AEW Dynamite Review - August 31, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley Issued an Open Contract for a Match at All Out

Moxley cut the promo you'd expect about Punk after how he beat him so decisively on Dynamite last week. He was intense and held nothing back. Of course, the Chicago crowd booed because Punk is their boy, but not as heavily as I thought they would. The only aspect of this segment I didn't like was Moxley leaving an open contract for a title shot at All Out in the middle ring. It felt like forever before Ace Steel (longtime friend of Punk's)

Bryan Danielson def. Jake Hager

Being Chris Jericho's heavy in the Jericho Appreciation Society is definitely the right role for him, but I'm still stunned the dude still has a spot on the roster with how much talent AEW has signed since he came into the company. To his credit, though, this was a very well wrestled match. The crowd sat on their hands whenever he was on offense but came alive when Danielson battled back. The post-match angle involving Danielson, Chris Jericho and Daniel Garcia was well done. I'd really love for Garcia to leave Jericho Appreciation Society, but I know that's not happening.

W. Morrissey Attacked The Wingmen

I almost changed the channel when I saw The Wingmen in the ring. That said, they were the perfect people to take a beating from the debuting (returning?) W. Morrissey. He previously appeared on an episode of Dynamite back in May for a loss against Wardlow and he left IMPACT soon after due to his contract expiring. I thought for sure he was WWE bound, but apparently not. He'll stand out in AEW due to his size, but I just hope he can find direction (maybe he will being managed by Stokley Hathaway) and not get lost in the shuffle like Lance Archer and Brian Cage have.

Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm def. Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter

AEW's booking of the women's division has been abysmal as of late, but I do have some sympathy for Tony Khan to a degree because Thunder Rosa got hurt and now we have a random four-way out of nowhere. Thankfully, Storm already has established issues with Baker and Hayter, so that helps. Shida stuck out like a sore thumb when it was originally announced, but they fixed that here by having her pin Baker, getting a measure of revenge for when she lost the AEW Women's World Championship to Baker at Double or Nothing 2021. This was a great match with an appreciated sense of urgency.

Ace Steel Hyped Up CM Punk Before Punk Signed AEW World Champion Jon Moxley's Open Contract for All Out

This was phenomenal mic work from Punk, though a lot of it was tailored to Chicago and I'm not sure how well it would have worked elsewhere. Steel also played his role remarkably well. Punk's transition from being down and depressed to motivated and hyped up was excellent and left me looking forward to their rematch. Admittedly, however, I feel like they took the convoluted way of getting there when they could have simply saved their first encounter for the pay-per-view.

AEW TNT Champion Wardlow and ROH/IWGP/AAA World Tag Team Champions def. Silas Young, Ren Jones and Vic Dupri

I was happy to see Young make an appearance after his one-off against Adam Page a few months ago, but he didn't stand out here at all because he and his two enhancement partners were completely squashed by Wardlow and FTR. Oh well. It makes sense since Wardlow and FTR are the ones with the pay-per-view match on Sunday. They kept it short and sweet. I wish Wardlow and FTR would get more focus post-All Out.

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley Addressed CM Punk

This was a quality rebuttal from Moxley, though I'm not sure it had to happen in front of the crowd since he was already out in front of the crowd at the start of the show and Punk's promo also took up time. Then again, this was a go-home show and they desperately needed to build up the main event because it wasn't announced beforehand, so it was understandable. Much like in the opening segment, Moxley was booed and I expect him to get the same reaction at All Out when he faces Punk. I'm curious if Punk will get booed if AEW actually goes through with the rumored heel turn.

ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta def. Dante Martin, Rey Fenix and Rush in a Four-Way Match (Non-Title)

It was confirmed on Twitter before the show that the Casino Ladder match at All Out will consist of Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Penta El Zero M, Rey Fenix, Andrade El Idolo, Rush, Dante Martin and a joker entrant. This served as a small preview of that, even though there was nothing on the line. The action was entertaining and Yuta winning gives him a nice boost. Samoa Joe is a logical choice to be the joker considering we haven't seen him since Death Before Dishonor.

The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) def. United Empire (IWGP United States Champion Will Ospreay and STRONG Openweight Tag Team Champions Aussie Open) in an AEW World Trios Championship Tournament Semifinal Match

Much like last week's main event, it was virtually impossible for this to be anything less than terrific. They definitely delivered and it was a blast. Yes, it was a total spot-fest and it wasn't for everyone, but I personally loved the hell out of it, especially for all the interaction between Omega and Ospreay. It would be a crime if we don't get those two one-on-one eventually, presumably at Wrestle Kingdom in January. The outcome was never in doubt, but that was my only nitpick. The Elite vs. Adam Page and The Dark Order is a fitting final for this tourney.

Overall Show

I didn't bother doing a full write-up on Jim Ross' pre-taped sit-down interview with Jungle Boy and Christian Cage, but I thought it was well done. This was as good of a go-home show as AEW could have produced considering how incredibly rushed the build for a lot of the matches at All Out feel. Don't get me wrong, it's a strong card on paper, but AEW really should have started building stuff up much earlier in advance, and there's no excuse seeing as how they only have four major pay-per-view events each year. The stuff with Punk and Moxley was the main focus on this show as it should have been since they needed to make their main event official for All Out and everything else held my attention. The Chicago crowd added to my enjoyment of the episode as well.

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