AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES (6/24): Ospreay falling into ice tub, Takeshita vs. Ricochet delivers, Cameron beating Shafir, Garcia too competitive against Swerve

HITS

DEATH RIDERS VS. BRODIDO & MISTICO

This was not a typical face vs. heel matchup, but the fans showed how much they enjoyed this battle as they got behind all six guys. Well, maybe not Wheeler Yuta. Brody King’s “lucha” spot off the ropes was amazing and had the fans on their feet. All six of the participants had a chance to shine in this match. I didn’t like that Brody took the loss, but they clearly did not want to pin Bandido or Mistico considering their place on the Forbidden Door card. This was a great match to open the show and get the crowd involved.

KONOSUKE TAKESHITA VS. RICOCHET

I pretty much could have written this in the “Hits” portion before Dynamite started. You knew this was going to be a classic and it certainly was. Ricochet was on his A-game from the opening bell and Takeshita is just so smooth. They worked well together and told a great story. I enjoyed the near-falls as both men showed great timing kicking out, except maybe once! This was a solid main event of a very very good show of in-ring action.

QUICK HITS

– Will Ospreay falling over into the ice tub at the start of the show was freakin’ hilarious. The look on all of their faces, especially Daniel Garcia, was priceless and the smile Ospreay had on his face brought me so much joy.

– I enjoyed the debut of ELP (formerly El Phantasmo) as he had the tall task of facing Will Ospreay. It’s been a while since they faced each other, but you would not have known it with the chemistry the two showed. This was a lot of fun to watch and a nice showcase for Ospreay as he preps for Sunday.

– I can’t find the words to describe the shirt with oiled up MJF and Don Callis, but Kyle Fletcher’s look was so ironic considering the most graphic picture of that type shown in AEW history was of Fletcher and Callis a couple of years ago.

– The Zack Sabre Jr vs. Jack Perry match was a nice showcase for those not used to Sabre’s wrestling style. That was followed by the Young Bucks continuing a solid wrestling episode by taking out the rest of TMDK and then Kenny Omega went face to face with Sabre. I think this program could have used a little more mic work to sell it. I’m excited for this match, but I’m easy! They could have done a better job getting casual fans invested.

– I am certainly digging Thekla’s storyline with Stardom and seeing her invading their shows is cool. I wish they would give us a little more or at least lengthen the video package a bit to let it breathe and not feel so rushed. Still, this has been one of my favorite storylines leading into Forbidden Door.

– The final segment with Mark Briscoe and friends was effective in setting up the big cage match at Forbidden Door, but it was very contrived and cliche for this type of go-home show. The wrestlers coming out one by one to get their shots in is just not realistic for something like this, so I wasn’t a huge fan. That said, this should be a wild time on Sunday night and I’m very much looking forward to what they do.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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MISSES

– Harley Cameron should not be defeating Marina Shafir. It’s that simple. Harley has come a long way, but Shafir is unique and the Death Riders need to have members other than Jon Moxley that win matches.

– Swerve Strickland showed a lot of aggression in his warm up match against Daniel Garcia, but the match was too competitive especially with Strickland participating in the main event of an upcoming PPV. I know they are laying groundwork for a leg injury that will likely play a role on Sunday, but I think you want Swerve as strong as possible so when Ospreay beats him, it makes him look better rather than him beating a Swerve that is less than 100 percent. That said, AEW has done a good job building this match and it’s likely the match that will sell Forbidden Door to fans that may be on the fence deciding whether to order it.

(Please 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 and we’ll have a preview of Forbidden Door this week. Search “pwtorch” on your podcast app to subscribe. Send questions and comments to allelitecc@gmail.com.)