-AEW aired a very strong video package on the Jon Moxley and Adam Page feud to open the show this week. Yes, a lot of people already know the story between the two, but if you’re going to present a world title main event, why not give it added hype? This worked very well to that end.
Jobber Bucks
-The Outrunners vs. The Young Bucks was a helluva tag team match. Fun action and some near falls that very much hooked the audience. Not a surprise to see The Young Bucks win, as it looks as though they’ll be in the mix to challenge The Hurt Syndicate for the tag titles at Forbidden Door. The jobber Bucks act continues to be hilarious.
-Ok, the Outrunners match was good, but why on earth is Kazuchika Okada selling for those guys? Okada? I know they wanted to do a big Swerve Strickland run-in, but c’mon. It looked silly seeing Okada get beat up by those guys.
-As for Swerve Strickland, that guy is a star. I was inside the Aragon Ballroom for the show this week and his pop rivaled that of Adam Page. Good company.
It’s really over
-Well, I guess MJF really is out of Hurt Syndicate? That was tremendously anti-climactic.
-In kicking MJF out of the group, Shelton Benjamin cut the best promo of his entire career. Benjamin was calm, cool, collected, but totally vicious with what he said to MJF. He delivered the lines smooth and looked like a total bad ass. Tremendous stuff.
-Ummmmm, I think that Christian Cage in-ring interview may still be going on? Kidding, but goodness that was bad. First of all, Cage seemed rattled. The audience was pretty quiet to start and Cage reacted to all sorts of audience jeers as he spoke. Worse than that, it seemed as if he was going for sympathy with the promo — like a babyface — but the crowd booed him through the entire thing. Cage was unlikable and not sympathetic at all, even as he ran down heels at the same time. This angle was a mess from the jump and still is now.
Mission accomplished
-Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley for the world championship was enjoyable. The referee conveniently ignored the “nobody is allowed ringside” stipulation, but the match did what it needed to in solidifying Page as the world champion and unseating Moxley. Moxley moves on to Darby Allin now and Page to MJF.
-Real quick on Jon Moxley, fans will eventually appreciate this heel run more than they do right now. That run is responsible for helping to right and even out the AEW ship and Moxley figured out how to work as a heel. He worked hard in the match this week, sold for Page, and got the heat he desired.
-The show really flattened out after the world title match. It was smart to put it on in the middle of the show, so nobody would clock watch, but that move rendered everything that came after a little meaningless.
-The women’s tag team match was fine with strong action. Toni Storm is one of the most over acts in the company and the crowd reacted to her as such for the entire match.
MJF the magician
-What was with the ending to the show this week? How did MJF know that Mark Briscoe was going to call him out after the win and then how did he get to the ring for the attack so fast? These kind of angles are what set AEW — and other wrestling companies that do them — back. There was no credibility here. It looked and came across as minor league. That said, MJF vs. Mark Briscoe is a strong TV main event for next week.
What did you think of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!
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