By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite Hits
Hangman Page and Will Ospreay verbal exchange: Damn that WWE and their longwinded 20-minute show-opening talking segments. Er, never mind. This was a major Hit. Page and Ospreay’s comments about how they both need to win the AEW World Championship did more for the title than anything that has happened during Jon Moxley’s entire title reign. The build to their match has been strong, and they closed it out with one of the best verbal segments in AEW history. It’s the right call to place this in the Double or Nothing main event slot.
Jon Moxley and “The Young Bucks” Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson vs. Swerve Strickland, Samoa Joe, and Powerhouse Hobbs: An enjoyable trios match. Maybe I have watched too much WWE television, because the longer the match went, the more I feared it would end with a cheap, chaotic finish intended to set up the Anarchy in the Arena match. Fortunately, we got the clean finish, and then the chaos ensued afterward and again at the end of the night. The brawl that closed the show served as a nice Anarchy in the Arena sampler.
Mercedes Mone and Jamie Hayter: The verbal exchange was fine. Things picked up nicely once Hayter got under the skin of the TBS Champion by saying that Mone’s destiny is to lose all of her titles. Mone blasted Hayter with a shot that looked great, as did Hayter dropping Mone with her Hayterade finisher.
Ricochet vs. Anthony Bowens: A soft Hit for a solid television match that made Bowens look good in defeat. I still have no idea why Ricochet and Mark Briscoe are having a stretcher match, but Ricochet rolling off the stretcher before Briscoe could hit Froggy Bow was a nice way to leave viewers wanting more.
Mina Shirakawa vs. Julia Hart: A soft Hit. The match was fine, but this was a strange choice for the main event slot. It will be interesting to see if they lost viewers before the big brawl that followed, though having Toni Storm on commentary was helpful. There was no mystery regarding the outcome, given that Shirakawa is challenging for the AEW Women’s Championship at Double or Nothing. Furthermore, Hart has been spinning her wheels creatively since she returned from a long injury layoff. The post-match spot with Storm and Shirakawa roughing up Hart and Skye Blue was fun.
AEW Dynamite Misses
MJF contract signing with The Hurt Syndicate: An uneventful segment that had its share of entertaining one-liners. Unfortunately, it didn’t end with the contract signing. Dustin Rhodes delivered a surprisingly weak promo while Sammy Guevara stood by. I nodded along when MVP looked at his watch at one point while Dustin was droning on. Dustin has to know that calling someone a son of a bitch during every promo will get a reaction from live crowds, but it’s become tired and predictable for regular viewers watching at home. I really enjoy Dustin’s work, and he typically comes through with fiery promos, so it was surprising that this one was underwhelming.
You could easily switch the lists and have what most people think.