4 Ups & 6 Downs From AEW Dynamite (June 4)
Andrade El Idolo debuts; Tony Khan hands out birthday title shots; AEW gets lazy.
The biggest story, by quite some margin, of AEW's latest Dynamite is that ex-WWE star Andrade has now landed. 'El Idolo' looked resplendent during his Vickie Guerrero-led intro, and he spoke well when he said he'd be the "new face" of All Elite Wrestling.
Of course, it's the next step that's the most crucial, but this was a good start.
Elsewhere, Dynamite kinda' sagged. AEW's current Friday night format and the fact it's a full four months until their next pay-per-view (All Out on 5 September) means the company can't afford to throw everything they have out there on each episode. That, unfortunately, meant this week's offering was a little front-loaded.
The main takeaways beyond Andrade were that The Inner Circle vs. Pinnacle feud will continue, Jungle Boy is being readied for Kenny Omega, perhaps the dullest challenger for new Women's Champ Britt Baker has been chosen and...AEW are copying WWE angles?
Oh yes, the threat of that is real. Also, Tony Khan apparently hands out championship matches just because it's a wrestler's birthday.
Here are all the 'Ups' and 'Downs' from (a slightly muted) Daily's Place...