AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES (10/22): Women’s Tag Team Bracket Reveal Disappoints, Okada vs. Bandido shines as main event, Jon Moxley is shaken, Powehouse as a heel

WrestleDream is behind us and there are some new directions AEW is going as we move through the fall. Next up is Full Gear and tonight’s episode of Dynamite should start the build to that event. I’m very intrigued to see how they reveal the Women’s Tag Team Title brackets. This is an opportunity to make this a big deal, possibly going line by line and showing the women’s reactions to being in the bracket or some disappointments for being left out. I fear they will just throw up a graphic and move through it quickly. This could be a nice five minute segment that could be compelling, similar to how college basketball does it with March Madness. Let’s see how they did!

HITS

NO-CONFIDENCE MOXLEY

Jon Moxley is shaken. I like it! After losing the World Title to Hangman Page a few months ago, they seemed to tease a storyline where Mox was having confidence issues. I’m glad they seem to be paying it off now. It was important for the Death Riders and Mox’s storyline to be refreshed and this seems like it can be an interesting way to go. Mox striking the ref and getting disqualified could start a narrative where his mental issues from his losses are beginning to take a toll and the rest of the Death Riders may need to do something about it.

Is there a breakup and babyface turn in the future for Mox once he gets through this? There are a number of ways they can go, but I like that they are not keeping them in the role that they’ve been in for over a year now.

I’ll add the Death Riders vs. Conglomeration to this “Hit” as the match was a ton of fun and showcased all six wrestlers at their best. Darby Allin saving Orange Cassidy from being thrown onto the announce table by Claudio was a great way to end it and further the storyline.

OKADA VS. BANDIDO

This was a fantastic main event with the crowd solely behind Bandido. They put on a show and Okada is really stepping up recently as they get ready for what will be an amazing 1-on-1 battle with Konosuke Takeshita in the coming months. I loved the way they ended the show with Takeshita coming out and seeing the tension build between them. I’m hoping they let this simmer until World’s End in December, since I am likely going to that show!

Bandido continues to impress me. Now that he’s been healthy and available, he is really showing what he can be. He has all the tools to be a stop star in AEW. His English is pretty good and if you’ve watched him in interviews and post-PPV press conferences, he really comes across as a humble guy who is easy to root for.

This was a solid way to end the show.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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QUICK HITS

– I was ready to give the opening Trios match a full “Hit” as it was a fantastic big men battle with some cool foreshadowing to future matchups down the line, but a dumb distraction finish left a bad taste in my mouth. It also seemed to promise more issues with the Hurt Syndicate and The Demand which I’m not wild about. It’s been done. Let’s move on already!

– Powerhouse Hobbs seems to show more personality when he is a heel. His mannerisms during Samoa Joe’s promo were great and far better than walking around with that snarl all the time.

– Darby Allin’s in-ring promo was similar to one’s he’s done in the past, but I liked the fact that it was short, sweet, and powerful while clearly stating his purpose for the near future.

– Jack Perry’s video package was strong and clearly laid out their plans. I would LOVE to see a tag title match between Jurassic Express and Brodido.

– Must be nice that Tony Khan has so much cash just laying around to put up in these “money matches” week after week! Nick Jackson quietly pocketing the $1 bill that Stokely handed him was hilarious.

– I may need to come up with a new category in this column. How about “This segment was so dumb and cringy, but there were a couple of funny moments and I did enjoy what they did at the end of it so I guess it was okay, but it was still stupid.” — Too long? Those were my thoughts on the Mercedes Mone ‘celebration’ segment.

MISSES

WOMEN’S TAG TITLE BRACKET REVEAL

Well, I did not get what I wanted, and thus, this is a “Miss”. I feel like they missed a great opportunity to make this bracket reveal, and in turn, the tournament feel bigger and more important. Sure, they teased ahead well and set some things up including MY GIRL Athena being put in there, which makes me happy.

However, taking five minutes to slowly reveal the brackets and showing the wrestlers backstage getting excited really would have made this much more compelling and showed how much this opportunity and the titles would mean to the participants.

Will it be an entertaining tournament? Yes. Could it have been presented better? Also, yes.

Solid episode of Dynamite that set up some intriguing stories for the near future.

Be sure 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.