AEW Dynasty: Wrestling at its Finest (2024)

As is tradition with AEW, Dynasty began with a ‘Zero Hour’ show on television to help gain Pay-Per-View buys. This isn’t abnormal within the wrestling industry, however it has notably been phased out by WWE. However, more controversial than any of the matches on the card seemed to be the existence of the Zero Hour itself. Not only are Zero Hour matches often seen as being needless extensions of an event’s runtime, but being put on the Zero Hour match card is often perceived as being a condemnation of a performer’s in-ring talent, or on-the-mic charisma.

I find myself to be in unfortunate agreement with the party line on this practice. All three matches on the card were fun, sure, but lacked the substance of a lot of the performances on the primary card. As a result of the overall lack of depth in the performances, I’m going to be covering them all slightly more briefly than the matches on the main card.

Matt Sydal Versus Trent Beretta

This match was intended to solidify Trent Beretta’s heel turn, and it achieved its goal effectively. I was impressed to see it as a competitive match, as Sydal is frequently placed in the position of being squashed by other members of the roster. He proves in this match that he’s talented enough to hold his own, though, even if not in a main card match. It was a perfectly passable opening for a Zero Hour show, though I fail to see why this couldn’t have gone on any given episode of Dynamite, aside from Sydal’s easy St. Louis pop, which, granted, was impressive.

Orange Cassidy and Katsuyori Shibata Vs. Shane Taylor Productions

This match was good, but another match that felt like Dynamite+. Shibata and Cassidy are both talented performers, and STP proved themselves to be able to do impressive work in the ring. The Cassidy and Shibata win was a foregone conclusion from the beginning, but it managed to find an enjoyable means to get there.

The Acclaimed Vs. Bullet Club Gold

The “main event” of the Zero Hour show. The blow-off match to the feud between The Acclaimed and The Bang Bang Gang. It did, once again, prove the assertion (made here by Luke Owen of WrestleTalk) that The Acclaimed are excellent at getting over in the ring, but consistently fail to get over online. I hope that this match, which is of serviceable quality, can serve as a turning point for the AEW Trios division. Hopefully reinvigorating the frankly lacking 3-man title picture.

The opening match of the primary card was a bout between recent signee Kazuchika Okada, and long time AEW roster member ‘The Bastard’ PAC. Fans (both in the area, and in the IWC) were excited to see what Okada’s PPV debut with AEW might look like, and this match did not disappoint.

We got to see some excellent heel work from Okada, impressively able to act with his (understandably) limited proficiency in the English language. Laughing as he performed some of the roughest moves of the night. Notable spots included PAC hitting the ringside barricade hard (leading to the night’s first, but certainly not last, chant of ‘HOLY sh*t.’) as well as the finish, which in my opinion was done with finesse.

Seeing our first PPV Rainmaker with AEW was of course spectacular, and both competitors had a strong showing. As an opening number, it did an incredible job setting the mood of the event, and it was able to solidify Okada as a strong heel, flipping off the audience and doing some strong work against fan-favorite PAC.

Incredible opening number that set up for a great PPV.

I did not go into this match with necessarily high hopes, it felt like a Dynamite main event that had been pushed on to a PPV card for the sake of getting more names on the docket. I was under the impression that this matched was pushed to Pay-Per-View solely so that AEW could advertise the presence of Copeland, Briscoe, and Kingston, as well as House Of Black. I was pleasantly surprised by the performance.

For a team that hasn’t done much work together in the past, Copeland and company managed to show a significant amount of team cohesion in this bout. House of Black are obviously talented in Trios action, and that shows here. It’s a bit of a spot fest, featuring a lot of surprising and sudden maneuvers. Copeland gets hit with the black mist mid-spear, leading to a pin. I’m excited to see if this leads to a Copeland heel turn, as well as the potential pushing of HOB and its members into the main-event, TNT title scene. A good match, though it feels disjointed in style from the rest of the card.

Another big feud match (though one that could’ve done, frankly, with more time in the oven) on the Dynasty card. Two old (legit) friends meeting together in a match worthy of a main event spot, and the second truly great match on the card.

Strong’s ability to turn literally any situation into a back-breaker is impressive, and O’ Reilly does a good job selling the move as being devastating. O’ Reilly does well, but I would’ve preferred him to get slightly more offense. I enjoy the grappling style of Kyle being contrasted with Strong’s consistent, debilitating offense.

There was a hint of a Wardlow interference, but it didn’t lead to anything. This may build to an eventual split between Wardlow and the Undisputed Kingdom (Wardlow failing at his role to protect the Kingdom’s champions) but I prefer my matches interference-free, especially when the interference doesn’t feel as though it leads to anything in the match.

Another difficult match to review. The fighting was good, and seeing a match with weapons on a card always gets me excited, but it’s all soiled by the whole thing being consumed by the so-call ‘Jericho Vortex.’ Jericho is not over, he is simply hated. In professional wrestling, it can often be difficult to tell apart heel heat, and genuine vitriol for a performer. Ever since World’s End (AEW’s December Pay-Per-View) and the Kylie Rae allegations that followed it (a topic too dense for this article, but readers are encourage to learn more here), Jericho has faced significant backlash at every event he has attend. Jericho in this match, attempts to turn this hate to his advantage (I notion I find, frankly, disgusting.)

The storyline for the match is a simple one, Jericho has been attempting to teach Hook ‘the ways of the business’, and Hook hasn’t been receptive to this, leading to a beat down filled with cries of “Why are you making me do this!?” Jericho is attempting essentially a heel turn, taking the crowd’s hate of him and using it to fuel his persona. This is not uncommon in the wrestling business. It’s worth noting, however, that, to take the ‘manipulative instructor’ role in a business after being accused of sexual misconduct with a younger wrestler is… lacking in forethought, at best, and downright offensive at worst.

It’s this situation that makes it difficult for me to see this match fairly, the crowd clearly doesn’t like it, with repeated chants of ‘Go home Jericho, go home,” and ‘Please retire!’ It feels again as though Jericho is forcing himself upon the AEW fan base, securing himself the FTW championship solely to perpetuate his existence, perhaps because he (rightfully) fears that he’ll never be able to get the same heat again. My advice to Jericho? Go away, please.

A proper women’s match for the show, and what a match it was. I’ve been a little skeptical of the ‘Timeless’ gimmick for Toni Storm, though I enjoy it, I’ve yet to see quality ring work to support it. This match changed my mind. We get to see all the best aspects of women’s wrestling. The incredible agility of Thunder Rosa, reliably keeping the pace of the match high. The Herculean strength of Toni Storm as she lifts Rosa as though she were nothing but a sack of potatoes.

No match in recent memory has ever changed my opinion on a wrestler so swiftly. Storm does a good job countering and complimenting Thunder Rosa’s style. The Deonna Purrazzo interference is fine, not what I prefer in matches but I understand its utility in setting up the continuing storyline between her and Toni Storm. Overall, a main event quality match, that has been unfortunately overshadowed by the match that directly followed it. I hope to see more of this Toni Storm, and this Thunder Rosa.

Oh how to begin? By saying that this is perhaps the best professional wrestling match of all time? That the entire event could’ve been just this match and it would still be a contender for the best AEW PPV of the history of the company? That this match is so good that the 5 star matches that surround it seem like mid-card events at an indie in comparison? All of these things are true, and they still don’t equate to even a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the true quality of this match.

The match begins with a white-hot crowd, even after four hours of wrestling, the crowd still begins with a chant of ‘HOLY sh*t!’ Before a single hold can even be attempted. The Saint Louis crowd, within mere minutes of this match, disproves every claim that the AEW isn’t popular in the city. The match, in a strange way, reminds me of my time spent with fighting games.

It begins with an intense chain wrestling exchange, as both Danielson and Ospreay attempt to gain control the match, and that struggle is kept up throughout the bout. Filled with an incredible series of offenses from both competitors, it manages to keep the crowd hot throughout the entire 35 minute encounter.

Ospreay showing off his top-of-the-class speed while Danielson showcases his unmatched mat-wrestling. Every counter a masterpiece, every reversal a magnum opus. In that moment, it felt as though the entire Gateway To The West went quiet, as these two generational talents battled not for title gold, not even for title opportunities, but the adulation of the crowd. In that sense, they are both winners.

A perfect finish, as Ospreay defeats Danielson with a Hidden Blade after a stare down in either corner. Danielson’s age slowing him down by just a millisecond enough for Ospreay to hit first. Ospreay celebrating for a second that felt like an era, landing the Tiger Driver 91, still so caught up in the moment that he lands yet another Hidden Blade, before getting Danielson down for the three.

An unfortunate position, following up a match like that. The tag teams find a way though, showcasing exceptional willingness to get violent. They can’t compete with the prior match on speed or technical ability, but by god can they get bloody. Piledrivers through ladder bridges, 450 splashes through tables, ladders flying everywhere, all proving the ability of the AEW tag team division to match and even surpass singles competition.

The return of Jack Perry was incredible, and made a strong argument for the earlier showing of the All In footage. The crowd reacted exactly the opposite of how we all expected, rather than overflowing with CM Punk chants, it instead filled with a sing-song chant of’Ohhhh Cry Me A River!’ I’m excited to see where it leads, with the potential for Jack Perry to become the most over heel in the company after only one appearance.

An incredible showing, and hopefully an opportunity for the Tag Team division to again rule the card in AEW, especially after the (in my opinion, stagnant) run of Ricky Starks and Big Bill.

Swerve, the top ‘face’ (he did still break into Hanger’s house, y’all) finally gets what he’s deserved for months. Joe’s reign hasn’t necessarily been filled with incredible title defense, especially when compared with the reign of MJF, but he’s served the company well, holding the title and regularly adding heat to storylines, while not necessarily being significantly involved in any of them.

Both men showcase their incredible strength, and their improvisational ability. The revealing of the concrete outside the ring was done well, leading to an incredible slam onto it by Joe. The crowd tries its best, but the prior two matches have clearly done a number on them. Still, the efforts of Prince Nana are more than enough to get the crowd invested.

An incredible improvised pin after a jump over Joe by Swerve land a little rough (not an unforgivable sin, given the size difference.) Swerve has deserved this championship for months, and I’m excited for this new era of the company.

Dynasty was an incredible Pay-Per-View easily matching (and in my opinion, surpassing) Revolution. A signal of a new era for AEW? I hope so. Not only did it serve us some of the best matches in the history of the company, but it gave us some incredible threads to see followed up on tonight’s Dynamite, with Swerve facing Kyle Fletcher, and Chuck Taylor being forced to choose between his two ‘best friends.’

If there were any event to show to someone to prove that AEW truly is ‘where the best wrestle’ it’s Dynasty.