Dynamite: Dante and Rey BLOW the Doors Off!

Justin Timberlake sang about it, Star Wars claims it, but May belongs to All Elite Wrestling and Double or Nothing. The fourth rendition of AEW’s inaugural show (how has it been four years already!?) is closing in fast. The Owen Hart qualifiers are ramping up, the stories are heating up, and my excitement for Double or Nothing’s return to Las Vegas is at a maximum.

However, we have to get there first! This week’s episode was packed with action, as usual with AEW. There were two Owen Hart tournament qualifying matches, a mystery opponent for Wardlow, Jericho facing off against Santana, and a Ring of Honor title unification!

Did the show live up to the hype?

Let’s find out!

Owen Qualifier: Jeff Hardy v. Bobby Fish

Photo Credit: AEW

The first match of the evening was another Owen Hart tournament qualifier between Jeff Hardy and Bobby Fish. Adam Cole graced us with his presence on commentary, which is always a treat. The match itself left me wanting a little more.

Story of this match was about two tag team specialists trying their hand at singles in AEW. Adam Cole had a fantastic line about reDRagon that also applies to the Hardy’s: “They’re well oiled machines as partners and individuals.” Great stuff right there.

Bobby Fish spent most of this match attacking Jeff’s knee to prevent his flying ability. He used multiple sickening Dragon Screws to keep Jeff grounded. That never works for long however.

Jeff always plays the hits in his matches. We got a jawbreaker, twist of fate, and the double leg drop that might as well be a low blow. They traded momentum for a decent bit as they escalated into the finish. Bobby hit that awesome avalanche falcon arrow, which Jeff kicked out of directly into a Leg Lock.

The finish came out of nowhere it seemed though. Jeff hits Whisper in the Wind and Swanton Bombs his way into victory.

I wish Jeff’s leg played a little more into the finish, outside of just the leglock. I enjoy limb work in wrestling, despite it being a little overused. When it’s done well it’s perfect. Wasn’t a huge fan of it here. I did enjoy getting to see Jeff Hardy in Singles action! Pretty good opening match.

3.25/5

The Young Bucks come down to the ring to check on Bobby Fish. There’s tension in the ring between all parties. Matt and Jeff proceeded to “Delete” the Undisputed Elite. I sure hope we go back into the Broken Brilliance of Broken Matt Hardy. It’s so much better with fans.


Blackpool Combat Club v. A.F.O.

Photo Credit: AEW

Up next we received another treat, as everyone’s favorite new faction was in action. The Blackpool Combat Club is an amazing trios team that get more intense every week. Destroying established factions in five minutes will help with that.

Before we get to the action, can I just say that WIlliam Regal on commentary might be my favorite thing on AEW? He has hilarious banter with Excalibur, has great stories, and gets weirdly excited while his team destroys people. I know it wouldn’t makes sense, but I hope AEW finds more time for Regal in front of a camera.

The match itself had a shocking beginning as the Andrade Family Office attacks before the bell. That rare upper hand didn’t last long however, because Danielson is just too good. And that was the overall vibe of this one. Blackpool Combat Club are being trained by Regal to be too good for anyone to stand against.

Yuta becomes the weak link again until Moxley gets the proverbial hot tag and goes nuts. Eventually the BCC overpower as Danielson locks in the Triangle for the victory. Fine match here, but I liked last week’s against the Factory a lot more. They told a better story revolving around Yuta last week.

3/5

  • Our first backstage promo saw Hobbs and Starks still wanting to challenge Jurassic Express for the Tag Titles. Hearing their names triggers the champs, except Jungle Boy has a want of his own. He wants to challenge for Ricky Starks’s FTW championship. That’s interesting, I’ll say that, but it’s random. Still not sure what the point of the FTW title is.
  • Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee respond with their own promo that they can’t allow Hobbs and Starks to go after Jurassic Express until they finish their unfinished business. Tag team triple threat at Double or Nothing?

Wardlow v. MJF’s Mystery Opponent

Photo Credit: AEW

Up next was our weekly dose of the Wardog as he continues on his rocket ship to the moon. This week’s match was against a mystery opponent of MJF’s choosing. Wardlow was escorted to the ring in silence again, which is brilliant because the crowd just chants his name. The crowd is his entrance music. I cannot express enough how brilliant this Wardlow story has been.

MJF comes out to berate the crowd and introduce the mystery opponent, W. Morrissey from Impact Wrestling! He towers over Wardlow, but doesn’t look that much bigger. The Wardog is a massive and intense monster inside the ring.

The match starts with them testing their strength against each other. Morrissey looked intimidated by Wardlow! It’s rare air that Morrissey was being bested on strength alone. Eventually Morrissey grabbed the upper hand in this big haus fight. I’m a huge fan of these kinds of bouts. Two huge dudes going at it! Morrissey even hits a Bossman Slam, which is great to see.

This match was even better than the Archer one from last week, but just like that one, Wardlow eventually overcomes on pure skill and intensity. He hits a freaking moonsault directly onto Morrissey to knock him down, then proceeds to finish the big man with the biggest powerbomb ever. That’s all it took and Wardlow bests Morrissey and MJF again!

This was great. I sound like a broken record every week because I can’t tout this MJF and Wardlow stuff enough. Morrissey played his part perfect too. He looked intimidated from the start, which was great. Good match with more story than I assumed.

3.75/5

After the match, Wardlow destroys all the security! MJF looks terrified as Wardlow warns him that he refuses to stop until he gets the match. MJF meets Wardlow’s demand on two conditions, which will revealed next week in Long Island. Who will get the best cheers? Hometown MJF or perfect babyface Wardlow? Awesome touch.


  • Britt Baker, Hayter, Toni Storm, and Ruby Soho were backstage…again. Rampage will kick off with these four on Friday.
  • Hangman has recovered from COVID and came to the ring for a response to CM Punk’s challenge for the AEW Title. This promo was a different Hangman. He wants to “Destroy CM Punk.” Hangman is going to honor Punks request for a fight. I’m not exactly sure what happened to our loveable cowboy while he was off, but he’s really angry and I love it. Is our anxious millennial cowboy lashing out at the superstardom of CM Punk? I’m intrigued by where this goes.
  • Lethal, Dutt, and Singh were backstage and angry about DDT stalwart, Konosuke Takeshita, getting so much spotlight. Lethal and Takeshita were subsequently scheduled for Rampage.

Jericho v. Santana

Photo Credit: AEW

Up next was the ‘grudge match’ between former friends Chris Jericho and Santana. The Jericho Appreciation Society has been continuously keeping the upper hand against Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz. Unfortunately the odds were even more against Santana, due to Eddie Kingston being unavailable this week. Apparently fireball attacks cause facial damage.

Who knew.

This match was pretty good, despite all of the interference. That’s kind of Jericho’s thing now. You could really feel how much these two hated each other.

Santana started the action right away by flying over the ropes to take out the JAS. They battled for awhile until finally got the match properly started. Unfortunately for Santana, the numbers eventually caught up to him. Jericho gained the advantage through nefarious means, which ended up being the final story.

We got the usual stuff from Jericho and Santana: Three Amigos, Frog Splash, and a Walls of Jericho. They upped the intensity at one point to escalate towards the finish, but ultimately the numbers continued to play the deciding factor.

Matt Menard was able to distract the referee, which allowed Jericho to hit a low blow and the Judas Effect for the pinfall. Perfectly fine match, despite the predictable outcome. I enjoyed this one. I’d enjoy changing up the formula at some point, though. Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz have zero friends?

3.5/5

Quick backstage segment followed that match. The Gunn Club gave the Acclaimed scissors!!! I’m not proud at how much I laughed at this.

Varsity Blonds call out House of Black

Up next we had Brian Pillman and the Varsity Blonds in the center of the ring. They were humbled by their previous encounter with the House of Black. I’m glad they reminded me because it was so long ago that I forgot that even happened. Brian goes on to cut an impassioned promo about Baltimore Ravens coach, John Harbaugh, who was sitting at ringside. Harbaugh was his father’s best friend, and Pillman Jr. used him as inspiration to come back and fight the House of Black.

However, the House was happy to oblige. It did not go in favor of the Blonds, as Pillman and Griff were handled quickly. This long segment was all about Julia it seemed.

Malakai wanted Julia to extinguish Griff with a chair. Unfortunately the poor girl hesitated, which caused Malakai to scream at her. It was really uncomfortable to watch, in all honesty. That was the point, though. Great segment!

I’m not exactly sure why we haven’t fully turned Julia yet, but the girl is doing her best. She’s playing this really well and she looks great. Her face is almost completely black now. Surely we’ll be getting it sooner than later, but please tell a consistent story.

Eventually Death Triangle comes down for the save, which leads to Rey Fenix’s match.

Owen Qualifier: Dante Martin v. Rey Fenix

Photo Credit: AEW

Up next we had the second Owen Hart Tournament qualifier of the evening between Rey Fenix and Dante Martin. My synopsis of this match is incredibly simple.

Go watch it.

Sometimes there are matches best seen to be believed. This was one of those cases. The moves and sequences that Dante Martin and Rey Fenix put together were insane. Excalibur couldn’t even believe his eyes on commentary. It was a hyped match revolving around their athleticism and it didn’t disappoint.

Throughout the match, all I could do was shake my head and clap my hands in praise. These two dudes are special wrestlers. There was a backflip Russian Leg Sweep and an Avalanche Spanish Fly that they simultaneously landed.

Eventually Rey Fenix got the best of Dante with a finishing move I don’t know the name of. This was a match that needs to be seen. It’s one of those matches that I wish they had more time, but would be scared of the risks they would take.

4.25/5

Match of the Night

  • Owen Hart tournament bracket has been announced. Darby Allin addresses his first round opponent, Jeff Hardy. Cool.
  • Here comes Thunder Rosa! She’s proud of where she’s come from. She gives an amazing promo and calls out Serena Deeb. They want to make AEW the best women’s division. This was great. Please just give me a consistent story!!! Both of them deserve it.

RoH Women’s Unification: Deonna Purazzo v. Mercedes Martinez

Photo Credit: AEW

AND NEWWWW!!!!

And finally it was main event time as Deonna Purrazzo makes her AEW debut against Mercedes Martinez in a Ring of Honor title unification match. I wish there was more time given to hyping this match up or explaining why we should care. The crowd didn’t care one bit, but at least the match was decent.

This was a quintessential Deonna match. It was slow and methodical throughout, which allowed her to target a limb and break it down. She worked on Mercedes forearm for her finishing Fujiwara armbar.

They battled back and forth for awhile. Mercedes kept throwing everything she had at Deonna. She had a really nice spear onto the apron. Both ladies were going hard at each other in a escalation to the finish. Unfortunately the finish felt rushed. It came out of nowhere as Mercedes just locks in a Dragon Sleeper for the tapout victory.

This was fine. I was a little bored, but I really enjoyed getting to see another women’s main event. Another example on the evening of a match that should have been given more time. Solid main event though.

3.5/5

Verdict

And that was Dynamite this week! This was a very good show with awesome moments and a couple dud ones. All Elite Wrestling has found a very consistent groove with their flagship show. Keep the audience entertained by throwing as much at us as possible! Dynamite has consistently been good to great, which is always fine by me!

Overall: 3.75/5

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