Here’s how we rated AEW Dynamite 200 Tampa. Curious how we rank matches? We’ve got a rubric for that.

Chris Jericho and Konosuke Takeshita def. Daniel Garcia and Sammy Guevara: ★★
Trent Beretta def. Jon Moxley and Penta El Zero Miedo: ★★
The Elite def. Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, and Satnam Singh: ★★
Aussie Open def. El Hijo del Vikingo and Komander to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship: ★★★★
Hikaru Shida def. Toni Storm to win the AEW Women’s World Championship: ★★★

Show Highlight—

MJF/Adam Cole. Let’s not forget that that even though in real life, Adam Cole is wrestling’s Tom Hanks, he’s played a shitheel the entirety of his career; it’s not just MJF that could turn heel. This is great television and the boost AEW needs. The crowd wants to see MJF as a face, and there’s this palpable dread in the audience from if and when one turns heel, and they’re making it work while not dropping any balls. It's a very tricky thing they are pulling off successfully. And of course, MJF continues to reveal more and more from his past making him still so complex and still utterly compelling. Being the audience’s scumbag is the precise note for MJF to play for this all to work.

What Worked—

Dynamite highlight package. You have to appreciate AEW not rewriting history and showing Cody as opposed to being petty about the stupid Peacock documentary.
“What up, turds?” With the right inflection, any line can be menacing. Needs to be a shirt. Swerve is fucking killing it and I can't wait for him and AR Fox to wrestle FTR.
Aussie Open. Speaking of FTR, if there’s a heir to them as a tag team it’s Aussie Open and I hope they keep them the hell away from each other for a long while so they can give this the proper feud it deserves (I’m not pretending that they didn’t have a five star match in NJPW already) on American soil.
Women’s division main eventing. A great match, a great moment, a pivot from The Outcast storyline that was needed. Fans of women’s wrestling have every right to be skeptical that AEW will be committed longterm to the division, we’ll have to wait and see if this is an empty gesture.

What Didn’t Work—

Anything goes match. Sure, it’s thinly veiled way of keeping the Moxley vs Orange Cassidy ball in the air, but this was clearly just a conduit to let Jon play with his toys for the anniversary show. And what a great way of showing thanks with the obligatory thumbtacks and barbed wire 2x4 that conveniently gets forgotten and is treated to be as lethal as an Attitude Era trash can lid due to its overabundance. And I guess that’s where this didn't work for me anymore. Combine that with Mox and Trent not knowing that they were off air and calling spots to each other, and then the kickout from a piledriver on thumbtacks, it was all just a bit too much and dulled my emotional investment and suspension of disbelief.

Show Cringe—

RVD in 2023. Given how readily accessible the reality of ECW is over its myth, I’m surprised that the reverence for ECW is still so strong like it’s some long lost dead family dog. Look, I fucking loved RVD in 1999 but that was 24 years ago. And when RVD did get the belt in 2006 the moment had passed on Van Dam 5 years too late. I get that Tony adores ECW but this is teetering on a Vince-y, audience-of-one-territory. With Sabu and RVD on the show this year alone, I’m very, very, very concerned that this could be leading down the road to Dudleyville.

AEW Dynamite 200 Match Ratings and Commentary

WWE SummerSlam 1989 Match Ratings and Commentary (Repost)