Orange Cassidy Challenged AEW World Champion Jon MoxleyIt looks like Cassidy will be positioned at the forefront of the AEW locker room's war with Moxley's crew, which makes sense given that he's largely been the heart and soul of the promotion for the past five years. It also gives him a chance to develop his character for the first time in a while and become more serious again. He cut a quality promo here and hinted at being the one to challenge Moxley for the AEW World Championship at Full Gear. Adam Cole def. Buddy MatthewsIt was established last week that Cole has to win three matches to earn a match with MJF at Full Gear, so needless to say, it was extremely predictable that Cole was winning here, especially since I couldn't tell you the last meaningful match Matthews won on TV. Despite that, this was an enjoyable outing. It was made clear afterward that Malakai Black will face Cole on next week's Dynamite. Mark Davis Confronted Kyle Fletcher and Don CallisDavis has been out injured for so long that I totally forgot about him eventually returning. Fletcher is currently busy with Will Ospreay, so unless Fletcher vs. Davis ends up being an afterthought, I'm going to assume Davis ultimately sides with Fletcher and the rest of The Don Callis Family (I think we all know Davis would flounder on his own if Aussie Open broke up). This was a fine segment to get Davis back into the mix. Orange Cassidy, Darby Allin, Top Flight, Action Andretti, Lio Rush, The Dark Order and Private Party Brawled with AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and AEW World Trios Champions Claudio Castagnoli, Pac and Wheeler YutaI haven't gotten invested in this angle with Moxley so far because Moxley continues to cut cyptic promos that don't really mean anything. Perhaps there's a big reveal they're building to, but it's been two months and there hasn't been much progression beyond Moxley becoming champ and Yuta joining his group. I couldn't care less about the undercard babyfaces being out there to brawl with the heels, but at least we're getting closer to Cassidy vs. Moxley being made official for Full Gear. Private Party def. The Young Bucks to Win the AEW World Tag Team ChampionshipThere was an extra stipulation that Private Party would've had to split up had they lost. That was teased with Stokley Hathaway scouting the two of them last week, but I'm happy that was just a red herring and that they didn't go in that direction. This was a terrific match between two teams that work wonderfully together and the crowd was into all of the action. Private Party deserved this moment and are finally at the top of the division where they belong. ROH World Champion Chris Jericho, Big Bill and Bryan Keith Addressed Jericho's Title WinUgh. Jericho winning the ROH World Championship was bad enough, but I can guarantee you that he'll still be prominently featured on AEW TV and barely on ROH TV. Case in point: Why did this need to exist? I know it didn't last long, but the stuff with Jericho is unbearable and it doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon, sadly. This was a complete waste of time. Kris Statlander def. KamilleI appreciated that this was built up several weeks in advance, but the booking has been incredibly questionable. Firstly, Kamille struggling to beat Queen Aminata last week was ridiculous and did nothing to make her look like a threat. Secondly, although this was competitive, it was also brief, so it's not as if Kamille as made to look credible in defeat. I know Statlander challenging Mercedes Mone is the endgame, but they did Kamille no favors here. Swerve Strickland def. Shelton Benjamin; Bobby Lashley DebutedBenjamin has looked fantastic in the ring since coming to AEW and it's so cool he got the main event spot on this show (though we found out why afterward). This was a top-notch match with the correct outcome. Lashley's arrival was inevitable, but I wasn't sure it would happen here or later on. It was smart to end the night with that as it seemingly sets up Lashley vs. Strickland for Full Gear. The Hurt Business/Syndicate is back and I'm excited. Overall ShowDynamite's quality been below-average for many months, but this was the strongest installment in some time. There were no Halloween shenanigans, but I appreciated all the Halloween-themed graphics and whatnot. What we did get was plenty of excellent wrestling, big moments and storyline progression ahead of Full Gear in a few weeks. This was a return to form for AEW, but it remains to be seen if they can maintain this momentum starting next week. I'm not confident, but perhaps they'll surprise me.
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