The Third Anniversary of Dynamite!

Where does the time go?

Seriously! How has it been THREE years since the first episode of All Elite Wrestling Dynamite!? AEW has grown before our very eyes into a Pro Wrestling powerhouse in only three years. That’s an impressive feat after all the trials and tribulations that AEW has gone through. Not every company would have the fortitude and tenacity to persevere and develop a genuine American Pro Wrestling alternative in the wake of Brodie Lee’s passing and the pandemic. All Elite Wrestling isn’t going anywhere, despite what online trolls might tell you.

This week’s episode of Dynamite was a celebration of the three-year journey Dynamite has taken. It was a stacked show! MJF was in action, which rarely happens. Daniel Garcia teamed up with his hero, Bryan Danielson, to take on Jericho and Sammy Guevara. And we finally got a TNT title defense with a rare appearance of the ‘Machine’ Brian Cage! It’s unfortunate that backstage drama took The Elite from us because a three-year anniversary party isn’t the same without them. But the show must go on! And what a show it was!

Let’s talk about it!



MJF vs. Wheeler Yuta

AEW started off the festivities with a bang! It’s been a while since MJF wrestled (129 days to be exact), but he didn’t miss a beat against Wheeler Yuta. These two had a great match to set the tone for the rest of the evening.

It didn’t take long for MJF to use his diabolical brain to gain the advantage against Yuta. He poked the eyes of Wheeler and began the methodical breakdown. It’s not expressed enough how perfect of a talent MJF is. He’s the perfect package—his charisma, smarts, and athleticism are at the very top of wrestling right now. There isn’t a ceiling big enough to contain his potential.

That’s not to take anything away from Wheeler Yuta though. He was great too. He was able to get back into the match with a lovely German suplex combo. Both guys worked together brilliantly in this one. The match was simultaneously high energy, yet with a lower work rate. MJF isn’t much of a high work rate guy, but that didn’t stop them from stringing together a transition chain for two minutes. They earned a standing ovation from the crowd and from my living room.

The match escalated into Yuta with full control, hitting big moves, and trying to finish MJF with his Seatbelt pin. Unfortunately for the young Wheeler, the astute MJF was ready for it. The Salt of the Earth reversed the pin attempt into his namesake submission to defeat Wheeler. I thought MJF was going to pull Wheeler’s arm out of its socket when he sat back even further. It looked brutal! This was a phenomenal match that easily earns my match of the night.

4.5/5

Match of the Night

The after-match angle was almost as good as the match! Yuta wanted to honor the Code of Honor handshake, which MJF thought about. MJF and Yuta have a lot of history from their indie bouts. Max started to shake Yuta’s hand, but Lee Moriarty came out of nowhere to blast Yuta from behind. It was at the behest of Stokely Hathaway, but MJF didn’t tell them to do that. Stokely handed MJF his favorite diamond ring, which MJF reluctantly accepted, but there was one brilliant final twist to this. William Regal stepped into the ring with his brass knuckles. If you remember the peak of William Regal, you will remember those knuckles. MJF didn’t want anything to do with an angry Regal, which added one last tasty cherry on top.

Chef’s kiss!

Darby Allin vs. Jay Lethal

One good match follows another! Darby Allin took on Jay Lethal in a great match between contrasting styles. A good performance featuring Darby Allin is like the sun rising every morning. It’s going to happen regardless of the opponent. But Jay Lethal’s AEW run has been good too. He’s been mired in weird storylines, but he’s consistently putting on decent, good, and great matches. This one fit the bill because I really enjoyed it.

Jay Lethal focused on grounding Darby Allin by attacking Darby’s leg. He worked and worked and worked on that leg until Darby couldn’t stand on it. The toughness of Darby Allin was the story of this one. How much punishment could the daredevil take? If you’ve watched AEW for long enough, you know the answer to that is…a lot.

Lethal was getting frustrated that he couldn’t put Darby away. Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh noticed this and began their slow trek to the ring to help Lethal. The Ring of Honor veteran had previously told them that he didn’t need their help. Lethal stopped them and motioned for them to go away, but Darby Allin took advantage of the distraction. Darby was able to lock in the Last Supper pin and stole the victory from Jay Lethal.

3.5/5

TNT Open Challenge: Wardlow (c) vs. Brian Cage

Up next was a big behemoth battle between the TNT Champion, Wardlow, and the returning Brian Cage. This episode of Dynamite started with two great matches. Well, make that three great matches to kick off this anniversary. This match was awesome! These two monsters tried to best each other in strength and athleticism. Cage looked the best I’ve seen of him in a while and Wardlow is just a freak of nature. The Wardog has no business being almost 300 pounds and hitting flipping sentons off the top rope.

Brian Cage tried his hardest to remind everyone that he is the strongest wrestler in AEW. He dominated Wardlow for a little while, but it was all a matter of time. Wardlow hit multiple headbutts, his massive lariat, and tuned up the symphony. He conducted four…FOUR…movements into that Powerbomb symphony on the equally massive Cage. That was impressive. I could feel the fire coming back with Wardlow. Great match and a reminder of Wardlow’s (and Cage for that matter) greatness.

3.5/5

Prince Nana and his Embassy attacked Wardlow after the bell, which triggered Wardlow’s new friend, Samoa Joe, down for the save. Joe wasn’t the only person to come down though, as FTR made their AEW return to raucous applause and cheers. It’s time for AEW to ride FTR again with the Elite having no timetable for return.

  • Dr. Britt Baker DMD was backstage shortly after that match. She had an ‘announcement’ and gloated that Saraya was not medically cleared. The good Doctor made sure everyone knew that AEW was still “Her House.”

Toni Storm, Willow Nightingale, & Athena vs. Jaime Hayter, Serena Deeb, & Penelope Ford

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of this match, I’d love to give some serious kudos to Tony Khan and AEW. The Hurricane affecting a lot of last week’s show could have made it super easy to throw a random woman’s match or segment with zero care in the world. They did NOT do that! Yes, the segment wasn’t the best, but a good portion of the current AEW’s women’s division was in a long segment and match. Well, guess what?!

They did it again! And it was really good this week!

Toni Storm, Willow Nightingale, and Athena (who will be now called Team Saraya) faced off against Jaime Hayter, Serena Deeb, and Penelope Ford (Team Baker). Like so much of this evening, this match was great! Everyone had their time to shine, but I’d like to give a shout out to Penelope Ford. She looks fantastic since she’s made her return. That’s not to take away anything from anyone else here. All these ladies looked great.

Both teams showed great teamwork by hitting tandem moves and distracting their opponents. We got another rematch from the awesome Rampage match between Willow and Jaime Hayter. The outcome was a little different in this one. Willow got the best of Jaime and Team Baker by hitting the Doctor Bomb on Penelope for the victory. Willow getting the pinfall was such a great call. I love seeing that! Big win for her in a great match!

3.75/5

After the match, Britt Baker wanted to steal the spotlight and got in Saraya’s face. Well, it seems like reports about Saraya not being cleared turned out to be false. Saraya and Britt duked it out in the middle of the ring! I wish they hadn’t done that and savored Willow’s victory, but it was nice to see that Saraya can get physical in the ring now.

NATIONAL SCISSORING DAY!

October 5th, 2022 will forever be known as the inaugural National Scissoring Day! When I first saw the promotional package for this segment, I knew the only way it was going to work would be to be ridiculous. That nail got struck square on the head. This segment was ridiculous, hilarious, and perfect in every way.

The Acclaimed might literally be the most popular stars in AEW at this moment. These guys had the Washington DC crowd eating out of the palms of their hands. There were “Scissor Section” signs and Cardboard Scissors everywhere. Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, and “Daddy Ass” Billy Gunn have created a Pro Wrestling gold mine. The sky is the limit for these guys.

The fun couldn’t last, however, as Swerve Strickland came out to ruin the party. He challenged Billy Gunn to a match next week in Toronto. We also had a quick interruption by Mark Sterling, but he was quickly disposed of and the Scissoring celebration could continue. This was everything AEW needs right now: fun and ridiculous segments that put smiles on faces. It was one of my favorite segments in 2022.

  • A reunited and healthy Dark Order gets to challenge Death Triangle for the Trios titles on Rampage. That’s awesome and should be a great match. John Silver with the hilarious PAC impression that made me giggle.
  • Madison Rayne has taken Skye Blue under her wing. They are being challenged by Anna Jay and Tay Melo. Cool.

Rush vs. Hangman Page

Up next was another great match on a night that was full of them. Hangman Adam Page squared off against the new de facto Andrade Family Office leader, Rush. This match was hard hitting as hard hitting can be. Both guys took it to each other. They both have similar styles in their wrestling game.

The story of the match was that Hangman Page was fighting a two-on-one battle. Jose the Assitant was ringside and used every opportunity to distract the former champion. Between that and Rush using everything at his disposal, like camera cables, Hangman was in a bad way. Rush becomes a bullying heel with ease. Very good at it.

Eventually, the Anxious Millenial Cowboy took over with a Fallaway slam. Jose the Assistant attempted the distraction too many times as Hangman was ready for it. Hangman was able to counter Rush’s finishing knee strike into the Buckshot Lariat for the victory.

3.5/5

Segments:

  • Private Party come out to the ring directly following the match. I wasn’t exactly sure what they were doing, but this triggered Jon Moxley to run them off. Moxley confronted Hangman Page to hype up their match in Cincinnati, but Hangman wanted to fight right now. Moxley warned the Cowboy that he better be careful what he wished for and to watch his damn mouth. An intense promo after a great match.
  • Willow Nightingale was backstage for a promo following her big victory earlier. She has confidence now and wants another shot at the TBS championship. Obviously, Jade was nearby and berated Willow, but the match is on for Battle of the Belts IV on Friday. Come on, Willow!
  • Luchasaurus then murdered poor Fuego del Sol. The match lasted five seconds, but the segment was not over. Jungle Boy comes after Luchasaurus with a chair. Let me take two seconds to acknowledge Jungle Boy’s improvement on the microphone. That kid couldn’t say hardly anything at the beginning of AEW, but he’s great on the mic now. I truly believed that his heart was broken by Luchasaurus’s defection to Christian. Their match is set for next week in Christian’s hometown, Toronto. I’d bet money on Christian coming out on top here.

Daniel Garcia & Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara

And just like that! We’ve reached the main event. This episode FLEW by! Daniel Garcia and Bryan Danielson faced Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara in a great match to close out an equally great night of wrestling. It was hard hitting, loaded with story, and had near falls for days. I loved the way this match played out until the very end.

The story of the match obviously revolved around Daniel Garcia and Chris Jericho. Jericho uses his “Sports Entertainer” shtick so well, but Garcia is fed up with it. The match itself was phenomenal. All four guys put on a great show in this awesome main event. I don’t normally give props to Sammy Guevara, but the crowd hated him here and Sammy ate it up. He did a great job, which added to the craziness of the ending. I wasn’t a fan of it, but I understand the story they’re telling.

After a long match, Jericho and Guevara neutralized Bryan Danielson on the outside. This left Garcia alone for a two on one. Garcia was amazing fighting off both guys but inevitably succumbed to the antics of Jericho. Garcia picked up momentum until Jericho blindsided him with Floyd the bat, allowing Guevara to pick up the victory. This match was fantastic through and through, but the ending felt a little overbooked. Heeling it up to the crowd worked very well as the Jericho Appreciation Society stood tall once again.

4/5



OVERALL

I LOVED this episode of AEW Dynamite. This Anniversary show flew by with one great match after another. This truly felt like a celebration of Dynamite because I could have sworn we were in 2019 again. Dynamite this week had the flair of an early show with a much better roster. It was one hit after another with story-laden matches. I love a good story segment, but an amazing match dripping with a story is much better. This episode of Dynamite is one of the best in recent memory; possibly in all of 2022.

Verdict: 4.5/5

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