I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! There’s a lot to be thankful for in 2022: a great job, a lovely wife, and a fun life filled with stories and memories. All Elite Wrestling is something to be thankful for as well! The wrestling industry would suffer if there was no American alternative to the 20 year monopoly. Instead, we fans get amazing episodes of AEW Dynamite. This week’s episode felt different. The reset button was hit at Full Gear, and it’s exciting.
Let’s talk about it!
Segments:
- William Regal started Dynamite this week. He’s a complete heel now that he’s aligned with MJF. The new AEW Champion was seemingly too busy for Chicago. Evil Regal is the best, by the way. His sarcastic attitude plays so well as a heel. Jon Moxley came to the ring after a few moments and he was pissed. Bryan Danielson immediately met Moxley in the ring to defend Regal. Danielson was begging Moxley to not hurt Regal because of Regal’s frail past and the litany of injuries. This was an emotional segment. Danielson thinks of Regal like a father, regardless of his poor choice of actions. Jon Moxley ultimately obliged the American Dragon but gave Regal the scariest of warnings ever.
- Renee was backstage with Keith Lee up next. Swerve comes out from nowhere, covers the camera, and says “let’s talk” to Keith.
All-Atlantic Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Jake Hager
The first match of the evening was loaded with the most shenanigans. Jake Hager challenged Orange Cassidy for the All-Atlantic Championship in a fun match that revolved around a purple hat. That sounds stupid, but Cassidy and Hager made it work. For some reason, Hager, a doofus obsessed with a purple hat, is the best character shift he’s had in AEW.
They fought back and forth for the majority of this match. Hager used his strength until Cassidy used his frenetic offense to even the odds. Everything came back to the hat. Cassidy kept trying to steal the hat, which angered the big man. Hager had Cassidy right where he wanted with a Uranage and the Ankle Lock, but Cassidy kicked Hager’s hat off. This was so silly, but Hager dropped everything he was doing to go get the hat. Orange Cassidy took advantage and hit the Orange Punch for the victory. The dedication to the character is fantastic!
3.25/5
Immediately following the match, QT Marshall and the Factory came out to berate the Best Friends about their Full Gear match. The lame duck attack didn’t last long, as the lights almost immediately went out. Julia Hart and a returning House of Black emerge to destroy The Factory and the Best Friends. They are back to destroy everyone. YES!!!
Eliminator Tournament Final: Ethan Page vs. Ricky Starks
The AEW Championship Eliminator final was finally upon us. Despite the disappointment of this match being moved from the Full Gear card, we still got a really good matchup between Ricky Starks and ‘All Ego’ Ethan Page. Starks was still heavily taped up from the damage done by Lance Archer. The story of the match revolved around The Absolute One needing to overcome such heavy injuries.
These two had great chemistry in the ring. Ethan was constantly battering Ricky’s ribs with every strike. Even Ricky’s own moves, like the first spear he hit, hurt him enough where he couldn’t attempt a cover. Page’s old school bullying style played out perfectly in this match.
The match turned in Ricky’s favor after a superplex, swinging neckbreaker, and tornado DDT built momentum. Ethan tried to finish Ricky with some nice roundhouse kicks, but Ricky Starks withstood and hit two Spears back to back to pick up the win! Starks is going to Winter is Coming to face MJF for the AEW World Championship.
4/5
Surely, MJF won’t exploit any disadvantage Ricky Starks has…
- Wardlow promo package about being pissed off at Samoa Joe stealing the TNT Title. This should be a fun feud.
- Jade Cargill had an interaction with Bow Wow over the weekend. She has ‘no comment’ and wants to have a Baddies celebration next week. She also relieved Keira Hogan of her Baddie status. It was good to see Red Velvet back.
Trios Best of 7: Death Triangle (1) vs. The Elite (0)
All Elite Wrestling wasn’t the same when the Elite were missing. Those goofs are the heart and soul of this company. They won’t wrestle forever so we must appreciate them for as long as we have them. Add The Elite and Death Triangle onto the extensive list of things to be thankful for this year.
AEW was in Chicago this week. It probably doesn’t need said who is from Chicago. Guess who played it up as heels and rubbed it in? Yep. The Elite mocked CM Punk’s mannerisms and moves throughout this whole match. Kenny Omega even simulated biting PAC. The athleticism doesn’t even need talked about at this point. We all know what we’re going to get when these two teams lock up. It will never be bad. The story of this match was between The Elite and the crowd.
Unfortunately for them, they might have been too distracted to beat Death Triangle. PAC had his nose broken at Full Gear, so he was wearing a protective mask. Kenny hit the Go to Sleep to attempt a pinfall, but PAC kicked out. The Elite kept trying to cheat to win, but Death Triangle are experts at cheating now. Matt Jackson grabbed one of PAC’s hammers, but Penta el Zero Miedo surprised Matt with a hammer of his own. Penta hit Matt to finish the match and take a 2-0 lead! First it was Rey Fenix that played dirty, now it’s Penta.
4/5
This best of seven series is already amazing. So many options for the next handful of matches! It’s such good shit!
- Renee immediately followed that with an announcement. Thunder Rosa has been stripped of her title because of her injuries. Jaime Hayter is no longer an “Interim” Champion! She’s AEW Women’s World Champion. Her first promo as champion gets interrupted by Britt Baker.
Jaime Hayter & Britt Baker vs. TayJay vs. Willow & Skye Blue
Up next was a continuation of that segment with Jaime Hayter and Britt Baker tagging to face the teams of Willow Nightengale and Skye Blue and TayJay. This was a fun match that showcased a great portion of this young and upstart women’s division. It also showcased an interesting and anticipated story.
There wasn’t much of an actual match story in this one, outside of Jaime Hayter being crazy strong. She hit a really nice double suplex on both Anna Jay and Tay Melo. All three teams had their time in the spotlight in this one. Skye Blue and Willow are an interesting pairing too. They worked well together. All six ladies traded a bunch of moves back and forth until the end of the match.
Which is where the story comes in. Jaime hit the Hatebreaker on Skye Blue, which led to Britt Baker hitting the curbstomp to finish the match. Britt seems to be trying to take all the glory. She grabbed the belt before Jaime did and reluctantly handed it to the rightful owner. Britt is second fiddle and can’t handle it. There are cracks in the friendship.
3.5/5
Segments:
- Backstage with Renee, Top Flight, and FTR. There’s a Rampage match for the Ring of Honor Championships!
- The Acclaimed are out celebrating their Full Gear victory. Bowens was also happy about his shoulder feeling better. Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, and Jeff Jarrett interrupt the celebration. The Acclaimed can’t get a better feud after winning one of the best tag programs in AEW history? Daddy Ass has use of his hands, everyone can scissor each other, and everything is right in the world.
Ring of Honor Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii
And finally, we reached the main event of the evening. This episode of Dynamite flew by! Chris Jericho was defending his Ring of Honor championship against the Stone Pitbull, Tomohiro Ishii. This match was amazing. Jericho had two unbelievable matches in less than a week. One could argue that this match might have won Match of the Night on Full Gear.
This match was a WAR. Chris Jericho thought it was a good idea to have a striking match with Ishii. He probably regretted that decision as his chest got busted open from the chops and strikes of the Stone Pitbull. He was gushing blood everywhere. It made for an awesome visual as they beat the hell out of each other.
There wasn’t much of a story here. The story was about who could outlast the other. Jericho hit a Lionsault, but Ishii kicked out at one. He added a Codebreaker, which Ishii survived too. The Pitbull gained momentum by chopping away the Judas Effect, hitting his Sliding Lariat, and hitting a Codebreaker. It was impressive how good it looked too.
Unfortunately for Ishii, Chris Jericho was able to pull this one off. Jericho survived Ishii’s assault, locked in the Walls of Jericho, and escalated it into the Lion Tamer. Ishii was forced to tap, but not until he flipped Jericho off once more. This was a phenomenal match to cap an awesome night of Dynamite.
4.5/5
Match of the Night
Claudio Castagnoli met Jericho after the match and slapped him! The Final Battle main event is probably those two.
Overall
And that was Dynamite for the evening!
What. A. Night.
The fire is back baby. The AEW bias is real here at Game Over Gimmicks, but I can honestly admit that AEW had gotten a little stale and soulless. Every week felt the same with zero weeks that stood out. This episode brought the fire, and not just the firey vitriol the Elite is getting for mocking CM Punk in Chicago.
Every single match was good or great, and the story possibilities going forward are endless! Jericho and the Fountain of Youth he’s found, Blackpool Combat Club’s turmoil, the cracks in the relationship of Jaime Hayter and Britt Baker, and how insane the Elite/Death Triangle best of 7 series could get is just the tip of the iceberg of amazing stories Dynamite has set up for the foreseeable future. Not to mention how amazing MJF and Ricky Starks are about to be.
All Elite Wrestling is about to light the winter season ablaze
Verdict: 5/5
One of the best episodes of Dynamite this year.