AEW Dynamite Review - May 22, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW International Champion Roderick Strong and Trent Beretta def. Orange Cassidy and Will Ospreay

Ospreay will challenge Strong for the AEW International Championship at Double or Nothing while Cassidy faces Beretta, so this served as a nice preview of both bouts. The action was enjoyable and Strong pinning Cassidy was the right call. More heat was put on the heels afterward with their post-match attack, which saw Ospreay get bloodied. This was technically Ospreay's first loss since signing with AEW last year, though it will quickly be forgotten with it not being a singles match.

Death Triangle Attacked Unified World Trios Champions Bang Bang Gang

Pac and Jay White have been at odds for a few weeks, so I just figured we were in for a bout between them at Double or Nothing. I know Rey Fenix got injured (again) at the start of the month, so I wasn't expecting this six-man tag team match anytime soon, but I'm glad we're getting it at Double or Nothing. You'd think Pac would beat White first one-on-one to build to the championship clash, but oh well. This was a simple and effective segment.

Hook and Katsuyori Shibata def. "Bounty Hunter" Bryan Keith in an FTW Championship No. 1 Contender's Three-Way Match

The match itself was fine, but I can't believe AEW is devoting this much television time to a title that means nothing. I then audibly sighed when Hook and Shibata simultaneously forced Keith to submit, causing the referee to determine it will be a Triple Threat with Jericho at Double or Nothing instead of restarting the match. I sighed because not only was it a stupid finish, WWE did the exact same finish on Tuesday's NXT. I hated that and I hated this, too. Jericho acting okay with it was also weird. This whole segment sucked.

Konosuke Takeshita def. Matt Sydal

Takeshita will take on Jon Moxley in an Eliminator match at Double or Nothing, so the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. You'd think it's a slam dunk he wins to set up a title match, but I'm honestly convinced Moxley will win. If he does, it was pretty ridiculous that Moxley left Takeshita laying after this was over. The match between Takeshita and Sydal served as a basic showcase for Takeshita before then.

AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland def. Nick Wayne (Non-Title)

This was another case of the title not being on the line yet the match not technically being an Eliminator match because it was a "grudge" match. It doesn't make any sense and I wish AEW would do away with the silly Eliminator stuff. Nonetheless, this was a quality contest from these two, and despite their history, I'm glad it didn't overstay its welcome. Strickland's brawl with Christian Cage outside of the arena afterward was also well done.

Malakai Black def. Kyle O'Reilly

I remember when O'Reilly made his NXT debut as a surprise opponent for Black back in the summer of 2017. Fun times. This was another hard-hitting, well-wrestled match from them, even if Black winning was never in doubt ahead of his AEW TNT Championship match with Adam Copeland on Sunday. Speaking of Copeland, he did the Brood deal by dumping "blood" on Black in the middle of the ring, which was certainly an interesting visual.

AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm and Mariah May def. The Outcasts

Storm and May have had a mini feud with The Outcasts for weeks now, but it has completely lacked logic because Storm is supposed to be a heel heading into her title defense at Double or Nothing against Serena Deeb. I guess AEW gave up on that because Deeb attacked Storm after this was over and absolutely came off like a heel. Such a strange dynamic. The tag team match itself was decent while it lasted.

Bryan Danielson def. Satnam Singh by Disqualification

I understand what was trying to be done here with there being a "bounty" on Danielson and his crew before Anarchy in the Arena, but Singh does not belong in Dynamite main events. Needless to say, Danielson gave him the best match of his career as they told the David vs. Goliath story, but there still wasn't anything out of the ordinary about it. The focus was on Danielson, FTR and Darby Allin (flamethrower and all) getting into it with The Elite afterward, anyway.

Overall Show

This wasn't the most eventful go-home show, to say the least. To call it a mixed bag would be fair. Over half of the show did very little for me, nor did it do much to boost my excitement level in Double or Nothing. I'm sure the event will deliver as most AEW pay-per-views do, but the product lacking buzz at the moment hasn't helped. In short, there's nothing worth seeking out from this edition of Dynamite and I don't know what can be done at Double or Nothing to get people invested again.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews