly elevated by an epic dream match which more than delivered on it’s hype.
Matches: 0.75/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 3.75/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling – July 17th 2024
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here :
