-It was really good to see AEW sell lots of tickets to this Dynamite Grand Slam event ahead of the show going live. Arthur Ashe Stadium is such a unique venue and the company was able to showcase it more effectively because they didn’t have to dodge corners and use production techniques to hide empty seats.
Good, but also … what?
-Ok, so the beginning of the Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness was very silly on multiple levels. First, one of the selling points of doing the match in the first place is the fact that it marks Nigel’s return to the ring in a singles match. If that’s the case, he needs a bigger entrance than just the show going on the air as he’s walking to the ring. You want to create a big presentation around McGuinness, so it matches what the audience is supposed to buy. Second, McGuinness demanding Danielson be counted out to start openly ran counter to the stipulation that AEW put on the match to begin with. If Danielson wasn’t cleared, he wouldn’t wrestle. Pretty simple. Nigel doing this was to setup a surprise that wasn’t because everyone knew Danielson would come out. Just another bizarre and unnecessary twist.
-All of that stuff aside, Danielson vs. Nigel was a good match. I liked the chain wrestling and submission based stuff quite a bit. The callbacks to their previous bouts were fun Easter eggs for fans to grab as well. With Nigel tapping out and saying “thank you” as he did, it doesn’t appear we’ll be seeing much more of him. Time will tell, but if that’s the case you have to question Tony Khan’s strategy of going with this and hurting other top storylines in the process.
-Christian Cage holding a Money in the Bank style contract for a championship match continues to be flat — especially when Kip Sabian of all people is ruining his opportunity at a cash-in. With Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, and other top guys around the AEW World Championship, Cage likely will lose whenever he does play his ace in the hole.
Best match ever
-Hook vs. Roderick Strong was Hook’s best match yet. He showed off some selling chops during the match and had chemistry with Strong. Hook retired the FTW Championship and now is the most beloved babyface in the company, right? I mean, anyone who helps get rid of titles is a top guy in my eyes. GO HOOK! Handing the FTW Championship to Taz and hugging him was a nice touch. Well done across the board.
-The Young Bucks vs. Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher was excellent. State of the art stuff from both teams including fancy moves and counters throughout. A classic Young Bucks style match that Ospreay and Fletcher were both able to enhance.
-We’ve now seen this Don Callis screwdriver finish spot in multiple matches, only for the storyline to go nowhere. They’ve got to step up and make this finish matter somehow. Does it fuel Ospreay and Callis disdain? Maybe Fletcher gets angry at one or both of them? Something. We have to see progression.
MVP MVP MVP!
-Good to see MVP join AEW. That’s a good get for Tony Khan and starting out feuding with Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana is perfect for all parties. Swerve needs something of importance to do while not going after the AEW World Championship. MVP and whoever he brings in (Bobby Lashley?) will need to work with a top guy. Well done.
-Yuka Sakazaki vs. Mariah May was what it was. The real news was Mina Shirakawa showing up again. She played to the story very effectively. Her debut caused Willow Nightingale to get clocked by May, which Mina sold. She didn’t mean to do it and Mina acted that to a “T” as May celebrated with her. Confusion was abound! Shirakawa vs. May is a logical feud for May to enter as champion. We’ll see how long it takes for them to truly get there.
-Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin was ferociously violent. The bump Allin took on the hard floor without the mat stands out as unnecessary, but the violence did up up the drama of the match. Moxley looked like a killer in there and Darby bumping and selling the way he does made Mox’s offense and new, dark character glow.
-With Moxley getting the win and Darby’s title shot, it’s clear Tony Khan wanted to pivot the Wrestle Dream picture to get more out of Danielson losing the world championship. Moxley beating Danielson gives him a renewed boost that Darby just wouldn’t get in the same way. Yes, Darby looks bad taking this loss, when he didn’t have to take the match, but that reality will fade as the build to Danielson vs. Moxley moves forward.
Mox vs. Danielson
-Thank goodness Danielson ran out and cut that promo on Moxley. Neither he or the announce team gave enough to the suffocation angle during the Danielson match, but their quick interaction at the end of the show got things where they needed to go. Danielson was fired up and the two men should have some strong mic battles as the company rolls on to Wrestle Dream.
What did you think of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!
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