Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "AEW Dynamite," the show that supposedly featured Jon Moxley "seiz[ing] the Superstation." As for what actually happened ... well, well get to that, because the WINC staff definitely had some opinions on it. The match between Swerve Strickland and Lio Rush also got us in the feels, as did the post-match angle involving Bobby Lashley and The Hurt Syndicate, and we have more thoughts about the likes of Britt Baker, Julia Hart, and Konosuke Takeshita.
As always, we can't cover everything here, but it seems like we're skipping over more than the usual amount of AEW content this week, possibly because none of us thought the show was much to write home about. It's very possible (perhaps even likely) that you might want to know about some of the stuff that's directly relevant to FullGear, like the talking segment with Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher, the matches to decide MJF's Full Gear opponent, and the main event, which was contested for a spot in the FullGear tag title match. Not that we disliked any of that stuff necessarily the main event in particular was very good but it didn't grab us in the way that made us have to write about it. If all you need is the details, you can find those on our "Dynamite" results page, but the only thing you're going to find here are our subjective opinions. Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 11/13/24 episode of "AEW Dynamite."
I have a lot of thoughts about this entire storyline, and just as a warning, a lot of them are kind of negative before I come around to a "loved." First, I think it's wildly stupid that, as of right now, the Full Gear match is Roderick Strong versus MJF, and not Adam Cole, who the former AEW Champion has actual, serious beef with. The match, as it stands, isn't even a triple threat, which I'm pretty sure we all assumed it would be. But Strong defeated Lance Archer in a super quick Falls Count Anywhere Match, while Cole lost to International Champion Konosuke Takeshita. That loss is what I loved about this show, however, even though it completely screwed with the Cole vs. MJF storyline.
When it was revealed that Cole would be taking on the champion, I was worried for Takeshita. Quite a few fans, myself included, have gotten on the Takeshita hype train in recent months, and him winning the International Championship at WrestleDream was an excellent move. I was worried that he would lose to Cole, making him look weak. I have to admit, I haven't been a fan of Cole this time around with his return, though I can't 100% put my finger on why. It doesn't matter who was facing Takeshita, even in non-title action; the champion shouldn't be losing after such a swell of support around him, especially after he already lost a tag match last week. Thankfully, that's not what happened. The win wasn't a clean one with Don Callis being paid off by MJF in an attempt to make sure Strong and Cole didn't make it to Full Gear, Takeshita got the "Dynamite" diamond ring out from underneath the ring and clocked Cole with it, and the referee didn't see it. The fact he didn't win clean didn't bother me too much, though, as it was absolutely the right decision, and Takeshita is a dastardly heel anyway; a little cheating won't hurt him every now and then, especially when the title isn't on the line.
Takeshita handled his business with Cole and avoided Strong to get the heck out of that mess of a story, and thankfully walked almost literally right back into his own when Ricochet blindsided him on the stage as he was leaving. That's a championship match I definitely want to see at Full Gear, and Takeshita is still looking strong after not losing to a guy who just came back after a pretty major injury. I know it's not much to ask, but when it comes to AEW, I can never be quite sure.
Written by DaisyRuth
What is going on with Britt Baker?
Let's just run through some things that have happened lately. Baker returns at Forbidden Door in June after a nine-month absence and is immediately thrown into a feud with Mercedes Mone, one of the division's biggest stars. In July, she has her first match back against Hikaru Shida at "Blood & Guts," and it's perfectly serviceable. Then a week later, Mone is talking about how Baker has been suspended by the EVPs, which seems like a storyline until reports start coming out that she was actually suspended due to an incident involving Alicia Atout and MJF, who had apparently fallen out with Baker (Baker also publicly complained about her lack of mic time in comparison to MJF in 2023). Both MJF and others in the locker room say the incident was overblown by the media, and Baker returns and has her big match with Mone at All In London (as well as a somewhat smaller one against Harley Cameron) in August.
The Baker/Mone match doesn't go over well with a lot of people, to the point that Mone felt the need to provide a tepid defense of the contest in her newsletter. All well and good, but then Baker isn't even mentioned on AEW TV for more than a month, an absence noticeable enough that both Tony Khan and Baker herself are forced to give evasive non-answers about where she's been. She finally returns on the "Dynamite" fifth anniversary show in October, wrestling Serena Deeb and then she's gone again, for more than a month this time, until her match with Ford this week. Again, the absence has gone unexplained.
Baker vs. Ford was mostly inoffensive in the same way that the majority of Baker's work since 2022 has been inoffensive, but there was a pretty brutal series of botches near the end that functionally killed the match for me and I wasn't that into it to begin with. The post-match saw Baker appear to renew hostilities with Deeb (who also hasn't wrestled since October 2, meaning AEW thinks they can start a feud, shelve it for six weeks, then start it up again without anyone noticing) but the bigger question is, why are we wasting valuable "Dynamite" match time on Britt Baker at this point? What's the benefit of that? Since her return, she's had almost as many weird absences (3) as matches (4). Half those matches have been actively bad and the other half have been no better than fine. She hasn't appeared on either of the last two PPVs and she's far from a lock for Full Gear at this point she and Deeb might get a spot on Zero Hour. Not even her pyro wants to go off for her anymore. So if she's not having good matches, she's not part of a major storyline, and she could leave for another month at any moment why is she on "Dynamite?"
Written by Miles Schneiderman
It can be really hard to have a comparatively exceptional match in the promotion that has collected some of the world's very best athletes and grapplers, but the bout between Lio Rush and Swerve Strickland managed to find solace in its simplicity, sticking out to me as the best match on the card by far. Strickland is going into a much-anticipated clash with a debuting Bobby Lashley at Full Gear, so from the moment Rush threw out the challenge it was a foregone conclusion who would win. That said, it was a chance for him to prove himself after being tapped up by MVP and The Hurt Syndicate, as well as in the general perception of fans as someone looking to truly make his mark.
What transpired was a really fun tune-up match for Strickland, one where he was particularly giving to his intended fodder, allowing himself to mesh with the fluid style of Rush and crafting a fresh dynamic in the ring. It wasn't overly choreographed in the way each move was made, each motion fitting with the logic of the contest that was being conveyed. The size difference allowed for Strickland to work a more reactive approach, allowing Rush to run himself into trouble and gradually finding a groove when it came to defensively reading what was thrown at him. Perfectly encapsulated was that idea with the finish, Rush squirming out of a JML Driver attempt and looking to once more rush around Strickland for an opening, only to find himself worked into the perfect position for Strickland to finally deliver his finish (with no unnecessary kick outs!). The match tonight was potentially worth more to Rush even in defeat than it was for Strickland already a made main eventer and he really needs to keep having matches like these to show his niche in the sport.
Written by MaxEverett
I don't think it's a surprise to anyone who reads these pieces that I'm a big fan of Swerve Strickland. I'm also a fan of The Hurt Syndicate, and I'm assuming a newly-debuted Bobby Lashley will win his first match in AEW at Full Gear against Strickland. It's not that fact I'm mad about, and I'm certainly not upset over the excellent match that Strickland had with Lio Rush. I'm not bothered that Lashley and MVP came out following the match, as Strickland did indeed call out Lashley, and I expected it, but the one thing I found myself shaking my head at during this entire thing was the fact that Strickland seemingly can't count.
You would think that the former AEW World Champion would keep his head on a swivel when it comes to The Hurt Syndicate. He's just one guy, and doesn't have any friends in AEW outside of Prince Nana, who isn't exactly in his prime. So, when Lashley and MVP came out, the fact that Strickland didn't even mention Shelton Benjamin or wonder where the heck the third member was really just made him seem dumb.
Even if you haven't been watching wrestling your entire life, if you're familiar with the fact that The Hurt Syndicate has three members, you'd know that Benjamin was going to jump Strickland and Nana from behind. And he did, causing a big beatdown on Strickland while MVP held Nana, choking him with his cane, so the manager had to watch MVP's boys beat down his friend. It was something we've already seen, after Strickland and Benjamin had a match and Lashley debuted, beating him down. I don't think that it feels old or anything, and I don't think it will with just a week to go until Full Gear, but I absolutely hated how stupid this made Strickland look. For someone who's supposed to be the "Baddest Man in AEW," he needs to at least be prepared for the numbers game. I think this match is going to be great at Full Gear, but with Lashley presumably winning, it's not a great look for Strickland to look so boneheaded going into the bout.
Written byDaisyRuth
On a show that was otherwise pretty forgettable and featured a majority of segments that were at their best mediocre, there was one short video that was easily the highlight of the night for me: the one teasing the return of Julia Hart that interrupted an interview between Jamie Hayter and Renee Paquette.
Not only was the aesthetic and style of the video super cool and interesting, but it had substance as well with the content of the video itself being intriguing and unique. There has been a running theme with Hart's character in AEW of coming into her own and having to remember who she is, which is something that was perfectly reflected within the video itself both visually and audibly. It was a great way to tease the return of someone that fans have been waiting to see back on television for a number of months now, and a great way to set up a feud for her upon her return against Jamie Hayter (made all the better by the fact that the two women have never faced each other in the ring).
Written by OliviaQuinlan
In doing my weekly duties, showing up to work and putting my thoughts here on this page, I am seizing Static Media. Look at me seize Static Media by showing up to work and doing the job that they pay me to do. I am truly a rogue renegade bad-ass. Just look at what a cool anarchic force for change I am!
If that fell a little flat then I'm going to assume you were also underwhelmed by Jon Moxley's "seizure" of the Superstation by showing up to work and cutting a promo like he does every week at this point. He didn't even do it in the back of a pickup truck on some sick sunswept playa like a few weeks back. There was nothing that distinguished the highly-touted invasion from the weeks that came before.
Not only did they not properly seize TBS, they couldn't even hold the airwaves they had, first getting interrupted by Orange Cassidy and letting him leave unscathed, and then getting jumped not once, but twice, by Darby Allin, who drove the invading horde off TV just as quickly as they had arrived. Moxley and his crew have been a lot of talk since they got rid of Bryan Danielson, and making promises like "seizing the Superstation" without even lasting through a single commercial break doesn't help that perception. They didn't even last as long as an AEW women's match.
It used to be that "seizing the Superstation" would mean a mini-January 6 riot at TBS headquarters, possibly with one fan getting so invested in it that they get hit with non-lethal ammunition, but those days are gone. AEW is running out of ways to advertise Moxley's brand of talking too much, and it's starting to wear thin. Which, again, is why I have seized Static Media to get my message out to the masses.
Oh no, here comes one of my co-workers! I must flee!
Written by Ross Berman
