By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite (Minor) Hits
Samoa Joe and Hook vs. Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta: This was another one of those shows where none of the matches stood out on paper as being the obvious main event. That’s great when you have a loaded show with multiple matches that feel like they could be main event matches. It’s not so great in a case like this where none of the matches feel main event worthy. While that was an issue, the actual match was entertaining and the right team went over. It still feels odd that the company isn’t going with Joe and Hook as a traditional tag team, as they have all of the chemistry while Shibata feels like a third wheel.
Kris Statlander vs. Thunder Rosa in an Owen Hart Cup tournament match: This was the only match of the night that felt like it had meaningful stakes (no, the phony prize money doesn’t count). It was also the match that felt the least predictable. Even so, Statlander and Rosa have both been more over in the past, so having Toni Storm sit in on commentary was a good idea to keep viewers engaged.
Will Ospreay, Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight, and Mark Briscoe vs. Ricochet, Lio Rush, Action Andretti, and The Beast Mortos in an eight-man tag match for $400,000: The prize money stipulation was a groaner. It’s hard to believe it enhanced the match for anyone over age eight. On the bright side, at least it led to a fun Briscoe promo. The actual match was entertaining with the crowd pleasing babyface team going over strong in a solid spot-fest. Ricochet continues to be a blast as a heel, so hopefully there’s a plan to start giving him some meaningful wins to help him rebound from taking back-to-back pay-per-view losses.
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley vs. Katsuyori Shibata in a non-title match: The rare brief match involving two notable names. It’s a little strange when you consider that the end of the show was built around Shibata, Samoa Joe, and Hook declaring their interest in the AEW Trios Titles. Nevertheless, it was nice to see the world champion go over quickly and decisively as opposed to having a long match just for the sake of having a long match.
Swerve Strickland vs. Pac: Not a Hit or a Miss. Rather, just a quick tip of the cap to Pac for gutting his way through the match by hopping on one foot after suffering an apparent ankle injury. There are many cases where it’s best just to call off the match, but it’s hard to imagine that Pac did any more damage without putting weight on his bad ankle. Here’s to a quick recovery. With the match being cut short, was this the first time in the history of Dynamite that the show was actually running under on time?
AEW Dynamite Misses
Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks: The Bucks act was turning away viewers before their latest long hiatus, so it’s strange to have them return as the same characters. It would be one thing if this seemed temporary because they need to reintroduce these characters briefly before they pivot, but that seems unlikely given that they just screwed Swerve Strickland out of the AEW World Championship. Meanwhile, Omega reverted to dressing like he just rolled out of bed long enough to fetch a cup of coffee in his kitchen. And what in the hell was up with that weird ass story about his friend who let dog shit pile up in his apartment? No wonder so many landlords charge high pet fees.
Chris Jericho’s TV Time: The good news is that it looks like the faction is being put to rest soon. The bad news is that it’s going to lead to more television time for Jericho’s tired act. Here’s hoping that he stays off television while Fozzy is on tour and has something fresh in mind for when he returns.
Overall show: The Hit to Miss ratio isn’t always an ideal barometer when it comes to overall show quality. In this case, there were more Hits than Misses, but all of the Hits were minor. Ultimately, this felt like an underwhelming pay-per-view follow-up show in that they didn’t set up many new programs.
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