By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite
Bryan Danielson and Wheeler Yuta vs. Pac and Claudio Castagnoli: A good match built around whether Yuta would remain loyal to Danielson. Yuta passed this test, but it seemed like he may have been giving Danielson a look for leading “yes” chants while showing no concern after Yuta was struck in the abdomen with a hammer several times. Granted, it didn’t come off like Danielson was even aware that this had happened, but an angry heel has never lets a little thing like logic stand in the way of being bitter with a babyface. I could have done without Danielson manhandling Moxley heading into their pay-per-view match. But the big thing missing was an attempt by Danielson on the mic to sell viewers on the possibility that Saturday’s match could be the end of his full-time career.
Hologram vs. Komander: A strong lucha match that got over with the live crowd. The post match attack by the new LFI left me wondering if Bandido will return to join Hologram and Komander in a feud with Rush, Dralistico, and The Beast Mortos.
Will Ospreay, Don Callis, Konosuke Takeshita, and Kyle Fletcher segment: A solid segment that saw Ospreay finally sever ties with The Callis Family. Callis wanting his guys to stab opponents with his stupid screwdriver continues to be a turnoff. To be fair, Pac’s obsession with the ring bell hammer is actually worse.
Lance Archer traded for Rush: If nothing else, I appreciate the effort to explain how Rush went from joining the Don Callis Family to then starting the latest version of his LFI faction. I’m not sure what they have in mind for Archer as part of the family, but hopefully it leads to him breaking away from the pattern of returning to television after a long absence, winning a couple of squash matches, and being fed to someone higher on the food chain before he repeats the cycle.
Mercedes Mone vs. Emi Sakura for the TBS Title and the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship: A soft Hit for a well worked match that got the crowd invested despite there being no reason to think that Sakura would win. Kris Statlander playing the babyface role by saving Sakura after the match felt odd considering that she was just a heel and never turned. There’s been no explanation for her character change, nor why she is no longer paired with Stokely Hathaway. By the way, it’s still baffling that AEW used the “Title Tuesday” monicker for this show and then featured just one title match.
Jay White vs. Cody Chhun: A soft Hit for a simple spotlight win for White heading into his pay-per-view match with Hangman Page.
AEW Dynamite
Darby Allin and Brody King: Allin told an interesting story about coming up through the independents with King. Unfortunately, the story humanized King. The House of Black members are typically featured as dark and mysterious, yet Allin basically told viewers that King is just an ordinary guy who was concerned about providing for his family. This is all well and good if the plan is to reboot King’s character, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the intent.
Daniel Garcia promo: AEW borrowed from WWE history by having Garcia do his version of Bret Hart announcing on Raw that he re-signed with the WWF. It came off like AEW creative just assumed that all of their viewers were aware of Garcia’s contract status, but the live crowd’s reaction said otherwise. The worst part of the segment was Garcia dubbing himself as one of the best pro wrestlers in the world. Garcia is a talented wrestler with a lot of upside, but only Max Caster comes off worse when he makes similar claims.
Willow Nightingale vs. Nyla Rose vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Saraya for a shot at the AEW Women’s Championship at WrestleDream: It’s a shame that Britt Baker got sick and was unable to work the scheduled match with Willow. It actually felt like one of the bigger non-title women’s matches the company has booked on television and I was looking forward to that match as much as anything on the show. The replacement match was an over the top brawl with Harley Cameron constantly interfering on behalf of Saraya. It wasn’t all bad, but the sequence with Penelope Ford making it clear that she was coaxing Hayter to follow her backstage made Hayter look like a dope. On the bright side, I am looking forward to Willow challenging Mariah May for the championship at WrestleDream.
Dante Martin, Darius Martin, Action Andretti, and Leila Grey segment: I don’t know what Andretti’s character is angry about. Even worse, I don’t care. I want to care about the Martins, but they’ve been spinning their wheels for so long that the company has made it really difficult.
Be the first to comment