AEW Dynamite 6/26/2024: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved
Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "AEW Dynamite," the show where it's late June so it's time to try and make us care about a whole lot of Japanese guys! Yes, Forbidden Door is right around the corner, and if you think some of the novelty has worn off after two full years, you're not alone — we'll talk about that below. Here at WINC, we were pretty far from impressed with this episode as a whole, and we have lots to say about stuff like the Daniel Garcia Promo Marathon (sponsored by Friendship and Being A Good Samaritan) but we also have good things to say too — things about women's wrestling, and the main event world title feud!
If you're new here, keep in mind that this column is not about being objective or comprehensive; those two virtues can be found over at our "Dynamite" results page. This column is about what the various members of the WINC staff on duty Wednesday night felt most strongly about, in equal parts positive and negative directions. In other words, these are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 6/26/24 episode of "AEW Dynamite."
Hated: The Forbidden Door has a shelf life
So I'm watching the last "Dynamite" before Forbidden Door, and the more I watch these matches get built and/or thrown together at the last minute, the more I'm wondering if we haven't just moved past the need for this PPV.
I mean, what's the point, really? We've seen all these New Japan guys on AEW TV for years now, nothing novel there. People like Will Ospreay and Jay White and Kazuchika Okada are literally just AEW roster members now, which is probably one reason they felt the need to expand the event to include STARDOM and CMLL. But even then, only the two women's title matches on the card feel like they're making actual good use of those two promotions — so far the only other match involving STARDOM talent is on the pre-show, and the only other match involving CMLL talent is Hechicero vs. MJF, who could not possibly care less about wrestling Hechicero. Looking at the ways in which NJPW talent were deployed in this episode kind of drives it home: Hiroshi Tanahashi and Minoru Suzuki, whose initial AEW appearances were massive deals, literally phoned it in on Wednesday, appearing by video only. Naito and Shingo had to share the stage in a match/segment that felt very squeezed in. Even Zack Sabre Jr.'s segment felt unnecessarily crowded, including the AEW return of Tomohiro Ishii, who was here but didn't get to beat anyone's head in (apparently we have to wait for "Collision").
The fact of the matter is that it's 2024, and everything about Forbidden Door (particularly the name) screams 2022. We live in a world where Jordynne Grace and Joe Hendry randomly show up in "NXT" and the Blackpool Combat Club fight in Arena Mexico; the "forbidden door" is functionally obsolete as a concept, much less as an annual PPV. There's nothing special about it, and I think AEW should seriously consider not making their storylines more convoluted for no reason every June.
Written by Miles Schneiderman
Hated: Is Forbidden Door on Sunday, or is that All In?
AEW has certain strengths when it comes to booking and putting together pay-per-view matches, but one of their weaknesses has been throwing together pay-per-view cards at the last second while simutaneously looking too far ahead into the future. The opening segment of "Dynamite" between MJF and Daniel Garcia was proof of just that.
It's nice to see Garcia back on television and be given a push. Hearing the pop for a talent whenever a promotion is in their hometown is always cool, and Garcia is a great in-ring talent that can also go on the microphone. That being said, there was very little point to having him confront MJF in the ring, have the two of them spend 10 minutes or so showering each other in compliments, and MJF offering Garcia a match against him at All In. Will Ospreay's involvement in the segment didn't really add anything either, and having him offer Garcia the AEW International Championship was something that didn't need to be thrown into this.
AEW has been pushing All In 2025 for almost a year now, and while there are a certain number of ticket sales they want to hit well in advance of the pay-per-view, it's still two months away. Forbidden Door is right around the corner on Sunday, and should be where all of the company's energy is focused on at the moment. There was very little point in putting the MJF, Garcia, and Ospreay segment on tonight's show – much less as the opening segment -– when it very easily could've been on next week's "Dynamite" whether that be as it's no thing or happens after Ospreay and Garcia's International Championship match.
Written by Olivia Quinlan
Loved: O'Reilly takes a page from Mark Briscoe's book
Mark Briscoe's redneck rants have been a highlight of AEW programming as of late. Part social media car rant and part Sunday sermon, Briscoe's energy has become infectious, as even Kyle O'Reilly is finding his own voice by watching Briscoe spit.
O'Reilly cut a fiery promo, in the style of Briscoe, on his Wednesday night opponent, Zack Sabre Jr., only for Briscoe to then pick up the baton and call ZSJ "Fish and Chips" much to O'Reilly's delight. The chemistry between the ROH World Champion and the former WWE NXT Tag Team Champion is undeniable, and they have managed to make Orange Cassidy of all people a side character ahead of his own PPV match. I honestly don't really care who wins Cassidy's upcoming match with Sabre. O'Reilly and Briscoe's antics have completely bewitched me.
The AEW Tag Division is growing a bit stale. It doesn't feel like there's been a truly unique and new act in some time and Briscoe and O'Reilly could absolutely fill that void. Both men have extensive tag team history, and they're new found camaraderie is some of AEW's best television as of late. Who knew that Kyle O'Reilly had a little bit of that "Letterkenny" spirit.
Written by Ross Berman
Hated: The Flanderization of Kazuchika Okada
"Flanderization" is a phenomenon named for "The Simpsons" character Ned Flanders, who started as a complicated foil to Homer Simpson and representative of good neighbors everywhere, and over the years was flattened into a caricature of American Christianity. This same issue is happening with Kazuchika Okada, whose brief tenure in AEW has already seen him flattened into an impish boy king, obsessed with the word "B****" and otherwise a shadow of the mythic figure he was in NJPW.
Okada's priggish streak is nothing new. The former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion grew bored in NJPW over the course of a decade, and kept looking for ways to entertain himself. From balloons, to the KOPW idea, to stealing The Young Bucks' gear every chance he gets. Kazuchika Okada's prankster nature was always in stark contrast to the terrifying demon he could be in the ring. The long-time main eventer could be counted on to have an intense, laborious main event on NJPW's big shows, leaving him to be something of a spoiled brat in undercard tag matches and backstage promos.
In AEW, he simply hasn't had the fiery showcase to contrast his clowning, and it has turned the Michael Jordan of non-WWE wrestling into more of a Bart Simpson figure. There is plenty of time to turn things around, but I can't help but feel like AEW has tied one hand behind Okada's back.
Written by Ross Berman
Loved: The Storm/May/Shirakawa plot thickens
Look, I will be the very first to admit that the ongoing storyline between Toni Storm, Mina Shirakawa, and Mariah May has its flaws heading into Forbidden Door. I will also admit, though, that I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed where they took things on "Dynamite".
Just about anyone could've foresaw that Storm and Shirakawa would have issues getting along in their and May's trios match against Anna Jay, Saraya, and Mariah May (which as a side note, was solid and exceeded the expectations I had for it). While it was predictable to see the in-fighting from Storm and Shirakawa as a torn May was caught in the middle, it was well executed by all three women whether that be Shirakawa ignoring Storm when she wanted to be tagged in or May not knowing whether she wanted to tag in Storm or Shirakawa.
At this point in the show, I wasn't too excited to see another post-match ordeal take place considering just about every other match on the show featured something happening after the match and I was pretty over it. So, when May grabbed the glasses of champagne for Storm and Shirakawa, I was ready for them to celebrate and leave. But then, Shirakawa inadvertently hit May with the bottle while aiming for Storm having been angry with her following a stare down. It was a nice surprise and change in the segments the three have shared over the last several weeks, and gave some life back into the story by showing what happened when May got directly caught in the crossfire of Storm and Shirakawa's issues rather than just watching the two fight from the sidelines and not know who to side with. For the first time during the whole storyline, it actually made me semi-excited for Storm and Shirakawa's AEW Women's World Championship match on Sunday and certainly drove up my interest in the match.
Written by Olivia Quinlan
Loved: A (kill)shot in the arm (head) for Ospreay vs. Strickland
I wasn't a huge fan of this episode's actual main event (all Ospreay matches look the same to me, and I really wasn't out here clamoring for a hyper-competitive Gates of Agony match) but I did like the short aftermath, with Swerve trying to leave the ring, Ospreay snatching his title belt again, and Swerve responding by absolutely murdering him with a House Call. In addition to the obvious — the episode closes on the image of the world champion standing tall, which has been a rarity in Swerve's title reign so far — this sold the Strickland vs. Ospreay story to me ten times harder than last week's bland promo battle.
I saw somebody on Twitter mention that this feud has had a recurring theme, which is that Ospreay hesitates and Swerve doesn't. In fact, Ospreay has been hesitating since his match with Bryan Danielson — the match that made him retire the Tiger Driver '91. It hasn't cost him yet, but for the first time since Ospreay became No. 1 contender, I'm starting to think he might lose at Forbidden Door. It seems to me that the story here is about Ospreay being too young, too cocky, and too secretly insecure to win the world title. Combined with the fact that the men's Owen Hart Cup is starting to feel like "Hangman" Adam Page's tournament to lose, and that would add up to another Page vs. Strickland match for the world title at All In, which is a fairly ideal scenario from my perspective.
Now, will that actually happen? Will Tony Khan be able to resist the prospect of Ospreay being world champion when AEW returns to Wembley? I still kind of doubt it. But this moment at the very end of the episode really made me wonder, and more importantly, it has me invested in the answer.
Written by Miles Schneiderman