Here’s where we landed with Dynamite this week. Curious how we rank matches? We’ve got a rubric for that.

Show Highlight—

CM Punk and Moxley face to face. Moxley wasn’t kidding when he said Punk was dropping pipebombs, Jesus. Punk came off like the heel in this. Not going to get into if it’s a work or a shoot with Punk’s calling out Hangman, but Punk made a point to acknowledge it was near Hangman’s hometown to make Page look like shit, so that ought to have been the sign Punk was going in a more dickish direction with this feud. And boy did Punk ever. The line about Mox being the third best guy in his stables was great. The snowangels. The line about Mox’s blading. That was classic alone. But the looks these two gave each other felt so real and visceral and violent before they started their pull-apart. Having the brawling hijack another segment was another great, Attitude Era touch that made this feel spontaneous.

What Worked—

Dragon vs. Dragon Slayer. AEW crowds are fantastic. To give Garcia a bigger moment than a win with the, “You’re-A-Wrestler” chant was arguably a bigger boost to his career than his initial victory over Danielson.
Scissor Me, Daddy Ass. Speaking of the Attitude Era, who woulda thought then that 20 years in the future Billy Goddamn Gunn would be a persistent source of joy?
Dax calling himself, “Dax the Axe.” And the best wrestler. Fuck yes.
Kenny Omega’s health. At first I was bamboozled, but when he missed the you can’t escape moonsault I caught on. Great way to come back as there’s plenty of narrative options to go with this route. If they keep him a heel, the most modern way to make an audience turn their back on you if you’re not what they once remember. Do they make him a face by playing the card that the Bucks forced him to come back too early?

What Didn’t Work—

Varsity Blondes. You’d think even in kayfabe they’d be embarrassed to be in the Varsity Blondes still. They need to be repackaged before they get iced out of performing on TV and sent home.
The Pinnacle is an active stable again? If resurrecting the name out of nowhere is leading to CM Punk taking MJF’s spot with them hoarding all the belts, that’s a neat stable and role reversal and fresh coat of paint on everyone. Beyond that, I don’t see a justifiable reason to have them compete in a fucking six man on the PPV when they could have just, oh, I don’t know, been in the fucking six man tournament to start off with!
Running CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley next week. The audience could sour on this tremendously if there’s a bait and switch and the payoff isn’t satisfying.
Geek squad. I like how that one wrestling school trainee security guard looked like the unholy spawn of Enzo and Buddy Landel.
Dragon Lee unmasked. If they’re going way over time like that, can’t someone in gorilla call an audible and save this angle for Rampage? It totally loses its weight when it’s that rushed.

Show Cringe—

Jericho on commentary. I know, I know. He’s prolific, he’s always able to reinvent himself when he gets stale, and he’s still more than capable of having show-stealing matches and moments. But his screaming is the auditory equivalent of Kevin Dunn’s camera work.

AEW Dynamite 8/17/2022 Match Ratings:

AEW Rampage 8/19/2022 Match Ratings: