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This week's episode of AEW Dynamite was actually quite awesome. I had very little to complain about honestly, except for the two points that I have outlined in this very article.
If you felt differently, I welcome you to leave a comment and share your thoughts about the action that unfolded. Don't be afraid to speak your mind, because even though I have this platform to review pro wrestling, at the end of the day, it is just one person's opinion and little more than that!
Everyone perceives pro wrestling in a different manner and hence, I welcome you to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. In case you watched NXT instead of AEW this week, let me know if you thought it was a good show.
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In any case, here's my personal best and worst of AEW.
#1 Best: A massive upset followed by an extraction
If you caught the action on FITE TV, then you must have seen Dr. Britt Baker cut a promo in the middle of the ring. I could definitely be off the mark, but I think that she's a genuinely nice person, who was having trouble tapping into her heel persona until this week.
Her promo was significantly better than the one that she cut last week and the week prior, in my personal opinion. I also thought that even though she lost the match, the fact that she pulled out Yuka Sakazaki's tooth on live television was a fantastic touch, considering, as we all know, that she is a dentist.
I thought that everything they did with the Doctor this week was very cool. I loved the fact that her match didn't go too long either, considering that the story was told and then some in the time that was allotted.
#1 Worst: Brandi Rhodes breaks character
Honestly, we all knew that Cody Rhodes and MJF would kill it in the very last segment of the night and kill they did, but I'll have more on that later. What really irked me during the segment is the fact that Brandi Rhodes came out in support of her broken husband.
I understand that Brandi and Cody Rhodes are very much in love with one another, but she is also the leader of the Nightmare Collective, a storyline that has probably been thrown out of the window with this particular run-in. They could have very easily had someone like DDP come in, instead of Brandi Rhodes and this segment would have been just as awesome.
Nothing really changed with the arrival of Brandi Rhodes and if anything, an ongoing storyline went off the rails with this segment. There is a reason why Becky Lynch doesn't interfere in Seth Rollins segments unless the storyline specifically calls for the same, AEW Creative.
Not my favorite part of the night for sure.
#2 Best: MJF
How many heels in the arena can get the audience so upset that they attack him when he makes a retreat? MJF is one such individual and he earned the distinction this week by beating Cody Rhodes down with a sum total of ten vicious lashes. Until Brandi Rhodes came into the picture, I honestly thought that this was one of the better AEW segments in the company's short but illustrious history.
One tends to take MJF for granted, but this is a man who is only 23 years old! And the way he took control of the segment, the way he ridiculed Arn Anderson and even the way he got a cheap shot in after Cody Rhodes was down and broken were all signs that he's going to be one of the all-time greats in due course of time. Of course, Cody Rhodes played his part brilliantly too because those lashes must have really hurt the poor guy!
I'd love to see MJF in the world title picture someday, ideally if Jon Moxley defeats Chris Jericho.
#2 Worst: Portraying a weak and helpless women's champion?
Riho may not be the largest woman in the AEW locker room, but she's always been portrayed as someone with guts and courage, and truckloads of it. And so, when PAC confronted her backstage and threatened bodily harm, she should have pretty much retaliated. Can you imagine anyone at all talking to Becky Lynch in that manner and Lynch just standing there, too helpless to react?
As a professional wrestler, everyone, including someone who is Riho's size needs to be portrayed as an athlete who can take care of himself/herself. Riho shouldn't have been waiting for her knight in shining armor to come to her rescue but should have taken the fight to PAC herself, in my honest opinion. I also thought the fact that AEW showed us that Riho weighs so little that she doesn't break a table once she goes through it, was not a very good move.
The one positive we got from this segment is that we'll get two thrilling matches from it.
#3 Best: An eye for an eye
I love the fact that babyfaces in All Elite Wrestling are unafraid to cross the line because that is how most normal human beings react. Even if you're the most peace-loving person in the world, if someone were to gouge your eye out, you would want revenge and retribution from them.
Jon Moxley took on Ortiz in a short and sweet match to begin the show, and Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara were incredible on commentary during the said contest. One must remember that the Inner Circle had gouged Jon Moxley in the eye not long ago, and this week Moxley repaid the favor by doing the same to Santana, in a thrilling twist.
Anyone who's watched Santana and Ortiz in Impact Wrestling knows that these two men can do so much more than just be portrayed as thugs in a collective of heels. I love the fact that Sanatana got to cut a promo and showcase some of what makes him special.
All in all a great show, but why did you have to break character like that, Brandi Rhodes?
