AEW Dynamite Nov. 20, 2024 - Car Crash
Modern Marks is a wrestling-focused newsletter written by Rory Young. Follow Modern Marks and Rory on Bluesky.
This past week’s Modern Marks Dynamite review newsletter focused largely on AEW’s systematic issues limiting its in-ring action. To describe it more generally, we talked about why great matches are so few and far between on AEW television anymore. While that criticism remains valid looking at this week’s Dynamite, this week’s newsletter focus is shifting gears. This week, we have to talk about AEW’s storytelling. More specifically, we need to talk about whatever the fuck is going on with these godawful promos.
Last week, I described AEW’s storytelling as having “momentum.” This week, last week may as well have never happened. Let’s be clear, though, that the writing has neither improved nor grown worse. It has been consistently poor for months now. Rather, it’s the shift of priorities away from in-ring action and back to storytelling that made this week’s show much worse. Poor wrestling story is not uncommon, especially in AEW. Good in-ring action makes poor storytelling less of an issue. But AEW deprioritizing television in-ring action means story becomes a focus. That’s how the writing can stay poor while creating momentum one week and losing it the next.
Let’s talk about what it looks like when poor writing and generally average in-ring work combine.
Orange Cassidy
I am a huge Orange Cassidy fan. Santana smashing Nick Jackson through a door to a random bathroom and OC just chilling by the toilet? Art. OC Cassidy rolling out of the ring against PAC? Perfect. That first International belt run ending with an exhausted OC losing to Mox? One of AEW’s best stories. I’m also not against the idea of OC evolving into a more serious character, or even a heel. OC is, if nothing else, easy to fit into stories in ways other wrestlers aren’t. But this Mox feud proves that even OC can’t save truly poor writing.
The current OC story arc begins with Wrestle Dream, where OC is told by producer Jerry Lynn that he could be “The Man,” but only if he wanted it. Later that show, Mox violently retires Bryan Danielson, and Orange Cassidy and several faces would run out to check on Bryan and look concerned. Quality and character aside, Wrestle Dream sets up two questions. One, is OC willing to start caring to become “The Man?” Two, should OC care about what Mox is doing specifically? The connecting thread between the two being the AEW World Championship.
Skip to this week’s Dynamite and if you were hoping to have clear answers to these questions, guess again. First, does OC care? Has the AEW World Championship become his goal? The answer is… maybe? OC is sporting his new black gear, he’s cutting long-winded promos, and he’s chased and earned a championship match against Mox at Full Gear. It should be obvious that OC wants to be The Man. But it’s anything but. He does say he wants the AEW Championship this week, but it’s more about proving what AEW is really all about than a personal goal. But if OC truly cares, if he truly wants it, it isn’t showing itself meaningfully. After promising to remove Yuta “from the board” in a bafflingly silly chess metaphor, the OC vs. Yuta match was a tepid affair ending with a surprise rollup victory for OC. There was no board removal. OC did not send a message to Mox, unless the message was that Mox was right and that old standards like OC aren’t exciting to watch anymore.
As for the second question, that’s extra stupid. Should OC care what Mox is doing specifically? Mox did give OC some personal motivation by assaulting Chuck Taylor. Otherwise, AEW has completely failed to establish why Mox is a larger threat to the company or its roster. Despite weekly extensive promo time, he has no goals or aims. He’s just a violent heel that beats people up. And with The Elite’s assault on Tony Khan in such recent memory, Mox comes off as quite a silly villain for so many wrestlers to act afraid of. And the silliest of all is OC. Despite his good friend having his neck busted, the most intensity OC displayed on Wednesday was when he yelled at Mark Briscoe for wanting to help protect him against the Death Riders. As Mark and Rocky shake their heads questioning if OC is an idiot, OC speaks to the camera, “Five of you and one of me. Go ahead and do what you’re going to do.” And they did. They kicked his ass after the match against Yuta. All for a Full Gear match we know OC is going to lose. Great stuff.
This is easily the worst version of OC yet. His ridiculous promos don’t sound anything like him. And despite the complete change in promo style, his attitude and in-ring style have only become more bland. Maybe Mox is right that AEW needs a change.
Adam Cole
In all fairness to Adam Cole, his return was undercut before he ever had a chance to regain some momentum. It isn’t just that MJF has had back-to-back films he’s been absent for, meaning he is only present on AEW television via pre-recorded videos. It’s also that both of Cole’s friends, Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly are ice cold and have no story momentum. Cole has had to walk out on AEW television week-to-week to deliver the same justification for MJF that didn’t work when he first delivered it, while making room for friends that only bog down the story. It’s not good. And it doesn’t help that Cole’s matches have been disappointments, to boot. This isn’t all Cole’s fault. Tony Khan’s booked Cole into this shit.
This week, after a month of bad weeks for Adam Cole, had to be his worst yet. Cole lost a bummer of a match on the last Dynamite and lost his opportunity for a PPV blow-off against MJF at Full Gear. Instead, Roddy got the match. It’ll hopefully be a fine match, but after a month of building MJF vs. Adam Cole this is not the payoff anyone wanted. Adding insult to injury, Kyle O’Reilly walked out while Cole cut his weekly bad promo to tell him how much he sucks. “This crusade against MJF has got to end before someone gets hurt,” is O’Reilly’s message to Cole. He goes on to effectively say Roddy is going to lose badly to MJF at Full Gear, and that Cole needs to be the leader his friends think he is and put a stop to all of this. None of it makes any sense, none of the babyfaces involved in the angle are made to seem cool or like winners, and tragically the only certain thing is this feud will continue after Full Gear. It’s rough.
There is a silver lining, though. At the end of Kyle’s promo he tells Cole, “MJF is more of an evil bastard than you’ll ever be.” The message being conveyed is that to beat MJF, Cole will have to return to his evil nature.
There’s little argument at this point that Adam Cole is a much stronger heel than he is a face. And Cole regrouping with Roddy and Kyle as a heel group is enticing for obvious reasons. But unless AEW can figure out how Cole can have good matches now, how to make this wheel-spinning MJF feud interesting now, then Cole’s now-likely heel turn isn’t going to be any better than this past month’s nothing story.
Jon Moxley
Friends. What the fuck is Jon Moxley going on about? Every week, a new promo. Every week, he says fucking nothing. It’s just meandering nonsense. This week’s promo bounced between calling Orange Cassidy a “borderline sociopath” and a “great guy.” Was he being sarcastic? Was he trying to hype OC up? Nobody fucking knows.
Mox did, at least, mention his match against OC at Full Gear in his promo. He says that when the bell rings on Satudrday, OC is a “threat to my people.” The guy who beats Yuta with a roll-up and refuses to let his friends stay in his corner. Mox then says he’ll “destroy” OC. Later in the night, he’ll tape OC’s hands into his pants and then push him around a circle of Death Riders like a middle school bully. The question, again, is what the fuck is Mox on about?
These promos are all tonally very compelling. Mox’s gruff voice and a mix of violence-tinged adjectives are pieces of what could be a great puzzle. But the picture never comes together. Mox hasn’t wrestled since Bryan Danielson, instead relying on sneak attacks with his faction and then quickly running away. His promos are always full of ambiguous threats that never manifest into any tangible goals or intentions. If Mox’s out-of-kayfabe goal is to help a new round of babyfaces move up the card, it’s difficult to say he’s been successful so far.
I will say this, though. Unlike Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, and many others who have delivered promos over the past couple of months, Moxley still comes across as authentically himself. He may still be scripted like the others, but he makes his promos his own. Now if he could just make himself out to be as much of a badass as Claudio has managed to do with significantly less TV time. Either do something or tone down the “We’re changing AEW!” exaggerations.
What Worked/What Didn’t
Lots left to cover from Dynamite this week, but this review has already gone on a bit too long. Here’s a lightning round covering various bits of Dynamite that either worked or didn’t work for me:
Worked: Mark Davis returned to action this week after over a year away from the ring. His future is up in the air at the moment, with Fletcher making such a strong pitch as a singles wrestler, but it’s worth celebrating Davis being healthy and starting over again.
Didn’t Work: Takeshita is one of the most talented wrestlers in the world, except when he’s on AEW television. Another bummer TV match for Takeshita, no confirmed PPV match against Ricochet, and more questions regarding whether Tony Khan has his priorities straight. Edit: The match was announced 30s before I hit publish on this newsletter. I’m not re-writing it.
Did and Didn’t Work: Hikaru Shida looked great in her effort against Kris Statlander. It would have been great, other than the fact that Kris is the face in a big PPV feud against Mercedes Mone tomorrow. Instead she got her ass kicked, was framed as the heel, and didn’t look like the right winner. Shida push post-Full Gear?
Did Work: The Hangman vs. Jay White package with all of the NJPW footage was exhilarating. This matchup has received so little time compared to other PPV builds, but is easily one of AEW’s strongest Full Gear matches and feud.
Did and Didn’t Work: While watching the Bobby Lashley jobber match, I grew increasingly worried Lashley is not built for AEW like Shelton Benjamin is. Then Swerve showed up and looked like a badass, reminding me to be patient. This is a big test and opportunity for Lashley. We’ll be able to draw more conclusions after Saturday.
Did Work: Claudio absolutely dismantled Darby Allin in a 14-minute match and looked great doing it. Will this hurt Darby, AEW’s likely next champion? Who cares. It was a fun match and a shocking finish. Making the story work is easy to manage in comparison.
Did Work: MJF’s “white trash” promo worked. It worked really well. MJF is at his best when he’s deranged, mixing shallow and petty cuts with deeper and more unsettling psychology. When he betrays his own vulnerability and hypocrisy in his intensity.
Didn’t Work: I’d still rather a TikTok celebrity PPV match to a QT Marshall match. What’s that? Huh? … fuck.
Didn’t Work: Coming out of Wrestle Dream, Yuta’s inner turmoil and relationship with Orange Cassidy was the most compelling bit of emotional storytelling in the whole Mox takeover mess. To have it end like this, irrelevant, with a shitty little match and no effort to key into the emotions each must be feeling… sucks.
That’s it for this week’s Dynamite review. It’s admittedly quite negative, but I am admittedly quite negative on AEW’s television product at the moment. Here’s hoping next week manages to escape this wave of poorly-written promos and middling matches. The Continental Classic raised AEW quality significantly in 2023 and into 2024. I don’t expect it to this year, but I hope.
Full Gear 2024 is this weekend. I’m going to try and do a newsletter preview for it, rather than tack it on here. I expect it to be much more positive overall, simply because AEW PPVs are so consistently good. Look forward to that tomorrow, hopefully!
Until then, thanks so much for taking the time to read the newsletter. It means the world to me. -- Rory