The July 3rd Dynamite Was a Much Needed Reset for AEW
The July 3rd AEW Dynamite started and built upon key storylines as the promotion resets on the road to All In
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) televised their flagship show, Dynamite live from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago Illinois. Chicago has been a popular destination for the promotion since its early days and hosts the All Out pay-per-view yearly. It also held the inaugural Revolution and Forbidden Door events.
AEW has received criticism for its storytelling and building to major shows. With its biggest show of the year All In, being about seven weeks from this edition of Dynamite, the promotion has plenty of time to build storylines up.
This episode of Dynamite planted some seeds that the company will build over the next few weeks. Let’s look at some of those seeds that were planted, and the effect they will likely have come All In which will be live from Wembley Stadium in England.
The Dynamite Reset and the Road to All In
Men’s Owen Hart Cup and the Wild Card
Bryan Danielson picked up a win in the opening contest over PAC as part of the Owen Hart Memorial Cup Tournament. The match had the crowd cheering early as the two battled back and forth with a shot at the AEW World Champion, Swerve Strickland at Wembley on the line.
Danielson picked up the win, but this was not the end of the Men’s Tournament action for the night.
Jeff Jarrett had an opening round match against a mystery opponent that was handpicked by The Elite. Dubbed “The Wild Card” speculation ran wild about who the wild card pick would be. Although many names were tossed out, “Hangman” Adam Page was the favorite to be in the slot. As Jarrett stood in the ring awaiting his opponent, Page made his return to the ring to do some “Cowboy S***”.
Page hit Jarrett with some brutal offense including the use of the ring steps to wear down the veteran. Page showed a more calculated and intense offense than has been seen before. After Page picked up the win, a video of him backstage with Matthew and Nickolas Jackson, The Young Bucks greeted him, which he quickly and aggressively rejected.
This aggressive and short-tempered side of Hangman could see him go all the way in the tournament to face Swerve at Wembley. At any point, however, The Elite could cost him a matchup due to Hangman rejecting their friendship.
It feels like we are in the early phases of a Hangman versus The Elite feud that could take many twists and turns and gives both Hangman and all the members of The Elite a solid feud headed into August, as The Elite could be wrapping up their current feud at Blood and Guts on July 24th. Hangman has been in and out of the inner friendship circle of The Elite since the early days of AEW. However, with a fresh take on the heel persona of the Young Bucks, and this new aggressive side of Hangman, the feud feels fresher and like there are more creative routes to take. What better place for The Young Bucks to turn the feud up to 10 and screw Hangman over than Wembley Stadium.
Women’s Owen Hart Cup and the TBS Championship
The ongoing feud between former friends Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander hit a fever pitch as the two squared off to advance in the Owen Hart Cup. The winner will get a shot at Toni Storm and the AEW Women’s World Championship at All In.
Willow picked up the win here over her former friend to advance to the finals of the tournament against Mariah May. Mariah is the current friend and protégé of Storm making that potential matchup all the more interesting.
The other key segment saw Dr.Britt Baker DMD, who made her AEW return at Forbidden Door in a stand-off with TBS Champion Mercedes Mone.
Mone told Britt to get to the back of the line which Britt responded with “B*** what line?”. Britt was long seen as the face of the Women’s Division for AEW. Mone now sees herself as that person.
From the match and segment, it seems like we will get a continuation of the Willow/Starlander feud, a mentor versus mentee angle in Storm and May, and a battle for the face of the Women’s Division with Baker and Mone. All of which will likely come to a head at Wembley.
Will Ospreay, MJF, and Daniel Garcia
The main event saw Will Ospreay defend his AEW International Championship against Daniel Garcia. Garcia had MJF in his corner, following the alliance between the two made last week.
Ospreay retained his title and Garcia took the loss hard. MJF looked to be consoling him before showing his true colors and hitting Garcia with a low blow. MJF brutalized Garcia as well as Matt Menard and multiple security guards.
Ospreay returned to the ring to try and fend off MJF as he escaped through the crowd and Garcia was stretchered out of the arena. Ospreay was visibly distraught as medics tended to Garcia.
This is seemingly setting up for a match with Ospreay being a huge babyface in his home country and MJF as the monster heel in a marquee match at All In.
With how severe the injury to Garcia is being portrayed to be, we could also see him off television until he returns in Ospreay’s corner in London.
In Conclusion
AEW has been criticized for consistent storytelling, especially surrounding major events. Sometimes going back to the basics of feuds and storytelling is the best way to go. In one episode of Dynamite, the below stories were either stated or heavily built upon.
Hangman as a tough enforcer vs. The Elite
Mercedes Mone vs. Britt Baker for the face of the Women’s Division
Continuation of Willow vs. Statlander
Mentor vs. Mentee in Toni Storm vs. Mariah May
MJF vs. Ospreay with Ospreay and Daniel Garcia as massive faces against MJF as a monster heel
This episode felt like a well-paced turning point for the promotion that has seen viewership and ticket sales fall consistently.
How did you feel about the episode? Sound off in the comments below.
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