By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite Hits
Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita: Holy Dominik Mysterio level heat (in Dom-Dom’s home area no less). They didn’t really answer the question of whether Callis and Takeshita are part of the Blackpool Combat Club. I actually hope they are not, because there’s room for Callis to put his own stable together. Granted, there are too many damn factions in AEW, so ideally if they add one they will eliminate three of the many factions that haven’t clicked. Either way, the Callis and Takeshita heel run is off to a strong start. I am looking forward to seeing how Takeshita works in the ring now that he’s a heel.
Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta vs. Penta El Zero Miedo, Rey Fenix, and Bandido: A strong win for the company’s top heel faction coming out of their Anarchy in the Arena victory. I like the call to have Yuta get the pin in both of those matches. He comes off as the low man in BCC due to the star power of the other members. The easy approach would be to make him the guy who takes the losses for the team. But there’s real heat in doing the opposite because it irritates fans to see someone they see as the least worthy having so much success. On a side note, Bandido is one of the wrestlers who needs to be featured more prominently now that the company is adding two more hours of television.
Swerve Strickland vs. Big Bill vs. Trent Beretta in a three-way: A nice match with a finish that gave Swerve the win he needed heading into his AEW International Championship match. The finish also protected Big Bill by having Beretta take the pinfall.
Adam Cole and Britt Baker vs. Chris Jericho and Saraya in a mixed tag match: It was encouraging to see AEW double down by having Cole follow up his Double Or Nothing win over Jericho with another clean win over Jericho in this match. The company didn’t offer any hints regarding MJF’s next challenger, but the fact that Cole beat Jericho in back to back matches makes him feel like the leading candidate for the next title shot. Meanwhile, I’m hopeful that Jericho losing two matches is the beginning of the end of Jericho Appreciation Society. Jericho has been the master of reinvention over the years and it feels like he’s overdue for a character shift.
Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy vs. “Gates of Agony” Bishop Kaun and Toa Leona: Man, I wish they would have gone with a cheap finish to protect the Gates of Agony. These guys have real upside and they strike me as the type of team that should be introduced with a series of dominant squash wins as opposed to slowly working their way up the ladder. Fortunately, the match was competitive and they were made to look good in defeat. I remain surprised that they didn’t go with Swerve Strickland beating Cassidy for the AEW International Championship this week. The story of Cassidy being exhausted from the impressive title defense schedule that he has kept should have peaked with his win over 20 wrestlers in the Blackjack Battle Royale on Sunday, leaving him prone to lose to Strickland on this show. Oddly, this match didn’t really play into the story Cassidy being weary. And the worst part of it was watching the Gates of Agony go from being dominant ass kickers to suddenly being bumbling goofballs while selling Cassidy’s pockets spots.
Kris Statlander vs. Nyla Rose for the TBS Championship: In hindsight, I really think the show should have opened the show with Statlander making her entrance as the new TBS Champion. It would have made the title change feel more significant and sent the message that the company views Statlander as a star. But even in the position this match was slotted in, it was still a nice night for Statlander, who went over strong and had good support from the live crowd.
AEW Dynamite Misses
None: AEW put together a quality post pay-per-view edition. They worked in more pay-per-view highlight videos than usual, which makes the event feel important while also helping fans who didn’t see the show catch up on what happened. There was a nice balance of in-ring action and promos (though viewers really should have heard from the wrestlers in the mixed tag match throughout the course of the night). While this wasn’t a red hot or even a truly memorable episode, it was a good edition overall.
Seeing Saraya and Britt Baker try to “wrestle” made that match an instant Miss.
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