AEW Dynamite has its rough patches, but had a great start in 2019. If I had to grade the past three months, they’d get a C+.
AEW Dynamite leaned on current AEW Champion Chris Jericho’s years in the business to set the pace and this was a good move. He serves as the heel who fans love to hate, but still love to watch.
Giving him a stable (The Inner Circle) shows how the company feels he can make other wrestlers like Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz look stronger. Look at how he’s currently handling his feud with Jungle Boy.
On the Dec.18 episode, the two faced off to see if Jungle Boy could last 10 minutes in the ring with him. Jungle Boy got the two-count on Jericho not once, but three times. He also survived the Walls of Jericho for the last minute of the match without tapping out.
Jericho then extended the match five more minutes only to walk off back up the entrance ramp before the time is up, leaving Jungle Boy in the ring. Performances like this will continue to put Jungle Boy over with the crowd in 2020 and we have Jericho to thank for that as well.
Has Dynamite gotten worse over time? No, but it has shown that experience does count.
The botched punching seen at the end of that same Dec. 18 episode took away from the fact AEW has worked hard to put over The Dark Order.
They lost a lot of ground in that episode because that botch has been all the buzz. But that was only the most obvious of botches. Even during the Kenny Omega vs. Pac match on AEW’s All Out Pay-Per-View both men failed at back-to-back Hurricanranas.
AEW Dynamite: Still Worth Watching in 2020
AEW Dynamite is still in an evolving stage with all its talent. The arrival of Kris Statlander has been great. She did well against Britt Baker on Dec. 12, securing the No.1 contender spot. Statlander also gives the Women’s Division more depth with solid wrestling skills and her in-ring presence.
I think The Dark Order can also regroup and come out strong in 2020. Especially if they recruit someone like Trent of Best Friends. That would be a shocker. It would also be nice to see maybe a Trios title in AEW. When you got three-man tag teams like Jurassic Express, The Elite, SoCal Uncensored, and random tag combinations of The Inner Circle, that belt would work.
People just need to remember the show is not even a year old yet. They’ve got room to grow and room for improvement. Expect to see only bigger and better things moving forward.