This episode of AEW Dynamite felt a little like a show for the sake of it. That’s not to say there weren’t good matches or some storyline progression, but despite the mostly strong action much felt skippable. The highlight of the show was clearly the ring work, with Ospreay/Cage my personal favourite, though almost every match was unique and well worked in its own right. The main event however, as thrilled as I am to see the women main event, didn’t live up to the rest of the card and with an audience not invested in Sakazaki through lack of exposure as well as some clunky work, perhaps another match would’ve made more sense to go on last. Jeff Jarrett’s failure to capture a shot at the world title probably should’ve had that honour as the only integral piece of advancement on this show. Elsewhere the show suffered from poor pacing and a complete lack of reason to be invested, frustrating given AEW right now really need must watch shows to keep fans coming back and this was anything but. Good wrestling bell to bell, but sadly no more than that.
Tonight on AEW Dynamite, Jeff Jarrett fights for a shot at AEW’s top prize as he takes on Claudio Castagnoli. Will Ospreay looks to build on his partner’s successes two weeks ago by also taking down Brian Cage. Elsewhere on the show, Mercedes Mone defends her TBS Title against Yuka Sakazaki. Lets get at it!
GREAT Will Ospreay vs Brian Cage
This was a very fun opener, better than Omega’s match with Kenny from 2 weeks ago. The two men put on an excellent display of innovation and technical ability, and even a finish that didn’t quite go to plan couldn’t detract from the work done elsewhere. Brian Cage is such a clean big guy that he works well with Ospreay’s agility and Ospreay is able to duck and weave around Cage with such skill. Their styles complimented well and Cage’s lariats were wincing in their brutality. A great way to start the show.
Result: Will Ospreay by Pinfall via Styles Clash
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
Hangman is looking for Swerve in a fascinating moment. He runs into MJF, who promises Jarrett it will be the Last Outlaw’s last ride. A good promo from MJF to build straight into the next match.
GOOD Jeff Jarrett vs Claudio Castagnoli
Jeff proves once again he still has a good understanding of psychology and the fundamentals of wrestling. He comes up short against Claudio with an admittedly silly and contrived finish in which the referee had to play incredibly dumb for Yuta on the outside while Moxley hits the Paradigm Shift. The work elsewhere was solid on the leg with Claudio doing good work in selling his underestimating of Jarrett and MJF putting the boots in afterwards was a great knife in the gut. A solid match, just wish the finish worked bettter in getting across the heartbreak
Result: Claudio Castagnoli by Pinfall via Neutraliser
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars
A backstage promo with Ricochet to set up that Swerve cannot interfere. Expect to see Swerve at some stage.
GREAT AR Fox vs Ricochet
The AR Fox renaissance continues here with an even better match than last weeks Swerve outing. This struggles to get the crowd onside early on but just about pulled them in by the end through sheer force of good wrestling. Lucha Underground chemistry was on display here as the two turned back the years. Ricochet is playing a terrific cocky heel and the scissors moment post match was enjoyably cowardly, I just hope this is the start of a continued exposure again for AR Fox.
Result: Ricochet by Pinfall via Vertigo
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.75 Stars
Jon Moxley cuts a strong backstage promo talking about himself as the embodiment of the AEW Championship. This is good motivation for Moxley’s character
Jericho and Big Bill have even more tension backstage. This is building decently to a Bill split.
GREAT Jay White vs Wheeler Yuta
This was yet another very solid match, only unlike other matches on the card this had an incredibly unique finish, with White catching a Busaiko Knee (interestingly Danielson’s finish) into the Blade Runner for the one. Great to see a Yuta match with no interference, allowing him to do what he does best, good technical wrestling. Sagged a bit in the middle but the opener and main events were strong.
Result: Jay White by Pinfall via Blade Runner
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.75 Stars
AVERAGE Dax Harwood Promo
Bit clunky here from Dax but we get to the point, FTR vs Death Riders in a street fight on Collision which should be an amazing match to go against The Rumble.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 2.75 Stars
GOOD Mariah May Promo
Short but solid retort promo for Mariah, reminding us that Timeless Toni still lost and failed as a character. Good motivation for Mariah here, and the dig at the hometown which I cannot repeat here was very amusing.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
Promo to signal the return of The Gunns. I expect them to be faces which should be good fun.
Video Packages for The Hurt Syndicate and Konosuke Takeshita
Some very poor pacing as between recaps and packages we take ages to finally get to the main event segment.
AVERAGE Mercedes Mone vs Yuka Sakazaki
I am happy to see the women main event Dynamite, I really am. I just wish this would happen with a story that warranted it. Yuka reappeared from a cloud of smoke on Collision, won a 4 way, and now finds herself main eventing the flagship show against Mone. Sakazaki is very well known and revered among Japanese wrestling fans, having already participated in Sumie Sakai’s retirement match at Battle In The Valley earlier this month and being an established TJPW star. Yet to an AEW fan, all we have ever seen her do is make sporadic appearances to beat lower card stars on Collision, lose a title match on Dynamite, and then disappear. You cannot give her this little care in her presentation and then expect fans to get behind her in the main event of the show with no angle or advancement to follow. It didn’t help that the two shared very little chemistry, bungling numerous spots and never appearing on the same page. It came across as deeply inauthentic, and the match sadly didn’t meet the expectation required to overlook the booking faux pas. A weak ending to the show.
Result: Mercedes Mone by Pinfall via Mone Maker
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 2.75 Stars
Overall…
This episode of AEW Dynamite felt a little like a show for the sake of it. That’s not to say there weren’t good matches or some storyline progression, but despite the mostly strong action much felt skippable. The highlight of the show was clearly the ring work, with Ospreay/Cage my personal favourite, though almost every match was unique and well worked in its own right. The main event however, as thrilled as I am to see the women main event, didn’t live up to the rest of the card and with an audience not invested in Sakazaki through lack of exposure as well as some clunky work, perhaps another match would’ve made more sense to go on last. Jeff Jarrett’s failure to capture a shot at the world title probably should’ve had that honour as the only integral piece of advancement on this show. Elsewhere the show suffered from poor pacing and a complete lack of reason to be invested, frustrating given AEW right now really need must watch shows to keep fans coming back and this was anything but. Good wrestling bell to bell, but sadly no more than that.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.5/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.5/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 2.75/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling – January 29th 2025
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here :
