AEW Dynamite Review - January 31, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jon Moxley def. Jeff Hardy

Similar to Hardy's outing against Swerve Strickland last week, this was another first-time-ever match that I thoroughly enjoyed. It wasn't on the same level as Hardy vs. Strickland but still very good. Hardy continues to show signs of frustration and I'm interested to see him and Matt as heels again for the first time in a long time together. As for Moxley, I'm curious what he's being built up for with these wins.

"Hangman" Adam Page def. Toa Liona

This was part of the Dealer's Choice gimmick with Strickland choosing Liona, one of the other members of Mogul Embassy, as Page's opponent here. Apparently Liona had never been beaten prior to this point, but there was no chance Page would lose ahead of his eventual opportunity at the AEW World Championship. They had a well-worked match, the crowd was behind Page throughout, and Liona was made to look credible in defeat.

Wardlow def. AAA Cruiserweight Champion Komander (Non-Title)

Komander will win random number one contender matches but never anything that matters, at least on AEW TV.  Obviously, he was supposed to be the sacrificial lamb here, which is why I'm surprised this lasted as long as it did. Komander scored some offense when Wardlow really should have been more dominant. Meanwhile, The Undisputed Kingdom remains in a holding pattern. The group feels like an afterthought compared to how hot they were coming out of Worlds End.

Tony Schiavone Hosted a Sit-Down Interview with Darby Allin and Sting and AEW World Tag Team Champions Ricky Starks and Big Bill

I'm really glad we're getting this tag team title match before Sting and Allin likely face The Young Bucks at Revolution, because that bout would be bigger if the belts are on the line. This was a strong sit-down interview with the two teams trading jabs and doing an excellent job of hyping their upcoming clash. Starks' mic work stood out the most. Hopefully AEW does more with Starks on his own again after he and Bill drop the titles.

Chris Jericho def. ROH World Television Champion Kyle Fletcher (Non-Title)

It was already announced that Jericho will face Konosuke Takeshita next Wednesday, so it was logical for him to win here. Yes, Fletcher is the ROH World Television Champion and ideally shouldn't be losing non-title matches, but I doubt a majority of the AEW audience care about that. The important thing is they had a competitive contest with Fletcher once again having an impressive performance. I'm very much reading for Jericho's feud with The Don Callis Family to be over.

AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn and ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Bullet Club Gold Celebrated

We already saw these groups officially joining forces a week or two ago, so I'm not sure what purpose this segment was supposed to serve other than to remind people. I was hoping Bullet Club Gold would turn on The Acclaimed and Gunn, but no such luck. I'm sure that's still the endgame, but I'd like to see them get to that sooner rather than later. It's a stupid storyline, but clearly a lot of the live crowds are digging it.

Deonna Purrazzo def. Taya Valkyrie

It's been so long since Valkyrie was a regular on Dynamite that this crowd was quiet for this match despite it being solid. Thankfully, Purrazzo has been handled really well since coming into the company and continues to build momentum week after week. There wasn't anything special about this, but it was what it needed to be. The feud feels like it's already peaked, so I'm not sure how they intend to fill the next month of television time.

Swerve Strickland def. Rob Van Dam in a Hardcore Match

RVD being revealed as Strickland's Dealer's Choice opponent was hardly shocking with Page basically spoiling it last week on Collision, but the Hardcore stipulation was an added treat. It gave RVD an advantage and made the match more interesting. They put forth a commendable effort and the crowd was into the action. Page confronted Strickland afterward and challenged him to a third match next week where the winner will challenge Samoa Joe for the AEW World title at Revolution. I'm smelling a double disqualification/count-out.

Overall Show

It's apparent Tony Khan is making more of an effort to "restore the feeling" from early AEW by booking so many matches that appeal to his audience. The key is delivering some interesting stories at the same time and I'd argue he's doing that as well with a great card seemingly on tap for Revolution. This was another thumbs-up episode with entertaining wrestling and more build for the pending pay-per-view as well as next week's stacked show.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews