Performance Review – AEW Dynamite (1/27/21)

Overall Evaluation and Achieved Goals

We’re a week away from AEW Dynamite: Beach Break and I’ll tell ya h’wat I think we could all use one of those right now!

AEW took the last year to build out a world that I guarantee (hope) will pay dividends well into the future, but we’re also a month away from Revolution and there should probably be a few clear money matches. That direction should come sooner rather than later, but the good stuff here more than outweighed the (limited) bad.

Performance: 3.5 / 5.0 (VERY GOOD)

Areas of Excellence Within Performance

The weekly show that runs all year definitely needs story, but when the story slows down you hope it’s in a world interesting enough to sustain it. Dynamite right now is interesting enough: Team Taz being mean and beating up people up outside, MJF playing all sides of the Inner Circle, Sting just hanging out. I’m no fan of Impact Wrestling but I love the material it gives guys like Moxley and PAC cutting promos on it, and Don Callis’ ridiculous eye bandage should have its’ own action figure.

My god, Dolph Ziggler has signed with AEW too. Wait, what?

With a looser office environment comes pros and cons but the rewards of most talent just feeling comfier are seen every week, from Jon Moxley’s natural promo to Red Velvet’s admirable performance to Miro no longer afraid of embracing his inner goofball. Even that bastard Doc Gallows feels the cushiest he’s ever been and being cushy has been his whole thing for years.

Eddie Kingston‘s approach to wrestling is excellent. When he was on offense against Lance Archer, he was chopping, biting, poking an eye. When on defense he sold a chop like it removed his soul and collapsed in limp pain on a second. He took a chokeslam to the floor too and it looked so bad it scared Tony Schiavone.

Jungle Boy vs. Dax Harwood was excellent too, kicked off with a video package that approached its’ gimmick of Tully and Cash being handcuffed to Luchasaurus with such an earnestness that only the most cynical among us wouldn’t buy in. It was a match about selling, with Dax lurking around and messing the Boy up in between some tremendously timed comebacks. Sell, sell, sell HIT. Sell, sell, sell HIT. It was like a musical number.

That pop for Moxley at the end was amazing. The limited capacity Daily’s Place audience rarely adds much, but they broke through here.

Suggested Areas of Improvement

AEW deserves a medal for securing Shaq in a wrestling match and celebs are generally always weird at wrestling promos, but even still I thought that challenge of Cody stunk. “Little punk” is what he went with? C’mon. Red Velvet did well but the Cody response was pretty hokey too. Get the people talking, but like, in an excited way.

Brian Pillman Jr’s got no pop to him, man. No attitude. No ZEST.

My Favorite Things

3. Bunny’s face before she did the run-in
2. Chris Jericho’s perfect petty Lionsault after he messed one up last week
1. Hangman Page’s chyron: “Accompanied by crippling emotional baggage”