SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
HITS
UNITED EMPIRE ARRIVAL/MATCH WITH DEATH RIDERS
That was certainly an explosive start to Dynamite and a very cool answer to why Will Ospreay was trying to take on the entire group of Death Riders for the past few weeks. The opening segment got the fans into the show immediately and I thought the announcers did a great job quickly explaining who the rest of the members of United Empire were and why they should be taken seriously.
It was another week where they set up the main event with an angle on the show and I think it worked again. The main event match was a ton of fun and a great introduction to Callum Newman, Henare, and Francesco Akira for those who did not know who they were. I loved adding Alex Windsor to offset Marina Shafir as well.
The commentary also did a great job during that main event to constantly remind viewers why they should be impressed by the New Japan contingent. All eight competitors were fantastic in the brawl and looked like they belonged. The chemistry was impressive considering they likely haven’t worked much with each other.
Ospreay pinning Moxley was a surprising finish which leads you to believe Mox may win it on Sunday night, but we will see. I’d love it more if the Continental Title wasn’t on the line because, again, I’m not a fan of that title being defended in singles matches when it’s won in an annual tournament.
These were great bookend segments on the show.
KENNY OMEGA – MJF BUILD
This is how you build a main event for a PPV. First, we saw exceptional video packages on each wrestler to make sure every viewer knew the history and what brought each of them to this point.
Second, you ended the show with a fantastic in-ring confrontation. Kenny Omega delivered one of the best promos I’ve ever seen him deliver. He looked like a star and he spoke like a star. There was very little awkwardness and he spoke from the heart. He went a tad too far at one point breaking kayfabe in talking about performing and telling stories and such, but got back on track and ended strong.
MJF crushed it as usual, again staying away from clever lines and getting right to the point. Everything he said made sense and you can tell he believed every word he said. This was a main event promo and both wrestlers got the job done selling this as a must-see match on Sunday at Dynasty.
I had one small issue and that was the end. Omega was perfect in offering to shake hands, knowing Max would try to attack him. Omega got the better of Max there and then took his ring. I would have had Omega keep the ring and promise to return it to him after the match Sunday knowing that MJF uses that ring on a regular basis to cheat.
If Max uses the ring to win at Dynasty, Omega looks like an idiot.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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QUICK HITS
– I like that Don Callis clearly announced the Kyle Fletcher injury, what it meant for the TNT Title, and how the family will now honor him. The Michael Jordan/Scottie Pippen comparison for Konosuke Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada was well done and set up perfectly for Okada to proclaim that he was the “Jordan”. I like how Callis is trying to keep his guys together, but we all know it’s going to blow up at Double or Nothing or before.
– The way Callis followed up on Fletcher’s injury on commentary and the interview with Dr. Sampson in the back gave that storyline a very “sports-like” feel and I loved that.
– The Willow Nightingale-Queen Aminata TBS title match was very good. It was hard-hitting and that’s exactly what I wanted to see from Mina Shirakawa last week. We got it here. Aminata is talented, but again, I’d get rid of that “chocolate kisses” spot and she is still limited in promos so I’m happy with seeing her in the midcard for now. Perhaps call up Athena?? Maybe??!!
– The Cope & Christian segment was good, not great. Though I enjoyed Christian making sure everyone knew what he meant by “visiting” the mothers of FTR! This match didn’t need much more of a buildup, but the beatdown of Cope & Christian leads me to believe there will be a happy ending for Canadians on Sunday night!
– I loved the Darby Allin promo. There is something about the way he speaks that grabs your attention and this time it was a little different from his past promos. For the first time, he spoke on how much proving himself and becoming champion means to him and while that contradicts his attitude in the past, it certainly sets up for a likely Double or Nothing match with MJF for the title.
WAIT AND SEE ON JERICHO
I wouldn’t call it a “Miss”, but there seems to be a widespread “wait and see” approach from the crowd when it comes to Chris Jericho. I thought he did a solid job on his returning promo. At first, I wasn’t sure if he was setting up the fans by proclaiming how much he respects pro wrestling, how he wanted to get into great shape and it doesn’t matter where on the card he is, and how every idea he has isn’t gold.
After Ricochet came out, it was pretty clear he is going to be a babyface on this run and I think that’s the right move. As soon as I saw that clipboard, I had a thought whether he was going to revisit “The List” and sure enough, he paid that off bigtime. I enjoyed it, but I hope it is a one-off and he does not continue to revisit old WWE characters and makes this current one unique. Time will tell!
The reason this is a “Wait and See” is that the reactions have been subdued compared to those of his past as the fans are wondering where this is going to go. I’m not ready to make a decision on whether bringing him back was a good idea quite yet, but it’s clear that he has something to prove here and time will tell if he is able to pull it off. Regardless, I’m okay as long as he is not a focal point of the promotion and it does not look like that’s going to be the case.
(Don’t forget to check out the weekly free podcast I’m part of, “The All Elite Conversation Club” that 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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