{"id":177401,"date":"2024-04-24T14:02:27","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T19:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=177401"},"modified":"2024-04-24T14:02:27","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T19:02:27","slug":"aew-dynasty-hits-misses-4-21-danielson-vs-ospreay-storm-vs-rosa-julia-vs-willow-hook-vs-jericho-pac-vs-okada-ftr-vs-bucks-pre-show-overall-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/04\/24\/aew-dynasty-hits-misses-4-21-danielson-vs-ospreay-storm-vs-rosa-julia-vs-willow-hook-vs-jericho-pac-vs-okada-ftr-vs-bucks-pre-show-overall-event\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW DYNASTY HITS &#038; MISSES (4\/21): Danielson vs. Ospreay, Storm vs. Rosa, Julia vs. Willow, Hook vs. Jericho, Pac vs. Okada, FTR vs. Bucks, Pre-show, Overall Event"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-4122922299\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3>HITS<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Kazuchika Okada vs. Pac (Continental Title):<\/strong> These was a great way to start off the PPV. Part of me believed that maybe they\u2019d start the night with Bryan Danielson and Will Ospreay but this worked just as well. So far, the Okada heel run definitely gets a \u201cthumbs up\u201d from me and I love that he actually stuck it to the live crowd near the end of the match considering most were still cheering him. I\u2019m curious to see what is next for Pac though. He\u2019s had multiple start and stop runs with AEW the past five years. He\u2019s a crowd favorite for sure so it\u2019ll be interesting to see where, if anywhere, he goes next.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adam Copeland &amp; Eddie Kingston &amp; Mark Briscoe vs. The House of Black:<\/strong> Another solid match in what would be the standard on this card. I love that Copeland and Malakai Black mostly didn\u2019t touch at all since it feels like this is the direction this story is heading coming out of the show. I could be picky and say that the referee in the match was made to look like a fool (an AEW trope) but it didn\u2019t take away from the match and story that is being told. I\u2019d love to see Black get a run with the TNT Title but there are the rumblings that Black doesn\u2019t like to put others over. That could be a problem down the line if he\u2019s given a title run. Either way, I\u2019m looking forward to seeing what Copeland and Black do with this feud.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Julia Hart vs. Willow Nightingale (TBS Title):<\/strong> This was a minor hit. The match didn\u2019t go particularly long but considering Hart is working injured I applaud her effort. It feels like Willow is being set up to be a transitional champion with Mercedes Mone looming. Having said that, I\u2019m really hoping that Mercedes stealing Willow\u2019s moment means that she is turning heel soon. There\u2019s a lot of problems with Mercedes&#8217; presentation right now and her turning heel can hopefully start to fix some of those problems. There\u2019s approximately four weeks until her Mercedes and Willow have this match so I\u2019m hoping what they have in store will be entertaining considering these two do have a lot of charisma.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O\u2019Reilly (International Title):<\/strong> There was not a lot of heat coming into this match but both guys certainly delivered. I was a bit surprised at first to see Strong go over clean but I feel this\u2019ll play into the bigger picture that Wardlow was supposed to help this match to end much sooner. It was very obvious that Adam Cole is not happy with Wardlow and his glare was very noticeable. I am looking forward to seeing what will happen with this. Also, on a side note, I\u2019d have liked to seen Cole\u2019s reveal that he\u2019s able to now walk without crutches to be more of a surprise at the right moment. Regardless though, I\u2019m happy to see his rehab might be nearing its end.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Toni Storm vs. Thunder Rosa (AEW Women\u2019s Title):<\/strong> This match overshot my expectation mainly because I didn\u2019t expect Storm to work this style with the gimmick she\u2019s currently in. Both women are good workers so I was very happy that we got the style of match that we did. It\u2019s possible this was Storm\u2019s best AEW match to date and Rosa\u2019s best since her bloody match with Britt Baker. Since the finish wasn\u2019t 100% clean it\u2019s possible that this could be run back again and I\u2019d be for it if the quality is the same that it was on this night. The women\u2019s division in AEW still doesn\u2019t get quite the amount of time that it should but baby steps have been taken the past few months.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson:<\/strong> What can be said about this match that hasn\u2019t already been stated? Is it possible that this was the best match in United States history? Maybe even North America? Perhaps, but that\u2019s entirely subjective. However, it certainly should be in the conversation. The post-match with Danielson selling an injury wasn\u2019t needed but it didn\u2019t take much away from the match for me. After seeing a few replays it was obvious that Danielson took the move as best he could. That doesn\u2019t mean that he wasn\u2019t injured but the selling of it, while strong, was still a bit over the top and they moved on quickly to the next match so I never head a reason to believe that the injury was legit. This isn\u2019t a shock to anyone but AEW really has something in Ospreay and I\u2019m hoping his strong booking continues. I am curious to see where Danielson goes from here. A feud between Danielson and Nigel McGuinness has been teased for over a year now. If McGuinness is ready, I\u2019d love to see that match one last time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Young Bucks vs. FTR (Ladder Match for AEW Tag Titles):<\/strong> These four had the unfortunate responsibility of following Danielson and Ospreay. If you\u2019re going to heap that responsibility on anyone, I suppose these are some of the best guys to choose for the job because they accomplished that mission. There were some really crazy bumps taken in this match and that helped get the crowd back into it. While the interference from Jack Perry was predictable I think it was right move with the story that\u2019s being told. I will be curious to see how Perry is booked going forward though. He\u2019s going to be booked as a heel to start, for sure. But, fans treated him like a huge babyface on this night. Whether that continues, only time will tell. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if he\u2019s now the fourth member of The Elite. Perry could have his work cut out for him though considering the core fan base of AEW will side with him over the CM Punk incident.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland (AEW Title):<\/strong> Oddly enough, of all the hits on this show, this may have been the least exciting match of the evening from bell-to-bell. That also didn\u2019t matter because the match was still very good and entertaining. I stated at Worlds End that Samoa Joe could be end up being a transitional champion. I was right on that but he did a great job in his 3.5 months as champion. Even though the reign was short, his run was dominant and Joe deserved it. I was also pleasantly surprised that Swerve had the crowd behind him from start to finish as Joe had been getting the lion&#8217;s share of cheers in the past month or so. That\u2019s a testament to what Joe and Swerve were able to pull off in this feud, especially Joe because he\u2019s a hard man to jeer at this point in his career. I\u2019m excited to see what the Swerve run looks like and I hope there\u2019s going to be an open mind to it and there\u2019s no hard end date set. There\u2019s been rumblings that Ospreay will win this title at Wembley Stadium. However, that\u2019s never been confirmed. Swerve is in very much the same boat as Cody Rhodes is in WWE right now. Both are fresh babyface champions. Neither should have a \u201csell by date\u201d in terms of their title runs. Both should be given the opportunity to run with the ball and see what happens. Here\u2019s hoping it goes that way.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2935607669\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><strong>Overall Show:<\/strong> This was a hell of a show. Even the misses were mostly minor, especially the second one. It\u2019s hard to find an AEW PPV that isn\u2019t solid. I would argue that there have been two, at most. Having said that, the TV has been hit or miss the past few months. Some of that is due to AEW\u2019s own detriment (i.e. playing the CM Punk footage and opening themselves up to scrutiny). When it comes to the PPVs though, you seem to always get your moneys worth with AEW. This time was no different. I\u2019m hoping AEW will see start off the Swerve era as champion as a soft reboot of sorts. He got a hero\u2019s celebration at the end of the PPV. It wasn\u2019t nearly as huge as what WWE did for Cody Rhodes but there comparisons are there. There are things to be excited about in AEW right now but the direction of those is always a bit worrisome with Tony Khan and some of his checkered booking. Regardless, this was a great show. Overall Grade: A<\/p>\n<h3>MISSES<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Pre-show:<\/strong> You can file this under the \u201cbeating a dead horse\u201d category but there was no reason for a one hour pre-show with three matches. The idea of having three matches to further along stories on a pre-show just doesn\u2019t make sense. A fraction of the audience is paying attention to what happens on these Zero Hour shows. Furthermore, if you\u2019d have told me a year ago today that Jay White was on a pre-show of an AEW PPV I\u2019d have laughed in your face. If Tony Khan wants to do a warmup match for the crowd that is dark that\u2019s completely fine. But, there\u2019s no reason that any of these three matches couldn\u2019t have been on AEW\u2019s five hours of regular scheduled programming.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hook vs. Chris Jericho (FTW Title):<\/strong> This was a minor miss if mostly because the match felt like it dragged and went about 5 minutes too long. I do like the story that they\u2019re telling but would\u2019ve loved to seen more fire from Taz considering Jericho used a baseball bat to the head and neck area of his son. I assume we\u2019ll get that moment soon but I feel it would&#8217;ve played out better on this night. This feud has felt accelerated some, especially Jericho\u2019s heel turn. But, having said that, it\u2019s probably a good idea that Jericho has decided to lean into the reaction than fight it at this point.<\/p>\n<p><em>Tony Donofrio is a Contributor for PWTorch.com. Follow Tony @TonyDonofrio.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED NEXT: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/04\/24\/aew-feud-tracker-assessing-and-grading-joe-strickland-ospreay-danielson-cassidy-trent-hook-jericho-storm-rosa-willow-julia-bucks-ftr\/\">AEW FEUD TRACKER: Assessing and grading Joe-Strickland, Ospreay-Danielson, Cassidy-Trent, Hook-Jericho, Storm-Rosa, Willow-Julia, Bucks-FTR<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/prowrestling.net\/site\/2024\/04\/22\/powells-aew-dynasty-hit-list-samoa-joe-vs-swerve-strickland-for-the-aew-world-championship-will-ospreay-vs-bryan-danielson-ftr-vs-young-bucks-in-a-ladder-match-for-the-aew-tag-titles\/\">Powell\u2019s AEW Dynasty Hit List: Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship, Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson, FTR vs. Young Bucks in a ladder match for the AEW Tag Titles<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2006434170\"><div id=\"pwtor-3234336415\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>HITS Kazuchika Okada vs. Pac (Continental Title): These was a great way to start off the PPV. Part of me believed that maybe they\u2019d start the night with Bryan Danielson and Will Ospreay but this <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/04\/24\/aew-dynasty-hits-misses-4-21-danielson-vs-ospreay-storm-vs-rosa-julia-vs-willow-hook-vs-jericho-pac-vs-okada-ftr-vs-bucks-pre-show-overall-event\/\" title=\"AEW DYNASTY HITS &#038; MISSES (4\/21): Danielson vs. Ospreay, Storm vs. Rosa, Julia vs. Willow, Hook vs. Jericho, Pac vs. Okada, FTR vs. Bucks, Pre-show, Overall Event\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":177119,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,28,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-177401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists_hitsandmisses","category-specialists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2024\/04\/AEW-Dynasty-2024.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177401"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177402,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177401\/revisions\/177402"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}