SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
My Dynamite checklist before this episode:
1. Further hype Full Gear and get people invested
2. Pay off this “Moxley takes over TBS” promotion that I saw for the past 24-48 hours
3. Entertain me for 2 hours
Let’s see how they did.
HITS
OSPREAY AND FLETCHER PROMO
The crowd in BRIDGEPORT was very hot and cold throughout the show, but you can tell that Will Ospreay is the top babyface star when you heard their reaction for him. I just love the way he talks in a promo. He speaks like a real person and not someone trying to remember lines. You can see the emotion on his face. And the badass way he threw the screwdriver straight into the mat on the floor was pretty cool.
Kyle Fletcher is pretty good as well. He was clear and concise and the smirk on his face when Ospreay was talking about not feeling his son’s hand made me want to jump through the screen and punch him. Great stuff. I don’t know exactly where this is going with Kyle quite yet, but the match at Full Gear should steal the show.
SURPRISE FINISHES
One of the most frustrating things with AEW has been the predictable outcomes in TV matches. If you asked me before this show, I would have said Adam Cole definitely beats Takeshita either by sneaky pin or DQ. I would have also said that FTR was definitely going to beat the House of Black in the tag match. It was a pleasant surprise that I was wrong on both accounts. I haven’t been a fan of the Adam Cole storyline since his return, but this was at least something that got my attention and I’m curious to see how it plays out. If they come up with some lame reason to put Cole into the match at Full Gear anyway, I will be disappointed, but for this episode it was refreshing to see some matches not go the way I, and most people, expected.
SWERVE VS. LIO RUSH (THE MATCH)
I had a blast watching this match. I expected it to be fun, but the way Swerve was able to keep up with Rush’s athleticism was so impressive. I have always been a fan of Rush, but his size has always been a factor in his booking. As a short guy myself, I am always rooting for the smaller wrestlers so I’m hopeful he can end up moving up the card at some point soon. Swerve just reminded us how good he is in the ring and I’d love for him to get back into the world title scene soon.
QUICK HITS
– I enjoyed the Jon Moxley/Death Riders segment and the further hype for the Full Gear match with Orange Cassidy. I could listen to Moxley deliver promos all day long and never get bored.
– The Hurt Syndicate continues to stand out to me as their presentation is unique in the company with the cool suits and their confident/arrogant attitude.
– During the main event, it was smart to cut back to Zay reacting to the match. He did a great job and it was something that added to the drama.
– It was a miracle nothing “popped out” during the Mina & Harley backstage segment
– I am really digging the Julia Hart videos. Very well done and I’m looking forward to her return.
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Dynamite: CLICK HERE (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
MISSES
THE “TAKEOVER”
What a major miss this was. Promoting a Jon Moxley “takeover of TBS” on social media and television was intriguing. What were they going to do? Would it be good NWO…. or bad NWO… or something new and exciting?
It was just a segment.
What a bust. While it was mentioned by the commentary a few times, it took 55 minutes to even see Moxley and his group on the screen. They should have been the first thing you saw. It took something away from a cool opening tag match when I was expecting Moxley to have done something.
As mentioned above, it was a decent segment, but that didn’t matter because most viewers were wondering what is this “takeover” I was supposed to see? This is very damaging and too similar to the “big announcements” that were busts a lot of the time before they smartly stopped doing them.. They apparently didn’t learn from their earlier mistakes on this episode.
SWERVE, YOU ARE IN BRIDGEPORT!
I know it was a simple mistake and one that Swerve is likely kicking himself for, but it kind of ruined the post match segment with the Hurt Syndicate. First, many AEW die hard fans don’t like WWE and bringing up Stamford made it worse. Second, I wish the crowd was able to let it go and try and get into the storyline, but it’s their prerogative to chant what they want and they did.
It’s a shame because that was an important segment that was hijacked due to a simple mistake.
FREE ATHENA!
This stays in this column until they do it!
All in all, this was another enjoyable two hours of wrestling, but I don’t think it’s an episode that is getting viewers engaged enough in the product to see it grow. I think it’s good but stagnant and there is still something missing to get back to the packed houses and higher viewership. Next week will be very important to try and sell the non diehards on ordering the PPV.
Don’t forget to check out the weekly free podcast I’m part of, “The All Elite Conversation Club” that typically drops on Fridays the PWTorch Dailycast lineup. Joel Dehnel and I have a great time breaking down all things AEW! Search “pwtorch” on your podcast app to subscribe. Send questions and comments to allelitecc@gmail.com.
Stay right here and keep the flow going. We think you’ll like to read this next…
RECOMMENDED NEXT: AEW DYNAMITE RESULTS (11/13): Keller’s report on FTR vs. House of Black, Baker vs. Penelope Ford, Takeshita vs. Cole, Swerve vs. Rush, Moxley, Ospreay
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: AEW Dynamite results (11/13): Powell’s live review of Konosuke Takeshita vs. Adam Cole in a non-title match, FTR vs. Malakai Black and Brody King for a spot in the four-way for the AEW Tag Titles at Full Gear
(You can always reach PWTorch editor Wade Keller at kellerwade@gmail.com. You can also send live event results and news tips to that email. Also, we’re always looking for volunteer contributors to help us round out of coverage of the pro wrestling scene.)
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