AEW Dynamite - Best and worst- Familiar face from WWE shows up, Big botch from Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy, WCW veterans attacked

This week's episode of AEW Dynamite just wasn't the best. And this is both a compliment for and a criticism of the men and women of the company, considering the kind of quality we've come to expect from the amazing performers that entertain us weekly on AEW Dynamite.

The commentary was pretty amazing on this week's episode of AEW Dynamite and I have to say that Taz is more than making up for the absence of Excalibur. There's still that element of the moves actually being called missing from AEW Dynamite, something that Excalibur was quite amazing at, but it wasn't like I felt his absence that much.

What the show was great at, as the image above with Lance Archer and Jake Roberts will show you, was a great mix of the old-school and the new school of pro wrestlers, all coming together to bring you two exciting hours of professional wrestling.

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#1 Best: Mike Chioda shows up on AEW Dynamite

As shocked and saddened as everyone was to see the men and women of WWE who were let go or furloughed thanks to the current pandemic situation, one of the names that stunned one and all from the list of those released was Mike Chioda, who has been one of the mainstays of the company for many years now.

We at Sportskeeda Wrestling are glad to report that he has found a home on AEW Dynamite, where he will be officiating the action on Wednesday Nights. This is a great gig for him because it is obvious from the social media posts that fans are glad to see him jump ship and the AEW Dynamite roster seems to be very fond of him too.

Congratulations to Mike Chioda!

#1 Worst: Orange Cassidy's biggest AEW Dynamite win is marred by a sloppy finish

As someone who has sung Chris Jericho's praise in this column over the years, it's only fair to criticize him when he's not at his best. Yes, Chris Jericho putting over Orange Cassidy in the biggest match of the young man's career on AEW Dynamite was certainly the right thing to do, but what I wasn't a fan of, however, is the way that the finish happened in the main event.

Chris Jericho is no spring chicken at this point in his career, and to be fair, he's a man that has done it all in the wrestling business and is still going strong at 49 years old. Orange Cassidy tried his best to make the finish, in the main event of AEW Dynamite look good, but let's be honest, he clearly isn't Daniel Bryan between the ropes either. He's a great performer in his own right, but yes, the finish was so awkward that it took away from what should have been his big moment.

#2 Best: The Rock n' Roll Express is attacked by FTR on AEW Dynamite

The Tag Team Appreciation Night segment on AEW Dynamite would have been lukewarm if not for the heel turn that happened with FTR during the course of the action. Tully Blanchard cut the second-best promo of the night after MJF during the course of the segment (well, Jake Roberts cut a great promo on AEW Dynamite as well, so it's a toss-up between the two veterans), but it was the attack from FTR on the Rock 'n' Roll Express that got people talking. FTR should have been heels from the moment that they arrived on AEW Dynamite, and it's great to see them in this avatar.

How cool was it for the Rock 'n' Roll Express, to put over a young team like FTR in the manner that they did?

Having interviewed Scott Dawson/Dax Hardwood in the past, I know that he's a big NWA/WCW fan and this segment on AEW Dynamite must have been the happiest moment of his career.

#2 Worst: Matt Hardy loses it on AEW Dynamite and attacks the wrong person

One had the highest of hopes for Matt Hardy when he went to WWE because he was the hottest thing in the pro wrestling business at the moment and fans were confident that there was no way that WWE could mess him up, at that point. After his tenure with WWE ended in the manner that it did, they were thrilled to see him move to AEW Dynamite, even if the initial pop was lost because there were no fans in the arena to see him wrestle. It is unfair to say that his run on AEW Dynamite and All Elite Wrestling has been disappointing, but there is an element of truth to this assessment.

Fans just cannot buy into the idea of Matt Hardy attacking the wrong person because the man is concussed.

Maybe this is something that gets remedied with time and while the idea of incorporating the real-life injury into an AEW Dynamite storyline was good, the attack on Mike Posey was pretty silly, all things considered.

#3 Best: AEW Dynamite and their significantly weaker version of Retribution

Okay, maybe one team wasn't trying to impersonate the other, but both Retribution and The Inner Circle believe in vandalism, from the looks of it. Retribution's version of vandalism on WWE RAW was not the most violent thing ever (they had a far better showing on SmackDown) but the act of Santana and Ortiz pouring bleach over wrestling gear on AEW Dynamite was possibly even worse.

Maybe if this was sandwiched between more entertaining segments on AEW Dynamite, it would not have irked this reviewer as much as it did. Overall, nothing really clicked on this week's episode of AEW Dynamite, which is fine, because everyone has a bad week.

We have a treat for you wrestling fans on Sportskeeda Wrestling this week. Catch Brian Pillman Jr., whom you may have seen on AEW Dark in conversation with the amazing Stephanie Chase in the link below, ladies, and gentlemen.

Also, would you say that this was one of the weaker episodes of AEW Dynamite? If so, sound off in the comments below.