PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

LOOKING AT ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE AEW DYNAMITE ENDINGS EVER AND MORE FROM LAST NIGHT

AEW DYNAMITE, JULY 11, 2024

AN END TO REMEMBER

This was one of the most impactful, visceral and memorable endings to Dynamite in the history of the show.  It was only a matter of time until there was a big turn from either Mariah May or Toni Storm, but this somehow still came across as a shocker.  It was an emotional and violent angle, with Storm’s selling, particularly great.  This set’s up a big women’s world title match for Wembley Stadium, that feels fitting of a show of its stature.  This goes to show what can be accomplished with long term planning and vision for a storyline and a new character. Has this story been perfectly executed? No. But Mariah May was brought into AEW with a purpose and a plan, unlike the many signees that get thrown onto TV with no plan or focus, that slip into a vortex of “great matches” that mean absolutely nothing. With over a month still to go to All In, I am looking forward to seeing what AEW can do to heat this match up into what will probably be the biggest AEW Women’s World title match in company history. That along with Mercedes Mone vs Britt Baker in another marquee match, the women's division has come a long way in one year, when you look back on last year’s Wembley women’s match. 

BRYAN IS ALL IN

Bryan Danielson vs Hangman Page was a great Owen Hart Tournament final, simply because it was impossible to call the winner. It was easy to see this going either way with justification for either man facing Swerve Strickland at All In. The match was outstanding, as you would expect. I could have done without the blood, especially two blade jobs from Danielson in the one match. Given that the show was to end with a bloody angle, it didn’t feel necessary here. While I get the idea of involving Jeff Jarrett as a representative for Owen Hart, this could have done without the ref bump also. All in all though, this was an excellent match, and Hangman Page’s new character is a major addition to AEW programming. While I get him entering Blood and Guts as part of Team Elite, because he is obsessed with getting his hands on Swerve Strickland, I would rather this character stayed well away from The Elite. Danielson vs Swerve is a huge All In main event that will interest a casual fan that knows who Bryan is, but doesn’t necessarily follow AEW. Does Bryan win to get his championship moment and drop it back to Swerve at the Tacoma Dome in October? 

THE INTERNATIONAL TITLE

Giving away Will Ospreay vs MJF on one week's notice seems crazy to me. Unless the match turns into some sort of angle to set up a proper match at All In. Which is where I thought it was going, until PAC seemed to suggest he would challenge for the International title at All In. While I love that PAC is being featured at All In, Ospreay vs MJF feels like a much bigger and more important match than a potential Ospreay vs PAC match. Even as good as it would be. So where would that leave MJF? With Daniel Garcia? That certainly doesn’t feel big enough for All In. I have a feeling this could be heading towards a four way match, which I’m not crazy about. Ospreay’s promo to open the show was good, especially considering it was one of his first long in ring promos without a Tony Schiavone there. Can someone ban the word “bitch” from featuring on this show for a few weeks?  MJF’s promo on Collision last weekend explaining his turn, made great sense. Let’s ignore the awful line about star rating and Nielsen ratings, which was so bad and typical of AEW being unable to escape the internet bubble.  There was another reference to it here too. There is enough here with this story without having to go down that road. MJF’s presentation feels right again, after him for so long playing a role he just did not fit.  AEW are creating an interesting scenario around this title though, and deserve credit for improvements made over the past month or so. While a lot of it is far from perfect, there seems to be a much greater effort to put focus on certain characters and storylines, with a clear destination of where they want them to end up. 

I can be reached at matthewmacklin90@gmail.com

 

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet