Every Major Wrestling Debut TV Show Ranked From Worst To Best
1. AEW Dynamite
A triumph that remains an imperfect work in progress with untapped potential, this, ironically, was probably the perfect pilot.
AEW loaded the first episode of Dynamite with stakes and gripping matches and angles, but they didn't blow their load. As it should be, the excitement ahead of Full Gear was emphasised a shade more than the TV show itself.
Cody Vs. Sammy Guevara was the perfect opening match; he was received as a hero, basking in an unforgettable atmosphere, and rewarded his fans with an expertly balanced babyface performance in a very good match that overachieved. MJF cut a short but not ineffective promo, but beyond Brandon Cutler's fire suicide dive-into-punches spot, their abrupt match told an inconsistent story that probably plays to Cutler's geek persona by design, but weakened him, nonetheless. Glimpses of the more realistic promo format didn't materialise as anything more than promising, but the lack of pre-planned music cues and invisible backstage camera were very welcome.
PAC entered a performance not unlike Jay White in a match with Hangman Page that boasted a great finish. PAC's pacing was excellent here; just slow enough to antagonise the crowd, but explosive enough to sustain their interest, this was lowkey tremendous. Match of the night belonged to Nyla Rose Vs. Riho, which engineered incredible drama by the finish. The botches accentuated everything - of course Riho couldn't lift Nyla at the first attempt - and the crescendo of Riho's comeback was pure cauldron stuff.
The main event, disrupted by Jon Moxley's awesome annihilation of Kenny Omega, somehow conspired to double as a very good match and two incredible angles.
Glass shattered and Jake 'Jack Swagger' Hager got over as a beast, improbably, proving that AEW has mastered the most difficult of TV tropes on its first ever episode: a wild cliffhanger that will surely secure return viewership.