By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite Hits
MJF vs. Ricky Starks for the AEW World Championship: AEW did a much better job of pushing the main event throughout the course of the show. Excalibur hyped the match right out of the gate, both wrestlers had interview time, and we saw backstage shots of both men to help build anticipation. There are weeks when it’s easy to forget what the Dynamite main event is because there’s so much going on and there are not enough reminders, so hopefully the approach they took last night will become the norm for main events and wasn’t just because it was an AEW World Championship match. This wasn’t the strongest Dynamite main event, but it was a good match and the hot crowd gave it a nice boost. The finish was simple and clever at the same time in that MJF using a low blow put heat on him while also giving Starks an out for losing after that star making promo performance from the previous week. Bryan Danielson running off MJF afterward seems to suggest that he’s next in line for a title shot, but the finish was done in a way where Starks will not feel out of place if he gets another title shot at some point.
Chris Jericho vs. Action Andretti: You had to know something was up when Jericho was so cocky and dismissive about his match during his backstage promo. Even so, I figured that the wrestler who faced him was going to get some hope spots before Jericho put him away in the end. It was fun to see the crowd go from having fun while chanting for the “jobber” to slowly start believing that Andretti might actually have a chance to win. Even then, it seemed like everyone was waiting for the other shoe to drop in the form of Jericho hitting the Judas Effect to win the match. I know I was, so it was a really fun moment with Andretti actually pulled off the big upset. Jericho’s facial expressions were excellent, and he really put Andretti on the map. The follow-up is the key for Andretti, but this was great in the moment and I look forward to seeing where things go next.
“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry vs. Brian Cage: A solid win for Perry. I wish Cage didn’t lose so frequently because beating him these days only means so much. The post match angle with Hook saving Perry from an attack by Big Bill and Lee Moriarty was well done and sets up an obvious tag team match. It also gave me hope that Hook is about to do more than win brief matches on Rampage.
Ruby Soho vs. Tay Melo: A good match with Soho getting a measure of revenge for having her nose broken by Melo. The post match angle with Anna Jay attacking Soho extends Soho’s feud with the two Jericho Appreciation Society heels.
“House of Black” Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews vs. “The Factory” QT Marshall, Aaron Solo, and Cole Karter: A dominant win for the House of Black in their return to the ring. I assume they are being set up to serve as the challengers for whichever team wins the best of seven series for the AEW Trios Titles.
AEW Dynamite Misses
“Death Triangle” Pac, Penta El Zero Miedo, and Rey Fenix vs. “The Elite” Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson in the fourth match of a Best of Seven series for the AEW Trios Titles: Of course this would be a Hit if this were only based on match quality. While I like the simple story of Nick suffering an ankle injury early, it also made me immediately assume that he would be taking a hammer shot to the ankle during the match finish. I am so over these hammer finishes. I’m tired of seeing referee Rick Knox look like an idiot by always missing these hammer spots. I roll my eyes at Fenix acting bothered by his team using the hammer when he used a hammer to help his team win the first match of the series. I’m annoyed that no one seems to have any lingering effects from being struck by the ring bell hammer (yes, I was annoyed by the same thing when Triple H used the sledgehammer over the years, so spare me the whataboutism). These are two great teams having great matches that conclude with mostly poor and frustrating finishes.
My miss would be 150 pound Hook having Big Bill run for cover.
>There are weeks when it’s easy to forget what the Dynamite main event is because there’s so much going on and there are not enough remindersOf course this would be a Hit if this were only based on match quality. <
Weird because it just took me about a minute to find another match from another company that was basically "match quality is why this is a hit"….
>There are weeks when it’s easy to forget what the Dynamite main event is because there’s so much going on and there are not enough remindersOf course this would be a Hit if this were only based on match quality. <
Weird because it just took me about a minute to find another match from another company that was basically "match quality is why this is a hit"….
And arrogant heel Jericho acting as if a guy that is young and inexperienced isn't a threat made you think something was up? Ok…
You’ve read this site for years and complained about it for years both here and via your angry emails to me and other staffers. You know how it works and you just want to complain, but I’ll humor you with an explanation. When I write that a match would be a Hit based only a match quality, it’s an acknowledgement that the match quality was Hit worthy and wasn’t the issue. There was something else about it the match put it in the Miss section (bad finish, outside interference, etc.). And, yes, there are times when a match is so good that it overcomes shitty booking or something that I didn’t care for. These days, there’s so much good wrestling that most matches would be Hits if it were only about match quality. So there you go. Please continue crying about how biased I am for daring to give an AEW show a whopping one miss. I’ll try to be better about enjoying bad hammer shot finishes just for you.
As for this… “And arrogant heel Jericho acting as if a guy that is young and inexperienced isn’t a threat made you think something was up? Ok…”
Yes, and Jericho clearly acted overconfident and dismissive of the “jobber” by design. I’m sorry you didn’t pick up on it. I hope you find some joy in your angry life, Mike.