Dubbed Maximum Carnage, AEW Dynamite, emanating from The Andrew J. Brady Music Center in Cincinati, delivered a pretty stacked episode of matches and promos which continue to set the table for upcoming feuds.
The show opened with the returning Kenny Omega scoring a pinfall victory over Brian Cage. Really good match for Omega’s return. Plenty of points during the match Cage made it believable that he could foil the returning hero’s come back. Excellent storytelling with the whole Callis family rallying behind their boss who absolutely despises Kenny. After the match was over, the whole stable came in to send a message.
Even with Will Ospreay running in to make a save, it was not enough leaving the odds grossly against the baby faces. I’m guessing this could mean one or two more members aligning with Kenny and will, or we could see the two of them, however, have a variety of tag team and singles matches which will culminate at the next pay-per-view.
Up next featured Ricochet attempting to cut a promo in the ring. However, the deafening boos silenced the high flyer who looks like a serial killer. Wasn’t sure where the segment was heading, until Prince Nana surprised Ricochet from behind, clobbering him with a chair. Swerve rushed the ring and chased Ricochet away. this is going to be fun folks. I’m enjoying Ricochet as a heel. I had no idea what to expect, but I’m loving it.
Next up were two promos, first another New York Minute with Chris Jericho and a slightly more unhinged Bryan Keith. A type of explanation was given as to why The Learning Tree will temporarily align with the Death Riders, but still does not make a whole lot of sense to me. It seems odd to have the Death Riders align with anyone considering the whole gimmick is an “us versus them.”
Following that, a Mercedes Mone highlight reel of doing media tours and showing off for championship titles. As much as I’m not a fan of Mone with all these championships, one has to admit it is good marketing.
I love seeing The Hurt Syndicate, and boy was I surprised to see MVP participate in a trios match. Pleasantly surprised. I’m sure plenty of people on social media will throw shade, but don’t forget that while MVP is primarily a manager he can still wrestle when he wants to. they defeated Private Party and Mark Briscoe, in a fairly good match.
I’ll admit at some points during the match it just seemed pretty clear this would turn into a squash, and while thankfully it did not, it does set the tone predicting the hurt Syndicate will inevitably become AEW World Tag Team champions. It’s kind of a shame when you think about it, Private Party finally becoming Champs was made such a big deal yet now the aftermath has fizzled out. Sometimes the chase is more fruitful than being a title holder.
In a rarity, an in-ring promo segment between MJF and Jeff Jarrett fell flat. Too long, and overloaded with too much forced shock value. Not sure why it went long as it did, and the opening salvo between the two should have been enough. If they’re going to draw this feud out over the next couple months, then the shock value should have been spread out as well. MJF taking shots at Double J’s rehab history, marital problems, plus dragging Owen Hart’s name into it could have been gradually sprinkled over the next few weeks or months. To cram it all in one drawn out segment seems very characteristic of MJF. It was pretty clear during the segment that Jarrett didn’t know what to do or say, either forgetting the promo or perhaps realizing the segment was not going as planned.
However, despite tonight’s failure, I’m actually intrigued to see how far this will go. MJF versus Jarrett was never on any bingo card I would own, however I’m curious if they can pull off a good match.
Hook defeated Christian Cage by DQ when the Patriarchy Interfered.
Not as exciting as some of the other matches of the night, this setup and overdue return of one wrestling monster in Samoa Joe. This was a fun match and its simplest form, watching Christian Cage get thrown around the ring by hook, and just as it seemed hook would get the clean victory, interference would abruptly end the match. Having Shibata and Joe also involved sets the tone for some exciting tag team and trios matches in the near future. I will never complain about seeing Samoa Joe or Shibata in a ring.
At one point it seemed as though Taz would insert himself, and honestly I wish he had.
The rookie, Toni storm won the women’s Casino Gauntlet battle royale. I wasn’t sure if this was the direction they were going in, but given Grand Slam will be taking place in Australia it makes sense. They could have gone with Harley Cameron which would have been a wrestling comedy fest, however I think they want to have a solid contest featuring both storm and Mariah May. very fun commentary from the women’s champion, feeding into this rookie gimmick by stating on more than one occasion that she’s curious to find out what this new wrestler can do.
Favorite part of the match was the debut of Megan Bayne. Holy crap she is a wrecking machine. I’ve watched some of her matches through social media outlets, and on youtube. and I have to say that signing her should be immediate. Get Kamille back on TV and you have more exceptional talent to a women’s roster with high potential.
In the main event of the night, Jon Moxley retains the AEW World Championship against Powerhouse Hobbs. Disappointing there was no title change, however Hobbs certainly stood out as a potential main event rematch in the future. It seems as though the Death Riders want to try and eliminate Hobbs, making him more into the babyface we want to see dethrone Moxley. One gruesome point in the match saw Hobbs bite Mox so hard that blood was gushing from the ear.
The interference from the rest of the Death Riders makes it pretty clear that MOX may not have been able to defeat Hobbs, again, pushing Will Hobbs is a legitimate contender to the championship. After the match ended they did a spot which appeared to re-injure Hobbs’ bad knee. FTR and Copeland rushed out to the ring after the damage was done. The flaw I see here is that FTR and Copeland should have already been at ringside given the Death Riders were present. Yuta interfering, Shafir hitting Hobbs with the briefcase would have already prompted a response from Babyface allies. However, it’s all about the story, so they need to add to some drama.
We need Eddie Kingston. Just get him back on TV, he doesn’t need to wrestle yet, just get him back on my TV and cutting promos threatening bodily harm to Mox.
A very good and enjoyable episode of the special Maximum Carnage edition of Dynamite. Throughout the show, there was a lot of push for Saturday night Collision featuring a Texas death match between “Hangman” Adam Page and Christopher Daniels. I’m guessing more blood will be shed.
