Written By Gino Lewis
Before I get started, I’d like to ask you to follow me on X/Twitter @GeenoEvel86 and join my Facebook group AEW Wrestling and a Few Beers https://www.facebook.com/groups/218288257645536
Jon Moxley def Jeff Hardy – Rating *** ¼
After the match four wrestlers from CMLL jumped Moxley. Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal made the save. That set up an 8-man tag on Rampage.
Hangman Adam Page def Toa Liona – Rating *** ¼
Wardlow def Komander – Rating ** ½
Wardlow appeared to injure his knee during the match. Members of Undisputed Kingdom had a stare down with Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero.
Renee Paquette conducted a sit-down interview with Sting, Darby Allin, Ricky Starks and Big Bill.
Chris Jericho def Kyle Fletcher – Rating *** ¼
Newly formed alliance Bang Bang Scissor Gang had an in-ring segment.
Deonna Purrazzo def Taya Valkiyre – Rating ***
The Young Bucks had a backstage segment with Darby Allin.
Swerve Strickland def RVD – Rating *** ½
Samoa Joe was on commentary. Hangman Page came out after the match. Swerve agreed to another match next week in Phoenix.
Overall Rating 7/10
2024 Average Rating 7.45
Final Thoughts – A decent episode of Dynamite. Most AEW shows get a higher rating from me. There was nothing wrong with Moxley, Hangman and Jericho getting predictable wins. I gave all three matches three ¼ star ratings which means they were good but there was nothing special about them. Deonna Purrazzo and Taya Valkiyre had a good match by AEW standards. Both women are capable of more and got time to have better matches in TNA. Swerve and RVD worked fine as the main event. There were some good interview segments. I do like the way AEW is building towards Revolution. One thing I didn’t like was the in-ring segment for Bang Bang Scissor Gang. The crowd loves them but it’s silly that they joined forces to go after Undisputed Kingdom and aren’t doing it. Adam Cole’s Devil storyline has flopped so far. AEW needs to find a way to heat it back up. Bang Bang Scissor Gang going after them might accomplish that.
I wouldn’t say AEW is in a slump. It is fair to say they haven’t gotten off to a hot start in 2024. This was the third straight AEW show with a crowd of around 2,000. The small crowd didn’t hurt the show as much as last week. A hotter crowd could have helped the quality of this episode. Most of the matches were good with five matches getting ratings of three stars or higher. There just isn’t a lot of intrigue in these predictable matches. I don’t think AEW has had a match with a surprising finish this year. You can tell there has been a change to the booking style. Part of it is good as there seems to be some focus on things to come. Revolution is shaping up to be an all-time great AEW PPV. There has been more of a focus on long-term rivalries for that show. However, on a show-to-show basis there isn’t enough going on to get people to want to buy tickets. Perhaps that will start to change next week. The show in Phoenix looks stacked! While I’m really looking forward to Swerve vs Hangman III, I don’t love doing it next week. That was one show that had already sold a decent number of seats. Announcing Hangman vs Swerve for the following week probably would have boosted ticket sales for that show. But what do I know?
Comments