All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite: Dynamite 7/26 and Rampage 7/28

July 26, 2023 4:58 PM - Season 4, Episode 43

We've had Blood, we've had Guts. We've had Death Before Dishonor. Now the build to All In & All Out begins in earnest!

The announced card for Dynamite:

We’ll hear from MJF and Adam Cole

They have matching jackets! They both love video games! And they have a tag team title match coming their way!

Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. vs. Taya Valkyrie

Is Taya a heel now? Was Britt ever a face? (Will Britt and Adam ever have the same alignment at the same time?) Both of these women can have a great match but the women's division -- besides the Outcasts -- is low on story.

PAC vs. Gravity

To re-use my joke from Discord: "PAC used to be 'The Man That Gravity Forgot'... until Gravity comes back for revenge!" Putting PAC in matches where he can be the dominant heel is the right call, especially since we'll also be seeing...

Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Lucha Bros. vs. Best Friends

BCC is still smarting from their loss to The Elite, so they're likely to go extra-special violent tonight. I expect Lucha Bros. to pull some dirty tricks, and Best Friends to take the pin, unless The Elite do something to stoke the fires for the next PPV.

Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland

This rivalry continues and has new heat since Darby eliminated Swerve in last week's Royal Rampage, plus there's the possibility of Nick Wayne involvement.

Orange Cassidy (c) vs. AR Fox for the AEW International Championship

If it's time for the High-WorkRate Championship to change hands, then Fox is the right man for the job. Cassidy is so tired. So very tired.

posted by The Pluto Gangsta (6 comments total)

Today's got big soap opera energy, with AR Fox expressing frustration after losing his title shot, and then immediately showing massive regret on his face. Darby gives him massive grief for it, and I was expecting that pot to simmer for a while, but nope! Fox shows up later to throw Darby into a post and probably join Mogul Embassy. So it looks like it'll be some combination of Nick Wayne & Darby Allin vs. Swerve and Fox for a little while... what is it with all these PNW wrestlers from Defy Wrestling working so hard to get each other over? < / sarcasm>

AND THEN, for more melodrama, some members of the JAS bring Jericho into the dressing room to have a come-to-Jesus talk focusing on the Manowar-album-cover-style painting that Don Callis gifted him. How can Jericho face his own twink protegés next week on the 200th Dynamite? Does he not see how pregnant and pissed off Tay Melo is?
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:41 PM on July 26, 2023

Oh, and of course Adam Cole's desperate need for recognition dovetails soooo nicely with MJF's increasing self-aggrandizement, cutting a promo that shows he still hasn't gotten CM Punk out of his head. Go away Roderick Strong, no one wants to hear you say sensible things!
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:59 PM on July 26, 2023

Does he not see how pregnant and pissed off Tay Melo is?

She is EXTREMELY pregnant and pissed off.

For a man who is so very tired, Orange Cassidy still puts on an absolute fucking banger of a match at least 8 times out of 10.

(Fun fact: at one of my very first live wrestling shows, the friend I was supposed to go with bailed. I texted him, halfway through the show, "there's this guy here who is wrestling with his hands in his pockets, it's the best thing I've ever seen." Also at that show: Danhausen.)
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 9:01 PM on July 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

Tony: "I love what Kip Sabian brings to the ring!"
Me, at home: She has a NAME, Tony! She's Penelope Ford!
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 7:27 PM on July 28, 2023

Komander vs. Kip Sabian took a few minutes to heat up, but Komander needed the televised win and I needed to see more rope-walking, back-flipping excellence. And now it looks like he's teaming up with Hijo del Vikingo to battle Aussie Open next week? Yes, thank you.

Our main event of Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose told the story of Shida's technical prowess overcoming Nyla's power. (Not to say Shida doesn't have power -- getting Nyla up for a Falcon Arrow ain't for the weak-hearted.) But she's already going to be going against Toni Storm for the title next week? It seems too soon, spells bad news for Shida.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:13 PM on July 28, 2023

Swerve and Darby are wrestling soulmates. I challenge anyone to name two wrestlers with better in-ring chemistry.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 9:48 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]