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Listen, to be honest, as much as I enjoy writing up the 'Best and Worst' feature for AEW Dynamite, I have to be real with you folks. More often than not, there aren't a lot of 'worsts' to write about, when it comes to AEW and its weekly show.
So, if you're going to be using this article as the basis for whether or not to tune into the show, I would have to say that you should definitely watch AEW Dynamite. The 'worsts' that I will mention in this article are just a matter of personal taste, and obviously, you may feel otherwise considering your own life experiences and what you expect out of professional wrestling.
Every week, I get a message asking why I choose to write the 'Best and worst' for AEW, choosing to ignore NXT, and the answer is, quite simply, that it's near impossible to find any 'worsts' in the Black and Gold brand.
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#1 Best: The AEW Champion gets destroyed by The Machine, Brian Cage
I get that a lot of AEW fans may not have watched Brian Cage when he was running through the roster on Impact Wrestling and did not quite think of him as a legitimate threat to the champion. Thankfully, Jon Moxley put him over in the best way possible as he allowed himself to be decimated in the parking lot by his challenger, establishing Cage as a truly brutal individual.
Yes, I am far more enthusiastic about Jon Moxley vs. Brian Cage following this altercation than I was about Moxley vs. Brodie Lee, despite the fact that both men have a readymade storyline, stretching from their WWE days.
While it may be too soon for Cage to become the face of AEW, the seeds have been sown.
#1 Worst: Cody Rhodes vs. Jake Hager for the AEW TNT Championship
I do not mean any disrespect to Jake Hager, but does anyone really think that he has a chance to dethrone Cody Rhodes as the AEW TNT Champion at Fyter Fest? Hager is fantastic as a part of the collective, the muscle of the Inner Circle but I am just not nearly as kicked about him in a singles environment as I am with the rest of the AEW roster.
And if you run a simple search on Twitter for the keywords Cody Rhodes and Jake Hager (in the next few hours, I am writing this shortly after the conclusion of AEW Dynamite), you will see that I am not alone in my assessment. Not a lot of people are really excited at the prospect of Cody Rhodes vs. Jake Hager for the AEW TNT Championship, especially if you consider the wealth of talent in the roster.
Maybe we could have had another Cody Rhodes vs. MJF match, instead of MJF vs. Billy Gunn, as was teased on AEW Dynamite.
#2 Best: The Young Bucks and FTR meet in an AEW ring
I know that a lot of today's fanbase is critical of Jim Ross and his abilities on the commentary desk and the lord knows that I have been critical of it as well, in my previous AEW reviews. But I thought that Jim Ross, in particular, flanked by Le Champion, Chris Jericho provided the perfect soundtrack to the in-ring AEW debut of FTR and how much more traditional they were, as compared to your regular high-spot tag team unit.
This clip is a clear indication of how FTR is radically different from almost every other team in the AEW roster. And we saw a glimpse of every team as they arrived in the ring for the fracas that ensued following a brief promo segment with FTR and The Young Bucks.
Some believe that The Young Bucks are the best tag team in the world and others believe it is The Revival. Now that both teams are in the same promotion, we will find out very soon indeed.
#2 Worst: Matt Hardy, oranges, and general AEW silliness
I quite liked the match between Colt Cabana and Sammy Guevara on AEW Dynamite and I genuinely thought that Matt Hardy coming out and telling young Guevara to step away from Chris Jericho was a fantastic thread, for the weeks to come. But it would soon spiral into him channeling all of his multiple personas, which worked in Impact Wrestling because of the way his character was presented through vignettes.
I just think that his AEW persona is a little bit confusing to the fan watching at home, and had he just cut a normal promo, as it had originally seemed, the outcome would have been significantly better.
And yes, I am going to say pretty much the same thing about Orange Cassidy and the Inner Circle attacking him with a sack of oranges just so that Chris Jericho could get a pun over, on AEW Dynamite.
I don't mind humor but something AEW is far too quirky for its own good. Maybe it works for you, and sometimes it works for me as well, but not this time.
#3 Best/Worst: The AEW Women's Division
I thought that everything about the AEW Women's Division match was great and I love the fact that all four of the women have such incredible chemistry with one another. Moreover, Britt Baker adds a whole new dimension to the overall AEW proceedings by sitting on the outside with her unique facial expressions.
However, I do have to say that the lack of depth in the division is a major concern and I do think that AEW needs to snap up some more independent talent to add depth to its roster. There are only so many women in the division at the moment, and while things are exciting right now, there's always the risk of it getting stale before long.
Can I just say that I died laughing when Jim Ross spoke about how beautiful Penelope Ford is, and Jericho chimed in by talking about her 'sexy boyfriend?'
Of course, AEW wasn't the only show on this Wednesday night, and if you wish to check out what Randy Orton had to say about the NXT roster, and specifically Tommaso Ciampa, do click the link above.
