Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly AEW Dynamite hits and misses series.
All Elite Wrestling presented Fright Night Dynamite from Cleveland’s Wolstein Center in Ohio. The Young Bucks put their tag team titles on the line. Plus, a former WWE superstar made his highly anticipated debut.
Here’s what went down on the October 30 episode of Fight Night Dynamite.
Hit: Adam Cole vs. Buddy Matthews
The storytelling here was excellent. Matthews targeted Cole’s surgically repaired ankle throughout the match. The mid-match promo was well done, as it brought the fire in Adam Cole. AEW did a great job by having Cole go through a great deal of struggle and pain to put Matthews down in his first match in almost a year. Malakai Black’s cameo was great. Props to Cole and Matthews for delivering one hell of an opening match on AEW Dynamite.
Miss: Kyle Fletcher’s promo on AEW Dynamite
AEW seems to be trying to turn Fletcher into a heel magnet by having Callis delivering the prelude. This cheap heat won’t last long, in my opinion. Fletcher’s fantastic in-ring work would eventually cause Tony Khan to turn him face. Plus, Fletcher doesn’t sound more convincing as a heel than he’s as a babyface. Last night’s promo was just another example. Let’s see how Tony Khan books Mark Davis into this whole feud between Fletcher and Ospreay.
Hit: New tag team champions
Private Party and Young Bucks had an excellent match at AEW WrestleDream. Their rematch for the AEW World Tag Team Championship didn’t disappoint either. Tons of near falls, some brilliant spots, Okada’s ruthless cameo, and a gutsy performance from the challengers ultimately led them to their first tag team title win.
Miss: Kamille vs. Kris Statlander on AEW Dynamite
This match should’ve got more TV time. AEW spent months building Kamille as an unstoppable monster only to have her lost to Statlander in six minutes. Mercedes Mone was awful with her weird expressions ringside. Statlander may be the new contender but I still can’t process her face turn out of the blue.
Hit: The Almighty has arrived
Shelton Benjamin and Swerve Strickland put on a fantastic display of action. Shelton is only getting better with age. Swerve continues to be one of AEW’s biggest success stories. Now, it’s time to focus on the elephant in the room. Bobby Lashley has arrived in AEW, ladies and gentlemen. Lashley took care of Swerve before he and Shelton beat the hell out of security guys. Shelton took that guy’s head off with the superkick. As good ole’ JR says, business sure has picked up.
Honorable Mention
- The whole stuff from Orange Cassidy and Jon Moxley makes it to my honorable mention from AEW Dynamite. OC cut a great promo; just straight to the point without any BS. Both men know each other very well. Their match at All Out was one of the best AEW PPV matches of 2023. I’ve high hopes for their upcoming match at AEW Full Gear.
Catch up on everything that went down on AEW Dynamite here.
RELATED: Fight Without Honor Six-Man Tag Team Match, Adam Cole vs. Malakai Black, More Set For AEW Dynamite
