By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite Hits
Kenny Omega vs. Josh Alexander: The match was laid out nicely. Omega was the strong favorite, so it was a good call to have Alexander attack him while he was making his entrance. While it’s encouraging to see Alexander being featured more prominently than he was early in his AEW run, I wish they would give him some credibility-building wins so that he actually feels like a threat to beat main event players when he works with top wrestlers. It was encouraging to hear Omega state after the match that he hasn’t felt this good in years. Here’s hoping he was shooting straight and that it wasn’t just an in-character line.
Swerve Strickland vs. Kevin Knight: A very good match. It felt a bit out of place when it was billed as the main event over Omega vs. Alexander. It would have helped to hear promos, particularly from Knight, to drive home the significance of facing the former AEW World Champion. Rather, he simply asked Hangman Page for advice. The in-ring action was top-notch, and the live crowd was invested. Swerve going over was the right call, as Knight is viewed internally as a future star, but it’s not his time yet. I’d like to see Swerve be the long-term measuring stick for Knight, in that Knight will need to beat him somewhere down the road to signify that he belongs in the upper mix.
AEW Tag Team Champions “FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler vs. Jordan Oliver and Alec Price: This is exactly what it should have been. The newcomers showed heart and picked up a believable near fall before the champions went over in the end. There was no reason to think FTR would lose with a title defense scheduled for next week, but Oliver and Price gained something in defeat by hanging with the champions.
Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford vs. Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa: An enjoyable match that had the right outcome in terms of building up heel challengers for AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron. It was good to see Ford back in action following an injury layoff. It initially seemed like Marina Shafir attacking Storm was going to distract from Bayne and Ford’s win, but then she joined them in the ring, so apparently her alliance with Bayne is still in play even though Ford is back.
MJF and Brody King: MJF did a good job of flipping the switch from being arrogant to showing cowardice once King confronted him. I got a kick out of Tony Schiavone telling the intimidated MJF that he was on his own before giving him the microphone and exiting the ring. I like the idea of King having to beat some meaningful wrestlers to earn a title shot, but I hope those wins won’t feel too predictable now that they’ve established his goal.
Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and Daniel Garcia vs. Lance Archer, Rocky Romero, and Hechicero: An in-the-middle match for me. The live crowd appeared to enjoy the heel vs. (mostly) heel trios teams match more than I did. There was good brawling action, but I’m still not sure which trio the fans were supposed to side with. Moxley has been acting more like a babyface lately, but the other Death Riders are heels. It’s more confusing than compelling, and I hope they cut to the chase soon. Should it really take 15 minutes for these three Death Riders to beat the Callis Family’s junior varsity squad?
AEW Dynamite Misses
Samoa Joe vs. Mike Bailey: A minor Miss, which is a shame, because the match quality was Hit-worthy. Unfortunately, the absurd amount of outside interference brought the match down. At some point, the heat that should be on the heels moves to the referee for looking hopelessly incompetent while missing so much interference in one match.
(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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