By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite Hits
Swerve Strickland, Kofi, and Austin Creed’s feud with Hangman Page, Bandido, and Brody King: Swerve demanding that he, Kofi, and Creed get a rematch for the AEW Trios Titles in a Texas Death Match has quickly become one of the most interesting stories on AEW television. Sure, we all assume that he’ll get his way, but the fun part is seeing how he makes that happen. Kofi and Creed wanting nothing to do with the Texas Death Match was consistent with their upbeat personas. I also like that Page is trying to play peacemaker while cautioning everyone else involved against letting Swerve have his way. It looked like Page was initially successful in that he was able to talk King down, but Swerve forced the issue with a video of him with a bloody, maskless Bandido. I thought there was more to come when Page and King set off to search for Swerve and Bandido, but we’ll have to wait for Collision or next week’s Dynamite to get the payoff.
Kyle Fletcher vs. Jack Perry: A good match. Fletcher going over clean was the right call given that he’s challenging for the AEW World Championship at Full Gear. Fletcher and Will Ospreay should have a hell of a match, but I hope they get the build right with only two Dynamites left, including next week’s show that will focus heavily on the Blood & Guts matches.
Persephone vs. Queen Aminata for the TBS Championship: My guard was up for a title change the moment this match was announced as the main event of the show. There’s a lot to like about Aminata, and her emotional reaction to winning the title was the thing that really put this over the top. But the build to this moment left a lot to be desired. Sure, she beat Skye Blue, Julia Hart, and Maya World on AEW television. But she also lost a title match to Mercedes Mone, and was one of three challengers who lost a four-way to Persephone at WrestleDream. In fact, she was thrown right back into a number one contender’s match right after losing the four-way. Throughout all of those matches, I don’t feel like the company told us anything new about Aminata. So while her winning the TBS Title was a hit, it would have meant a lot more with a consistent build and had more of an effort been made to tell her story and help her connect with the fans.
Jay White and David Finlay vs. Jon Moxley and Daniel Garcia: A soft Hit for a quality opening tag match. It concluded with the logical finish of White and Finlay going over after joining forces and starting The Cut faction on Collision. (Well, technically, they started the Last Outfit faction on Collision, but they opted to abandon the name used for clothes worn on laundry day to go with a generic name instead.) This wasn’t the last we saw of these wrestlers, as The Cut and Death Riders brawled again later in the show, which led to Moxley issuing a challenge for an Anarchy in the Arena match at Full Gear. Only time will tell whether the merger of a cold tag team with a mid-card faction will work, but it’s good to see the Death Riders leaning into the babyface reactions they’ve been getting.
Marina Shafir vs. Rachel Armstrong: A dominant squash win followed by a solid face-to-face confrontation with Mercedes Mone. I can’t be the only one groaning over Mone’s recent dick and balls talk. It’s not offensive. It’s just not clever enough to justify her repeating it during each appearance. Anyway, the live crowds have been really hot for Mone and Shafir’s interactions so far. I’m not sure what the plan is, but AEW may want to turn this into an actual program that plays out over several months rather than making it another one-and-done title defense for Mone.
AEW Dynamite Hits
“Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin vs. “FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler in the third match of the best-of-five series: More good than bad, but this was a minor Miss based on the high standards that these teams have established over the years. The issue was the clunky finish sequence that started with Wheeler shoving Shelley into Sabin, who struggled to go through the ropes to the floor. The timing was also off when Harwood was pinned, as Wheeler clearly could have broken up the pin. On the bright side, FTR’s post-match attack on Shelley did a nice job of shifting the momentum away from the Guns even though they took a 2-1 lead.
Darby Allin vs. Josh Alexander for the TNT Championship: A leaping tombstone piledriver from the apron onto two chairs that were set up on the floor. I’m not going to waste more time expressing concern over Darby taking crazy bumps. I just can’t believe that the move didn’t even lead to a suspenseful near fall. Darby kicked out right as the referee’s hand hit the mat for a two count. I enjoyed the bulk of the match, but that spot was ridiculous. If wrestlers perform over-the-top moves, they should at least make them count.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time since 1997. He hosts the weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and 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.)
