AEW Dynamite Review - November 27, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Shelton Benjamin def. Mark Briscoe in a Continental Classic Blue League Match

I'm well aware he won't be winning the whole thing, but Benjamin in the Continental Classic was a wise choice. He's been having nothing but great matches since signing with AEW and this was another enjoyable outing from him. I realize there needs to be people in the tournament that can consistently lose to the bigger names, but did they really need to put Briscoe in there for the second straight year occupying the same role? At least this was a fun opener.

Kamille Told AEW TBS Champion and NJPW Strong Women's Champion Mercedes Mone She Quit

I was among those excited by the idea of having Kamille serve as Mone's bodyguard immediately upon Kamille's AEW arrival and thought the pairing had potential. It worked for a month or two before Kamille was failed by the booking, and now, it's already over. What an absolute waste of time. To Kamille's credit, she did get a bit of a pop when she initially interrupted Mone here, but this didn't feel anywhere near as important as it should have. I'm sure Mone will beat Kamille soon and that will be it for Kamille on AEW TV.

ROH World Champion "The Learning Tree" Chris Jericho def. Tomohiro Ishii

I wasn't overly excited by Jericho vs. Ishii when they first fought for the ROH World Championship two years ago on the Thanksgiving eve edition of Dynamite, and I cared a lot less about this rematch. Technically, there wasn't anything egregiously wrong with it (aside from the annoying constant chops), but this felt like a giant waste of time. Realistically, this should have happened on ROH TV, but I know Jericho couldn't be bothered to wrestle on that show despite the main champion of the brand.

"Hangman" Adam Page, Jay White and The Death Riders Attacked Each Other

Page explained to Tony Schiavone that he and Christian Cage had a deal and that he should've walked out of Full Gear the AEW World Champion, so Page vs. Christian might be the direction we're headed in if White is next in line for a shot at the title at Worlds End. This segment seemed to confirm the latter with Death Riders laying out White. This accomplished what it needed to and followed up on the conclusion of Full Gear effectively.

AEW World Trios Champion Claudio Castagnoli def. Ricochet in a Continental Classic Gold League Match

I remember the excellent matches Castagnoli and Ricochet had in WWE five years ago. Their chemistry is still strong all these years later as this was a quality contest from them. Ricochet just suffered his first singles loss at Full Gear, so I was surprised to see him lose again here. He was bound to lose in the Continental Classic eventually, but the timing was suspect. He should be fine as long as this doesn't become a recurring pattern.

MJF Refused to Face Adam Cole or Kyle O'Reilly

I want to be interested in the Undisputed Kingdom drama and Cole wanting to get his hands on MJF, but at this point, I'm just not. Cole and O'Reilly keep going back and forth and nothing of value is ever said. Meanwhile, MJF again didn't appear in person and instead appeared in a pre-taped video on the big screen. They did announce that Cole and O'Reilly will be taking part in next week's Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal for the opportunity to fight MJF for his Dynamite Diamond Ring at Winter Is Coming, but otherwise, this was a flat exchange.

Jamie Hayter def. Queen Aminata in a Wrestle Dynasty International Women’s Cup Qualifier Semifinal Match

Aminata always has solid showings and looks credible in defeat but doesn't win when it matters most in AEW. That feud with Serena Deeb just seemed to end and she's been racking up losses ever since. In other words, the outcome was not in doubt here, but they had a good match in the time they were allotted. Julia Hart continues to tease targeting Hayter, but I'm skeptical of this feud being beneficial for either of them.

Brody King def. Darby Allin in a Continental Classic Gold League Match

The series of matches these two have had in AEW over the last two years has been well documented, so it was obvious they would well together once again here. This was the usual entertaining encounter from them and I appreciated that King won in clean fashion after losing to Allin at WrestleDream last month. Claudio Castagnoli stared down King afterward before it was confirmed that they'll fight in a Continental Classic match on next week's show.

Overall Show

I've complained quite a bit about Dynamite's drop in momentum over the last month or two and how more needs to be done to make the show feel must-see again. The stuff with Death Riders still isn't doing much for me personally, but the Continental Classic should be a nice boost through the end of the year. Those matches were the highlight of this episode with everything else being hit or miss, so this was a mixed bag of a show overall.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews