By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
On Sunday evening, AEW presents its second annual Dynasty pay-per-view event emanating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Liacouras Center. As you likely know if you’ve followed me before, I’m a sucker for a good story. And while there is some of that here, this is another example of a show where the anticipated work rate sells the show. The challenge AEW consistently faces and will face with this show is pacing. They have a habit of presenting a series of excellently worked matches in a row without breaks to the point that the audience burns out by or before the main event. The company is starting to get some of the little things right so there’s hope that this will get rectified as well. That said, let’s run down the card!
Jon Moxley vs. Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship. Assuming this goes on last, this is the one that may suffer from audience burnout if they’re in the position of having to top other matches on the show. They could always turn this into a gory brawl but there’s only so many times they can go to that well in title matches. It’s likely that Moxley retains. The question is how? They’ve been teasing Prince Nana turning on Swerve, but I feel like that’s too obvious and I don’t see Nana being a good fit with the Death Riders. Heck, the Death Riders aren’t even a good fit with the Death Riders. Could Willow Nightingale be the one to screw Swerve and form a team with Marina Shafir? I’m not a fan of that either because then there’s no payoff for Swerve and you’re leaving a lot on the table for Willow as a babyface. Does “Hangman” Adam Page play a role? In any case, it should be interesting to see how they get there.
Don Predicts: Jon Moxley retains the AEW World Championship.
Toni Storm vs. Megan Bayne for the AEW Women’s Championship. This is an intriguing matchup and I actually think it could go either way. Ultimately, since they just put the title back on Storm, I think it’s too soon for her to drop the title. However, I’m concerned about Bayne being able to get her heat back if she were to take a loss. She has potential but this seems like it’s too soon to put her in this position. Then again, would she be able to perform at a championship level if she were to win?
Don Predicts: Toni Storm retains the AEW Women’s Championship.
Kenny Omega vs. Mike Bailey vs. Ricochet in a three-way for the AEW International Championship. There’s no question that this will be a great match but, like others, I don’t like the idea of Bailey being added just to take the pin, which I assume is the play here. He does a lot of the same moves that many other on the roster can do, but having followed him in TNA, he’s quirky and he’s different – in a good way. He can bring something fresh to the product and I’m just hoping that a loss here doesn’t send him into a spiral of good TV matches with no purpose.
Don Predicts: Kenny Omega retains the AEW International Championship.
Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin vs. Big Bill and Bryan Keith for the AEW Tag Team Titles. I expect MJF to play a role in the finish here as Lashley challenged him to “prove himself.” Which, when you think about it, should Lashley and Benjamin need help to beat the Learning Tree? MJF could always screw MVP and company, but do we really want or need the Learning Tree with the tag titles?
Don Predicts: Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin retain the AEW Tag Team Titles.
Pac, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta vs. “Rated FTR” Adam Copeland, Dax Harwood, and Cash Wheeler for the AEW Trios Titles. Not that I care about the Trios Titles, but this will likely serve to finally drive FTR to the point where they turn on Copeland. I don’t think we get the beatdown here, but I could see this as a closing angle on the next Dynamite. And then, can a Copeland reunion with Christian be far behind?
Don Predicts: Pac, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta retain the AEW Trios Titles.
Daniel Garcia vs. Adam Cole for the TNT Title with no time limit and no outside interference. I enjoyed their match on Collision even though Garcia continues to be lackluster no matter how hard they try to push him. This will be a good match and I think this mediocre title reign finally comes to an end, along with a Matt Menard heel turn that I couldn’t care less about.
Don Predicts: Adam Cole wins the TNT Title.
Will Ospreay vs. Kevin Knight in an Owen Hart Foundation men’s tournament quarterfinal match. AEW is high on Knight and he’s the shiny new toy so I expect an excellent showcase here by 2025 and AEW standards. They’ve heavily foreshadowed Ospreay winning the whole thing so there is practically no mystery here. Knight will come out looking good but what will it mean in the long run?
Don Predicts: Will Ospreay defeats Kevin Knight.
TBS Champion Mercedes Mone vs. Julia Hart in an Owen Hart Foundation women’s tournament quarterfinal match. Speaking of outcomes with no mystery….it’s funny, just when it seems like they want to push Hart, they’ll put her in a match where you know she won’t win even though she’ll look good doing so. As an aside, it looks like they’re planning for Mone to meet Athena in the semifinals. I’m surprised they’re going to that match so soon rather than save it for the finals or even at All In in July.
Don Predicts: Mercedes Mone defeats Julia Hart.
Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe in an Owen Hart Foundation men’s tournament quarterfinal match.. I like this one as there’s some history there from the Continental Classic. Fletcher is in the process of rebuilding and Briscoe is the right opponent to help in that effort.
Don Predicts: Kyle Fletcher defeats Mark Briscoe.
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. a Wild Card in an Owen Hart Foundation men’s tournament quarterfinal match. This match isn’t listed on AEW’s website, but it is listed on Wikipedia so we’ll include it here. I don’t think the Wild Card will be an earth-shattering surprise since it’s very likely that Page makes the semifinals or even the finals.
Don Predicts: Adam Page defeats the Wild Card.
Chris Jericho vs. Bandido for the ROH Title; if Bandido loses, he loses his mask. With the stipulation being what it is, it looks like Bandido will get another run with the ROH Title. No, that doesn’t do anything for me, but it is what it is.
Don Predicts: Bandido wins the ROH Title.
The smart thing would be to have Bayne take a DQ by relentlessly beating Storm, similar to the way Bronson Reed and Fatu have been booked. Establish Bayne.
I’d be fine with that. Unfortunately we’re in an era of wrestling where anything other than a pinfall or submission is frowned upon.
Bayne’s winning the title tonight.