AEW Dynamite 01/03/24: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "AEW Dynamite," the show that rings in the new year by leaving us suddenly bereft of a scumbag! With MJF absent, this week was about all the fallout from Worlds End and more, including a masterful show-opening promo from new AEW World Champion Samoa Joe, the return of OG AEW tag team Private Party, and an absolutely brutal match between Darby Allin and Konosuke Takeshita — and we are going to talk about precisely none of those things here! You can read all about them on our live coverage/results page; unfortunately, the WINC writing and editorial staff was moved more by some other elements of this week's broadcast.

That's right, this column isn't about completionism, and it certainly isn't about objectivity. It's about what made us feel the strongest, in both positive and negative directions. So with that in mind, here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 1/3/24 episode of "AEW Dynamite."

"This year is our year" is a familiar phrase. Whether it's uttered by somebody trying to find new success in their years-long ambitions or a chronically losing sports team trying to manifest wins (Liverpool Football Club and Scuderia Ferrari fans, sorry), promises that the current year will somehow be different than the rest are usually empty. After watching Wednesday's episode of "AEW Dynamite," though, this year might actually be the year women's wrestling fans have waited for.

Mariah May's in-ring debut match against Queen Aminata was by no means perfect, but it was great in its planning and in its execution. Putting May in the ring with a six-year veteran like Aminata was a wise decision — while May has had experience wrestling in Japan, Aminata is a seasoned talent who was able to fill in any gaps that a newer wrestler like May might leave. Both women were energetic in their match-up, and it reflected in their offense. Each strike and chop emitted a satisfying snap, and May's aggression specifically added to her mean girl persona. Their interaction felt more hostile than most women's contests, which is refreshing to see.

May's victory over Aminata was expected, but appreciated. After hyping up May for so long, having her win in a more combative match-up felt right. What was not expected (but was definitely appreciated) was Deonna Purrazzo strutting to the ring to announce that she is All Elite.

The former three-time Impact Knockouts Champion is a great addition to the AEW women's locker room, and having her make her first appearance in her hometown is a wonderful way to start off the new year. Purrazzo sounded a bit anxious in her promo, but after receiving such a warm and uproarious welcome from the New Jersey crowd, anybody would be. Purrazzo and May's interaction was nothing mindblowing objectively, but the implications of their interaction are exciting. Purrazzo laid out a clear plan to target AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm, and May continued her belligerent streak by calling Purrazzo a "b****" on live television. There is a great balance between direction and ambiguity here — Purrazzo's ambitions are clear, and are a great foundation for her future in AEW. Her choice to confront Storm through May also gives fans something to look forward to, as they speculate on who "The Virtuosa" will pursue first. It all feels very thought-out, which is not something that the AEW women's division is consistently known for. Now, the division feels revitalized, just in time for 2024. This year will be our year, women's wrestling fans.

Written by Angeline Phu

353 days, to be exact. While he spent the initial portion of his AEW career as a heel, Adam Cole's inspirational return from a career-threatening injury on January 11, 2023 demanded a babyface run by its very nature, and while the summer of Better Than You, Bay Bay was a truly magical time, it shouldn't make us lose sight of the fact that babyface Adam Cole almost entirely sucked. The man was just born to play a bad guy, to the extent that his babyface promos and character work always felt false, like he was just going through the motions. But now, the six-month Cole/MJF double turn is finally complete, and it was so good to hear Cole cut a heel promo after a full year of predominantly hollow heroism.

Yes, I'm afraid this is secretly a love disguised as a hate — what can I say, "Dynamite" was really good this week. But it cannot be properly emphasized how refreshing the episode's opening segment was. Cole didn't really fill in many of the plot holes that were created when he waited until December to turn on MJF via the convoluted and ridiculously overbooked Devil mystery storyline, but he also didn't really need to. That wasn't the most important thing. The most important thing was that Cole is back in his ideal environment — leading a four-man villain stable with the word "Undisputed" in its name. And unlike most other AEW heels, Cole isn't getting cheers from the internet-savvy crowd, who — thanks to the Better Than You Bay Bay angle — legitimately hate him for betraying MJF. That's the kind of character AEW has sorely needed, and heel Cole is the perfect performer for the role.

So yeah, hat tip to the Better Than You Bay Bay story, which has finally pulled the trigger on something that absolutely needed to happen, but whatever the opposite of a hat tip is to the months we wasted watching Adam Cole pretend to be a sympathetic good guy. The man has the single most punchable face in wrestling history and we're expected to cheer for him? Come on. Wrestling Inc. is officially declared a moratorium on all instances of babyface Adam Cole going forward. It can never be allowed to sully our screens again. Heel Adam Cole forever, and hopefully every single week on "Dynamite," because that's very much where he's needed.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

Eddie Kingston is not resting on his laurels. The newly-minted Triple Crown Champion could've taken this week off and let Brian Cage, Bryan Keith, Trent Beretta, and El Hijo Del Vikingo fight it out to determine his first title challenger, but instead, the Yonkers native took the bridge into New Jersey and sat down for commentary during the four way match. Kingston was an utter delight, especially his chemistry with veteran broadcaster Tony Schiavone.

The match itself was fine, very good even, but it was Kingston cutting it up with Schiavone, Excalibur, and Taz that really made the segment sing, especially all the times Kingston got on Taz for not inviting him over to Christmas dinner to share a plate of capicola. Not only was Kingston funny, he was clearly invested in the match; it added authenticity to all of the competitors to hear the champion wince over the idea of taking any of the four men's signature moves.

Kingston is quite simply one of the best in the world when it comes to making wrestling feel legitimate. He doesn't just make himself feel legitimate. He doesn't just make his opponent legitimate. He makes potential opponents legitimate. Trent might've won the match, but by the end, viewers could picture Kingston in the ring with all four men, just by the nature of his commentary.

Written by Ross Berman

Well, AEW definitely has a unique take on doing certain "love" stories in the modern age of professional wrestling.

The on-screen romance between Ruby Soho and Angelo Parker has been mediocre at best, but at least there has been some build-up and the angle started off as any other similar one would. Soho's Outcast teammate Saraya has now seemed to find something of a romance of her own with the newest member of the stable, Harley Cameron. The three women chatted with Renee Paquette backstage during the show about Soho's victory over Marina Shafir on Friday's "Rampage," with Cameron getting a little flirty with Saraya. It felt extremely abrupt and out of nowhere, which rings extra true to me when considering that Cameron has only been part of The Outcasts for a week and hasn't had much time yet to settle into her new character.

Between the MJF/Max Caster angle the company did not too long ago and this one, it just seems like we're living in the past rather than looking ahead, especially with how much the world has changed over the past couple of decades. To me, it would be night and day if AEW were more explicit in their handling of these storylines rather than going down the avenue of heavy implications or the road of obsession, particularly when compared to angles such as Soho and Parker.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

Christian Cage's ability to be an absolute a****** is unrivaled, so his promo Wednesday night, which furthered his reign of ruthlessness, as well as his storyline with Adam Copeland (without Copeland even having to appear), and his lack of appreciation for Killswitch (née Luchasaurus), should have surprised exactly no one.

But the little details that Cage delivers flawlessly are where he always sets himself apart. Noting that he has held the TNT Championship since the debut episode of "AEW Collision," ignoring that it was actually won by the former Luchasaurus that night when he upended Wardlow was gold. And then thanking everyone other than the dinosaurman who sacrificed his own title shot to enable Cage to win the title right back after losing to Copeland at Worlds End last weekend was platinum.

Best of all, we're advancing yet another storyline here and the crowd is responding to it. Killswitch was visibly shaking at the snub and the crowd chanted "Luchasaurus" consistently throughout the segment, setting up an inevitable Cage vs. Killasaurus showdown (likely amid the continuation of Cage/Copeland, which has miles to go). It's nice to see the crowd back the big man so organically and though I've taken shots at a guy with a dinosaur gimmick in the past, if you're gonna be a dinosaur, be a damn dinosaur. The name change stuff was a temporary note toward a greater direction anyway.

For now, as Cage continues to laud "his pride and joy," Nick Wayne, who will eventually inherit the TNT Championship to "carry on the family name," according to Cage, Killswitch's patience will run more and more thin, opening up more and more possibilities for all sorts of matchup combinations down the line.

Written by Jon Jordan

Swerve Strickland and Daniel Garcia had a perfectly serviceable match on Wednesday and the aftermath with Hangman Page jumping Swerve was also very good television, but it was in the wrong spot.

There was something inexplicable about the main event bout. One Wrestling Inc. editor said that it felt like Tony Khan trying to recapture the competition for the sake of competition" spirit of the Continental Classic and that definitely feels like part of it. A tournament match without a tournament flung out into space, which just doesn't have the gravitas that a main event match should. Swerve had already made it clear that he was coming for Samoa Joe, so I spent the match waiting for him to put the plucky Garcia down. While Garcia has been a standout, he never felt poised to jump the line in front of a sure bet for a future AEW World Champion like Swerve Strickland.

The post-match brawl with Page is a thrilling twist but was undercut with the backstage segment that made it clear Hangman was in the arena. I can only imagine how much bigger the response to the show's closing angle would've been if Page had been a genuine surprise.

Ultimately, it's a small quibble but that speaks to the quality of this week's "Dynamite," which left me resorting to nitpicking an underwhelming production, instead of inspiring true-blue hatred.

Written by Ross Berman