AEW followed up Dynasty with an average Dynamite this week. Starting with the match quality and we got some fun contests as seen with the $400,000 tag team match, the main event also proved to be a pretty decent match. But there were some complaints in that area which isn’t normal to have with AEW, the opener failed to grab the attention of the fans while the women’s match was overshadowed by Toni Storm’s entertaining commentary. Storytelling was a high point of the show this week, with the Hurt Syndicate and MJF’s surprisingly entertaining story taking another step this week. While Chris Jericho’s crash out was the most entertaining thing he’s done for months. I did have some criticisms with some of the stuff with Kenny Omega and The Elite, but other than that there are no notes when it came to stories. For the most part AEW put together a strong show, but it did seem to drag at points which isn’t the desired outcome you want especially coming off a PPV. There is lots to look forward to when it comes to AEW though and this show proved that, but nothing really of substance happened this week and if you missed this show and watched next week’s, you wouldn’t have missed much.
AEW followed up a very newsworthy Dynasty, with Dynamite this week. On the show, Swerve Strickland takes on PAC. Kris Statlander faces Thunder Rosa in the Owen Hart Tournament. Death Riders take on The Opps and more. Let’s get into the review!
AVERAGE Jon Moxley vs Katsuyori Shibata
Probably not the best match to kick off Dynamite, especially when fans are still getting over the unpopular decision to have Jon Moxley beat Swerve Strickland at Dynasty. The contest was fine but didn’t really tell a story, or at least an intriguing one with the in-ring work. While the piledriver spot where Shibata got right back up after it, especially knowing his history with the move was a terrible decision. Weak match overall, didn’t need to be on the card.
Result: Jon Moxley by Referee Stoppage via Sleeper Hold
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 2.75 Stars
GREAT Young Bucks Segment
The Young Bucks came out after the match to send Moxley on his way, then weirdly tried to start a business conversation with him after he had already walked out of the ring. Probably best when you’re trying to make a business pitch to not send away the person you’re making a pitch to, only to ask them to come back out to the ring to talk business. Kenny Omega interrupted with a weird story about dogs, he eventually wanted a fight with the Bucks. Okada then backed up the Bucks while Swerve gave Kenny some help along with a steel chair. This was a weird segment, with the delivery of the promos feeling bumpy and very staggered at times. But we got some answers on the story following Dynasty, which was the main thing.
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
SQUASH Swerve Strickland vs PAC
I think this match was supposed to go longer than it actually did. Unfortunately PAC injured his foot or ankle, which meant he couldn’t continue any longer I’m guessing. Swerve finished the match quickly with the Swerve Stomp.
Result: Swerve Strickland by Pinfall via Swerve Stomp
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: Too short to rate
GREAT Kevin Knight, Mark Briscoe, Speedball Mike Bailey and Will Ospreay vs Ricochet, Lio Rush, Action Andretti and Beast Mortos
This was the definition of fun. The story of the match was that the winners would get $400,000 for themselves to split amongst each other. Ospreay seemed very motivated to go to Disney World, so Team Ricochet didn’t really stand a chance, unfortunately for them. The team of Knight, Briscoe, Speedball and Ospreay was just non-stop action, we are talking four of the best in AEW in that sense. Speedball has gained the respect and love of AEW fans extremely quickly, while Kevin Knight has had the same effect. It’s not surprising when you see how cool both are in the ring. Ricochet didn’t have much luck as not only could he not lead his team to victory, but he got more slaps on his bald head from the opposing team.
Result: Knight, Briscoe, Speedball and Ospreay by Pinfall via Hidden Blade
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.75 Stars
AMAZING Hurt Syndicate Championship Celebration
MJF continues to fail in his attempt to join forces with the Hurt Syndicate. His help at Dynasty wasn’t enough to convince Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin that he should be a part of the group. I loved Bobby in this segment, I thought the frustration he showed to Max was great. Equally MJF has been nailing this role that he’s been given currently, I didn’t expect to enjoy this storyline to the amount I have done recently.
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
GOOD Kris Statlander vs Thunder Rosa – Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Quarter Finals
Toni Storm joined us on commentary once again for this match, fresh off her win over Megan Bayne. Toni is incredibly entertaining and one of my favourite wrestlers to watch right now, but the problem with her commentary is she’s so funny that it’s actually really tough to concentrate on what’s happening in the match. The match was a joyful watch, Thunder really sold how important it is for her to win, but Statlander ended up breaking her heart and booking her ticket into the semi finals.
Result: Kris Statlander by Pinfall via Staturday Night Fever
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.00 Stars
GOOD Chris Jericho Crashes Out
So Chris Jericho has officially lost it. He called out Big Bill and Bryan Keith to let them know that he’s extremely disappointed in them. It now seems like the Learning Tree are falling apart, branch by branch.
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.25 Stars
GREAT Death Riders vs The Opps
This was an interesting choice to make main event. Personally I would’ve gone with Thunder Rosa and Kris Statlander. But this was a decent match, most of it was them building towards the Samoa Joe hot tag, even though that never actually came. But the finish was cool with Joe, Shibata and Hook all locking in their version of the Red Rum, as The Opps take the win. Joe made a challenge to the Death Riders after the match, as The Opps look towards the AEW Trios Championships now.
Result: The Opps by Submission via Red Rum
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Overall…
AEW followed up Dynasty with an average Dynamite this week. Starting with the match quality and we got some fun contests as seen with the $400,000 tag team match, the main event also proved to be a pretty decent match. But there were some complaints in that area which isn’t normal to have with AEW, the opener failed to grab the attention of the fans while the women’s match was overshadowed by Toni Storm’s entertaining commentary. Storytelling was a high point of the show this week, with the Hurt Syndicate and MJF’s surprisingly entertaining story taking another step this week. While Chris Jericho’s crash out was the most entertaining thing he’s done for months. I did have some criticisms with some of the stuff with Kenny Omega and The Elite, but other than that there are no notes when it came to stories. For the most part AEW put together a strong show, but it did seem to drag at points which isn’t the desired outcome you want especially coming off a PPV. There is lots to look forward to when it comes to AEW though and this show proved that, but nothing really of substance happened this week and if you missed this show and watched next week’s, you wouldn’t have missed much.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.5/1 Stars
Atmosphere/Crowd/Commentary: 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
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here
