Powell’s AEW Dynamite Hit List: Wardlow vs. Powerhouse Hobbs for the TNT Title, Orange Cassidy vs. Jay Lethal for the AEW All-Atlantic Title, Chris Jericho, Daniel Garcia, and Sammy Guevara vs. AR Fox and Top Flight, Ruby Soho vs. Skye Blue, Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli vs. John Silver and Alex Reynolds

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

AEW Dynamite Hits

Bryan Danielson video package: Danielson conveyed not only the agony of defeat, but also the shame of a father who feels that he put himself ahead of his family. It was a brief promo that packed a punch. In fact, it felt like Danielson was the only wrestler who lost at AEW Revolution and actually bothered to sell it.

Wardlow vs. Powerhouse Hobbs for the TNT Title: I like the end result of Hobbs winning his first championship more than anything. The actual match had its moments, such as Wardlow’s impressive Swanton off the top of the ladder that put Hobbs through a table on the floor. But there were also some big negatives. AEW has played hot potato with the TNT Title lately. Here’s hoping that they slow down and give Hobbs a long title reign. The crash pad finish was awful. I’m all for wrestler safety, but a one-foot drop from the stage onto the heavily padded area was beyond tame. Did something go wrong? Was Wardlow supposed to crash through that padded area? And then there’s QT Marshall. His last appearance on Dynamite was in December and it’s not like the masses were clamoring for his return. Only time will tell whether he enhances the Hobbs act, but Marshall showing up and helping Hobbs out of nowhere felt really flat. AEW struggles to find television time for all of its wrestlers, but that hasn’t been an issue lately with office staff who double as on-air characters.

Orange Cassidy vs. Jay Lethal for the AEW All-Atlantic Title: A well worked match and another quality title defense for Cassidy. It gets a Hit, but this is just not what I wanted to see in the first segment coming out of a pay-per-view. No, the brief Revolution highlight package wasn’t enough. The post match angle with Jeff Jarrett attacking Cassidy sets up next week’s match for the title, which has been rebranded as the AEW International Championship. While the name is an improvement, it still feels like AEW has one too many men’s singles titles and I’m not sure whether the new title or the TNT Title is supposed to mean more.

Ruby Soho vs. Skye Blue: The post match promo was more important than the actual showcase match. Soho did a good job of explaining the logic behind her decision to align with Saraya and Toni Storm. Seriously, though, enough with the spray paint and the announcers labeling the trio as outsiders. There’s paying homage and then there’s coming off like wannabes. The three wrestlers involved are talented and should have no trouble coming up with something that feels original.

Chris Jericho, Daniel Garcia, and Sammy Guevara vs. AR Fox and “Top Flight” Dante Martin and Darius Martin: The heels beating a team that pushed the trios champions to the limit was a logical way to move Jericho’s crew into title contention. But a three-way AEW Trios Title match? I hope Tony Khan has counselors readily available for the production crew members who may need support after they attempt to keep up with this insanity.

AEW Dynamite Misses

Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli vs. John Silver and Alex Reynolds: The match was fine and the Blackpool Combat Club continued to be more aggressive and heelish. But let’s cut to the chase. I do not care about the Dark Order. I don’t care how much time they’ve spent hanging out with Hangman Page, I just don’t care about this faction. If there’s some proof that they are ratings draws, then my apathy for the group doesn’t matter, but seeing is believing. Was it really implied that the Moxley vs. Page feud isn’t finished? I’m not saying they can’t revisit the feud somewhere down the road, but it feels like both men need something fresh right now.

Ricky Starks and Juice Robinson: I was genuinely looking forward to seeing what was next for Starks after he picked up his second win over Chris Jericho. But it felt like he somehow moved down the card when he was attacked by Robinson, who hasn’t been established in AEW enough to feel like he matters. Obviously, the hope is that Robinson will get a boost out of this, but there is some risk that Starks will cool off. It was also a major eye rolling moment when Robinson attacked Starks from behind in the same manner that Jeff Jarrett attacked Orange Cassidy from behind just one match earlier.