By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite Hits
Jim Ross returns: The return of JR kicked off the show in a great way. Ross targeted this date for his return before he started his radiation treatments, but there was no way of knowing whether he would actually feel up to it. Not only did he make it back, but he announced his cancer-free diagnosis prior to the show. Long live the best play-by-play voice in the history of the business.
Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly vs. Orange Cassidy, Trent, and Chuck Taylor: I felt numb to some of the in-ring action after seeing a ten-man tag match and another six-man tag match earlier in the show, but more on that later. The match was well worked and the spot with O’Reilly accidentally kicking Cole was an unexpected development that puts Cole in the middle of his former Undisputed Era mates and the Young Bucks. On a side note, I like the added touch of having all of these wrestlers tell Brandon Cutler to stop filming their backstage segments because it explains why the camera is present. But viewers still have to turn their brains off because there’s been no explanation for why this footage actually airs on the television show. Baby steps.
Thunder Rosa vs. Jade Cargill in a TNT Title tournament match: This was the longest singles match of Cargill’s career and it wisely occurred while she was working with Rosa. Cargill is still a work in progress and she had some rough moments. The finish with Mercedes Martinez interfering was a cool surprise that put this segment in the Hit section. Martinez is a really good veteran addition to the women’s division and I’m looking forward to seeing her work with Rosa. I assume Cargrill wins the TNT Championship next week. If the goal is to make the TBS Title feel like an equal to the AEW Women’s Championship, then Cargill should win given that she is unbeaten and Ruby Soho has already lost to Britt Baker.
Penta El Zero Miedo, Rey Fenix, Christian Cage, Jungle Boy, and Luchasaurus vs. Matt Hardy, Marq Quen, Isiah Kassidy, Dax Harwood, and Cash Wheeler in a ten-man tag match: A crowd-pleasing spot-fest opener. Cage taking the loss made sense once the backstage segment with him, Jurassic Express, and the Lucha Brothers played out.
Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz vs. Matt Lee, Jeff Parker, and Daniel Garcia: A solid match with a rare non-Dark win for Lee, Parker, and Garcia. The post match angle with Kingston taking offense to Chris Jericho coming out to make the save and then playing to the crowd was well done. Jericho and Kingston picked up where they left off and I am looking forward to their feud.
Wardlow vs. Colin Delaney: Another week of Wardlow destruction and Shawn Spears taking post match cheap shots at his fallen opponents. The story setting up Wardlow breaking away from MJF and the rest of The Pinnacle is playing out nicely.
AEW Dynamite Misses
Too many big tag team matches: As much as I enjoyed last week’s six-man tag main event, I felt numb when AEW announced a pair of six-man tag matches and a ten-man tag team match for this episode. There was nothing wrong with any of these matches individually and it’s not that I need all singles or standard tag team matches, but it still felt like overkill. I can’t be the only viewer who feels apathetic about these matches on paper because the outcomes feel trivial.
Hype for Hangman Page vs. Bryan Danielson for the AEW Championship: The video package was fine, but it just wasn’t enough. I don’t know if it was a case of neither man being available to appear in person, but it felt like we needed a final verbal segment. They had time for a Brian Pillman Jr. promo, but the champion and the challenger didn’t appear on television a week out? It was also disappointing that they didn’t announce the match judges. I assumed that the plan was to bring in a few big names from the past to give the first Dynamite on TBS some added star power. And perhaps that will still happen, but it feels like a mistake to not announce those names a week out. On the bright side, AEW did a good job of driving home the move to TBS starting next week.
TNT Championship: Cody Rhodes winning the championship on Rampage should have spotlighted more on this episode. Sure, they had Dan Lambert and Brandi Rhodes engage in the over the top and entertaining insult fest, but it continues to feel like they are keeping Cody away from the mic out of fear that he might be booed. In doing so, the show is being deprived of some must see television moments. As much as I think Cody should turn heel, watching him try to turn hostile crowds in his favor makes for really compelling television that we’re not getting enough of. Meanwhile, Sammy Guevara’s picture-in-picture card gimmick backfired in that his stats about his TNT Title reign made it feel unimpressive.
Mercedes Martinez’s debut was a dud. First “dud” as far as a “surprise debut” for AEW. Hope she proves herself, which as talented as she is shouldn’t be a problem. Issue is when you debut someone in a “HOLY CRAP ITS…” way, people need to really know who they are. Fell short, and if you have any doubt, watch that segment again. The silence is deafening.
As for Brandi’s segment, like Cody, she gets go away heat. SHe and Cody can really cause AEW to lose viewers if they keep shoving them down people’s throats.
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