AEW Dynamite was a solid and enjoyable show this week, albeit one which failed to hugely advance storylines ahead of All In. The big story this week was of course the set-up of the Title vs Career stipulation for Wembley, a genius move that turbocharges a good feud to nuclear level. Elsewhere though I found storytelling rather dissapointing on this show, particularly in some frustrating booking of the women’s division, undercooking 3 feuds. The action was good fun but nothing overly spectacular, and the atmosphere outside of the Danielson segment could’ve been improved. A well structured and functional show to get us closer to All In, but had the potential to be more substantial.
Tonight on AEW Dynamite, Hangman Page looks to avenge Blood and Guts as he takes on Darby Allin. Will Ospreay battles familiar foe Lance Archer as he tries to build momentum ahead of Wembley. Elsewhere on the card, Bryan Danielson addresses the crowd, Kris Statlander takes on Willow Nightingale in an eliminator match and Kamille debuts! Let’s get at it!
GREAT MJF/Ospreay Promo
A solid opening segment with Will and Max, both doing good promo work and playing off each other well as per usual. MJF’s pro America shtick will be grating past All In, so it would be useful to end at that show, but works as a heat magnet for the time being. Led into the match well
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 3.5 Stars
GREAT Will Ospreay vs Lance Archer
Ospreay and Archer have always had special chemistry when working together in New Japan. I’ll confess I prefer their Japanese outings, but this was a great taster of what they’re capable of. Some super fun offence here from both guys, and I could watch them work forever. Slight, but a really entertaining affair.
Result: Will Ospreay by Pinfall via Hidden Blame
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 3.5 Stars
GREAT Kyle Fletcher Promo
A continuation of the pre match promo setting up Fletcher vs MJF for next week. No upgrade or downgrade in quality from the pre match, though I’ll confess to wishing Fletcher toned down the shouting a bit as it got fairly grating after a while.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
Chris Jericho talks some trash backstage before announcing Keith vs Shibata for next week. Jericho’s super interesting character development feels like it’s massively regressed.
GOOD Kris Statlander vs Willow Nightingale
This was a good enough match between Stat and Willow, but it was housed within a context to which it was hard to care. An eliminator match for a title few AEW fans have been conditioned to care about led to something which was painfully heatless from the crowd , and so the good work both women were doing between the ropes didn’t have nearly the impact it should’ve. Statlander getting the win sets up a rematch, I suggest at the zero hour for All In, or in a bigger spot at All Out
Result: Kris Statlander by Pinfall via Chain Shot
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3 Stars
AMAZING Bryan Danielson/Swerve Strickland Promo
By far the biggest story coming from this show, Bryan Danielson cut an impassioned promo going over similar ground to before, before Swerve came out to cut a fabulous promo both respecting and eviscerating Bryan’s legacy. As Swerve left, Danielson offered up his career as an additional stake. The delivery from both men was sublime and I think the decision to make this title vs career is a genius move that has turbocharged this story. However, I think more could’ve been done in explaining, through dialogue or physical storytelling, why Danielson suddenly wished to put his career on the line. There are reasons you can draw, whether it’s desperation to prove himself or to find the passion inside him and go All In, but I think there are holes that could’ve been more satisfyingly filled. A terrific segment, but one which could’ve been just a little neater.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4.25 Stars
GOOD The Conglomeration vs The Beast Mortos, Rush and Roderick Strong
This was enjoyable fun, but there was little to this from a story perspective. If this is the way to transition Briscoe into a feud with Mortos for the ROH world title instead of feuding eternally with Strong on TV then I’m all for it, but from the fact we have more Strong vs Briscoe on Collision in an 8 man tag gives me pause on that. A lot of fun mini matches, but nothing hugely cohesive into anything more than an entertaining mid-show spot fest.
Result: The Beast Mortos by Pinfall
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars
The Acclaimed are coming to Collision looking for FTR, I smell a Wembley 3 way.
Mariah May is interviewed by Renee Paquette backstage. Great delivery from May but very little is actually said that we don’t already know. Toni Storm’s ramblings on the stage didn’t really help that either. I am concerned this feud will start to cool off a bit so I hope they can find a substantial angle to keep it ticking.
SQUASH Kamille vs Brittany Jade
This felt like a deeply limp debut for Kamille. Not only was it very awkward, but the moves weren’t nearly impactful enough. A few strikes, a botched top rope move that was abandoned, a kick and a finish. Kamille is better than this, and I hope she gets to show it.
Result: Kamille by Pinfall via Sitting Chokeslam
BELOW AVERAGE Mercedes Mone Promo
We sometimes talk about promos feeling like they’ve been written by AI, but this sounded a bit like it was delivered by AI. Mercedes came across like a parade of pre prepared catchphrases and insults that never felt natural. As a heel she gets away with it far more than as a face, but this was a bit rough to sit through.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 2.25 Stars
AMAZING Hangman Page vs Darby Allin
This was an entertainingly brutal match following a similar formula to Hangman’s previous matches. Hangman brutalises his opponent but refuses to capitalise, causing a problem. Whereas he has been able to previous eek out a victory, this time his anger cost him and Darby scored a snap victory. Some brilliant high spots here with the standard story underpinning them. Curious to see where it goes, if anywhere.
Result: Darby Allin by Pinfall via Roll-Up
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4 Stars
Overall…
AEW Dynamite was a solid and enjoyable show this week, albeit one which failed to hugely advance storylines ahead of All In. The big story this week was of course the set-up of the Title vs Career stipulation for Wembley, a genius move that turbocharges a good feud to nuclear level. Elsewhere though I found storytelling rather dissapointing on this show, particularly in some frustrating booking of the women’s division, undercooking 3 feuds. The action was good fun but nothing overly spectacular, and the atmosphere outside of the Danielson segment could’ve been improved. A well structured and functional show to get us closer to All In, but had the potential to be more substantial.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.5/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 3/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling – July 31st 2024
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1 Comment
AEW is on fire right now! The energy in the arena and the nonstop action keep me coming back every week. Can’t wait for the next big showdown!