AEW DYNASTY

Vancouver

ALEX WINDSOR vs. MARINA SHAFIR (8:55): This was a good show, not a great show. It definitely wasn't a legendary AEW PPV nor will be in consideration for show of the year or anything. I think one problem was that all the big heels retained their titles (FTR, MJF, Moxley) against the crowd favorites. Also, one big talking point is that the majority of the Canadians lost on this show which was in Canada (Cope & Christian lost, Omega lost, and Jericho lost). Since none of the "big" titles changed hands and there were no debuts or shocking turns, you didn't really miss much if you skipped this show except see some good wrestling matches. This whole pre-show, encapsulating the first four matches, was pretty forgettable except for the Jack Perry match which was just okay. Honestly? Both of these women do nothing for me in-ring. 1/2*

KAMILLE vs. BIG ANNE (1:25): This was Kamille's first match in 18 months. She's been gone for so long I forget who she is. Apparently, she was Mercedes Monet's bodyguard. Funny, but I thought I vaguely remember her being Penelope Ford's bodyguard. Supposedly, Kamille was shooting a new American Gladiators show that also stars Wardlow. I wondered whatever happened to Wardlow. So this match was a squash. 1/2*

JACK PERRY vs. MARK DAVIS (8:30): Okay match. Perry retained the National Title, which, let's face it, is fairly meaningless. Mark Davis has been great lately in AEW and they've been showcasing him on TV a lot. There wasn't much to this match, though. **

DIVINE DOMINION (MEGAN BAYNE & LENA KROSS) vs. HYAN & MAYA WORLD (10:35): The Divine Dominion retained the women's tag team titles. Hyan and Maya World are not in AEW. I guess they're just local jobbers, although one of the two did a bunch of nifty high flying maneuvers that looked fairly cool. *1/2

THE YOUNG BUCKS vs. KAZUCHIKA OKADA & KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (20:10): Probably not a good thing that this was the best match on the show. Nothing topped it after 4 and a 1/2 hours. I actually thought this might be better, though, as well. At one point, Okada beat up one of the Bucks and put on their jacket and bandana and went in their corner to get tagged in, pretending he was a Buck. That was amusing. At one point, Okada and Takeshita just started hitting each other (they're feuding even though they're in the same heel group). This definitely got better the longer it went (Okada always take his time). The crowd was, at this point, super hot. Good match. ***

RICOCHET vs. CHRIS JERICHO (19:12): Jericho is back in AEW. His last match was at last year's Dynasty where he lost to Bandido and he was a total heel. The crowd popped big time for him and he was a total baby face. Weird that he lost then. Jericho is a legend and all and he can still do all his patented moves...but he's fucking old and slow and I don't want to see him wrestling in singles matches anymore. This was mostly dull, though the voracious crowd helped it. I am curious what new gimmick Jericho will pull out of his hat this time around, because he's probably going to start getting booed once he leaves Canada (he was previously getting "retire" chants and things like that last year). *1/2

DARBY ALLIN vs. ANDRADE EL IDOLO (16:46): Good match. This was a typical Darby car crash match. It kept your eyes glued to the screen. This was for the #1 contender. Basically it was just Darby running and slamming his body hard into things. ***

FTR (CASH WHEELER & DAX HARWOOD) vs. ADAM COPELAND & CHRISTIAN CAGE (21:00): I really thought Edge & Christian would win the titles here, especially because it was in Canada. Plus, I figured The Young Bucks vs. Edge & Christian would be the big All In London championship match. I suppose they can still get there. This was entertaining. Edge got popped in the face by the title and was a bloody mess. At one point, Christian tossed Stokely into the ring to break up a cover. FTR matches are always wild, all-over-the-place spectacles, and this was nothing different. ***

TNT TITLE CASINO GAUNTLET MATCH (KEVIN KNIGHT) (22:36): There were no surprise entrants in this match. Rush and Ciampa started the match. Mike Bailey, Bandido, El Clon, Anthony Bowens, and PAC were the rest of the bunch. Kyle Fletcher got injured so this match was for his TNT title. This was super entertaining and a ton of fun. ***

THEKLA vs. JAMIE HAYTER (16:31): This was when the crowd got tired and mostly silent except for big move pops the rest of the night. This match was boring. Thekla is a boring wrestler. She is a good heel and has good energy but in the ring she's dull. At one point, Hayter was AEW's best women's wrestler. She was out for a whole year with an injury and just hasn't been the same since returning. Thekla retained the women's title. This was hard hitting. I think that's the best I can say about it. *1/2

JON MOXLEY vs. WILL OSPREAY (18:13): Another surprise finish. Ospreay just got back so they immediately have him lose. Nice! This was a really good match but I actually thought this would be better as well. They had a 20 minute time limit because this was for Moxley's Continental title. The crowd booed when they made the 10 and 5 minute time calls. Good, dramatic, exciting match...but I think if it was longer it might have bloomed into something greater. ***

ORANGE CASSIDY, KYLE O'REILLY & RODERICK STRONG vs. THE DOGS (GABE KIDD, DAVID FINLAY & CLARK CONNORS) (10:00): This was the one good guy title change on the show. Kyle O'Reilly returned from injury. He's from Canada, so one Canadian won on this show. The match was short and at this point, everyone was just ready for the main event. Gabe Kidd got injured in the middle of the match and disappeared (he apparently separated his shoulder). Match was fine. The crowd popped at Cassidy's silliness. It seemed like they botched the ending when Cassidy went for an Orange Punch but Connors didn't see it or sell it. **

MJF vs. KENNY OMEGA (38:56): I kind of figured that MJF was winning this match because Darby was the #1 contender. Omega vs. Darby in the main event of Double or Nothing makes no sense. This was a good, long, slow match. I think the glaring problem is that Omega is old now and looked really tired and spent. He still did all of his trademark stuff, though, and the crowd was into most of this. They pulled off a WWE finish in this match, getting the ref knocked out and MJF low blowing Omega then hitting him with the ring. MJF gave Omega a pile driver through a ring side table and then his Heat Seeker DDT off the ropes to get the pin. I felt kind of sad watching this match because of how old, tired, and slow Omega looked. I mean...maybe doing a 38 minute match wasn't the best idea. Granted, I was never bored watching this match, it just wasn't fast paced at all. MJF might be trying to emulate the legendary run Go Shiozaki had in 2021 in Noah. Remember that? When Go as champ had all these 45 minute epics? Well last month's MJF match against 'Hangman' went 46 minutes and this one was 38. Think he can do a long match with Darby next month? That seems doubtful, although Darby might be jumping off the tennis stadium roof knowing him, and it'd take, like, ten minutes to climb up it. This was also, shockingly, the first Omega main event PPV singles match since November of 2021. Jesus Christ. Well, I'm glad they at least did it one more time, because the way he looked, there ain't gonna be too many more. ***