SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Does it feel like summer yet? Whether or not it does, it’s time for Beach Break and what should be a stellar AEW Dynamite episode. This special event has been promoted for weeks and not only has a heck of a main event championship cage match, but an intriguing tag match with Will Ospreay and Hangman Page as partners, Toni Storm in another 4-way and Ricochet battling Zach Gowen… yes, Zach Gowen. Plus, what should be a compelling MJF/Hurt Syndicate segment. I have high hopes for this one so let’s see how they did.
HITS
MOX-JOE CAGE + ANARCHY ANNOUNCEMENT
Yes, there was a lot going on at the end of the title match. First though, I thought the match itself was pretty good. I think we all get used to a certain style with AEW with a lot of movement and high-flying that can make a slower match seem like it wasn’t quite as good, but I enjoyed the story told by Mox and Joe and despite being subdued most of the night, the crowd was certainly behind Joe.
As someone who has learned about and appreciated Gabe Kidd in the past 6 months, I loved that surprise, but I can understand if you don’t know who he is, that may have been anticlimactic. Now one issue I had that made little sense was that we saw rope breaks enforced during the match, yet the ref clearly allowed a briefcase to the head that ended the match. That was dumb and should have been fixed.
We all knew that Anarchy in the Arena was coming so the post-match was no surprise to me. What I did like was that the groups of wrestlers did not make their way into the cage during the match and it was just the Kidd interference that was the difference. I am looking forward to the Anarchy match at Double or Nothing as it looks like it’ll be the only hardcore match we are getting on that PPV.
SABU TRIBUTE
It was short and sweet, but Taz did a great job eulogizing his friend and colleague Sabu. You know he was speaking from the heart and I have to admit the pointing to the sky from everyone afterwards hit me right in the feels.
QUICK HITS
– There was a lot to like about the opener. It was a strong wrestling match with entertaining commentary, but I can’t give it a full “Hit” because of the manufactured dissention between Ospreay and Hangman. I was hoping they could get through a match as a team and then show a little aggression afterwards, but AEW could not help themselves by multiple instances of “accidental physicality” between the two that I believe we didn’t need to see. The matchup sells itself and does not need the added drama.
– They promoted the main event in the first segment of the show! I ask for it week after week and I need to give them credit when they come through however it would have been nice to hear from each wrestler or, at the very least, show them preparing for the match to keep the anticipation going throughout the two hours.
– Zach Gowan still has it and it’s very impressive to see him perform. I have more on it below, but the crowd reaction was lacking in this one, especially when it came to jeering Ricochet which has been something that most crowds have gotten into in a big way in recent weeks and months. I thought the figure four (or is it a figure 3?) attempt by Ricochet was pretty funny and I liked that the post-match angle set up a feud with Mark Briscoe moving forward.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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MISSES
HURT SYNDICATE/MJF
For the first time since they began this story, I was not a fan of the segment. I thought this was a weak attempt to keep it going yet another week. MJF came across as a dope who wanted the Hurt Syndicate’s approval so much that he’s going way over the top with his reactions.
Whatever happens next week, MJF’s character went too far down the goofy road for me. Max should be plotting just like MVP and we should see two smart men looking for ways to take advantage of each other. It’s going to be hard for MJF to keep his seriousness and edge even if he claims this was his plan all along. I’m more concerned than ever that they will be unable to stick the landing on this, but I hope I’m wrong and next week I can write an apology!
THE CROWD
Wow. What happened Chicago? When I saw that they filled nearly 5,000 seats for Dynamite I was fired up. I thought we’d see a raucous crowd that was singing, chanting and into everything. If it was great in the building and it just didn’t translate on TV, I’d love to know, but I felt the crowd of about 3,000 in Detroit last week was far better.
The lethargic crowd hurt many of the stories and the only big pops I can remember were Ospreay, Joe, Toni Storm, and Swerve.
Like above, if I am wrong and it was loud in there, I’m happy to have been mistaken, but for much of the show, I didn’t see much life and I didn’t think the show itself or AEW was to blame for it.
In conclusion, the episode wasn’t quite as good as I hoped. I thought it was a solid show and enjoyable to watch for the most part, but at the end I felt a little incomplete and slightly disappointed that it wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be.
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.
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