Powell’s AEW Dynamite Hit List: Tony Khan and The Elite, Jon Moxley vs. Powerhouse Hobbs for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, Swerve Strickland vs. Kyle Fletcher in an eliminator match

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

AEW Dynamite Hits

AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland vs. Kyle Fletcher in an eliminator match: A solid showcase for the new AEW World Champion. But this just isn’t what I wanted from Swerve on his first Dynamite as champion. He just won the world championship and yet he didn’t get promo time to talk about it?

Mina Shirakawa vs. Anna Jay: A better than average AEW women’s match. Shirakawa has a ton of charisma and can win over an unfamiliar crowd quickly. The post match angle was odd with Jay getting pissed and attacking Mariah May despite losing clean. This led to Toni Storm coming out for the save and then a Serena Deeb promo that was difficult to hear due to the TBS audio issues that made this show a chore to watch.

Trent Beretta, Chuck Taylor, and Orange Cassidy: A soft Hit simply for Taylor siding with Cassidy. The Best Friends tag team overstayed its welcome and I am looking forward to seeing how Beretta does as a singles heel. But I did roll my eyes at Taylor telling Trent that he always thought he was a piece of shit. If that’s the case, why did he spend years teaming with and hugging Beretta?

Jon Moxley vs. Powerhouse Hobbs for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: No Hit or Miss for this match. Hobbs suffered a legitimate knee injury and somehow gutted through on one leg so they could have an actual finish. Here’s wishing Hobbs the best.

AEW Dynamite Misses

The Elite attack Tony Khan: The stunt booking continues. If you’re going to do a big ratings stunt, then why not advertise the in-ring meeting between Tony Khan and Jack Perry well before the show? Speaking of advertising, perhaps the hope is to get some free brand awareness style mentions during the NFL Draft tonight. After all, Tony Khan is usually featured sitting next to his father in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ war room (here’s hoping for a Bobby Heenan style neck brace). Regardless, there are major storyline holes that need to be filled. Why did Tony allow the EVPs to run wild before this? Why would he watch Perry interfere in the ladder match that crowned new AEW Tag Team Champions and then take the all is forgiven approach once they were in the ring together? And the obvious one is that The Elite members, which I assume now includes Perry, should be fired for their actions. Based just on what they showed on television, it comes off like CM Punk was fired for shoving Perry and putting him in a face look briefly, so is there any way to explain why Khan wouldn’t fire The Elite members? Even if they attempt explain that away by claiming that the EVPs have no-cut contracts, there’s still a glaring non-storyline issue. The Elite are now the top heels in the company and they lack a centerpiece character who can deliver money promos. Ultimately, the key to this angle will be the follow-up. Do they actually have a long term plan for this storyline or are they just making it up as they go?

Casino Gauntlet match for a shot at the AEW International Championship: A chaotic spot fest that set up a head scratcher of a title match. I have no doubt that Will Ospreay and Roderick Strong will have a great match at Double Or Nothing, but does anyone really want to see Ospreay go after the AEW International Championship? Meanwhile, Jay Lethal’s entrance seemed to kill the crowd temporarily. Lethal is ice cold and needs to be repackaged. They should really start by ditching the Macho Man tribute music. It’s been over a decade since Lethal played the Black Machismo character and he did that in another company. It’s time to freshen things up.

Chris Jericho and Big Bill: A soft Miss. Jericho is working hard to lean into the negative reactions he’s been getting with his new insincere persona. Oddy, Jericho’s character has similarities to the insincere characters the Young Bucks are playing. The addition of Big Bill to this story does nothing for me. Why can’t Bill just be his own man (with a better name) if he’s done teaming with Ricky Starks? And the FTW Championship really needs to be sent back to its rightful place on Taz’s mantle.

Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander, and Mercedes Mone: A soft Miss for a crowded segment. I assume that Kris Statlander grabbing the arm of Mone, who then mistakenly struck Willow is another indication that Statlander is the mystery attacker. The worst thing about this story is the way the Mone character blames Willow for a freak injury that the Willow character had nothing to do with. If the idea is that Mone is being delusional when she blames Willow, then that really needs to be explained. Serena Deeb talking on the stage was nearly impossible to hear. By the way, this was Deeb’s first appearance on Dynamite since October 5, 2022. Given the numbers that Collision draws, it would be a mistake to think that all AEW fans have been watching her work on Collision, so she essentially needs to be reintroduced to a lot of viewers.