AEW Dynamite - Best and Worst - Sting and Darby Allin retaliate, squash match, major mistake with top feud

This week's AEW Dynamite continued its focus on adding hype to the ongoing feuds heading into the Full Gear pay-per-view next month. The entire episode was nothing short of action-packed, which helped engage the audience's interest until the end.

Tonight, fans also witnessed a few matches from round one of the TBS and world title eliminator tournaments. As always, a few booking decisions felt questionable, which we will be discussing as positives and negatives from the episode. Given this is the reviewer's perspective on this article, feel free to pen down your thoughts as well in the comments section.

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#5 Best: Sting and Darby Allin gets revenge on The Pinnacle on AEW Dynamite

Finally, after weeks of getting ambushed either backstage or in the ring, Sting and Darby Allin retaliated against The Pinnacle tonight. Earlier, MJF squashed Bryce Donovan before mocking fans in Boston in his typical style. The Salt of the Earth then escalated the segment by fooling everyone with Sting's entrance, which turned out to be Shawn Spears' brainchild.

However, the complexity of this angle changed once The Icon eventually appeared out of nowhere in the ring. He ambushed Spears and Wardlow with his baseball bat. As MJF ran out of the ring, Darby Allin showed up from the first-row arena, which prompted him to make another escape.

The segment ended with the former TNT Champion laying out a challenge to MJF for Full Gear. The entire clean house from the two-face painted stars worked pretty well, and it has added intensity to this feud. With the match between the two top pillars of the company almost set, fans will be intrigued to find out how their storyline will unfold in the weeks to come.

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#4 Worst: The continuation of the saga between Cody Rhodes and Malakai Black

Last week, when Cody Rhodes defeated Malakai Black, it looked like their feud ended with a trilogy. However, the company seems to be looking to continue this rivalry, as shown on Dynamite tonight.

It just didn't feel right about Rhodes breaking his character to rationalize for not turning heel. Moreover, Andrade El Idolo's interruption and his poor mic skills didn't do well either. The aftermath saw Black showing up in the ring to launch an assault on Rhodes.

However, PAC came out to even the odds. But does Malakai Black really need to align himself with Andrade, who himself hasn't picked up steam since joining the promotion. Even though this feud is giving the spotlight to both PAC and Andrade, at the same time, extending the feud between Black and Rhodes doesn't seem to be a good decision, especially for the former.

Malakai Black has a special mystique to his character, which needs to be kept limited. But given his current booking, fans shouldn't be surprised if he ends up taking another loss next month.

#3 Best: Sammy Guevara and Ethan Page putting on match of the night

One of the biggest takeaways from this week's AEW Dynamite was the TNT title match between Sammy Guevara and Ethan Page. Both men exceeded everybody's expectations and delivered a hellacious bout. Even though the outcome didn't surprise the audience, it was a star-making performance from both men.

The Spanish God is one of the top four pillars of this company. After watching his outing tonight, management will be fully invested in him going forward. That said, The Inner Circle vs. The American Top Team is on for Full Gear.

After the match, Chris Jericho and his faction ran down to save Guevara from taking a post-match beatdown. Dan Lambert and his men weren't present again this week. But fans can expect them to return next week to continue the build-up.

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#2 Worst: No intensity to the feud between Kenny Omega and Hangman Page on AEW Dynamite

Instead of seeing an intense confrontation or an exchange of words between Hangman Page and Kenny Omega, the company has been giving a comedic eight-man tag team match between The Elite and The Dark Order.

Moreover, their amusing costumes took away all the seriousness in what could have been an intense match. Even when Page surprised everybody and turned out to be a Mashmallow guy tonight to attack Kenny Omega, it made both men look goofy.

All Elite Wrestling could have centered this storyline around Page's redemption story, which was the real reason he won the Casino ladder match. With the Full Gear event still a few weeks away, Tony Khan must make Kenny Omega-Hangman Page's feud as personal as possible.

#1 Best/Worst: Jon Moxley defeating Preston Vance on AEW Dynamite

One of the surprising moments that caught attention from this week's AEW Dynamite episode was Jon Moxley squashing '10' in the world title eliminator tournament.

Although there's no shame in losing against a top-caliber star in Moxley, tonight's decision may likely have derailed the momentum of the Dark Order member. The fact that the former WWE Superstar ripped off Preston's mask and bit his head, causing him to bleed, made him look weaker.

Before losing to Jon Moxley this week, 10 carried an impressive singles record with twelve victories in singles bouts. The decision felt controversial as the company could have planned a better finish to this match with a similar outcome.

Moxley has shown hellish tendencies in his recent matches, which suggests a possible character change down the road. It is unknown how the Dark Order member will come back from this loss.

Nevertheless, fans will now see a clash between Orange Cassidy and Jon Moxley. Given the latter's current booking, fans shouldn't be surprised to see him squash The Freshly Squeezed.