-Wow. I wasn’t expecting The Young Bucks to have such a cohesive and thought out promo for their AEW Dynamite return, but they proved me wrong. Both Matt and Nick Jackson were compelling inside this promo and tied a lot of the main event picture together. They were reasonable in their explanation for costing Strickland the world championship at Dynasty — Adam Page is still a friend as far as we know. Plus, the overtures made to Jon Moxley and The Death Riders was a moment for The Bucks to acknowledge the existence of a major threat, but then tuck their tail between their legs and run away in a heelish way.
Really Kenny?
-Now, the idea to have Kenny Omega confront his former friends was a smart one and certainly popped the audience when he made his entrance. Then Omega spoke, though, and that was painfully bad. Dookie? Silly stories? A minor league look with faded clothes? After nearly six years of the company existing, someone in AEW still needs to pull Omega aside and tell him he’s on television in front of a million people.
-Thoughts go out to Pac. The injury looked rough and hopefully he is ok. That said, the short match and victory for Strickland played better than a full match would have. This ended up being a strong and definitive win for him and getting him that was important coming out of the loss at Dynasty.
That doesn’t work for me Bruv
-Will Ospreay shouldn’t have been anywhere near that backstage promo with his babyface team of misfits like Mark Briscoe, Kevin Knight, and Mike Bailey. It’s just way too silly of a segment for someone like Ospreay to be involved. You won’t see Cody Rhodes involved in R-Truth silliness in the lead up to WrestleMania and there’s a reason for that. Ospreay is that kind of guy for AEW and asking him to do things like a goofy promo lowers him down to the levels of those around him.
-The four on four match was fine and action packed. The money stipulation worked fine to give the match added stakes, which I love. You can’t do this every week, but every now and again it can work.
Stand up Hurt Syndicate
-The Hurt Syndicate are the most entertaining part of Dynamite right now. Charisma flows off of the group and they are one of only a handful of acts in AEW that come across as true stars. MJF hovering around them is a fresh touch and based on what happened this week with the group rejecting him as a member, there isn’t a clear path as to where this all lands. That’s fun.
-A good Owen Hart Cup Tournament match between Kris Statlander and Thunder Rosa. Straight forward, but a fun watch.
-Toni Storm was a menace on commentary this week. Does she plan out all her lines or is it off the cuff? I’d love to know.
-So, The Don Callis Family is adding members? Who fits? The first thing I’d do is add a woman to the group. Megan Bayne would have been a good choice, but she’s got momentum on her own now. How about Thunder Rosa? She’s got nothing else really going on at the moment. Who’s your pick? Let us know in the comments!
-It felt like Chris Jericho was a Dad yelling at his two teenage children during The Learning Tree segment this week. The thing is, that’s exactly what they were going for. Jericho is a disappointed Dad now. Clearly we haven’t seen the last of Jericho in AEW, but I don’t think that was the last of The Learning Tree either. There just aren’t pieces left over if that faction breaks up. Jericho vs. Bill or Keith is a low card match at best. Neither young guy has much on their own.
Nobody cares
-The Opps vs. Death Riders was the main event? Samoa Joe and Hook against Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta? Yeah, it didn’t land great. All of this existed to setup an AEW World Trios Championship match between both sides, but the problem is nobody really cares about those titles. Sorry! But, the truth is the truth.
What did you think of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!
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