SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.
-Ohhhhhh, the Dynamite Diamond Ring Battle Royal. This thing is confusing because it appears that none of the top stars want it. MJF does I guess, but as world champion, the diamond ring prize even plays second fiddle to him. AEW has to be smarter about these kinds of things. The Dynamite Diamond Ring was an interesting gimmick for a mid-card level MJF to hold year over year over year. He’s surpassed that now, but the ring still is a mid-card thing. Nothing wrong with the company openly treating it that way instead of overselling it.
-MJF did some really great work out there this week. He’s back to being a heel as we know and had the full audience booing him this week. Thumbs up.
-Ricky Starks, that was your Austin 3:16 moment my friend. What a promo from Starks. Ok, on one hand, this was successful from a character perspective for Starks. He leaned into his story, his charisma, his work ethic, and then contrasted that directly against MJF. The crowd bit on it the entire way. Then, at the same time, he sold the damn match against MJF next week. Starks talked about stakes, about taking away responsibility from MJF, and about taking the title. That’s business and Starks was all about business this week. Just tremendous work.
-My god, Darby Allin vs. Samoa Joe was a war. Joe and Allin had great chemistry together and Allin put it all on the line to make Joe look like a vicious monster out there. The bumps he took are going to take their toll, but boy did they do a good job of making Samoa Joe. Because of how this match went, they have a rematch to go to and one that can absolutely hold down a spot on an AEW PPV.
-The BCC vs. JAS tag match was fine, but here is not a lot of juice behind Castagnoli vs. Jericho at Final Battle. It’s a sputtering feud at this point.
-So, Jon Moxley took the liberty and cut go-home babyface promos for himself ahead of an Adam Page showdown, Wheeler Yuta, and Castagnoli. That doesn’t scream “good” for Yuta and Castagnoli.
-What in the hell was that William Regal interview? An interview that they filmed only to air if something happens to him? At best, that’s a long, long stretch. The content of the interview itself was ridiculous. It tried to tie loose ends together surrounding him and Jon Moxley, but it whiffed badly. Not good.
-House of Black did it’s biggest and best late Wyatt Family impression this week and that’s not a compliment.
-Good to see Jaime Hayter get some microphone time via an interview with Tony Schiavone on AEW Dynamite. That was a good thing. The content needed to be more focused on her, though. Who is she? What’s her personality? She did fine, but needs to find and then showcase a character to continue growing.
-Jade Cargill on Dynamite! This was essentially a squash. Cargill still is in dire need of a real feud with a credible opponent. The Baddies do nothing for her.
-I continue to despise all interactions between Saraya and Britt Baker. The two women just don’t seem to have a good feel on how to work together on AEW Dynamite.
-Really good main event and The Acclaimed beating FTR cleanly is very notable. Cash Wheeler’s face after he took the pin was just tremendous. It sold not only the disappointment of losing, but the stakes of the match as well. Just small detailed work that went a long way to help the match out. The Acclaimed stuck right with FTR throughout the entire match from an in-ring perspective, which is a good sign for their long term potential in the company.
-Dog Collar Match between The Briscoes and FTR at Final Battle? Yeah, I’ll take that.
CATCH-UP: HEYDORN’S WWE NXT RECEIPT 12/6: A tale of two hypes for Iron Survival Challenge at Deadline
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.