All Elite Wrestling has found a serious groove. Tony Khan has assembled an unbelievable roster of talent that allows AEW to switch things around and still have amazing cards every week. We aren’t even one year removed from the exclusive Daily’s Place Pandemic era and the roster has turned itself on it’s head.
This week on Dynamite, fans were treated to multiple Owen Hart qualifiers, The Hardys in action, SAMOA JOE in action, Christian Cage taking on Adam Cole, and FTR revitalizing their feud with the Young Bucks. How was the show? Did AEW continue their fiery momentum?
Let’s find out!
Christian Cage vs. Adam Cole
Dynamite started with another awesome match this week. Christian Cage had enough of Adam Cole’s crap and wanted a piece. I love a good story, but starting Dynamite off with this caliber of a match just feels right. This match was so good too. Cole played the hits and Christian Cage brought his best.
The story of the match played perfectly with the overall slow pace. Wily veteran Cage kept gaining the upper hand until Cole would outsmart him. Cage, the crazy kook, leapfrogged over the ring post onto Cole on the floor. He takes a lot of risks for someone with past neck injuries.
I really like the story AEW is telling with Adam Cole. Christian Cage missed a diving headbutt, which led to Cole hitting the Boom knee. Cage proceeded to kickout because Cole didn’t lower his knee pad from the knee itself. That is subtle storytelling that works perfect.
Eventually they escalated into big moves and countering each others finishers. Cole kept attempting the Panama Sunrise, but Cage had it scouted. Cole finally stole the upper hand with an eye poke, the full powered BOOM knee, and the inevitable pinfall.
This was a great opening match! Cole and Cage had fantastic chemistry, and the story was great.
4/5
Owen Tournament Qualifier: Samoa Joe vs. Max Caster
Samoa Joe is All Elite. That sentence feels so weird. I never expected the day where I saw Samoa Joe on my All Elite Wrestling television. Well, that day happened, and it was glorious. I missed getting to see Samoa Joe do what he does best: look healthy, vicious, and a cold blooded killer.
The match didn’t last very long, either. Joe overwhelmed Caster right out the gate. The Acclaimed tried to use their usual antics, but Joe wasn’t having any of it. He inevitably hit the Muscle Buster for the victory. That’s right! The Muscle Buster is back!!!
3/5
After the match, Jay Lethal and Sanjay Dutt appear on the rampway screen to berate Joe about his interruption Friday night. Apparently Jay Lethal had been calling ‘his mentor’ for months to no avail, but Joe came running when ‘a billionaire calls.’ Jay Lethal’s first proper feud being Samoa Joe is very good stuff!
A quick interlude interview with the Blackpool Combat Club followed that match and segment. We are getting Bryan Danielson facing Trent Baretta and Jon Moxley facing Wheeler Yuta on Rampage. William Regal had one of the funniest lines I’ve heard in awhile: “Young Wheeler won’t know if it’s Daylight, Moonlight, or Fanny by the Gaslight when Jon Moxley is done with him.” Regal delivers simple lines perfectly!
Shawn Spears vs. Shawn Dean
The next match was initiated by MJF gracing us with his presence on commentary for Shawn Spears taking on Shawn Dean. Multiple things were interesting here. First, the looming presence of Wardlow possibly interfering made this match fun to watch. Second, Shawn Dean technically had a victory over MJF. Yes, granted it was a DQ caused by CM Punk, but it’s still fun to say!
This match was quick with Spears in charge for most of it, except the ending. Wardlow made his presence known again by attempting another crowd entrance. He almost made it to MJF, but the increased security eventually got him again. I love the way AEW has slow played this. Keep building the suspense of, “will he or won’t he,” make it to MJF this week. Great stuff!
After all the fracas died down, unfortunately for Shawn Spears, there was still a match going on. Shawn Dean surprised Spears for a pinfall! ‘The Captain’ is 2-0 against the Pinnacle! When surprise rollup pinfalls are done sporadically, they can be awesome. That’s exactly what this was.
3/5
Segments:
- Tony Schiavone is backstage with Best Friends and newly crowned ROH Pure Champ, Wheeler Yuta. Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy don’t like the route Wheeler has taken for his newfound success, but still sees a future for Yuta as a Best Friend. Trent, on the other hand, dislikes him and thinks he’s a traitor. Yuta doesn’t seem to care as he faces Jon Moxley on Rampage.
- AEW then showed an ‘earlier tonight’ video segment with Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz running off the Jericho Appreciation Society from the building. Eddie continues to be the best as he hilariously threw a huge TV at them. The fan favorite trio proceed to boast about it in the ring, then proceed to call out the JAS as cowards. This short promo was amazing by all three men, and there’s a six man next week.
- Schiavone returns backstage with Jade Cargill introducing her “Baddies Section” in the crowd. Every week she wants a local group of confident women to show off, except Jade’s 30th opponent, Marina Shafir, is not allowed in. “The Problem” Marina Shafir now has a “Problem Solver.” Jade gets better every single week. This was a phenomenal promo that has built this fight into one I can’t wait to see.
- MJF and Shawn Spears are backstage and obviously aggravated over the earlier events. Wardlow keeps getting into buildings, Shawn Dean has two wins over the Pinnacle, and both MJF and Spears look like idiots because of it. MJF wants to make Shawn Dean pay next week. I’m sure Wardlow won’t make another appearance.
Butcher & Blade vs. The Hardys
We had a Tables match up next between The Hardys and Butcher and Blade. Unfortunately this match was not great. It started off on the wrong foot when Jeff Hardy was eliminated very early, but the table didn’t really break; it sort of just collapsed under his weight. Everyone looked confused and just continued on.
It didn’t help the match that the rules were a little convoluted. Both team members needing to go through a table was fine, but using an “Offensive Move” was a little convoluted. There were a couple of instances where someone went through a table after a dodge, except that didn’t count. Commentary kept needing to explain that they weren’t out. I think this is AEW’s first ever tables match, so let’s give them some leeway to figure out the rules.
The story of the match should have already been figured out because it wasn’t great either. Jeff Hardy was eliminated early, then Butcher was eliminated on a really cool Leg Drop, but both men eventually just returned to the match. I understand that it was ‘No DQ,’ but what was the point of the eliminations?
This all culminated with Jeff Hardy hitting a massive swanton bomb on Blade to eliminate him. Not to beat a dead horse, but why could an eliminated member factor into the decision? This match was all over the place and never found its footing. There were some cool spots, however I just never felt this one.
2.5/5
Segments:
- Up next was a very intriguing backstage segment with Jurassic Express. Christian looked pissed about the outcome of his match with Adam Cole, and he stormed off before anyone could say anything. Jungle Boy proceeded to challenge reDRagon next week for the AEW Tag Team titles. It was only a matter of time before Christian turned on Jurassic Express, but could he cost them the titles? That would generate some nuclear heat!
- Recent Owen Hart Tournament qualifiers, Jamie Hayter and Toni Storm, had a quick backstage face to face. Both ladies can’t wait for the tournament and hope to face each other. This is why wrestling tournaments are the best. The stories write themselves! Each person has motivation for winning!
Owen Tournament Qualifier: Hikaru Shida vs. Julia Hart
Speaking of an Owen Tournament qualifier, Hikaru Shida and Julia Hart faced each other for another spot in the tournament. This match was pretty darn good, too! It was great to see Shida back and Julia Hart has improved tremendously.
Before the match I was wondering whether we’ll ever get any forward momentum on Julia’s eye patch story or a dark side. I was answered immediately after Shida walked down to the ring, as Julia attacked her before the bell! The Cheerleader fought dirty during the match as well. It’s great to see some personality changes to Julia Hart, which even led her to sending Griff Garrison and Brian Pillman away from the ring. They were disapproving of her tactics and she wasn’t happy about it.
The story ultimately came down to Shida overcoming Julia however. Shida strung moves together, hit her big kick, and finished Hart off with the Falcon Arrow. This was pretty good match that surprised me by how much I was invested.
3.25/5
The camera cut backstage with Swerve Strickland in a quick interview. A locker room brawl ensued as Hobbs and Starks blindsided him. Fortunately for Swerve, Keith Lee was nearby to save the day. It all culminated as Keith Lee speared Hobbs through a weak wall. This was a simple brawl that I enjoyed. It did feel like the participants were just waiting off camera to start it, though.
ROH & AAA Tag Team Championship match: FTR (c) vs. Young Bucks
What an amazing run FTR has been on. Ever since losing the back to back Tag Battle Royales, they’ve won the AAA titles, Ring of Honor titles, and participated in two separate masterpiece affairs in a week! Everyone knew this match would be great, and it lived up to the hype. If you haven’t seen it by now, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
The stakes felt even bigger because both the AAA and ROH titles were on the line. I enjoyed ROH stalwart, Bobby Cruise, ring announcing this one. I hope AEW continues to use him for Ring of Honor matches on Dynamite. You could feel the energy in the air. The crowd was solely behind FTR, who started the match continuously mocking the Jacksons. Dax Harwood grabbed Nick Jackson’s headband and stuck in his trunks. I’m not proud of how much I laughed at that.
I don’t know what to say. This match was phenomenal. The tag team psychology all four men possess isn’t matched by anyone currently. The intensity ramped up after Dax Harwood received the hot tag, which saw huge move hit after huge move. Dax’s piledriver onto Matt looked incredibly vicious!
The Young Bucks used the ROH Belt once, hit a low blow, and even tried using FTR’s finishing move against them! The Jackson’s pulled out all of the stops, but FTR would not being denied in this one. The champs rubbed some dirt in the Young Bucks faces by hitting the BTE trigger on Matt Jackson, mocking the Adam Cole kiss, and hitting the Big Rig for the victory.
Wrestling fans are spoiled to have these legendary tag teams wrestling at the same time. Whenever they get in the ring, we need to pay attention. FTR and the Bucks are on a whole other level right now. Obviously match of the night.
Match of the Night
4.75/5
Verdict
What a show! What a main event!
Wrestling fans have been spoiled these past seven days. While I don’t watch much WWE, Wrestlemania week brought a lot of action and fun for those that do. The Showcase of the Immortals was great, there were numerous indie shows to springboard off of WWE, and Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling brought the fire with their shows too. The Wrestling industry is better than ever. Speaking of better than ever…
How about them FTR boys?
These two fought the Briscoes in an absolute masterpiece last Friday at Supercard of Honor, only to fight the Young Bucks five days later. They have two big company tag titles and I hope they win them all. Just give them every tag title, make this the Summer of FTR, and let them run roughshod over everyone. I cannot believe how good these dudes are.
Wrestling fans are spoiled, and yet, everyone must complain about something! Be positive everyone! Even when there’s something you don’t like! I wasn’t a fan of the Tables match this week, but the opening and closing matches made this episode amazing. All Elite Wrestling is on a tear and I cannot wait to see what’s next.
Overall: 4.5/5