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It’s a PPV week in AEW. Despite the compressed timeline I think Dynasty is a strong card with a suddenly less predictable main event following a superb go-home promo. Let’s take a look at the where things stand heading into this weekend.
Big Time Main Event
Latest Developments
Kenny Omega cut the best promo of his AEW career to conclude Dynamite and sewed some doubt as to the outcome of the Dynasty main event.
Analysis
Last week, Kenny Omega and MJF signed the contract for their match. MJF asserted that Kenny was a ticking time bomb, that his diverticulitis could explode at any time. Kenny’s retort was to say he spoke with MJF’s doctor and that MJF had had his balls removed. The real star of this segment though was “Speedball” Mike Bailey who came Kenny’s defense and set up a match with MJF. Kenny sat in on commentary for the match and he was much better in that role than he was in the earlier segment. He put over MJF and his in-ring acumen strongly.
While last week was uneven, this week was note perfect. MJF and Kenny each got a well-produced video package documenting their careers up to this point. The AEW doctor was interviewed briefly to rebut MJF’s claim about Kenny’s health. Following the main event, Kenny came out – in a suit, no less!
He then proceeded to cut easily the best promo he’s ever cut in AEW. He talked about being tired of hearing commentary talk about his diverticulitis but turning that into a strength. He ran down his history in Japan and said that while MJF is known for flapping his gums, Kenny’s known for doing things that nobody else can do in the ring. He said he could recreate wrestling in his image. He told the fans that they and AEW deserve a champion who can actually wrestle the best and that at Dynasty he would take the title and right the wrongs MJF has committed.
MJF came out and said that Sunday will be Kenny’s last shot and wondered what excuse Kenny will give when MJF beats him this time. He said that the God will fall and the Devil will rise to the throne “where he belongs.” Kenny asked Max to shake his hand. Max feigned shaking and started to walk away. He went to swing at Kenny who saw it coming, ducked, and hit him with a V-Trigger. He took MJF’s ring and did his signature catchphrase.
This was how you sell a main event world title match. Each man has a motivation to win the match and the title. Kenny really rose to the occasion on the mic. There’s some legit doubt as to the outcome of this one now. I still think it’s most likely that MJF wins, but Kenny’s got a real chance.
Grade: A-
Divisional Reset
Latest Developments
Jamie Hayter challenged Thekla for the AEW Women’s World title; Hikaru Shida made her return to AEW answering Willow Nightingale’s open challenge
Analysis
After the Brawling Birds & Mina Shirakawa defeated the Triangle of Madness on last week’s Dynamite in an up and down match, Jamie Hayter challenged Thekla to a title match at Dynasty. It felt like a sudden left turn given that Mina seemed like she was in line for a rematch. Thekla cut a strong promo on Hayter accepting the challenge and not mentioning the word toxic once. I do think that Hayter and Thekla will have a better match, but I do wonder why the switch happened.
Elsewhere, Willow Nightingale cut a promo last week that finally got me on Wade Keller’s side in the Willow debate. She was so over-the-top in her bubbliness and positivity that it was simply too much. She laid out an open challenge for Collision and for once it wasn’t immediately answered in the next segment. Instead, Willow came down to the ring on Collision to await her opponent who turned out to be Hikaru Shida returning to AEW after a long absence.
The Shining Samurai didn’t miss a beat. She laid her strikes in really taking to Willow. Willow narrowly escaped with the title after catching Shida with a backslide. Shida resisted the urge to attack Willow with a kendo stick after the match.
On Dynamite, Willow took on Queen Aminata who was herself returning from a several month layoff due to a neck injury. During her entrance, Willow was announced as “the Face of TBS,” which is a decidedly not face thing to do. The match itself was hard hitting. Aminata remains a delightfully stiff worker. Willow finally put her away with the Babe with the Powerbomb. During the entire match, Shida was standing in the crowd leaning on her kendo stick and watching.
I have to wonder if Willow’s heard some of the criticism and decided to use her saccharine insincerity to her advantage and go heel. Having yourself announced as “the Face of TBS” certainly feels like a step in that direction that Willow can play off with faux shock when someone calls her out. Perhaps Shida doesn’t turn, but ends up justified for eventually wearing Willow out with the kendo stick. One question, though: Where’s Mercedes Moné?
Grade: B+
Jordan vs. Pippen
Latest Developments
Using Kyle Fletcher’s meniscus injury, Don Callis manipulated Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita into partnering with the promise that if they beat the Young Bucks, Takeshita would get his match with Okada.
Analysis
Don Callis cut a promo turning the lemon of Kyle Fletcher’s torn meniscus, an injury that forced the Protostar to vacate the TNT Title, into lemonade. He said his intent was to set up a tag match between ProtOkada and the Bucks. Since Kyle was out, a change would have to be made.
After members of the Don Callis Family defeated Darby Allin & Jack Perry & Bandido, the Bucks ran out to stop the post-match beat down. Okada prevented the Bucks from hitting the Meltzer Driver on Takeshita only to come to blows with the Alpha literally seconds later. Other members of the Family intervened to break the fight up. Later in the night, Callis announced that Takeshita and Okada would be teaming up to face the Bucks, likening them to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Okada of course immediately told Takeshita that he (Okada) was Jordan and Takeshita was Pippen.
I appreciate the comparison to the famous basketball teammates/rivals. Though Pippen has turned into a world class hater these days, I don’t think they ever came to blows. That said Okada & Takeshita vs. The Bucks should be an excellent match. I’m just glad we’re finally getting some movement on the Okada-Takeshita story.
Grade: B
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Dynamite: CLICK HERE (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
Will This Be a One and Done?
Latest Developments
Will Ospreay challenged Jon Moxley to put his Continental Championship on the line to ensure no interference before bringing in his United Empire pals from New Japan to neutralize the Death Riders.
Analysis
Last week in Winnipeg, Ospreay and Pac tore it up. They had a great match where Pac focused on Ospreay’s neck the entire time. Ospreay got the pin by leveraging the Pac’s shoulders while in the Brutalizer thus surviving more than winning. Afterwards he had to endure a gang attack from the Death Riders who once again trapped his head in a chair. Mox intervened and stopped Claudio then cut a disappointed dad promo on Ospreay. He told him his decisions led him to this place and he should be more careful.
Ospreay wasted no time getting him so more of Mox after Mox took way too long to beat Anthony Bowens. They brawled until Ospreay went for a Tiger Driver 93 and Claudio pulled Mox to safety. That’s when Ospreay got the mic and challenged Mox to put the Continental Title on the line to guarantee that the Death Riders couldn’t interfere. The only problem is they’d already announced that the title was on the line on Dynamite. Wires definitely got crossed somewhere.
This week, Mox and Ospreay were the cold open to Dynamite brawling with each other until the Death Riders came to Mox’s aid. Ospreay then revealed that he didn’t come to Edmonton alone. Out of a car stepped Alex Windsor, as well as the United Empire of Francesco Akira, Henare, and new IWGP Champion Callum Newman.
The two teams beat the ever loving hell out of each other. At one point, Henare slammed Yuta on the trunk of a car and Yuta wasn’t seen for the rest of the night. Once the fight made its way to the ring, Ospreay laid out the challenge for the 5-on-5 Chaos in Canada main event.
The match was an intense, hard-hitting brawl that went all over the ringside area. Henare drove Claudio through a table with the Rampage. Newman put Pac through a table with his Excalibur double foot stomp. Akira attempted to powerbomb Daniel Garcia through a table but the table didn’t break. Absolutely brutal. Even worse, Akira tried stomp Garcia through the table, slightly overshot it, and the table still didn’t break. In the end, Ospreay pinned Mox after driving him through a table with the Hidden Blade.
It was an unexpected choice for Ospreay to get the win just days before they have their singles match. I still think Ospreay wins because he has to move on to the Owen Hart Tournament which should be starting up soon. They did tease the Tiger Driver spot again, so I guess that’s the hook for Sunday.
Grade: B+
Random Questions
– Is Chris Jericho Going to Make Me Like Him? Anyone who’s read this column knows exactly how I feel about Chris Jericho. His long absence was a welcome from the absolute drivel he was putting on TV every week. Understandably then, I was quite concerned when he returned last week. The crowd pop in his hometown of Winnipeg was modest, so I’m not alone in my weariness.
The promo this week was a little over the top to the point that I was wondering if he was veering back into his previous fake sincere babyface persona. In the end, it turned out his rah-rah AEW stuff was legit as he was confronted by The Demand.
Ricochet ran him down and told him not to sign his new contract. Jericho signed anyway before revealing the contract entitled him to select his first opponent. He chose Ricochet and then revealed his name on the back of the clipboard and told he just made the list. The return of The List got a real pop from the crowd and, loathe as I am to admit it, from me too. Unfortunately for Jericho that damn bell is going to have to ring this Sunday. Maybe Jericho can pull off a good match with Ricochet, but I’m not convinced.
– Who will be the new TNT Champion. The new champion will be decided in a Casino Gauntlet match. I think there’s only two real options for the winner: putting the title back on Tomasso Ciampa or putting it on someone like Mascara Dorada as a surprise.
– Is AEW getting too comfortable making main events during the show? It was a regular feature in the Attitude Era but in reality, making the main event at the top of the show just makes the show feel unorganized. How would Tony Khan go into Dynamite without a main event? It’s illogical and goes against what we’ve come to expect from him. It’s now happened that twice on the road to Dynasty. I just hope Tony’s not getting too comfortable doing this. Once or twice is novel. More than that an it’s a crutch.
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