AEW Dynamite Review - June 26, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

MJF, Daniel Garcia and AEW International Champion Will Ospreay Confronted Each Other

It was cool to see Garcia so prominently featured in his hometown. He's been getting a nice buildup in recent weeks with wins and video packages, but we've been fooled before with that sort of stuff with him. That said, it looks like AEW might actually be committing to his latest singles push with MJF challenging him to a match at All In. We'll see if it sticks, but that'd be huge for Garcia if it does. Ospreay also played his role well in this segment in setting up his AEW International Championship defense against Garcia for next week's Dynamite. A solid segment all around that had little to do with Forbidden Door but built toward what's to come.

Blackpool Combat Club (IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi and Titan) Ended in a No Contest

None of these guys will be facing each other at Forbidden Door, but this was an enjoyable outing that served as a little preview of what to expect from New Japan Pro-Wrestling's involvement in Forbidden Door. The non-finish was lame, but it's not that big of a deal since AEW rarely does them. Post-match, Moxley went face-to-face with with his Forbidden Door challenger Tetsuya Naito while Bryan Danielson went face-to-face with Takagi.

Unified World Trios Champion Jay White def. Rey Fenix in a Men's Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal Match

It was refreshing to see White wrestling in a meaningful singles match for a change. Bang Bang Gang/Bullet Club Gold are fun as a group, but White really should be pushed on his own and leave the six-man tag title stuff to the other members. This was the very good match you'd expect from these two with the obvious outcome. The Patriarchy faced off with Bang Bang Gang afterward because they want the Unified World Trios Championship, but I'm not sure who fans are supposed to side with since both trios are heel.

The Acclaimed Revealed Hiroshi Tanahashi as Their Partner Against The Elite at Forbidden Door

I automatically assumed we were getting The Young Bucks vs. The Acclaimed for the AEW World Tag Team Championship at Forbidden Door, but it looks like we're getting a six-man tag team match instead and that's totally fine. They can hold off on the Bucks vs. The Acclaimed for a future Dynamite (or perhaps as early as next week). I had zero interest in seeing The Acclaimed team with Billy Gunn, so I like that Tanahashi is filling in for him, especially given his history with Kazuchika Okada from NJPW.

Artist of Stardom Champion Mina Shirakawa, AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm and Mariah May def. Anna Jay and The Outcasts (Saraya and Harley Cameron)

Excalibur on commentary alluded to this being a tryout of sorts for Jay in The Outcasts, so I don't think she's an official member just yet. This was a logical match to do ahead of Storm vs. Shirakawa for the AEW Women's World Championship at Forbidden Door with May wanting to get them on the same page. The three of them worked really well together and it was a nice matchup. Shirakawa accidentally laid out May afterward while aiming for Storm, so I'm glad they're back to having tension with each other before they face off.

Samoa Joe, Hook and Katsuyori Shibata Brawled with FTW Champion Chris Jericho, Big Bill and Bryan Keith

This whole segment was confusing as hell. Keith is hurt (probably in storyline and not legitimately), so Jericho aired a video he said he hadn't watched beforehand where Minoru Suzuki, who he thought would agree to team with him and Bill at Forbidden Door, denied his offer. Suzuki actually said he wants to challenge Jericho for the FTW Championship, but apparently we're still getting the six-man tag team match based on Joe, Hook and Shibata subsequently confronting them. I assume we'll find out who Jericho's partner is before the pay-per-view, but this was a mess and it doesn't help that the Learning Tree act continues to be trash.

Zack Sabre Jr. def. Kyle O'Reilly

Orange Cassidy has had a soft alliance with O'Reilly in recent weeks, so it made sense for Sabre Jr. to collide with O'Reilly ahead of his encounter with Cassidy at Forbidden Door. It was a well-wrestled match, I'll give them that. O'Reilly loses whenever it matters most, so he may as well join Roderick Strong in The Undisputed Kingdom at this point. The post-match stuff was overcomplicated with so many people coming out for no reason.

AEW International Champion Will Ospreay and AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland def. The Gates of Agony

It was silly for AEW to follow up on that fantastic promo exchange between Ospreay and Strickland last week by doing the "Can they coexist?!" tag team trope that's been done to death in wrestling, but at least this was a quality main event. Of course, Gates of Agony were never a true threat, but they're a talented team and were made to look credible in defeat. Strickland laid out Ospreay afterward, but I didn't see that as a heel turn because Ospreay was posing with his AEW World Championship belt, so he had it coming.

Overall Show

If the inter-promotional build for Forbidden Door isn't for you, then this show wasn't for you. Hell, Forbidden Door itself likely won't be for you, either, and that's completely understandable. Personally, I don't care much for Stardom and CMLL, and even NJPW's involvement's this year has been lackluster. However, I'm sure the show will deliver as most AEW pay-per-views do. This was a largely effective go-home edition of Dynamite to set the stage for the event.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews