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AEW DYNAMITE, JUNE 12, 2024
THE FIGHT CONTINUES
Last week I said that Rush was the perfect opponent to re-establish MJF as an ass kicker. This week they continued where they left off, as they should have. There were no silly catchphrases, or inside references. MJF was here to fight. I loved the brawl continuing into the backstage area, and the immediate announcement that the match would open Dynamite next week. I hope the show next week kicks off with them once again picking up this wild brawl. Dynamite has too often been missing an intensity, or a sense that people want to fight and settle grudges. There are too many wrestlers that feel like they’re “performing”. I hope there is an effort made to bring back this feeling to the show, an element that used to make AEW stand out from WWE.
OSPREAY TWO BELTS
Swerve Strickland’s great show opening promo and the show closing face-off with him and Will Ospreay did a lot to create anticipation for their Forbidden Door world title match. The Elite interrupting Swerve felt like a distraction from the issue at hand, but more on that later. Ospreay vs Fenix was a really hot main event, and the restraint it showed pleasantly surprised me. Maybe that was due to a time cut, who knows. The backstage segment with Renee speaking, as Fenix was in the background, was really creative and did way more for Fenix than anything Alex Abrehentes has done. Alex unfortunately does nothing but make cool luchadores seem less cooler and Fenix benefitted from him not being there. They did enough to have a match filled with the innovation you’d expect from them, without having the “epic”, full of needless near falls that do nothing but make Ospreay look incapable of getting a strong win. Ospreay catching a flying Fenix with the Hidden Blade, before killing him with another was an excellent finish. The post match, with only the in-ring camera mics picking up the words and great camera work was a creative end to the show. Swerve’s delivery of his line about how he would “put anyone else in a grave '' for touching his belt, was brilliantly chilling. I hope AEW show more restraint and have no physicality between these two before the PPV, which will only add to the anticipation of a huge AEW world title match.
THAT TIME OF YEAR
AEW have taken on some of the worst elements of Vince McMahon’s WWE, one of those being Hell in a Cell matches or Ladder matches happening, not because there was a grudge or feud fitting it, but simply because it was time for that PPV. That’s where we are with Blood and Guts. There have been many, many problems with this angle right from the start. What exactly did The Elite gain by winning the Anarchy in the Arena match? They seem to have less power than before they won it. Does any of this feel heated to the point of it needing to be settled in the most barbaric match in AEW? No. What can they do to top a man being set on fire? I don’t think I want to find out. Why are The Elite putting themselves in the match? Shouldn’t Tony Khan be forcing the heels to enter it, who in turn cower at the thought of being caged with a bunch of guys that want to kill them. Will there be a stipulation or something on the line this time? This is all extremely backwards and not good. Swerve becoming so involved in this story might indicate that he will lose the title to Ospreay because of The Elite, which I really hope is not the case.
On the topic of The Elite. Jack Perry’s match with Dustin Rhodes was really good, and Dustin was the perfect guy for Perry to work his first singles match back in AEW with. It was a good strong win for Perry, who is starting to adapt to working like a proper heel, and not just another guy with some heel mannerisms that works the same indie style of match as everyone else.
THE GOOD AND BAD
The rest of the show was filled with a lot of good, but before we get to that. The bad. You guessed it. Chris Jericho. Again. Only I am writing about this show, I would have skipped this god awful segment. I have no idea why Jericho is acting like a kids TV presenter now. Jericho climbing to the top rope in silence, to “teach” Private Party how to do it, was as awkward as it gets. Big Bill is giving this is all, and is somewhat entertaining. Private Party are a team that needs a change of scenery and a fresh start somewhere else.
Mercedes Mone vs Zeuxis was a very good match, although probably a bit longer than it needed to be. These international match ups are something that AEW can offer that WWE don’t. Although that may change in the near future. Did it need to be a title match? No. I have no idea why AEW can’t just announce a PPV title match, and leave it at that. Instead we get these pointless TV defences, where we know who is going to win. I would have liked to have seen Stephanie Vacquer actually appear here, because the audience in large don’t know who she is, although the video package on her earlier in the show was well done.
Mark Briscoe cut an amazing backstage promo that needs to be seen. His “All Star Conglomeration” then went on to have a fantastic six man tag full of great innovation and energy. Kyle Fletcher getting the win, his first important Dynamite win makes it look like we are heading towards him and Briscoe at the ROH PPV. Mark Briscoe should be a heavily featured, important part of AEW TV. He connects with the crowd, is completely unique and is believable in a way that very few are.
Overall this was a strong Dynamite. With the international crossover stars appearing, and more of a focus on intensity, and hyping a big main event, with less bad tongue in cheek segments, this felt like more of the AEW of old. Dare I say, this was a much more entertaining show than Raw this week, which is the first time I can say that this year.
I can be reached at matthewmacklin90@gmail.com
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