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Welcome to this week's edition of things AEW subtly told us on Dynamite: Grand Slam. It was a good episode, but the hype of the Arthur Ashe show didn't live up to the expectations that had been set. Perhaps this could have been avoided with a single mistake, but it happens.
The show wasn't bad in itself. It just went downhill after a certain point, and there was a reason for that. Coming next is the Rampage special on the AEW Grand Slam week. Ahead of CM Punk's first TV match in over seven years, here's what went down on Dynamite:
#5 Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega's draw on AEW Dynamite means an instant rematch is in the works
Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega opened the show on AEW Dynamite instead of main eventing the night. While we understand the decision to have the match open the show at the Arthur Ashe stadium, this may have ultimately backfired.
Was it a mistake to open the show with the Bryan Danielson-Kenny Omega match? There are two sides to the argument. On one side, it was the perfect match to kick start the show, with the crowd reaction being proof of that.
On the other hand, it essentially meant that no other match on AEW Dynamite could follow up on the quality. After the bout, the entire episode itself seemed to take quite a dip.
With that said, we shouldn't take anything away from the Bryan-Omega match on AEW Dynamite. There is also the possibility that because of the planned finish, AEW couldn't risk going overtime.
Kenny Omega and Bryan Danielson had an instant classic. There was no title on the line, but it didn't feel like there needed to be either. The entire idea of this feud is to establish Bryan Danielson in AEW and insert him into the World Title picture.
Given that the match ended in a time limit draw, it's clear that a rematch will be in the works. For all we know, the Bryan-Omega feud could end up being a series of matches.
At this point, it's possible to see Bryan eventually becoming the AEW World Champion or being just another challenger to Kenny Omega.
#4 Ruby Soho and the disappointing AEW Dynamite main event
Perhaps another mistake made was putting Britt Baker vs Ruby Soho in the AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam main event. Logically, if Kenny Omega vs Bryan Danielson wasn't closing the night, this was the next best one.
However, that was only in theory. On paper, the AEW Dynamite main event was disappointing. Britt Baker defended the AEW Women's title against newcomer Ruby Soho, who couldn't get the job done.
Unfortunately, her performance in the main event was quite disappointing as well. While this is only the start for Ruby Soho, we hope that she develops her skills more to be in big spots like this.
#3 MJF-Brian Pillman Jr. turned out to be a short feud
Following MJF's loss to Chris Jericho at AEW All Out, he began a feud with Brian Pillman Jr. It got personal quickly, and the match was set up for Dynamite: Grand Slam this week.
MJF beat Brian Pillman Jr. clean via submission. His parents were there too, and they put out a sign revealing that they hated their own son as well.
It was a bit of an underwhelming match given that it had to follow Omega vs Bryan. However, the feud turned out to be a short-lived one.
#2 Malakai Black puts out Cody Rhodes on AEW Dynamite...again
On AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam, Cody Rhodes had Brandi Rhodes and Arn Anderson in his corner as he looked to get some vengeance against Malakai Black, a man who had already beaten him before.
Again, this match wasn't helped by the fact that Kenny Omega vs Bryan Danielson had already taken place. There was chaos and interference involving Brandi Rhodes, but it was ultimately Malakai Black who picked up a sneak victory.
While ideally both men should move on from this feud, we can expect Black and Cody to settle it once and for all at Full Gear.
#1 CM Punk previews his first TV match in over seven years
It could be argued that the high point of the show was CM Punk's promo, after which things began to dip on AEW Dynamite. Punk had the crowd in the palm of his hands.
He still took a shot or two at WWE, which felt a bit unnecessary. However, he previewed his upcoming match against Powerhouse Hobbs this Saturday.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out, but we fully expect CM Punk to walk out victorious in his second AEW match.
