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Following the successful launch of AEW Collision this past Saturday, Tony Khan's promotion used this week's Dynamite to prove to fans that the Wednesday night staple will not become an afterthought.
The show was largely well-presented from top to bottom, with plenty of fun matches spread between intriguing storyline developments. The broadcast was highly effective in teeing up forthcoming bouts for this weekend's Forbbiden Door pay-per-view and featured many of New Japan's top stars.
However, the show was not without its faults. While it was definitely not the worst Dynamite AEW has delivered, it was also far from its best. Some moments were evident duds and failed to grip the audience in any meaningful way.
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With that being said, here are some of the best and worst moments from this week's Dynamite:
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#5. Best: The Owen Hart Cup begins to take shape
The second iteration of The Owen Hart Foundation Tournament is set to kick off soon, and AEW has finally released the brackets for the single-elimination knockout competition.
Stars like Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs had already thrown their names into the hat, and they will be joined by some major talents in the men's tournament.
Dustin Rhodes, Juice Robinson, Roderick Strong, and Samoa Joe have all been added to the bracket, but the major news is the unexpected first-round bout between CM Punk and Japanese legend Satoshi Kojima taking place at Forbidden Door.
The women's tournament boasts a star-studded bracket in its own right. Last year's winner, Britt Baker, will take on The Outcasts' Ruby Soho in the quarterfinals. Anna Jay A.S., Skye Blue, Nyla Rose, Willow Nightingale, Athena, and Billie Starks round up the list of participants.
With so many top-tier talents included in this year's tournaments, fans can expect exciting competition from the beginning and throughout.
#4. Worst: Jeff Jarrett and Mark Briscoe's nothing match
Jeff Jarrett and Mark Briscoe competed in AEW's first-ever Concession Stand Brawl, almost 44 years to the day of the original match of the same name. While this was a fun affair with plenty of crowd participation, it holds no further consequences and will soon be forgotten.
This is largely due to so much of the rivalry between the two participants taking place on Rampage, a show with notoriously low viewership. This means that much of the AEW audience has been out of the loop and was presumably confused when Papa Briscoe joined the fray.
Light-hearted wrestling is great when done correctly, but this match just felt like a way for Tony Khan to fill some TV time and get a few well-respected veterans on the show.
#3. Best: Major updates to Forbidden Door's card
The annual crossover event between AEW and NJPW is just around the corner. As expected, the build-up has not been great and felt quite rushed at times. But that's okay when the entire card is built around providing dream matches.
In addition to the spectacular announcement of CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima, it was also revealed that members of the Blackpool Combat Club will team up with Konosuke Takeshita and Shota Umino to take on members of The Elite, Eddie Kingston, and Tomohiro Ishii.
Additionally, Toni Storm will put her AEW Women's Championship on the line against Willow Nightingale, and Orange Cassidy will look to keep hold of the International Championship when he is challenged by Daniel Garcia, Zack Sabre Jr., and Katsuyori Shibata in a four-way match.
#2. Worst: Sting's next match is underwhelming
Much has been made about the potential dream match involving Sting and Chris Jericho. While the proposed contest might disappoint from an athletic standpoint, the sheer star power between the two would be enough to satisfy fans.
Sting's next match was revealed on this episode of Dynamite, and although The Ocho is involved, it will not be the singles match many hoped for. The Icon will team up with Darby Allin and a surprise partner to take on Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki at Forbidden Door 2023.
While this is definitely not the worst match Tony Khan could have arranged, it certainly feels like AEW is heading to the well far too often by having Sting compete exclusively in multi-man matches.
Now would have been a perfect time to capitalize on the growing anticipation surrounding the WCW legend's future, especially when a household name like Chris Jericho is on the table.
#1. Best: CM Punk's AEW Dynamite return
One of the best segments of this show occurred when CM Punk made his first Dynamite appearance in nine months. Not only did he receive a thunderous reception from the Chicago crowd, but he also issued a challenge for the upcoming Collision show.
The Voice of the Voiceless will team up with FTR and Ricky Starks in a match against Bullet Club Gold and The Gunns. Given how Punk's previous encounter with Jay White and Juice Robinson went, fans can expect their upcoming bout to be a bonafide barn-burner.
This segment was successful in both generating a huge pop and setting up a match fans didn't know they want to see.
