The latest episode of AEW Dynamite was a packed show held under difficult circumstances. Going head to head with an episode of NXT that went into full recap mode, AEW went in the other direction and fit as much as it could into its two hours. That's not entirely a good thing.
Highlights from the episode of Dynamite included a memorable video package for Lance Archer making him look like a backwoods terror and a crucial match in the Elite/Inner Circle rivalry heading into Blood & Guts. The show also featured two much-anticipated debuts.
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Former WWE stars Brodie Lee and Matt Hardy made their first AEW appearances on the 3/18 show, with both men plugged immediately into established feuds. Lee was revealed as the Dark Order's Exalted One and attacked Christopher Daniels, furthering a feud between the Order and SCU. Hardy's dramatic appearance was saved for the end of the show, when Matt Jackson revealed him as the Elite's replacement for his injured brother Nick.
Hardy's debut was always going to be a big deal. That he brought his beloved "Broken" persona with him, complete with Vanguard 1, added to the moment. On top of all that, inserting him into the biggest feud on the show made sure he'd overshadow everything else.
Anyone trying to stand out on the same show that Hardy debuted on would have a hard time. Lee might have stood a better chance had the show taken place in its original venue at Rochester, New York, Lee's hometown. Dynamite has been moved indefinitely to a closed set at Daily's Place in AEW's home city of Jacksonville.
While it's a situation out of everyone's control, it still diminishes moments like Lee's debut. AEW was smart enough to have a handful of wrestlers not working matches on the card sit in the front rows of the venue to act as an audience. WWE didn't do that for its empty arena Smackdown and Raw episodes, and it made a world of difference for AEW. If nothing else, it lessened the surreality of wrestlers playing to absent crowds.
No one knows what form Dynamite will take going forward. If the 3/18 show is functionally a season finale while AEW sorts out how it will produce TV in the middle of a pandemic, then it's a great one. If the promotion is going to be able to keep producing weekly episodes for the foreseeable future, then that complicates things.
Like WWE, AEW is running shows with a diminished roster to comply with gathering limits. Throwing out two big debuts in the short term was exciting. Spacing out these moments would have not only given them a chance to breathe, but helped keep future episodes from feeling underwhelming.
The next episode of Dynamite, whenever that happens, is set to feature the Blood & Guts match. That should take up the majority of that episode, which will also feature a street fight and lumberjack match. Knocking Lee's debut back to the episode after that, when the Elite and Inner Circle would most likely be sidelined following what should be a brutal match, would have made Harper's reveal stand out more.
Booking wrestling shows in the middle of such precarious time is no easy task. AEW and WWE have shown us that in different ways. Trying to treat the shows like business as usual, with the only difference being padding from rerun matches, hasn't worked for WWE. As entertaining as this week's Dynamite was, doing too much in a given episode runs the opposite risk. AEW may have starved future episodes of content that they will desperately need with diminished resources.
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