-The All In PPV event on Sunday was a massive success for AEW. A huge night for the company in more ways than one. Going into this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, it was important for the company to frame that story for the TV audience that may not have watched the show. After the opening Dynamite pyro, the announce team tossed the broadcast to a wonderful video package set to Machinehead by Bush and it captured the essence of All In. An excellent piece of production that made All In look even bigger and more extravagant than it was. Three years ago, AEW doesn’t have this as part of the formula. Important growth for the company to make.
A signature promo segment for AEW
-Was Will Ospreay’s show opening championship victory promo the most important segment in AEW history? I’d argue yes. The promo needed to carry the weight of being a launching point for a new era of the company. At the same time, it needed to present Ospreay as the top star and build a roadmap for what his title reign would look like. This promo did all of that. Plus, Ospreay kept his personality front and center. So, it checked all the right boxes. Ospreay isn’t a traditionally good promo guy, but you can feel his passion on the microphone. Calling himself “the standard” was an important line that placed him at the top of the AEW star power food chain.
-Gabe Kidd and Ricochet were the first two heels to confront Ospreay. Look, both of them are heel jobbers in AEW right now, but that was the point. Their interruption of Ospreay simply existed to create an angle for a main event — one that would feature Ospreay, but not lean directly on him to shoulder the load of delivering a strong match in the ring.
-Yeah, I’d call that a two thumbs up debut for The New Level on Dynamite this week. Like the match at All In, Kofi and Austin Creed seemed motivated during their match alongside Swerve Strickland and against The Rascalz this week. They took bumps and went out of their way to be a major physical part of the match. They continued to strike the right balance of doing enough of The New Day style to maintain recognition amongst wrestling fans, while at the same time freshening up their move sets and other presentation points that glow in the fresh paint of AEW.
Cheaters
-Glad to see The Young Bucks and Adam Copeland acknowledge that Christian Cage cheated to win their tag title match at All In. It was painfully glossed over on the actual show, so The Bucks asking them about it on Dynamite this week worked well to give at least a little nod to the obvious. Copeland too. The fact that he and Cage aren’t on the same page regarding how they won speaks to their lack of chemistry as a team right now. Copeland and Cage granting a title match to both FTR and The Bucks at All Out in a ladder match positions them as fighting champions and sets up a match years in the making. It’s smart of Tony Khan to go with this right now. Why wait? These guys aren’t getting younger.
-Nobody really thought Darby Allin was going to lose the TNT Championship to Mark Davis this week on Dynamite after winning it at All In. The match had issues because of that reality. Allin and Davis worked hard to get past them. The brawl to start the match was a nice touch and very Allin-esque. Per usual, Allin took a beating, but overcame and won the match. That’s his formula and it works.
-Alright, so I can’t exactly put a finger on a specific reason for this opinion, but the Steve Borden Jr. and Darby Allin pairing comes across as forced right now. I get it. Allin is doing for Sting’s son what Sting did for him. Fine. Makes total sense. The thing is, Borden is a nobody right now. When Sting picked up Allin, he was already a guy that was getting over in AEW. Two totally different situations. Borden Jr. has done fine out there to this point, but just doesn’t have the credibility to merge into this storyline without it feeling jarring.
Birds vs. Dominion is on
-And the Brawling Birds tag title feud with Divine Dominion continues on. Fantastic. These two teams have chemistry together. Week by week they are able to cultivate a feeling of true hatred of one another and that will help make the rematch memorable. This is the first true feud we’ve seen over the women’s tag titles. So far, so good.
-The Mercedes Mone world championship celebration promo wasn’t as good as Will Ospreay’s, but it didn’t need to be. Mone has already established herself as the standard in AEW. The company is currently smack-dab in the middle of her era. Mone maintained her obnoxiousness and very much outlined a historic vision for her first AEW world title run.
-What else can you say about Thekla at his point? There isn’t a talent in AEW right now that is as comfortable within their character as she is. She’s in flow out there and that makes for not only an entertaining performance, but a believable one. Thekla vs. Mone is a huge match. Thekla said words that a heel would say about Willow Nightingale this week, but a face turn is calling if the Mone match is on deck sooner than later.
-So, is Britt Baker the manager of Persephone now? Is she building a faction? Lots of unanswered questions there.
-Why was Jon Moxley vs. AR Fox a thing? The Dynamite overruns are getting out of hand. It would be one thing if they existed because the show was just full of top end material. But, for Moxley vs. Fox? It took nearly nine minutes for Moxley to defeat Fox. That’s just silly. Fox is and always has been leagues away from Moxley and it hurts Moxley to go 50/50 with the guy for as long as he did.
-Draaaaaaaaaaaammmmma. Are we seeing cracks in The Don Callis Family? They certainly aren’t a well-oiled machine right now. I’m not a fan of the heel on heel drama. It doesn’t create a rooting interest anywhere for fans.
Ospreay vs. Moxley
-A strong main event that you knew Team Ospreay was going to win. It’s the first night of his world title run, so that booking makes sense. Team Ospreay vs. Team Demand and Dogs was fast-paced and exciting. It showcased the Ospreay-era style, but without Ospreay shouldering the load for all the big spots. AEW has to do all they can to protect him and sell his big matches. That’s a big company draw right now.
-It’s Ospreay vs. Moxley for the AEW Men’s World Championship at All Out at the end of the month. The little reveal with both Ospreay and Mox’s jaws hitting the floor when the match graphic went up in the building was a little too cute for me. That said, this match has been building up for ages. Nearly a year now. It’s not a sexy choice, but it’s a logical one for Ospreay’s first PPV title defense.
Were you a fan of the show opening promo from Will Ospreay this week on AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!
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