This episode of AEW Dynamite was an eventful show with some terrific storytelling, particularly the phenomenal Will Ospreay/Swerve Strickland segment. Ospreay in general was very well used through the night, as was MJF, as his match with Rush was the highlight of the show from an in ring perspective. Plenty of matches for Forbidden Door showcased or advanced through matches and stories, making for a useful show. In the ring the action was consistently solid, but structural problems were equally prevalent. The 8 man tag, as fun as it was, going almost 20 minutes and 2 commercial breaks, as well as the Eliminator match slightly overstaying it’s welcome, led to the Owen Hart cup matches going comparatively short and feeling rushed, particularly the women’s match. It was a solid and good show, but could’ve been an even better one with the show structured more effectively to give the later matches the time they needed.
Tonight on AEW Dynamite, The Owen Hart Cup kicks off as PAC takes on Claudio Castagnoli and Kris Statlander battles Nyla Rose. MJF also has his first match back on TV against Rush. Elsewhere on the card, Toni Storm and Mariah May sign their Forbidden Door contract, Swerve and Will Ospreay go face to face and The Acclaimed face The Young Bucks. Lets get at it!
AMAZING MJF vs Rush
This was a brutally physical matchup which matched MJF’s cunning against Rush’s viciousness. Rush’s headbutt looked absolutely fantastic and the resulting beat down just as strong. This put to bed MJF’s first micro-feud, building him straight into his second against Hechicero, which should be incredibly good fun.
Result: MJF by Pinfall via Delayed Vertical Brainbuster
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 4 Stars
MUST WATCH Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay
Ospreay gave a terrific account of himself here, but for me Swerve gave a masterclass in facial reaction and selling. This promo set up the key central faucet of this story, that being of the pressure that comes with this main event title spot. They also touched on other issues such as the inevitable Tiger Driver 91 feature as well as the idea of a personal vs professional grudge match. This was a knockout segment for me and made me incredibly excited to see their matchup at the PPV
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 4.75 Stars
Rumblings in the Don Callis Family after the happenings in the previous promo. Callis assures Trent things will be fine.
GREAT Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly and Dante Martin vs Roderick Strong, Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher and Zac Sabre Jr.
This was almost identical to the match from last week, only longer and with two extra participants. Sabre and Martin brought some excellent new dimensions to the lineup here, but I’d be lying if I said the match didn’t exceed it’s welcome. 17 minutes felt excessive for what felt like a glorified spot-fest. And while I will never complain about seeing that type of match on TV and was very entertained throughout, for a show already short on time I could’ve cut a chunk of this out to make time for other things as it got a bit repetitive.
Result- Orange Cassidy by Pinfall via Orange Punch
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.75 Stars
Don Callis approaches Rush in a very intriguing potential partnership.
GOOD The Young Bucks vs The Acclaimed- Tag Title Eliminator Match
Before I talk about the match, I just wanted to mention the hilarious performance by Kazuchika Okada here, proving he is an incredibly accomplished comedic performer. The match itself was more an extended angle than a match. It was a good angle, as The Acclaimed refused to die before finally overpowering them to beat the dastardly villains. However, at 11 minutes, it was a long ángel to tell. They wrestled well and seeing them keep coming back was fun but it outstayed it’s welcome just a little bit
Result- The Acclaimed by Pinfall via Mic Drop
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars
Another brief but fun Samoa Joe and Hook segment to set up a trios match on Collision.
Eliminator matches are announced for The Bucks and Okada next week. Will be great to see them wrestle and eliminator matches just about make sense.
GREAT Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa Contract Signing
A short but fun segment, forcing Mariah to make her choice. She never got the chance however as Saraya and co came to attack. Toni sacrificed herself for Mariah, while Mariah left with Mina. This inevitable turn on Toni will be heartbreaking.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
GOOD Kris Statlander vs Nyla Rose
This was a good match with some fun moments, but was swamped by its short runtime. Going only 7 minutes this was never given the chance of being anything beyond average, which for a tournament matchup is always frustrating. Good win for Stat though and a match between her and Willow appears inevitable
Result: Kris Statlander by Pinfall via Tombstone Piledriver
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3 Stars
A solid backstage segment setting up The Learning Tree and Private Party. It’s great to see PP given TV Time (pun not intended)
SQUASH Daniel Garcia vs Rhett Titus
Hardly anything to this squash, but the post match made it much more worthwhile than last weeks. So much was set up in this segment. From Cage of Agony feuding with Garcia, MJF and Ospreay, as well as all the interpersonal dynamics between the faces. Despite the pointlessness of the match itself, this nonetheless did a phenomenal job of telling its story.
Result: Daniel Garcia by Pinfall
PAC is in the Owen Hart Cup, which is a huge spanner into the tournament as he was a potential winner I’d never considered but certainly is capable of winning and going home to England for the biggest match of his career
GREAT PAC vs Claudio Castagnoli
I was hoping for a show stealer here, but it didn’t quite reach that. Don’t get me wrong it was very well wrestled, but at only 11 minutes the whole thing felt like it was racing to it’s conclusion, ending suddenly with a roll-up and promptly flying off the air. Strong in wrestling content (because of course it was) but still felt a bit half baked
Result: PAC by Pinfall via Crucifix Pinfall
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.75 Stars
Overall…
This episode of AEW Dynamite was an eventful show with some terrific storytelling, particularly the phenomenal Will Ospreay/Swerve Strickland segment. Ospreay in general was very well used through the night, as was MJF, as his match with Rush was the highlight of the show from an in ring perspective. Plenty of matches for Forbidden Door showcased or advanced through matches and stories, making for a useful show. In the ring the action was consistently solid, but structural problems were equally prevalent. The 8 man tag, as fun as it was, going almost 20 minutes and 2 commercial breaks, as well as the Eliminator match slightly overstaying it’s welcome, led to the Owen Hart cup matches going comparatively short and feeling rushed, particularly the women’s match. It was a solid and good show, but could’ve been an even better one with the show structured more effectively to give the later matches the time they needed.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.5/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 3.25/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling – June 19th 2024
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here :
