AEW Dynamite Grades and Reactions February 28, 2024

Adam Page “Swerves” us all

The kickoff started with an injured Adam Page hobbling himself to the ring on a crutch. Page reminisces over his prior world title run in 2021 and regrets informing the audience that he will not have an opportunity to do it over again. His injury will be putting him on the shelf and he will miss AEW Revolution this weekend. Immediately following, Swerve Strickland came out and acknowledged the fighter that Adam Page is. Additionally, he tells Page that he cannot escape his fate now. You could tell Swerve felt for Page to an extent and that’s when I started to get suspicious. While Adam did a perfect job at selling this segment, He wasn’t fooling many.

AEW World Champion Samoa Joe then joined the two and reaffirmed his message from just a few weeks ago, saying regardless of Page’s Injury, he’s still walking out of Revolution champion. When Swerve challenged Joe, He was faced with an ugly truth; Page deceived him along with everyone else and used his crutch to attack Strickland. While he had many in the beginning, It became more and more clear that this was just a sham to get the upper hand going into Revolution this Sunday. Screaming at Joe, Page calls his shot this Sunday, vows to win the three-man world title match, and put his career back on the map. This opening segment was a complete roller coaster and it’s the perfect way to build the feud between Swerve and Page heading into the weekend.

Grade: B+

Blackpool Combat Club Vs. Eddie Kingston and FTR

This felt a lot like a sneak peek of more than one match at Revolution. Bryan Danielson and Eddie Kingston are set to square off for the Continental Crown Championship at Revolution, along with Claudio and John Moxley taking on FTR at the PPV as well. The BCC has been dominant in its endeavors with FTR. FTR has a chance at Revolution to put themselves back on the map in an emphatic way since losing the AEW tag team titles. 

Considering this was a preview match, There was a lot of impressive action and decent spots. Danielson and Kinston went at it one-on-one on a few occasions in this match, building up to a masterpiece this Sunday. The crowd was loud and engaged, and the match got more and more exciting as it went on. Moxley in particular never fails to get fans invested in a match, especially when it’s so close to a massive PPV.

Danielson not only finished the match but kicked Kingston’s head in before choking him out. Danielson further cements himself as a threatening challenger to Kingston. Like most Wednesdays, this was the BCC’s night. When these six individuals were in the ring, it’s no surprise that the crowd was continuously chanting “This is awesome!” FTR, The BCC, and Eddie Kingston are all some of the best that AEW has to offer and tonight, it showed. 

Grade: A

Will Ospreay is All Elite

Will Ospreay has officially finished his duties in NJPW, so now his full-time work in AEW officially begins. With just five days away from his match with fellow Don Callus family member, Konosuke Takeshita. Don Callus insisted that this match was the best move for his stable. Takeshita and Ospreay didn’t end up seeing it as a friendly competition. Ospreay has a lot to accomplish and now Callis has made a member of his stable in Takeshita his enemy. Callus was able to setter egos and kept the family dynamic respectful, for now. Come Sunday, Ospreay is sure to put on an insane performance for his first PPV match as a member of the AEW roster.

Grade: B

Orange Cassidy Vs. Nick Wayne (AEW International Championship)

Nick Wayne accepted Cassidy’s open challenge and made his way to the ring with his “father”, Christian Cage. The Prodigy hasn’t had much opportunity at gold just yet, and Orange Cassidy makes quite the opponent in your first title match. Cassidy has a big defense coming up this Sunday against Roderick Strong, a prime member of the Undisputed Kingdom. Not too far into the match, Cage gets himself ejected from ringside, an expected event considering Christian Cage’s reputation in AEW. 

Cassidy and Wayne put on a great title match. For 18 years old, Wayne shows an incredible amount of potential and talent in the ring. Pair that in-ring talent with the incredible mind of Christain Cage and a future main-eventer is born, but not tonight.  Not long after Cage and the rest of the Patriarchy were ousted from ringside, Cassidy’s foes came to the aid of Wayne. Once they were dealt with, Cassidy was able to put Wayne away among the chaos. Strong immediately attacked Cassidy post-match, but Trent Beretta and Garcia helped Cassidy stand his ground and live to fight at Revolution. 

Grade: B-

Kris Statlander Vs. Skye Blue

Skye Blue has been under the mentorship of Julia Hart as of late, a member of the House of Black. Since then, Blue’s appearance and persona have changed quite drastically. Now on the side of Black, Kris Statlander returns to challenge Blue. The match was impressive and sold me on Kris Statlander, as I was never too familiar with her in particular. After Julia Hart blindsided Sky Blue with her title, Sky Blue picked up the victory. The match was rather quick but certainly left room for Statlander’s redemption in the future. 

Grade: C

Chris Jericho Vs. Atlantis Jr. 

Chris Jericho would visit his past, as he faces Atlantis Jr., the son of a man whom Jericho once knew well. Atlantis Jr. represented CMLL, which has been represented on Dynamite for a number of weeks now. While Jericho expressed excitement about facing Atlantis Jr, he didn’t show it during the match. He rejected Jr’s handshake at the beginning and went out of his way to cause extra pain to Atlantis. It was surprising for some, but Jericho has never been very soft and cuddly, to say the least. 

However, Atlantis was more than able to keep up with the veteran. His athleticism was most impressive and eye-catching, especially after seeing that wheel barrel German suplex delivered to Jericho. After an amazing match, Atlantis Sr. made the tough call to throw in the towel for his son after being stuck in the Walls of Jericho. After the match, Jericho paid respects to the father-son duo, raising both their hands after his victory. 

Sting’s last Dynamite

The Young Bucks were on the hunt for sting throughout the entire broadcast. They came out to the ring to close the show and give Sting his “exit interview.” Before they could even pick up a microphone, Darby Allin catches the Bucks off guard and attacks them both at ringside. Without Sting there with him, Matthew and Nicholas Jackson dismantled Darby and attacked him with bats, adding insult to Injury. 

To many’s surprise, Rick Flair showed up to the aid of Allin and even through some punches at the Bucks before receiving a low blow from the Bucks. After Flair was down, Sting descended from the rafters, reminiscent of the Sting of old back in WCW. Sting made good use of his bat, following with a moon sault off the top rope to both the brothers. Sting and Allin stand tall ahead of Sting’s final match in his career.

Grade: B