By Will Pruett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@itswilltime)
Tired after last week? AEW Dynamite is here for you with a wall-to-wall action-oriented show!
– Tomasso Ciampa and Darby Allin put on one of the best matches in AEW Dynamite history. It was fast-paced, exciting, and felt exceptionally dramatic. The match itself seemed to elevate Ciampa out of a mid-to-undercard slot into a main event contender. The AEW Men’s World Championship has not historically been defended on TV all that often, but Allin’s reign is determined to change that. What a match and what a fun episode of Dynamite centered around Darby.
– Darby Allin is setting the expectation that his AEW Men’s World Championship reign will be fast-paced, exciting, and potentially very short. Allin’s past singles title reigns in AEW have all had this vibe. As TNT Champion Darby would regularly put his body on the line to defend that title, eventually breaking down and running into a more powerful opponent. Looking now at the first week of his World Championship reign, he list likely doing the same thing. It’s a great story for Darby, a wrestler who’s whole vibe seems to be putting everything he can into every match he has.
– Will Ospreay’s kidnapping by The Death Riders had a certain Ministry of Darkness 1999 vibe to it, and that is not a compliment. Marina Shafir was Paul Bearer. Mideon was played by Daniel Garcia. I think this makes Claudio Castagnoli Viscera. Obviously Jon Moxley was The Undertaker (but a better professional wrestler than most versions of ‘Taker). This was a bad moment on the show and a weird moment in the story of Moxley and Ospreay. I did not like it. Ideally this does not end with Ospreay being hung on a “cross like structure” next week.
– The bummer of Ospreay’s kidnapping is even sadder when you consider how big of a moment beating Will Ospreay should be for Mark Davis. Mark Davis has been a rock solid performer in AEW this year, going from tag team to trios to singles competition. He is becoming a much more dependable wrestler and a stylistic change from what could be considered the AEW house style. Davis beating Ospreay should push him towards one of the many AEW singles titles.
– My actual expectation (because I don’t think we will see a “Death Riders Symbol” hanging next week) is that Jon Moxley is actually going to rebuild and train Will Ospreay. Ospreay is not going to join the Death Riders, but he will get stronger and ready for the Owen Hart tournament under the care of Moxley. It will be a fun twist in that story, but the way to get there should not have been weird kidnapping.
– MJF and Kevin Knight had an effective promo exchange to start this show, but it won’t go on any highlight reels. Knight seemed nervous and still rough around the edges on the mic – not overconfident like his persona wants you to believe he is. MJF was a really good support for Knight who is still cutting his teeth. Kevin Knight is an exciting project in AEW, but hopefully this promo exchange sees him reflect on his progress a bit.
– Brody King vs. Lio Rush was fun. I am enjoying seeing more folks interact with this Rush character – especially bigger wrestlers being a little frightened by him. Rush is a great stylistic match for AEW, but finding a character that stands out is helping him even more. Do I love the character? Not at all. I do admire Rush’s commitment and physical skill in executing it.
– Brody King vs. Darby Allin is going to be a blast to watch next week. King had one of his better days on the mic – keeping this promo short and sweet and respectful. He and Darby tend to make magic together when they are in the ring. King has had a rather wonderful year and getting back to the main event on Dynamite next week will do him a lot of good.
– Hikaru Shida continues to be an almost heel in her matches and continues to set up some really fun still for her future. Shida taking time to establish her current character prior to launching into a full-blown story with (I assume) Willow Nightingale is doing her a lot of good. On top of that, Kris Statlander being a part of this story as well is making it intriguing. This match with Mina Shirakawa was more awkward than I’d like but had some nice exchanges.
– Samoa Joe returning as Darby Allin starts defending his AEW Men’s World Championship definitely feels purposeful. Joe and Darby have had three matches on AEW Dynamite before (Joe has won two of them) and they have all been rather electric sprints. They have some magic together and Joe is a constant World Championship level competitor. I could actually imagine the challenge happening as soon as next week or perhaps the match happening at AEW Double or Nothing.
What an intense and delightful little episode of AEW Dynamite this was!
Will Pruett writes about wrestling and popular culture at prowrestling.net. To see his video content subscribe to his YouTube channel. To contact, check him out on Bluesky @itswilltime, leave a comment, or email him at itswilltime@gmail.com.
Be the first to comment