AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES (12/3): Samoa Joe-Eddie Kingston chat, which C2 match was best among Pac vs. Okada, Moxley vs. Claudio, Fletcher vs. Knight

HITS

SAMOA JOE-EDDIE KINGSTON CHAT

I just love listening to Eddie Kingston.  He brings such a unique way to talk to the wrestling fans and it really stands out.  His promo on Collision last week was solid and on Dynamite, the way he was able to get a “by the book” babyface promo to seem fresh is a good skill.

He may still be rusty in the ring after over a year off, but combining his promo skills with that of Samoa Joe really did a good job in setting up next week’s title match.  It sounded like the fans were engaged in this entire segment and I clearly was as well.

PAC VS. KAZUCHIKA OKADA

This match was a blast to watch.  The thing that stands out in the Continental Classic are many matches that you have not seen in a long time or matches that you have never seen in AEW.  The agility in this contest was off the charts and it was a reminder how Pac is such an underrated seller.  He was making Okada look so good while putting up a legitimate fight.  The upsets last week and in previous years led you to believe Pac could pull this out, which increased the enjoyment of the match.

Okada finding a way to use a leverage pin to get the victory furthers the story of him being an elite tournament wrestler.  The post-match interviews on social media added to it for me as well.  Pac stated one moment of complacency cost him, while Okada was super confident and declaring himself the best.  I wish there was a way to put these on Dynamite, but that’s not the way Tony Khan wants to format his show.   That’s not a criticism of Tony, it’s just his choice to push fans to the social media accounts to get more content.

JON MOXLEY VS. CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI

This was the match of the night for me.  As stated above, it was a match we had not seen in AEW and there were a ton of storyline implications.  The two performers crushed it with the narrative they told in just over 15 minutes.  Sure, Moxley bled again, but they made it part of the story.

Bryan Danielson added a lot on commentary giving insight on two of his former pals as well as his previous experience in the Continental Classic.  With the story they are likely telling, the finish was perfect as was the post-match backstage segment that was on social media showing all of the Death Riders in the back doing pushups and Moxley giving a short speech.  They are doing a great job setting up Mox to be a babyface after his group likely turns on him at some point.  They aren’t rushing it, but not dragging it out yet either.

QUICK HITS

– Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight’s match was another stellar show of athleticism.  Due to earlier upsets, the near falls were fantastic and really worked with the crowd.  Knight could certainly be the standout after this tournament despite the losses he’ll take.

– The Babes of Wrath video package was well done.

– AEW did a great job promoting matches for the next week.  There were constant reminders of some great battles set up for Collision this Saturday plus the matches for Winter is Coming next week. It really stands out when they do this and they should do it more (when they have compelling matches to promote of course!)

– The Callis family segment with the Young Bucks was fine and setting up a feud that includes Jurassic Express and Kenny Omega should lead to some good action but what was Omega waiting for to come out to help?  Was he just going to hang out in the back if the babyfaces got the better of the heels, but only when it turned, he waited for his music and then sauntered out calmly before running in to assist?  This was a little clunky for me, but the endgame should be good.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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MISSES

WOMEN’S TAG TITLE SEMIFINAL

I think this may be the first time Toni Storm is involved in my “Misses” portion.  It’s not as if the women in this match didn’t work hard, because they did.  It’s not as if some of the spots and seeing Luther again weren’t enjoyable, because they were.  My issue is after a couple of very violent PPV’s and Blood & Guts, why was it necessary to have a “Death Match” stipulation for this?

In addition, it’s a semifinal for the crowning of a brand new title. This should be taken seriously and not have been a hardcore match with a silly WWE-type ending with a guy in a Santa suit being the difference with so much on the line.

PODCAST ALERT: Don’t forget to check out the weekly free podcast I’m part of, “The All Elite Conversation Club” that typically 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.