This was an action-packed episode of “Dynamite,” featuring a match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship, Swerve Strickland facing AR Fox, Jamie Hayter and Julia Hart’s rematch, and PAC taking on Adam Copeland. As well as Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay’s face-to-face confrontation and, of course, segments featuring Jeff Jarrett and MJF.
Did this week’s episode improve upon last week’s?
HIT: Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay Face-to-Face
Will Ospreay feels as though he needs Kenny Omega’s help to snuff out the Don Callis Family. Initially, Omega outright refused to align himself with Ospreay: harkening back to their match at “Forbidden Door” in 2023, when Ospreay used a screwdriver to defeat Omega. At that time, Ospreay was still aligned with their mutual enemy, Don Callis. So, how can Omega be sure that Ospreay has truly changed?
However, before Omega and Ospreay’s war of words could become physical, the aforementioned Don Callis interrupted them. Omega wasted no time attacking Callis, but was quickly repelled by the Don Callis Family. Namely, Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Brian Cage, and Lance Archer. Ospreay joined Omega and the two battled the Don Callis family throughout the arena. They fought from the entranceway, into the audience, at the merchandise stand, etc.
Finally, Ospreay and Omega performed two incredible dives off of structures in the arena onto the Don Callis Family — forcing the faction to retreat. Afterwards, the duo climbed a lighting truss and Omega issued a challenge to Callis: Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay versus Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita at “Grand Slam Australia.” While the Don Callis Family didn’t actually accept Omega’s challenge, the match has been made official.
If you were a fan who’s never watched an episode of “Dynamite” before, then this would have been quite the introduction to AEW. I didn’t particularly love this segment, but it certainly wasn’t bad either. Not only did Ospreay and Omega finally look like a dangerous duo, but their stereo Orihara Moonsaults were phenomenal.
I’m excited to see these four men face off at “Grand Slam Australia.” Still, I find it hard to believe that Fletcher is going to lose in Australia. I have a feeling that this feud is going to continue well after this tag match.
MISS: Jon Moxley addresses Adam Copeland
Adam Copeland and PAC will be facing off in the main event, so Jon Moxley wanted to address the “Rated R Superstar.”
In short, Moxley and The Death Riders are going to force Copeland to retire again, after they break his neck. At what point does someone with actual authority intervene? So far, The Death Riders modus operandi has been attempted murder. I’m sorry, I thought this was wrestling?
HIT: Private Party [c] vs. The Hurt Syndicate
Private Party made their third defense of the AEW World Tag Team Championships, facing The Hurt Syndicate. Unfortunately, it was also their final defense.
I would have loved to see this match end in a time-limit draw, to prolong Private Party’s reign and give them a little more credibility. With that said, there’s no denying the Hurt Syndicate’s destructive power. Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin are true smashing machines, reminiscent of powerhouse teams like the Steiners or Miracle Violence Connection.
The true travesty here is Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen’s championship reign, which felt like a complete afterthought in AEW’s programming. Now that The Hurt Syndicate are champions though, I doubt the tag team titles will fade into obscurity.
By and large, this is ideal for both the tag team division and the Hurt Syndicate.
Rating: ***¼
MISS: Jeff Jarrett
“The Last Outlaw” commandeered the TBS Superstation again. This time, it was specifically to challenge the AEW World Heavyweight Champion, Jon Moxley.
Claudio Castagnoli answered Jarrett’s challenge, reminding the outlaw that he has to go through the “first general,” before he can face the “one-true king.” So, Jarrett issued a challenge to Castagnoli on “Dynamite” next week. If Jarrett wins their match, then he earns a shot at Moxley for the championship. Castagnoli was excited by Jarrett’s proposition and accepted his challenge.
Right now, the ROH World Champion is 54 years old, and Jon Moxley’s two most prominent challengers are 51 and 57 years old, respectively. Something about that seems flawed.
MISS: Swerve Strickland vs. AR Fox
Swerve Strickland needed someone to wrestle this week, so Tony Khan dusted off AR Fox.
This match certainly paled in comparison to some of their previous encounters. Midway through the proceedings, Ricochet tried to intervene, but was repelled by Prince Nana — who chased Ricochet backstage with a led pipe.
Strickland exhausted his array of finishing maneuvers, finally punctuating the affair with a Swerve Stomp. After the match, Strickland realized that Nana hadn’t returned from the backstage area. Ricochet commandeered the monitor, revealing that he cornered Strickland’s manager — holding his scissors against Nana’s throat. Unfortunately, this segment lost some of its luster, because it was already the second time that someone alluded to committing a violent crime.
Strickland keeps calling himself the “most dangerous man in AEW” and promising that he’s going to do something extremely violent to Ricochet. Ricochet threatened to “gut” Nana “like a fish.” Once again, I thought this was professional wrestling?
Rating: **
HIT: MJF responds to Jeff Jarrett
An enhancement talent is in the ring, preparing himself for “Hangman” Adam Page’s scheduled match. However, the affair is interrupted by MJF, who wanted to remind everyone how senile Jeff Jarrett is. MJF scoffed at Jarrett’s ambition, promising that he’ll learn that it’s easier to make the deal with the devil, then it is to defy him.
MJF’s promo was interrupted by the arrival of Page, who entered the ring and stared MJF down — forcing the “Devil” to leave the ring. Did this interaction sow the seeds for a long-awaited feud between “Hangman” Adam Page and MJF? Only time will tell.
HIT: “Hangman” Adam Page in action
Last week on Saturday Night “Collision,” “Hangman” Adam Page defeated Christopher Daniels in a Texas Death Match. While the match wasn’t billed as a retirement match, the rumor is that the performance signaled the end of Daniels’ in-ring career. Page ultimately defeated Daniels with his own finishing move, Angel’s Wings.
Last night, Page made quick work of his opponent, Tyler Shoop, once again using Angel’s Wings. After the match, Daniels met Page at the top of the entrance ramp, wearing a neck brace.
Daniels admits that his ego allowed this situation to escalate to a point of no return, accepting a match with the most violent stipulation, against the most violent man. And, now, he’ll have to regret that decision for the rest of his life. Thanks to the damage that Page inflicted upon him, the “Fallen Angel” has been forced to retire from in-ring competition.
Daniels apologized to Page and hoped that, one day, he could be happy. Page seemed remorseful, before angrily shoving the cameraman. Is this where Page’s road to redemption begins or is “Hangman” too far gone?
Rating: N/A
HIT: Jamie Hayter vs. Julia Hart II
This was easily the best contest of the night.
This feud began over two months ago, with their first match occurring at “Fight for the Fallen.” Julis Hart was victorious in this match, using her strange mist to incapacitate Jamie Hayter. Last night, the former AEW World Women’s Champion finally received her rematch.
This was surprisingly competitive. While Hart is a former TBS Women’s Champion, Hayter is a former world champion — whose stature is only rivaled by a select few in AEW. For the 23-year-old Hart, her performance was a testament to her extraordinary improvement. For Hayter, this was yet another reminder that she’s destined to collide with the AEW Women’s World Champion.
After the match, Hayter cut a short promo, imploring Hart that she doesn’t need Malakai Black anymore, or even Buddy Matthews & Brody King to intimidate her opponents. She’s become a credible challenger in her own right and has a bright future ahead of her.
Later in the evening, a short vignette aired; featuring Julia Hart, Buddy Matthews, and Brody King. If it wasn’t already made abundantly clear, the House of Black is no more. They now represent their own faction, which has no leader or discerning voice to guide them. Instead, they’ll blaze their own trail. For Hart, that means pursuing singles gold. For Matthews and King, it seems like their immediate future lies in the tag team division. I’m interested to see how all of this pans out.
Rating: ***½
MISS: Adam Copeland vs. PAC
This wasn’t a bad match, although it was far from good. The match itself lasted over 18 minutes, which is concerning for 51-year-old Adam Copeland. PAC is one of AEW’s most prolific performers and convincingly sold Copeland’s offense, but even that didn’t prevent this match from feeling like it was meandering.
PAC continuously targeted Copeland’s neck, slowly wearing the “Rated R Superstar” down. However, Copeland withstood PAC’s onslaught and punctuated the affair with a TKO for the three-count. After the match, Moxley appeared on the monitor, revealing that he’s restrained Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler, Ricky Morton, and Robert Gibson and seemingly assaulted them.
After that, the Death Riders began to descend on the ring, swarming Copeland like jackals. “Switchblade” Jay White tried to intervene, nearly delivering a Blade Runner to Moxley. However, Wheeler Yuta stopped White dead in his tracks with a low blow. The Death Riders took turns stomping on Copeland’s neck, until Moxley applied his patented bulldog choke The show ended with both men lying unconscious, square in the ring.
Jon Moxley and the Death Riders have failed on so many levels, that mediocrity has become commonplace. A wrestling program is designed to be framed around its main event picture. If this is AEW’s main event picture right now, then the company is doomed. I just don’t know how much longer this can last until fans completely lose faith.
Rating: **¾
Final Verdict
This was another middle-of-the-road outing for AEW. The tag team championship match and Jamie Hayter and Julia Hart’s rematch were the highlights of this week’s episode. The opening segment wasn’t fantastic, but wasn’t bad either. Unfortunately, I’m still not really interested in Swerve Strickland’s feud with Ricochet and the Death Riders storyline is completely abysmal.
Rating: **¼
The rest of the week’s programming
Saturday Night “Collision”
- Daniel Garcia, Daddy Magic, and Cool Hand Ang vs. Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Roderick Strong
- Brody King & Buddy Matthews vs. Gates of Agony
- Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Big Bill
- Mariah May & Toni Storm Face-to-Face
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