AEW Dynamite 5/17/2023 Match Ratings and Commentary
Orange Cassidy and Darby dive (Credit-AEW)
Here’s how we rated this week’s Dynamite from Austin. Curious how we rank matches? We’ve got a rubric for that.
AEW Dynamite - 5/17/2023
Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy def. Lee Moriarty and Big Bill: ★★★
Sammy Guevara def. Exodus Prime: ★
The Outcasts def. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and Hikaru Shida: ★★
Roderick Strong def. Chris Jericho: ★★★
“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry def. Rush: ★★★
Jay White def. Ricky Starks: ★★★
Roddy and Jericho (Credit-AEW)
Show Highlight—
The Elite commingle. Amazing what a leather eyepatch will do, huh? After all the build up and starts and stops, The Elite are reunited and Hangman looks like the top guy that the promotion thought he would be before CM Punk, Cole, and Bryan’s arrivals.
What Worked—
Opening Tag match. Oh, how I fucked loved seeing Darby Allin running around the front row slapping hands. Maybe not what you’d expect out of his character, but much like his partner here, these are the wrestlers that if you're a kid getting into wrestling, these would be your guys, and it’s fun to see them enjoying themselves. Good match with a hot crowd, I hope we get to see more of Lee and Big Bill as a team, they’ve got all the potential in the world and FTR could get a damn good program out of them.
Shida’s new ring gear. Looked great!
AEW Collision log. Also looked great. Great throwback to 90s TNT and Nitro.
Roddy vs. Jericho. What a fun, WCW copying ECW falls count anywhere match. I had the sound down so I hope Tony said, “plundering” outta respect of Dusty. I mentioned this on our Podcast, but I love when it’s some Falls Count Anywhere match and the match is in the concession stands and some random ass weirdo fan knows he’s only gonna have a millisecond of camera time before security shoves him aside and he has to pose like a dickhead to get GIF-godlike status.
The match perfectly portrayed going to an AEW show as an electric, ruckus live event. The match was also not without faults, like why Jericho didn’t use the bat immediately or at the very least got it taken away from him at the start.
Kind of a textbook example of how Jericho is a great political player—he can eat a job here without his value diminishing whilst also having the focus almost solely on himself at the same time.
Rush. Holy fuck, didn’t you want to see him in the main even instead of Jungle Boy? I get what they were trying to do, but much like the rest of this program, it backfired and made you rather see Rush interject something far more interesting and violent into the main event of Double or Nothing. Name a wrestler in AEW who gets as little screen time in a featured slot as Rush that can top his impression.
What Didn’t Work—
Cheap pop. Although I disagree vociferously, at least someone felt it necessary to combat our notion that pop=soda.
Christian/Wardlow. After the otherworldly reaction last week, it would be stupid to not roll with Christian as the first segment. I get going with a change of pace for their feud, but the strength is Christian talking their way into box office with this feud as opposed to of physicality. Cynically, when Christian went under the ring, my first thought was whatever he pulls out will be the gimmick match at DON—and here we are, a ladder match! Maybe I’m crazy, but the money is Wardlow being his own man and a bad ass, not getting lectures from Arn Anderson.
Sammy Guevara the babyface because reasons. Like, I get that they’re trying, but he’s not connecting nor changing any preconceived perceptions of what the audience thought of him from months ago.
AEW Apostates. Where was Miro, Thunder Rosa, and Andrade? I suppose at this point you can just promote their returns as re-debuts for Collision.
Show Cringe—
Karen Jarrett. Jesus Christ. Really? I thought it was Dixie for a split second from not knowing what they’d look like in 2023. No difference. The Double J horseshit has jumped the shark. FTR came back for this TNA nonsense? Have the match at the Impact Zone.
Christian Cage (Credit-AEW)
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