-I like the idea of a Chris Jericho and Tommaso Ciampa feud, but the show opening promo between both men this week left plenty to be desired. Jericho called Tommaso, “Tommy,” he joked around a little, and then they brawled a little? The audience took the bait on the “Tommy” thing, but not as passionately as they have other Jericho bits over the years. These two will have a match, but the program overall is still in need of some sizzle.
Shane Taylor gets some shine
-Huh, an interesting turn of events this week with Shane Taylor Promotions. Jon Moxley defeated Taylor to retain his AEW Continental Championship, but gave Taylor plenty of offense. More than that, Shane Taylor Promotions decimated The Death Riders after the match. Even if nothing else happens with this storyline from this point forward, it’s the most focus Taylor has ever had in AEW. Is it a true push? I doubt it. More than likely, Tony Khan is heating up STP for a television match against The Death Riders and Will Ospreay. Collision this week?
-The Death Riders are babyfaces. Moxley and his crew may turn on Ospreay once he wins the world title later this summer, but for now, clear babyfaces. You don’t have STP take them out the way they did if you’re trying to walk any kind of line with that definition.
-Kevin Knight got some heat during his promo tonight, but didn’t say anything new. He called out MJF, but Darby Allin answered instead. Allin got some revenge on Knight for his Double or Nothing attack with a stiff shot to the back with a skateboard. That was it, though, because The Don Callis Family ran out to jump him. It’s Knight vs. Darby and that makes perfect sense. What continues to not make sense is Knight calling out MJF. I get it from the perspective of it being important that the top guys are pointing at the world title. As a newly turned heel, Knight challenging MJF is just too cool and likable. It’s counterproductive.
Get in line, PAC
-Remember what I said about The Death Riders? PAC is an outlier. He totally wrestled his match against Mark Briscoe as a heel. He’s got to fall in line with the rest of the group. The summer story with Will Ospreay is attached to Moxley and The Death Riders, so they all need to be defined the same way and on the same page.
-A gem of a promo from MJF after Mark Briscoe called him out. To the surprise of nobody, he denied Briscoe’s request for a world title match, but Briscoe was ready. Team Briscoe vs. Team MJF in a steel cage at Forbidden Door. If Briscoe wins, he gets a title shot against MJF. In a vacuum, it’s odd for a world title contender to be decided in a multi-person match, but Tony Khan did the dirty work to make this make sense. Briscoe has won enough matches and called out MJF enough times, where he comes across as a viable contender that MJF is dodging.
-MJF paying off The Don Callis Family to be his partners for that Forbidden Door match is right in line with multiple stories. MJF and Kevin Knight, MJF and Andrade, and Andrade and The Don Callis Family all get added juice because of this development.
-Andrade El Idolo vs. Orange Cassidy was a fine little match, but the seeds of Andrade leaving The Don Callis Family continue to be planted. “How do you know” is a simple catchphrase, but Andrade pulls it off well.
Stay in your lane
-Hell yeah. A straight up babyface Will Ospreay again this week. It’s simple. Ospreay articulates a clear mission and then goes after it. That’s enough. Fans will eat this up as long as he stays in this lane.
-Maya World vs. Skye Blue in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup tournament was a bit of a sloppy match — especially the finish. That said, Maya World just lost her brother and this was a nice, feel good moment. Maya going over and advancing was the right call if only because of that. She’s certainly going to job out in the next round against Athena.
Heel Swerve?
-Swerve Strickland advanced to the Men’s Owen Hart Cup tournament finals by beating Brody King in the main event. A good and physical match, but the finish is what should be remembered. Strickland heelishly won the match after Prince Nana interfered on his behalf. If properly followed up on in the build to the final against Will Ospreay, Strickland should be able to lock in as universal heel and get booed by the audience. That’ll make for a great environment for the final match at Forbidden Door — especially with Ospreay so obviously on a babyface mission to the world title.
What grade do you give this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!
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