By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@jakebarnett)
AEW Dynamite Hits
Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis in an Owen Hart Cup tournament semifinal match: After a sluggish start, they captured the crowd with some frenetic sequences and near falls. This led to a ref bump and a lot of interference, ultimately arriving at the Ospreay victory that seemed inevitable. As long as finishes like this do not become the norm, this was a fun diversion from an otherwise very predictable match. The crowd responded well to the chaos of having the Callis Family and Death Riders flying around in the ring and at ringside, and created the slightest hint of mystery where none would have otherwise existed.
MJF vs. Rush for the AEW World Championship: A Hit primarily for the well-crafted match presentation and an entertaining brawl. The outcome was never a mystery, but the finish kept Rush looking fairly strong and further cements MJF’s ability to back up his lofty trash talk. The only real quibble with the overall match was an overbooked doctor stoppage tease that didn’t really go anywhere and ultimately seemed unnecessary.
Mark Briscoe’s promo: A soft Hit for Briscoe, who delivered a solid promo that let fans in on some of his inner turmoil and how AEW has become an outlet for him to work through the anger and despair he felt after the death of his brother. He successfully reiterated the contrast between him and MJF that made their previous program a success and continued to lay the groundwork for what appears to be an upcoming AEW World Championship match. I don’t think this was the strongest Mark Briscoe promo we’ve heard, but it was well constructed and had heart.
Mercedes Mone vs. Alex Windsor in a women’s Owen Hart Cup tournament quarterfinal match: Another soft Hit for the match itself. It was perhaps a bit longer than needed for a major return from one of the company’s biggest talents, but they pushed a strong pace. It also allowed Mercedes to set up that she’s the returning Owen Hart Cup winner and wants to make another run.
AEW Dynamite Misses
Kevin Knight vs. Mike Bailey for the TNT Championship: I don’t think either guy had their best night in the ring. There were a couple of mistakes that marred a match I expected to have more in-ring chemistry than what immediately materialized. They have a much better match in them. Hopefully, they get a chance to show that off soon. Knight joining the Callis Family caused my eyes to roll completely out of my skull. I’m not certain why every promising young heel needs to have Don Callis awkwardly introduce them, but I am completely over it at this point.
Mercedes Mone’s return: AEW missed the boat on what could have been a much more interesting return. Her months-long process of losing all of her collected titles went basically unmentioned by the broadcast team, and she returned to essentially the same character, acting completely business as usual. It’s a bit baffling that there wasn’t more effort put into the presentation, which ended up feeling a bit underwhelming and lacking in forethought. At the very least, I would have expected the commentary team to frame her return as a sea change for the division, or to hint at what character changes might be upcoming for her. Rather, the content was vanishingly thin.
Mark Briscoe vs. Lio Rush: The match itself was fine, but it seemed odd to have so much comedy mashed up against what was ultimately a showcase for the next challenger for the AEW World Championship. The Conglomeration and Lio Rush doing comedy isn’t the issue; it was just the proximity to Briscoe’s heartfelt promo and title challenge.
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