9 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (30 Mar)
Toni Storm debuts, CM Punk targets World Title, Bryan Danielson lifts Wheeler Yuta up.
Though the differences between AEW's roster trimming and WWE's are stark (and easily identifiable to anybody capable of applying context), debuting a new wrestler on the same day as confirmation that another is being let go due to "budget cuts" is poor optics.
AEW doesn't trade publically, so we aren't privy to their finances. Having acquired Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, CM Punk, and other bumper contracts over the past year, there may be a legitimate need to shed salaries. Nonetheless, greater transparency on the Marko Stunt situation would have been appreciated. The way the news broke gives oxygen to bad takes from those who refuse to acknowledge the budgetary differences between a titan commanding at least $470 million in annual rights fees and a smaller enterprise earning less than $50 million.
Regardless, Toni Storm is a star in the making. More on her debut later.
This was a great episode of Dynamite punctuated by incredible highs from Bryan Danielson, Wheeler Yuta, CM Punk, Thunder Rosa, and more. Perhaps accelerated by the impending Battle of the Belts II on 15 April, the road to Double or Nothing is already paved in red-hot pro wrestling angles.
Let's light the fuse...