SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Welcome everyone!
Another week of AEW television is in the books. We had the debut of Ilija Dragunov with vignettes hyping his match debut.
Honestly, it felt like they put more into his match debut than a lot of other Dynamite main events. I’m pretty sure there have been title matches in the main event slot that got less build throughout Dynamite. For me, his debut was fine. It should have been at the top of the second hour but it was fine.
Let me rant for a second. I don’t get why the Will Ospreay tag match was not in the main event? Then you end it the same way with Steve Borden throwing out the Blood and Guts challenge to end the show.
Ok, mini rant over.
Let’s look back at who I felt shined and who did not as much.
RISING STAR OF THE WEEK
MARK DAVIS & JAKE DOYLE
Well, that was a fun way to set up the next AEW World Tag Title opponents for the (not so) Young Bucks. Having watched wrestling for a long, long, time this also made me like the Bucks even more. In the ’90s trying to get a main event caliber team to do what the Bucks did would have been difficult.
With Davis & Doyle, they are different from almost every other featured tag team. They are big and bad men who can dominate and make it look real. Doyle especially looks like a guy you could have swapped with a Hercules Hernandez and Doyle becomes the Power part of Power & Glory.
Both showed up in AEW with very little fanfare but have proven why they are a good signing. Injuries aside, both have done well for themselves, especially Davis.
I am excited to see if they pull the trigger on a Davis & Doyle title win. With the story they are telling about the broken down Bucks, it works. If Davis & Doyle win, the first team I would have them beat is the other two big guy team, The Hurt Syndicate.
FIRST RUNNER UP – NICK “I BEAT CHRIS JERICHO” WAYNE
Wow, was I amused by Wayne last week. The smugness, the T-shirt, the pyro, I loved it all! To me this is the foundation, finally, being poured on a future main event guy.
Wayne has some over-emoting issues while on promos, almost like he was in theatre where you are taught to emote to the person in the last row. I think works for him while he is wrestling, but it’s a bit much on promos. I think it can and will be fixed with time.
Other than a Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater, who is a more impressive early-20s wrestler on a national wrestling show? The three of them are the potential future.
SECOND RUNNER UP – MARINA SHAFIR
Marina has quietly become a well-protected female star in AEW. She doesn’t wrestle that much, but when she does there seems to always be a story around it. Marina isn’t in random matches on Dynamite (hint hint, Will Ospreay), so her coming out to challenge Mercedes didn’t feel above Marina at all and it could have.
Mercedes Mone should also be included in this because of how she acted during their interaction. When the Death Riders music hit, I loved how the camera stayed on her and you could read her lips when she dropped the f-bomb. She was not happy at all and it was great.
This won’t be a Match of the Year type of match, but I think it will be different from a typical Mercedes match. Well, other than the ending because of how they do protect Marina I would guess Mercedes wins with a roll up.
All of that said, I am definitely excited for this match.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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FADING STAR OF THE WEEK
WOMEN’S BLOOD AND GUTS MATCH
One of my least favorite things during the final years of watching any WWE PLE’s was “calendar booking” – the setting up matches just because it’s “that time of year!” – then trying to act like the matches are special when you get to see them every 12 months. Add to it how jumbled this match is and I like it even less.
Let’s start with the heel team. Why are the Triangle of Madness teaming with the Divine Dominion? They have been battling the last month plus with Dominion being Mercedes back-up during her Thekla build. Now they are teaming together?
Next, Harely Cameron should not be in the match. She has an issue hurting herself or getting hurt during chaotic matches. People say they don’t like watching Darby because of what he puts himself through. Well, I feel the same way about Harley. I don’t want to watch her because I’m afraid she’s going to hurt herself.
I would have just been fine having all of these women fighting across different matches on the Blood and Guts episode of Dynamite. That match is going to be an hour, why not have the rest of the show just be women’s matches? Make the show different.
Like I said to start, this feels like a “we have to have a women’s Blood & Guts because it’s that time of year” move. This does not feel like a feud that needs to be settled inside the double cage.
