-Jim Ross didn’t have a great night on commentary from an execution perspective. At times it seemed like he was behind on storylines and not in-step with the narrative that team was supposed to spin. In the main event, specifically. Ross talked about Swerve Strickland and Adam Page like they were heels. That said, it was wonderful to see him back on television. It’ll take a bit to get back in the swing of things, but his voice still matters for the product.
Ouch
-Jon Moxley vs. Shelton Benjamin was a blast. Both these guys are going to be sore this weekend because of it, but it was a hard-hitting thumper. It looks to me like Moxley is still on the road to a feud with The Death Riders. Moxley is showing an awful lot of respect to opponents lately. Not an accident. There’s something about that recent turn of events that the rest of his brethren won’t like.
-Well, The Young Bucks are back. Yay? Look, The Bucks teaming with Jack Perry was a fun surprise, but it seems to me that fan reaction to their kinds of matches seem to be waning amongst AEW fans. Listen to that audience again. They just were quiet through most of the action. When they did react, it was with a smile that screamed “I’m entertained” rather than “I care.”
From The Takedown on SI
-The Don Callis Family has so many members. Just this week they added the returning Andrade El Idolo and debuting Jake Doyle. I don’t have a problem with the volume of people in that faction, but there has to be a stronger context around them. If this faction is going to continue to grow, it should be positioned as a signature threat across the roster. Right now, they feel like a batch of mid-carders that are elevated a little because of their association with Callis. I’d like to see them matter more in terms of being a real menace to babyfaces on the show.
Willow = Money
-Willow Nightingale was great this week. She appeared confident and spoke in a genuine way about not only winning the TBS Championship, but what her championship run is going to be. That’s the money. Not in that it happened, but in what happens next. Nightingale walked that line perfectly and set a vision for what her title run could look like.
-Props to Mercedes Mone. Mone continues to spiral and she seems invested in the spiral. She’s selling the moments like being covered in cake in a meaningful way that is highlighting her downfall. It’s unclear where this ends with her, but the better she sells it now, the better the climb out of the hole is going to get over for her.
-Hey! A Sammy Guevara sighting! Guevara against Bandido was good, but existed only to serve the Bandido vs. MJF match.
Old school
-Speaking of, the MJF and Bandido angle was wonderful. This was simple pro wrestling and nine times out of ten, simple in pro wrestling is the way to go. MJF was the condescending heel jerk and Bandido the likable babyface. Bandido showed good fire and confidence opposite MJF and got in a nice bit of offense too. This certainly means he’s losing his title match next week, but both these guys made their match more interesting because of this segment.
-More Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir please! This program is turning into a key non-title story in the AEW women’s division. AEW needs these types of stories to develop and so far this has been excellent. Tony Khan can get a huge TV or PPV match out of this at some point — especially with the non-finish this week.
A tad too much
-Ok, it was fun watching the main event between The Opps and the team of Adam Page and Swerve Strickland. Lights Out was fine. As fun as it was, Page and Strickland seemed a little mean by the end of it. Maybe it’s because Hook looked so small and feeble when they beat him up? Maybe it’s because the announce team didn’t tell the storyline well enough? Either way, I felt like Ross did. Page and Strickland laid it on a little too thick.
What did you think of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!
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