Welcome toWrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "AEW Dynamite," the show booked by a man who sometimes puts more thought into matches and rivalries that happened 15+ years ago than matches and rivalries that are happening right now on his own programming! That's okay, that's why we love him.And we are definitely going to talk about the upcoming Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness match, an exquisite in-ring pairing that hasn't happened since 2009 and that most of us thought would never happen again. Between that, the first-ever tag team Casino Gauntlet match, and the stuff Jon Moxley is doing, there were plenty of things to be opinionated about from "Dynamite" this week, and sharing the opinions of the WINC staff is exactly what this column is for.
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Unfortunately, you won't find much here about stuff like Ricochet vs. SammyGuevara or JackPerry's latest TNT title defense; be sure to check out our "Dynamite" results page if you missed any of that. Only the matches and segments that evoke our strongest feelings have a place here. These are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 9/11/24 episode of "AEW Dynamite."
The theme of Jon Moxley's reasoning for his epic betrayal of Bryan Danielson at All Out was the idea that diplomacy Danielson's way of doing things, according to Moxley and the newly anointed Blackpool Combat Club member PAC had failed. Ironic, considering Moxley and Allin's surprisingly nonviolent encounter later on in the night. The "Purveyor of Violence" adopted a new means of pushing forward this time around, first attempting to gaslight the rightful challenger to Danielson's world title into believing that he wasn't ready for the challenge and should hand the opportunity over to Moxley himself. Mox outright told Allin he wouldn't be getting the opportunity as a result of his and the BCC's attack on the "American Dragon" to close All Out, leaving the resolution of their dispute clear at an optimal time to pivot.
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Allin didn't relinquish his opportunity but instead agreed to put it on the line against Moxley at "Grand Slam." It seems as though AEW has managed to book itself out of a hole dug months ago, with Allin's title shot coming at an inopportune time considering Danielson's new storyline with Mox and the BCC. All Out clearly set the wheels in motion for the co-founders of the stable to face off sooner rather than later, but at a time where the world title picture had grown congested with pre-existing claimants to the crown. The BCC repelled one would-be challenger in Christian Cage in Chicago, almost like a pack of predators marking their kill. Wednesday, Moxley backed by Marina Shafir followed up to confront another claimant. He may not have had the white flag surrender he wanted, but he received an opportunity to usurp the crown from a challenger he's confident he can beat again.
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There are still some niggling inconsistencies with the way things started, but Moxley's character is truly starting to flower since All Out. There is a sense of calculated restraint from him, a cutting edge to the BCC that hasn't been felt for a while, and Danielson is the perfect hero to oppose them. AEW recognized that and set about aligning the stars to make it make sense. From a company that often suffers from narrative oversight, you have to give credit where credit is due.
Written by Max Everett
"Hangman" Adam Page has a lot to answer for following the absolute brutality of his unsanctioned cage match against Swerve Strickland at All Out on Saturday, and he answered for absolutely none of them on "Dynamite." While I understand the want to have the creative focus completely on Jon Moxley and the former Blackpool/PACpool Combat Club and Bryan Danielson and Darby Allin, I think there was more than enough show to get more of "Hangman" and his explanation, or even just his desperation at facing all he had done, on this show. Moxley not only opened the show, he had a segment with mostly PAC speaking when they came down to beat people up, then a third segment with Allin. Don't get it twisted, I love Moxley and his heel turn at All Out was one of my favorite things about the show, but I think Page deserved a hell of a lot more in the fallout. He really needed to say what he needed to say in front of the live audience.
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Page was seen backstage in a segment just over three minutes long this week, beginning with an interview with Renee Paquette. For one, he just walked in the building like nothing was wrong, like he didn't just try to commit murder after already committing arson. I suppose Tony Khan did say at the post-All Out press conference he did everything he could to keep "Hangman" out of jail, but my suspension of disbelief can only go so far.
Page's response in his promo was good and vicious, he said he meant every word he said. He also called out anyone who stood in his way from harming Strickland, and when I stopped to think about it, outside of say, officials, and maybe Christopher Daniels, I can't name anyone specific off the top of my head that Page will be going after next. I guess maybe Jeff Jarrett, now? We did see Jarrett attempt to tell "Hangman" he had seen men go down the same dark, demonic path that Page is already well on, in my humble opinion, and Page decked him for it. But after Page beat him up a little, he just kind of walked away. We didn't see him for the rest of the night, and the focus completely shifted to Moxley's end of brutality. Strickland not showing up to "Dynamite" after all he went through on Saturday makes sense, but "Hangman" was RIGHT there. Get this man in front of a crowd and let the "boos" wash over him, because he certainly has a lot more explaining to do than what we heard.
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Written by DaisyRuth
Every week, I play a game of Russian Roulette. Chris Jericho appears on my screen, and God spins a chamber deciding whether the following 10-15 minutes are going to be an assault on my sense of good taste or not. This week, the chamber was empty and I was delighted with what I saw.
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Jericho had me worried in the first half, complaining about his $7,000 jacket and demanding cash for reimbursement. "Don't worry," I told myself. "Jericho showed up in an expensive car, surely they'll do something with that."
Reader, they did.
Orange Cassidy and the Conglomeration appeared with a bulldozer, with its payload full of pennies, quarters, nickels, and other loose change, spilling onto Jericho's Bentley convertible with deeply satisfying clacks, as each coin f***ed up the paint job and the upholstery. I've said it before and I'll say it again, wrestling is a visual medium. I don't want to watch people talk at each other. I want to see mayhem. I want to see petty escalations. I want to see hijinks. Cars being destroyed, houses being burned down, dogs being fed to Al Snow. People love hijinks. It's me, I'm people. Wednesday's show gave me hijinks in spades.
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Written by RossBerman
Eliminator matches are nothing new in AEW, but with how rare it is for the competitor who isn't holding a title to actually earn themselves a shot, it makes the match type feel extremely predictable and less exciting to match when you know what the outcome is going to be. AEW Women's World Champion Mariah May facing Queen Aminata was no different, as the former defeated the latter within a reasonably short period of time.
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I get that May is supposed to be a heel and doing what she can to get heat, but pushing back her championship commemoration week after week and have her rag on whatever city AEW is coming from as a means of trying to get her heat until Toni Storm returns so they can resume their feud doesn't feel as though it's the most effective means of doing so. When you partner both of those things with how big her win against Storm at All In to become the Women's World Champion felt, it makes May feel like she's still centered around Storm rather than her being a reigning champion and a character of her own that's leveled up since beating her former mentor and partner. While bringing Mina Shirakawa back into the fold by having May call her out is an interesting development, it doesn't quite feel like it's enough to make up for the lack of excitement in May's reign thus far.
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Written by Olivia Quinlan
There isn't much more for Bryan Danielson to accomplish in AEW before he hangs up his boots at the close of his current world title reign, so it really is a case of squeezing in the marquee dream matches while he is on the proverbial horse. But sometimes see Kurt Angle wrestling fans are begrudged of the matches they truly clamor for as a wrestler's time draws near, and in many respects that could have been the case with Danielson's scheduled "Grand Slam" World title defense against Darby Allin, sworn a title shot after winning the Royal Rampage in July.
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That's by no means intended to be a slight against the would-be challenger, but at this time and with the stories brewing around it, there was just a lot that could have been left on the table if the path AEW had set upon months ago had been followed completely. This week, there appeared to be a degree of awareness of that fact, as it was established that Danielson could not defend his title at the upcoming stadium show. Allin was set upon a different path, while that of the "American Dragon" would later be revealed: Nigel McGuinness demanding to see Tony Khan backstage was followed by him standing in the middle of the ring, contract in hand, where he would declare that Danielson would wrestle in New York, and it will see the old ROH foes renew their acquaintance.
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In a stroke of genius over the past week, layers of narrative have been thrown towards the swan song title run of Danielson. Not only does he have the looming threat of the treacherous Jon Moxley backed by his vision of the Blackpool Combat Club, but now he has to prepare for a rival he hasn't fought in 15 years. A rival, furthermore, he likely never thought he would face again. Their matches in the 2000s were visceral works of violent art, and they are very much two sides of the same coin. But Danielson left ROH and reached the top of the wrestling mountain, while McGuinness had to hang up the boots and take to the commentary booth. There's a bitterness there that couldn't come from wrestling alone, but is predicated on the very real facts of their intertwining careers. AEW recognized that, cognizant of the narrowing window for the match to be held, and pulled the trigger in a way that made sense. They gave the fans what they want, while not necessarily what was promised, and delivered something Darby Allin vs. Bryan Danielson would never have been able to match.
Written by Max Everett
When AEW formed in 2019, The Young Bucks and everyone behind the scenes made sure to let the world know that they would be the home of tag team wrestling. AEW would be the place where duos from all over the world would flock to in order to prove that they are the best tag team in the entire world, and for a while, it was. Go back and look at the roster and you'll see The Young Bucks, The Lucha Brothers, Santana & Ortiz, Best Friends, SCU, Jurassic Express, Private Party. The division was so vibrant.
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Fast forward to September 11, 2024, and the Tag Team Casino Gauntlet match. Right off the bat, I thought the match was a lot of fun. It was a lot messier than the other gauntlets due to the fact that there were double the people in action, but it was a good time. Until, instead of AEW taking an opportunity really remind people how good AEW's tag team division was and could be again, the match was won by a team thrown together at the start of the show.
Yes, Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher have known each other for years, been in the same stable together, and even tagged together in the past.Even so, this just seems like such a missed opportunity. A team like Top Flight have been crying out for a big moment to be taken seriously, MxM have quickly become beloved by the fans and speaking of beloved, did you hear the pop for The Outrunners? A team that only a few months ago were consistently jobbing to everyone on the roster, an now they're getting the reception that some of these teams could only dream of. Why not give the title match to them? What is the actual harm?
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Obviously, a show like "Grand Slam" needs a big card to not only live up to the name and reputation, but to also move some tickets, because they aren't exactly flying off the shelves right now. The Bucks vs. Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher is more of a draw than something like the AEW EVP's vs. The Outrunners in the short term, but giving an actual tag team a win in a match like this would have done wonders for them and would be much better for the long-term health of the division. I'm sure it will be a good match on September 25, but the only thing that was showcased in the Casino Gauntlet was how weak the AEW tag team division is right now, and how far it has fallen over the course of the last five years.
Written by Sam Palmer
