This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite was the first one off of American soil. Toronto had the honor of being the lucky city of choice, but unfortunately, AEW’s most successful Canadian couldn’t be there. The likes of Kenny Omega, Young Bucks, and CM Punk are still in limbo without any forward momentum on what’s going on. That won’t stop All Elite Wrestling from putting on a great show. Two championship matches were on the docket this week; Chris Jericho defended his Ring of Honor world title against Bryan Danielson, and Orange Cassidy challenged PAC for the All-Atlantic title. But how did the show stack up against last week’s amazing anniversary show?
Let’s talk about it!
The Toronto Dynamite started with an amazing surprise debut. Toronto’s own Renee Paquette started off the show with an interview with Christian Cage. A perfect way to start this night in front of an inspired crowd. Getting Renee is a huge win for All Elite Wrestling too. Her production, commentary, and interview experience are second to none. Christian guaranteed a win in the opening match of the night.
Jungle Boy vs. Luchasaurus
Which ended up being the match between former best friends turned spiteful enemies. Jungle Boy hasn’t seen action in a while, but he wants revenge for the actions of Christian Cage and Luchasaurus. This was a great match to start Dynamite’s first foray into Canada. It was longer than I anticipated but ended exactly as I assumed it would.
The story of the match revolved around Jungle Boy’s anger against Luchasaurus’s obvious power advantage. Jungle Boy needed to do something to even the odds a little bit. After getting dominated for a while, Jungle Boy seized his opportunity. Luchasaurus hurt his arm by inadvertently striking the ring post, which allowed Jungle Boy to target that arm.
The dinosaur with the master’s degree didn’t seem to care about it, however, because he was still able to throw Jungle Boy all around the ring area. As a bad boy, Luchasaurus is way more intriguing than as a Jurassic Express partner. His aura and dominating style fit this perfectly. The pace picked back up as Jungle Boy turned the tides by using the ring post again. The sunset powerbomb through the table looked brutal here. This spurred Christian Cage into coming down ringside, which would inevitably affect the outcome.
My favorite part of the match was the tiny tidbit where Luchasaurus couldn’t use his hurt right hand to Chokeslam Jungle Boy, so he used his other hand. That small wrinkle caused the Chokeslam to not hit as hard, which caused Jungle Boy to kick out. Small details turn good matches into great ones. STORY!
The pace went through the roof after that, including Jungle Boy hitting his own version of Christian Cage’s finisher, but it wasn’t enough. Christian got involved by helping Luchasaurus escape the Snare Trap, which led to the big man hitting an avalanche choke slam (left-handed) and an awesome finisher I didn’t know the name of. This was a fantastic match! Small details again, as Luchasaurus went to the top rope to use his left-handed chokeslam to added effect.
4/5
- Renee Paquette was already busy, as she was backstage with Ethan Page and Stokely Hathaway. The Firm has purchased Private Party contracts, which aggravated Matt Hardy. Ethan Page challenges Isiah Kassidy to a match for Private Party’s contracts. If Ethan wins, the Firm gains Matt Hardy’s contract too. This story is intriguing. There are a lot of different ways it can go. Stokely Hathaway hits another home run with the Firm.
WarJoe vs. QT Marshall & Nick Comorato
Up next was another match, but not a match entirely. Samoa Joe and Wardlow were fighting Factory members QT Marshall and Nick Comoroto. This match ended as quickly as it started. Comoroto gained a tiny bit of momentum, but Wardlow showed off his insane athleticism with a Swanton Bomb. This led to Samoa Joe choking out Comoroto and a quick victory.
2.5/5
- That match was only to get the after-match angle. Prince Nana and the Embassy interrupt Wardlow’s Powerbomb Symphony, which leads to an FTR appearance. But there was also a surprise here. Canada’s own, Shawn Spears, was welcomed back with crazy applause. He seems to have gone back to his “Ten” gimmick. This was fun. I’m happy Spears is back, which also seems to be a Pinnacle reunion.
- Jericho and his goons were talking about their feud with Danielson and Garcia. This wasn’t much, but I love Matt Menard and Angelo Parker.
Swerve Strickland vs. Billy Gunn
Wrestling in 2022 is insane. Vince McMahon leaves WWE, CM Punk destroys any future wrestling possibilities, and Billy Gunn is one of the biggest stars in any company.
Yes, those things are equal in their insanity.
(not really…)
This match was fun, but the story here is that Billy Gunn is 58 years old and looking unbelievable in the ring still. The Toronto crowd loved every second of this one, as they chanted “Scissor Me Daddy” over and over again. Billy was playing it up to the crowd, dancing around and posing, until Swerve kicked him low to injure Daddy Ass.
Swerve took control with a nice diving knee drop. This felt like the inevitable coming, but Gunn wasn’t finished. The big man kicked out of a flatliner and a Swerve Stomp but lost after Swerve rolled him up and grabbed the ropes. This ending felt a little wonky, but I still enjoyed the match. It was just a good time; nothing spectacular.
2.75/5
After the match, Mark Sterling came out and announced that he trademarked any iteration of “Scissor Me.” HOW DARE HE! The Acclaimed can’t scissor or risk getting sued and stripped of the titles. Sterling and Nese scissor each other, which was way funnier than it should have been. Intrigued by where this goes!
- MJF was backstage talking about the events of last week. Stokely Hathaway interrupts MJF again, which angers the Devil incarnate for a second week in a row. Max addressed William Regal and their similar villainous past, Yuta and their match last week, and how he always has to be the bad guy. This guy can do no wrong. I’m glued to the television any single time he’s on it. Jon Moxley might be the champion right now, but MJF is inevitable.
- Speaking of the AEW Champion; Moxley came out to the ring next. He’s out to talk about next week’s championship match against Hangman Adam Page in Cincinnati, Ohio. He says it’s easy to lose yourself as a champion. The champion needs to rise up and own holding that belt. Hangman then confronts him and proceeds to spout one of the best promos he’s ever had. The Cowboy is best when he’s intense. This was a fantastic promo battle that sold next week’s match tenfold.
RoH Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Bryan Danielson
Up next was the third (and hopefully last for a while) match between Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson. Jericho has made it clear that he’s coming for the entire history of Ring of Honor, which started this past Wednesday against one of RoH’s most successful champs. According to Danielson, the Ring of Honor Championship was formerly considered to be one of the most prestigious belts in the world. Unfortunately, that title is now held by the least honorable person in AEW!
This match was great. Danielson is always top notch and Jericho has revitalized his career. The Dragon comes out hot by dominating Jericho with chops, but Lionheart turned the tides with a Hurricanrana off the top rope. Honestly, this match was evenly matched the whole time. It was slow and methodical, but they traded advantage the whole time. Multiple times they chopped the hell out of each other back and forth. The majority of the story here was saved for the ending…
They traded submission finishers as they escalated the match toward its inevitable conclusion. Danielson used the Labelle Lock, Jericho answered with the Walls of Jericho, and then Danielson reversed that into his own Walls of Jericho. That was a nice little touch. They went back and forth a lot here. This continued for a while until referee Paul Turner was incidentally taken out after Jericho pushed Danielson into him. Ensue shenanigans…
‘Daddy Magic’ Matt Menard quickly took advantage by tossing Jericho the Ring of Honor title to use, but Daniel Garcia came down for the save! Or did he? Garcia grabs the belt from Jericho, betrays Danielson, and clocks the Dragon with the title. Jericho pins Danielson to retain the title. Great match! Overbooked ending…
4/5
Daniel Garcia’s story is a great one, but if AEW doesn’t strap a rocket to him soon, he’ll lose all momentum. Booking patterns are becoming a thing…
- Nyla Rose has stolen Jade’s TBS title and is parading it around. Nyla Rose is perfect for this. She’s oozing charisma and is hilarious. Similar to MJF (not exactly obviously), she commands attention when she’s on the screen. She’s a star every single match, promo, or segment. Anna Lame A.S. is challenging Nyla for her right to carry it around.
Dr. Britt Baker DMD & Jaime Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida & Toni Storm
In the past few weeks, AEW’s women’s division has said, “Screw the death slot. We’re going to kill it no matter where we are!” And they truly have. Whether it’s ten minutes or thirty, these women have taken anything they’ve been given and done their absolute best. This match between the teams of Toni Storm and Hikaru Shida taking on Britt Baker and Jaime Hayter wasn’t a long one, but it was a good one!
This match was stiff right away. There was a feeling of true animosity between the four of them, Shida especially. The former champ hasn’t had much time since she lost her Women’s Championship last year, so her still holding a grudge was a nice touch. Toni and Shida started strong until Britt distracted Toni, which allowed Hayter to blast Toni in the face. Hayter turning face be damned, she and Britt work well together.
Toni Storm hit a really nice neckbreaker to get the tag out to Shida, which amped the pace up. They started trading move after move after move. Shida got the butt end of a 2-on-1, which ended in a curb stomp, but Toni saved her. After Storm neutralized Hayter, this left Shida one on one with her former rival. They traded counter after counter. Shida was able to escape the Lockjaw and surprisingly ended up rolling Britt up for the pinfall! Hikaru Shida picks up a huge victory here!
3.5/5
Hikaru Shida needs more time on screen. She’s amazing and hopefully, this match and win gain her some future momentum.
All Atlantic Championship: PAC (c) vs. Orange Cassidy
ANNNDDDD NEEWWWWW!!!!!
We finally reached the main event for the evening. It was exciting to see Orange Cassidy get into the main event match. Plus, he and PAC have created a nice rivalry. PAC was Cassidy’s first AEW match, and all of their matches have been fantastic. This one fits into that “fantastic” category too.
The story of this match was similar to previous PAC bouts. He’s finally living up to his Bastard potential in AEW. We haven’t seen the dark side of PAC much in AEW and I like it. He was mocking Cassidy, doing everything to beat Cassidy outside the ring, and the ending obviously. Cassidy had an answer for everything, thankfully.
This match was even until PAC hit a huge tombstone piledriver onto the rampway. The Bastard wanted to win by count-out! What a scallywag. Cassidy responded to this in the only way the King of Sloth Style would. He rolled back down the rampway to beat the count at 9.99. This was great! PAC was waiting for him though, as he trapped him in the Brutalizer right away. PAC went full Bastard after Cassidy tapped out.
Referee Bryce Remsburg played a huge part in this. AEW referees are often portrayed as stupid and easily distracted, but Bryce stopped PAC from grabbing his oft used hammer. Unfortunately for Bryce and Cassidy, PAC had a backup hammer to use, but Cassidy greeted the attempt with an Orange Punch. Cassidy hit multiple Orange Punches in a row to finally, FINALLY, win his first title in a fantastic fashion.
4.25/5
Match of the Night
OVERALL
And that was Dynamite for this week! What did you think? Let me know on Twitter @Game_Gimmicks
This episode wasn’t as good as last week’s, but I really enjoyed myself. AEW has recaptured that magical feel after all of the drama. The last few months of AEW were okay, but the past couple of weeks have been consistently good. Dynamite is in a great spot to close out the year! Full Gear is coming up, plus all of the themed Dynamites like ‘Winter is Coming.’
Verdict: 4/5