AEW Dynamite Review - August 9, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jericho Appreciation Society Walked Out on Chris Jericho

The entire Jericho Appreciation Society has been teasing tension with Jericho for weeks and this segment seemed like the culmination of it. Everyone walked out on him except for Guevara, who was more loyal than the rest and hinted that he might stick by Jericho's side if he can figure things out. This was what it needed to be and leads us to the next chapter of the story, which will happen next week when Jericho decides whether he's joining Don Callis' new faction or not.

The Young Bucks def. The Hardys

Of the many matches these teams have had over the years in Ring of Honor, AEW and on the independent scene, this is their first encounter to air on free television. It became pretty predictable who was winning when FTR challenged Young Bucks to an AEW World Tag Team Championship match at Double or Nothing. Nonetheless, this was a quality contest. You get wat you get with The Hardys at this point, but they held their own here and they always work well with Young Bucks. FTR and Young Bucks went face-to-face afterward to make their match at All In official.

FTW Champion Jack Perry def. Rob Van Dam in an FTW Rules Match

Have all FTW Championship matches been contested under FTW Rules in AEW? If so, I simply haven't noticed. I don't think I've seen a single RVD match since he left IMPACT a few years ago, but he looked pretty good here and had a fun hardcore match with Perry, who is growing into the heel role more and more by the week. Hook didn't show up here, but I have to assume their rematch will be taking place at All In.

Roderick Strong Interrupted AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole

I was curious what more MJF and Cole could do now that it's been established that they'll be facing each other for the AEW World Championship at All In, but they went ahead and announced that they'll be challenging for the ROH World Tag Team Championship as well on that same show (on the Zero Hour pre-show, specifically). Why it couldn't happen on AEW TV before then, I'm not sure, but I don't have an issue with them pulling double duty as it adds another wrinkle to the story, especially with Strong and The Kingdom possibly forming an alliance. Don't rule out the possibility of Cole betraying MJF and linking up with them instead.

Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley and ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli) def. The Lucha Brothers

Blackpool Combat Club's feuds with Best Friends and Lucha Bros feel like filler as AEW figures out what to do with them next. They don't have obvious opponents for All In and I'd be shocked if they were left off the card. This was an enjoyable outing, though. I've appreciated seeing Lucha Bros back on AEW TV regularly in recent weeks and there was no doubt that this would deliver. I'm just not sure how you progress this program from here (unless it was meant to be the blow-off, which would also be fine).

Darby Allin and Sting Attacked The Mogul Embassy

Allin told Swerve Strickland and his crew that he had friends of his own, which brought out the returning Sting, who I don't believe we've seen since that tag team match he had on Dynamite with Allin against Jericho and Guevara back in late June. That led to the announcement that it will be Allin and Sting vs. Strickland and AR Fox in a Coffin match at All In. I thought it might be a six-man tag also involving Nick Wayne and Brian Cage, but I'm glad they're going the two-on-two route instead.

AEW Women's World Champion Hikaru Shida def. Anna Jay

Jay leaving Jericho Appreciation Society means Anna Jay A.S. is officially no more. What a relief. That said, she still didn't stand a chance of beating Shida for the belt, so I'm not sure why this went on last beyond Tony Khan trying to convince people that he's trying to book the women's division better. The main event spot is one thing, but what he needs to do is give them more meaningful stories. Both women gave it a good effort, but there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about this.

Overall Show

Aside from the flat main event, this was a very good edition of Dynamite. I'm happy they've finally found a groove as far as the build to All In is concerned. It would have been silly to wait until mere days before to announce the complete card, and while I'm sure there will be some last-minute additions, at least we have several high-profile matches announced. Surprisingly, the main event ended up being the weakest part of this episode, but it was entertaining and held my attention otherwise.

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