-Interesting start to the show this week with various talent in matches cutting promos. I like the idea, but they need to clean up their promos a bit. Good concept, but outside of MJF, they needed better execution.
Make it make sense
-It was your traditional AEW trios match to start the show this week. I guess because Takeshita’s team beat Moxley’s team that makes Takeshita the top contender to Moxley’s AEW Continental Championship? Not sure I get that one from a storyline perspective. That said, it’s a helluva match on paper, just book to a spot where it makes more narrative sense.
-Just a fantastic video hype package for Will Ospreay this week, but one that screamed “remember him AND he won’t be back soon.” AEW should do this regularly with Ospreay. He is the most important asset AEW has and reminding fans about him is a good idea whether he comes back in two months or nine months.
-AEW should not have revealed that the stipulation of the hair vs. hair tag team match between the team of Orange Cassidy & Toni Storm and Wheeler Yuta & Marina Shafir was only for the hair of the person who takes the fall. This reveal makes it insanely easy to predict who’s getting their head shaved. Sorry, Wheeler Yuta. Cassidy and Storm got a fine little tune-up squash match this week.
From The Takedown on SI
-Call me old school, but Adam Page gave way too much to Mark Davis. Davis is nothing more than a low-card faction guy and Page acted like he was a major blockade to a victory and world title shot. The match was good if you take out that key element. Page is firmly in the title picture and that’s how it should be.
Is Andrade really getting a push?
-Kenny Omega vs. Andrade El Idolo was a good match, but it clocked in at below the expectations that I had. The finish had a little to do with that, but it seemed like their chemistry was a tad off too. Andrade got another huge win this week. To what end? We’ll find out. Ordinarily, I’d say if you beat two of the company’s top stars in consecutive weeks, you’re in for a huge push at the top of the card. With MJF as champion, it’s hard to see a scenario where Andrade beats Page and heads to Revolution for a championship match. Most heel vs. heel matches don’t make a lot of sense. That one REALLY doesn’t make a lot of sense.
-Well, we know Swerve Strickland is staying near the title picture because he said as much. Prior to that, it appears he and Kenny Omega are going to cross paths for a match. Their negative interaction toward the other wasn’t an accident. I’m not a fan of this route. Yes, it keeps them around the world title picture and that’s good. At the same time, it feels like the match is being booked just so it can be a good match. No storyline reason really makes sense yet. That being said, they still have time.
Finally …
-Hey! The Eliminator Match stipulation paid off! It’s a miracle! After years of not working out for anyone, it worked out twice in one night. First with Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford. They are suitable contenders for the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championships at this point, so the match made sense to make. No reason to think they will dethrone Babes of Wrath as champions.
-Ok, Ricochet vs. Jack Perry for the AEW National Championship was fine, but you can’t with a straight face tell me it was necessary or that you would have missed it if it wasn’t on the show. This exact match could have been done without the silly National Championship involved. That championship makes zero sense inside the AEW ecosystem.
-Is Darby Allin, ok? You’d think people in the company might care a little more after seeing the video of him in a body bag thanks to Gabe Kidd.
Brody King won, but it’s all about Adam Page
-Brody King also won an Eliminator Match this week and he’ll now face MJF for the AEW World Championship. It was a nothing match, but that was the point. Adam Page’s involvement cost MJF the match and that will be part of their story when it gets to another match between them at Revolution. Yes, I’m picking Page to beat Andrade and MJF to beat King at AEW Grand Slam Australia. Because MJF is who he is, this got a fine babyface reaction. It was close to making you feel a little sympathetic for MJF, though. AEW is going to want to watch that and not cross those wires up.
What did you think of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!
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