AEW Dynamite: Winter Is Coming was a great show. The match quality was what you’ve come to expect of AEW, every match was around that level of being great. The opening of the show proved to do a fantastic job in setting up the AEW World Title match for Worlds End, while the main event provided a brilliant end to a feud that has been built up very well, between Mariah May and Mina Shirakawa. Ricochet beat Brody King, in a match which I felt had the wrong winner, and then Will Ospreay vs Claudio Castagnoli was undoubtedly the match of the week. The storytelling was strong in parts, but yet again extremely weak in many ways. We have finally gotten to the destination of MJF vs Adam Cole, despite AEW stumbling and falling towards it. Christian Cage’s segment did a very nice job of sufficiently advancing two stories in one go. Then the men’s main event scene continues to be one of the more interesting parts of AEW TV. The ending of the OG Toni Storm returning to AEW was a nice surprise, I just feel like this might be a backwards step for her character rather than an evolution, but let’s see how it plays out first. The crowd was probably the best I’ve seen since I started being the honorary AEW Dynamite reviewer, while the commentary team, specifically in the main event, did their job to a very good standard. Definitely one of the better episodes of Dynamite this year, now it is up to AEW to continue this momentum.
It is certainly that cold time of year, and AEW have taken advantage of this season with ‘Winter Is Coming.’ On this week’s show, the Continental Classic continues as we get closer to the finals at Worlds End. Former UE teammates, Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly go head to head. Mariah May defends her AEW Women’s Championship against Mina Shirakawa. Let’s get into the review!
GREAT Death Riders vs Jay White and Orange Cassidy
The good old ‘can they coexist?’ storyline, which featured all the standard spots. Jay White and Orange Cassidy arguing who was going to start the match, while Orange decided to tag himself in. That was the story this match was built around and they did a good job doing that, unfortunately for Jay and Orange, Hangman had to get involved which ended up costing them the match. It is clear that Worlds End will be a Fatal 4 Way for the AEW World Championship, which sounds pretty great to me.
Result: Death Riders by DQ
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.75 Stars
There was another very cool Bandido vignette that played during the show, really like the effort AEW put into the production of these.
AMAZING Christian Cage Promo
Christian Cage continued to take cheap shots in his promos, this time saying he is going to send Moxley back to rehab, as he rehabs the World Championship. Then Hook started attacking Christian and tried to throw him off the balcony. This was a very sufficient segment which was able to advance two storylines at once.
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
AMAZING Will Ospreay vs Claudio Castagnoli – Continental Classic
This match was one of the ones that I was looking forward to the most in this tournament, and I was not disappointed. I’d go as far to say it was probably the best match in this year’s tournament so far. Obviously we know the freakish athleticism and strength of both men, but there was some nice innovation in here as well with the steel steps. Claudio continued his great form from an in-ring performance perspective, and there aren’t enough words I can describe Ospreay at this point, it is stupid how consistently amazing he is in terms of match quality.
Result: Will Ospreay by Pinfall
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 4.25 Stars
GREAT Adam Cole vs Kyle O’Reilly – Dynamite Dozen Final Match
These two are like brothers, so whenever they are in the ring together it is usually special. This contest was a very solid matchup for sure, their chemistry came into play quite a bit, but unfortunately so did Cole’s ring rust. There were some timing issues, which were expected. The story also didn’t help, painting MJF as this dangerous man that the Undisputed Kingdom should be afraid of, when there are literally three of them and one of him, is slightly odd.
Result: Adam Cole by Pinfall
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
GREAT Ricochet vs Brody King – Continental Classic
I don’t like how Brody King has taken his second loss in a row on Dynamite, he looked like a beast in this match but I really would’ve given him the win here. It looks like Ricochet is going more into a heel character now, which if I’m being honest I’m not too interested in. The match was very solid, but I think we got the wrong winner in this one.
Result: Ricochet by Pinfall
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.75 Stars
GREAT Mariah May vs Mina Shirakawa – AEW Women’s World Championship
The women have main evented AEW and WWE’s A shows this week, which is great to see. The story and build to this match was done very nicely, leaning very much into the history of Mariah and Mina. I think AEW have done a great job overall of introducing Mina to the group of fans that perhaps aren’t so familiar with her work, the company should look to bring her back to do more work for them. May continued some of the best heel work in wrestling this year, as she overcame one of her toughest challenges yet. The surprise appearance of the OG Toni Storm was a very welcome ending to the show.
Result: Mariah May by Pinfall
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.75 Stars
Overall…
AEW Dynamite: Winter Is Coming was a great show. The match quality was what you’ve come to expect of AEW, every match was around that level of being great. The opening of the show proved to do a fantastic job in setting up the AEW World Title match for Worlds End, while the main event provided a brilliant end to a feud that has been built up very well, between Mariah May and Mina Shirakawa. Ricochet beat Brody King, in a match which I felt had the wrong winner, and then Will Ospreay vs Claudio Castagnoli was undoubtedly the match of the week. The storytelling was strong in parts, but yet again extremely weak in many ways. We have finally gotten to the destination of MJF vs Adam Cole, despite AEW stumbling and falling towards it. Christian Cage’s segment did a very nice job of sufficiently advancing two stories in one go. Then the men’s main event scene continues to be one of the more interesting parts of AEW TV. The ending of the OG Toni Storm returning to AEW was a nice surprise, I just feel like this might be a backwards step for her character rather than an evolution, but let’s see how it plays out first. The crowd was probably the best I’ve seen since I started being the honorary AEW Dynamite reviewer, while the commentary team, specifically in the main event, did their job to a very good standard. Definitely one of the better episodes of Dynamite this year, now it is up to AEW to continue this momentum.
Matches: 0.75/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere/Crowd/Commentary: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here
