AEW returned to Washington DC with a vengeance. The last time AEW was in our nation’s capital was the debut episode and it’s crazy to think about the difference since.
One thing that’s not different? Fun shows. AEW has always put on fun shows, but right now they are en fuego.
Does this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite follow suit? Let’s find out!
Moxley’s Back!
Dynamite starts with the return of Jon Moxley! The man looks amazing, healthy, and completely different than when he left. He almost looks ten years younger! Everything about this was awesome, even before he opened his mouth to deliver a promo of the ages. Seriously, go watch this promo.
You could see the mindset right off of the bat. Some horrible person heckled Moxley about his drinking, causing the promo to start with a F bomb on national television! Moxley’s intensity only escalated from there. It was a powerful promo talking about a demon putting a constant dark cloud over his head, and how he’s proudly conquered that demon. It was a wonderful metaphor for depression and addiction.
He moved on to addressing the locker room. He’s as focused as he’s ever been and going on a warpath. He even ended the promo with, “These days, all I drink is blood.” Amazing stuff and I cannot wait to see what this man does in 2022 now that he’s in his best mindset.
Segment:
- MJF is backstage with Wardlow and he wants to apologize. Since it’s Wardlow’s birthday, he wants to apologize for last week. Unfortunately for Wardlow, MJF is still a snake. Apparently he’s mad that Wardlow touched him and is now docking the big man’s pay. Wardlow’s facial expressions throughout were priceless! He’s definitely plotting something!
Orange Cassidy/Kris Statlander vs. Adam Cole/Britt Baker
Our first match of the evening was a rarity in AEW. We don’t see mixed tag matches too often in wrestling, but they can be really fun if done well. Britt Baker and Adam Cole versus Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander was exactly that. It wasn’t perfect, but a ton of fun.
Mixed tag matches usually have rules where men fight men and women likewise. Where it gets really fun is when those lines blur a little. That’s what made this match fun. Orange Cassidy started the match by giving Britt Baker his devastating kicks, which is always hilarious. Later on in the match, Britt would Curb Stomp Cassidy and Statlander hit her Area 451 splash on both Cole and Baker.
I really enjoyed how both teams worked really well together. Cassidy and Statlander used tandem moves well, and Cole and Britt played the dominant heels well.
The end was absolutely bonkers. Britt takes out Statlander on the rampway with a destroyer and Cole hits Cassidy with the Panama Sunrise. Britt then gets up onto the apron to gloat, Cassidy incidentally hits her, and she falls through a table she set up ringside. This fall was nasty too. Her head had zero cushion as she landed through the table onto the floor. The referee and doctor were checking on her while Cole, obviously enraged, hit a low blow and the BOOM knee for the victory.
Everyone in this match was fantastic. Great match! 4/5
Segments:
- Chris Jericho is backstage with Santana and Ortiz. He’s happy that Kingston is out for a couple of weeks with an injury. This upsets Santana because Kingston is one of his boys. He’s known Kingston for a lot longer than Jericho, and warns Jericho to watch what he says. There is clear dissention here, but they’ll be teaming in a trios match against 2point0 and Daniel Garcia next week.
- Adam Cole is backstage now, and he’s visibly upset about Orange Cassidy hurting Britt Baker. There’s going to be a Lights Out match between the two next week!
CM Punk vs. Shawn Spears
The second match of the night was up next, with CM Punk taking on Shawn Spears. MJF obviously needed to insert himself by being on commentary, except there wasn’t much for him to say. The bell rang and Punk hit the GTS immediately! Complete squash of Shawn Spears. I’m kind of sad at what AEW has turned Shawn Spears into, but this made CM Punk look awesome with the eventual MJF match incoming.
We weren’t done, however, because MJF took advantage of Punk celebrating by trying a sneak attack. Punk was fortunately privy to what MJF was trying, because he the Salt of the Earth was caught. MJF and CM Punk finally went face to face in the ring, but MJF used his scarf to get away. He continues to play cat and mouse with Punk.
Squash match used well and a great following segment. 3/5
Segment:
A random backstage segment followed, with Billy Gunn stopping Christian Cage to talk. Billy wants Jurassic Express to defend their tag belts against the Gunn Club, except Cage doesn’t think the Gunn Club stands out. The Gunns need to “make a statement.” To the surprise of literally nobody, Austin and Colten Gunn beat up Cage right afterwards. Tag match incoming.
Cody’s Back!
After a two week absence, Cody Rhodes is back with a vengeance. He sets up a massive ladder inside the ring, and proceeds to cut a fiery promo about a whole bunch of things. Cody felt a little more unhinged than normal during this one. It’s a really good promo that should be checked out. He claims he created the Forbidden Door, hilariously references the new WALTER name, and complains about everything that happened during the two weeks he was gone.
Two things really stood out to me, and they were both nonverbal. He twitched a few times during the promo. It happened once when the fans were chanting “ROYAL RUMBLE” at him, but then he really did it after a Malakai Black mention. His hair is also not as blond as it used to be. I might be looking too much into it, but it feels like something is happening with Cody. Regardless, there’s a TNT Unification ladder match next week.
Segment:
Jade Cargill put out an open challenge for the TBS championship and it’s answered by Anna Jay. Match is set for Rampage.
Kings of the Black Throne vs. Varsity Blonds
A debut match was up next, as Brody King would team up with Malakai Black to face the Varsity Blonds. “Kings of the Black Throne,” as they are called, is a badass team name. And so was their new theme! The match itself was short and sweet, but with more story than I expected from a two minute match. Griff Garrison did what he could, but the story was about Brian Pillman Jr. The young Pillman couldn’t amount any offense whatsoever. He seemed scared of Malakai and Brody. Regardless, The House of Black members hit a new move, called Dante’s Inferno, for the victory.
Good match. Kings of the Black Throne look poised to become serious tag threats.
3.25/5
The exciting part came after the match. Malakai was about to preach a sermon of sorts, except an interrupting video package from PAC was displayed on the screen. PAC sees clearly now, and is targeting the House of Black leader. The video package was awesome, and I cannot wait for those two to fight.
Segment:
A very funny segment followed, with Rocky Romero and Trent? kidnapping Brandon Cutler and making him film for them. They’re challenging the Young Bucks on Rampage.
Lance Archer vs. Frankie Kazarian
A match that came out of the blue was up next. Frankie Kazarian made his first Dynamite appearance in awhile to take on Lance Archer. Dan Lambert coming out with Jake Roberts and Archer was also weird. It’s odd that Lambert becomes the mouthpiece for performers that aren’t bad on the microphone. I don’t get it, but I like him with Archer rather than Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page.
The match itself was fine. It lasted way longer than it needed to. Archer would dominate, Kaz would fight back a little, but Archer inevitably took him out with a Chokeslam, Hellicoaster, and the BlackOut.
3/5
A quick Lambert promo followed and Archer wanted to punish Kazarian some more. Hangman Adam Page was having none of that and both men had a cool brawl.
Segment:
Statlander and Red Velvet were backstage to talk about Statlander’s unfortunate loss earlier in the evening. Leyla Hirsch apparently was having none of it, because she quickly interrupts and beats up both ladies. I liked this! It was quick, simple, and established Hirsch as a serious threat. Leyla Hirsch takes on Red Velvet on Rampage.
Serena Deeb vs. Skye Blue
It has finally happened. Serena Deeb is being pushed and I cannot wait to see where this goes. Her first victim was Skye Blue, who stood no chance in this matchup. The young Skye tried her best to amount any offense, except Deeb had every answer. Serena was messing with her at one point. Eventually she hit the Detox and Serenity Lock for the easy victory.
3.25/5
Segments:
- For some reason, Ethan Page wants a piece of Jon Moxley. I’m not sure what broke in Ethan’s brain after listening to the impassioned Moxley at the beginning of the show and think, “I want a piece of that guy.” They will do battle on Rampage.
- Matt Hardy is now working with Andrade el Idolo, who is now “part owner” of the HFO and will now be called the AHFO. I could not care less about this. The last thing Andrade needed was to be roped into HFO weirdness.
Sting/Darby Allin vs. The Acclaimed
Sting is awesome. He seriously might be the coolest dude in wrestling to this day. This man is 62 years old, only wrestles sporadically, but he absolutely kills it every single time he does. This entire match was set up to display just how freaking awesome Sting is. This main event was amazing and deserves Match of the Night.
The match was set up before the bell even rang. The Acclaimed attacked and took out Darby Allin. He needed to be taken out with a doctor, which meant that Sting was now in a handicap match against the Acclaimed. Sting, to nobody’s surprise, completely held his own against both men half his age. The Acclaimed eventually took over until a flying Darby Allin came out of nowhere to help the Icon. Darby finally finished the match with a Coffin Drop.
This was a fantastic television main event! Earns match of the night, and Sting is still my favorite wrestler ever.
4.25/5
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Sting will be 63 years old in a few weeks, and this crazy man splashed Max Caster THROUGH A TABLE.
Unreal.
And that was this week’s edition of Dynamite! What a fun show!
Something has shifted recently on AEW’s flagship show. AEW has found a wonderful balance of action and story on Dynamite. One week will be action based, but the next will be story based. Last week’s was story based and this week’s had a fantastic blend. There were a lot of fast matches on this episode, but they were squashes to tell a story. CM Punk, Serena Deeb, and the House of Black all destroyed their opponents for a reason.
Ultimately, this episode rocked. It flew by and didn’t feel rushed at all. I loved every second of this episode.
Verdict: 4.25/5 Great!