The road to “Grand Slam Australia” continued, with two more matches announced for the special television event.
In recent weeks, “Dynamite” has felt lackluster and largely inconsequential. Did this week’s episode succeed where the past few weeks have failed?
HIT: Jay White & Rated FTR confront The Death Riders
The show opened with Renee Paquette interviewing “Switchblade” Jay White outside of the arena as he arrived. White quickly found himself confronted by Jon Moxley and The Death Riders, but the faction was met in equal force by Rated FTR.
A fight broke out on the loading bay, spilling into the arena and down to the ring. In the end, it was “Switchblade” and Rated FTR who got the better of the Death Riders. Last week on “Collision,” Adam Copeland challenged Moxley to a match at “Revolution” in March, for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship in a backstage promo. After the brawl, Copeland re-issued his challenge, which Moxley vehemently declined.
However, Jay White challenged The Death Riders to a tag team match at “Grand Slam Australia,” which was made official shortly thereafter. The “Switchblade” and the “Rated-R Superstar” faced Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli in a “Brisbane Brawl.”
This was a raucous way to begin the show. While I’m admittedly not very interested in the Death Riders anymore, I’m enjoying the tenuous alliance between Jay White and Rated FTR. Particularly, because of White and Copeland.
HIT: Will Ospreay vs. A Member of The Don Callis Family
This was billed as a match between Will Ospreay and a mystery member of the Don Callis Family. That member proved to be Kyle Fletcher’s former tag team partner, Mark Davis.
Davis was, of course, most recently involved in an angle where he opposed Fletcher and Don Callis. However, Callis revealed that he acquired the rights to Davis’ contract two years ago, when Fletcher signed with him as a member of Aussie Open.
Plot contrivance aside, this was a really fun match. As Walt “Clyde” Frazier would say, Davis is “hostile and mobile,” a hoss whose size belies his dexterity. Against an opponent like Ospreay, those tools are accentuated to the nth degree.
While Davis was being confronted by referee Rick Knox for exposing one of the turnbuckles, the “Aerial Assassin” delivered a devastating Hidden Blade to end the affair.
After the match, Kenny Omega came down to the ring and delivered a rah-rah promo about “restoring the feeling” and continued to promote their tag match against Konosuke Takeshita & Don Callis at “Grand Slam Australia.” I’m excited to see these two all-star tandems face off at “Grand Slam,” even if it’s at 2 a.m. ET.
Rating: ***¼
HIT: The Gunns return to confront The Hurt Syndicate
The Hurt Syndicate returned to bask in their own glory. MVP said that the AEW World Tag Team Champions are ready and willing to defend their titles against all-comers. Their challenge was met by the highly-anticipated return of The Gunns.
Austin and Colten Gunn are former AEW World Tag Team Champions and AEW World Trios Champions. However, when the team lost the tag team titles to FTR in 2023, they never actually received a rematch. So, here they are, ready to call their shot against Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin.
MVP accepted their challenge on Lashley and Benjamin’s behalf, impressed by the Gunns’ confidence and bravery; whether it was founded in youthful exuberance or ignorance.
This was an exciting way to reintroduce The Gunns into the fold, who haven’t wrestled since September. While it seems a little short sighted for them to not assist their comrade, Jay White, in his war with the Death Riders; it’s exciting to see the Gunns act autonomously and pursue their own goals. After all, the Bang Bang Gang was designed to wear gold.
HIT: “Hangman” Adam Page backstage interview
Renee Paquette was backstage with “Hangman” Adam Page, inquiring why he was searching for Swerve Strickland last week. Page called it a “moment of weakness,” but insisted that he’s returned with a renewed focus. Paquette then asked Page if he felt any remorse about ending Christopher Daniels career. Page, however, feels as though Daniels overstepped his bounds. No one should challenge the “Hangman” to a Texas Death Match.
Page’s interview was interrupted by “Platinum” Max Caster, who encouraged Page to channel his malice and anger in a healthier way. Specifically, by maiming either Anthony Bowens or Billy Gunn. Page said that he’d love to hurt someone, but he hasn’t seen Bowens or Gunn. So, Caster will suffice.
The self-proclaimed “Greatest Wrestler Alive” ran for his life, with Page in hot pursuit. This segment was fantastic. I love seeing storylines intersect in strange and unique ways, especially if it’s across multiple segments.
MISS: The Hounds of Hell vs. Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita
The next match of the evening saw the former “House of Black’s” Brody King & Buddy Matthews, now re-christened as the “Hounds of Hell,” face Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita.
There’s a lot of preamble here, to set the stage for this match. The Australian-born Buddy Matthews is challenging Kazuchika Okada at “Grand Slam Australia” for the AEW Continental Championship. Brody King is trying to establish the Hounds of Hell as a formidable faction, in Malakai Black’s absence. For Takeshita and Fletcher, this was a glorified tune-up match before they face Omega and Ospreay at “Grand Slam Australia.”
While the match itself was entertaining, I can’t understand the logistics of the decision.
On one hand, I understand that Fletcher and Takeshita have to seem like a legitimate threat to the dream-team of Ospreay and Omega. On the other hand, Brody King and Buddy Matthews could be a tremendous tag team going forward and legitimate challengers for the Hurt Syndicate. This was only their second match together as the Hounds of Hell. Why would Tony Khan have them lose this soon after they were repackaged?
Rating: ***
HIT: We hear from MJF
This was a rollercoaster ride of a segment.
We were promised that MJF would appear live in Atlanta. It may be easier to numerate the broad strokes of this 11-minute segment, than to try and describe it:
- MJF basked in “Geriatric” Jeff Jarrett’s failure against Claudio Castagnoli.
- MJF is, once again, turning his attention to recapturing his “Triple B ba-by.”
- Max Caster interrupted MJF’s promo, running in-and-out of the ring to escape “Hangman” Adam Page. MJF and Page stood face-to-face for the third week in a row, before Page exited the ring to continue chasing Caster.
- MJF angrily continued his promo, until he was interrupted again. This time, it was Jarrett’s old friend, Dustin Rhodes.
- Rhodes used every profanity-laden insult he could conjure within FCC guidelines to insult MJF. The self-proclaimed “Devil” was unphased by the “Natural’s” outburst, nearly invoking his young brother’s name, before Rhodes attacked him.
- After security intervened, Christopher Daniels tried to separate Friedman and Rhodes — before MJF ran back into the ring and laid Rhodes out with a low-blow.
- Next week on “Dynamite,” in Rhodes’ hometown of Austin, Texas, “The Natural” will face MJF for the first time in single’s competition.
MJF made an interesting point early in this segment: AEW doesn’t stand for “All Elderly Wrestling.” With Dustin Rhodes entering the picture, Is MJF trying to establish himself as a “Legend Killer,” à la Randy Orton or Roddy Piper?
At the same time, I’m reminded of Chris Jericho’s feud with Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka at WrestleMania 25. Interestingly enough, Piper and Steamboat were 54 and 56 years old in that match; making them younger than Dustin Rhodes (55) and Jeff Jarrett (57). Many fans fondly remember that feud and have lauded Jericho for his performance. Maybe, in time, fans will applaud MJF for this, too.
By-and-large, this segment was entertaining. Obviously, Dustin Rhodes isn’t MJF’s most prescient concern, though. The “Devil” seems destined to collide with “Hangman” Adam Page. Whether that feud will culminate in a match at “Revolution” or at a later stage, only time will tell.
HIT: “Mariah May” vs. Queen Aminata
This was easily the most entertaining segment of the show. This match was billed as a contest between “Timeless” Toni Storm and Queen Aminata, with Mariah May on commentary.
However, Storm instead masqueraded the women’s champion, blonde weave and all; mirroring how May performed as previous iterations of Storm, while she was acting as her “understudy.”
Storm used “The Glamour’s” entrance music, titantron, mannerisms, and idiosyncrasies to mock the champion. She even wore Mariah May’s ring gear, which May accused Storm’s butler, Luther. of stealing.
This match was terrific. Not only did Storm and Aminata perform at a high level, but Storm’s impersonation of May only amplified the in-ring action. And, May’s commentary was the icing on the cake. May wasn’t just angry, she seemed downright disturbed by Storm’s performance.
Rating: ***¾
HIT: Swerve Strickland vs. Ricochet
Swerve Strickland and Ricochet’s feud that began in December, culminated in last night’s main event.
This match was announced three weeks ago, which is unusual for a televised AEW match. Ostensibly, that level of anticipation would have warranted a seminal match. Instead, we received a 13-odd minute match that, otherwise, would seem rather mundane for an episode “Dynamite.”
The only exceptional part of this match was the finish, which was quite surprising. The match unofficially began during Strickland’s entrance, when Ricochet blindsided him with a chair shot. From there, Ricochet maintained control for the majority of the proceedings. In the end, Ricochet used his inverted Hidden Blade, called the Spirit Gun, to pin Strickland.
After defeating the former champion, Ricochet took Strickland’s ceremonial robe that represented Prince Nana’s faction, The Embassy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. AEW has gone to painstaking lengths to consecrate Ricochet as one of the company’s most capable heels. Now, he’s defeated a former AEW World Champion. While I don’t think his feud with Strickland is over, this was a decisive victory for Ricochet.
Rating: ***½
Final Verdict
This week’s episode of “Dynamite” was a drastic improvement over the last two. All of this week’s matches were entertaining, The Gunns had a fantastic return, Toni Storm’s impersonation of Mariah May was fantastic, and I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of the main event.
Rating: ***
The rest of the week’s programming
“Collision” (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, TNT)
- Mark Briscoe vs. Kyle Fletcher
- Penelope Ford vs. Thunder Rosa
- Bandido vs. Bryan Keith
- Mariah May Glamourous Exhibition Match
- Buddy Matthews and Kazuchika Okada Face-to-Face
- Halftime Harley in Houston Concert
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