AEW Dynamite Review - August 30, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jon Moxley def. Komander

Penta El Zero Miedo's manager accompanied Komander here and it was explained later on that it was because Penta wanted to scout Moxley in case he had to face him at All Out, but we knew that wasn't happening. This essentially served as a warm-up for Moxley. It was a quality contest, but there was zero question regarding the outcome. They should probably give Komander a win or two once in a while so he has some shred of credibility.

Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara Agreed to Challenge for the AEW World Tag Team Championship

I assume Jericho Appreciation Society are no longer a thing, but Jericho and Guevara are still friends... for now. They teased more tension here and wanted you to think they'd have a match at All Out, but instead, they agreed to challenge for the AEW World Tag Team Championship next week on Dynamite. Uhm, what exactly earned them that opportunity? Nonetheless, I enjoyed their exchange here as we get closer to one turning on the other. Jericho leaned heel here, which was strange because it felt like he turned babyface two weeks ago.

NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston def. Wheeler Yuta

Kingston hates Blackpool Combat Club as much as Orange Cassidy does apparently, and if he wants to get his hands on Moxley and especially Claudio Castagnoli soon, it made sense for him to run through Yuta first. And hey, why not have him put his title on the line while he's at it? I honestly forgot he won the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship during his time away from AEW this summer. This was a well-wrestled matchup and the crowd was hot for Kingston.

Roderick Strong and The Kingdom Confronted Adam Cole

The ongoing angle with MJF and Cole continues to be the best thing going in AEW right now by a wide margin. I'm glad we finally got an in-ring segment with Cole, Strong and The Kingdom with the four of them explaining their history in Ring of Honor and past friendship. Everyone played their roles well and I continue to hope Cole will turn heel and join them. Only time will tell, but in the meantime, Strong will be taking part in the tournament to determine a number one contender to MJF's AEW World Championship at Grand Slam. It won't be defended at All Out because MJF and Cole will be busy defending their newly-won ROH World Tag Team Championship against contenders to be determined on Rampage.

AEW TBS Champion Kris Statlander, Hikaru Shida and Britt Baker def. Nyla Rosa, Marina Shafir and Emi Sakura

Shida and Baker teamed going into All In, but Statlander teaming with them was quite random. Well, we found out afterward they teamed here because they'll be facing The Outcasts in a six-woman tag team match on Collision, so this established that they could work together. Even with a televised entrance, the heels were impossible to take seriously, but this was serviceable. Ruby Soho attacked Statlander afterward heading into their championship clash at All Out.

AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn Unveiled New Championship Belts

The Acclaimed are obviously over, but I continue to not care about their pairing with Gunn. I know he's an important part of the act, but I liked them more with him in their corner. The "scissoring" stuff jumped the shark a while ago, but again, fans are still into them, so who am I to complain? Admittedly, the scissor-styled title belts they unveiled here were clever. I just don't know who they defend against now with AEW being so light on legitimate trios (beyond Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard and Angelo Parker on Collision, that is).

AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy def. Penta El Zero Miedo

I applaud AEW's effort to make it feel like Penta had a chance of dethroning Cassidy here, but there was no way that was happening so close to All Out when Cassidy vs. Moxley has been teased for weeks. They had an entertaining main event, but I absolutely could have done without the three consecutive Canadian Destroyers they hit on each other. That was an incredibly dumb spot. Otherwise, they delivered a match worthy of the main event spot. Cassidy addressed Moxley in a post-match promo, and with CM Punk likely not working All Out, this feels like the real main event. I can't say it's a stretch with the AEW International Championship feeling like AEW's most prestigious title aside from the AEW World Championship.

Overall Show

Tony Khan announced before Dynamite that several big stars had to miss the show and it was apparent. This episode was light on star power, and although it ended up being solid on the whole, the build for All Out feels rushed as we all expected it would a week removed from All In. Punk's suspension hardly helps, and we're left with a card that feels like a special edition of Dynamite and not a pay-per-view. I'm sure it'll be worthwhile, but this is simply not an ideal situation. All Out is basically an afterthought and it's very possible Grand Slam will wind up being the bigger show.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews