The John Report: AEW Dynamite 06/19/24 Review

This week’s AEW Dynamite featured MJF in action against Rush, The Young Bucks facing The Acclaimed, an All-Star tag team match, and a whole lot more.

This was AEW Dynamite episode #246 from the EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.

It’s Wednesday and you know what that means. Excalibur was on commentary with Taz and Tony Schiavone.

The opening match has been built up for a few weeks. It was built up as a match that will be commercial-free.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Rush

This is MJF’s first match since losing the AEW World Title on December 30th, so it’s been nearly six full months.

They started out by throwing punches. MJF did a taunt with a strut followed by Rick Rude-like hip swivel. Rush challenged MJF to a chop fest, so MJF poked Rush in the eyes. Rush dropped MJF with a headbutt. Rush hit a back body drop. MJF was bleeding through from the nose it looks like. Rush decked MJF with an elbow smash to the face. Rush kicked MJF while against the ropes. MJF fought back, but Rush took control again after doing a double foot stomp to the ribs. Rush hit a German Suplex followed by a running knee. Rush took way too long to set up for the corner dropkick, so MJF avoided it and Rush hit the mat. MJF did an inside cradle. MJF did a backslide pin for two and followed up with a superkick. MJF hit a Hammerlock DDT for two. MJF did a dreaded back scratch. MJF jumped over Rush, then sold like he hurt his knee and MJF hit a piledriver for two. MJF charged at Rush, who caught Max and gave him a belly-to-belly suplex into the turnbuckle. MJF connected with a kick, but then MJF slipped off the ropes and Rush hit a straightjacket piledriver for two with a cocky cover. Rush hit a jumping right-handed punch to the jaw that knocked MJF out of the ring. They battled on the floor where Rush threw MJF into the barricade three times in a row. Rush rammed MJF’s head into the barricade a few times. The referee Paul Turner wasn’t counting because…AEW? I don’t know. Rush tossed a chair into the ring, the referee got rid of the chair, so Rush choked MJF with a cable. Excalibur tried to explain that MJF didn’t see the cable even though it was pretty obvious. Rush charged, MJF moved and Rush hit the barricade. I think they were on the floor for over two minutes when MJF went into the ring. They battled on the floor and Rush gave MJF a belly-to-belly suplex on the floor.

They were back in the ring. Rush took way too long to charge, so MJF hit him with a clothesline. MJF punched Rush a bunch of times followed by ten head slams into the turnbuckle, ten punches and some head biting. MJF read the Babyface 101 Playbook. MJF hit the Heatseeker piledriver off the ropes. MJF hit a brainbuster for the pinfall win after 14 minutes. Rush tapped MJF on the head as the referee counted the pin as if to tell him good job.

Winner by pinfall: Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Analysis: ***1/2 It was pretty obvious who was going to win this match and that’s fine because it was still a very good match. It felt like a fight. Rush got a lot of offense. I think they could have done a better job of formatting the match so they spent less time out of the ring. The wrestlers being on the floor for two minutes without a count from the referee is ridiculous. I’m not saying I want a countout finish. I just want them to do a better job of telling stories. The brainbuster finish by MJF didn’t feel like it was going to be the ending. I don’t mind a brainbuster as a finisher in a different era. It’s just that in today’s AEW, guys do moves that are way more impressive than that and it makes the brainbuster feel like a flat finish.

Brian Cage was backstage with his group for a promo. Cage said that MJF will be facing Hechicero at Forbidden Door. That led to Hechicero doing a Spanish promo. MJF responded by posing for the fans.

Analysis: Spoiler – MJF will win that match against Hechicero. I think they could have got him a better, bigger name opponent for that Forbidden Door show.

The foursome of Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly & Dante Martin were interviewed by Renee Paquette. Mark did the fired up promo saying that the words of the day are vengeance and redemption. Jack Perry walked into the screen, stared at them and left. Mark: “Ger your ass outta here, Jack Perry!” Mark said tonight it’s an all-star tag team match and he left ranting. Orange gave Renee a bracelet. That ended the interview.

Analysis: Mark Briscoe promos are always great. More, please.

(Commercial)

Face to Face: Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland

The AEW International Champion Will Ospreay made his entrance to a huge ovation from the fans. Ospreay was in street clothes rather than wrestling gear. Before Ospreay could say a word, the AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland entered with his buddy Prince Nana. It’s Swerve against Ospreay at Forbidden on June 30th.

Will said he is very capable of carrying two titles at once. Will bragged about holding three championships on three continents at the same time. Will told Swerve he’ll find out Will is the best wrestler in the world. Swerve said that actually, he is the best wrestler in the world. Swerve told Will he’s been watching him and said that they have been on different paths over the last five years. Swerve said he’s been holding it down in pro wrestling and the entertainment world. Swerve mentioned that Will beat Kenny Omega last year at Forbidden Door and needed some help in that match. Swerve wondered if Will needs Don Callis to help him beat Swerve. Will said that he doesn’t need Don Callis and he doesn’t need the family because he can do this by himself. Don Callis and his family were watching backstage. Will went on to brag about how he beat Kazuchika Okada, Shingo Takagi, and Chris Jericho. Will said that he can see Wembley on the horizon. Will told Swerve that this is his first main event pay-per-view as champion and what if that Killshot is just centimetres off? Will said whether it’s the Oscutter, Stormbreaker or Hidden Blade, the next morning is when Swerve will wake up without the championship. Will said that Swerve will wake up saying that Will was better. Will mentioned using the Tiger Driver 91 and said Swerve may not walk out of that match.

Swerve reminded Will that this is Will’s first PPV main event and you can thank Swerve. That led to Swerve saying that he doesn’t have any friends. Swerve said that anybody who came for him are bodies, they are numbers and they mean nothing. Swerve wondered if he breaks Will’s leg or arm, who is Will Ospreay then? Swerve said that you can break his arm, shave him bald and he is still Swerve Strickland the mogul, the businessman, the actor, and podcaster. Swerve said that this championship will consume you. Swerve said you have to sacrifice that much more. Swerve said that you have to sacrifice your wife and son. Will told Swerve to never mention his son again. Will told Swerve not to make this personal. Prince Nana said that this into the time or place. Nana said they needed to save all they had for the AEW World Championship match at Forbidden Door. Nana asked whose house and Will said: “My house!” Will walked out of the ring.

Swerve asked what if he does want to make this personal? Swerve said that when it comes to the World Title it’s always personal. Swerve said when Will goes home, give his regards to Al (women’s wrestler Alex Windsor) and Harry again. Will got in the ring to exchange words with Swerve. They played Swerve’s music to end it.

Analysis: I thought it was a great promo exchange. Swerve brought the intensity like we know that he can while Ospreay did a fine job of showing intensity as well. It’s a matchup between two babyfaces so it’s not like some of Swerve’s rivalries, but it’s going to be a highly anticipated match. Swerve made it personal by mentioning Will’s wife and son, so that’s how you add some more to the story because it shows that Swerve will say anything to get under his opponent’s skin. I think this promo was very well done and both guys nailed it.

Don Callis and his Family were backstage watching that. Don said that he knows Will Ospreay and everything is going to be fine.

(Commercial)

Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, Dante Martin & Orange Cassidy vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Roderick Strong & Zack Sabre Jr. (w/Matt Taven & Mike Bennett)

They are calling this an All-Star Tag Team match. It started with some brawling involving most of the guys while Orange took his time to get ready for the match. Fletcher and Mark exchanged strikes in the ring. Fletcher kicked Mark to the floor followed by a suicide dive by Fletcher on the floor. O’Reilly hit a knee attack on Fletcher on the floor. O’Reilly applied a knee bar to Strong’s leg against the ropes. Takeshita kicked Mark out of the ring. Sabre sent Orange to the apron leading to Sabre applying an armbar against the ropes. Mark hit a somersault dive over the top on the floor. Dante did a hurricanrana to Takeshita. Dante went up top and did a somersault dive onto a bunch of guys on the floor. They went about four minutes there without actually staring the match by having two wrestlers in the ring as the legal men.

(Commercial)

It resembled an actual tag team match as Orange battled Sabre, which led to Sabre countering a move into a two count. Takeshita was legal for his team as he nailed Orange with a punch. I missed a few moments and got back into it with Strong hitting a backbreaker on Kyle as the two legal men in the match. O’Reilly blocked a chop and did an arm drag takedown into the mat. Dante tagged in with a double hurricanrana on two guys. Dante nailed Takeshita with a jumping side kick and a springboard cross body block on Fletcher. Takeshita benefitted from illegal man Fletcher in the ring and Takeshita hit a massive Powerbomb off the turnbuckle for two because the pin was broken up. Strong tagged in Takeshita, who wasn’t legal when he did the pin attempt. Anyway, they went to another break.

(Commercial)

The match returned with Mark as the legal man for the faces as he unloaded with strikes on a few guys. Mark hit an enziguri kick on Strong to knock Strong out of the ring. Mark did a Death Valley Driver to Takeshita and jumped off the top with a Froggy Bow. O’Reilly tagged in with a knee drop, Dante tagged in with a Frog Splash and Orange tagged in with an elbow drop for two because the pin was broken up. Sabre held Orange’s foot while Takeshita hit a Helluva kick. Sabre tagged in, Mark went into the ring illegally and hit an overhead suplex. Fletcher wit ha brainbuster on Mark. O’Reilly with a knee on Fletcher. Strong backbreaker on O’Reilly. Dante with a knee on Strong. Takeshita with a jumping knee on Dante. Orange jumped off the top and hit Stundog Millionaire on Takeshita. Dante dove onto Takeshita. Dante dove on Taven & Bennett on the floor. Mark hit a neckbreaker on Takeshita on the floor. Sabre with an uppercut on Kyle. Orange, who I think was legal, was back in and Sabre hooked up Orange leading to a bridging pin for two because O’Reilly broke up the pin. Orang and Kyle did a high-low on Fletcher. Strong slammed Orange. O’Reilly punched Orange out of the way so that Strong hit a knee smash and Orange hit Orange Punch on Strong for the pinfall win after 18 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, Dante Martin & Orange Cassidy

Analysis: ***3/4 A wild AEW-style tag team match where it was full of fast-paced action and it was hard to keep track of who was legal in the match. The Cassidy/Sabre stuff was okay in terms of building up their Forbidden Door match. Dante had some good highspots in the match as well. I liked the match because it got a lot of time and they gave everybody plenty of offense in the match. This is the kind of match that the hardcore AEW fans are going to love, so doing some kind of multi-man tag team match nearly every week is a good formula for success.

After the match, Jack Perry hit Dante Martin with a forearm to the back while Martin was on the ramp. Mark Briscoe and Konosuke Takeshita went fighting to the back as well.

In the ring, Orange Cassidy and Zack Sabre Jr. had a staredown since they’re meeting at Forbidden Door. Orange put his hands in his pockets and Sabre left.

A video aired about TBS Champion Mercedes Mone talking about wanting to take the NJPW Strong Women’s Title from Stephanie Vaquer. Mone was confident as usual.

Analysis: There’s no storyline. Mercedes should win.

Rush was in the locker room. Don Callis walked up behind, put his hand on his back, and said something to him. Callis left. Rush didn’t say anything in response.

Analysis: That could lead to Rush joining the Don Callis Family. I think it’s likely and would be a good thing for Rush too.

The Young Bucks made their entrance as the AEW Tag Team Champions. There wasn’t much of a response to them in terms of booing top heels in the company. The Acclaimed were up next with Max Caster attempting to do a rap, but his microphone was cut off. Kazuchika Okada was shown backstage acting as if he was pushing buttons. Okada: “I pushed the wrong button. I’m so sorry…bitch.”

Analysis: I’m starting to love every Okada promo ending in “bitch.” His delivery is great.

AEW Tag Team Title Eliminator Match: The Young Bucks – Matthew & Nicholas Jackson vs. The Acclaimed – Max Caster & Anthony Bowens

The teams fought on the floor before getting into the ring. Bowens hit a running neckbreaker on Matt. Nick was legal as Bowens delivered a punch followed by Caster doing a body slam and Bowens did the Scissor Me Timbers leg drop. Bowens had his left hamstring taped up. Matt was back in as Caster delivered hip tosses. Matt was sent into the ropes where he dropkicked Bowens in the injured leg. Caster charged, Matt ducked and Caster went over the top to the floor.

(Commercial)

Caster hit a cross body block to break free and Bowens got the tag. Bowens hit a Fameasser on Nick while Bowens was favoring his left leg injury again. Bowens collapsed to the mat, so Matt hit a superkick for two. Matt superkicked the leg of Bowens again. Nick jumped off the top with a Senton Bomb on Bowens for two because Caster was there to break it up. Bowens blocked an EVP Trigger double knee attack and Bowens delivered strikes to break free. The Bucks came back with superkicks followed by some Reebok Pump shoe pumping. The Bucks hit a double superkick on Bowens again leading to Caster breaking up the pin. Caster was sent out of the ring and Nick kicked him in the face. Nick kicked Bowens a few times. Matt picked up Bowens, but Bowens slipped out and shoved Matt into the turnbuckle. Matt hit a low blow kick while blocking the ref’s view. The Bucks hit the EVP Trigger leading to Caster breaking up the pin again. Matt hit a suicide dive on Caster and tossed Caster over the barricade. The Bucks hit a double team Powerbomb/neckbreaker out of the corner for a two count because Bowens kicked out. Matt tried using a title belt to hit Bowens, but the referee stopped that. Nick charged with a belt attack and Bowens ducked, so Nick hit Matt to knock him down. Bowens hit the Arrival slam followed by Caster hitting the Mic Check elbow off the top. Bowens covered Matt for the pinfall win after about 12 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: The Acclaimed – Max Caster & Anthony Bowens

Analysis: ***1/4 A good match that was a relatively clean win after The Young Bucks cheating attempt failed because Nick Jackson knocked Matt Jackson down with the belt and The Acclaimed capitalized on that to pick up the win. There was actually less of the illegal offense spots than usual in a Young Bucks math, so that was good to see. It was a big win for The Acclaimed. I thought Bowens did a terrific job of selling the left leg injury throughout the match.

The Acclaimed celebrated with Billy Gunn in the ring. The Acclaimed win in an eliminator match means they will get an AEW Tag Team Title match.

Samoa Joe & Hook walked into the dressing room of the Premier Athletes. They found a note in the room. Joe read a sheet of paper saying they were challenged to a 3-on-3 match on AEW Collision. Joe and Hook were in while their buddy Katsuyori Shibata was the camera guy so he’s their partner.

AEW Women’s Championship Contract Signing: Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa

Mariah May was the host of the contract signing since she is friends with both women in the match. Mina Shirakawa was up first followed by the AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm. May said that this match would be difficult for her while saying that she loves both women in the match.

Mina told Mariah to shut up. Mina said that Storm is a legend and a star. Mina told Storm that she got soft and weak as the champion. Mina claimed that everybody says: “We Want Mina.” The fans cheered. Mina told Storm that nobody wanted her. Mina said she’ll take her title and her girl May. Mina signed.

Storm threatened to slap Mina’s bloody tits off if she raised her voice to May again. Storm said that this buffet is wide open so grab a bowl and line up. Storm had some advice: “Chin up, tits out, and watch for the shoe.” Storm signed the contract. Mina told May that she must choose.

Saraya showed up with Harley Cameron. Saraya said she was so sick of this. Saraya said that she didn’t come alone, bitch. Anna Jay attacked Mina Shirakawa from behind and threw Mina into the ring post. The table was set up against the turnbuckle. Storm attacked Saraya, Jay and Cameron with the shoe. Storm hit a German Suplex on Saraya. Storm went for the running hip attack, Saraya moved and Storm went crashing through the table. Mariah May was hugging Mina Shirakawa on the ramp and Luther helped Storm in the ring.

Analysis: The contract signing wasn’t that interesting in terms of their promos. Saraya getting involved was a bit of a surprise, but I guess it’s a way to show us that Anna Jay is part of her group with Cameron since Jay had nothing else going on. Storm going through the table was a good bump by her. It appeared as though May was with Mina at this point, but May is still loyal to Storm as well. I assume Storm beats Mina at Forbidden Door and perhaps it starts the tease of the Storm/May split because I think May will eventually be the woman who beats Storm.

The first Women’s Owenn Hart quarterfinal match was next.

(Commercial)

A video aired featuring comments from Claudio Castagnoli for his match against Pac in the main event.

The Men’s and Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament brackets were shown on screen. The winners of the tournaments get World Title matches at the All In PPV.

The men’s bracket:

Analysis: We don’t know who “Wild Card” is so that might be the winner. Could it be Ricochet when he debuts in AEW? It might be him. It depends on when he signs. If it’s Ricochet then they might have him in. I think Bryan Danielson will win the tournament and then lose to the AEW World Champion at All In. Bryan’s “full time” AEW career is wrapping up in the fall, so I can see them giving him a huge match at All In. It’s possible they go with Pac beating Bryan and winning too just because it’s in England so it would be Pac in a huge match in his home country.

The women’s bracket:

Analysis: I think Mariah May is going to win the Women’s Owen Hart Cup. I’ve said for months that she’ll probably be one to take the AEW Women’s Title from Toni Storm and since May is from England, it makes sense for her to do it at All In London. The second-best choice would be Kris Statlander, who has a lot of momentum as a heel now.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Quarterfinals: Kris Statlander (w/Stokely Hathaway) vs. Nyla Rose

Kris recently turned heel while Rose was cheered by the fans. Rose ran over Kris with a shoulder tackle. Rose missed a corner splash when Kris moved and Rose hit a running cross body block. Rose set up Kris by the ropes, but Kris broke free and knocked Rose off the apron to the floor.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Rose nailing a clothesline. Rose hit a corner splash. Rose hit a cannonball attack against the turnbuckle for two. Rose tried a lift, but Kris slipped out and Kris hit a Scissors Kick for a two count. Kris jumped off the top with a 450 Splash, but Rose moved and Rose hit a back elbow for two. Rose went up top, Kris tripped her up on the turnbuckle and Kris hit a boot to the head. Kris hit a Tombstone Piledriver for the pinfall win after seven minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Kris Statlander

Analysis: **1/4 It was okay for the time given. Typical AEW giving the women less than ten minutes and really only just about four minutes shown without the commercial. Rose isn’t on television much while Statlander turned heel recently, so it was obvious that Kris would get the win in a match like this. I thought they had some good power moves in the match. I liked the finish because Kris hitting a piledriver on Rose was impressive to see.

After the match, Stokely Hathaway did a promo warning Willow Nightingale that if she tries to come after them, she’ll be in the same cell as Justin Timberlake. Willow Nightingale did a promo from the backstage area. Willow said she’s facing Serena Deeb on Rampage and when Willow wins, she’ll face Kris in the Semifinals. Willow said she’ll get to whoop Statlander’s ass and moved on to her goal to compete at Wembley Stadium, so she’ll see us on Friday.

A video aired of Private Party beating up Chris Jericho and friends last week on Dynamite.

Private Party were interviewed by Renee Paquette. Marq Quen said that Chris Jericho learned that Private Party ain’t no joke. Chris Jericho walked in with Big Bill and Bryan Keith. Jericho tried to give them a lesson to avoid a piledriver. Jericho said whenever tried a move like that he would say: “That doesn’t work for me, brother.” Jericho left. Big Bill said that they’re looking forward to the match they will have at Collision. Keith told them to respect Chris Jericho. That was it.

Analysis: I hope Private Party gets a decent push because they are a team that’s easy to like.

Daniel Garcia vs. Rhett Titus

Garcia’s buddy Matt Menard was on commentary. Titus attacked to start. Garcia came back with a shotgun dropkick. Menard asked if anybody has been better than Garcia in the last six months? Yes, lots of people. Many of them. Garcia hit three straight neckbreakers. Garcia did a Guillotine Choke and then turned it into a lifting move ending with knees to the ribs. Garcia got the pinfall win in under two minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Daniel Garcia

Analysis: * A squash match to give Garcia a win.

After the match, the Gates of Agony, Brian Cage and Hechicero attacked Danial Garcia & Matt Menard at ringside. Maxwell Jacob Friedman made the save by going after Hechicero. MJF hit low blows on Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona. Brian Cage gave MJF a German Suplex. Hechicero trapped MJF in the armbar submission stretching the left arm.

Will Ospreay ran out to the ring to make the save. Will kicked Cage and hit forearms on Hechicero. Will did a backflip off the ropes leading toa double kick. Will and MJF each hit clotheslines to clear the ring. Will and MJF went back to back. That led to Will and MJF having a staredown. The fans chanted “Holy Shit” for that. MJF left the ring. Ospreay picked up Garcia and raised his hand. They nodded as a sign of respect.

Analysis: I didn’t expect that a nothing Garcia match would lead to a cool spot where Ospreay stares at MJF, but that’s what happened. It’s a nice tease for a future Ospreay match with MJF, which will probably happen at some point later this year.

(Commercial)

Will Ospreay was shown walking backstage with Renee Paquette asking what was that with MJF? Brian Cage went after Will backstage, but security held Cage back. Cage told Will to put the International Title on the line in a match on Collision and Will agreed to it.

Analysis: There’s a decent match for AEW Collision on Saturday. Will should win. Brian Cage rarely wins big matches in AEW.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Quarterfinals: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Pac

Bryan Danielson was on commentary for the match. Bryan and Claudio are in the Blackpool Combat Club group together. Bryan is also in the Owen Hart Cup tournament and could face the winner if Bryan wins his match with Shingo Takagi, which I expect.

Pac was aggressive early with a dropkick. Pac went up top and hit a missile dropkick. They left the ring leading to chops from Claudio. Pac sent Claudio into the barricade two times. Back in the ring, Pac hit another missile dropkick. Claudio rolled out of the ring, so Pac charged at him and Claudio launched Pac in the air leading to Claudio hitting a huge uppercut on the floor. Great spot.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Claudio charging at Pac, who moved and Claudio hit his left shoulder into the ring post. Pac hit a hurricanrana on the floor. Pac went up top and hit an Asai Moonsault onto a standing Claudio on the floor. Pac dove onto Claudio on the floor leading to a DDT on the floor. Back in the ring, Pac hit a springboard elbow drop for two. Claudio and Pac exchanged strikes. Claudio charged, Pac avoided him and Pac hit a German Suplex. Pac hit Claudio with some more kicks ending with a superkick. Pac went up top, jumped off with a flip, Claudio avoided it and Claudio hit a running uppercut for two. Claudio gave Pac the Giant Swing with the fans counting along for the revolutions. Claudio hit a running clothesline leading to a great flip bump by Pac and that got a two count. Claudio with a lift, but Pac hooked the arms leading to a submission. Claudio was able to get back to his feet leading to a Sharpshooter. Pac looked like he might tap out, but he didn’t and Claudio turned it into a Crossface. Pac countered it and got a two count. Pac rolled through leading to a two count. Pac got an inside cradle, Claudio turned it over and Pac shifted it for a two count. Claudio sat on top for two, Pac rolled him up for two, Claudio was on top for another two count and Pac hooked the arms with a crucifix for the one…two…and three! Pac wins! It went 12 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Pac

Analysis: ***1/2 A very good technical wrestling match between two talented veterans who have wrestled eachother many times over the years. It was booked in a way that was even throughout the match and it ended that way since Pac won with a crucifix pin for the win. When you see guys exchanging pin attempts like that it’s often times not the finish of a match, but sometimes you can end it with that spot and these guys did it the right way. I don’t think Claudio will be hurt too much by this loss. These guys are about even in their status in AEW.

After the match, Pac had a staredown with Claudio Castagnoli. It looked like there would be a handshake, but instead, Claudio walked out of the ring and the fans booed that. Danielson told Claudio it happens and it’s happened to all of them.

Pac had a staredown with Bryan Danielson because they might have a match in the semifinals of the Owen Hart Cup tournament. That was the end of the show.

===

Three Stars of the Show

1. The eight guys in the “All Star” tag team match.
2. MJF/The Acclaimed
3. Pac/Claudio Castagnoli

===

The Scoreboard

This Week: 8.25 out of 10

Last Week: 7.5

2024 Average: 7.42

===

Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite

A very good show from top to bottom. It was my highest rating for a Dynamite episode since mid-March. I often criticize AEW about booking predictable matches way too much on Dynamite, but this week wasn’t bad at all. There were at least three great matches that could have gone either way, which meant I was invested in watching them to see who was going to win. This needs to happen more often. It’s such a deep roster that they can certainly use different people and create matches that are less predictable, which then become more interesting to the viewer at home. I don’t think what I’m suggesting is that difficult. They can do it regularly as long as they plan things out long-term.

The show was carried by quality matches throughout the night. I enjoyed the MJF-Rush because it was physical and felt like a fight. The Acclaimed beating The Young Bucks was cool to see. Great selling by Bowens in that match. The 8-man “All-Star” tag team match was chaos, but that’s the kind of match that the AEW hardcore fans love. Going with Pac-Claudio in the main event is cool with me because they’re so much fun to watch and it could have gone either way.

I liked the Swerve-Ospreay promo exchange. It was respectful, but then Swerve made it personal a bit and that brought up the intensity of their staredowns. There was also that cool moment where MJF and Will Ospreay went face to face as the fans popped loudly for that moment. That came after a Daniel Garcia squash win. I give AEW a lot of credit for coming up with that spot idea because it’s a nice tease for a future MJF-Ospreay between two of the most popular guys in the company.

The AEW Forbidden Door PPV takes place on June 30th in Long Island, New York. Here’s the updated lineup so far.

* AEW World Championship: Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Will Ospreay

* IWGP World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito

* TBS Championship & NJPW Strong Women’s Championship Match: Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer

* TNT Championship Ladder Match: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Jack Perry vs. Dante Martin vs. two more wrestlers to be announced.

* AEW Women’s Championship Match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Mina Shirakawa

* Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi

* Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hechicero

* Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy

===

Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Blue Jays. You can contact me using any of the methods below.

John Canton

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @johnreport