AEW Dynamite this week was a fantastic episode of television, perhaps one of the best episodes they’ve done all year. The storytelling across the show was so brilliantly interwoven with so many fascinating angles coming out of it. A tournament will help give competitors stories to work with certainly, but AEW currently have so many interconnecting dynamics up and down the card it just increases how compelling each potential matchup becomes. The in ring action was also excellent across the board, with no duds to be found anywhere and two amazing matches with subtle storytelling aiding terrific in ring action. The points I deduct from this show are minor but I shall discuss them regardless. The Statlander and Sakura match needed more time and focus, as the 4 minutes we got were outstanding, but just were not nearly enough, which slightly hurts the show structure. The crowd were electric for a large portion of the show, but did tire towards the second half and one or two segments were hurt by a recharging crowd, so a minor hit is also given to the atmosphere. Otherwise I don’t think you can ask for much better in a TV episode, and it has made me so excited to see where AEW goes from here.
Tonight, AEW presents the fallout from All Out. The AEW Championship contenders tournament begins as Roderick Strong takes on Trent Beretta and Darby Allin and Nick Wayne put their friendship to the test for glory. Elsewhere on the card, Jericho and Guevara reunite Le Sex Gods to take on Aussie Open, Jon Moxley gives his first defence of the International Title against AR Fox, and Kris Statlander takes on Emi Sakura, Lets get at it!
GOOD Orange Cassidy Promo
Very little said here as you’d expect from OC so it’s quite difficult to rate. He just says he’ll be here every week and isn’t taking any time off. I love Cassidy so it’ll be nice to see him still on tv. The real king of this segment though was the framing of Cassidy as he left and we moved into the next segment, looking quite lost and caught between the title he lost, his own friendships and complete obscurity. There was so much loaded in the non verbal portions of this that it becomes impossible to really rate, but I suppose I have to go with the words used rather than what happened afterwards, so it gets a flat 3 stars for its briefness.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
GREAT Jon Moxley vs AR Fox- AEW International Championship
Really good opener, getting over Moxley’s viciousness against AR Fox’s athleticism. Both guys are fantastic, and though I am struggling to get behind AR Fox as a face once more after some bungled booking, he is very entertaining to watch in the ring, and Moxley turning each match into a vicious slugfest will be awesome. Some really cool sequences in here, though it could’ve gone even longer. Nothing so spectacular that anything here gets full marks, but enough that it is flat 0.75s across the board.
Result- Jon Moxley by Pinfall via Death Rider
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.75 Stars
Christian Cage corners Nick Wayne to insult him some more before saying he should seek support away from Darby. Nice story to be interweaved here throughout the night, especially with that opening match
SQUASH Kris Statlander vs Emi Sakura- TBS Title Open Challenge
I am genuinely gutted about this. I was so so so into this match, with Sakura and Statlander absolutely leathering the stuffing out of each other in a brutal strong style encounter. I was ready for all my notes saying how it would be an underrated gem of the year and shows why Sakura should be featured so much more on tv…and then it just ended. The match clocked in at 4:25, which is so frustrating for a match that both myself and the crowd were so into. Because it is under 5 minutes I cannot even assign it a rating, which is so aggravating as I really loved the match for the few minutes it went, I just felt deflated I got 4 minutes of bruiser action and not 15 minutes of bruiser action, which I felt like these women deserved given how strongly they started.
Result- Kris Statlander by Pinfall via Friday Night Fever
Too Short To Rate
Roderick Strong gets a vignette talking about his history with wrestling, his entertaining presentation covering quite a sad story. This was a fascinating segment.
AMAZING Aussie Open vs Le Sex Gods
What an unexpectedly brilliant match. These four guys know what they’re doing and have some outstanding sequences. The crowd was also absolutely electric. I won’t dock points for the silliness post match in which Guevara and Jericho get into a shoving battle for no real good reason I can see anyway. Miscommunications are silly reasons for falling out in tag team matches when they don’t cost you a win. But focusing entirely on the bell to bell action, I thought this was excellently structured, and the crowd were so alive for it.
Result: Chris Jericho by Pinfall via Judas Effect
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4.25 Stars
Brilliant vignette from Starks, saying he will not quit. Starks is an astonishingly good promo
Takeshita looks absolutely incredible in a long red leather jacket as Callis reveals he will announce Takeshita’s next target next week. Great intrigue for next week.
MUST WATCH MJF/Joe Promo- Watch Segment Here
A promo full of amazing lines, great chemistry and clear character dynamics. This could’ve been a 5 star promo segment but I did think it went on too long and meandered a bit, meaning it could’ve been slightly cleaner. I also didn’t really need the fat jokes from MJF in there, though they did play nicely into the idea of ‘kid’ that Joe brought up which is actually quite clever. This whole segment was brilliant storytelling, just a tad too long.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4.5 Stars
GREAT Roderick Strong vs Trent Baretta
Another excellent match here targeted around the neck. Great psychology and selling from both guys and some really innovative spots. The crowd were a bit tired out and didnt get into this early on but they did come alive for a couple of nearfalls. The lack of crowd did take a bit of the sting out of the tail, but it was really cleanly wrestled with no botches to speak of and a very very good story told throughout. Another win for this show
Result: Roderick Strong by Pinfall via Backbreaker
David Sheldon WR Match Rating- 3.5 Stars
Toni Storm has amnesia…why not it’s funny. Doesn’t make a damn lick of sense but who cares when it makes me laugh as much as this.
MUST WATCH Hangman Page/Swerve Strickland Promo
This might well be the best promo Swerve has ever cut. He is a cold hearted monster who also speaks nothing but facts. Really sets up the next chapter in Hangman’s road to redemption once more and I think its an excellent way to heat up both Swerve and Hangman. A magnificent, magnificent promo.
David Sheldon WR Match Rating- 4.5 Stars
AMAZING Nick Wayne vs Darby Allin
The action here between Wayne and Allin is as enjoyable and lively as you would expect from them, with the athleticism off the charts. What makes this an amazing match though is the underlying story of what two friends, one of whom is a masochist, will do to each other for a chance at the title. Some of the best sequences in this match were the sequences that played into that dynamic, with both taking advantage of each other, leading to a horrible ending of Darby nearly breaking Nick’s arms to get the win, a horrible visual but a necessary one to further the inevitable Nick Wayne turn. Really excellent way to close a really excellent show
Result: Darby Allin by Forfeit Submission
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4 Stars
Overall…
AEW Dynamite this week was a fantastic episode of television, perhaps one of the best episodes they’ve done all year. The storytelling across the show was so brilliantly interwoven with so many fascinating angles coming out of it. A tournament will help give competitors stories to work with certainly, but AEW currently have so many interconnecting dynamics up and down the card it just increases how compelling each potential matchup becomes. The in ring action was also excellent across the board, with no duds to be found anywhere and two amazing matches with subtle storytelling aiding terrific in ring action. The points I deduct from this show are minor but I shall discuss them regardless. The Statlander and Sakura match needed more time and focus, as the 4 minutes we got were outstanding, but just were not nearly enough, which slightly hurts the show structure. The crowd were electric for a large portion of the show, but did tire towards the second half and one or two segments were hurt by a recharging crowd, so a minor hit is also given to the atmosphere. Otherwise I don’t think you can ask for much better in a TV episode, and it has made me so excited to see where AEW goes from here.
Matches: 0.75/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 1/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling – September 6th 2023
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
