‘AEW: Dynamite’ Review (Aug 7th 2024)

Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dynamite, which was broadcast from the LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem. We’ve got Excalibur, Taz and Tony Schiavone on commentary, so let’s get into the review!

Match #1: AEW American Championship Eliminator Match – MJF def. Kyle Fletcher

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Don Callis was on commentary for the opening match. Will Ospreay was shown backstage scouting the match on a monitor. MJF told Fletcher to lock up with him like a real wrestler or MJF was leaving. Fletcher invited MJF back in the ring to lock up and MJF kicked Fletcher in the abdomen. Fletcher power slammed the champion. MJF retaliated with a big back elbow as Fletcher lunged off the ropes. Fletcher tried for the tombstone piledriver right away but MJF escaped and wrenched Fletcher’s arm across the top rope. MJF rocked Fletcher with an inverted shoulder breaker, controlling the pace of the match. MJF nailed Fletcher with a gut wrench power bomb for a near fall. MJF teased the kangaroo kick, but Fletcher caught MJF with a thrust kick right under the chin. Fletcher blasted MJF with a tope suicida, knocking MJF into the barricade. Fletcher flew backwards off the post with a moonsault onto MJF on the arena floor. Fletcher charged at MJF outside the ring, but Max countered with a drop toe hold, knocking Fletcher into the barricade. MJF ran toward Fletcher but got tripped up by Fletcher. Fletcher flung himself over the barricade at MJF. Fletcher landed a huge elbow drop on MJF for a two-count! MJF got up to his feet and drove Fletcher’s shoulder into the mat. Fletcher tried for another tombstone piledriver, but MJF rolled up Kyle for a near fall. MJF nailed Fletcher with a waterwheel drop. MJF followed up with a DDT, but Kyle kicked out at the two-count! MJF spat at Fletcher in the face. Fletcher made Max pay for that with right and left strikes. MJF poked Fletcher in the eyes. MJF walloped Kyle with a Canadian Destroyer and Kyle rebounded with a lariat. Fletcher lawn darted MJF into the second turnbuckle with the snake eyes! Fletcher hoisted up MJF for a top turnbuckle brain buster, but Max chomped on Kyle’s head. MJF went for the Long Island Sunrise, but Kyle escaped and spiked MJF with a piledriver for a near fall! Don Callis threw down his headset and walked down to the ring. Callis got on the apron and tossed in a screwdriver as the ref was distracted. Fletcher thought about it and then tossed the screwdriver out of the ring. MJF hit Kyle with a low blow! MJF added insult to injury with the kangaroo kick. MJF finished off Kyle with a brain buster, scoring the pin!

My Score: 3.5 out of 5

Match #2: Mariah May def. Viva Van

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Mariah bashed Van with a headbutt! Mariah hit a release German Suplex on Viva Van. Mariah climbed to the top turnbuckle and wiped out Viva Van with a missile dropkick. Mariah May stomped on Viva Van in the corner. Mariah took Viva Van back down with a lariat and then a dropkick. Mariah continued to batter her opponent with strikes. Mariah smashed Viva Van with a running hip attack. Mariah gave Viva Van the kiss of death before destroying her with a running knee strike. Mariah nailed Viva Van with the May Day and followed it up with the Storm Zero for the pin!

My Score: 0 out of 5

Match #3: Katsuyori Shibata def. Bryan Keith

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Shibata attacked Bryan Keith’s arm. Keith whipped Shibata hard into the barricade. Keith pump kicked Shibata. Keith dropped a knee across Shibata’s arm. Back in the ring, Bryan Keith clubbed Shibata with forearms. Shibata absorbed the shots and knocked Keith into the turnbuckles with one blow! Keith caught Shibata with a head butt and followed up with a neck breaker for a near fall. Shibata applied the Iron Claw and then an arm bar to Bryan Keith and Bryan Keith tapped out!

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

Match #4: Orange Cassidy and FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) def. The Beast Mortos, RUSH & Roderick Strong

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Rush and the Beast used tandem offense on Dax. Roddy tagged in and chopped Dax. Dax didn’t back down and knocked Roddy down with a chop of his own! Cash hit a snap suplex on Roderick Strong. FTR employed tandem offense on Roddy, and then Orange dropped an elbow off Cash’s back onto Roddy! ROH World Tag Team Champions the Undisputed Kingdom—Matt Taven and Mike Bennett—heckled FTR and Orange from ringside. The Beast Mortos crushed Cash with a Samoan Drop. Roddy grabbed a tag and applied a headlock on Wheeler. Roddy drove Cash down with a back breaker. Cash ducked a high knee attempt from Roddy and tagged out to Dax. Dax came in and cleaned house on Roddy, Rush, and the Beast Mortos! Cash and Roddy traded chops. The Beast Mortos took flight from the top and hit a splash on Cash for a near fall. Taven and Bennett stomped on Dax outside the ring as the ref was distracted. Cassidy came in and took down Rush. Orange pulped Roddy with a DDT! Orange spiked The Beast Mortos with a DDT! Orange signaled for the Orange Punch but Mortos speared Orange and then speared Dax. Cash power bombed Mortos. Orange blasted Rush with the Beach Break, but Rush kicked out at the one-count! Rush rocked Dax with a German Suplex and then a knee strike. Cash Wheeler saved his partner Dax from the pin attempt. Mortos cracked Cash with a headbutt and then a tornillo! Mortos jumped over the barricade, launching himself on Taven and Bennett in the front row! Orange nailed Roddy with the Stun Dog Millionaire on the arena floor. Orange smashed Rush with the Orange Punch! Rush fired right back with a right fist of his own to Cassidy. FTR exchanged chops with Rush in the center of the ring. Orange connected with another Orange Punch to Rush. The momentum sent Rush into the waiting arms of Dax, who hoisted up Rush for Cash to smash Rush in the Shatter Machine! Dax covered Rush and picked up the pin fall victory!

My Score: 3.5 out of 5

Match #5: 2-on-1 Match – Kamille def. Jazmyne Hao & Clara Carter

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Kamille dominated the opposition, not even breaking a sweat. Kamille connected with pump kicks. She finished things off with the Torture Rack Bomb on one, planted the other, and pinned them both simultaneously!

My Score: 0 out of 5

Match #6: Anything Goes Match – Bryan Danielson def. Jeff Jarrett

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Special Guest for this match was Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, who joined the commentary desk for this match. As Bryan Danielson was making his entrance, Jeff Jarrett ambushed Danielson and blindsided him by smashing a guitar across Danielson’s back. Karen Jarrett and Jay Lethal ran out and questioned what Jeff was doing, but this was, after all, an Anything Goes Match. Jarrett took a steel chair and cracked it over Bryan’s back. Bryan rallied back, stalking Jarrett up the arena steps, connecting with clubbing shots. Jarrett thumbed Danielson in the eyes. Jarrett and Danielson fought up to the concession stand. Jarrett hurled a loaded trash can at Danielson. Bryan blasted Jarrett with round kicks and then smashed a beer can on Jarrett’s head. Jeff Jarrett snap suplexed Danielson onto the steel trash can! Danielson blocked a suplex from Jarrett and countered with a suplex to Jarrett onto the concrete floor. Back in the ring, Jeff Jarrett battered Danielson with a steel chair. Danielson rallied back with a running elbow strike. Danielson rocketed out of the ring with a tope suicida to Jarrett. Danielson clobbered Jarrett with round kicks, mounting a comeback. Danielson charged at Jarrett and drilled him with a running dropkick. Danielson jumped off the ring apron, looking for a knee strike, but Jarrett countered by throwing a steel chair at Danielson’s knee. Jarrett went to work on Danielson’s leg with a steel chair. Jarrett trapped Bryan’s leg between the chair. Jarrett climbed to the top turnbuckle, but Bryan swung for the fences with the steel chair. Danielson dropped Jarrett with a spider suplex from the turnbuckles. Danielson dropkicked Jarrett from the top turnbuckle! Bryan walloped Jarrett with round kicks. Jarrett ducked a kick and locked Danielson in the figure four. Danielson broke out of the figure four by hitting Jarrett in the knees with the steel chair. Jarrett planted Danielson with the Stroke on the steel chair for a near fall! Jarrett applied the sharpshooter, an homage to his late friend, the legendary Owen Hart. Danielson transitioned into the LeBell Lock, but Jarrett escaped. Jarrett and Danielson threw bombs at one another, lefts and rights, going punch for punch. Jeff Jarrett called for The Stroke. Danielson countered by whipping Jarrett into a steel chair that was wedged between the turnbuckles. Danielson grabbed a chair and smashed it into Jarrett’s face, pushing it with his knee strike for added force! Danielson covered Jarrett and pinned him for the 1-2-3!

My Score: 3 out of 5

Final Verdict: 3/5

A solid night of wrestling on Dynamite this week but one that was spoiled by having not one but TWO squash matches on the card – and both were women’s matches too, which made it all the more deflating. The show opened with its strongest match and it was pretty much downhill from there until the trios match towards the end of the show! The main event was better than expected but did suffer from a slow pace, though who’d have thought that only a few short years ago, that we’d really be enjoying a Jeff Jarrett match? Especially one that’s the main event of a mainstream wrestling show? There’s been a real tide turn with Jarrett, even for me – a man who hated Jarrett’s more recent stuff. He’s managed to become something of an “elder statesman” in AEW rather than the bullish arsehole he’d been portraying in his latter years and it’s working. Overall, not as great a show as last week but still a good 2 hours of wrestling.