SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
HITS
WILL OSPREAY’S OPENING THOUGHTS
Will Ospreay delivered a solid babyface go-home promo where he played perfectly to the crowd as well as the television audience. It was simple, but effective. While there were a few references I had no understanding of, the fans let me know that he was doing a good job conveying how much this match with Kenny Omega means to him. The crowd was behind him and it should make for a special moment on Sunday at Wembley.
For those who criticize Ospreay’s promos and delivery, I know it’s not perfect and he can lose his train of thought from time to time, but I would much rather have someone in there speaking with emotion and speaking like a real person than someone who memorized talking points and catch phrases.
SWERVE STRICKLAND VS. JACK PERRY
This was a solid main event where both wrestlers could be showcased. Swerve is building toward being back in the World Title picture and Jack Perry has put on some great matches in the past few weeks. Perry continues to be a great seller and really made Swerve look good. The crowd was into it from the start and that helped it feel more important. I very much enjoyed the singing early on, “Swerve’s House… in the middle of the street… ” (That’s a song by Madness, for you younger folk!)
OSPREAY-OMEGA HYPE VIDEO
I was worried they were going to end the show with the Swerve match, which would have been a bad move considering those two aren’t going to be in any of the big matches on Sunday. If I was running things, I may have done a little more to promote the biggest matches on the show at the end of Dynamite, but I felt the video they played to hype Ospreay vs. Omega was very well done. I love the use of the New Japan video and interview excerpts to show how long this story has been building and I like the music choice as well. I am a big fan of videos like these and it was effective in keeping me excited for what is to come this weekend.
QUICK HITS
– The Jon Moxley vs. Claudio Castagnoli semifinal was a fantastic physical battle with some very big near falls late that had the crowd engaged. It was no surprise seeing Moxley moving on, but Claudio put up a pretty good fight and was protected as much as possible in the loss.
– Rocky “Barry Horowitz” Romero took a pin again. I can’t believe that Rocky “Barry O” Romero continues to lose like that. It’s crazy how Rocky “Salvatore Bellomo” Romero continues to get put in matches when he never wins.
– Last week, I wasn’t a fan of the “accidental” superkick by the Young Bucks as a way to cause friction between them and Adam Copeland & Christian Cage. This week, I was more of a fan of Christian just being a jerk and causing the animosity to grow between the teams. This hasn’t been the best build, but I liked this part of it and the match should be terrific.
– “In the States, this is about a 4.” – MJF doing some great crowd work in Ireland, uh, I mean Scotland.
– I really love that Tony Khan wants to give hometown wrestlers special moments and I’m happy for Nigel McGuiness that he will get one. That said, see below in “Misses.”
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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QUICK MISSES
– There’s no way in my mind that Nigel McGuiness, who rarely wrestles, should beat Kyle O’Reilly, especially if he’s “injured”. It’ll be a nice moment for Nigel, but the match will be too predictable. Plus, O’Reilly has a history with Jon Moxley that would’ve made a match between the two of them more compelling.
– I do not like that MJF continues to wear a World Title belt. It’s just dumb. It also reminds me too much of when CM Punk did it and I didn’t like it then either. There are too many belts as it is.
– Tony Schiavone should not have to do as much heavy lifting on commentary for a show like this. I’m very surprised and disappointed that Taz, Bryan Danielson, or even Paul Wight were not added to the desk for Dynamite. It is really noticeable when there is not a former wrestler providing analysis and it makes for a worse viewing experience.
Please check out the weekly free podcast I’m part of, “The All Elite Conversation Club” that drops on Saturday on the PWTorch Dailycast lineup. Joel Dehnel and I have a great time breaking down all things AEW and we will have a comprehensive preview of All In so please check it out! Search “pwtorch” on your podcast app to subscribe. Send questions and comments to allelitecc@gmail.com.
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