This was a terrific episode of Dynamite, with great matches, good story progression and a hot crowd. Even the squash matches this week were really well done and very entertaining. It wasn’t a perfect show, with a hilarious but quite rubbish Nick Wayne segment, a few storylines spinning wheels and a main event that, while more fun than it had any right to be, should under no circumstances have main evented the show. However, I did think the show was strong enough across the board to award a 0.75 in every category, as I felt the show was very well done as a whole package and a very easy watch. Not a groundbreaking show, but a very strong one I thought, despite some clear issues.
Tonight on AEW Dynamite, A shot at MJF’s Dynamite Diamond Ring is up for grabs in the annual battle royale. Kenny Omega also returns to in-ring action against Kyle Fletcher, while Jay White takes on Penta El Zero Miedo. Elsewhere on the card, Sting addresses fans, Nick Wayne tells all to JR, and Adam Copeland will respond to Christian Cage. Let’s get at it!
AMAZING Jay White vs Penta El Zero Miedo
Unsurprisingly for the talent involved, this was a terrific opening match, a really good back and forth contest, with the true highlight being a back and forth slap contest that looked absolutely vicious. Terrific way to start the show, though the ending was rather typical with the BCG once again swarming to cause the distraction, so we could’ve done something a little more innovative, but equally it’ll set up a great Full Gear nearfall.
Result: Jay White by Pinfall via Blade Runner
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 4 Stars
GOOD BCG Promo
I feel like I’m in the twilight zone. This is quite literally the exact same promo we saw on Collision…and last Dynamite….and the Collision before. I love these guys and they’re great, and the promo was still good, but please say something else. Why not just have the match?
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars
Nice backstage continuation of the MJF/Max Caster bit, I think this rom-com vibe is extremely entertaining.
GREAT Emi Sakura vs Hikaru Shida
Very hard hitting match as expected with these two. Some of the kickouts were quite sloppy and it wasn’t outstanding but it was really fun in a lot of places. Eliminator matches are very stupid things but they made the most of their minutes to deliver a fun 8 minutes.
Result: Hikaru Shida by Pinfall via Katana
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
We are heavily stalling on Adam Copeland. I get wanting to have him on the show every week because he’s great. He’s just saying the same thing every week, and I just don’t feel like it’s week to week progression. This rebuttal was another great promo, but it is more of the same. It’s the same problem MJF/BCG is having right now, stalling until the inevitable Copeland/Cage PPV Match.
SQUASH Wardlow vs Ryan Nemeth
More of the same here for Wardlow but the one powerbomb finish was pretty damn cool. I wanna see where this is all heading to as its very Goldbergian.
Result: Wardlow by Referee Stoppage
Wardlow reveals post match he wants MJF. Okay I stand corrected I’m absolutely on board with that!
A tease for MJF vs Kenny Omega. Seems everyone wants MJF!
Adam Cole makes some PB and J sandwiches before finally snapping. Good segment this was. Roderick Strong saying ‘Adam’ sounds so much to me like Jason Lee’s ‘Dave’ from the Alvin and the Chipmunks.
AMAZING Don Callis Family Promo
Excellent promo from Callis and from Hobbs in particular. Kyle Fletcher had a good little section, but it wasn’t quite as well delivered as Callis and Hobbs’ work. Very good stuff from these guys, and a good ending tease for this match and going into next week.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4 Stars
MUST WATCH Kenny Omega vs Kyle Fletcher- Watch Match Here
An incredible showing for Fletcher and an incredible match between these two guys. Unbelievable pro wrestling, terrific finish and a super entertaining encounter. Drops marks narrowly in Storytelling and Psychology. It is no fault of the performers really, just didn’t quite meet the criteria for full marks, but nevertheless this was a fantastic tv wrestling match and an amazing showing for both guys.
Result: Kenny Omega by Pinfall via One Winged Angel
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4.5 Stars
Danhausen is still coming back. I do love that Danhausen.
SQUASH Lance Archer vs Barrett Brown
Great to see Lance Archer back on TV. A great squash match showing his power and reintroducing him to audiences and what he can do. Now I just hope he stays on TV and can do some great things.
Result: Lance Archer by Pinfall
Swerve cuts a promo again calling out Hangman Page. Continues this story well and Swerve is always really good.
GREAT Sting Promo
It’s almost impossible to rate this, because it was a little meandering and awkward in places, although Sting is always very good and so it was still tremendously watchable, but the thing about this promo is that it’s Sting announcing his retirement date, and the man is allowed to say whatever he wants for however long he wants. I’m rating this as objectively as I can, but the rating really is of no concern because the fact is Sting has announced an important date for him and for wrestling and that is what matters from this promo, not the promo itself
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.75 Stars
Toni has her next silent film ‘Gone With The Storm’. It’s better produced than last week, with the introduction of a decent location and a second camera angle, but as a silent film fan I think there’s a lot more we can do with this concept. Hopefully each week it can build into something more and more interesting
In a hilarious segway, we go from that immediately into the dramatic Nick Wayne interview segment, which made me wet myself with laughter. I thought this was rubbish but absolutely amazing, from Nick Wayne’s dejected young son acting to the attempts by Wayne’s mother to emote which looks a bit like a rejected scene from Keeping Up With The Kardashians. It didn’t get much better when things got to the ring, with Sting walking Luchasaurus around the ring like a grandad taking his young dinosaur for a walk. I didnt think any of this was any good, but I absolutely loved it because I laughed like a madman through the whole thing.
GREAT Dynamite Diamond Ring Battle Royale
Who looked at this card, featuring Jay White vs Penta and Omega vs Fletcher, and decided that the main event for this show should’ve been dragging out the crew of Rampage to fill 15 minutes with a battle royale? The problem with this match is simple, you know the final two are going to be Max Caster and Juice Robinson, and with nobody else of any significance in it, there’s no real stakes until the final two. That’s not to say there aren’t fun spots or stories weaved through because there are. It’s actually a very good battle royale and would’ve been a really fun opener, just not the main event of the show, and especially not on a show as good as this one. The crowd were more into this than any other match on this show, and it could’ve been a great opener, just a strange main event.
Result: Juice Robinson Last Eliminating Max Caster
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
Overall…
This was a terrific episode of Dynamite, with great matches, good story progression and a hot crowd. Even the squash matches this week were really well done and very entertaining. It wasn’t a perfect show, with a hilarious but quite rubbish Nick Wayne segment, a few storylines spinning wheels and a main event that, while more fun than it had any right to be, should under no circumstances have main evented the show. However, I did think the show was strong enough across the board to award a 0.75 in every category, as I felt the show was very well done as a whole package and a very easy watch. Not a groundbreaking show, but a very strong one I thought, despite some clear issues.
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 – October 18th 2023
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
