Powell’s AEW Dynamite Hit List: Chris Jericho 30-year celebration, Brodie Lee vs. Cody in a dog collar match for the TNT Championship, Brian Cage vs. Will Hobbs for the FTW Title, Chris Jericho and Jake Hager vs. Luther and Serpentico, Serena Deeb vs. Big Swole, FTR vs. Hybrid 2 for the AEW Tag Titles

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

AEW Dynamite Hits

Chris Jericho celebration: Could anyone else in the world get Slash, Fluffy, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Lars Ulrich, Shaq, Steel Panther, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and another company’s executive Don Callis to send in video tributes? They had me at Slash. And it was funny that while Damian Priest wore a Slash t-shirt on NXT, Slash actually appeared on Dynamite the same night. My GNR obsession aside, AEW did a really nice job of paying tribute to Jericho throughout the night and it was cool to see some of those surprises in those video tributes. The tag team main event was nothing to write home about, but I’m sure as hell not going to give Jericho a Miss on his anniversary night, and I respect that he wanted to work with his longtime friend Luther. It would have been nice to hear more from Jericho at some point during the show. The MJF angle was solid and I continue to enjoy their verbal exchanges.

Brodie Lee vs. Cody in a dog collar match for the TNT Championship: The presentation of the match was terrific. It was a great touch to have Greg Valentine in attendance, and I really enjoyed Tony Schiavone sharing his memories of the great Valentine vs. Roddy Piper dog collar match. The actual match was really well done. Both men worked hard and delivered a delightfully violent match. I was surprised to see Cody get the title back so quickly following his television show filming layoff. Given the beating that he took when he lost the title, I expected a longer chase before he took the title back. Cody’s post match promo was interesting. It’s hard to tell whether the statement that he is with the fans for life was genuine or a swerve. Either way, it was a well delivered and passionate promo. AEW was also smart to start the match shortly before the top of the second hour. There’s no telling how many viewers they actually retained, but they gave pro wrestling fans who were also interested in the VP debate a tough decision.

Brian Cage vs. Will Hobbs for the FTW Title: A nice match between two of AEW’s big bulls. Hobbs looked good in defeat and the post match offer by Taz was left hanging, which is an interesting hook. I like what we’ve seen from Hobbs so far, but hopefully they will get around to telling his story in video packages or in a sit-down interview so that viewers can get to know him. On a side note, I still couldn’t care less about the FTW Title.

Jon Moxley promo: Is there a cooler guy in the business?

AEW Dynamite Misses

“FTR” Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood vs. “The Hybrid 2” Jack Evans and Angelico for the AEW Tag Titles: There were some really good moments and some innovative spots from the challengers. Unfortunately, there were also some clunky moments along the way. The post match with the Young Bucks was more of the same with the double superkick to the camera. Here’s hoping the Best Friends’ cornball “weenies” joke will end once they lose to FTR. I assume some team is going to end up taking FTR to the 20-minute limit, but so far their “brush with greatness” gimmick feels empty.

Serena Deeb vs. Big Swole: A rough outing. Deeb can typically be counted on to have a quality in-ring outing. Meanwhile, Swole continues to struggle with in-ring consistency.

Miro: Just because he enjoys gaming in his free time doesn’t mean it has to be part of his act. I guess we should be happy that he’s not a model train enthusiast. It’s early and perhaps he can make this work, but I have been completely underwhelmed by Miro in AEW thus far.