By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite Hits
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bandido for the AEW Unified Championship: A good television main event. Although the match played out predictably with Okada retaining, it was still good to have an actual title match rather than another eliminator match. The finishing sequence was fun with Bandido hitting Okada with his own Rainmaker finisher, before Okada stuffed a 21-Plex and fired back with a Rainmaker for the win. The post-match angle left me hopeful that Okada might defend his title against Konosuke Takeshita at AEW Full Gear.
Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly: I’m starting to wonder if Moxley will ever go on that fishing trip. Coming off the loss to Darby Allin, it would have been a good time for Moxley to take a break from appearing on AEW television. Even a month away would help freshen him up. Nevertheless, this was a good match, and the live crowd got behind O’Reilly. Moxley punching the referee to avoid tapping out was a fun, unexpected finish.
Daniel Garcia, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta vs. Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, and Roderick Strong: A soft Hit. I like the way they had these six come out after the Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly match, as it was a nice way to save time that would normally be given to the entrances. I was lukewarm on this match when it was announced due it having no stakes. The wrestlers came through with a quality match that the live crowd was hot for. The post-match angle with Darby Allin coming out to save Cassidy was well-received. It feels like it’s too soon to go with another Moxley vs. Allin match, so I suspect this was the start of the build to a men’s Blood & Guts match. Maybe we’ll finally get a break from the Death Riders if they lose?
Kris Statlander crashes Mercedes Mone’s latest celebration: I braced for another weak celebration with Mone gloating and doing her dance, but this turned out to be better than usual. Harley Cameron’s puppetry is usually good for a laugh. The surprise appearance by Kris Statlander, who slammed Mone onto a cake and through a table, closed the segment on a high note.
Jamie Hayter and Queen Aminata vs. Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford vs. Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron vs. Julia Hart and Skye Blue in a four-way tag match: This was a nice preview match for the AEW Women’s Tag Team Title tournament. It was a nice touch to give the match a purpose by adding the stipulation that the winning team could pick their first round opponents.
AEW Dynamite Misses
“The Opps” Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. “The Hurt Syndicate” Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and MVP for the AEW Trios Titles: A minor Miss. The match was enjoyable until the weak distraction finish. If Joe is going to be a top heel, then why have him follow up his loss to Hangman Page by making it seem like he would have been pinned by MVP had someone not broken up the pin, and make it seem like MVP would have hit his finishing move had it not been for Ricochet distracting him?
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time dating back to 1997. He hosts a weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)
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