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AEW presented yet another stacked episode of Dynamite this Wednesday. While it was mostly great, there were a few negatives on the show.
The build towards Revolution pay-per-view continued as CM Punk announced that MJF would have to face him in a Dog Collar match, and Wardlow booked his ticket to the Face of the Revolution ladder match.
Other big names like Hangman Page, Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, and Jon Moxley were involved in matches and segments. Let's look at what was great and what didn't quite hit the mark without any delay.
Best: Eddie Kingston returns to AEW on Dynamite
Eddie Kingston's last appearance on AEW television was on the January 5 episode of Rampage. He teamed up with Santana and Ortiz to defeat 2point0 and Daniel Garcia in a No Disqualifications match.
That was the last we saw the Mad King until he returned on tonight's episode. Santana and Ortiz have made their feelings about not being a part of the Inner Circle clear in recent weeks.
They seemed to echo Eddie Kingston's opinion that Chris Jericho was holding the duo back from showing the world exactly how good they are. On Dynamite, the former LAX members took on Jake Hager and the Demo God in a tag team match that had been coming for a long time.
Proud N Powerful came out on top after Chris Jericho got distracted by Kingston and delivered a springboard enziguiri to him. After the match, Le Champion attacked Eddie Kingston at ringside.
On the back of Cody Rhodes leaving AEW, Eddie Kingston's return is a major boost for Tony Khan's company as he's one of the most popular babyfaces in the business right now. With Revolution less than a month away, a high-profile Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Jericho match would be a great spectacle for fans.
Worst: Too many gimmick matches in AEW
AEW has only four pay-per-views every year. As a result, many of the big matches are given away on free television. Of course, it's great for fans as they get to watch excellent matches every week.
However, the frequency of gimmick matches is probably on the higher side. Over the last few weeks itself, we have seen a ladder match, an Unsanctioned Lights Out match, a Texas Deathmatch, and now on Wednesday, we saw a No Disqualifications match between Thunder Rosa and Mercedes Martinez.
The idea of a gimmick match should be to bring an emphatic end to a personal feud. With many such matches, the effectiveness is watered down significantly. This is especially bad since all the matches are brilliant, and in isolation, it would mean a lot more if they weren't so recurring.
To be fair to Thunder Rosa and Mercedes Martinez, they had a long-running feud that extended to the independent scene as well, so a big blowoff match made sense. But did Hangman Page and Lance Archer have a storied rivalry to warrant a Texas Deathmatch? Perhaps not.
Best: Bryan Danielson and Lee Moriarty show us what professional wrestling is about
Lee Moriarty is undeniably talented and will be a major presence in professional wrestling in the future. His match against Bryan Danielson was something all professional wrestling enthusiasts were looking forward to, and neither man disappointed.
Lee Moriarty held his own, while Bryan Danielson showed us exactly why he would go down as the greatest wrestler of all time. The American Dragon winning was a foregone conclusion.
However, at the end of the match, the youngster came out looking great despite losing. This was a testament to not just the former WWE champion's ability to fight any style of match and make it unforgettable, but Moriarty's maturity in the ring so early in his career.
We still have matchups like Bryan Danielson versus Darby Allin, Daniel Garcia, and Jungle Boy that should be great and elevate the pillars of AEW further. For now, we have a dream match against Jon Moxley to look forward to.
Worst: CM Punk kicked off AEW Dynamite without his entrance
CM Punk in AEW epitomizes what professional wrestling is all about by focusing on the subtleties in his storylines. Last week, he walked out without an entrance to demand a rematch against MJF. He was angry and vengeful, and it made sense to come out without the positivity of his iconic theme song and entrance.
The Second City Saint teamed up with Jon Moxley to defeat FTR, allowing him to name his conditions for the rematch. This was a minor victory for CM Punk, and when he opened the show on Wednesday, he should've got an entrance for the television audience.
Cult of Personality is one of the most iconic theme songs in the business, and while the live audience probably got to witness it, television viewers should've got to see it as well.
Best/Worst: Adam Cole will challenge for the AEW World Championship
Adam Cole's booking in AEW has been good, but some questionable calls have made fans scratch their heads. The Panama City Playboy is set to challenge Hangman Adam Page for the AEW World Championship, but there are some issues.
As popular as Orange Cassidy is, it's highly unlikely he'll ever be a world champion in Tony Khan's company. For him to beat Adam Cole clean, even if it was an unsanctioned match, hurt the former NXT champion's credibility immensely. Hangman beat Bryan Danielson clean, so losing to Adam Cole sounds impossible.
However, there's plenty of backstory between the two men, and a match involving those two will be a barnburner. It could also be the beginning of a reDRagon plus Adam Cole vs. The Elite feud, which is a dream for all fans. All in all, this is a mixed bag of a situation.
