AEW Dynamite Review - February 21, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

FTR vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli) Ended in a Time-Limit Draw

I was surprised this wasn't saved for Revolution, but it made sense once it went to the time-limit draw, meaning that will be where the rematch happens. Despite being at stake, this was an excellent opener. FTR never cease to deliver and Moxley and Castagnoli make for a terrific team. The time-limit draw didn't bother me personally, but AEW needs to be careful about not doing that too often considering we just got one two weeks ago.

AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy def. ROH World Tag Team Champion Mike Bennett (Non-Title)

This was an impromptu match that wasn't made official until right beforehand in a backstage segment. Cassidy beat Matt Taven in a Texas Death match, on last week's show, and although it didn't need to be the main event, they put forth a hell of an effort. This was a much more basic bout, but it was well worked while it lasted. Jake Hager making the save for Cassidy afterward was random until I realized he's an Oklahoma native.

"Daddy Magic" Matt Menard Saved Daniel Garcia From The Patriarchy

Garcia has gradually been getting over since the Continental Classic, so I'm glad AEW is capitalizing on that by giving him the AEW TNT Championship opportunity at Revolution instead of Adam Copeland. The remainder of the rivalry between Copeland and Christian doesn't need to be for the title. This was a solid segment with good mic work from Garcia and Christian to set up their match for the pay-per-view.

AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm def. Sydni Winnell (Non-Title)

In the past, AEW would refer to all of their non-title matches as "eliminators," but I'm happy they've moved away from that because why would anyone honestly believe that Winnell would win here and earn a future title shot. This was a very straightforward squash for Storm and was wisely kept kept, but I did think that Storm winning with Deonna Purrazzo's finisher was a nice touch.

Deonna Purrazzo def. Madison Rayne

Man, this was not good, at all. That's a shame because I know they're capable of better. Perhaps Rayne had ring rust from not wrestling for so many months, but she had a pretty poor showing and that resulted in a rough match even before that ugly spot toward the end. On the bright side, Purrazzo continues to rack up victories before she challenges Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship at Revolution.

Wardlow Addressed the Audience

This is the Wardlow promo I've been waiting for. Granted, we should've gotten it two years ago, but better late than never, I suppose. He spoke with awesome intensity and brought up the many criticisms the audience has had of his character as far as AEW not taking advantage of his popularity when he was at his hottest. The key now is to follow up accordingly and do something meaningful with him instead of just having him as a background player in the ice-cold Undisputed Kingdom faction.

AEW World Champion Samoa Joe and Mogul Embassy (Swerve Strickland and Brian Cage) def. Rob Van Dam, FTW Champion Hook and "Hangman" Adam Page

As of now, Strickland is still a heel and Page is still a babyface, so I thought the teams were logical. A double turn should be the endgame, though the fans are already favoring Strickland over Page based on the crowd reactions. This was a fun main event and I'm always down for an RVD appearance. He was the perfect person to eat the loss for his team and Joe being the one to beat him was the right call. Strickland is definitely the next person to hold the AEW World Championship, 

Overall Show

There was some quality action throughout the night, but what I really thought carried this episode was the mic work, both in the ring and in the backstage segments. Sting's promo addressing The Young Bucks was fantastic, Garcia held his own (and hopefully he gets more opportunities to talk in the future), and Wardlow knocked it out of the park. The opening and closing matches were especially enjoyable, so while not necessarily a hot edition of Dynamite, it had some stuff worth checking out and did a decent job of hyping the pay-per-view.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews