-Another AEW Dynamite and Collision combo episode this week and just like last time it was stocked with matches. That felt a little odd with this being the go-home night for the Double or Nothing PPV this weekend. The matches took priority over strong narrative building segments. That said, the matches were good and the three hour show moved quickly.
Trios tag magicians
-Your standard AEW trios match to open the show this week and it featured trios match magicians, The Young Bucks. The Bucks do this wild, action-packed, and no tags style of match better than anyone and they showed that skill off in this match. Like they always do. Jericho and The Bucks losing is a strong indication on how the Stadium Stampede match will go at Double or Nothing.
-The show didn’t feature a lot of promo time this week, but the two that they did were very important. The first was from Darby Allin. Allin has wrestled like a madman as the AEW World Champion and the AEW audience has lived that story with him through his title defenses in matches. This week, he put words behind the journey he’s been on. He called out what the fans were seeing and owned it. That’s Darby and this was a moment he needed to have with the audience.
-Holy crap. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Mark Briscoe was a damn blood bath. I guess it kinda needed to be? The two have been feuding for quite a while. This was tucked away on a three-hour show, though. With it being so bloody and violent, it needed the opportunity to stand out more.
-Swerve Strickland and Bandido had a fine little brawl, but the entire time the only thing I was thinking about was why Strickland had this feud with Bandido to begin with. Like, why do they hate each other so much? They are wrestling in the Owen Hart Cup tournament at Double or Nothing, so it makes sense in that context. That context just showed itself, though. A week ago. Maybe this tournament match was the plan all along? I doubt it.
Long-term storytelling
-Well, you got me Tony Khan. When the Kyle O’Reilly and Jon Moxley story started, I was the man leading the charge against it. How could a mid-card guy like O’Reilly have problems beating a dude like Moxley? It made no sense. The booking and the commentary around the booking made it make sense. The story needed time to develop and they’ve gotten a batch of really good matches out of it. This week was excellent. As long as they don’t go with this too long, it was very much worth doing. I think Moxley ends the story at Double or Nothing.
-Thekla needs to drop Skye Blue and Julia Hart. They don’t have a good rhythm together as a team. The women’s trios match with those three was ok and it only got to that level because of Thekla. She’s the real deal and needs more opportunities to be the top woman in the company.
-Another strong title defense from Darby Allin in the Dynamite main event. This time, Mike Bailey was the opponent. Out of all the title matches Allin has had, this had the least amount of drama. With Double or Nothing this weekend, you knew that Allin wasn’t losing the title. They had a more difficult time hiding the outcome in this one than they did with some of the others during Allin’s run.
-After the match, Darby Allin stood tall and ran an attacking MJF out of the ring. Telling. Usually the champion doesn’t get a final scene like that and then a victory on PPV. It just isn’t the pro wrestling way.
The Ospreay train is on the track
-Ok, the Will Ospreay vs. Katsuyori Shibata match probably went a little long. Ospreay doesn’t always have to have great matches just to have them. He got the victory, but the real money segment for him this week was the promo on Samoa Joe after the win. Ospreay was real. He finally acknowledged everything happening around him. He acknowledged The Death Riders. He finally pointed out that he has a huge opportunity to main event All In in his home country with a world title match. He reminded the audience that all of that mattered to him. This Ospreay promo was the summer of Ospreay storyline being put on train track. It’s going now. It’s on.
-Rush needs to put a bow on the “mess with the bull, get the horns” catchphrase. It just isn’t all that cool and the audience isn’t playing along all that willingly. Back to the drawing board.
-Why not give Megan Bayne and Lena Kross a squash match? It’s an effective way to take up TV time and does a lot for Bayne and Kross by making them look like unstoppable monsters.
No angle?
-We got a short little promo from Adam Copeland and Christian Cage ahead of their FTR match at Double or Nothing. The feuded needed an actual angle. The four guys are having an “I Quit” Street Fight for the tag titles on Sunday night. It needed something intense to go along with that violent stipulation. No attack? No in-ring segment at all? No heat? This was a missed opportunity and the strongest example of my overall criticism of the show this week. Tony Khan went with FTR vs. The Conglomeration in a tag title match instead of something less in-ring related, but more effective for the story. This was the right spot to sacrifice some in-ring quality for better story.
What did you think of this week’s special back-to-back edition of AEW Dynamite and Collision? Let us know in the comments!
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