This week’s AEW Dynamite was a good show. It was the last Dynamite before Full Gear so the company had the task of making one last good impression, which they did to an extent. Pretty much every match had some sort of segment or was mentioned in some way. I would be lying if I said that they increased hype for every match, but even with the weak storytelling at points, matches like Orange Cassidy vs Jon Moxley and Will Ospreay vs Kyle Fletcher were cemented as must see bouts as a result of this show. However, stories like MJF, Adam Cole and Roderick Strong, Bobby Lashley vs Swerve and Kris Statlander vs Mercedes Mone were either told in a very weak manner, or they just didn’t make any sense. It was definitely up and down in that sense, match quality never wavered though. The all star tag team match did a great job of telling multiple stories in one go, Claudio looked like an absolute beast in his match against Darby, and Statlander vs Shida showed why AEW need to start having more than just one women’s match on the show. It felt like the whole show was building towards the main event, so there are little complaints with the structure of the show. The crowd were loud for the most part, but understandably they were quieter for some parts of the show and offered very little reactions at times. Did AEW do the best they could’ve done at building more hype for Full Gear? Not particularly, but they did a great job of highlighting every match on the card, and finished the show with a brilliant closing shot of Cassidy showing off his resilience to Moxley and the Death Riders.
It is the final AEW Dynamite before Full Gear, here is what is set for the show as the company looks to make one final splash before the PPV. Orange Cassidy prepares for his AEW World Championship match, as he faces Wheeler Yuta. We will hear from Adam Cole. Kris Statlander takes on Hikaru Shida. Let’s get into the review!
AMAZING All Star 8-Man Tag Team Match
Very chaotic start to Dynamite as Ospreay, Ricochet, Davis and Hobbs wouldn’t even let the Don Callis Family complete their entrance. Eventually this matchup got underway and we saw Hobbs taken out early, after the Callis Family threw Ospreay into the steel steps where his knee was trapped. Hobbs eventually came back into the match, doing some great selling on his knee in the process. But that wasn’t the only story told in this bout, which is what I liked a lot about this match. You had multiple stories taking place, Davis and Fletcher, Ospreay and Fletcher and Takeshita and Ricochet as well. Archer and Cage were made to look menacing which was the aim. Successful start to Dynamite, advancing multiple stories in one go.
Result: Don Callis Family by Pinfall
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
AVERAGE Adam Cole Promo
So this is a story that I’ve not been a fan of, because each week it just makes less and less sense. This segment didn’t really make sense and didn’t achieve anything other than attempt to make MJF look like an evil mastermind. They still haven’t explained why Max has all this power, it doesn’t make sense that Roddy is facing him instead of Cole and this whole “stop this before your friends get hurt” speech Kyle gave also doesn’t make any sense. The way each guy delivered the promo was good, but when the dialogue is messy that kind of takes away from it.
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 2.75 Stars
GREAT Kris Statlander vs Hikaru Shida
Solid match which showed the good chemistry these two have with each other. Shida was probably the perfect opponent for Statlander because although a win over her does a lot for making Kris look strong, Shida is an established enough talent that this loss doesn’t hurt her. I enjoyed the final stretch of this match in particular where Shida thought twice about using the Katana after Mone kicked out of it, which opened the door for Statlander to pick up the victory not long after.
Result: Kris Statlander by Pinfall
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
SQUASH Bobby Lashley vs Joe Keys and Cheeseburger
This match wasn’t really needed if I’m being completely honest, they didn’t need to sell how strong and powerful Bobby Lashley is, everyone already knows that. It did make me laugh that Cheeseburger was getting a bigger reaction than Lashley got, give him the contract Tony Khan. Swerve laid out Bobby after the match in a well thought out plan from him and Nana.
Result: Bobby Lashley by KO
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: Too short to rate
AMAZING Darby Allin vs Claudio Castagnoli
This match did an incredible job of making Claudio look dominant, while also showing Darby’s resilience as well. Claudio would stop at nothing to get the win, which meant as per usual Allin was taking some nasty bumps. He went spine first into the barricade, swung head first into the steel steps and was thrown into the time keeper’s area. You could really see the Death Riders’ influence on Claudio as he was ruthless in this bout, and I don’t think you could’ve achieved that effect with any other opponent than he did with Darby.
Result: Claudio Castagnoli by Pinfall via Lariat
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
AVERAGE Roderick Strong Promo
Roderick Strong addressed what MJF said about him earlier in the show. This promo didn’t truly elevate hype for Roddy’s match with MJF, and this didn’t really see any character development either. I don’t think this segment was needed in the show.
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 2.75 Stars
The contract signing for the ROH World Championship match started backstage. Then as Jericho was looking for his legal representation, Ishii followed him all the way into the ring. Then a brawl happened between The Conglomeration and the Learning Tree.
GREAT Wheeler Yuta vs Orange Cassidy
Much like Claudio vs Darby, this match had the aim of selling the Death Riders’ influence on Wheeler Yuta which they once again achieved to a high level. Yuta showed a more ruthless side, but unlike Claudio he lost focus of the task for one second and it cost him the match. There is definitely a case to say that other than Moxley, Yuta has had the best character development out of anyone in the Death Riders. The show had a cool ending where the faction beat up Orange Cassidy, but Orange still stood tall showing that it is going to take a lot more than that to keep him down.
Result: Orange Cassidy by Pinfall
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.75 Stars
Overall…
This week’s AEW Dynamite was a good show. It was the last Dynamite before Full Gear so the company had the task of making one last good impression, which they did to an extent. Pretty much every match had some sort of segment or was mentioned in some way. I would be lying if I said that they increased hype for every match, but even with the weak storytelling at points, matches like Orange Cassidy vs Jon Moxley and Will Ospreay vs Kyle Fletcher were cemented as must see bouts as a result of this show. However, stories like MJF, Adam Cole and Roderick Strong, Bobby Lashley vs Swerve and Kris Statlander vs Mercedes Mone were either told in a very weak manner, or they just didn’t make any sense. It was definitely up and down in that sense, match quality never wavered though. The all star tag team match did a great job of telling multiple stories in one go, Claudio looked like an absolute beast in his match against Darby, and Statlander vs Shida showed why AEW need to start having more than just one women’s match on the show. It felt like the whole show was building towards the main event, so there are little complaints with the structure of the show. The crowd were loud for the most part, but understandably they were quieter for some parts of the show and offered very little reactions at times. Did AEW do the best they could’ve done at building more hype for Full Gear? Not particularly, but they did a great job of highlighting every match on the card, and finished the show with a brilliant closing shot of Cassidy showing off his resilience to Moxley and the Death Riders.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere/Crowd/Commentary: 0.5/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 3.25/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here
