{"id":216503,"date":"2026-05-14T12:47:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=216503"},"modified":"2026-05-14T12:47:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:47:30","slug":"aew-dynamite-hits-misses-5-13-did-the-darby-mjf-contract-signing-work-pros-and-cons-about-the-owen-tournament-brackers-takeshita-okada-substitution-explanation-death-riders-ospreay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/05\/14\/aew-dynamite-hits-misses-5-13-did-the-darby-mjf-contract-signing-work-pros-and-cons-about-the-owen-tournament-brackers-takeshita-okada-substitution-explanation-death-riders-ospreay\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW DYNAMITE HITS &#038; MISSES (5\/13):\u00a0Did the Darby-MJF contract signing work, Pros and cons about the Owen Tournament Brackers, Takeshita-Okada substitution explanation, Death Riders-Ospreay"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-46918054\" 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><h2>HITS<\/h2>\n<p><strong>WILL OSPREAY &amp; THE DEATH RIDERS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This continues to be my favorite part of the show each week. I think they are hitting this storyline out of the park. I&#8217;m glued to the training sessions because it&#8217;s shot as if you are getting a special look inside the group to see what you probably should not be seeing. Plus, Moxley is so compelling with his motivational speaking and Ospreay&#8217;s expression is showing how much he is taking all of it in.<\/p>\n<p>Ospreay&#8217;s entrance is still the best in the company by a long shot and his match with Ace Austin was fantastic. Normally, I would say it should not have lasted as long as it did, but the length of the match and how hard Ospreay needed to work made a lot of sense, considering this was his first match back from an injury stoppage and he is starting from the bottom to build up to what he will eventually become.<\/p>\n<p>The match story was exceptional as Ospreay mixed his usual aerial spots with striking and some characteristics of the Death Riders. Taz added a lot in commentary comparing his own experience with neck injuries with what Ospreay was going through. Ospreay wearing down Austin&#8217;s arm and then winning with a submission furthered that narrative. I loved every part of it.<\/p>\n<p>The post-match interaction with Samoa Joe was solid as well, previewing their match at Double or Nothing and then setting up the Death Riders to come to his rescue. The look Mox had on the apron toward Ospreay after the save was gold.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DARBY VS. TAKESHITA\/MJF CONTRACT SIGNING<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Another week and another train wreck of a match with Darby Allin defending the World Title. The punishment Darby is taking is unprecedented. I really hope he will be okay and get a break after his title reign is over. I cringed at least 10 times during this match and that&#8217;s just a few days after seeing him thrown off a balcony onto multiple tables on Collision.<\/p>\n<p>The story remains the same. You can&#8217;t keep Darby down and he always finds a way, that is, until the wheels fall off and he finally drops the title. This match also furthered the story with Takeshita&#8217;s slow as hell babyface turn, but the breakup with Callis looks like it will happen very soon.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2384671135\" 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>Takeshita biting his thumb to avoid tapping out to the Scorpion Deathlock was a nice touch.<\/p>\n<p>The contract signing afterwards was typical, but MJF shined on the mic with amusing insults to the crowd in North Carolina. The visual of Darby with blood stained spit dripping from his mouth was perfect&#8230; and gross! Great adlib from Max saying Darby looked like he had rabies.<\/p>\n<p>The beatdown was no surprise but it worked and the save from Kevin Knight was very interesting even if the crowd didn&#8217;t pop as much as they likely expected.<\/p>\n<p><strong>QUICK HITS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Opening the show with the 10-man tag match was a good idea to get the crowd going. The match was full of stars, but it seemed like Christian got the loudest response. The crowd was small, but they were loud and into nearly everything. It was also shot very well so you would not have known there were less than 3,000 people there. Well done across the board.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The video package on the history of Stadium Stampede was terrific and a great way to introduce the match to those who have not followed AEW from the start. Adding The Elite to the match really improves it, as Omega and the Bucks have extensive experience in these matches.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Speedball Bailey and Kevin Knight being featured week after week continues to show how far they&#8217;ve come since joining AEW last year. When they eventually fight each other (I&#8217;d do it at All In), it will be huge.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; MJF&#8217;s backstage segment with Don Callis and Takeshita was so great. MJF patronizing Takeshita then quickly admitting he meant none of it and was having a panic attack was laugh out loud hilarious. It also set up future issues for both MJF and Callis with Andrade.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3549340535\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><em>ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Dynamite: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/aew-dynamite-keller-adams-talk-darby-takeshita-hair-match-stip-owen-tournament-brackets-death-riders-ospreay-dynamic-on-site-report--72000997\">CLICK HERE<\/a> (or search \u201cwade Keller\u201d on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"AEW DYNAMITE: Keller &amp; Adams talk Darby-Takeshita, Hair Match Stip, Owen Tournament Brackets, Death Riders-Ospreay dynamic, on-site report\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=72000997&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>QUICK MISSES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; I know someone has to take pins, but I see a lot in Clark Connors and he&#8217;s taken far too many losses so far in his AEW career. I&#8217;d love to see what he can do, but if they continue to define him down now, it may be tough to overcome in the long run.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; I understand it was addressed on Collision, but if you missed it, you&#8217;d still be wondering why Kazuchika Okada was pulled from his title match with Darby Allin and Konosuke Takeshita was put in the main event. Unless I missed it, this needed to be addressed multiple times on Dynamite. Reportedly, Okada did have to return to Japan to deal with some family issues. That happens and it shouldn&#8217;t be ignored. This was not a &#8216;bait and switch&#8217; situation. This was a legitimate pivot they had to do. The more you ignore it or gloss over it, the more people speculate about it.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>THE OWEN HART TOURNAMENT BRACKETS REVEALED<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>I have positive and negative things to say about the bracket reveal so I could not really put it into a category. The following are the Hits &amp; Misses for the Owen:<\/p>\n<p><strong>HITS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The star power in the men&#8217;s bracket is solid. I&#8217;d prefer a few more big names, but this seems to be Will Ospreay&#8217;s tournament to lose, so I&#8217;m fine with the matchups. There will be some great battles.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The women&#8217;s bracket lacks star power due to how the women&#8217;s division is set up at the moment, but this is a great opportunity to use this tournament to crown someone new and launch them into a star. So, don&#8217;t give me Willow or Mina as the winner. For the love of god, make it Athena&#8217;s coming out party!!!<\/p>\n<p><strong>MISSES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Since they are dragging out the final matches until the end of June, that is six weeks we&#8217;ll have to wait for an 8-person tournament to complete. That makes it hard to keep relevant. I would have made this a 16-person tournament so you can have matches every week and make it as compelling as the Continental Classic.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Another improvement would be to make the bracket announcement a bigger deal. Have the graphic come up blank and give us the wrestlers one by one. That way, you add some suspense and you can quickly talk up each wrestler. If this is done efficiently, you can get through each bracket in about two minutes. The March Madness college basketball tournament reveal is like this and really works.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>PODCAST PLUG<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t forget to check out the weekly free podcast I&#8217;m part of, &#8220;The All Elite Conversation Club&#8221; that drops on Fridays the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/podcast\/pwtorch-dailycast--3276210\">PWTorch Dailycast lineup.<\/a> Joel Dehnel and I have a great time breaking down all things AEW. Search &#8220;pwtorch&#8221; on your podcast app to subscribe. Send questions and comments to <a href=\"mailto:allelitecc@gmail.com\">allelitecc@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wade Keller Post-show (5\/13) - AEW Dynamite w\/Keller &amp; Adams\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QAXTC_hT3ag?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1270995984\"><div id=\"pwtor-817702222\"><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 WILL OSPREAY &amp; THE DEATH RIDERS This continues to be my favorite part of the show each week. I think they are hitting this storyline out of the park. I&#8217;m glued to the training <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/05\/14\/aew-dynamite-hits-misses-5-13-did-the-darby-mjf-contract-signing-work-pros-and-cons-about-the-owen-tournament-brackers-takeshita-okada-substitution-explanation-death-riders-ospreay\/\" title=\"AEW DYNAMITE HITS &#038; MISSES (5\/13):\u00a0Did the Darby-MJF contract signing work, Pros and cons about the Owen Tournament Brackers, Takeshita-Okada substitution explanation, Death Riders-Ospreay\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":216504,"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-216503","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\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-14-at-12.45.07-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216503","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=216503"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216507,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216503\/revisions\/216507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}