-Jay White is in his element as the leader of a big heel faction. He’s got The Cut now. I like the opening Dynamite match this week between The Cut and Death Riders. Not because it was a wild, five-star athletic feat or anything like that, but because The Cut was booked strong. They got the win. We know that it’ll be The Cut vs. Death Riders in Anarchy in the Arena at Full Gear. That should be a blast. Like this week, here’s to hoping they keep with the strong booking and get The Cut another big win on PPV. The upside is huge. White vs. Ospreay for the world title looms if this faction stays successful.
Kidd and The Cut
-On the Death Rider side of things, they’re full-fledged babyfaces now and Gabe Kidd sticks out like a sore thumb. If you were looking for a way to have The Cut win Anarchy in the Arena, while giving Death Riders some protection, a Kidd heel turn on Moxley would do it. Kidd fits better with The Cut anyway.
-Holy crap. Kyle Fletcher is the number one contender for the AEW World Championship at Full Gear and it took him over 16 minutes to beat Jack Perry. My stamp of approval is planted on Fletcher vs. Ospreay on PPV. Fletcher vs. Perry? Not good. The action was fine — hell, better than fine — but you shouldn’t have matches just to have them. With where Fletcher is going, having this kind of 50/50 match with the someone at the level of Perry is a mistake.
-Ok, when The New Level started their promo about death matches, I was rolling my eyes. Big time. Both Kofi and Creed were much to flippant about a stipulation that has been protected in AEW lore as something that’s life altering. Kofi and Creed kinda joked about it and hurt the tone around the match. By the end of the segment that also included Adam Page, Brody King, Swerve Strickland, and Bandido, you realize that flippancy is part of a broader storyline. Kofi and Creed are supposed to take the stipulation lightly right now. The story will be them learning what Texas Death really means. They are going to find the right perspective. Really cool stuff. It’s an angle that gets the match over, but also the stipulation even more over for future uses.
-Swerve Strickland is a menace. The maniacal attack on Bandido showed The New Level his true side. There is a great promo segment between Strickland and New Level brewing. A cards on the table segment for all three guys. AEW has plenty of time to get there.
One had to be the worst
-If you are going to have a five match series between two teams, one of those matches will be the best and one of them has to be the worst. This week’s battle between FTR and Motor City Machine Guns was the worst one yet. Not a bad match by any means, but also not on the level of their others. The best part of this match was the post-match angle. FTR stopped straddling the line and presented as firm heels. That will make the rest of this match series much more intriguing.
-I’m not a big fan of yelling in promos, but it fits with Ilja Dragunov. There’s a strange authenticity going on there. Dragunov would probably yell at you if you didn’t move up fast enough in line for the self checkout at the grocery store. He makes it work. Dragunov vs. Ciampa is on the horizon. That’s a treat of a match.
-My goodness Marina Shafir vs. Mercedes Mone is going to absolutely cook. I write it often — timing is everything with pro wrestling. The timing of this match is perfect. Shafir has as much momentum than ever. Mone is Mone. They have opposite, but complimentary styles that Mone will figure out how to magnify in the best way possible for the match itself.
-Darby Allin had a Darby Allin match with Josh Alexander. Allin got spiked with a piledriver off of the ring apron and to the floor. Oh, and through two chairs. The bump was insane and yes, it’s the type of bump that is synonymous with Allin matches, but how long can he keep it up? You can’t keep elevating the big bump like this and have them matter. Allin is over enough to tone it down.
Project over
-Huh. In the main event, Queen Aminata defeated Persephone to win the TBS Championship. A cool little match and an even better moment, but not great from a booking perspective. Persephone has been an act that Tony Khan has been building up. She’s gotten some nice heel momentum and now this loss pretty much squashes all of it. She was a project and now what? Time will tell.
What was your favorite part of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!
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