Tonight marks one of the biggest nights in All Elite Wrestling history as they host the first ever wrestling show in Arthur Ashe stadium. A tennis stadium doesn’t usually come to mind when one thinks about a wrestling show, but twenty thousand people are going to pack into that stadium and scream their butts off.
The card is stacked from top to bottom, and every match is can’t miss. Kenny Omega versus Bryan Danielson is the dream matches of dream matches, Cody Rhodes attempts to get his revenge on Malakai Black, Britt Baker and Ruby Soho square off, and Sting is in action.
Was Dynamite: Grand Slam a home run or double fault? Let’s find out!
Kenny Omega vs. Bryan Danielson
This crazy company is starting the night off with the dream match! This non-title match is between two of the best in the world, and this match is only about who is better.
BIG fight feel as the bell rings. The fans explode with YES chants, and both men size each other up. Both men trade chops and kicks, and the crowd is solidly behind Danielson. The first few minutes are about positioning, leverage, and one upping each other. Both men were seeing who could take more punishment throughout. Omega targeted Bryan’s neck and head, and Danielson tried to cave in Omega’s chest with kicks.
There was an absolute brutal sequence with Omega hitting a snapdragon suplex on the ramp, walking up the ramp, and running and hitting the biggest V Trigger of his life. Omega did NOT hold back on Danielson, and I wince every single time Danielson’s neck is targeted. I’m sure he knows what he can and cannot take, but the fans love Bryan Danielson. His neck injuries are widely known.
I could describe this match move by move, but I could never do it justice. This is a once in a lifetime kind of match that needs to be seen. It was absolute perfection. One of the best matches I’ve seen in memory. This is a special match, and ending this in a time limit draw creates the opportunity for another. I don’t exactly know what goes into the Meltzer ranking system, but if this isn’t a five star match I don’t know what is. One of the best Television matches ever.
After the match, The Elite come out and beat up Danielson. Jurassic Express and Christian Cage come out for the save.
Segment: CM Punk comes down to the ring with a microphone. He talks to the crowd, pumps up New York City, and calls out Team Taz. Punk is pissed that Team Taz attempted to take him out and ruin his opportunity to enjoy Pro Wrestling with the fans. Intense CM Punk is fantastic.
MJF vs. Brian Pillman Jr.
MJF has berated the Pillman family on mulitple occasions, and Brian Pillman Jr is out for revenge. Pillman is out to prove himself and MJF wants to prove that everyone is “MID” in comparison to him.
MJF offers his hand in the name of sportsmanship, but Pillman Jr knew better with a double leg takedown. The story of this match was quintessential MJF. Pillman would have a flurry of offense until MJF used dirty tactics to get the upper hand.
At one point Pillman was about to hit a suicide dive on the outside, but MJF grabs Julia Hart as hostage. Pillman stops because he doesn’t want to hit her, and MJF takes advantage with a lariat. MJF does a fantastic job of being a dastardly heel, but being smart with his wrestling too. He worked on Pillman’s shoulder and arm the whole match.
This match (and program) really demonstrated the improvements of Pillman Jr. His debut in AEW with the Varsity Blonds has been good, but the last few weeks have showcased his abilities as a potential singles star. His improvement over the course of this year is amazing. He outsmarted MJF a few times during the match, and showed personality and confidence. His star is so bright in AEW.
The finish of the match saw Pillman attempt his Air Pillman flying forearm, but MJF caught him and locked in the Salt of the Earth armbar. Because he was weakening Pillman’s shoulder the whole match he tapped out instantly. This was a very good match.
Segment: Jericho and Hager are being interviewed by Marvez, and they’re ready to take out the Men of the Year.
Cody Rhodes vs. Malakai Black
Both entrances are both theatrical in their presentation, but Cody gets a very mixed reaction during his. Cody had an interesting choice of attire this evening. Anyone who watched The Boys on Amazon Prime, he looked like Homelander. I wonder if that’s where he is taking his character. You could tell Cody was not used to getting booed, as he had a confused look on his face as the match starts. He accepted it, and leans into it.
That seemed to be the story of this match. Malakai is an evil entity hellbent on the destruction of Cody and the Nightmare Family, so Cody will go to any depths to defeat him. Speaking of evil entities, what in the world is going on with Malakai’s face? Ever since his debut, Malakai has had silver and black paint slowly start to take over. Tonight was a major difference from the last time we saw him, and his eyeball was red. Does this have something to do with the red light during his entrance? I don’t know, but I’m so intrigued by where this goes.
Starting the match with strikes and holds back and forth. Cody gets pissed and walks around the ring as Malakai does his backflip into a sitting position. For some reason Brandi decided to get into the ring and flip him off (oh yeah, Brandi is back).
Malakai has the advantage for the beginning portion until Cody tries to rally. Malakai ends the momentum by hitting the Black Mass onto Cody, but he falls out of the ring. Cody gets back into the ring to not be counted out. This is where Cody turns a little to the dark side. He hits Malakai with a chop block and then a dragon screw to really wrench at the knee of Black. The punishment of the knee continues as the fans really boo.
Black cannot attempt the Black Mass anymore because of his knee, but Cody hits the Cross Rhodes for a near fall. This next part is where it gets weird. After the Cross Rhodes, Arn Anderson gets up onto the ring apron. He falls off of the apron, gets back up, and then Cody inadvertently knocks him down. Arn is pissed at Cody, who then grabs Malakai from the underneath the ring.
Then Cody incidentally hits the ref, and Malakai sprays a black mist into Cody’s eyes. Malakai proceeds to roll up Cody for the win.
I don’t know what to think about this match. Malakai winning again is great booking, but this match was the weakest of the night. I was not feeling it at all, and the ending was awkward. Although, if Malakai is going to be using an evil black mist in the future? Sign me up.
FTR vs. Sting/Darby Allin
FTR comes out with gear as an homage to the NWO, which is a pretty cool touch.
The beginning of this match was back and forth as both teams traded advantage. Sting had a fun spot where he inadvertently headbutted Dax Harwood in the groin. I laughed way harder than I should have. Darby hits a few Coffin splashes after a hot tag, but he goes to the well one too many times. FTR catches him and slams his face into the ring apron.
FTR plays their normal game by cutting the ring in half and playing keep away. Sting finally gets the hot tag and hits a huge spinebuster. He hits a flying crossbody off of the top rope. This man is 62 and hitting crossbody’s. Absolutely insane.
The match goes into overdrive at this point, and Tully gets involved. He tries to fool Sting into running headfirst into a chair, but the Icon wasn’t born yesterday.
Sting locks in the Scorpion Deathlock onto Dax Harwood, but Cash Wheeler pulls his partner to the ropes. Darby Allin hits a Coffin drop onto Cash Wheeler on the apron. Sting pulls Dax back into the ring, locks in the Scorpion Deathlock again, and Dax taps.
This match was fantastic. This was Sting’s best match in AEW, and I love that it was with FTR. The Top Guys are so good at this, and they are old school. Being able to wrestle Sting must have meant so much to them, and all four competitors put on a clinic of tag team wrestling. Fantastic stuff.
AEW Women’s Championship: Dr. Britt Baker DMD (c) vs. Ruby Soho
After winning the Casino Battle Royale, Ruby Soho is challenging the good doctor for her title. The two had a phenomenal war of words on Rampage last Friday, which really lit a fire under this match.
Both ladies start the match sizing each other up. After a failed attempt at an arm drag, Britt bails to the outside to consult with her entourage. Ruby takes advantage of the distraction and hits a big diving splash onto Rebel and Jaime. Britt dived out of the way and blasted Ruby with a superkick. She then proceeds to hit an absolutely hellacious swinging neckbreaker onto Ruby.
Complete domination by the champ continues for awhile until Ruby drives Britt’s head into the turnbuckle. Ruby gains momentum with repeated kicks to the head, but Britt answers with her own. Both ladies look completely spent.
Britt attempts the Pittsburgh sunrise, but Ruby is there to block it. However, Britt hits an avalanche Air Raid Crash that looked BRUTAL. The pain train by the doctor continues, as she plants Ruby’s face into the steps and then hits a curb stomp.
Ruby hits the No Future kick on Britt, but Rebel and Jaime Hayter are on the apron to distract. They are dispatched quickly, but it’s just enough for Britt to lock in the Lockjaw for the win.
What a main event for this amazing card. It was phenomenal! They were a little out of sync at the beginning, but they overcame that and killed it! On a night where Bryan Danielson faced Kenny Omega, Tony Khan had the confidence in Britt Baker and Ruby Soho to main event. That speaks volumes, and they knocked it out of the park.
I pose that question one more time. Was this show a home run or a double fault? HOME RUN.
No. This show was a bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, game winning GRAND SLAM to win the World Series. This show delivered on the massive hype, and then some. AEW could have shown us the Danielson/Omega match and 90 extra minutes of black screen and I’d have called this a top tier show. A phenomenal Dynamite with the feel of a PPV.
Match of the Night: Kenny Omega vs. Bryan Danielson
Obviously! That could be the match of the year, in all honesty. Britt Baker vs Ruby Soho was phenomenal as well, as was Sting/Darby vs. FTR and MJF vs. Brian Pillman Jr. A wonderful night of wrestling up and down the card.
The only match that I wasn’t a fan of was the Malakai Black vs. Cody match. I liked most of the match, but I felt a rematch between these two needed more. Malakai squashing Cody before was so impactful, and this one just wasn’t. I do not know what happened in that match, but something felt a little off. I LOVE the Black Mist at the end, but the setup was odd. Again, it’s a slight complaint, but grading against Omega vs Danielson needs a MASSIVE curve.
Verdict: 4.9/5 (SO close to perfect)