-I thought two things after watching the opening promo and brawling segment between Kenny Omega and Swerve Strickland this week. First was, that was a helluva segment and helluva brawl. Thumbs up. Second was, why are Omega and Strickland fighting one another? It should be a rarity when babyfaces so passionately don’t get along. It seems like it constantly happens in AEW. Strickland vs. Omega will be a fantastic match, but once again, AEW is asking it’s audience to pick between two of it’s most beloved babyfaces.
Again???
-I swear there’s been a trios match between The Death Riders and Don Callis Family for eleven straight weeks on Dynamite. Ok, kidding, but they’ve wrestled a lot. Too much. I’m excited to see Konosuke Takeshita vs. Jon Moxley at Grand Slam, but the build has been lackluster. Moxley is essentially working as a babyface now. Still standing alongside the heel Death Riders is confusing and needlessly silly.
-Damn. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Kyle Fletcher was fantastic. It was the hard-hitting match you’d want to see out of those two. Unique with a sense of urgency. Fletcher winning the TNT Championship back was a bit curious. Yes, he’s going to face Mark Briscoe in a Ladder Match at Grand Slam Australia now, but what happens to Ciampa? Tony Khan has had many shiny new toys over the years. It’ll be interesting to see if that’s what Ciampa is at this point or if there is a plan for him here.
From The Takedown on SI
-Glad to see the hair vs. hair tag match get some final hype this week. Marina Shafir destroying and cutting the hair of Mina Shirakawa got some good heat and did a nice job of making the issue between her and Toni Storm more personal.
-If you like Young Bucks style tag team matches, you certainly enjoyed the one this week that also included The Rascalz and Private Party. These matches have run their course for me. That said, Private Party and The Rascalz are without question the perfect opponents for The Bucks. FTR vs. Young Bucks number whatever is on deck. As I said earlier in the week. Do people want this? Another question. What can both teams do to make the feud interesting again?
A new champion
-Thekla is the new AEW Women’s World Champion. That’s a nice bit of booking by Tony Khan. Over the years, there have been countless title matches on television that were positioned to matter a lot, but just didn’t because the lack of drama regarding the finish. Thekla winning the title in this match will begin to force a change in how these television level feuds are perceived.
-The match itself was vicious thanks to both women whipping the hell out of the other with the leather strap. Thekla looks like she’s fighting during her matches and that adds a level of intensity to everything. The timing was right for her here. It’s the booker’s job to sense that and feed it. Tony Khan did.
What did you think of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!
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