I do understand that putting up a great show is almost near to impossible without the spectators. However, top-notch in-ring actions can subdue that. What I thought of DoN is the in-ring actions and the storytelling was somehow lacking to give the viewers that wholesome experience. My ratings of the individual matches are as follows.
Best Friends vs Private Party: 1.
AEW got a packed tag-team roster. I guess Private Party is probably the weakest link in their tag-team division. PP got a huge potential, but right now they are not ready. As usual, they relied solely on the spots and this time, unfortunately, they botched through the whole match.
Casino Ladder Match: 2.50.
I thought this one will be the show-stealer. Darby getting injured (probably) right after coming to the ring hurt the match huge. It had some moments but that's almost it. Apart from the surprise debut of a former world champion, Orange Cassidy's comic timing and a brief moment of Joey Janela madness the match was stale.
MJF vs Jungle Boy: 3.50.
I was not expecting much from this match. But it really did surprise me in a positive way. Both the youngsters told a great story and had one of the best matches of the night. I can't believe how much MJF has improved since joining AEW! I thoroughly enjoyed this back and forth match,
Cody vs Lance Archer: 3.00
Cody never misses telling great stories through his matches. It was a very match with an over-dramatic finish. If the finish was better then it would have been a four-star match I guess.
Kris Statlander vs Penelope Ford: 2.50.
A decent match with nothing to get from it. Statlander looked strong and was booked strong as well.
Dustin Rhodes vs Shawn Spears: 0.50.
The only good thing about the match was it was short, otherwise, I hated the match. Moving to AEW did not change Shawn Spears booking at all,
Hikaru Shida vs Nyla Rose: 3.75
To me, it was the best women's match of AEW so far. Such a hard-fought bout between the two female wrestlers. The David vs Goliath story was told to its perfection. Loved the match and the winner.
Jon Moxley vs Mr. Brodie Lee: 3.50.
A solid match. Both the wrestlers looked strong. The outcome was anticipated still it looked like the match could have gone either way.
Stadium Stampede match: 3.00.
I am not a fan of these so-called 'cinematic' matches. I liked it more than other matches of this kind as this match contained wrestling as well.
