By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite Hits
Minoru Suzuki vs. Samoa Joe for the ROH TV Title: Putting the post match angle aside for now, this was a really fun dream match for fans who follow both wrestlers. The chop fest approach brought back some memories of Joe’s famous match with Kenta Kobashi from 2006. It seemed like there was a good chance that Suzuki would drop the title before heading back to Japan, but I also couldn’t rule out the possibility that he would take it with him since ROH is essentially in limbo at the moment. Whatever Tony Khan has planned for ROH, it can’t happen quickly enough, as there are simply too many title belts on AEW television right now.
Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus vs. Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly for the AEW Tag Titles: Speaking of too many title belts, with FTR holding the ROH and AAA Tag Titles, I wonder if the eventual plan is to have them face Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus with the winners becoming Triple Crown champions? Either way, this was a strong match with a fairly surprising outcome that saw the champions retain their titles. The rushed post match angle suggests that Fish and O’Reilly will be moving on to feud with FTR.
MJF vs. Capt. Shawn Dean: Another strong Wardlow angle with another live crowd going crazy for him. Dean’s fluky wins are happening because of Wardlow while also being overshadowed by him, but I assume the plan is for Wardlow and Dean to face MJF and Shawn Spears at some point. I like the logic of MJF allowing Wardlow to wrestle only because he plans to line up with opponents he believes can destroy his former muscle.
CM Punk vs. Penta Oscuro: The injury spot fooled me. Assuming it was all just selling, Punk did a nice job of turning a slip into something that garnered concern from fans and took the focus off of what went wrong and any chance of the lame “you f—ed up” chant breaking out. Despite a couple of rough moments early, this turned out to be a solid match and another quality win for Punk as he moves closer to challenging the winner of Friday’s AEW Championship match.
Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland vs. Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs: An entertaining tag match with a nice upset win for Hobbs. Sure, they could have given the pin to Starks in his hometown, but his team still won and it was more important to give Hobbs his win back after he put over Lee on Rampage.
AEW Dynamite Misses
Satnam Singh debut: AEW just couldn’t let the main event title change breathe. The reaction to Singh would not have been nearly as negative had he not debuted in a show-closing angle complete with a needless lights out introduction. The live crowd clearly had no clue who Singh was. Why would they? AEW issued a press release about the former NBA player’s signing last year and he hasn’t been mentioned since. Is there some unwritten rule that companies that want to cater to the Indian market must cast Indian wrestlers as monster heels? Hey, maybe Tony Khan’s biweekly super duper big announcement is that he acquired Ring Ka King? Okay, probably not. As much as this segment made me roll me eyes and have bad Great Khali flashbacks, if AEW has to do this to please the new television network executives heading into negotiations for a new deal, then so be it. But did it really need to close the show?
Marina Shafir vs. Skye Blue: Shafir’s stone-faced approach to her Dynamite debut match did her no favors with a crowd that seemed either unfamiliar with her or simply unsure of what to make of her. She’s next in line for a TBS Title match with Jade Cargill, so I assumed she was going to be pushed as a babyface at least temporarily, but she came out of the heel tunnel and worked as the heel against the likable Blue.
Chris Jericho, Daniel Garcia, and Jake Hager vs. Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz: A soft Miss. I may be in the minority on this one, but this feud just isn’t doing much for me. I enjoyed the Jericho and Kingston singles match, but I’m not as high on it evolving into a faction war. And as much I want to like the Jericho Appreciation Society’s sports entertainment gimmick, it’s so tongue-in-cheek that it has me longing for the no redeeming qualities heel role that Jericho played so well in the past. While only time will tell whether he can elevate his new faction mates, my early concern is that he’s actually being pulled down a notch. It’s early in the faction’s run and Jericho has had the Midas Touch over the years, so hopefully this will win me over eventually. If nothing else, working more tag team matches should make life a little easier for Jericho at this stage in his career.
This show is such a mess right now even reading Jason’s well documented real time review makes me a little seasick
I think Jason said it last night. Nothing is allowed to sick in. Granted at times WWE comes across like a day time soap opera in regarding to dragging things out. But Tony K should be pulled over for speeding
They really could benefit from having a legit second major show or extending Rampage to 2 hours. I think TK needs to get ROH up and running with it’s own show soon too. They could split some of the roster off that way and help a lot of the talent that gets left for dead. I’m hopeful that is what Tony’s newest major announcement is. They don’t need more people. They need more TV time for people. Oh and yes, please, work on the overall pacing.
AEW doesn’t need more TV time, it needs a lot fewer people.
They need more squash matches and better interview/video segments.
They need to put a fucking end to interference and interruptions for a good long time and to kill the PiP segments during matches.
They need to have Dynamite and Rampage be live shows every week that it’s possible, with a single YouTube show for newer/greener talent.
They need consistently enforced rules and a 99% reduction in gimmick matches.
More than anything, they need a booker with a clue and that’s not going to happen.
Thunder Rosa looks weak and pathetic, this is the countless time that Vicki Guerrero and Nyla Rose have made a mockery out of her and then ended up getting the better of her in a fight. Thunder Rosa’s dialog isn’t even that good, there are so many things she could say about Nyla and Vicki but doesn’t, leaving the audience dissatisfied over what she could have and should have said. The obvious question of course which isn’t politically correct is how someone who was born male (Rose) is eligible to compete in the Women’s division and challenge for the Women’s Championship.
Less interruptions, I hope you mean that for WWE too as they currently lead the pack on interruptions at 64!
I like that AEW has such a deep roster and so many people lined up as part of the rankings system, it means that if/when an injury occurs they have a stock of capable wrestlers lined up.
It’s not a bad thing to give people jobs; it’s not like WWE where the contracts are exclusive and forbid talent from showing up in other promotions.
And I’d damn sure prefer PiP during a match than to have the WWE patented 2min match with screwy finish followed by a shoe-horned tag match just to buffer an ad break.
Two matches on Dynamite featured an interference, one for storyline purposes (Wardlow) and one by a manager (Taz).
If you want strict rule enforcement try MMA cos we all know WWE chucks the rulebook out the window when they feel like it.
Squash matches work with certain types of wrestler (see WWE Land of the Giants schtick), just because WWE is happy to have multiple 2 minute matches over a 3 hour show doesn’t mean it’s necessary for other promotions. Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure NJPW doesn’t use a multitude of squash matches to get its wrestlers over.
Again, AEW and any promotion that’s NOT WWE are fine in their niches. I don’t mind the gimmick matches because even if we went one a week that still averages out less than WWE who has entire PPVs based around several iterations of the same gimmick match.
I watch AEW because it’s not WWE, because I’m tired of watching the ‘next’ Rock/John Cena/Roman Reigns get rammed down my throat week in and week out. Because I don’t like heavy toilet humour, burial of talent that’s fallen out of favour with the own (Ucey hot? Cut out that shit) and whatever the happy-fuck the WWE 24hr Title is meant to be for ‘cos it ain’t humour. And to top it off has WWE forgotten what the brand-split is again?
And just an aside, Nyla being AMAB should have no fucking bearing on her competing in a Women’s division that has the winner decided in advance; this isn’t a sport that her being AMAB gives her any kind of advantage becuase it’s FAKE!
>The reaction to Singh would not have been nearly as negative had he not debuted in a show-closing angle complete with a needless lights out introduction.>
Totally disagree. I love AEW, but no matter when he showed up or how he showed up, no one knows him. TERRIBLE move to introduce someone that no one knows. Present him as someone (enter heels name here) found and hired to beat good guys up.
> Is there some unwritten rule that companies that want to cater to the Indian market must cast Indian wrestlers as monster heels? <
No. Nothing to do with being "Indian", it has to do with guys who are freakin' 90 feet tall.