By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite Hits
MJF’s celebration of becoming a three-time AEW World Champion: MJF’s Triple B championship belt gimmick feels like something that matters more to him than the fans, but treating the actual AEW World Championship like a piece of trash will help make the fans dislike his custom belt. Given their history, Mark Briscoe confronting MJF and asking for a title match was logical. It was good to see that Rush saying he had next if Darby Allin retained the title at Double or Nothing wasn’t forgotten when MJF won the match. There’s no reason to think that Rush or Briscoe will beat MJF, but they are quality television match challengers.
Kevin Knight promo: More good than bad. Knight had good heat during his entrance and throughout his first promo since turning on Darby Allin. The logic behind the turn left something to be desired. Knight told MJF that he attacked Allin because he blew an opportunity that should have gone to him. With the benefit of hindsight, it seems that it would have been better had Knight not received an AEW World Championship match during Darby’s reign. Using heel logic, Knight could have been bitter about Darby not giving him a title shot, and Darby’s defense would be that Knight never stepped up for one of the open challenges. It also felt like there was more to get out of Knight and Mike Bailey, even if it was just Knight stringing Bailey along long enough to turn on him during a tag team match later in the show. Knight’s attack on Bailey should have been heavier and more memorable. Despite those criticisms, it was still an encouraging first outing for Knight, who seemed more comfortable speaking as a heel than he did during his babyface promos.
Chris Jericho vs. Ricochet with everyone banned from ringside: The Demand got the better of Jericho for nearly two months, so the time was right for Ricochet to get his comeuppance. The match was entertaining with believable near falls for both wrestlers. It was a nice touch to immediately turn the page by having Tommaso Ciampa attack Jericho.
Brody King vs. Claudio Castagnoli in an Owen Hart Cup tournament quarterfinal match: A soft Hit for a solid battle between the two powerhouse wrestlers. King advancing to face Swerve Strickland in the semifinals was the right call due to their history.
AEW Dynamite Misses
Rush vs. Brian Cage vs. Lio Rush vs. Orange Cassidy in a four-way Superstation Showdown: A minor Miss. I’m not really sure what they got out of billing this as a Superstation Showcase, but they brought back the phony prize money gimmick without actually saying how much money was a stake. Rather, the advertising said the match was “for a big winners purse.” The prize money bit means nothing, so I don’t even care that they didn’t list another absurd dollar amount. Lio plays his Gollum character well, but it feels out of place in AEW, and it didn’t pack much of a punch when Rush beat him. I’m not sure what purpose this match served aside from giving Rush a win heading into his AEW World Championship match. Even that felt flawed because if you want to spotlight a challenger, don’t have him beat the distracting oddball character.
Mark Davis vs. Jack Perry in an Owen Hart Cup tournament quarterfinal match: A minor Miss. The match was fine, but it felt like Collision started early because this match felt out of place in the main event slot. The outcome was predictable, yet it was the right call to have Davis win to set up a rematch with Will Ospreay, whom Davis defeated via ref stoppage in early April. On a side note, Perry drops F-bombs and acts like a badass, yet he also rides around in a bus with a grown man who thinks he’s a dinosaur. Perry should pick a direction, because these things don’t really mesh.
The Dogs attack Adam Copeland and Christian Cage: The Copeland and Cage celebration was enjoyable, even if the five-second pose gag didn’t click with the live crowd. AEW needs to do a better job of building up challengers for title matches. David Finlay and Clark Connors are good wrestlers, but it’s hard to see them as a threat to win the AEW Tag Team Titles when they haven’t won a traditional tag team match since March 25. I also don’t feel like I know anything about the Finlay and Connors characters in AEW. Although I hope they can somehow be elevated by working with Copeland and Cage, it won’t be easy since all signs point to them losing to the new champions.
(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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