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AEW Dynamite Review April 24th 2024

This was an average episode of AEW Dynamite, albeit one that was rather up and down. The highs were indeed very high, with a good crowd, two excellent matches and a killer closing angle to really get people talking, one which was built brilliantly through the night. Matches (aside from Moxley/Hobbs that seemed to be cut short with injury) were given good time to breathe, some of the promo work was strong, and Daily’s Place is always a great venue to hold a Dynamite. With that said, I wanted more direction for the world champion who should absolutely have main evented the show with more prestige, Mercedes still isn’t clicking, Hobbs/Moxley fell apart with injury and the women’s match was merely average and nothing more. An enjoyable show, but one which was anything but consistent.

Tonight on AEW Dynamite, Jon Moxley takes on Powerhouse Hobbs in an IGWP Heavyweight title match. Swerve Strickland also makes his first appearance as AEW World Champion as he takes on Kyle Fletcher in an Eliminator match. Elsewhere on the card, Stardom star Mina Shirakawa takes on Anna Jay and Chuck Taylor makes his choice. Let’s get at it! 
The Elite are shown arriving to the arena with Scapegoat. They say they have buisness to attend to! 
GREAT Chuck Taylor Makes His Choice
A short but well done segment to start the show here. Trent attacks Cassidy on his way to the ring before pleading his case to Chuck Taylor. Taylor chooses Cassidy and attacks Trent, and that was pretty much it. They could’ve really milked the drama here and extended the segment, but you then run the risk of it becoming stale or dull, so keeping it quick and simple was the correct call. Good acting from Trent and Chuck, and I really felt the heat. Excited to see where this goes! 
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
Another great promo from Moxley. He is one of the best in the buisness as he builds up Hobbs while keeping himself hot!
AMAZING Swerve Strickland vs Kyle Fletcher
To get the negative out of the way first, this match did feel a little bit like filler for Swerve. This is brilliant filler to have, with Fletcher and Swerve having a terrific matchup, but this could’ve been used to really pinpoint Swerve’s first feud. Also, to be picky, some of the early spots were a bit contrived and felt a bit flashy for flashy’s sake. With that said, this was a really strong opener with some great psychology around the knee of Swerve Strickland and a fun story beat around Callis and Fletcher. The final third was especially strong, and it builds Fletcher as continuing to be a threat.
Result: Swerve Strickland by Pinfall vía House Call
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4 Stars
Thunder Rosa and Deonna Purazzo get in each others faces. A bit clunky but still functional enough
ABOVE AVERAGE Mina Shirakawa vs Anna Jay
This worked fine for what it needed to be. It had some decent action but truthfully little of interest here. It took the crowd a fair while to get into Mina, which made the first half awkward. Anna Jay is also not the best wrestler in-ring but they worked decently together. This was more about setting up the post match, which sets up Anna Jay and Serena Deeb in that title picture.
Result: Mina Shirakawa by Pinfall via Roll-Up
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 2.75 Stars
GOOD Willow Nightingale Championship Celebration
There’s a fun rap here for Willow’s entrance by Caprice Coleman which was nice, and Stokely calls out how terrible Statlander’s poem was. Glad we both agree Stoke. Willow is of course interrupted by Mercedes, who continues to be quite stilted. She was a bit better here than she was in previous weeks, but it’s still not clicking. Willow was really good here and completely outshone Mercedes, and i actually really liked some of the subtle teases of Willow and Statlander in the framing of the shots, so it was a succesful segment, but Mercedes continues to not quite come together. 
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars
In a funny bit of backstage comedy, all of the new elite patt Alex Marvez on the shoulder when asked if Perry is reinstated. Matthew says Tony Khan will address Perry in the ring later tonight
AMAZING Casino Gauntlet
The rules of this didn’t really make any sense, but I had the absolute time of my life watching it. This was just insane wrestling the musical and every single person nailed there inclusions. The confusing rules and lack of story beats are the main things that dock this marks, but I’ll be damned if this wasn’t a spotfest of epic proportions. A stupidly fun match that set up Ospreay vs Strong, while continuing to put over the running story of Ospreay not wanting to use the tiger driver 91. 
Result: Will Ospreay by Pinfall via Hidden Blade
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4.25 Stars
GOOD Chris Jericho Promo
This segment did 2 things. Firstly, it set up Chris Jericho’s new character, a genuinely quite interesting riff on the delusional mentor gimmick that I enjoyed quite a bit. Secondly, it made Big Bill look like a complete goof by grovelling to Jericho in a way I only can hope is paid off in storyline. I like this character, but I know for a fact a lot of people will hate it and I completely understand why.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3 Stars
AVERAGE Jon Moxley vs Powerhouse Hobbs
This is a tough match to talk about because of Hobbs leg injury, but crikey even before that this wasn’t good. Props to Hobbs for trying to fight through the pain to build something resembling a final stretch, but it all felt rushed and a bit shambolic. Before the injury it was mostly uninspired brawling which is a deep shame. A complete misfire, but not one I think you can blame on anyone involved in the match.
Result: Jon Moxley by Submission via Bulldog Choke
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 2 Stars
AMAZING Jack Perry Promo
This was in itself a short promo, so it’s rating in that regard can’t quite reach the top heights, but the whole segment was brilliantly constructed. Tony Khan cannot act to save his life but Perry, The Bucks and Okada were all spectacular. I genuinely wonder if we have AEW’s NWO on our hands. Feels like an amalgamation of top stars coming together to take over the company, just in a corporate sheen rather than an anarchistic one. Let’s just hope it goes better than TNA’s attempts at it. A really effective end to the show.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 4 Stars
Overall…
This was an average episode of AEW Dynamite, albeit one that was rather up and down. The highs were indeed very high, with a good crowd, two excellent matches and a killer closing angle to really get people talking, one which was built brilliantly through the night. Matches (aside from Moxley/Hobbs that seemed to be cut short with injury) were given good time to breathe, some of the promo work was strong, and Daily’s Place is always a great venue to hold a Dynamite. With that said, I wanted more direction for the world champion who should absolutely have main evented the show with more prestige, Mercedes still isn’t clicking, Hobbs/Moxley fell apart with injury and the women’s match was merely average and nothing more. An enjoyable show, but one which was anything but consistent.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars 
Show Structure: 0.5/1 Stars 
Atmosphere: 0.75/1 Stars  
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars 
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars  
Overall Rating: 3/5 Stars   
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling – April 24th 2024
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here: 

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