AEW Dynamite Review - March 6, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Undisputed Kingdom Interrupted AEW World Champion Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland; Joe and Strickland def. ROH World Tag Team Champions Undisputed Kingdom (Non-Title)

Strickland and Joe exchanging words pretty much confirms they're headed for a one-on-one match for the AEW World Championship at the new Dynasty pay-per-view next month. I'd be totally fine with that, though I also wouldn't mind if they wanted to wait until Double or Nothing to put the belt on Strickland. Undisputed Kingdom attempted to regain relevance here and I'm not sure it worked, but they did announce that Wardlow will get his AEW World title opportunity on next week's show. The impromptu tag tea match was decent but nothing special.

FTW Champion Hook def. Brian Cage in an FTW Rules Match

I liked the little video package that played beforehand recapping their history together. This was your typical garbage brawl (and nowhere near the spectacle we saw in the Revolution main event last Sunday), but it was fun for what it was. I really couldn't care less about Chris Jericho making the save for Hook afterward. Kenny Omega's injured and Sammy Guevara's reportedly suspended, so Jericho's going to latch onto Hook now? Is that really going to benefit Hook?

Killswitch def. "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard; Adam Copeland Attacked AEW TNT Champion Christian Cage

This was a logical match to do with Menard and Daniel Garcia feuding with The Patriarchy as of late. It was also wise to keep this on the shorter side because Menard should not be having a competitive contest with Killswitch. Garcia made the save for Menard afterward, so will he continue to chase the AEW TNT Championship? Copeland also returned and brawled with Christian into the parking lot before challenging him to an "I Quit" match on the March 20th Dynamite in Toronto. That's great and all, but does their rivalry really need the TNT title at this point?

Kazuchika Okada and The Young Bucks Attacked AEW Continental Crown Champion Eddie Kingston

Okada signing with AEW was never really in doubt, but having him turn heel and join The Elite was definitely a twist I didn't see coming. He has history with The Elite and the Bucks can be his mouthpiece, but I'm still not a fan of the move. The crowd went from being hot for him to being relatively quiet once this over. I'm not saying it won't work, but I'm already tired of the Bucks' new shtick and sticking Okada with them could do more to hinder him than help him. On the bright side, the Bucks also "fired" Omega from The Elite at the start of this segment, so we're clearly headed for Okada vs. Omega again and that will obviously be outstanding. In the meantime, Okada looks to be going after Kingston and that's guaranteed to deliver as well. It's safe to say Kingston's days as Continental Crown champ are numbered.

Riho def. Kris Statlander

This was a rematch from four years ago if you can believe it. The Nightmare Collective (yes, that terrible faction that was quickly cut short) left their original encounter without a winner if I remember correctly. This was well wrestled and got better down the stretch, but it seemed to only exist to tease more tension between Kris Statlander and Stokley Hathaway. Willow Nightingale will face Riho on next week's show and I assume she'll beat her before challenging Julia Hart for the AEW TBS Championship.

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Bullet Club Gold Confronted AEW World Tag Team Champion Darby Allin

I appreciate that we got a talking segment with these two before they face off next week. I was looking forward to the match, but it had zero build beyond Tony Khan announcing it, so this was necessary. It was also necessary for White to get serious for a change instead of doing the dumb Bang Bang Scissor Gang crap. Allin got emotional talking about climbing Mount Everest in a few weeks, and it was pretty dark, but I respect him for acknowledging that his life will legitimately be on the line.

Will Ospreay def. ROH World Television Champion Kyle Fletcher (Non-Title)

It's still makes zero sense why Don Callis would want members of his faction facing each other (first at Revolution and again here) because from a storyline standpoint, they're risking injury and have nothing to prove. From an in-ring standpoint, this was an excellent main event and exactly what you'd expect from them. Ospreay's off to a strong start in AEW with back-to-back bangers. I thought he'd cement his split from The Don Callis Family afterward, but no such luck.

Overall Show

Between the new set, logo, graphics and opening theme song, this is the most significant makeover Dynamite has ever gotten. They're trying to send the message that it's a "new era" in AEW, and although they've touted that a lot in recent years, this indeed feels like a new chapter and the arrivals of Ospreay, Okada and Mercedes Mone (as of next week) reinforce that. The question is whether they can sustain the momentum, so time will tell. I wasn't overly impressed with the first hour of the show, but they picked up the pace with the second hour. It was an enjoyable episode on the whole.

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