AEW Dynamite: 5-Year Anniversary Review - October 2, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW International Champion Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet Ended in a Draw

I was among those who had no issue with the first-ever encounter between these two in AEW being given away on TV, solely because this was a special occasion. They opened the night on a high note with the great match you'd expect from them, but I'm sure they're capable of even better. The double pinfall finish and the subsequent involvement from Konosuke Takeshita were disappointing, though I realize the intent was to protect both guys. I guess this means Takeshita is done with Kazuchika Okada after all?

ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe Attacked Chris Jericho on TV Time

There's no denying the positive impact Jericho had on AEW in its formative years and that it was probably appropriate to put him on the anniversary episode, but the Learning Tree shtick continues to be channel-changing material. You could hear a pin drop when Jericho announced that he was challenging Briscoe for the ROH World Championship at WrestleDream. Their verbal exchange was good, but I haven't cared about this feud between Jericho's crew and The Conglomeration in the slightest.

"Hangman" Adam Page def. Juice Robinson

This stemmed from Page attacking Robinson after he beat Jeff Jarrett in that Lumberjack Strap match on Saturday's Grand Slam edition of Collision. That's why they spent so much time brawling on the outside beforehand. This was a well-worked match, even though the outcome was never in doubt. As expected, Jay White returned afterward to target Page. I believe Page was credited in storyline for injuring White, so I'm looking forward to that feud.

Britt Baker def. Serena Deeb

The commentators mentioned that Baker was 4-0 in her hometown of Pittsburgh coming into this contest. Obviously, that wasn't about to change here. It was a nice match and considerably more enjoyable than the last time we saw her in action against Mercedes Mone at All In. Post-match, Queen Aminata made the save for Baker to further her feud with Deeb. Mariah May was shown sitting at ringside, so I assume Baker will be one of her upcoming challengers.

Private Party def. Iron Savages (Boulder and Bronson)

It's cool that Private Party were featured on the anniversary episode, but this felt like filler compared to everything else. Thankfully, it was a short squash designed to give them a momentum boost before they team with Katsuyori Shibata to take on The Elite in a six-man tag team match on Friday's Rampage. I'd love to see Private Party be the ones to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship from The Young Bucks, but I'm not optimistic based on how they've been booked as of late.

AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson def. AEW Continental Champion Kazcuhika Okada (AEW Continental Championship Was Only Defended for First 20 Minutes)

I didn't know that the show would have a 30-minute overrun, so I was surprised when this started so close to the top of the hour. Because Continental title matches have a 20-minute time limit, Okada's belt was only up for grabs for the first 20 minutes. I'm sorry but that was a silly stipulation and it made the match more convoluted than it needed to be. It also telegraphed that Danielson wasn't winning in under 20 minutes. They had an above-average main event, yet it paled in comparison to their other encounters, possibly because it was announced on social media two days prior and had no real build beyond being a rubber matchup (not to mention the distraction finish was lame). Even the post-match angle with Danielson setting up a tag team match with him and Wheeler Yuta against Claudio Castagnoli and Pac for next week's Dynamite fell flat for me. It was a strange way to end the night.

Overall Show

It didn't happen in the ring, but MVP reunited with Shelton Benjamin in a backstage segment, which got a big pop. Surely, Bobby Lashley isn't far behind. At any rate, this was a fun five-year anniversary episode and I appreciated all the highlights they aired throughout the night celebrating Dynamite's first five years, but I was honestly expecting a little more. Granted, they didn't advertise much ahead of time, but this mostly felt like a standard edition of Dynamite, so I was left underwhelmed. On the bright side, AEW officially announced their new deal with Warner Bros. Discovery today that will see them stay on their networks for at least the next four years (among other stuff), and that's nothing but positive for the business as a whole.

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