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In a bid to overcome their viewership slump from last week, AEW Dynamite delivered another action-packed episode that showcased exactly why AEW became popular in the first place.
At the same time, the episode also explored some uncanny gimmicks which might be an interesting area to build up as the year comes to an end.
The Women's Division also got a nice spotlight this week, and last but not the least, Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho's eventual showdown was teased at the end of the episode as well!
You could still separate the show's weaknesses from its strengths. Thankfully, AEW is in a position where fans tend to give them a pass on minor mistakes simply because it is exciting to follow an alternative brand in this industry.
Here are a few interesting observations from this week's AEW Dynamite (4th December 2019).
#3 How AEW's big stars are building up lesser-known talents from their roster
If you notice, Chris Jericho's reign as AEW World Champion has a recurring theme attached to it so far.
Amidst Jericho's bigger feud involving the title, whether it be against Cody or Jon Moxley, there are small detours now and then.
These small detours pit Le Champion against up-and-coming stars like Darby Allin, Scorpio Sky, and the latest of the bunch, 'Jungle Boy' Jack Perry.
Since there is a massive gulf between AEW's top stars and the rest of the roster, the company has made an effort to close that gap by showcasing these lesser-known talents and pitting them against mainstream stars every week.
We know that Joey Janela wasn't going to pick up the victory against Moxley last night, just like Jungle Boy's chances of defeating Jericho seem unlikely. However, the fact that people at least got exposed to what these wrestlers are capable of is a win-win scenario in the long run.
#2: Uncanny acts like Dark Order and The Nightmare Collective are risky propositions for AEW
Last night, Brandi Rhodes and Awesome Kong put context to their actions of the past few weeks.
Whilst prompting Kris Statlander to join their cult, Kong and Rhodes received a volunteer from the audience. Best known for her appearances in SHIMMER and POWW Entertainment, Melanie Cruise would be the third member to join The Nightmare Collective.
Similarly, Dark Order also put out a highly stylized video during this week's episode.
It's good that AEW has taken a step back to build up the Dark Order, instead of putting them on TV with a weird gimmick every week.
While it is appreciable that AEW has started to dabble into the entertainment side of Pro Wrestling, acts like these can make or break the episodes in the long run.
In the next few weeks, we can expect some answers as to why a random member of the audience - Melanie Cruise - would enter the ring to get her head shaved at the hands of Brandi and Kong.
But then again, we also need some context as to why Kris Statlander has adopted an 'Alien' gimmick out of nowhere.
Similarly, Dark Order's segments - as bizarre as they are - need to translate into in-ring action properly, and speaking of the Dark Order, have you checked out their cool website yet?
#1 AEW hasn't fully capitalized on their biggest feuds yet
The bad blood between MJF and Cody won't be resolved anytime soon, just like Moxley and Jericho have only been slightly teasing their epic showdown since last week.
These two feuds are AEW's best chances at keeping the fans hooked throughout 2020.
The reason why 2020 is in focus is because, with Cody's detour against Butcher and the Blade, as well as Jericho's title match against Jungle Boy, AEW has decided to not capitalize on their biggest feuds as of yet.
By taking things slower than expected, AEW might be saving the best for a big Pay-Per-View like Double or Nothing.
Meanwhile, in January 2020, AEW has teased "Bash at the Beach" as a nine-day experience for superfans, starting with a "Bash at the Beach" themed episode of AEW Dynamite in Miami (January 15), as the fun will continue aboard Chris Jericho's Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea (January 20-24) with an episode of Dynamite emanating from the cruise ship itself (January 22).
It is unclear as to whether Moxley will eventually be taking on Jericho during this nine-day experience or not, but January will surely be an experimental month for AEW in general.
Similarly, even though the Butcher and the Blade (w/ Allie) attacked Cody under MJF's orders, we all know that this side plot will only culminate with Cody and MJF taking on each other next year.
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