-I really liked the presentation of The Hurt Syndicate this week. They looked tremendous and MVP’s speaking ability and tone jived right with what they were going for as faction characters. I can’t overstate how important the MVP promo was. He defined everything that the group would be moving forward, but while also looking back to what they’ve all accomplished together already. Just great stuff.
Less is more
-Swerve Strickland’s simple challenge was all he needed to give. He showed his anger and desperation with his body language and that was enough. Strickland vs. Lashley should be excellent on PPV.
-The no-contest in the tag finish with Darby Allin & Orange Cassidy beating Pac & Claudio Castagnoli by DQ was a bit lame. It made sense for Moxley to interfere, but at some point the babyfaces have to earn credibility. Cassidy pinning Pac or Claudio would have given him a boost going into the Full Gear match with Mox that everyone already knows he’s losing.
-As much as the Chris Jericho Learning Tree gimmick is a middle of the card act, if Tony Khan ever wants them to be more, they probably should have won the Fight Without Honor match this week against The Conglomeration. Who takes The Learning Tree seriously after this? Fun match, though.
-Something is up with Adam Cole. He doesn’t look like himself out there and hasn’t since he’s returned to AEW. The match with Malaki Black was fine, but why did Black let him win?
Top feud in AEW
-The Jay White vs. Adam Page feud is the best thing going in AEW right now. Mox’s storyline as a close second. It works so well because it’s simple and features two guys in defined roles. The audience knows who to cheer for and everything about the story is built on those realities. They had a great brawl this week and will have a hot match on PPV. Well done.
-Watching Christian Cage work this Patriarch gimmick is a thing of beauty. He gets the heat he’s looking for each time out and the Nick Wayne/Kip Sabian story will be fun to see play out on a weekly basis. The Wayne jealousy will have the audience seething in due time. Hook is the benefactor of Cage’s work and will be over big time when it comes time for them to wrestle.
She’s back
-Wow, Jaime Hayter vs. Penelope Ford greatly exceeded expectations. Ford held her own, but Hayter looks to finally be “back.” If for some reason she had doubts about her in-ring work after her injury, hopefully this match alleviated them. She’s ready for a major feud and the division needs it from her badly. How about Mercedes Mone vs. Hayter?
-Speaking of Mone, did Kamille try to hit Kris Statlander with a car and miss? Or was it an accident? Either way, Kamille and Mone both played that angle horribly because you didn’t know which one it was. Mone running down Kamille isn’t working because instead of heating Kamille up, it’s tearing her down and she’s losing the specialness she brings to the table. They got to rethink this storyline — same with Kris Statlander.
Big pop?
-Great to see Powerhouse Hobbs back and he did his part to make the main event memorable. All action and it was a fun watch. Seeing Will Ospreay return to run Kyle Fletcher off was a nice touch and he got the exact reaction they were looking for. The pops like this one and others within key storyline beats would be more memorable if the audience was bigger.
What did you think of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!
Subscribe to the Brass Ring Media YouTube channel HERE.
Become a Brass Ring Media member HERE.