AEW Dynamite 4/17/2024 - 3 Things We Loved And Hated
Another AEW Dynamite has come and gone, meaning there's plenty for the staff of Wrestling Inc. to love and hate. While this week's episode didn't court as much controversy as last week's airing of the All In backstage fight footage, it was still a rollercoaster ride of an episode of television.
From Will Ospreay and Claudio Castagnoli's blistering main event to the brawl between AEW World Champion Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland ahead of AEW Dynasty, there was plenty that popped the staff. However there were also low moments like everything involving Chris Jericho (a regular of our hated columns lately) or the near-constant use of overruns.
If you need a refresher, AEW Dynamite results can be found here. Let's get into the loves and hates from this week.
Hated: The 'Jericho Vortex' hooks HOOK further in
I will be the first person to admit I am pretty tired of seeing Chris Jericho pulling younger talent into his "vortex" and teaming with them before turning on them. When I saw that he had actually trademarked the phrase, I laughed out loud.
In this case, Jericho was teaming with HOOK, in what they were calling LionHook, and he started to act even more weird than he had in previous feuds with younger talent. I'll be honest, I hadn't been paying a lot of attention to this storyline, but this segment tonight that set up their match for the FTW Championship at Dynasty caught my attention – and not for a good reason.
When it was announced before the show I figured they would end up facing each other at Dynasty, which to me, is just making the card longer than it needs to be. This could be, and probably should be, a match on "Dynamite." I further knew something was going to happen in this segment when the announcement also said that Taz, HOOK's dad, would be brokering the meeting between the two. Jericho tried to explain himself for his actions last week that cost them a match, saying that he pulled HOOK off the apron because he didn't think HOOK was listening to him. He kept saying things like, "Keep in mind, I'm doing this all for you," which is just overall kind of annoying to me, because why does HOOK care what Jericho thinks? Jericho hyped himself up.
"People say I'm the greatest of all time at this," and that he's helped elevate everyone from Jon Moxley to Will Ospreay to Orange Cassidy and MJF. He actually had the gall to say "Everyone who's come into the Jericho vortex has come out a better wrestler."
Personally, I think that Moxley, Ospreay, Cassidy, and MJF were already pretty darn good before having to stroke Jericho's ego by being involved in a storyline with him. I found that line extra irksome. Also, this "learning tree" metaphor, or whatever it is, is probably the lamest thing I've heard from Jericho in a while.
HOOK just gave him a simple "No" when Jericho threw the learning tree line at him, but things started to get dicey when Jericho told Taz that he was "just doing what [Taz] should have done 30 years ago and give this kid some proper guidance." Taz told him to calm down, and Jericho got in his face and pushed him into the ropes to "You f***** up" chants from the crowd. That's when HOOK started to get ready to throw down, grabbing Jericho by the calling, telling him he crossed the line. Hook then said he'll show him up any time, any place, and demanded Jericho get out of "his" ring.
Now, if this immediately set up their FTW Championship match at Dynasty, maybe it wouldn't have bothered me as much. It definitely wouldn't have bothered me as much if this set up a match on "Dynamite" next week. However, it took until commentary was running down the Dynasty card for this match to even be known as official. When you have both men in the ring, and one just knocked down the other man's father, that seems like a better time to set up a pay-per-view match officially. Instead of HOOK telling Jericho he would take him "any time, anywhere," just say it's set for Dynasty so we can all get our collective groans out earlier.
Written by Daisy Ruth
Loved: Jon Moxley Makes Will Hobbs Feel Like A Big Deal
Jon Moxley just gets it. When he fights, it looks like it hurts, and it makes sense. When he talks, it sounds like a big deal. He is consistently the most popular wrestler in AEW. CM Punk, MJF, Cody Rhodes, many have come and gone but Jon Moxley has remained "The Guy."
On Wednesday, all Moxley did was talk. He showed off his newly won IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, spoke proudly of its history, and then immediately got down to brass tacks. Moxley said that The Don Callis Family is doing Powerhouse Hobbs a disservice, and challenged the former TNT Champion to a match next week. The way Moxley spoke about Hobbs did more to elevate the young star than any of Don Callis's usual blathering, and the prospect of him fighting a legitimate world champion next week is one that sounds promising. If Hobbs can have a proper showing against "The Guy" then it will make it that much easier for him to someday be "The Guy" when Moxley is no longer able to deliver.
You heard a bit about the "Jericho Vortex" in the last entry, and it is so nice to see the exact opposite of that in Moxley's challenge to Hobbs, especially since Hobbs was sucked into said Vortex earlier this year.
Written by Ross Berman
Loved: Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe Fight It Out
AEW has a tendency to hype up big matches leading into pay-per-view events (especially on go-home shows) simply by employing video (both in the form of packages and sit-down backstage interviews) and nothing more. While there's nothing wrong with it and they certainly aren't the only promotion who does such, it's a boring and uninteresting way to get fans excited about said matches.
It seemed as though this would be the case for the AEW World Championship match at AEW Dynasty between Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland, with the two men both sitting down with Renee Paquette on separate occasions to discuss one another and their upcoming match. Given that it's safe to assume that this will be the main event of Sunday and this was the only thing that was advertised for the two men tonight, it appeared to be the only thing to hype up the match on the go-home "Dynamite".
That was, until the closing moments of the show when an unexpected brawl broke out between the two.
Usually, pull-apart brawls all end up working out to be the same thing, but this one used unique spots (such as the awesome Swerve Stomp off the top rope to all the security guards) to set itself apart from the rest of the bunch. It achieved what it needed to in creating hype for the match, but did it in a way that the sit-down interviews on their own wouldn't have otherwise been able to. It was a great way to close out the show, especially one that had otherwise been forgettable, long, and boring.
Written by Olivia Quinlan
Hated: Did Billy Gunn Say He Beats His Kids?
The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn are hitting a point where enough is enough. Max Caster is only ever talked about when he's saying something outrageous, offensive, dumb, or some combination of the three, Anthony Bowens is regressing when it comes to being an interesting character, and Billy Gunn has begun devouring his own children like Saturn.
I don't actually care that Billy Gunn said he's been beating his kids' asses since they were...well...kids. I just care that AEW is awash in interesting teams and factions and the Trios Titles are stuck on three men who desperately want it to be -and remain- 2022 either by science or by magic. It's been almost 230 days and "Scissor Me, Daddy Ass" has been dead for a long time. It's time to end this silliness and let some other teams vie for glory.
I am legitimately heartened that Billy Gunn found a second life in AEW. I never would have expected it and it is a credit to him that he's been able to make his alliance with The Acclaimed work for as long as it has. It is every wrestler's dream to have that kind of revival, but the dream dried up a long time ago.
Written by Ross Berman
Loved: Castagnoli and Ospreay Don't Miss
Not that anyone expected anything to the contrary but Claudio Castagnoli and Will Ospreay in the main event of "Dynamite" flat out ruled. Claudio Castagnoli and Will Ospreay in the main event of any wrestling show would flat out rule. Claudio Castagnoli and Will Ospreay for the first time ever? I'm in 1,000 times over. And after they crushed it in a near-perfect match to wrap up (the actual wrestling portion of) "Dynamite," I hope we get to see these two run it back umpteen times in the near future.
That's the thing about AEW, right? The wrestling rarely ever misses. So in what seems to be a pivotal era for professional wrestling as a whole, maybe every company should make sure they're uber-focused on what they're good at and keep to that lane as best they can. Castagnoli/Ospreay, Danielson/Ospreay on Sunday at Dynasty, and so many other match combinations that this company can put together hardly need any story whatsoever. So long as the talents are well enough established (and these I've mentioned, of course, are), if you build it, they will come. They'll come in droves. Hang your hat on what you're good at, be proud, and fly the flag high. Don't just say you're "where the best wrestle." Be it. Embrace it wholeheartedly. Lean all the way into it. Do that, and maybe then everyone will start believing me when I say that I really, truly want this company to succeed.
But anyway, back to what brought me here, Castagnoli and Ospreay were in complete sync all throughout; not perfect, but even in moments less than, like something of a Tilt-a-Whirl DDT into a Hurricanrana attempt from Ospreay where he slipped a bit, the awareness was off the charts. Castagnoli read it, released, finished the spot, and they moved on seamlessly. I love pro wrestling and I respect the hell out of two pros just doing what they do like that.
And even with a run-of-the-mill shmoz after the fact, it was the absolutely perfect way to end a pretty damn good go-home show for what is obviously a very big pay-per-view for the company, until ...
Written by Jon Jordan
Hated: Weekly Overruns Just Because
... it wasn't. Because it wasn't the end. As a guy who is all too often overly critical of this product, to the point where I question whether or not I've forced myself into being predisposed to as much, who was ready to say, despite a hiccup — ahemJERICHOahem —or two, that this was a very good show for the first time in several weeks, I was feeling good. I was feeling celebratory. I was feeling, especially after a full episode of "AEW [Insert Show Name Here]" without a single WWE allusion, HOPEFUL!
And then, I literally had to say, right here in the WINC Newsroom chat, "Damn it! I thought we were done." Granted, I forgot about the heavily teased Swerve Strickland/Samoa Joe interaction, and that's on me — but it's also on Claudio Castagnoli and Will Ospreay who were outright awesome as I said somewhere up above here only minutes ago, before my mood turned. It isn't that I have anything against that Joe/Swerve match at Dynasty by any means. It's going to be stellar, I'm sure, and I hold out hope that Strickland will become AEW Champion as he so richly deserves. But this add-on, post 10 pm ET interaction didn't do anything to further the anticipation for that match, and if anything, it took away from the Castagnoli/Ospreay banger.
I know WWE had overruns all the time for, well, seemingly forever. I know NXT still does it. And I know it serves a purpose here and there — especially when it's a surprise. But we're now in full-on, every single week, automatic overruns on "Dynamite" for no particular reason whatsoever.
"Just because" isn't a reason. And that was a buzzkill.
Written by Jon Jordan