Awesome stories dominate Dynamite!

Wednesday night came and went, and you know what that means! Another episode of AEW Dynamite premiered and it’s time for a review!

AEW has begun the slow climb towards Revolution in March. It feels like an eon since Hangman won his title at Full Gear. We have been so far in only two months. Only having quarterly PPVs means we get so much story in between the giant shows.

Dynamite this week is jam packed, as always. Raleigh, North Carolina got to see CM Punk in action, an Interim TNT title match, and Shida and Deeb continue their blood feud. How was the show?

Let’s find out!

Segment:

Dynamite opened with Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly coming down to the ring. Cole has been teasing his undefeated record recently, which has to mean that he’s going after a championship soon.

The tension built with the Young Bucks interrupting the pow wow. They still don’t like having Cole being all buddy buddy with O’Reilly and Fish. The Best Friends felt left out and joined the party. Everyone starts brawling and culminates in a confrontation of Adam Cole and Kris Statlander. Britt Baker comes out of nowhere, hits Statlander from behind, and we get a nice moment between Britt and Cole.

This was interesting, sets up some fun future bouts, but why did we need to start the show with it? What was the point? There’s a slow story building here, but starting the show with it seems unnecessary.

CM Punk vs. Wardlow

Photo Credit: AEW

The first match of the evening was Wardlow versus CM Punk.

Wardlow dominating early with his strength. Punk trying to chop down the big man with kicks to no avail. Punk trying to knock him down with kicks and lariats but he keeps powering through them. CM Punk finally gets Wardlow down with a Springboard Clothesline to build momentum.

Here’s where the match gets really interesting. MJF was obviously ringside to distract Punk. Wardlow took advantage of Punk’s distraction to hit a huge Powerbomb. I absolutely love what AEW has done with Wardlow. His entire finishing move is now a simple Powerbomb, but one that’s repeated to the chorus of cheers from the fans. He literally conducts a “Powerbomb Symphony.” That is so cool.

Wardlow continues to hit powerbomb after powerbomb, but MJF stops Wardlow’s cover. He commands Wardlow to powerbomb Punk through the ringside table. After Punk barely escapes a count out loss, he surprise cradles Wardlow for the victory. MJF is beside himself on the outside of the ring, confronts Wardlow, and screams in his face. Wardlow is about to kill MJF until Shawn Spears gets in between them and breaks up the confrontation.

Wardlow’s face turn is coming!

The match was a great storytelling device between MJF, Wardlow, and Punk. Furthered multiple stories between all three guys and I love when AEW does these types of stories.

3.5/5

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Dante Martin

Photo Credit: AEW

We followed that awesome match with an interesting one. Dante Martin has been a thorn in the side of Team Taz for awhile, and Taz sent Hobbs to punish him.

Dante didn’t wait long as the bell rings to come flying fast at Hobbs. It slows down as quickly as it ramped up after Hobbs hit a spinebuster onto the floor. The story of the match was obviously the strength of Hobbs versus the speed of Dante Martin. Hobbs is incredible at throwing his weight around to dominate his opponent.

Dante finds another gear and hits Hobbs with a flurry of offense. It’s another week of me being baffled by the athleticism of Dante Martin as he jumps out of the gym with a missile dropkick. Ricky Starks, who was ringside, tries to get involved behind the referee’s back, but Jay Lethal stops him. This allows Dante Martin to hit the Nosedive for the victory. What’s the relationship between Martin and Jay Lethal?! I like that possible partnership, but what happened to Lio Rush?!

Great match and again, great story revolving around the match!

3.75/5

Segment:

Alex Marvez is backstage with Jericho and congratulating him for the PWI Faction of the Year award. Jericho proceeds to threaten 2point0 and Daniel Garcia, but he should really be focusing on the man who interrupted him. Eddie Kingston, who has publicly bashed Jericho, interrupts Jericho and calls out Proud and Powerful. I love the tension between Eddie and Jericho.

Segment:

MJF screams out of the rampway tunnel like a bat out of hell. He has lost it because CM Punk won again and throws Shawn Spears against Punk next week.

Segment:

Hangman Adam Page comes down to the ring. He’s ready for a new challenger and answered by……Dan Lambert?

Lambert respects Hangman for working hard to earn that title, but he hates the wannabe Cowboy schtick from a Virginia native. Hangman threatens Lambert to a fight, but the answer comes from an unlikely adversary. Lance Archer has returned and destroys Hangman. Giving Lance Archer an awesome title bout after his horrifying injury is fine by me! Glad he’s okay.

Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb

Photo Credit: AEW

When AEW wants to make an impact, they make a damn impact.

Another match between Hikaru Shida and Serena Deeb was up next, but I hesitate to say match. It was a dismantling. Deeb interrupted Shida’s entrance by chop blocking her and smashing her knee onto the steps. The referee reluctantly rings the bell at Shida’s request, but Deeb continues the beatdown until she locks in the Serenity Lock and Shida taps.

Full Squash. That’s how you strap a rocket to someone! This is exactly what I’ve wanted for months! Mark my words, Serena Deeb will be a champion in 2022.

3.75/5

The one caveat I’ll put forth, is that Shida better stay gone for awhile. AEW has a tendency to destroy a babyface, but only have them out for a couple weeks. Deeb’s awesome moment will get watered down if Shida comes back to overcome Deeb in a month.

Segment:

Jurassic Express and Christian Cage are challenging anyone in the top five. They’re answered by Silver and Reynolds for a match on Rampage!

Matt Hardy vs. Penta el Zero Miedo

A short but fun match with Matt Hardy and Penta el Zero Miedo was next. They had fun chants back and forth at the beginning of the bout. I could really get behind a Broken Matt Hardy now that crowds are back. Maybe he brings back Brother Nero with that character…?

The match itself was fun. Nothing spectacular, but a quick television match to get Matt on screen near his hometown. The match ended with Matt Hardy missing a moonsault and Penta hitting the package pile driver for the victory.

2.75/5

Photo Credit: AEW

The real fun started after the match. Penta calls out Malakai Black, which was immediately answered. Black is quickly outnumbered by the Varsity Blonds and they begin beating him down. The lights go out again for a debuting Brody King saving Malakai Black. The House of Black is finally coming to fruition. Great stuff here!

I noticed something interesting during my normal re-watch. When Malakai is outnumbered by the Varsity Blonds, Julia Hart actually yells at them to stop hurting him. Color me intrigued…

The Acclaimed vs. Bear Country

The Acclaimed taking on Bear Country was up next. This match was a fine tag match between two teams that I always enjoy seeing. Caster obviously rapped the Acclaimed to the ring, which was otherwise the highlight of the match. Bear Country got a few tandem moves in, but Caster hit the Mic Drop for the pinfall.

2.5/5

After the match, Darby Allin and Sting brawl with the Acclaimed to raucous fanfare. It’s amazing what Sting has done for the popularity of Darby Allin.

Segment:

A video package from PAC followed that match. He’s now blind after being Black Misted in both of his eyes, but his “vision has never been so clear.” This promo package was unbelievably good and leaves me with soooo many questions. Is he seriously wrestling blind? Are we seeing PAC joining the House of Black?

So good.

Interim TNT Championship: Sammy Guevara vs. Daniel Garcia

Photo Credit: AEW

The main event for the evening was a wonderful bout between Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia. Guevara previously won the interim TNT title at Battle of the Belts on Saturday against Dustin Rhodes, after which Garcia immediately attacked and challenged. Both Chris Jericho and Eddie Kingston were at ringside for the fight, which played into the after match angle.

The match itself was fantastic. It was hard hitting, fast paced, and over in ten minutes. It felt a lot longer than ten minutes because of the fast pace. Daniel Garcia really showed off and Guevara was his normal awesome self. I wish Sammy had a little more character work besides “I’m better than you,” but he always puts on a show inside the squared circle.

Most of the match revolved around Guevara’s explosiveness being outsmarted and countered by the intelligence of Garcia. His two best counters were a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and countering the GTH into a brutal Sharpshooter. Garcia has phenomenal mat skills and I’d love to see the picture he could paint with Bryan Danielson.

The match escalated towards it conclusion as both men beat the hell out of each other. Garcia gave Guevara everything he had, but Sammy was able to hit a Cross Rhodes and his GTH for the victory. This match was absolutely Match of the Night.

4/5

2point0 attacks Guevara after the bell rings, which causes Jericho and Eddie Kingston to beat them up. Both Jericho and Eddie start squawking at each other as the show concludes.

And that was AEW Dynamite! The show lacked a little bit of stellar in-ring action that Dynamite is known for, but that didn’t stop my enjoyment of it. I am incredibly intrigued by all of the stories that happened during Dynamite. We’re inching towards Revolution with huge blowoffs, but thumbs up to the way AEW is telling these stories. Every story hit with me. I really liked the Punk/Wardlow/MJF stuff, the Shida/Deeb squash, and how they plan on setting up the TNT title unification.

The episode might not have been a hit for everyone, but my story-biased blog will always appreciate it.

Verdict: 4/5 (Good)

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