10 Things You Learn Re-Watching AEW Dynamite’s First Episode
8. MJF Comes Across As The Future Instantly
He's peaked as an AEW act now, but MJF was only getting started when Dynamite debuted. Tony Khan handed one of his fresh young stars mic time and a match on the first episode. Instantly, like literally as soon as he bounced through the curtain, Friedman came across as someone you should be paying attention to.
Admittedly, Brandon Cutler wasn't the best choice as his opponent here, but somebody had to do the honours quickly and Khan clearly didn't want it to be a top name. Washington wasn't into Cutler though, which just goes to show that not everyone was treated like some WWE-beating star during AEW's early days.
This was star vs. enhancement talent. Simple as.
It's also interesting that AEW decided to go back-to-back on rising stars and present them as key facets of the show. Sammy Guevara showed out vs. Cody, then MJF proved he'd be able to hang with the best of them on the mic. It's fun to see Max toy with fans who may/may not have known much about him.
They soon would.