AEW Dynamite this week had a terrific opener and a great show-long story, but a lot of the rest of the show lost its way. Claudio and Orange had an excellent title encounter, the MJF story was very well orchestrated throughout the night, and the Women’s World Title match and surrounding story was an improvement on last week, as indeed was the use of Adam Copeland. On the negative side, while there were no bad matches on the show, some did underdeliver, with a main event that made two different sets of champs look rubbish and an Omega and Jericho tag with gaping story holes at every turn. With those issues, on top of the ridiculously underwhelming Tony Khan announcement, the show felt disappointing, despite there still being enough positive aspects to earn the show a 3 star rating. Nothing terrible, but a lot that could’ve been better than it was.
Tonight on AEW Dynamite, MJF attempts to regain his AEW World Championship belt with 3 partners of his own choosing against the Bullet Club Gold. Orange Cassidy also defends the International Title against Claudio Castagnoli, while Hikaru Shida defends her title against Willow Nightingale. Elsewhere on the card, we will hear from both Adam Copeland and Tony Khan as he makes his latest big announcement. Let’s get at it.
Fun opening segment which sets out MJF’s stall for the night, before getting some nice interaction between Max and Adam.
AMAZING Orange Cassidy vs Claudio Castagnoli– Watch Match Here
While I fantasised for years about what the comedy Cassidy of old and the monster Castagnoli/Cesaro could do together in the same ring, the new Cassidy put on a damn good outing with some fantastic sequences, even if I never felt Cassidy in a great deal of peril. Great psychology with the arm and back, and a very fun finish in theory, even if it didn’t quite come off. Still this was a fantastic way to start the show, and demonstrates just how good the chemistry of these guys is.
Result: Orange Cassidy by Pinfall via Roll-Up
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 4.25 Stars
A lot of people don’t like MJF. That was very smartly framed and shot, I enjoyed that a lot.
Remarkable promo by Jon Moxley backstage calling out OC for a rematch. That match will of course be amazing and I just adore the level of dangerous physicality and energy that seeps from Mox when he speaks. He is a master.
GOOD Mogul Embassy vs Hung Bucks
Well the story is interesting, but what was the point of putting those titles on the Hung Bucks. They did absolutely nothing with them. This match was good enough because these guys are incapable of anything else, but something didn’t click to turn it from good to great, and I think it was a messy structure and some quite poor psychology that left the match feeling a bit rudderless at times. Good for what it was, but with these 6 guys in the ring it could’ve been a lot better.
Result: Mogul Embassy by Pinfall
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3 Stars
The Acclaimed are still cheerleading to get MJF, and damn it I think it’s really endearing.
GREAT Adam Copeland/Christian Cage Promo
Mostly more of the same from these guys but Cage is always great and Copeland had a really exciting and fiery end. Short and a little undercooked to start but we got there by the end for a really strong segment. The trios match at Full Gear sounds excellent!
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.75 Stars
Tony Khan makes his…announcement. All In Tickets will go on sale next month. Great news for me but seriously Tony. You have got to stop with the announcements now unless you have something really huge to say. Also Tony trying to be relatable and in good humour is more scary than it has any right to be.
GOOD Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega vs Matt Menard and Angelo Parker
No match lineup better emphasises the mess that has been this story than this. Menard and Parker, the heels, walked out on an also heel Jericho because he was abusing them, turning them face. That story was never resolved, and now through a series of convolutions Jericho is now the face and we’re supposed to want to see Jericho beat up the guys whose lives he abused for two years. Also, could they have at least shown the recap from Rampage where Fletcher joined the Callis family. That was Rampage’s major angle and it was weirdly brushed over on commentary and production. The match was good, a bit slight but still fun. Bad botch here though when Jake Hager just didn’t catch Kenny in the slightest causing him to crack neck first in the floor. That looked horrid.
Result: Chris Jericho by Pinfall via Judas Effect
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3 Stars
BELOW AVERAGE Callis Promo
A poor promo by Callis’ standards, they all looked like squabbling children, the fire and heat wasn’t there, it was all pretty basic, and the Paul Wight reveal telegraphed last week. It wasn’t entirely awful, but I expect a lot better given in this segment you have three usually excellent talkers.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 2.25 Stars
The Bucks are rightfully quite cross about the lack of support from Omega when Hangman disappeared. Jericho is also incredibly unlikeable and a bad babyface right now.
I find it hilarious that AEW had to promote John Cena’s new show on their product just a few days before he’s in a major match on a stadium show for their biggest competitor.
GREAT Hikaru Shida vs Willow Nightingale- AEW Women’s World Championship
Certainly a massive improvement over the last two matches Shida has had, this was a strong match until a bizarrely sudden end that took the wind out of the sails just a little. Still strong work by both and again a big improvement from last week, it just still felt a bit heatless and the ending was abrupt.
Result: Hikaru Shida by Pinfall via Katana
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
Time to continue the only two stories AEW’s Women’s division has. Toni Storm finally gets some comeuppance being chased away by Hikaru Shida while Skye Blue chooses Willow over Julia Hart. Both of these developments were fun, just hope they keep advancing.
GOOD COMEDY ALERT. AEW did a funny wordless comedy skit with MJF and team Jeff Jarrett. It’s a basic set up and punchline WWE loved to do in the 2000s but it did still really make me laugh for some reason.
GOOD Bullet Club Gold vs MJF + The Acclaimed
Max Caster has clearly worked on his rap for a while this week as it was probably the best one he’s done in a long long time. Sadly the match itself, while fine, should’ve been better than it was. A lot of it was fun enough house show fare but more than a little underwhelming, but the fact the trios champs and the world champs got absolutely dominated is poor booking, and even if it makes the challengers look strong it simply isnt enough. The post match was pretty good though, so the show ends on a pretty good note.
Result: Bullet Club Gold by Pinfall via Blade Runner
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3 Stars
Overall…
AEW Dynamite this week had a terrific opener and a great show-long story, but a lot of the rest of the show lost its way. Claudio and Orange had an excellent title encounter, the MJF story was very well orchestrated throughout the night, and the Women’s World Title match and surrounding story was an improvement on last week, as indeed was the use of Adam Copeland. On the negative side, while there were no bad matches on the show, some did underdeliver, with a main event that made two different sets of champs look rubbish and an Omega and Jericho tag with gaping story holes at every turn. With those issues, on top of the ridiculously underwhelming Tony Khan announcement, the show felt disappointing, despite there still being enough positive aspects to earn the show a 3 star rating. Nothing terrible, but a lot that could’ve been better than it was.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.5/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 3/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling – November 1st 2023
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
