It’s Dynamite Time!
After taking a necessary break, I’m back to review Dynamite this week. All Elite Wrestling was in Philadelphia with a loaded card from top to bottom. Even on a show without their main champion, loaded shows are a weekly occurrence. The AEW roster continues to be the deepest roster in history.
This week’s show featured an Owen Hart Qualifier between FTR teammates, a Philly Street Fight, and a TNT Championship Ladder match to hopefully finish that feud. But how was the overall show?!
Let’s find out!
Owen Hart Qualifier: Dax Harwood vs. Cash Wheeler
Our opening match was the Owen Hart Qualifier between Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler. I wish this was the main event because these two tag team stalwarts tore the house down. This match was awesome in every way. I had wished it was slightly longer and finished just a little differently. That being said, it was far and away the best match of the evening.
Everything felt different and awesome from the get go because FTR came out together and CM Punk was on commentary. Punk on commentary is always fantastic, but with all of the Hart Family teases the three of them make, it added to the weight of the match.
The story of the match obviously revolved around FTR’s relationship. Dax Harwood has had more singles success than Cash, but Cash was out to prove that he can hang. Commentary asked a wonderful question about both guys knowing dirty tricks and using them against their brother.
Well about halfway through the match, Dax ‘accidentally’ poked Cash in the eye behind the refs back. Obviously Cash was pissed off about it, which caused the intensity to ramp up a bit. This match had it all: intensity, story, mat wrestling. It was incredible. They kept trading move after move until Dax hit his Slingshot Liger Bomb for a two count. The match escalated to the ending after both men came crashing through the ropes causing Cash to hurt his knee.
Dax added one more wrinkle into the story at the end, with a Sharpshooter attempt. He hesitated to apply such a devastating move onto his partners knee because they were still partners and champions. That is an amazing touch! Cash took advantage of the hesitation with a rollup counter, but Dax took advantage of Cash’s injured knee to steal the victory with his own rollup pinfall! Dax wins!
Ohhh that was awesome. That had everything. I wish there would have been a slightly different finish, but it fit the masterful narrative. Massive AEW tournaments are perfect avenues for storytelling!
4.5/5
Match of the Night
Blackpool Combat Club vs. The Factory
Up next was a fun trios match between the, insanely over, Blackpool Combat Club and the Factory. Philadelphia is Wheeler Yuta’s hometown and the chants were deafening. He’s one of the most popular guys in AEW right now and you love to see it!
The story of the match was fairly simple. QT Marshall took advantage of Yuta’s inexperience until Bryan received the proverbial hot tag to escalate into the finish. I loved how they finished this one. Nick Comoroto and Yuta were battling one on one, with the big man using his strength and Yuta using his learned cunning from Bryan, Moxley, and Regal. Yuta finishes Comoroto with the Bulldog Choke, massive elbow strikes, and the Seatbelt Pin for the victory!
An absolute wonderful little six man match to showcase the growth of Yuta. He’s learning from his stablemates and finished the match with his own move. They’ve created a homegrown star so fast it is literally insane.
3.25/5
Segments:
- Schiavone is backstage again with Britt, Hayter, and Toni Storm. Because talking to each other was too difficult last week, this week they all promised to stay put. Toni found a friend, however, which was Ruby Soho. Ruby is so funny and should be a great cohort to Toni Storm. I really like this pairing, which probably means that all four of them should fight. Yes please.
- Jurassic Express and Christian Cage were backstage now, and this one left me flabbergasted. Christian Cage seemingly called Jungle Boy a loser and claimed that he should be disappointed that he lost his Owen Hart Tournament qualifying match. Cage then quickly changed the subject to an open challenge, which was answered by Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks. I could go for a Hobbs and Starks AEW Tag Team Champions.
Lance Archer vs. Wardlow
Up next was a big haus battle between two monsters who have zero business being as athletic as they are. This match was right up my alley with the underutilized Murderhawk Monster hired by MJF to take out my personal AEW favorite, Wardlow. The Salt of the Earth was sitting up in the skybox again with his natural snug face.
The action started hot with Archer not even waiting for Wardlow to be prepped by the security detail. He hit Wardlow with a cannonball senton right away, which was a really cool visual. This match was just a perfect display of both men’s abilities.
Wardlow was as intense as ever and was flying around like a luchador. He hit a hurricanrana and a swanton bomb to show everyone how athletic he is. Archer is no slouch either because he hit his rope walk moonsault, which seemed to rock Wardlow a little.
They fought back and forth, which inevitably led to Wardlow hitting FOUR POWERBOMBS onto the massive Archer. Huge props to both men for doing that. Wardlow pins Archer to raucous cheering! The buildup in turning Wardlow into a monster star has been nothing short of a masterclass. Even the small touch of not playing music, which causes the crowd to chant his name, is brilliant. AEW has played the perfect long game with Wardlow, which only helps ones stardom.
3.5/5
A very weird and out of place segment followed. The Jericho Appreciation society came to the ring to address Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz. The JAS spent most of their time gloating because AEW management (Tony Khan) had prohibited Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz from touching the JAS. Jericho did his quintessential cocky talking down until Kingston shut everything down. The intensity of the Mad King creates unbelievable promos, even though I’m over this feud. They threaten each other and Jericho looked legitimately scared. Pretty good stuff even though it’s no different than anything else here…
Philly Street Fight: Serena Deeb vs. Hikaru Shida
Instantly going hard at each other. Oh owww Deeb uses the chair on Shida’s knee. That’s the callback Deeb tearing that knee apart. The Professor goes to school on tearing apart a limb. Shida sends Deeb into the chair, but Deeb grabbed something. Oh it’s a powder? Shida blinded. Keeps teasing the knee. Avalanche Falcon Arrow and two count. Kendo Stick choke looks brutal. Detox on the chair, kickout at close two. Serenity Lock, slams knee into chair, and Texas Cloverleaf for the victory! Let’s go Deeb!
This match was very good. It’s difficult to keep an amazing quality through a series of five matches, but these two have had incredible bouts. Great finale between them as well.
3.75/5
Segments:
- MJF was backstage again with Lexy Nair. Despite Wardlow’s success, the Salt of the Earth has a plan. He gave someone a call to be Wardlow’s next match, and the tease seemed to indicate Impact Wrestling’s W Morrissey (FKA Big Cass). A match between those two would be incredibly interesting. Morrissey has been pretty darn good during his return in Impact Wrestling.
- The House of Black announced their presence by, what honestly looked like, a cold blooded murder of Fuego del Sol. Fuego had been tempting Malakai and the House, and I guess they gave him a response. Fortunately there was more to this a returning PAC and Rey Fenix to unite the Death Triangle. It looks like we’ll be getting these amazing teams going against each other. But seriously…Trios titles.
- An Owen Hart Tournament qualifier between Darby Allin and Swerve Strickland is happening on Rampage. I cannot wait for that one. I love this Owen Hart tournament already. The possibilities continue to be endless.
Adam Cole, Young Bucks, reDRagon vs. Dante Martin, Varsity Blonds, Lee Johnson, and Brock Anderson
Up next was a random ten man squash match with the newly dubbed ‘Undisputed Elite’ facing off against the Varsity Blonds, Lee Johnson, Dante Martin, and Brock Anderson. I disagree with AEW’s usage of ten man tags, to be honest. They should exist out of Eliminator matches. Those can tell a story. Ten man tags usually have too much going on to follow, even though this one did what it set out to do.
With the stacked roster that AEW has now, it’s pretty easy to forget about guys that have been there forever. That’s not the case with the Young Bucks. I remember how much I miss the Bucks every time I hear that legendary music hit.
The match did everything it needed to. Dante displayed his unfair athleticism at one point, but this match was solely about the Undisputed Elite getting on the same page and finishing this one quickly. Cool
3/5
The was a quick interlude before the main event as the camera cuts to the parking lot. The Jericho Appreciation Society apparently beat the crap out of Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz. This quick segment ended with Jericho throwing fire into Kingston’s face. That was a really cool visual! Where is this feud leading? I assume there will be a five on five at some point, right? Blood and Guts?
TNT Championship Ladder Match: Sammy Guevara (c) vs. Scorpio Sky
AND NEW!!!!
Our main event of the evening was the TNT Championship ladder rematch between Scorpio Sky and Sammy Guevara. Sky was screwed out of his, just beginning, title run and long undefeated streak by Sammy and Tay. He obviously wanted revenge for this. Thankfully Sky reigned supreme this evening, but in a disjointed and weird match.
We need to have a talk about Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti. They needed to turn heel, which they thankfully did a few weeks ago, but I cannot stand the characters they created. It’s just not for me. If you like it? That’s great! But I don’t need to see horny teenagers telling us to ‘be mad at their horniness.’ That kind of character work is straight out of peak WWE era.
The match itself was…fine, I guess.
Both men brawled for awhile to begin until the Ladders were introduced. It didn’t take long for Sammy to up the ante with an attempt at a Phoenix Splash from the top of the ladder. Well he missed and landed right on his shoulder, almost his head. He’s lucky he didn’t kill himself. At some point, someone needs to sit him down and seriously talk about these spots.
The coolest part of the match was a nice callback to the Sammy/Cody match. Sammy grabbed a smaller ladder while Sky tried climbing the bigger one. Guevara attempted the same cutter he did on Cody, except Sky countered cutter for cutter and caught him midair. It was really cool.
A barbed wire ladder was also introduced at some point, because two ladders weren’t enough. Lamber, Conti, and Paige Van Zant all got involved at one point, but thankfully none of them played into the finish.
Both guys were brawling at the top of the main ladder until Sammy fell backwards through the barbed wire ladder. This ending is my main issue with this match. Sammy got back up immediately afterwards to stop Sky from winning. Five seconds is all it takes to overcome falling through a barbed wire ladder. Thankfully Sky pushed him off one last time to gain his gold back!
3.25/5
A disjointed match with unnecessary and weird bits into it. Guevara himself has had better ladder matches. Right guy won though.
Verdict
And that was Dynamite for this week! What did you think!? Let me know on Twitter @EikelberryNick.
All Elite Wrestling continues to be on fire every single week. This week’s rendition of Dynamite was a really good one, despite the awkward main event. Obviously my favorite match was the outstanding opener between Dax and Cash.
Overall: 4/5
I’m happy to be back and cannot wait for Double or Nothing! I didn’t even talk about CM Punk versus Hangman being announced! That’s going to be great! I wish I could partake in AEW’s return to Sin City!