AEW Dynamite Review - March 27, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Will Ospreay def. Katsuyori Shibata

Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson at Dynasty pretty much sells itself, so there isn't a ton they can do to build it up before then other than continue to prove why they're two of the best in the world with awesome matches. This was another excellent outing from Ospreay and I appreciated that he worked a different style with Shibata than he did with Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher. The outcome was never in doubt, but they were given a ton of time and made the most of it.

The Young Bucks def. Private Party in an AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match

I liked how these teams got to run it back after Private Party beat the Bucks in the quarterfinals of the tournament to crown the first-ever AEW World Tag Team Champions on the second edition of Dynamite. Has it been almost five years already?! Time flies. AEW did absolutely nothing to follow up on that huge win for Private Party and thus there was no way they were losing here, either. It was fun, but the execution of the ending came off a tad awkwardly.

Willow Nightingale def. Anna Jay, Skye Blue and Kris Statlander in an AEW TBS Championship No. 1 Contender's Four-Way Match

I'm a fan of Jay's, but it was comical that she would even be involved in this match as she hasn't won a meaningful match in forever. Realistically, this match was pointless because Nightingale pinned Julia Hart in tag team action at Revolution and that alone should've been enough to earn her a shot at the AEW TBS Championship. This was a well-worked four-way and the tension teased between Nightingale and Statlander was interesting. Perhaps Statlander will cost Nightingale the title? At the very least, I hope Statlander is Mercedes Mone's first AEW opponent at Dynasty.

Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta def. ROH World Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Kingdom in an AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match

This felt like a Rampage match to me. There was nothing technically wrong with it, but Mike Bennett and Matt Taven are hardly viewed as threats by the AEW audience despite being members of Undisputed Kingdom while Cassidy and Beretta are staying busy with their team. I don't expect them to make it past the Bucks in next week's quarterfinal match. This was solid yet nothing out of the ordinary.

Swerve Strickland def. Konosuke Takeshita in an AEW World Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

This was going to be great regardless, but it was logical to label it a number one contender's match to give it more meaning and put something at stake. Takeshita is obviously terrific, but Strickland was always the correct choice to challenge for the AEW World title at Dynasty. This was an entertaining, competitive main event to where Takeshita looks little in defeat and Strickland comes away looking like even more of a star than he was previously. Samoa Joe's title run has been a blast, but the time has come to crown Strickland.

Overall Show

Dynamite reverted to its usual formula this week by focusing primarily on the wrestling and not so much on the mic work. It turned out to be an enjoyable episode with all five matches serving a purpose. Each match received an ample amount of time (specifically the opener and the main event), so the two hours flew by. I can't say it felt like the most exciting or eventful edition of Dynamite once it was over, but at least stuff progressed heading into Dynasty and it wasn't a filler show.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews