All Elite Wrestling has proven many times over to be a resilient company. Hurricane Ian made catastrophic landfall in Florida this past week. Thankfully, it didn’t do much damage to my area, but a good portion of Florida was affected. And it also affected this week’s edition of Dynamite. Ian caused numerous changes to All Elite Wrestling’s flagship show. Could the resilient company overcome mother nature and muster up a good show?
Let’s talk about it!
Segment:
- Jericho and his gaggle of goons started Dynamite this week with a long and story-laden segment. They were having a Ring of Honor championship pizza party with wrestling’s new favorite pizza maker, Luigi Primo. I don’t understand what makes this dude popular, but I can appreciate the dedication to the character. Chris Jericho is putting Ring of Honor on his back as the new champion. The ‘Ring of Jericho’ era is here and starts with him facing Bandido later in the evening. A promising start to this title reign! Daniel Garcia shined in this segment. He teased splitting with Jericho, teaming with Bryan Danielson, and joining the Blackpool Combat Club. Color me intrigued…
Bryan Danielson vs. ‘Daddy Magic’ Matt Menard
That segment was a wild way to produce the first match of the evening. Bryan Danielson was given the power to make a match with anyone willing to fight him. Matt Menard bravely accepted said match and did a good job. This match was nothing to write home about, but we got to see what Menard could do. Not sure if he’s ever had a singles match in AEW.
I was quite surprised by how Menard was able to hang with Danielson. He held the advantage for quite a while and got back the advantage after Cool Hand Angelo Parker helped distract and attack the American Dragon. Those two work well together, but Danielson is still one of the best ever. Danielson inevitably overcame with the Running Knee and Labelle Lock after Claudio Castagnoli neutralized Angelo Parker. Decent match to start Dynamite!
3.25/5
Segment:
- MJF was scheduled to appear live, but Philly’s own Wheeler Yuta stole that spotlight to challenge him to a fight. MJF obviously responds with a ‘no,’ but a match is made for next week. I love how AEW involved Tony Schiavone in MJF’s return feud because everyone loves Schiavone. MJF beating up Schiavone is one of the only things that will get him booed. The Firm saying his catchphrase was also a nice subtle touch.
- Jay Lethal facing Darby Allin next week on Dynamite? That’s a new matchup that should be great!
Jon Moxley vs. Juice Robinson
Next, we had an interesting rematch between Jon Moxley and Juice Robinson. The Bullet Club member has had recent success against the AEW Champion. He won the IWGP US Heavyweight title in a 4-way match with Moxley in it. This gave Juice confidence enough to challenge Moxley to an Eliminator match, which Moxley proudly accepted.
I like how AEW uses the Eliminator match. Using them to set up a #1 contender between highly ranked individuals is great, but also having one contender beat the champion twice is great too. The champion is allowed to have an off day, but it’s a fine line to walk without making them look incredibly weak.
Regardless, it didn’t matter as Moxley defeated Juice Robinson in a good match. Juice put up a good fight as he attacked Moxley before the bell and throughout the match. He got a close near fall with the Pulp Friction, but he forgot one thing: Jon Moxley can withstand a lot of punishment. Moxley finished the match with an armbar submission. It was a quality first defense for the AEW Champion.
3/5
The winner of last week’s Golden Ticket Battle Royale, Hangman Adam Page, came down to the ring after the match to confront Moxley. MJF prevented them from fighting from up in his luxury box, but the Salt of the Earth was not alone. Wheeler Yuta popped up behind Max and beat him up in a fun angle.
Segment:
- Up next was the first official appearance of Saraya in an AEW ring. And what a memorable appearance it was. This segment was divisive, but one thing is certain: all of Elite Wrestling’s women’s division was handed thirty minutes of nationally televised showtime. This division is heading in the right direction. Saraya starts by thanking the crowd, being all happy and whatnot, and claiming the AEW division as “Her House.” Big talk for someone who can’t wrestle yet… Anyway, the segment progresses as a good chunk of the women’s division forms sides. Faces with Saraya and heels with Dr. Britt Baker, DMD. Barbs are thrown back and forth. The segment did go way too long, but it led to a Lumberjack match for the AEW Women’s title.
AEW Women’s Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Serena Deeb
I might be in the minority, but I like “Authority” wrestlers. For me, having a show’s general manager appear onscreen works. It gives the product the impression that someone is in charge. Someone in charge of overseeing everything that takes place in front of the camera backstage. I’m hoping Saraya’s contract with the women’s division has something similar. It felt like it did because she turned the AEW Women’s Championship match between Toni Storm and Serena Deeb into a Lumberjack match (Lumberjill match?).
This was cool because AEW had never done a women’s Lumberjack match before. Honestly, I could go without them, but I’m always here for fresh ideas. The match itself between Toni and Serena was pretty good. Both ladies went hard at each other. The quintessential Lumberjack outside interference happened occasionally but didn’t interfere with the match. Serena tried to wear down the women’s champ with her awesome holds and submissions. Ultimately, Toni Storm picked up the victory with an avalanche Storm Zero. That looked brutal!
3.5/5
Segments:
- A backstage segment featuring everyone’s favorite tag team, The Acclaimed, was up next. They can’t wait to celebrate “National Scissoring Day” next Wednesday. I can’t believe that’s a sentence I just wrote. Keith Lee interrupts and is upset that Billy Gunn put his hands on him. This was fun, as per usual with the Acclaimed.
- The Andrade Family Office was backstage and fighting next. Andrade, Butcher, and Blade were mad at Private Party for losing the triple threat on last week’s Rampage. Matt Hardy pops up and propositions Private Party to come back into a partnership with him and they’ll “do it right.” Private Party was at its best with Matt Hardy, so I’m excited about their future.
- Ricky Starks then quickly disposed of Eli Isom. It’s good to see Ricky Starks back and getting on the right track.
RoH Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Bandido
And finally, we reached the main event of the evening. Newly crowned Ring of Honor Champion, Chris Jericho, put his title on the line against former champion, Bandido. The Luchador looked fantastic in this one. Not to take anything away from the legend himself, because he looked good too. Jericho unfairly gets a lot of hate, as he’s one of my favorite parts of AEW in 2022. He might be front and center frequently, but Jericho makes everyone he works with better. This match was the perfect example of that. Jericho and Bandido tore the house down.
It didn’t take long to see how special Bandido was. He showed some creative high-flying, but his strength was on full display and impressive! He held Jericho in a delayed suplex position for at least a minute. Jericho is not a small man, regardless of his impressive weight loss.
Both guys left it all in the ring for the Ring of Honor Championship. Bandido threw everything he had at Jericho, but it wasn’t enough. Bandido’s nose was busted open at one point, he hit an insane fallaway slam, and then the 21 Plex. He was great here.
But Jericho is Jericho. He poked the eyes of Bandido, pulled the mask down over the Luchador’s eyes, and locked in the LionTamer for the victory. This match was an easy call for the match of the night.
4.25/5
Match of the Night
OVERALL
And that was Dynamite for the week! This was a difficult episode to review. Dynamite is easy to enjoy every week, but this episode was lacking something. Obviously, the hurricane caused the show to lack Dynamite’s usual magic, but the talent that showed up did their best. I had a good time despite the show being a little on the weaker side. I have to give AEW some kudos because of their women’s division. That division is on the right track, and giving them almost thirty minutes is a beautiful way to showcase them. The quality of the segment and match does not matter. Keep doing that! Ultimately, Dynamite was a little lackluster, but still fun from start to finish.
Verdict: 3.5/5