AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES (7/26): Jack Perry’s music, MJF & Cole interaction, Lock Jaw, Fox vs. Cassidy, Darby vs. Swerve

SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

Since I’ve started writing this column, I’ve taken a few minutes on Wednesday afternoons to watch AEW’s YouTube preview of Dynamite. It does not get a ton of views (22,000 or so this week), but it does a good job of setting the stage for the show. I am bringing this up to point out that during this week’s preview, the Lucha Brothers gave what has to be their best promo to date. It was very intense from not only Alex Abrahantes, but both Rey and Penta and it’s something that should be showcased on a show that more people watch. Here’s hoping they play it during Dynamite. Now as far as this week’s show, I’m going into it hoping they continue to bring a nice mix of good matches, good promos, and advancing and setting up storylines that’ll make viewers want to tune in next week. Here we go!

HITS

A.R. FOX VS. ORANGE CASSIDY

First, the promo — We’ve seen AR Fox from time to time on AEW television and he’s often on the losing end of matches, but after watching the promo with Darby, it made me feel something for him as he got set for a title match.

Now, the betting odds were clearly not in Fox’s favor in this one, but the long term storytelling with OC’s injuries made him vulnerable and allowed the crowd to believe in the near-falls. Fox is a joy to watch if you like this style of wrestling, and the majority of the crowd seemed to. Cassidy is one of the top “sellers” in the company which is a big reason his matches are so entertaining week to week. Both performers deserved the standing ovation they got from the crowd. And just when I was about to say Fox should have been more upset by the loss, he suckers OC and opens up another storyline with Darby, who came out to confront him. (Kudos to the production team for letting this breathe as well. It seems they are learning to slow down a bit).

Extra credit for more story progression with Moxley coming out to put a hurtin on OC (poor guy!)

MJF & COLE PROMO

It would have been nice for them to have been there live, but they did a great job in promoting the match on Saturday. There was no comedy and no silliness. They got serious and it makes the upcoming match on Saturday serious. Roddy did a much better job acting this week reacting to the facial expressions from MJF after the belt issue last week. It seems clear to me that Cole will not look like an idiot after the relationship blows up, and that he’s just baiting MJF into giving him another title shot. Both guys are trying to set up the other and that should make Saturday very interesting as it plays out. Add to that an intense FTR promo and I’m very much looking forward to that match and that’s exactly what you want if you are AEW.

DARBY VS. SWERVE

Another classic between these two. Their chemistry is off the charts. Everything looks crisp and they tell a great story. The fireman’s carry onto the apron got me out of my seat. Plus, you got a payoff from earlier in the show with AR Fox interfering and joining the Mogul Embassy and setting up a feud between them and Darby and Nick Wayne. It will be interesting to see if Fox can adjust his style to heel without losing what makes him fun to watch.

Again, they let this payoff breathe with Excalibur not rushing to the next thing as they’ve done way too much in the past. Well done.

THE MAIN EVENT

See below for a major miss regarding the main event, but since I saw the promos from all the teams and knew the backstory, I really got into this match. I love the Lucha Brothers and have missed them over the past few months. Fenix is one of the best bump-takers I’ve ever seen and they can adjust their style to whichever opponent they face. I’m hoping they are showcased more often and get a boost after the win. It was also a nice bookend moment with Orange Cassidy coming out to confront Moxley and I’d love to see them battle soon.

MISSES

JACK PERRY’S MUSIC

Awful. Please change it.

GRAVITY WHO?

Big missed opportunity to, at the very least, introduce Gravity to the Dynamite crowd. He was showcased with a short promo on the YouTube preview show and there’s no reason they couldn’t take 20 seconds to play that on Dynamite before the match.

KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!!

For the love of… Taya… you know Britt Baker’s finisher and you know how she does it. How hard is it to try and keep your mouth closed for at least a few seconds before she does something to get her hand in there? It just looks bad week after week when the opponent opens up like… well… a dentist tells you to.

LACK OF PROMOTION OF THE MAIN EVENT

As I mentioned above in the introduction, the YouTube Dynamite preview featured one heck of a promo from the Lucha Brothers. There was also a solid promo from the Best Friends. If you want viewers to watch the show to the end you have to give them a reason. Playing these short promos would have been key to doing so. Sprinkle them throughout the show and get people fired up for the main event. Excalibur said before the match, “The bad blood between these teams has heated up over the last 7 days” — well, you wouldn’t know it because they didn’t show it!
This was a massive fail.

Overall, I felt this was another solid show. Over the past couple of months, I think there has been an effort to focus on storytelling and angles and less on just putting on match after match. They seem to be slowing down the pace just a bit and it makes for a better watch. Not all the storylines are going to be winners, but if they continue to plan out shows this way and do a little better job promoting the main event, I think they’ll continue to see positive results and better ratings.

OR CHECK OUT THIS REPORT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: AEW Dynamite results (7/26): Powell’s live review of Orange Cassidy vs. AR Fox for the AEW International Title, Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Lucha Bros vs. Best Friends, Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland, Taya Valkyrie vs. Britt Baker