AEW Dynamite Review 4th September 2024 

Tonight on AEW Dynamite, Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland put pen to paper on their All Out steel cage match in a contract signing. Kyle Fletcher and Kazuchika Okada do battle for the Continental Championship, while Mariah May makes her first defence of the AEW Womens Championship against ‘The Native Beast’ Nyla Rose. Lets get at it!

GREAT Daniel Garcia/MJF Promo

A solid opening angle to Dynamite, with Garcia calling out MJF, who appears in the stands. Garcia was quite shaky on the mic early on, but did pick up a bit towards the segment end. MJF was typically solid, and a lot of what was said on the mic here about family was very very good. I just didn’t find Garcia especially convincing on mic, despite him clearly really trying to sell it. A great segment, but an imbalance in quality between the talkers in my opinion. 

David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars

The Conglomeration have their usual backstage hype promo, this one featuring Will Ospreay and being completely and utterly mad

AMAZING Kazuchika Okada vs Kyle Fletcher

This is a bit of an odd match, with 20 minutes on the clock, the makings of an epic, and two great talents doing some great stuff. Yet despite all the positive, of which there was plenty, the pacing was a bit off. Okada will always take time to find his rhythm, but even in the latter stages the time between great spot to great spot was a little too drawn out. Nonetheless it was still a great match and a good showcase for both men.

Result: Kazuchika Okada by Pinfall via Rainmaker

David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 4 Stars

SQUASH Jamie Hayter vs Robyn Renegade

Quick and simple once more from Hayter, winning in just over 2 minutes. Good way to break off the ring rust, though I hope the program with Saraya can kick up a little bit.

Result: Jamie Hayter by Pinfall via Hayter Ade

GOOD Jon Moxley Promo

Short and to the point, this was Moxley praising Darby to the stars before saying he wanted to talk and promptly leaving. This, if I’m honest, didn’t tell me much more about Moxley’s motivation. He appears somewhere positioned as a dangerous tweener alongside Schafir, but this is clearly something they are going to peel back slowly, which I am all for. I hope Moxley/Darby is not for All Out though and is saved for a later date to give this story a chance to breathe.

David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars

GOOD Mariah May vs Nyla Rose

Despite some botches here and there , I enjoyed this first time encounter. May and Rose had fun chemistry and May was a good heelish foil for Rose to throw around. It wasn’t always the prettiest, and I just wish this had a proper story behind it as of course the result was never in doubt, but nonetheless I did find this had a fun dynamic and was an entertaining, if slight, first defence for May.

Result: Mariah May by Pinfall via Storm Zero

David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars

GOOD Mercedes Mone Promo

Another quick and slightly underwhelming promo here, the whole purpose to be for Mone to gloat before Shida got Kamille banned from ringside. It was a fun promo sold by some very enjoyable acting from Shida, but this screams to me to be a filler feud for Mone and nothing in this segment convinced me otherwise which is a shame.

David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars

MUST WATCH PAC, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta vs Will Ospreay, Kyle O Reilly and Orange Cassidy

This, unlike the opener, had electric pacing from the start, taking expectedly brilliant wrestling and keeping the energy high for the full duration. There were also some great stories intermingling here, with the dynamics of PAC/Ospreay, PAC/Cassidy, Kyle/Yuta and Claudio/Everyone making for a very fun 20 minute thrill ride.

Result: The BCC by Pinfall via Swing/Dropkick combo

David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4.5 Stars

GREAT Claudio Castagnoli Promo

Simple but fun promo from Claudio as he asks for a tag title match at All Out. This is furthered by the amazing selling from The Bucks and a very fun final line from Danielson. This was all well delivered.

David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars

PERFECT Swerve Strickland/Hangman Page Contract Signing

This began as a contract signing, before quickly transitioning into a flawless and hypnotic promo from Hangman Page. This is possibly AEW’s best promo of the year, as Hangman savagely burned down Swerve’s childhood home. A magnificent promo to further perhaps the best story AEW has ever told.

David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 5 Stars

Overall…

AEW Dynamite this week was an excellent show, with a fantastic main event match and a flawless main event angle. The last 30 minutes of this show were by far the high point, while the opening act also delivered some strong action and an entertaining first segment. I do think the show dipped in pacing in the middle, with some good but unremarkable angles that felt a bit like treading water, hence why I don’t feel I can award the show the top storytelling grade I did last week despite the abundance of angles, and the show’s pacing did begin to stagnate a touch for me. Even so, this was a very effective go home show, which had flourishes of true majesty!

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 – September 4th 2024

For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here :