‘AEW: Dynamite’ Review (Apr 24th 2024)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dynamite, which was broadcast from the home of AEW, Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. We’ve got Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Taz on commentary this week, so let’s get into the review!
Match #1: Swerve Strickland def. Kyle Fletcher
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Both men chain wrestled to start the match, countering one another’s holds for an early stalemate. Swerve landed a kick right to Fletcher’s throat. Swerve followed up with a diving European uppercut to Fletcher’s back. Swerve back dropped Fletcher on the floor. Swerve followed up with a boot from the apron to Fletcher’s face. Back in the ring, Swerve nailed Kyle with a back breaker. Fletcher fired back with a thrust kick and a Michinoku Driver. Swerve countered a half and half on the apron with a neck breaker to Fletcher. Swerve squashed Fletcher with a double foot stomp on the apron. Fletcher avoided the House Call and countered with an ankle lock! Swerve crawled and reached the bottom rope, forcing the ref to break the hold. Fletcher blasted Swerve with round kicks to the sternum. Swerve blocked a kick and hip tossed Fletcher. Swerve smashed Fletcher with a flatliner and then a brain buster for a near fall! Fletcher rallied back with a tombstone piledriver on Swerve, but Swerve kicked out at the two-count! Fletcher was about to get a table from beneath the ring, per Callis’ play call, but Fletcher changed his mind. Swerve wasted no time and Swerve Stomped Fletcher for a near fall. Swerve drilled Fletcher with the House Call and pinned Fletcher!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #2: Mina Shirakawa def. Anna Jay
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Mina dropkicked Anna Jay in the back. Mina started to work over Anna’s knee. Mina picked up Anna and threw Anna to the mat right on Anna’s knees. Mina followed up with a Russian leg sweep. Mina continued to punish Anna’s legs. Anna raked Mina’s eyes and followed up with a neck breaker. They traded forearms, battling back and forth. Mina connected with a spinning backfist. Anna walloped Mina with the Dangerous Jay kick. Mina dropped Anna with a dragon screw leg whip. Mina climbed to the top turnbuckle and wiped out Anna with a missile dropkick. Anna countered the Glamourous Driver with the Queen Slayer. Mina escaped and rolled up Anna with the Dangerous Collection to score the pin!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #3: Casino Gauntlet Match – Winner: Will Ospreay
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
The winner becomes the number one contender for Roderick Strong’s International title at Double or Nothing. The first participant was “Switchblade” Jay White, one-third of the Unified AEW World Trios Champions. Top Flight’s Dante Martin was the second participant. Jay White chopped Dante in the chest. Dante dropkicked Jay White. Dante vaulted over the top rope to the floor, but Jay White was waiting for him. Jay White chopped Dante again, but Dante answered with a rising knee strike. Back in the ring, Jay White back dropped Dante over the top rope. Penta El Zero Miedo was the next entrant! Penta landed a cross body press on Jay White. Kyle O’Reilly was the fourth entrant. Kyle cleaned house with a series of kicks! Will Ospreay was the next wrestler to enter the match. Kyle and Will squared off and traded forearms in the center of the ring. Ospreay connected with a flying forearm off the ropes. Jay White gouged Will in the eyes. Will rallied back with a standing Spanish fly to Dante! “The MurderHawk Monster” Lance Archer was out next! Archer drilled Will with a vicious shot! Archer choke slammed Dante onto Jay White! Archer hurled Ospreay onto a pile of the other wrestlers on the arena floor. Komander entered the match next. Komander sent Archer crashing through two tables outside the ring with a hurracanrana! Komander spiked Ospreay with a DDT! Jay White planted Komander with a uranage. Jay Lethal entered the fray. Lethal nailed Dante Martin with the Lethal Combination. Jay White smashed Lethal with a sleeper suplex. Ospreay was looking for the Tiger Driver 91 on Kyle but hesitated. Kyle countered with an arm bar, but Komander splashed Kyle from the top rope. Ospreay knocked Komander off Kyle with a Hidden Blade and scored the pin!
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #4: IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match – Jon Moxley def. Powerhouse Hobbs
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Hobbs stomped Moxley in the corner. Mox chopped back at Powerhouse Hobbs. Mox nailed Hobbs with a German suplex, but Hobbs got right to his feet and shrugged it off. Hobbs smashed Moxley headfirst into the barricade. Mox booted Hobbs into the face, sending Hobbs over the barricade. Moxley and Hobbs brawled throughout the fans. Hobbs brought the champ back to the ring and tried to wear down Mox with a bear hug. Moxley escaped and tried for a cutter, but Hobbs shoved Mox away. Hobbs charged at Moxley, but Moxley moved out of the way, sending Hobbs crashing into the turnbuckles. Moxley connected with a tope suicida! Hobbs was clutching his knee and the ref checked on him. Moxley backed Hobbs into the corner and pounded Hobbs with strikes. Moxley was swarming Hobbs with strikes. Moxley drilled Hobbs with the Paradigm Shift for a near fall. Moxley transitioned to a bulldog choke on Hobbs and Hobbs was put to sleep, the ref stopping the match and awarding the victory to Moxley!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3/5
This was a very odd episode of Dynamite. Swerve’s first title defence opened the show rather than close it – given the hurrah around Swerve’s win, I thought his first defence would have been a grander affair. The women’s match was good and furthered the women’s title picture by having Deeb come out at the end of the match. The highlight of this week’s show was definitely the gauntlet match, which provided the much-needed in-ring action that got the crowd going. But what was that main event? Mox seemed off-form and Hobbs was certainly not a great opponent either. No idea what the hell happened with that one! Overall though this week’s show was all about setting up stories – from the end of the Best Friends to the ridiculous insanity of The Elite (with Jack Perry apparently now a member) beating the crap out of Tony Khan… One of the maddest episodes of Dynamite EVER. And to top it all off, the production seemed thrown off by the open-air setting of Daily’s Place too, looking and sounding (in particular) like a low-budget indie show – the antithesis of the usual AEW TV product. All in all the show was just WEIRD.