AEW Dynasty 2024: One Year Later

For a little while now, Wrestling Inc. has been applying our celebrated "3 things we hated and 3 things we loved" format not just to current PPVs, but to older ones — usually older shows that are related to upcoming shows in some way. With AEW Dynasty 2025 coming up this Sunday, however, we ran into a dilemma: there's only been one other AEW Dynasty, and we already have a "3 things we hated and 3 things we loved" article for it.

So what makes this review of the first Dynasty different from that one? Well, first of all, it's mostly different people writing it. We're also taking a look at a few Dynasty matches that didn't make the cut the first time around. More than any of that, though, this column is meant as a reflection — not just looking at Dynasty, but specifically looking at Dynasty 12 months down the line. What's changed? What's stayed the same? What holds up on rewatch, and what falls short? And is there anything we can take from the first Dynasty in 2024 and apply to the second one this Sunday? This is AEW Dynasty 2024: One Year Later.

Heading into AEW Dynasty, the stakes surrounding Julia Hart vs. Willow Nightingale were raised up high. Not only was the TBS Championship on the line, but the winner would also go on to defend it against Mercedes Mone, the reportedly highest paid woman in pro wrestling today, at AEW Double or Nothing. Hart headed into Dynasty battling a torn labrum as well, which meant her moveset would be limited. Luckily, AEW paired her with Willow Nightingale, a trusted veteran with previous experience working with an injured opponent — ironically Mone herself.

In Mone's case, her injury came toward the end of an NJPW STRONG Women's Championship match against Nightingale in May 2023. As such, Mone promptly called for Nightingale to pin her and end the match, resulting in the latter being crowned as the inaugural titleholder. Meanwhile, Mone sat on the sidelines for a year as she recovered from severe ankle damage. Her return match, of course, was eventually announced for the 2024 Double or Nothing pay-per-view, with an abundance of hype attached to it and Hart or Nightingale as her potential opponent. Either way, we knew Mone was destined for victory and the TBS Championship.

Given Hart's need for surgery and her own history with Mone, a Nightingale win at Dynasty proved to be the correct decision (in my eyes at least). Would I have liked a lengthier TBS Champion reign for her? Absolutely. If there was anyone suited to be the transitional champion for "The CEO" in this case, however, it was undoubtedly Nightingale.

Written by Ella Jay

One year on from the inaugural AEW Dynasty pay-per-view, a lot of moments from this show still get talked about extensively. Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson's dream match, Swerve Strickland winning the AEW World Championship, Willow Nightingale's crowning moment as AEW TBS Champion, all big moments that are fondly remembered. Because of this, and much like a lot of AEW pay-per-views, a number of high quality moments and matches are forgotten, not because they aren't good, but due to the fact that they have exceptional company. Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O'Reilly for the AEW International Championship is one of those matches.

For context, O'Reilly had only just returned from a career threatening neck injury, with this match being his most high-profile bout in nearly two years. As for Strong, he had just dethroned Orange Cassidy to become champion, he was the workhorse of The Undisputed Kingdom, and was already making a case as a dark horse in the race to become the in-ring wrestler of the year. These two know each other so well that it's almost impossible to imagine them having a bad match as their chemistry is off the charts when firing on all cylinders, and all of the cylinders were firing in this one.

This was a match that was straight out of the early 2010s Ring of Honor archives. Two guys with distinct in-ring styles that gel so well, with Strong leaning heavily into his "Messiah of the Backbreaker" bag and O'Reilly getting back into his "Violent Artist" persona, landing big bombs and exchanging holds with a crispness that only two guys like Strong and O'Reilly can do given how many years they've spent around each other. Given everything the St. Louis crowd had seen already on this show (Kazuchika Okada vs. PAC, Willow Nightingale winning the AEW TBS Championship, Adam Copeland not getting pinned clean again), it's fair to say that Strong and O'Reilly had an uphill battle of getting the crowd into it for the fourth match in a row, but they kept a consistent pace from the opening bell that the fans in attendance simply couldn't ignore, and by the end of it, I was personally hoping we could see a lot more bouts like this one.

Being fully transparent, the finish does take a little of the match's shine away from it, with Wardlow just turning up like "hey guys did I miss anything?" Is that enough for this match to be confined to the realm of forgotten favorites? Potentially, but I don't think it takes enough from it to the point where I see no one praising this as one of the better matches of a show full of excellent moments. In a vacuum, it's a very recommendable match that anyone who is a fan of the technical work-rate side of wrestling should watch, and as the one year anniversary of this match rapidly approaches, I think it's only right that it gets the flowers that it has never fully received.

Written by Sam Palmer

AEW has always had issues booking its women's division, and with creative already against her, Thunder Rosa had an uphill battle to climb when she challenged "Timeless" Toni Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship at Dynasty 2024. While Rosa ultimately came up short in her title ambitions, what can we say about the match itself with a year's worth of hindsight?

Do not let the 6.71/10 rating on Cagematch dissuade you — Rosa's match against Storm is a match worth rewatching. Considering what they had to work with on the midcard, both champion and challenger put out their best effort to create a captivating end to their mini feud, both in terms of storytelling beats and in-ring moments. Rosa and Storm are known for their theatrical abilities. Obviously, "Timeless" Toni Storm's gimmick has received plenty of praise for its ingenuity and Storm's commitment (we were big fans in 2024), and fans familiar with Rosa's work (or just lucha libre in general) will remember the former AEW Women's World Champion's previous work as Kobra Moon, the leader of Lucha Underground's Reptile Tribe. So, when the opportunity presented itself for storytelling beats — particularly, surrounding Rosa's face paint — the two ladies wasted no opportunity. Rosa arrived to the ring in a beautiful set of gear that nodded towards her Latin heritage, complete with a lucha libre mask of her own. Storm responded with a face of white paint — a mocking nod to the identifying face paint she so desperately tried to wipe off of her challenger, but not quite an homage. Rosa unmasked herself in front of Storm, and when the mask was removed, Rosa's face shone before St. Louis — notably, without her face paint. Rosa denied Storm the opportunity to humiliate her again, and this act of defiance set the tone for Rosa's actions during the match.

Rosa fought tooth and nail for the AEW Women's World Championship — not a lot of opponents can say that. The match's physicality quickly caught up to the challenger, and the wear on Rosa's back was observable as her lower spine gave out during a Death Valley Driver attempt. Rosa, however, showed her signature resilience as she powered through the pain, and managed to land the Death Valley Driver — onto the apron, no less. Even as Storm continued to break down Rosa's weathered body, Rosa still fought her way out of an atypical Cloverleaf submission from the champion. Rosa has always been a scrappy competitor whose identity is founded on her determination, but her match with Storm really showed that.

There was a bit more interference from the ringside Luther and Mariah May than I would have liked, but Storm is a heel — what are you going to do? I think this match was one of Rosa's best, and is up there as one of Storm's better title defenses. As Rosa and Storm find themselves entangled once again heading into Dynasty, let's hope that history repeats itself.

Written by Angeline Phu

One year ago, we were captivated by the veteran "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson's match against the up-and-coming "Aerial Assassin" Will Ospreay. Dynasty's announced "dream match" made waves, with the match earning 6.5 stars from Dave Meltzer and a whopping 9.70/10 rating on Cagematch (aggregated from over 1300 votes). Ospreay's victory over Danielson is considered one of the best matches to ever grace an AEW ring — so, how does it hold up one year later?

I want to preface this by saying that this was my favorite match when Dynasty 2024 aired. I was so excited to watch Danielson and Ospreay make in-ring magic again for this piece. For what it's worth, I still think that the match is one of the finest contests AEW has ever hosted. Danielson is one of the best wrestlers of all time, and Ospreay's graceful in-ring style makes him one of my favorite ring workers. There is a reason people still applaud Danielson and Ospreay's match as one of the greatest AEW has ever hosted, and yet...I can't say it is as good as we remember.

To be fair, I only have one criticism for this match, and in the grand scheme of things, it's not so egregious that the match is rendered unwatchable. It was just disappointing to be so excited for a match rewatch, only to have the match not live to expectations.

This match was not the full-speed-ahead masterclass of wrestling that I remember it being. I remembered the match having a bit of downtime in the beginning as Danielson and Ospreay showed off their mat work and submission game — which is one of the match's strengths, as there was truly something for everyone in this match — but I found that they had a lot more downtime and mat work than I originally hoped for upon a second watch. The match was very stop-and-go, with Ospreay or Danielson pulling out a move that got the crowd jumping out of their seats before pumping the breaks to pull more submission moves. This might be okay for Danielson, who is known for his submission game, but I can't say the same for Ospreay. It just feels so weird to have Ospreay slow down a match to tussle around with Danielson on the mat. Sure, it has its merit as a storytelling moment — the veteran Danielson overwhelmed the rookie Ospreay by setting the match's tone — but it came off as a hassle to watch. I was always waiting in anticipation for the big, spectacular "OMG" moments that only seldom came.

The match's stop-and-go nature, not aided by its disproportionately extensive mat work segments, made Danielson v. Ospreay feel a lot longer than it was, which is less than ideal for the high-octane, high-flying Ospreay. If they had just cut some mat work and allowed the boys to engage each other, this would have been a dream match worth watching back in its entirety. For now, though, I think you can just watch the highlight reel.

Written by Angeline Phu

Part of going back and watching an event like Dynasty 2024 is the added benefit of hindsight, knowing where and when each story will lead to and what will happen further down the line. Much has been said about this being the event where Swerve Strickland captured the AEW World Championship, Will Ospreay defeated Bryan Danielson in a first-time dream match, and the Young Bucks captured their third reign with the AEW Tag titles. But a year later, only one of those things has managed to bear any form of relevance: Swerve once again challenging for the world title held by Jon Moxley. 

The Young Bucks have not been seen since they left the company to the Death Riders last year, shortly after dropping their titles to Private Party. They instead won the IWGP Tag Team Championship at Wrestle Dynasty only to drop them a month later, and have yet to return to the ring afterward. The losers at last year's Dynasty tag title bout, FTR, will be challenging for another title alongside Cope against Trios Champions Claudio Castagnoli, PAC, and Wheeler Yuta; Cope was in trios action alongside Mark Briscoe and Eddie Kingston against the House of Black last year, with Malakai Black pinning him — the very same Malakai Black expected to debut in WWE shortly, and the very same Cope who went un-pinned in two world title matches within a week despite losing both.

On the other side, PAC wasn't even with the Death Riders and was instead challenging as a babyface against Kazuchika Okada for the Continental Championship – that was an excellent match, but really did nothing for the wider canon. Elsewhere, Chris Jericho captured the now-defunct FTW World Championship against Hook, with Jericho now going into Dynasty 2025 as the ROH World Champion, Hook having recaptured and retired the FTW title and is now in a trio alongside Samoa Joe — the man who lost the World title to Swerve at Dynasty 2024 — and Katsuyori Shibata. Toni Storm defended her Women's World Championship against Thunder Rosa, a woman she is now teaming with as "Thunder Tits/ThunderStorm" once again. Roderick Strong defended the International Championship that Kenny Omega now holds against Kyle O'Reilly, fast forward to today and O'Reilly and Strong are back together and in a trio with Adam Cole. 

Willow Nightingale captured the TBS Championship from Julia Hart in just a six minute match, dropping the title shortly after to Mercedes Mone, who goes into Dynasty 2025 with the title (and three others), while Nightingale and Hart are nowhere near the title picture. And then chief of the limited consequence, Ospreay, defeated Danielson with a Tiger Driver '91 and Hidden Blade combo, doing purportedly severe damage to the neck of Danielson. It prompted Ospreay to decree that he would no longer use the move, and he would later capture the International Championship without it, challenging Strickland for the title as was expected of him at All In — largely due to the home nation advantage — but ultimately falling short. Not only would Ospreay bring back the Tiger Driver '91 to win his match at All In, a match against MJF for the title he had lost previously — rather than the world title — but the same man that had prompted him to decree he wouldn't use it anymore had already returned to capture the world title in the main event. Dynasty 2024 was a spectacular collection of matches but at the end of the day, it mattered very little after that.

Written by Max Everett

For large portions of its bell-to-bell time, Swerve Strickland vs. Samoa Joe from AEW Dynasty 2024 is one of my favorite kinds of wrestling match: an underdog babyface taking a brutal beating from a monster heel. They take a few minutes to get there; the match initially presents Joe and Swerve as evenly matched, with Joe's initial attempts to keep things slow-paced and deliberate foiled when Swerve manages to dropkick him to the outside. Naturally, Swerve then comes off the ropes and dives over the top, only for Joe to catch him and hit a uranage on the announce table. It's a dramatic escalation, especially this early — some part of Joe has already realized he might be in over his head with this guy, which is why he immediately exposes the concrete floor. Swerve is able to hit a Fosbury Flop that sends his knee crashing into Joe's head, but Joe cuts off this first comeback with a powerslam on the exposed floor, and now the extended heel control segment begins in earnest, incorporating more failed  Swerve comebacks that build sympathy for him while making Joe look like a monster.

Then something interesting happens. Swerve finally makes a successful comeback by dodging as Joe charges at him with a clothesline, resulting in Joe running his left arm into the ring post. Swerve then immediately starts working over Joe's arm, even doing what you could call an extended heel control segment of his own, complete with failed Joe comebacks. It's not explicitly heelish, but taking control of a match by dodging a charge and then immediately working a limb is still heel-coded behavior, and Swerve goes back to the arm throughout the match — even using a variant of the armbreaker that made Penta a feared heel in "Lucha Underground." At one point, a frustrated Joe introduces the title belt to the occasion; Swerve's manager, Prince Nana, hops up on the apron, and commentary claims he's trying to point out that the belt is the ring, but Swerve ends up grabbing the belt and taking a swing at Joe with it while Nana is distracting the ref (though it doesn't go well for him). Later, the match finish is set up when the two men are battling on the second rope in the corner; Swerve rakes at Joe's nose and eyes and takes advantage, flipping over Joe and hitting him with a powerbomb out of the corner to set up a Swerve Stomp for the victory.

I don't think most AEW fans really care how or why a wrestler overcomes the odds and triumphs; they're here to witness greatness, not to be told a story. Swerve Strickland is the clear babyface in this match. He had the fans' support going in and they celebrate raucously when he wins, becoming the first-ever Black AEW World Champion — how can you boo that? But one thing I love about this match is that while Swerve is showing strong outward signs of facedom, he wrestles Joe ... not like a heel, but not like a good person, either. He starts the match wrestling like a babyface, but crucially, that doesn't work at first — it's not until he starts using a few slightly less noble tactics that he's able to fight his way back into the bout and ultimately win. Swerve wrestles like a man trying to be better, trying live up to the faith and adulation of the audience, but who still places more value on being world champion than on being a good person.

Which is good, because that's who he is; his ring work perfectly matches his character at that moment in April 2024. Not everyone can do that, and not everyone who can will bother, and it's that kind of attention to detail that'll have me closely watching how Swerve wrestles Jon Moxley on Sunday — especially after this week's "Dynamite," which saw Swerve shockingly admit to "Hangman" Adam Page that he deserved having his house burned down. Swerve Strickland isn't the same character he was a year ago. How will he wrestle now, as a result?

Written by Miles Schneiderman