We’re back for another edition of the weekly review of AEW Dynamite. All Elite Wrestling was in Austin, Texas this week for a packed card loaded with good stuff on it. Double or Nothing is…*checks calendar* ..next week!? Where has the time gone!? Revolution feels like it just happened and Double or Nothing should be weeks away still. Ready or not folks, AEW has kicked it in high gear in preparation for a wild summer!
With only one week left of AEW’s flagship show before Double or Nothing, did Dynamite elevate the hype level or cut it at the knees?
Let’s talk about it!
- Dynamite started in an odd fashion this week. Wardlow opened the evening by calling out Christian Cage and Luchasaurus, to which they obviously obliged. Unofruntealy, this didn’t work out all that well for the TNT Champion. Cage and Luchasaurus beat the hell out of Wardlow with a ladder. This was a good segment, but a weird way to start Dynamite. Usually, it’s a match or a longer opening segment. It just felt like a quick interluding segment in the middle of the show.
Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin vs. Lee Moriarty & Big Bill

Now back to our originally scheduled opening match! Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin teamed up over the House Rules tour this past weekend, which led to this fun match against Big Bill Morrissey and Lee Moriarty.
The story of this match wasn’t anything special, but Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy have amazing chemistry. There was an extended isolation of Cassidy, but the intensity ramped up once Darby tagged in. Both guys were flying around and hitting big moves all match. The finish was especially cool; as they hit a combination of the Stundog Millionaire into the Code Red and then the Beach Break into the Coffin Drop. This was good stuff!
Hitting a bunch of finishing moves wasn’t enough for Darby though. He had to send a message to MJF by pinning Lee Moriarty after a Headlock Takeover, just like MJF did to him in their match. A great little story tidbit.
3.25/5
- Alex Marvez was backstage in the parking area as the Young Bucks were coming into the building. The Blackpool Combat guys appeared from nowhere to beat them up. It seems like the BCC is just not allowing the Elite to even exist in AEW anymore without a beatdown. They threw Nick onto a Truck hood and then Wheeler Yuta hurt Matt’s previously injured arm. Short and sweet!
- Renee started her weekly marathon by joining Wardlow in the Doctor’s office after being attacked by Christian and Luchasaurus. Arn Anderson yelled at Wardlow for making him stay in the back and Wardlow challenged Cage to a Double or Nothing Ladder Match. This can only go poorly for Wardlow…
- Renee then was backstage with Orange Cassidy talking about Kyle Fletcher’s attack from last week. Cassidy then told anyone to go talk to Tony Khan about an International Championship match, because he’ll honor it.
- Sammy Guevara then squashed some dude in five seconds with the GTH and then talked about his career starting in Austin, Texas. Cool.
- And then Jeff Jarrett and crew were scheduled for an interview, but FTR attacked them. The Champs pushed Satnam Singh off the ramp, which looked badass with a big dude. This was a fun brawl that got crazy. Jeff Jarrett’s wife got involved and punched Cash in the balls, then FTR got double guitar shots to the head. This feud is fun and I don’t know why.
- Renee was then backstage with Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara. Respect was shown by both guys. Pretty cool, in all honesty.
The Outcasts vs. Dr. Britt Baker DMD & Hikaru Shida

This match had previously been scheduled as a trios match until AEW Women’s Champion, Jaime Hayter, was not cleared from injuries sustained from a previous Outcasts attack. Seeing Jaime Hayter in the ring again would have been cool, but the tag match was still a good one.
Plus, Hikaru Shida was back in action and showed everyone why she’s one of the best in AEW. She was the star in this one, regardless of the outcome. The match revolved around the Japanese sensation and she looked fantastic in her first AEW action since December.
But we all knew how this match was going to go. It’s the Outcasts…they heel it up. Toni, Ruby, and Saraya all played the numbers game to a tee and got underneath the skins of Britt and Shida. That’s how they win and how they won this match. Britt Baker delivered the stomp to Toni, but Saraya distracted the referee. This allowed Toni Storm to spray Britt with the paint and then deliver Storm Zero for the victory. This was a good match!
3.5/5
- Renee was backstage with Orange Cassidy again. Supposedly twenty people lined up by Tony Khan’s office for a shot at the International Championship, so we’re getting a 21-man Battle Royale at Double or Nothing. All Elite Wrestling is hit or miss with Battle Royales, so hopefully this one is good.
Falls Count Anywhere: Chris Jericho vs. Roderick Strong

Falls Count Anywhere matches can be a blast to watch, but more often than not the creativity isn’t there. The match literally says anywhere, yet these matches tend to stay around the ring or in the crowd area. Wardlow and Powerhouse Hobbs had a Falls Count Anywhere match in March that ended around the commentary table. The match itself was perfectly fine and told an acceptable story, but let’s get wacky with a Falls Count Anywhere match. Chris Jericho and Roderick Strong did exactly that and had the match of the night, with ease. This match was fantastic!
These two might as well be involved in every lumberjack match from here on out because they both tried to chop every muscle fiber in each other’s chest to smithereens. It didn’t matter what weapon was around to use, they both smacked the hell out of each other.
This was the wacky Falls Count Anywhere I asked for. They battled all over the arena: through the crowd, the concession stands, and even the edge of a stairwell. The fun couldn’t even be contained by the arena as the match ended up outside. Falls count anywhere, remember!?
Adam Cole, who was banned from the Arena itself, was waiting outside to attack. Cole used the Boom Knee and Roddy’s running knee wins the match. That was a shocking result. Jericho winning was almost assured. Great stuff here!
4.5/5
Match of the Night
Jack Perry vs. RUSH

Up next was a fantastic match between Jungle Boy Jack Perry and RUSH. The skill of RUSH does not get talked about enough. He’s very good and it was on perfect display in this match where he dominated Jungle Boy.
That’s not even an exaggeration. RUSH held the advantage of this match with a bullying style of offense that kept Jack completely neutralized. Every single time Jungle Boy would gather momentum, RUSH would knock him down a peg with his strength. Hopefully RUSH gets more consistent screen time in the near future.
But Jack proved how talented he is by pulling this victory straight from the salivating jaws of defeat. RUSH was angry that the referee pulled him off of Jack, which allowed Jungle Boy to use a surprise rollup and grab the tights to steal the match. This was really good! It truly felt like RUSH had this one in the bag.
3.75/5
La Faccion Ingobernable attacks after the bell…Darby and then Sammy come down for the save.
- Renee continued her weekly backstage marathon with MJF. She asked him a simple question and he hit the microphone out of her hand. HOW RUDE!
- We blinked and Renee was then with Toni Storm. The former champ was very angry and intense at Jaime Hayter for not showing up to their match earlier. Toni killed this promo and challenged Jaime Hayter to a championship match at Double or Nothing. One of the best Toni Storm promos in AEW.
Ricky Starks vs. Jay White

Up next was a match weeks in the making — Ricky Starks finally got his hands on Jay White. Despite beating Juice Robinson two weeks ago, Ricky Starks had been bested by White at every turn so far. This obviously irritated Ricky, thusly leading to this match. Unfortunately for Ricky, his irritations got the best of him.
The story of this match was, again, about Jay White being able to outsmart Ricky Starks. This match was great as they both traded blow after blow with awesome moves. It felt like they were holding back a little until the pace picked up with Ricky’s beautiful Swinging DDT. Even despite Ricky stringing together moves, he couldn’t hit his big ones on Jay. Cue the frustration again.
Ricky was even able to withstand a Juice Robinson interference to deliver a spear, but couldn’t hit the Rochambeau. Jay White poked his eyes instead. This led to Juice introducing a chair, which Ricky blatantly used on Jay White to get himself disqualified.
Okay, I understand what they were going for here. Ricky Starks is very frustrated with Jay White and Juice Robinson. That’s been the story up until now and was the story here. This match had an unsatisfying ending, which was the point, but Starks blatantly using the chair makes him look a little bad. His frustration didn’t feel bad enough to warrant a chair shot. The match was still good though!
3.25/5
- Don Callis comes down to the ring with Tony Schiavone to discuss why he betrayed Kenny Omega. He talks about all of the biggest successes of Omega wouldn’t have happened without him…He has a semblance of a point, in all honesty. Here comes Omega and he attacks the security. BCC immediately attacks like wild dogs. A battered Young Bucks come to help with weapons, but they’re one man down. Who comes to help? HANGMAN ADAM PAGE BABY!!!! This was so goddamn good. Wheeler Yuta was the sacrificial lamb to receive a BTE Trigger and Buckshot Lariat. Hangman grabs the microphone and announces the reuniting of the Elite and Anarchy in the Arena at Double or Nothing.
OVERALL
And that was Dynamite for this week! What did you think about this week’s show? Let me know on twitter!
This was a great episode of professional wrestling. Every match outperformed its expectation (including Starks and White), every segment was fun, and, most importantly, THE ELITE ARE BACK! The best part of the whole evening was the last minute of the show. Double or Nothing is right around the corner and its incredibly exciting. AEW in 2023 has set the bar for what professional wrestling can be.
Verdict: 4.5/5