The Dynamite before the Dynasty pay-per-view was a mixed bag of hype and speculation. Let’s get right to the show and see if we can unravel some mysteries.
The show kicked off with a rarity, a Mixed Tornado Tag Team Match where Swerve Strickland and Willow Nightingale got the win after Willow scored the Doctor Bomb on Marina Shafir. Entertaining opener, and I was thoroughly impressed with the women having the opportunity to strike and overpower the men. A scary spot during the match where Marina Shafir struggled to get Willow up, but managed to power bomb her off the apron and through a table. Another crazy spot, saw Swerve setup Mox for the House Call but Shafir dove in front and took the hit. I’m glad Shafir is in a wrestling ring, but my concern seems to be with a display of ring rust or moments of hesitation from her. Thankfully it did not take away from the match as it was very entertaining. After the match, Jon Moxley planted Willow with a Paradigm Shift DDT. This enraged swerve who later in the show promised he would get his hands on the champion.
Up until recently, there has been zero intrigue with the Death Rider story arc. It once again proves that Swerve Strickland’s involvement in any angle makes it worth watching. If it’s that obvious the angle needed Swerve’s involvement, it’s time to finally put an end to it once and for all. Give swerve the championship at Dynasty, for the love of everything good and holy do it now.
The brackets for the Owen Hart Memorial Tournament were revealed. Pretty interesting this year, heavily stacked with a lot of potential main event opportunities.
Backstage, an apologetic Dax paid his $10,000 fine directly to referee Paul Turner for his inappropriate actions on Collision. He apologized to AEW and apologized to the fans for losing control. However his attempt at making amends with Cash wheeler fell on deaf ears. I really hope they don’t break up FTR. Now is not the time to do it.
Backstage again Renee Paquette discusses with Mercedes Mone the Owen Hart Memorial tournament. Before they can get in too deep, Harley Cameron shows up with Muppet Mone, and is excited about their upcoming tag team match on Collision.
Get that money printed!!!
“Timeless” Toni Storm defeated “The Superbad Girl” Penelope Ford
An excellent match. As one of the original women from AEW’s start, Penelope Ford consistently delivers in every match she has been in. This might have been one of her best matches to date. While the outcome of the match would not be doubted, I will say that Ford definitely shined as the MVP. After the match challenger Megan Bayne came down to ringside to have a stare down with the champion. I really hope the women’s title match is the Main Event of the Pay-Per-View.
An interesting segment featuring MVP and Bobby Lashley. It was announced that due to problematic weather conditions, Shelton Benjamin was not able to make it tonight. However, the conversation still continued, with Lashley refusing to allow MJF to become a member of the Hurt Syndicate. This brought him out in-person, pleading his case, however continue to be rebuffed by the almighty Lashley. After MJF left, Bobby Lashley was confronted by Big Bill and Bryan Keith. The duo made short work of an unnamed tag team in some sort of effort to seem imposing enough to challenge for the tag team championships. I would have been more impressed had they defeated anyone else.
We are told that Jay White, due to injury will not be able to compete in the Owen Hart Memorial. Instead, Will Ospreay’s tag team partner, Kevin Knight, will be his replacement. Together, Osprey and Knight defeated Blake Christian and Lee Johnson in tag team action. Another match where I would easily call it enjoyable and fun to watch. no story needed just sit back and enjoy the show. all four men performed extremely well and would entertain even the most fickle of wrestling fans. Tony Schiavone comes to the ring after the match to announce that Osprey will face Knight at Dynasty in the first round of the tournament. Seat belts on because these two are going to take off like a rocket.
Somewhere in the arena, Samoa Joe, along with Hook and Shibata promise they will be watching the pay-per-view very closely.
Our meat match of the night featured Brody King defeating Lance archer. Is it just me or are we getting one meat match at least a week. No complaints here. Brody is a big monster in the best possible way. he’s versatile and isn’t a typical big man that can only Punch or slam. he will face Konosuke Takeshita in the first round of the Owen Hart Memorial, it’ll be a great match and to be honest I’m not sure who I could predict as the winner of it.
For the second week in a row there was a Don Callis impersonator in the crowd. However it seemed the real Don Callis had some pretty menacing words for him. Poor guy.
The final match of the night featured Adam Copeland defeating Claudio Castagnoli. Interesting way to end the match where Cope used his own underhanded tactics against Claudio, with the low blow while the referee’s back was turned. Unfortunately, this match felt a bit off and didn’t deliver as it intended. The match seemed to start hot but the longer it went it seemed to lose more and more steam.
To be perfectly honest the final segment of the night was the real main event. Backstage Swerve and Hangman found themselves face-to-face with the war of words and in a surprising turn swerve accepted responsibility deserving consequences from his feud with Adam Page. The Death Riders attacked and threw Swerve through glass. However the challenger stood right up. This is the selling point for the aew world championship match. Swerve is the guy who brings everything to a feud, even a dying one. If anyone is waiting for a sign from whichever deity they pray to, this is it. give the belt to Swerve.
Overall not a bad Dynamite, but didn’t have the go-home feel which shows typically have before a pay-per-view. They still have Collision on Saturday and hopefully we’ll get to see more hype than we did on dynamite.
