AEW Dynamite Review - July 31, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Will Ospreay Interrupted AEW American Champion MJF; Ospreay def. Lance Archer

MJF's mic work wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but even an average promo from MJF is still very good, so this was a solid segment. Ospreay wasn't able to get his hands on MJF, so it will be interesting to see if they get physical before their rematch at All In. Meanwhile, Ospreay vs. Archer was extremely predictable, but Archer is obviously talented and thus this was an enjoyable opener for what it was.

Kris Statlander def. CMLL World Women's Champion Willow Nightingale in an CMLL World Women's Championship Eliminator Match

This is the third match these two have had since December and it was their best one yet. They worked a competitive contest and the action was entertaining. Statlander had to win here after losing to Nightingale the last time in the women's Owen Hart Cup, so it looks like the big blow-off will be saved for All In where the CMLL World Women's Championship will be up for grabs.

AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland Confronted Bryan Danielson

I was already excited for their championship clash at All In, but both Danielson and Strickland did a fantastic job of selling me on their matchup that much more. Danielson talked about his full-time career coming to an end before throwing out the challenge that he'll retire permanently if he loses at All In. That telegraphs the finish in my opinion as I don't believe for a single second Danielson is done after All In, but I applaud the effort to raise the stakes.

The Beast Mortos, Rush and Roderick Strong def. The Conglomeration (ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe, Tomohiro Ishii and Orange Cassidy)

This Conglomeration nonsense continues to make no sense to me. They're a group of babyfaces without a real purpose at the moment. They're simply having makes for the sake of having matches. This was yet another case of that (even though it had some fun moments), but at least it had a pleasantly surprising outcome with Mortos pinning Briscoe, presumably earning him an eventual shot at the ROH World Championship.

Kamille def. Brittany Jade

I'm in total favor of Kamille as Mercedes Mone's heavy. It would've been easy to debut her on her own and then for her to fizzle out when she's inevitably unsuccessful in whatever championship she challenges for, but this gives her direction from the get-go. This was the straightforward squash for her that it should have been. Britt Baker didn't show up because she was "suspended" for getting physical with Mone at San Diego Comic Con over the weekend.

Darby Allin def. "Hangman" Adam Page

For a first-time-ever encounter, you'd think this would have felt like a bigger deal than it did. The hype for it throughout the night was lousy. Despite that, they delivered a top-notch main event. I loved their dynamic with Page showing excellent intensity and Allin fighting from underneath like the ultimate underdog he is. Allin had to win considering he's the number one contender to the AEW TNT Championship at All In, but the finish was executed in a way where Page doesn't lose much. That said, I'm curious how Page will bounce back from his recent string of losses.

Overall Show

This was a strong edition of Dynamite on the whole. It didn't look like one on paper, but the stuff to start the show with Ospreay and MJF was well done, the verbal exchange between Danielson and Strickland was great, and the night ended on a high note with that main event. Plus, the two women's matches were what they needed to be and the six-man tag team match had the right result. There was also a brief promo from Toni Storm on the stage, but it was brief and basically what she said at Battle of the Belts XI. I'm glad AEW has gradually been able to build up momentum heading into All In at the end of August.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews