AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES (4/1): Did Jericho’s return work and what is his agenda? Did Omega’s commentary contribute? Is MJF still on track? What is Shirakawa’s drawback?

HITS

JERICHO RETURNS (AND WANTS YOU TO CHEER FOR HIM!)

For someone who stays off wrestling social media, this was quite a surprise. Personally, I would have been fine if he moved on after a couple of years of uninspired storylines, but it seems as if he is in shape and inspired. He looked great and I’m very intrigued to see what they have planned for him. Now, he “soaked up” the crowd response a tad too long for my liking, but he said he’s “home” and if he’s dedicated to a final run that is different from what he has done in the past few years, then bring it on.

OMEGA-MJF CONTRACT SIGNING

This was a straightforward but very effective contract signing. Kenny Omega was a bit all over the place in his opening words, but again, his motivations are clear so it worked for me. MJF continues to play his role perfectly. He continues to learn from past mistakes, avoided clever remarks, and was just a jerk. I think they picked a solid narrative to bring up the health of Omega and, in MJF’s words, the fact that his career is on the clock. Whether or not it’s true, it adds to the story.

“Speedball” Mike Bailey was very good in his role and it was refreshing to see a main event match made in the first segment of the show. It was an all-around strong way to keep fans invested in Dynamite, but also to promote the main event for Dynasty.

The trios match that followed was terrific too.

OSPREAY VS. PAC

The stars were out in Winnipeg and after a wild trios match to start the evening, we had the match of the night between Pac and Will Ospreay. Anyone who is familiar with these two knew what to expect, but it was still a joy to watch. These are two of the best wrestlers on the planet and they did not disappoint. Ospreay is playing the role of the “banged up babyface” and he’s doing a great job of it. He constantly clutched his neck and he had so much tape on his back and neck, it drove the point home. Pac was relentless and both wrestlers are such good sellers that they made each other look like a million bucks.

Both guys told such a good story in the ring. The battle in the Brutalizer was great theater and Ospreay was able to steal it late. Great stuff.

Jon Moxley was absolute gold after the match. He spoke to Ospreay like a parent speaks to a child that got in way over his head. Mox looked very torn between being the Mox of old, who would certainly have stomped on that chair he had wrapped around Ospreay’s neck. Instead, he showed mercy which allows the current incarnation of Moxley’s character to continue to make sense and the eventual split from the Death Riders make more sense down the line… IF they pull the trigger on it.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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MJF VS. SPEEDBALL BAILEY

It was brilliant to have MJF come out as the “American Hero” and show that flag to get the crowd riled up and even better to have Speedball come out in Canada colors. It set the tone nicely. Speedball is one of the few old school babyfaces in wrestling these days and it worked so well in front of this crowd.

I was a little concerned about having Omega on commentary throughout the match as he can be a bit of a wild card, but I thought he gave great insight, especially when talking about Speedball’s skills. The anecdote about Omega going barefoot early in his career was cool to hear. He also built up MJF as an exceptional wrestler pointing out how good his ring awareness was. That’s what you are supposed to do when talking about your opponent so if you beat him, you beat someone great and if you lose, you lost to someone great.

MJF is such a smart wrestler and it’s important for TV viewers to see that now that he’s wrestling a bit more on television than he had in the past. He also has no issues making his opponents look good along the way. His psychology is fantastic for someone so young. The main event was perfectly booked.

QUICK HITS

– Was Christian going to hit Renee with a chair? What an A-hole!

– Here’s something I didn’t know. After hearing Nigel McGuinness refer to the “Incy Wincy” spider when talking about Thekla, I looked it up and apparently “Incy Wincy” is the UK/Australian way of saying it and in the USA/Canada it’s “Itsy Bitsy.” The more you know!

– Darby Allin vs. Andrade could be a show stealer at the PPV but I’d like to see Darby wrestle more of a traditional match than the stuntman style we’ve seen way too much recently.

MISSES

LET EM HAVE IT MINA!

Mina Shirakawa is very talented, but in her match teaming with the Brawling Birds against the Triangle of Madness, there was very little force behind her moves. They looked extremely soft. That has to improve if she is going to be one of the wrestlers to help replace Toni Storm in the women’s division. Jamie Hayter has no issues making her moves look stiff, so perhaps she can help!

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