by AEW held it’s go home Dynamite show leading into Double or Nothing this weekend. Here are the grades for the night.
Will Ospreay and Hangman Adam Page open the show with a promo.
Grade – A+
Reason – Wow, this was easily the best promo both men have ever had. Both touching deep into their souls and breaking out some real heavy material about their personal lives and why they need this win on Sunday night. Honestly, this was the first time Ospreay helped sell a fight with anything but his incredible in ring skill.
Meanwhile, Page is doing some of the best work of his career right now. This match should close the show on Sunday night, but most likely won’t. As for the match itself, there is no chance in Hell that Ospreay doesn’t win and “bring the belt back home”, later this summer.
Will Hobbes, Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland vs Moxley with The Young Bucks
Grade – B
Reason – With Sunday night set to strictly be a brawl between the two groups, it was nice to see some wrestling tonight. It was actually quite entertaining, and the crowd was hotly behind Joe. I see the Swerve fans starting to dwindle as it becomes more and more clear, his short title reign in 2024 was a one off.
In the end, Joe’s team got the win for the pop, which makes sense considering the smart money is on The Death Riders to go over on Sunday. The post-fight scrum was to be expected and not impressive, but it did lead to some Kenny Omega action which is never a bad thing.
MJF has a boardroom style meeting with The Hurt Syndicate that concludes in the ring with him officially joining the group.
Grade – C
Reason – I don’t know about this one, a weak segment but you just know MJF has his “legal team” involved for some reason. It’s a long shot that he joins and remains for long, but if so, then what? They have killed his character over the last 12 months. Again, he is joined with them for now, but this won’t last very long as it doesn’t make any sense.
Anthony Bowen vs Ricochet
Grade – B
Reason – Two guys who would be undercard staples in WWE, get a two-segment match tonight. Richochet was the heavy favorite to win here, despite the growing popularity of Bowens and it showed. More fans may care for Samantha Irvin then her hubby, but he is off to a good start to his AEW run. Meanwhile, Briscoe needs to go away and stay away. He is AWFUL!
Jamie Hayter vs Sasha Banks (err, I mean, Mercedes Mone )
Grade – F
Reason – As good as Mone is in the ring, she is every bit as bad on the microphone. She needs to use some of that massive contract on acting classes. She is being wasted right now in AEW. We are just killing time until Toni Storm vs Mone at this point.
Timeless Toni Storm comes out to do color commentary for the Mina Shirakawa vs Julia Hart match.
Grade -C
Reason – I’m sorry, but Timeless Toni Storm has to be one of the best gimmicks in AEW history. I can listen to her talk her senseless trash all match long and it just never gets old. To think, WWE let her walk away. Oh yeah, the match was decent. Not sure how in the Hell it accounted for a main event though?
Smart move to have one last brawl between the combatants in Anarchy in the Arena as we faded away. Although, I have to say, who in their right mind is actually taking Willow Nightingale seriously?
