All Elite Wrestling has been at the forefront of the news recently, but not for it’s product. Everything involving Cody is something that the could easily been a massive distraction for the entire roster. Instead of resting on their laurels, AEW has been consistently giving us great Dynamites week in week out. This week’s card looks to be a phenomenal one too.
But how did Dynamite fare this week?
Let’s find out!
Dynamite has opened with promo segments a lot recently. It’s a stark change from the crazy matches of Dynamite’s usual opening, however I think AEW has gone too far in the other direction. I like when they open with a hot match.
Segments:
- Tonight’s episode of Dynamite opens with another great promo segment between MJF and CM Punk. The camera opens to Punk sitting in the ring with a red box. Him and Moxley won the match last week, so he gets to pick the time, place, and match for himself and MJF. This was a fantastic promo, regardless of how I feel about the opening tone of recent Dynamites. He kept referencing ‘Piper in Portland’ while calling MJF ‘Shitty little Max from Shitty little Long Island.’ He finally reveals the contents of the box, which were two spiked dog collars. We’re getting a Dog Collar match at Revolution. The icing on the cake was MJF coming to the rampway, being speechless, and looking terrified. This was great.
- Jurassic Express was announced to be defending their tag belts in a 3-way tag match at Revolution. The participants will be crowned through the next two weeks.
Bryan Danielson vs. Lee Moriarty
Our first match of the evening was Bryan Danielson and Lee Moriarty. Bryan wants to test the young Moriarty. He believes that him and Moxley could form an awesome faction of young talent. This match was exactly my style. I really enjoyed it.
The story of the match involved Bryan punishing Lee. This was what he said he wanted to do, and he absolutely did. They chain wrestled for a little while, but Bryan took over shortly after that. The American Dragon tried to cave Lee’s chest in at one point. Both guys showed a little glimpse of their technical mastery. Lee eventually had enough and began fighting back. He hit an awesome sequence with a great Belly to Belly suplex. Danielson eventually had enough and finished it with the Running Knee, face stomps, and a cocky triangle choke.
Very good match here. I definitely think these two could do better, however. This won’t be the last time they step in the ring together.
3.75/5
Bryan grabs a microphone immediately following the match. He calls out Moxley, who obliges. Moxley addresses Bryan’s request at a team-up in a phenomenal promo. Moxley has never beaten Danielson in his entire career, but he’s a different man in AEW. It seems like Moxley wants to team up, but he won’t stand next to Bryan until they “bleed together.” Love this.
- Quick Keith Lee promo talking about winning the Ladder match and becoming the next TNT Champion. Just a glimpse into his glorious charisma.
Face of the Revolution Qualifier: Wardlow vs. Max Caster
Up next was another qualifying match for said Ladder match at Revolution. Wardlow has been on a tear of late, but it’s great to see Max Caster get a singles opportunity. This match exceeded my expectation actually!
The story of the match was usual for The Acclaimed. They played their distraction game to a tee, causing Wardlow to be thrown into the steel steps. Caster used this opportunity wonderfully by using his steel chain and the Mic Drop elbow. Wardlow kicked out and it was over from there. The WarDog tuned up the band and conducted the Powerbomb symphony to finish Caster.
3.25/5
Segments:
- Schiavone was backstage with Britt Baker and her posse. Britt tells Mercedes that she ‘better not lose’ to Thunder Rosa later. Something very random happened next, with Cobra Kai’s Martin Kove (John Kreese) popping into the screen next to Britt. He just says “No Mercy” to Britt. It was awesome, but incredibly random!
- The AEW Champ comes to the ring next. He barely gets a word in edgewise before Adam Cole interrupts. They proceed to have a fantastic promo battle referencing their history, Bullet Club, and Hangman’s vulnerability. Cole calls Hangman, “the Other Adam,” which was great. They have a respectful handshake, and seemingly end the segment. Or was it? ReDragon attacks Hangman from behind, which cues the Dark Order to make the save.
Jericho/Hager vs. Proud and Powerful
Our next match of the evening was one that I thought would be decent, but majorly exceeded my expectations. The story here revolves around Jericho holding the Inner Circle back. Santana and Ortiz are tired of sacrificing their careers for the benefit of the Inner Circle. I’ve definitely said this in a review or two. The story amps up a little bit when Eddie Kingston makes his triumphant return as the match got started.
I had two main takeaways from this match. First, Jericho has lost some weight and looks fantastic. Second, Santana is a star in the making. I don’t know where he was hiding this intensity and charisma, but he has singles stardom written all over him. This entire match revolved around him and his intensity.
Most of the match was dominated by Hager and Jericho until Santana received the hot tag, then the intensity ramped up. My favorite spot of the whole match was when Jericho reversed Santana’s flipping senton into the Walls of Jericho. Kingston eventually got involved, causing Jericho to dropkick him. This distraction allowed Santana and Ortiz to get the pinfall after a Discus Lariat by Santana. This felt a little awkward to me, like maybe it wasn’t supposed to happen exactly that way, but the correct people won. Good for Proud and Powerful.
3.75/5
Kingston and Jericho brawled after the match was over. That’s probably a Revolution match.
Segment:
- The Elite are backstage on the ‘Cutler Cam.’ Cole, O’Reilly, and Fish were proud of themselves for taking out Hangman and wondered where the Bucks were. It’s funny to watch Cole’s demeanor as the Bucks bicker with ReDragon. He’s like a kid between fighting parents. Both ReDragon and Young Bucks will be in the 3-way tag match qualifiers. I still don’t know how that will be decided.
No DQ: Mercedes Martinez vs. Thunder Rosa
Up next was the No Disqualification match between Mercedes Martinez and Thunder Rosa. I have been waiting for Mercedes to show what she can do ever since she arrived in AEW. This match really showcased how great both ladies are. Rosa and Mercedes beat the hell out of each other and almost took top spot of the evening in a great match.
Thunder Rosa wasted no time getting into the action by attacking Mercedes with a chair before the bell. The action only intensified hereafter. They tried killing each other throughout the arena and with every weapon possible.
Mercedes had my two favorite spots of the entire match. She set up a table against the ring and hit a nasty Fisherman’s buster suplex through it. The table only kind of broke, which made the spot look very painful. She only outdid herself later in the match by setting up Rosa on the top rope. She proceeded to hit a brutal Spider German Suplex from the top rope.
Thunder Rosa was able to overcome, however. She withstood all of the punishment and delivered a Fire Thunder driver onto a pile of chairs to defeat Mercedes in a fantastic match. Both ladies were phenomenal here, but I really enjoyed Mercedes getting a great spotlight.
4.25/5
- A quick video promo featuring the House of Black followed. I love these videos from him, and this one was no different. He started talking about history and made it seem like a new member was joining. Early indications seem to point to Buddy Matthews. YES PLEASE.
TNT Championship: Sammy Guevara (c) vs. Darby Allin
Our main event for the evening was the TNT Championship match between Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin. These two have a storied history already in the three years of AEW, but both men aren’t the same since their last fight in early 2020. This match was the perfect end to an already awesome night of Dynamite.
I really like how Sammy wears both belts now. Just a small touch that adds a little something to his star power. There really wasn’t much of a story in this match, outside of both men trying to kill each other. They started off with some great technical wrestling and escalated into downright bonkers stuff.
I couldn’t even accurately describe everything Darby and Sammy pulled off in this one. It’s a match that needs to be seen to believed. There were three separate spots that I absolutely loved. The first was Sammy hitting a flying senton on Darby, who was draped onto the ropes. The second was Darby attempting his crazy suicide dive, but Sammy reversed it into a cutter. Finally, Sammy went for another cutter, except Darby moved at the last second causing Sammy to senton right onto the apron. Both guys pulled off some amazing things in this match.
The ending of the match poured a little ice water on my feelings of it overall. Jose, Andrade’s assistant, comes out of nowhere to distract the referee. This allows Andrade to come from nowhere to hit Darby in the head with his tablet. Sammy takes advantage with a GTH and the pinfall. Matt Hardy also comes from nowhere to attack Sammy and Darby, allowing Andrade to hit Sammy with the tablet. Finally, Andrade walks off with both TNT titles and the show ends.
Now, I’m sure there’s a story being told here. It looks like Andrade will be getting a TNT Title shot very soon. For this reason, I understand why the main event ended that way. It did dampen my feelings on a possible five star match, however. That being said, I do like the possibility of a Triple Threat match at Revolution and how Andrade looked with those belts.
4.5/5
Match of the Night!
Verdict
AEW has found a groove. Dynamite in 2022, for the most part, has had a perfect blend of story and action. In essence, the show is completely story based. Obviously I love that. That’s not to say the matches are lagging behind now. Dynamite has had some awesome, Pay-Per-View level, matches over the last couple months. I love where AEW is headed in 2022.
And that is the perfect representation of this week’s episode of Dynamite. It was almost perfect! It’s the nitpickiest of nitpickings, but I only have two tiny gripes with the show. The ending was one, obviously. That gripe, by and large, can 100% be changed by letting the story play out. There’s definitely something coming next week with Andrade. My only other gripe is the opening format. I would love to see more opening matches. I like when Dynamite opens with a hot match.
None of that majorly takes away from the show, ultimately. It was a phenomenal show in addition to a slew of amazing 2022 Dynamites.
4.75/5 Amazing