Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly AEW Dynamite hits and misses series.
All Elite Wrestling aired the August 14 episode of Dynamite from Chartway Arena in Norfolk, VA. Five matches were contested on the match. We also got a look into the heated Will Ospreay versus MJF feud, as well as Mariah May’s latest message for Toni Storm.
Here’s what else went down on Wednesday Night Dynamite.
Hit – AEW TBS Championship opener
Mercedes Mone and Hikaru Shida kicked off AEW Dynamite for the TBS Championship. Shida brought the fight to Mone, who retaliated with some offense of her own. Kamille provided distractions on multiple occasions. The champion retained her title following a Mone Maker. Britt Baker arrived after the match to attack Mone, who was eventually saved by her bodyguard.
A really good opening match between Mone and Shida. The CEO has had some solid televised title defenses for the TBS Championship. Shida had some great counters to the champion’s offense. The crowd was pro-Shida. Britt Baker’s spot felt lame because Kamille could’ve simply pummeled the doctor due to her strength and size advantage.
Miss – Adam Page vs. Jay Lethal on AEW Dynamite
Adam Page attacked Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal before the match. Page and Lethal brought the fight to the ring. The match began and Jay hit Page with multiple suicide dives to the outside. AEW’s resident cowboy picked up the following a second Buckshot Lariat.
I thought the match was slow for a big angle interaction between Page and Lethal. Page versus Double J II seems to be the direction for All In. I’m loving this feud so far. Page is great in his role as the angry ass-kicker. Double J, on the other hand, can still go inside the ring despite being one of the oldest active members on the roster.
Hit – Three-way for a spot at All In
Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong collided in a three-way dance to earn a spot at All In. Strong threw a series of chops on both men to kick things off. OC and O’Reilly continued the action inside the ring after taking out Strong. Roddy returned to the ring and followed a barrage of back strikes. Cassidy picked up the win to advance to Wembley.
Match of the night in my opinion. Strong has a strong case for being AEW’s MVP this year. He’s been consistently good and incredibly entertaining. He and O’Reilly are wrestling soulmates. OC meshed really well with the pair. The elbow drop and double Boston crab spots made for some really good visuals.
Miss – Tag team title match on AEW Dynamite
The Young Bucks put their tag team titles on the line against The Acclaimed. Referee Rick Knox got knocked out in the closing moments of the match. FTR intervened causing a DQ ending. They’ll face The Acclaimed for a tag team title shot against The Bucks at All In.
This match was a complete letdown. Two months ago, both teams had a fantastic eliminator match. AEW’s tag team division really needs to step up its game. Who will face Bucks at All In? It remains to be seen.
Honorable Mentions
- AEW ran some really cool video packages for All In on Dynamite this week. MJF versus Ospreay video package was good. Mariah May cut a better promo in her vignette than the one she had on AEW Dynamite weeks ago. Darby Allin and Jack Perry had an interesting interaction that ended with Darby almost getting killed by Perry.
- HOOK versus Jericho is happening, again! HOOK showed up on Dynamite with one of his eyes banged up. He challenged Jericho to a match. The Learning Tree showed up with Big Bill and Bryan Keith. Y2J set up a match between HOOK and Big Bill for Dynamite next week. God, just end this feud!
- Swerve Strickland versus Wheeler Yuta was a lackluster main event. Strickland picked up the win via referee’s decision. After the match, the champion took out Bryan Danielson and mocked him with Yes! chants.
RELATED: Watch: Bryan Danielson’s Career Retrospective From 8/14 AEW Dynamite
