-Very strong action in the fatal four-way finals of the AEW International Championship Eliminator Tournament. Orange Cassidy, Mike Bailey, Ricochet, and Mark Davis each had their moments. The talent didn’t ignore obvious fun spots like Cassidy and Bailey, but they balanced those with serious action in a contender match. Good stuff.
Questionable finish
-The finish was questionable at best. Bailey and Ricochet both pinning Mark Davis was a little too cute for my liking and the commentary team selling it nonchalantly didn’t help fix that tone.
-All that said, Kenny Omega vs. Ricochet vs. Mike Bailey for the AEW International Championship on PPV at Dynasty is certainly going to deliver on multiple levels.
-Mercedes Mone vs. Billie Starkz was a good match, but both women left plenty in the tank for when they run it back later in Starkz’s career. AEW did a nice job trying to introduce the audience to Starkz in a video package, but I don’t know that it did much overall to generate more interest in the match. The bump Mone took off of Starkz’s shoulders was absolutely insane. Zero margin for error there and if that’s a Starkz signature move, I’d nudge her to pivot.
Athena incoming
-Did you hear Mone question “who trained Billie” during her interview with Renee Paquette? Hints at a match with Athena down the road — maybe sooner than later.
-Nothing wrong with the MJF promo this week, but it was kind of just … there. Didn’t seem like it led to anything more than a potential partnership with MVP and a recognition that he’s behind the eight ball when it comes to Jon Moxley and The Death Riders.
-A nice brawling street fight between Jon Moxley and Cope. Not a bad finish to their feud either. It was nearly impossible to build any real drama in this, but it was a good match nonetheless. Moxley taking a suplex on the nail bat and then having those nails stick into his back was insane. Gross, but insane.
-What’s with Dax Harwood shunning Cope and his tag team partner? That seemed forced. Can’t FTR just go on a run without relationship drama? Fans would tune in to see that.
You don’t need Ospreay for that
-Ok, this week’s Will Ospreay match is exactly the kind of Will Ospreay match AEW shouldn’t feature anymore. Ospreay is too much of a commodity and his matches are too must-see to do them randomly and against opponents like AR Fox. The match itself was good, of course, but you want anticipation for his matches and a special tone around them every single time he laces the boots up. You can’t cultivate that feeling if he’s having matches like this one.
-Megan Bayne vs. Kris Statlander was an excellent main event. It felt fresh and both women delivered a really good match that capitalized on both their strengths.
Leave it to Toni
-Bayne vs. Toni Storm is a feud I’m ready to see. Bayne is a talent that needs a big push to be effective and going against the world champion is as big as it gets. Storm will make her look really strong, even if she doesn’t win the championship.
What did you think of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!
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