Chair Shots With Killem Faulkner: AEW Dynamite Aug. 11th

Wait a minute. This week’s episode is just titled AEW Dynamite? No clever tagline? Not “AEW Dynamite: Steel City Beatdown”? No “Wednesday Nyte Tyme to Fyte”? Not even “Hey Everyone Don’t Forget Rampage Premieres on Friday”?

Okay, well…whatever you call this week’s episode, it was the first time in weeks that it wasn’t a “very special” episode, but there was still plenty on offer as AEW made its way to Brittsburgh…er, Pittsburgh, PA. A tag title match, the final Labour of Jericho that the Demo God needed to unlock a rematch against his longtime rival, and several more intriguing matches were on offer, and with the debut of AEW’s second weekly show Rampage (Friday night at 10 East/9 Central guys don’t miss it!) and the company’s next big pay-per-view All Out just around the corner, there were bound to be plenty of exciting developments on this week’s show.

So without further ado (or further promos for AEW Rampage debuting Friday night on TNT definitely tune in everyone!!1!) let’s get to this week’s best, worst, and everything in between!

Best Match of the Week

I’ll be honest, I felt like this week’s in-ring offerings were…fine, but not many rose above the standard TV match fare. Probably the only match where the result wasn’t a foregone conclusion was Best Friends vs. Hardy Family Office, though that isn’t to say a predictable outcome necessarily makes for a bad match. The Impact Tag Title match between Evil Uno and Stu Grayson vs. The Good Brothers was a great example of what two teams with great chemistry and timing can accomplish even if not given enough time to create a compelling back-and-forth where it genuinely felt like either team could win. The Good Brothers were always going to come out on top in this one, although Uno and Grayson did put in a quality performance, and the match never quite reached another gear before its inevitable conclusion. Darby Allin vs. Daniel Garcia certainly hinted at the potential of both competitors to deliver an even better match with more time on a bigger stage, but it would have been an incredible upset for the AEW newcomer to prevail over one of the most established stars on the roster. In the end, the first match of the night was also the best, as The Elite took on the Sydal Brothers and Dante Martin. I was initially quite skeptical of the decision to have this match as the opener, figuring that Omega and the Bucks were so far above the competition that it would either be a very short match or just not that interesting because the outcome would never be in question. Like the crowd, however, I was won over by some stellar work from Kenny Omega and Dante Martin, in particular. I had to look up whether Martin was from Pittsburgh or somewhere in Pennsylvania (he isn’t, apparently) because the crowd reacted to every high-risk maneuver he pulled off, but it really speaks to how exciting his offense is that he got the kind of reaction usually reserved for a higher-profile name or hometown hero. The Sydal brothers also had some crowd-pleasing spots, and the Young Bucks continued to cement their reputation as one of the best tag teams in the game. (Though let’s be honest, there is already a frankly gratuitous amount of cement on their reputation by this point.) One of the biggest highlights of the match came when Martin escaped the One-Winged Angel, but the emphatic BTE Trigger from all three members of the Elite Squad put the match away for good after a surprisingly hard-fought bout. The outcome and the post-match confrontation with Christian Cage may have been easy to foresee, but it got the crowd hyped up early in the evening and also provided a quality showcase for some under-utilized talents, which is a decent accomplishment for any opening match.

Best Moment of the Night

A few more candidates here, as this episode felt like a bit of filler leading to bigger things (including the debut episode of Rampage, which if you don’t already know will be this Friday from the very same Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA) and as such had more moments designed to hype up future matches and ongoing storylines. Luchasaurus blocking the Young Bucks’ attempt at a layup (which they suggested their title defense against Jurassic Express will be just as easy as) and Brandon Cutler asserting he got “all ball” as the Bucks complain they were fouled was a pretty humorous moment that helped reinforce hype for next week’s AEW World Tag Team Championship match. Orange Cassidy putting Matt Hardy’s hand in his pocket after having his signature hands-in-pockets gesture “deleted” and climbing to the second rope to parody his leg drop before deciding that’s too high and dropping from the first rope instead was peak King of Sloth Style. Nyla Rose hitting Kris Statlander with a spear as she tried to walk on her hands to avoid a top rope attack from the Native Beast was a particularly impressive spot, as was the double Pele kick from Stu Grayson on the Good Brothers. For my best moment of the night, I’m going with a relatively minor moment that just struck me in a particular way. Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. entering to a thunderous ovation, a Terrible Towel (or apparently two, since she had one for Tony Schiavone when she got to the ring) in her back pocket, a Pirates logo on one shoulder and a Penguins logo on the other, her parents in the front row… I was immediately struck by the fact that we’ve been waiting more than a year for moments exactly like this. Professional wrestling is unique in the world of entertainment in that it’s a live performance each week, and the crowd’s reaction is such an integral part of the experience that it was incredibly surreal and even somewhat off-putting to watch wrestling in an empty arena for so long. Also, Britt Baker is just so over with crowds everywhere, especially in her hometown. AEW deserves credit for building up homegrown talents like Baker, Darby Allin, and others to the point where they get reactions as big or bigger than the more established stars on the roster.

Worst Match/Moment of the Night

You know the drill by now: there weren’t any major negatives this week, though I felt a bit more negative about a couple of moments in particular than I have about anything from the previous weeks. Nyla Rose vs. Kris Statlander was a disappointingly short match – for the only women’s match of the night, this felt like an afterthought rather than a proper showcase for two of the more important figures in the division. Proud & Powerful continued to call out FTR in what felt like a one-sided retread of their promos from recent weeks. Also, I never need to see that replay of Cash Wheeler’s injury again, please and thank you AEW. The biggest negative for me, however, was the confrontation between QT Marshall and Paul Wight. After dragging out the “apology” that nobody really cared about in the first place, Marshall and his Factory cronies decided to bully Tony Schiavone’s son instead, which drew out the former Big Show/Giant/Captain Insano to defend his Dark Elevation commentary partner, delivering a chokeslam to the hapless Aaron Solo as Marshall vacated the ring in cowardice. If none of the above description sounds remotely interesting or promising going forward, well…that’s because it isn’t. I appreciate Paul Wight for all he’s done throughout his career, but the idea of devoting a segment to him and an aging bit player like Marshall just does not seem worthwhile at this point, and unless Wight recruits a younger team to represent him against Nick Comorotto and Aaron Solo, an ongoing feud only promises to take further TV time away from more promising talents on the roster. (There was maybe a suggestion that Chris Schiavone might be trying to break into the wrestling business, and this might be a vehicle to get him some screen time, but even so…eh? Okay, I guess.) This segment felt like a bit of wasted time on a program that is usually a lean and focused two hours. Not actively terrible exactly, but certainly unnecessary.

Parting Shots

• Is “Don Callis can’t do math” supposed to be a thing? He said he does the work of 4 men, making it a 6-man booth…despite the fact that Jim Ross, Excalibur, and Tony Schiavone would make it a 7-man booth. Huh. Later he tells Christian not to try anything because they’ve got 10 guys…despite the fact that there were only 6 guys in the ring (though maybe that goes back to him counting for 4? I dunno) but it’s okay because Christian apparently can’t count either, as he comes to the ring with only Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy as backup. 6 on 3 isn’t exactly even odds unless each guy counts for two…okay, that’s enough numbers for this week.
• Fuego del Sol gets a shot at a full-time AEW contract if he can beat Miro on the debut episode of AEW Rampage, and I’ve gotta say, it’s about time. You don’t want a guy with a sterling 1-43 record to slip through your fingers. The Fed might come calling any time now, so lock him down ASAP, AEW.
• It’s a minor thing, but I’m a sucker for the details: JR says the match between Daniel Garcia and Darby Allin is arguably bigger for Garcia, who is new on the scene, but Excalibur points out that a loss for Allin, who is ranked #2 among men’s singles competitors, to an unranked opponent would drop him out of the top 10. Sure, the AEW rankings are largely like the rules on “Whose Line is it Anyway?” but I appreciate the fact that the announcers are invested enough in that continuity to bring it up on commentary.
• Tony Schiavone accidentally confuses The Blade for his tag partner The Butcher and covers by saying “Butcher is coming back very, very soon, we understand.” Of course, I bring this up for absolutely no reason other than the fact that I’m looking forward to one of the best tag teams in the company being reunited. No reason whatsoever.
• Another fairly minor point: Colt Cabana being the only member of Dark order to accompany Stu Grayson and Evil Uno was a nice bit of continuity after last week’s dissention over whether to help Adam Page or respect his wishes and stay out of it. The larger storyline of the Dark Order trying not to let the Elite drive a wedge between them continues, yet it doesn’t even require a backstage promo or anything beyond the already scheduled match. That’s some efficient storytelling.
• MJF just pulled the ultimate heel move: making Chris Jericho enter…to complete silence. Nothing draws real, genuine heat like denying the audience their weekly singalong.

That’s it for another week of Dynamite – another decent show, though it definitely felt like AEW was holding back on a few big matches for the premiere of Rampage, which you should definitely not forget to tune in for, seriously guys, it’s gonna be a big deal. Let us know what you thought of this week’s show, what you’re looking forward to on the first ever AEW RAMPAGE YOU GUYS IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING, and what your favorite part of following @FilmIronic on Twitter is. What, you aren’t following us yet? Well get on that, Skippy! We’ll see you next week!