6 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (November 1 - Results & Review)
2. Another Diluted Storyline
There wasn't a great deal to the Golden Jets Vs. Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang tag, though Kenny Omega looked remarkably sharp given his exploits on Collision. Also, Chris Jericho can map out a good tag team match even when it means absolutely nothing, and he sprinkled in a halfway convincing false finish when he ate a baseball bat shot counter to a Lionsault attempt. This otherwise just existed to set up a post-match verbal showdown.
Nice as it was to see Omega finally feel like he wants to get at Don Callis, this whole scene embodied the booking philosophy that is nuking the sense of emotion in AEW's storytelling.
Why does so much of AEW's output feel like Joey Janela's wacky, ironic Spring Break meets WWF Survivor Series?
Callis challenged Jericho and Omega to an eight-man street fight in a fortnight's time. Omega accepted, revealing that Kota Ibushi will partner his team. When Don Callis pointed out that he has four men (Powerhouse Hobbs, Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher and Will Ospreay), Jericho revealed that they have three men, and, to combat the strength of Powerhouse Hobbs, one giant: Paul Wight.
What?
Wight - in addition to being the latest geezer in the retirement home that is AEW - was fished by MJF and Adam Cole the last time he was seen on television. He was mucking about as Captain Insano before that. And now fans are expected to take him seriously. Even it's for a Dynamite eight-man tag and nothing more, it's still lightweight knockabout fun. It's still diluting, ultimately, the Callis Vs. Omega programme, which feels less and less like a believable conflict but rather an excuse to get more out of an overcrowded roster.
MJF and the Acclaimed.
Omega, Jericho, Kota Ibushi and Paul Wight.
Copeland, Sting and Darby.
FTR and LFI.
Orange Cassidy and his endless cast of acquaintances.
Unexpected babyface supergroups are the latest thing AEW has become intensely obsessed with, to diminishing returns, and supergroups are never as good as proper bands.