5 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Dynamite 200 (August 2 - Review)

3. The Elite Vs Triple J

There was cause for much celebration amongst much of the AEW audience when - on the day of the 200th episode no less - news broke that The Elite had re-signed with the company.

Unrest stemming from or because of CM Punk’s return and a prevailing feeling that none of them were exactly engaging in their finest runs since the company’s 2019 launch moved many to wonder if a Cody Rhodes-adjacent unlikely WWE move might have been on the cards for some or all of AEW’s “E”. But the majority of villagers rejoiced - the quartet were staying put in the place where they could most likely do things the way they want and without the often-oppressive restrictions of the market leader.

Hopefully this depressingly phoned-in trios match with Triple J wasn’t a sign of things to come now they’ve got their new deals.

A match that had the scope for 40 dumb spots realistically had about four. Kenny playing the guitar was hilarious, the heels doing their opponent’s pose was nice, and Omega and Jarrett facing off in the opening seconds was a celebration of AEW’s impossible and insane range. Elsewhere, some half-baked fun with Satnam Singh’s size fell short of the usual Omega Vs Big Guy charm, and the opportunity to wow alongside the cornball Memphis comedy was squandered in favour of some routine and unremarkable action.

Jarrett took some sideways stick for doing such a good job in an angle with Grado that people were pitching it as a match for All In, but it was hotter and more real-feeling than anything The Elite have done since Hangman Page vanquished Jon Moxley at Revolution. The Blackpool Combat Club flattered to deceive, and short of Kenny Omega name-checking Collision to allow us to imagine wrestling’s biggest dream match, this did too.

If the quartet really are back to business following a challenging year, here’s hoping they get back to best soon too.