AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES (3/4): FTR and The Bucks heats up over family disrespect, Ciampa rebuffs FTR, Knight has good showing against MJF, missing element in commentary, Finlay arrives

HITS

TWO-HOUR NARRATIVE SURROUNDING HANGMAN, MJF, JET SPEED AND THE CALLIS FAMILY

It’s not too often that AEW weaves a story throughout the entire two-plus hours of Dynamite. This show was jam-packed, but most of it revolved around the continued set up of the main event for Revolution between MJF and “Hangman” Adam Page, but also the feuds between Kevin Knight, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, and the Callis Family.

First, the opening match between MJF and Knight was very enjoyable. Knight stepped up and performed well in the spotlight. MJF did a great job turning much of the crowd, which was chanting for him early on. He didn’t get all of them, but he used his heel tactics well to elicit boos. I don’t think the ref bump and visual pin by Knight was necessary, but considering a banged-up Knight also took the pin in the main event, I can understand why they tried to protect him a bit. He certainly did not look out of place in a match that big.

Later, Hangman’s ultra-quick squash win made the King Kong Bundy vs. Special Delivery Jones match at WrestleMania 1 look like an iron man match! (Old guy humor). Following that, MJF played his character perfectly using the hired guns of the Callis Family to soften Hangman up.

That was followed by Don Callis calling out Hangman, Knight, and Speedball and, for once, teasing a match that actually was going to pay off that night. I loved that we got the main event announced due to something that happened in the middle of the show. It got the crowd going and was a welcome change of pace.

As for that main event, it was another strong showing in a string of great main events. The match was non-stop action with some amazing spots and some hard hitting. The story of Hangman, Knight, and Speedball coming into the match softened up, and Callis pointing out that they should not have “run their mouths” saying they’ll face them anytime and anywhere, was well executed. MJF’s involvement helps further the story for the Revolution main event. And the best part of the whole night was I no longer have to hear the dumb team name Jet Set Rodeo!!

DAVID FINLAY JOINS AEW

I believe that in the long-term, this should be a very strong signing. It’s clear David Finlay has talent and charisma and is a former leader of the War Dogs group in New Japan. It wasn’t obvious to the fans exactly who he was so he did not get a huge reaction, but I think that’s okay for a heel at this point.

Finlay, especially when you pair him with Gabe Kidd, can be a very solid addition as long as they do not get caught in the mix with the other factions. If they really see something special in them (and I do in Kidd), then they have to be booked strong and win far more often than they lose. The jury is out, but it’s promising.

QUICK HITS

– It was hard to be “inspired” by the IInspiration! After a few backstage promos, they were beaten up in record time by the Brawling Birds. If you want to get over the Birds, I think it was effective. If you were hoping for more from the former IIconics, you are going to be disappointed.

– The backstage interview with FTR and The Young Bucks was well done. It did not overstay its welcome and built the match as something different than their previous encounters. For the Bucks, at least, this is not about being the best tag team ever, but it’s now personal after FTR put their hands on the Bucks’ family. I like mixing this up a bit and you may see a tad more brawling in the match from Matt and Nick than the usual athletic spots.

– Jon Moxley’s match with Hechicero was a hard-hitting battle as expected. It had the crowd engaged from the start with a lot of cheers for Hechicero. My favorite part was the crowd counting the punches in the corner in Spanish for Hech and then in English for Mox. It further set up the Revolution match with Takeshita as well.

– I liked the surprise of Brody King coming out without warning late in the show. As noted earlier, the show was packed, so to hold something like that and make it a surprise was welcomed. Conveniently, Swerve Strickland attacked him from behind and I was happy not to hear many “Swerve’s House” chants from the crowd, showing the heel turn is working, at least in El Paso.

– I loved the line from Tomasso Ciampa saying he did not come to AEW to wrestle “instant classics,” but he wants to be a top guy. That’s something for the fans to get behind and taking a shot at Dax is also effective in getting the fans to support him.

– Thekla and Thunder Rosa had a very good women’s title match. Rosa looked the part of a former champ in just her second match back from injury. Thekla looked very good and winning clean was important for her to solidify her title reign as a champion to be feared so when someone eventually beats her, it’ll be a big deal. The latest new look for Kris Statlander is once again confusing and weird to me.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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MISSES

COMMENTARY WOES… AGAIN.

First of all, I would love to know what’s going on with Taz. He was back and better than ever for a few weeks and then has been gone for over a month. Without him, Bryan Danielson, or Nigel McGuinness, the heavy lifting of analysis falls on Excalibur and Tony Schiavone, and that’s not working.

This show was terrific, but the voice of a former wrestler on commentary was missed. The more Tony Schiavone has to come up with analysis, the worse the commentary becomes. Case in point, during the first match when MJF was cheating and taking cheap shots, Tony told the viewers it was a smart move. What?! Tony’s job is to call out MJF’s antics as disgusting and unsportsmanlike. He’s supposed to be making it clear to viewers that MJF is a bad guy and cheating is not the way a champion or any wrestler should behave.

Tony has a lot of value as a broadcaster, but he continually says things that contradict the narrative and he doesn’t do that as much when you have a better analyst at the desk.

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