The card for Wednesday’s AEW “Dynamite” will feature a run of good matches, but there’s nothing there that makes you say, I’ve gotta watch this.
Predicting it here: it will be a good show for those who do watch, but the ratings will be down, dramatically.
For starters, there’s nothing scheduled with the world champ, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, and even if we do end up seeing him, as we’d expect, around the Bryan Danielson-Bandido match, before, during or after, this expected appearance isn’t being promoted.
With no CM Punk anymore, AEW is already starting each week behind the eight-ball in terms of lack of star power.
You need to advertise the champ.
We at least get two title matches, underwhelming though they may be – Darby Allin defending the TNT belt against Kushida, and Orange Cassidy defending the All-Atlantic strap against Jay Lethal.
Both matches are coming out of nowhere in terms of lack of build, and there’s no reason to think either title is going to change hands.
Good matches, again, but no reason to tune in just for them.
Another good match that you won’t miss if you happen not to tune in will be the tag match between the Young Bucks and Top Flight.
There’s no reason to think the Bucks are going to let Top Flight go over, so, this one will be a spotfest that goes nowhere.
Entertaining, but …
Willow Nightingale vs. Toni Storm is another one coming out of nowhere. Aren’t both of them babyfaces?
This one won’t even be a good match that you’d miss by not watching. Storm may be the best wrestler in the women’s division; Nightingale most certainly is not.
The final advertised match has Ricky Starks facing Jake Hager. Hager is a legit MMA badass who is booked as a bucket hat-wearing doofus; Starks is getting a push, and his feud with Jericho & Friends Inc. is supposed to keep the shine on him, which is why we have this match.
Let’s hope Tony Khan understands that keeping shine on a guy who is over with the crowd means actually having him go over.
That would be the only reason to watch this one – to make sure Khan doesn’t botch Starks the way he botched Wardlow, FTR, Miro, let’s see, going back a bit, Cody Rhodes.
If you tune in, this should be entertaining. If you don’t, there’s another show next week.
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Chris Graham
