By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite Hits
AEW American Champion MJF vs. Kyle Fletcher in an eliminator match: The show once again peaked with a show opening segment involving MJF. This was a strong match. Fletcher got over as a babyface and did an effective job in the role of Will Ospreay’s buddy. I enjoyed everything about the match with the exception of Don Callis showing up with his awful screwdriver. Seriously, give it up already. The Callis Family should have been the top heel faction in AEW. Powerhouse Hobbs is injured, the criminally underutilized Konosuke Takeshita is working the G1 tournament after spinning his wheels on AEW television, Rush took a pinfall loss on this show, and Fletcher played the babyface role while taking a loss in this match.
Bryan Danielson vs. Jeff Jarrett in an anything goes match: An enjoyable brawl that created some mixed feelings. Jarrett has done a wonderful job of making himself relevant through some terrific mic work. But we’re not far removed from his faction being featured as a bit of a goof troop. As such, it feels strange to watch Jarrett have such a competitive brawl with the guy who is challenging for the championship on the biggest show of the year. And I hate being reminded of the oddball faction. I don’t want to see Jarrett with Jay Lethal or especially Sonjay Dutt while he’s in the midst of this resurgence. AEW needs to pull the plug on this faction and several others that have overstayed their welcome.
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Bryan Keith: A soft Hit for a decent match, though listening to Jericho’s insufferable character on commentary brought this segment down a notch. The Hook return was very well received by the live crowd and helped balance things out. Will Samoa Joe be back in time for Wembley Stadium?
Kamille vs. Jazmyne Hao and Clara Carter in a handicap match: A soft Hit for a simple squash that put over the size and strength of Kamille. The post match promo by Mercedes Mone was a big Miss. Britt Baker’s promo was nothing special by her standards and yet it was so much better than what Mone brought to the table. It was also odd to hear that Tony Khan overruled the Young Bucks’ decision to suspend Baker. If Khan has this power in the storyline, then why has he let them get away with other heel rulings? The power struggle storyline started with a bang with the attack on Khan and when he wore a neck brace to sell it during the NFL Draft. It’s been a hot mess of a storyline since then and it’s well past time that the company put it to rest.
AEW Dynamite Misses
Swerve Strickland and Bryan Danielson title vs. retirement stipulation: Will someone please take the time to explain what the hell is happening? Jim Ross stated during his otherwise good sit-down interview with Swerve that Danielson is “talking like this will be it win, lose, or draw” at All In. This isn’t the first time that this has been implied on AEW television. If the idea is that Danielson intends to retire either way, then the “retirement” portion of the match stipulation is worthless. Are we watching All In to see Danielson fight to keep his career alive or is this his retirement match? Pick a direction. This is the main event of the company’s biggest show of the year and they can’t even get the damn stipulation right.
Orange Cassidy and “FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler vs. Roderick Strong, Rush, and The Beast Mortos: A Hit from a match quality standpoint. Unfortunately, the match felt like it was more about killing time than anything from a creative standpoint, though it’s certainly possible that travel issues changed something they had planned. It was surprising to see Rush take a clean pinfall loss for his team. While it’s encouraging to see Rush play ball, it was also an odd move and another kick in the balls for the floundering Callis Family.
Mariah May vs. Viva Van: A soft Miss for a needlessly long match that was prolonged by an oddly placed commercial break (though not as odd as the strange Taco Bell ad that apparently cut off Darby Allin’s promo). The post match angle with a disguised Toni Storm attacking May has been done before and yet got over nicely with the live crowd.
Minor correction that Taco Bell interrupted Perry’s moment, not Darby’s.
This was, at minimum, the 3rd time a female babyface has dressed in disguise to attack the heel in the past 5 or 6 eps of Dynamite. Why is that so hard to avoid for them?