HEYDORN’S DYNAMITE RECEIPT 7/20: Chaotic and violent barbed wire main event lacks focus

This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.

-Darby Allin vs. Brody King was a fantastic opener. For the first time in AEW, King really showed a special side that looked like ferocious, dominant heel. Credit him, but credit Darby Allin too. Allin bumped like a maniac for King’s offense and got King over. Allin knew his role and expertly played the part.

-I shouldn’t want this, but Sting vs. Malaki Black? Oh, why the hell not. Let’s do it.

-Jon Moxley’s momentum as the interim champion is going to give Tony Khan something to think about when booking the unification match between Punk and Moxley at some point. Moxley like will do the job, but he’s really been a top level guy, getting a top level reaction since he won the belt.

-Did that Swerve and Keith Celebration air on Monday Night Raw or Dynamite? Dynamite?! LOL. Hey, there is a time and a place for that kind of thing, but this was a swing and miss. Very much a WWE style celebrity segment.

-Annnnd they cash in on those Christian Cage promos and cash-in in a big way. The reaction for Jungle Boy’s return was loud and passionate – exactly what Cage and Khan had been cooking up. The Luchasaurus turn was a surprise, but logical given the history that he and Jungle Boy have together. Next up? We need a fiery Jungle Boy promo.

-Ricky Starks is going to make that Danhausen match a blast. He’s a guy that needs more week in and week out on the shows.

-Get Kris Statlander a manager or get her away from the microphones. All of them. Statlander loses a lot when she speaks due to being robotic, unemotional, and a timid. She needs a ton of work in the talking department.

-So, about that main event. Look, it lived up to its violent hype. There was blood, barbed wire spots, screaming, and destruction. Ok, thumbs up there. The finish? So much wrong with it. First of all, practice the key spot! Second, if those guys could just slide out of the cage, why not do it earlier before the cage got raised up. Third, some real sloppy work at the end with Jericho holding Guevara, Kingston whiffing on a back fist, but Jericho selling for it, and then both guys slowly pushing each other away. Awkward. And well, bad.

-How did Eddie Kingston not go over here? This is the blowoff presumably. Not sure you can take the story anywhere else in the near future. Maybe Tony Khan wants Chris Jericho as a backup plan for a Moxley opponent at All Out? Ok, I guess, but if not, Kingston was sacrificed for just about nothing.

CATCH-UP: 7/20 AEW DYNAMITE TV RESULTS: Keller’s report on “FyterFest” including Jericho vs. Kingston in a barbed wire match, Moxley & Yuta vs. Best Friends, ROH PPV hype, more