Dynamite was back with a vengeance this week! The entire wrestling world has been obsessed with Paul Levesque’s WWE creative direction since he took over a couple of weeks ago as the head of all creative ventures. Wrestling is so much better when TWO great American companies are leading the charge. All Elite Wrestling was here to remind us this week that they’ve been having great shows all year long! Even with cards that might evoke some disappointment at first glance. This episode flew by with fun segments and good matches. The women’s tag match was the second match of the night! PROGRESS!
Let’s talk about it!
Orange Cassidy vs. Jay Lethal
The first match of the evening was between Jay Lethal and Orange Cassidy. I was pleasantly surprised by how this match went. The action was good, the story was great, and the ending shocked me.
The story of the match revolved around Jay Lethal targeting Orange Cassidy’s left leg. Cassidy spent the majority of the match hobbled because of Lethal’s attacks, which prevented him from using a lot of his offense. Most notably, the Orange Punch., which Cassidy kept unsuccessfully attempting. Freshly Squeezed just couldn’t push off the leg. I’m a simple man. I enjoy limb work when it’s done well, despite it being overdone.
The match escalated to a conclusion as Cassidy gained some momentum. Cassidy couldn’t catch a break, however, because Lethal would kick the left leg to hold some semblance of advantage. This allowed Lethal to hit the Lethal Injection for the victory. Great match to start Dynamite!
3.75/5
- After the bout, Sonjay Dutt came down to interview his friend about Wardlow. The WarDog stuck his nose in Lethal’s business with the Best Friends last week, and he was about to do it again. Lethal started beating up Cassidy, triggering Best Friends and Wardlow to save him. Wardlow and Jay Lethal are scheduled for Battle of the Belts this Saturday. That should be good!
Undisputed Elite Segment
Sometimes, simple is the right way to go. After being away for months, Adam Cole and the Undisputed Elite are back! Cole and Kyle O’Reilly have not been medically cleared to wrestle yet, so the makeshift ‘leader’ of the Elite wanted to address the upcoming Trios Tournament. You could start to see the cracks popping up by what Cole was saying, so I saw this next part coming. I’ve seen Adam Cole turn on many people…
Cole tells the Bucks that they can’t wrestle in the Trios Tournament because neither he nor O’Reilly is medically cleared. Cue Cole turning on the Young Bucks. I did not expect that when I first saw the segment coming up, but Cole made it obvious. Who made the save? Also obvious, but it was HANGMAN ADAM PAGE! I got chills as Hangman saved the Bucks and shook Matt’s hand.
Sometimes, simple and obvious elicits the perfect reaction.
Segments:
- Moxley was backstage for a quick promo. He doesn’t care who wins versus Yuta and Jericho because he has zero respect for anyone in the ring opposite him.
- Earlier today, Schiavone was trying to interview Christian Cage, when Jungle Boy tried to run them over!!! I’m a huge fan of this angry side of Jungle Boy.
ThunderStorm vs. Britt Baker & Jaime Hayter
Up next was a phenomenal match between ThunderStorm taking on Britt Baker and Jaime Hayter. I’m so happy that these four were showcased for almost fifteen minutes in the first hour of the show. I just feel like your AEW Women’s Champion should be featured on your show! This is a fantastic step in the right direction.
The chemistry between Toni Storm and Thunder Rosa is incredible. Their synchronized quick tags and tandem moves are of a veteran tag team. Britt and Jaime were good too. All four ladies spent the majority trading moves against each other. Jaime Hayter is very strong as she hit a simultaneous suplex on Storm and Rosa. They kept hitting moves on each other until Toni Storm started hitting her Hip Attack over and over. Britt pulled Thunder Rosa into Toni, which allowed Hayter to hit her massive Lariat for the victory! Hayter pinned the number one contender!
I loved that match. There are a lot of opportunities that come from that decision. Will Rosa and Storm get through the bump in the road? Hayter, not Britt, got the title shot. Is Britt going to be happy for Jaime? This is good stuff! We’ll find out more this Saturday at Battle of the Belts with Jaime Hayter taking on Thunder Rosa!
4/5
Match of the Night
- Eddie Kingston challenged Sammy Guevara to a match at All Out. I will be happy to see Eddie beat up Sammy Guevara. I also agree with Eddie that nobody cares about Sammy and Tay getting engaged. Their whole “Be Mad” gimmick is incredibly annoying.
Segments:
- Powerhouse Hobbs was out for a quick match to destroy some person I didn’t even catch the name of. The big man received one of the coolest entrances in all of AEW. Taz surprised me with an announcement that he’s finished with the Team Taz drama. Team Taz is DONE. Ricky Starks comes down to fight Hobbs but comes out on the ass end of a giant Spinebuster. This feud is already one of my favorites in AEW. I cannot wait to see where it goes.
- Miro was here in a promo talking to god again. “Everyone reveals themselves, and you know the Redeemer will too.” I have no idea where this feud is going, but I think Miro is facing Malakai somewhere. YES PLEASE.
- Darby and Brody King had dueling promos and they are having a coffin match next week.
Matt Hardy vs. Christian Cage
Up next was a match between two storied veterans with a landfill of history between them. Christian Cage and Matt Hardy had a good match on a night loaded with good matches. Cage and Hardy left it all out in the ring.
It was an evenly matched affair until Christian Cage used the steel steps to knock Hardy out for awhile. Both guys kept trying to use the timekeepers table to do serious damage, which ended up being foreshadowing to the climax. They battled for awhile, but Hardy tried to end Christian with a flying elbow through the table. Hardy unfortunately missed, went through the table himself, and was put away from the Killswitch. I was pleasantly surprised by this one! Christian Cage usually has great matches, but Matt Hardy is a little hit or miss for me. This one was a big hit. A good story and action!
3.5/5
Christian Cage tried ending Matt Hardy’s life with the ConChairTo, but Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy came to the ring for the save. I’m less intrigued by this story now that Luchasaurus is a good guy, but I’m still curious to see where it goes.
Segments:
- Daniel Garcia was backstage bragging about beating up Bryan Danielson. Round two please!
- PAC defended his All Atlantic Championship at RevPro show again, but this time was different. Kip Sabian has been following him around, appearing in the crowd like he has been one to do recently. Is Kip finally making his return to the ring!?
- Ethan Page yelled into a live microphone next. He dislikes his spot in AEW and rightfully so. Ethan Page deserves better! Stokely Hathaway popped up behind Ethan Page and whispered something into Page’s ear. Ethan Page seemed to join whatever Stokely is putting together. Hathaway has been everywhere of late, which makes me very happy. He’s a phenomenal manager.
- JAS backstage with Anna Jay, Matt Menard, and Angelo Parker going insane. Anna Jay chokes a random backstage helper. Cool…? I’m happy for Anna Jay, but I could use LESS of the Jericho Goon Society. Not more.
Dumpster Match: Acclaimed vs. Gunn Club
When the Acclaimed first announced that this week’s match between them and the Gunn Club would be a Dumpster match, I assumed the match would be exactly that: a Dumpster fire. Exactly like the Christian Cage and Matt Hardy match, I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. This match was ridiculous, asinine, and a perfect blend of fun action.
There hasn’t been a Dumpster match since the 90s, for good reason, but these two teams did a very good job incorporating the Dumpster just enough to make it fun. Both teams were able to get good offense in, tease victories, and showcase their stuff. Nothing of note happened until the ending when Austin Gunn and Max Caster fought on top of the Entrance ramp. Austin got thrown off the ramp into the Dumpster, which allowed Caster to hit the Mic Drop on Colten Gunn through a table. Acclaimed win!
The Acclaimed then pushed the Gunn Club off of the Entrance Ramp while still in the Dumpster. This looked to not go as planned and I hope the Gunns are okay. Good match!
3.25/5
Chris Jericho vs. Wheeler Yuta
I couldn’t believe it was already main event time! This week’s episode flew by so fast, it was like the Roadrunner flying past Wily E Coyote. One good thing after another keeps an episode fresh and fun. Perfect description of the whole episode, especially the main event. A fresh matchup between Chris Jericho and Wheeler Yuta that was heavy hitting, dramatic, and ended exactly as it should have!
Jericho’s Gaggle of Goons accompanied him to the ring, but Claudio evened the odds for his friend and faction mate. Wheeler Yuta was all over the legend for a good portion of this match, but obviously, Jericho used dirty tactics to gain the upper hand. Jericho’s Goons were ejected at one point, which then required Jericho to kick it into gear against young Wheeler. Wheeler hit a bunch of German Suplexes, Jericho countered with the Codebreaker and Lionsault, and finally, Wheeler broke out the damn Regal Stretch! That was awesome to see.
The match came to a conclusion after Jericho distracted the referee to hit Yuta in the nether regions, then proceeded to lock in the Lion Tamer for the victory tapout. If Lion Hart Jericho was making an appearance against Jon Moxley, then the Lion Tamer NEEDED to be the finish. Jericho ‘reinvents’ himself, only to use the same maneuvers in the ring. This makes me excited for Jericho and Moxley 2 next week. Great match with a great finish.
4/5
After the match, Jericho continues the pain by holding the Lion Tamer until Yuta passed out. What happened to Claudio? I know the Jericho Appreciation Society was kicked from ringside, but was Claudio as well? Moxley saved his faction mate to end a great episode of Dynamite.
OVERALL
This week’s episode of All Elite Wrestling Dynamite ticked all the boxes. I got everything I want from AEW this week, like a great women’s match featuring the main stars of the division, The Elite are back, and the Lion Tamer. AEW is turning the corner and the All Out card is shaping into formation. When episodes of Dynamite are amazing from out of nowhere, it makes me incredibly excited for the last half of the year. The next few months should be amazing from AEW. All Out, Grand Slam, and Full Gear will finish off an amazing 2022 for AEW.
I can’t complain about anything from this episode. It was great from start to finish.
Verdict: 4.5/5