By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite Hits
Adam Copeland vs. Brody King in a No DQ match for the TNT Title: Both wrestlers worked really hard and came through with the best match of the night. The big thing working against the match was that the outcome felt predictable, as it is fairly obvious that they are building to Copeland defending the TNT Title against Malakai Black. It’s a shame because King is too good to be a setup man. The post match angle with Kyle O’Reilly saving Copeland from a King attack and then challenging him to a title match in a backstage segment was fine. It sets up a match that will probably be very good in execution and yet it’s hard to imagine it performing well in the ratings.
Anarchy in the Arena angle: It feels like they are rushing to Anarchy in the Arena, but Eddie Kingston and Bryan Danielson joining FTR to serve as Team AEW against The Elite came off well. They really need to turn Kingston loose on the mic in the weeks leading up to Double Or Nothing. Kingston always comes off as the most real guy on AEW television and he has a lot of passion for the company. Of the four wrestlers on Team AEW, he’s the guy who is most likely to deliver pro-AEW promos that come across as genuine as opposed to sounding forced.
Swerve Strickland and Christian Cage: A solid segment that made Swerve his own man by having the other members of the Mogul Embassy turn on him. The broadcast team didn’t really play up the question of where Prince Nana stands on all of this, but I assume that will be part of the storyline. It was a nice move to have Christian credit the Young Bucks with the idea that led to the turn, as it was payback for Swerve referring to their attack on Tony Khan as a bitch move. It feels like Swerve needs to get a measure of revenge at some point. On a side note, I like the countdown clock approach that was used to push this segment. It obviously gives viewers an incentive to keep watching while also sending the message that the segment involving the champion and his challenger is important business.
Mariah May vs. Harley Cameron: May was well received as the babyface in this match and hopefully the company will stick to pushing her in that role rather than all of the flip flopping they have been doing. The post match angle with Mina Shirakawa was fine. Shirakawa has shown a lot of charisma during her appearances, but they haven’t made me care about the poorly explained history between her and May from Stardom.
Chris Jericho and Big Bill vs. Mo Jabari and Harlon Abbott: A simple squash win for Jericho and Bill. I liked the way that Bill did the heavy lifting and then Jericho tagged in and took the glory by hitting finisher and getting the pin. Jericho’s post match promo with him intentionally flubbing the name of the city was fun. I was surprised that Jericho didn’t show any cracks in his insincere babyface act when Tony Schiavone informed him that Hook will return next week. Is the character more oblivious than insincere? Only time will tell whether the new Jericho character clicks, but it’s good to see him try to shake things up.
AEW Dynamite Misses
Orange Cassidy vs. Trent Beretta: This felt like a spot where Beretta should have stolen a win as opposed to losing clean while they are trying to establish him as a meaningful heel. But the bigger issue was Cassidy going into Superman mode by popping up shortly after he took a piledriver on the ring steps and was catapulted into the ring frame. I enjoy Cassidy’s act and while I get that part of the gimmick is that he takes a lot of punishment and keeps fighting, they went ridiculously overboard this time around.
Serena Deeb and Toni Storm: They picked the wrong setting for Deeb to discuss the medical issues that sidelined her for 15 months. They should have went with a sit-down interview as opposed to having her discuss her seizures in front of a live crowd that showed little interest until Storm came out. AEW really needs to get to the part where Storm and Mariah May implode. They keep positioning Storm as a heel even though the fans clearly like her more than her babyface challengers. May seems to be developing momentum and might be one of the only challengers the fans will actually cheer over Storm.
Jay White vs. Rocky Romero: A well worked match that didn’t overstay its welcome and yet it still felt like a potential channel changer. The hook that Romero could have earned a shot at the Unified Trios Titles with a win did nothing for me because I couldn’t care less about the three sets of trios titles that Bullet Club Gold is carrying around. Fans who drop $500 on replica title belts get more out of putting their belt over their shoulder and mean mugging in their bathroom mirror than Tony Khan has gotten out of the money he invested on all of these worthless trios belts.
Will Ospreay: Where is he? As if booking him to challenge for the AEW International Championship in a Double Or Nothing match that nobody asked for wasn’t enough of a momentum killer, the hottest star in the company did not appear on AEW television for the second straight week.
Mercedes Mone promo: More of an in the middle than a Hit or a Miss because I’m not sure what they are going for. If the idea is that Mone was supposed to come off self absorbed and just plain unlikable, then her promo belongs in the Hit section. Mone is a natural heel and Willow Nightingale is a good babyface, so hopefully they end up being slotted accordingly.
A Serena Deeb promo is a channel changer.