AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES (1/21): MJF Preach! Kenny Omega turns back the clock, Swerve vs. Knight, Samoa Joe vs. Speedball

HITS

MJF PREACH!

Is this the same World Champion who went to Outback Steakhouse with Adam Cole and acted like an idiot? It was so great to see Max come out and lay down the law. He built up the World Title like it was the most important thing in the sport and the most important thing in his life.

As expected, Brody King came out to challenge him to a title match and I liked MJF’s response. Of course, as a heel he wants to avoid the match entirely, but he correctly pointed out Brody hasn’t beaten anyone of note.

I would have dialed back the “fear” at the end of the segment a bit, but the point was made that MJF talks trash until someone steps up and then he backs off. He’s the one that is all bark and no bite. That said, he also is a great wrestler and has beaten a lot of top guys so he should not be sweating Brody quite as much as he did in the segment.

KENNY OMEGA TURNS BACK THE CLOCK

The Kenny Omega of eight years ago is gone. That’s the way time works. However, when it comes to a TV match performance, this was the closest Kenny has been to “Prime Omega” in a long time. His match with Josh Alexander was fantastic. Omega was able to play all the hits and looked good doing so. He looked quicker and in complete control of his moves.

I enjoyed his interactions with Don Callis and for the second week in a row, he kept his speech quick and to the point. We know what he is trying to accomplish without any of the awkwardness of some of his past promos. It may be old for some fans, but I love that he is back to doing his catchphrases to wrap things up. Many viewers who were not around for his prime or even his early AEW days may not be aware of it and it’s a quick fun thing to do and the crowd was engaged for it.

SWERVE STRICKLAND VS. KEVIN KNIGHT

For two-thirds of this match, it was a decent main event with some storyline ramifications. The last third of the match was a stellar main event that had the crowd on its feet and as loud as they had been all night. These two built this match into a crescendo and while it seemed clear who was going to win, Swerve’s history of losing combined with Knight’s recent victories over top talent perhaps had some fans thinking upset.

Once again, the chemistry between these two was fantastic. The facial expressions from both added a lot to the story as well. Great main event.

QUICK HITS

– Taz is back, baby! He was missed. And he has gone full heel! The interactions with Tony Schiavone, Don Callis and Big Stoke added a lot of fun to the show.

– Tony Schiavone has caught some heat lately, but handing MJF the mic and saying “good luck buddy” when Brody King came out was great stuff. He also had some great lines to Callis and Stoke to go along with the usual over the top reactions to the product.

– It was a nice touch to have “Hangman” Page give advice to “Speedball” Mike Bailey before his match with Samoa Joe and somewhat kind of wish Kevin Knight luck against Swerve.

– Samoa Joe vs. Speedball was a very good match. Both guys are great at adjusting their styles to make the other look great. The chop on the outside from Joe to Speedball was crazy. The sound was deafening. I loved the crane kick as well. This was extremely entertaining, but the reason it’s not a full “Hit” is due to a ton of interference throughout. I know they want heat on the Opps, but Joe is a former World Champ and should not need all of that help to win.

– The Street Fight between the bottom of the Callis Family and the Death Riders was an enjoyable ride with some sick spots. The Death Riders played the babyface role for most of this one though they used plenty of underhanded tactics. I’m a bit confused where they are now while we wait and wait for an eventual breakup if it indeed will ever happen. I’m sure there is a reason for the slow-roll of this story, but I’m getting to the point where I’d like to get to it already.

– Great job bringing back the Taz match breakdown segment to showcase MJF’s win over Bandido last week. It is a fresh way to look at something rather than showing a typical video recap.

– Poor Mina Shirakawa. That was a nasty bump she took being thrown out of the ring by Megan Bayne with so much power that Toni Storm couldn’t catch her. Great job by her finishing the match and Bayne and Penelope Ford winning was a nice surprise and another example of AEW’s seemingly new commitment to be less predictable.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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MISSES

WE NEED MORE INFORMATION!

This is a minor miss, but I would have liked to have seen a little more background given with the new tag team of Alec Price & Jordan Oliver before the match with FTR. I stumbled upon MJF’s match with Price from last week in Maine for Limitless Wrestling on YouTube. It was a cool scene seeing the AEW Champ do an indy show and have a great match with a young up and comer.

I would have liked to see a clip from that match shown before the introduction of Price and Oliver to give viewers a quick taste of what Price can do and that he did it in a match against the company’s top guy.

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