By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite Hits
MJF and Swerve Strickland: A strong verbal exchange between the AEW World Champion and the company’s top rising star. The question now is whether this was a tease for a showdown match that is coming soon or just plating seeds for something further down the road. If AEW had its own WrestleMania type of signature event, I’d save this match for it. Anyway, if Swerve wins the Continental Classic and becomes the Triple Crown Champion, then my guess is that their paths won’t cross again for some time. I can’t rule out the possibility of a unification match to create a single Grand Slam Champion, but my guess is that the Triple Crown Championship is here to stay. Or maybe it’s a sign that Swerve won’t be winning the Triple Crown and that they will be going MJF vs. Swerve early in the new year. Either way, the verbal exchange was intense and left me looking forward to whenever they meet.
Swerve Strickland vs. Rush in a Continental Classic tournament gold league match: A good clean win for Swerve following his double protection loss to Jon Moxley last week. It felt like Swerve should have addressed the way he lost to Moxley in a promo. But my guess is that he avenges that loss by winning next week’s three-way to win the gold league. Rush had a reputation for not being fond of doing jobs, so it was good to see him be a team player by taking a no nonsense loss that was clean and decisive.
Jon Moxley vs. Jay White in a Continental Classic tournament gold league match: A good main event with a mild surprise of White going over to set up next week’s three-way gold league final. My preference would be for singles matches to determine both semifinals, but Moxley vs. White vs. Swerve is an intriguing match. Plus, White making it to the semifinals helps him bounce back from his Full Gear loss to a wounded MJF.
Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal in a Continental Classic tournament gold league match: The live crowd was really into this match, which is impressive considering that neither wrestler had earned a single point in the tournament. As down as I have been on Lethal being an entrant in the tournament due to the way he has been portrayed as a comedy goofball with Jeff Jarrett’s crew, he and Briscoe came through with a nice match. Briscoe was the perfect choice for a wrestler who would take a lot of losses in the tournament because the fan support for him never wavered even after he was mathematically eliminated from gold league contention.
Riho vs. Saraya for a shot at the AEW Women’s Championship at Worlds End: The expected win for Riho to set her up for a match with Toni Storm at the pay-per-view. Predictablility isn’t always a negative. The fans have gotten behind Riho since she’s returned. It looks like they took a step forward in the Toni Storm and Mariah May storyline, as Storm didn’t seem to endorse May hitting Riho with the title belt. And based on May’s facial expressions, she didn’t seem pleased that her idol didn’t appreciate what she did for her.
Chris Jericho addresses Kenny Omega’s absence: A nice speech that let the casual fans who don’t follow the business online know that Omega is sidelined due to a bout with diverticulitis.
Roderick Strong vs. Komander: A soft Hit for a solid match. It feels like Strong’s character is in limbo due to the way The Devil saga has been stretched out. It’s a shame that Matt Taven and Mike Bennett feel like comedy sidekicks when the company could have used the extra time to establish them as an actual threat in the tag team division.
AEW Dynamite Misses
None: I’m not sure what was up with the production hiccups that led to the feed cutting out while the logos remained on the screen a couple of times, but this was still a good episode from start to finish. The tournament has given meaning to an average of three matches per week and have helped slow down the pacing of the show. It has also helped with consistency by forcing AEW to put the same six wrestlers on television weekly as opposed to having wrestlers randomly disappear for a few weeks at a time. I hope they can find a way to maintain the show’s less chaotic pacing coming out of the tournament. And while it’s not an issue with Dynamite, I also hope they have a plan to give Collision the identity that it’s been lacking since CM Punk was fired. The tournament bought them some time in that regard and hopefully they’ve used it to come up with something for the Saturday night show.
One of the absolute worst shows they’ve ever done, with the ratings to prove it, and there were no misses?
Having Riho on TV is a miss. Having a shitty tournament full of meaningless matches is a miss. Having MJF as a comedy babyface is a miss. Having Kommander under contract is a miss.
The entire fucking company is the worst it’s ever been.
Your opinion and I disagree with all of it. Except MJF and Riho. You are spot on there.
So last week you said one of the hours was among the worst they’ve ever done. And now this week is one of the worst shows they’ve ever done. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe this product just isn’t for you? I enjoyed this week’s show regardless of the ratings. Hell, I’d have to give every Impact Wrestling segment a miss if I was worried about ratings when I write the Hit Lists.