7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (May 22 - Results & Review)
2. Super Resourceful Opening Segment
The opening match was very good without - consciously - ever striving for greatness. Roderick Strong and Trent went over Will Ospreay and Orange Cassidy when Strong pinned Orange with End of Heartache.
The sensible idea was to both provide a glimpse into what Will Ospreay and Roderick Strong can achieve together and attend to the thread of Orange Cassidy's reaction to Trent's betrayal. In a match not too unlike a Four Pillars tag, in how it was structured at least, Orange Cassidy was so driven by vengeance that he was compelled to attack Trent every time he ran the ropes and saw him standing there. This was a hailstorm of activity perfectly slotted in the opener.
The chaotic atmosphere and relentless activity helped focus the attention and put the phone away. The rate of incident here was propelled by pure Dynamite energy, and it also helped to preserve the Ospreay/Strong dynamic. Just when they'd worked an excellent struggle and motioned to go all out, the Kingdom, for example, would interfere and Ospreay would flatten them with a sensational dive on the outside. Then, after what is becoming one of his trademark absences, Wardlow flatted Ospreay immediately after Will had reversed the momentum.
Similarly, when Strong thought he had Orange beat, Don Callis, furthering the linked subplot, unexpectedly jumped up from the commentary desk and helped the man he's trying to corrupt by placing his foot on the ropes.
A deft spree of action tying multiple threads together, this was a crazed series of story beats and action set-pieces. The rhythm of it was fantastic. It never felt like numbing booking overkill.
A slap to the face, a pinball machine of an opening segment.