Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly AEW Dynamite hits and misses series.
Last night’s episode of Dynamite went down in Champaign, IL. Jon Moxley made his return to deliver a cryptic announcement. Ricochet had his televised debut against Kyle Fletcher.
Here’s what went down on the August 28 episode of Dynamite.
Hit – Adam Page vs. Tomohiro Ishii on AEW Dynamite
Adam Page collided with Tomohiro Ishii in singles action. Page and Ishii tried to destroy each other with hard-hitting moves. Both men exchanged lariats, elbow strikes and suplexes before Page used his Dead Eye and Buckshot Lariat combo for the win. Swerve Strickland came out after the match to announce a Steel Cage match between himself and the Cowboy at All Out.
This was a fantastic opening match between two of the hardest-hitting members of AEW and New Japan. Ishii nearly took Page’s head off with a running lariat. The Stone Pitbull just refuses to give up. The hard-hitting strikes served as the perfect build to Page’s Buckshot lariat. Hangman’s promo exchange with Swerve was brilliant as well. These men will tear the house down at All Out.
Miss – Finish to eight-man tag team action
Roderick Strong joined forces with The Learning Tree against O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy and HOOK. Both teams had some decent exchanges. Roderick Strong pulled some great offense. HOOK and The Conglomeration picked up the win following a controversial Dusty Finish.
I say controversial because referee Aubrey Edwards clearly saw Roddy’s foot on the ropes yet she counted to three. She then proceeded to step over his foot while calling for the bell. I don’t know how to make sense of that.
Hit – Ricochet makes his AEW Dynamite debut
Ricochet made his AEW in-ring debut at All In during the Casino Gauntlet match. The One and Only made his Dynamite debut last night against Kyle Fletcher. Both men delivered a fast-paced, hard-hitting match-up. Fletcher came off as a super intense athlete trying to slow down Ricochet, who picked up the win with a modified inverted DDT.
This was a solid television debut for Ricochet whose style, per Booker T, is tailor-made for AEW. There were some moments where the two opponents seemed to struggle. I’d go as far as saying that Fletcher looked better than Ricochet here. Ospreay showing up to confront his old rival was a huge teaser, which was interrupted by PAC with a brutal inverted headscissors takedown.
Miss – Bryan Danielson’s first opponent for AEW world title revealed
Bryan Danielson made his announcement. Danielson said he would bid farewell to his active in-ring career the moment he drops the AEW World Championship. He then announced an open challenge, which was answered by Jack Perry. The two will meet at All Out.
Okada would’ve been a better first opponent for Danielson’s world title. Perry doesn’t look like a believable threat to Danielson. Also, Darby Allin and Christian Cage are first in line to challenge Danielson because of Royal Rampage and Casino Gauntlet wins.
But who cares?!
Honorable Mentions
- Jamie Hayter picked a quick win over Harley Cameron. She’ll build herself up before getting involved in a title program.
- MJF shouldn’t have appeared on Dynamite after taking the Tiger Driver ’91 at All In. AEW built a whole feud around the devastating effects of Misawa’s move only for Max to no-sell it by appearing on Dynamite days later. Also, the crowd didn’t look hyped for MJF versus Danny Garcia at All Out.
- Okada was the best part about the Mercedes Moné segment.
