Every single week in 2022 I’ve said some semblance of, “All Elite Wrestling is on fire.” Well this inferno hasn’t slowed down at all as Dynamite comes to San Antonio this week. Hot off of one of their best PPV’s to date, has AEW stayed in the flames? Or has there been a giant ice bucket of water poured onto the show?
Let’s find out!
‘Hangman’ Adam Page & Jurassic Express vs. Adam Cole & reDRagon
Dynamite started with a bang this week by starting the show with one of the best matches of the night. Adam Cole wants another fight with Hangman, has teamed up with his besties, and challenged Hangman and Jurassic Express. It’s interesting that Hangman decided on teaming with the tag champs, instead of the Dark Order. The friendship between Hangman and the Dark Order seems to be splintering. Seeing that makes me thing a Hangman versus Dark Order member might be in the future.
The story of the match revolved Cole, Fish, and O’Reilly being a cohesive unit. Hangman and his dino friends came with the firepower, but ultimately Cole and reDRagon were the better trio. My favorite part of the match saw all three champs on one turnbuckle, and then they simultaneously triple moonsaulted onto Cole and reDRagon. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. Jurassic Express comes up with awesome unique moves every single week.
Every trios match ends up becoming a whirlwind of moves, which ended after Fish and O’Reilly hit the High/Low out of nowhere. Adam Cole followed up with the BOOM knee and the pinfall victory. Apparently whether or not Cole lowers the knee pad is a story now. Good match to start out a fun night.
3.75/5
Segments:
- Schiavone is backstage with Keith Lee, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Ricky Starks. Starks and Hobbs were talking trash after beating Keith up last week on Rampage. They plan on doing it again after Lee’s match with Max Caster this week. Keith Lee didn’t seem to care, however. I’m quite intrigued where all of this is going.
- Color me MORE intrigued where this is going. Kris Statlander was featured in a short video package depicting her taking off her alien makeup. Giving Statlander more story and character is something I can get behind.
Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson vs. Chuck Taylor & Wheeler Yuta
Up next was a bout between my new favorite tag team, Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson, taking on Chuck Taylor and Wheeler Yuta. Obviously this match was going to end with Moxley and Danielson winning, but it wasn’t as quick as I assumed. The story played into this perfectly.
Danielson and Mox assumed that they could dominate this match by isolating Wheeler Yuta from Chuck Taylor. They didn’t take into account that the Best Friends are a good group. They fought back against the superpowered team multiple times. Wheeler Yuta really shined in this match, which also played into the story.
My favorite part of the Moxley and Danielson team is their tag team combination moves. It’s always so simple, yet devastating looking. Danielson had an Indian Death Lock wrapped around Yuta’s face until Moxley came in hot with a dropkick. Technical and simple moves blended to perfection.
Wheeler Yuta kept surviving until he didn’t. Moxley and Danielson eventually finished it with the Stomps and Bulldog choke. Good match here!
3.5/5
However, the story did not end with the match. Yuta was pissed about the outcome, causing him to run back into the ring. He proceeded to get in Regal’s face, say something to him, and earn himself a slap from hell. Yuta didn’t back down, however, and showed an intensity not seen before. Everyone in the ring smiled ear to ear, but the Best Friends on the rampway were less than amused. This was a phenomenal after match angle.
Segments:
- FTR was backstage talking to Tony Schiavone about firing Tully Blanchard. The Young Bucks interrupted the interview with one of their weirdest outfits to date. They proceeded to bash FTR about their failures as a tag team, which are fair criticisms. The Bucks don’t see a path for success for FTR, even if they bring in a “Best There Is.” A particularly on the nose tease by the Young Bucks there. Might be seeing Bret Hart soon.
- Another backstage segment followed this, with Max Caster talking about beating up Keith Lee on Rampage. Ricky Starks and Will Hobbs enter stage right to make sure that Caster takes him out. Swerve Strickland enters stage left, for some reason, and reminds everyone that it’s his house. There’s a lot to process here.
- Everything that followed that just needs a round of applause. Inner Circle 2.0, I mean the Jericho Appreciation Society, came down to the ring for their ‘Commencement.’ This was stupid, silly, and I loved every second of it. Right away, 2point0 started licking Jericho’s boots. That seems to be the essence of the group, but this segment was so much more. They start throwing around the “Sports Entertainer” buzzword. Calling Daniel Garcia a “Sports Entertainer” is such a fantastic idea because it will piss people off. The JAS is here to “beat up Pro Wrestlers.” So great! Cocky Jericho is best Jericho.
TNT Championship: Scorpio Sky (c) vs. Wardlow
Up next was the TNT Championship match and it was…something.
Wardlow’s first title shot was always going to be mired in the MJF muck. The Salt of the Earth wasn’t going to let him win after what Wardlow did to him at Revolution. I just wish the rest of the match was good enough to warrant MJF’s obvious betrayal.
It was not.
The match started perfectly fine. Scorpio Sky kept trying to piss Wardlow off, but the big man was unimpressed. Good character work between the two, except I needed a lot more other stuff. American Top Team got involved at one point to distract Wardlow for Scorpio Sky. Can we please stop allowing these non-wrestling American Top Team people from getting physical? They aren’t good and look ridiculous trying to step up to actual wresters. Tonight’s offender was that Austin fellow who’s with Paige VanZant.
After Scorpio had the advantage for awhile, Wardlow finally took over after multiple Belly to Belly suplexes, a One Handed Chokeslam, and culminated with the Powerbomb Symphony. Shawn Spears rudely interrupted the glorious composition to allow MJF to bash Wardlow’s face into the ring post. Scorpio Sky proceeded to simply roll up Wardlow for the victory. Apparently a single ring post to the face is enough to surprise pin Wardlow. Was not a fan of this match at all.
2.25/5
The after match segment was in complete contrast to the match itself. It was great with one question mark. MJF apparently paid off Dan Lambert to make Wardlow’s life living hell for their match. Obviously that makes sense, story-wise, for MJF to do this. Spears and MJF proceed to hit a chair and Diamond ring shot to Wardlow’s face.
Quick Question though. How did MJF get his Dynamite Diamond Ring back from CM Punk?
A fast interlude followed, with Jade Cargill looking for her next victim. This one needs to be special because she’ll be 30-0. All Elite Wrestling is building her next opponent up. I wonder who it could be?
The Hardys vs. Private Party
We had the All Elite Wrestling debut of The Hardys as a tag team up next. It’s so cool to see Matt and Jeff reunited under the AEW banner. Pitting them against the greatest tag team division in history is a fantastic idea. It all started with a fairly standard Hardy match against Private Party. The fans were treated to every old school Hardy combo, DELETE chants, and I loved every second of it.
The Hardys didn’t roll over Private Party, which I appreciated. They’re a great tag team in their own right, and deserved some shine. My favorite part of the whole match was when Isiah Kassidy hit Matt Hardy with an inverted drop into the ring post and yelled “No more kids for you!” I laughed way too hard at this. Kassidy has great comedic timing, along with all of his other underrated aspects.
The match finished with double Twist of Fates and a Swanton Bomb. Good match!
3.5/5
It was nice to watch the Hardys being the Hardys again. Granted it was a cookie cutter Hardy Boyz match, I loved it. I’m excited to see the fun things they pull out of their creative hats.
AEW Women’s Championship Steel Cage: Dr. Britt Baker DMD(c) vs. Thunder Rosa
ANDDD NEWWWW!!!!!
It finally happened! In back to back weeks, All Elite Wrestling has pulled the trigger on long deserving challengers. Thunder Rosa is the new All Elite Wrestling Women’s Champion! This cage match was everything it needed to be. These two women went to war in a bloody affair with chairs, thumbtacks, and referee bumps!
Oh my!
The story of the match revolved around Britt finally coming to the realization that she was alone in that cage with Rosa. She did everything she could to stop the surging Rosa on her trip to the promise land. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough to stop Thunder Rosa.
It was a fairly even affair, with both ladies having their share of offense. Rosa hit a stunner on 3-16 day, which was cool. The intensity really ramped up after Britt introduced fifteen chairs into the ring. Paul Turner ended up on the ass end of an inadvertent superkick, so when Britt hit Rosa with an Avalanche Air Raid crash through the pile of chairs, nobody was there to count. Aubrey Edwards ran down to the ring as the replacement ref, however Rosa kicked out at a close two.
Even more plunder was introduced, with the inevitable thumbtacks making their hundredth appearance in an AEW match. It’s a cool sight, but slightly overused in All Elite Wrestling. There’s other ways of ramping up the intensity in a hardcore style match. Both ladies ended up in the tacks, with Rosa ending it with a powerbomb and Fire Thunder Driver into the thumbtacks. Pinfall victory for Rosa!!!
4/5
Match of the Night
Good for Thunder Rosa!! She deserved this win because she’s such an incredible wrestler and seems like an incredible person. I’ve been a little critical of the AEW Women’s booking of late, and I hope that changes. She deserves a fantastic run with the title.
I really liked this match, however I did have a few gripes with it. The timing felt a little rushed, like they were going from crazy spot to crazy spot without selling it properly. Didn’t take much away, though.
Verdict
This episode of All Elite Wrestling Dynamite flew by like a whirlwind. It felt like the show just started when the main event started. AEW definitely continues its streak of great shows. At the same time, look at the cards for the past few weeks. There’s no Kenny Omega, CM Punk, MJF (showed up for a second), or Cody Rhodes on any of these cards. This is another key point in realizing that All Elite Wrestling has built an all time roster.
Even though this week’s episode wasn’t my favorite, I had a lot of fun. I believe wrestling fans have forgotten that word. FUN. Is the show fun? That’s my barometer for good and bad. For that reason, I will rarely rate anything under a 2/5. Even the matches I don’t like, tonight’s TNT match for example, still have segments that I enjoy.
Professional Wrestling is supposed to be a variety pack of fun. If something isn’t for you? Awesome. That’s why AEW is the gift that keeps on giving. All Elite Wrestling is variety show amusement park I’m happy to pay the price of admission to every single week.
Overall: 4/5