All Elite Wrestling Dynamite has had a different feel in the past two weeks. Full Gear refreshed the show to reignite the fire. Last week’s episode of Dynamite was perfect. It had everything you want from a wrestling show. Could AEW continue that fire? They surely attempted! Bryan Danielson took on Dax Harwood, The Elite faced off against the Death Triangle in Game 3 of their Best of Seven series, TNT Champion Samoa Joe faced newcomer AR Fox, Willow Nightingale was in action, and the deplorable Devil himself, Maxwell Jacob Friedman made an appearance.
Let’s talk about it!
- Dynamite opened with a promo two weeks in a row, and once again it revolved around Jon Moxley. The former AEW Champion was excited to be in Indianapolis this week and has seemingly put MJF behind him. That being said, Mox challenged anyone to get in his face, and he got his answer. Hangman Adam Page made his triumphant return after the unfortunate concussion accident at the hands of Jon Moxley himself. You could feel the intensity between them as they tried to tear each other apart. A fantastic way to open the show.
Bryan Danielson vs. Dax Harwood
Dynamite continued the intensity into our first match of the evening. Dax Harwood wanted to prove himself against one of the best in the world, Bryan Danielson. The American Dragon probably had a lot on his mind after last week’s fracas between Moxley and Regal. Would that drama cause Danielson to slip up and lose the match? No, but the hard-hitting affair was amazing.
The intensity of this match was palpable. Dax and Danielson traded chops and uppercuts throughout this war of attrition. Dax hit a suplex over the barricade into the crowd to knock both of them down. The Tag Team savant proceeded to hit his piledriver and a mid-air reversal into a crossbody for a close two count. Dax Harwood hits that piledriver with the best of them. It looks brutal. Especially on someone with the neck injury history of Bryan Danielson. Dax kept the momentum by reversing the Busaiku Knee into his slingshot powerbomb, but Danielson kicked out at two. Danielson inevitably got the best of Harwood by reversing an inside cradle into the Labelle Lock for the victory.
This was a phenomenal match in an amazing 2022 catalog for both of these guys.
4.25/5
Match of the Night
Segments:
- Ricky Starks was backstage up next. He plans on entering the Dynamite Diamond Ring Battle Royale next week. It doesn’t make sense for him to do so because he already has a championship shot at Winter is Coming, but he wants everything MJF has. That’s an interesting motivation.
- The camera quickly cuts to Hangman and Moxley still brawling all over the arena. Both Hangman and Moxley were banned from the arena for the rest of the evening, consequently being very significant in a later segment.
- The other members of the Blackpool Combat Club, Claudio and Wheeler, sat down with the Jericho Appreciation Society in an interview with Renee Paquette. Claudio and Wheeler explicitly talked about being sick of fighting the JAS. We fans are sick of it too! A tag match was set for next week’s episode of Dynamite, and there will be an RoH Pure Title match defended at Final Battle. Will the feud ever end?!
TNT Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. AR Fox
Samoa Joe’s reign as TNT Champion is already going well. The Samoan Submission Machine is perfect for the cocky badass who cannot be stopped. AEW could rehab the TNT Title by allowing Joe to consistently dominate people. That’s exactly what the TNT title needs. Apologies to the newly signed favorite, AR Fox, but he became Joe’s first victim. Fox put up a great fight, however.
With the exception of the moments when AR Fox showed athleticism that rivals Dante Martin, Samoa Joe dominated the whole match. Fox impressively combat rolled out of a missed tope con giro! His speed is on a whole other level. AR Fox is a sudden burst of energy. Unfortunately for the new signee, Samoa Joe wasn’t down for long. Fox attempted a Swanton Bomb, but Joe quickly dodged it. Cocky Samoa Joe is the best Samoa Joe. The TNT Champion retains his title with the Muscle Buster. This was a fun little match that made me want to see more of AR Fox.
3/5
Segments:
- Samoa Joe grabbed a microphone and declared himself the one true king of television. That’s a cool moniker. Wardlow wants a rematch and surely that will happen soon. Winter is Coming most likely.
- Random vignette with Powerhouse Hobbs. He’s also going after something.
- Wrestling is meant to be intense from time to time. We all know that. But sometimes segments hit incredibly hard and become difficult to watch. This next segment between William Regal and MJF qualified under those descriptions. The AEW Champion described how Regal sent him an email about turning Max into the best villain ever. And apparently, villains need Burberry Championship belts. MJF proceeds to talk about holding the Championship for longer than anyone ever has. This was standard MJF stuff. He’s just a champion now, so it’s going to get amplified. Then he proceeded to hit the gnarliest brass knuckle shot on William Regal. The Gentleman Villain got knocked out cold. This was intense, scary, and executed perfectly. I truly didn’t know if Regal was okay or not.
(even more segments…)
- Ricky Starks destroyed Ariya Daivari in twenty seconds. Stokely Hathaway, Ethan Page, and Matt Hardy are setting their sights on next week’s Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale. Ethan Page is forcing Matt Hardy to help him.
- Tony Schiavone was backstage with Dr. Britt Baker DMD and AEW Women’s Champion, Jaime Hayter, to discuss…something? Apparently, Jaime Hayter is getting a full interview next week. No clue why this existed.
Willow Nightingale vs. Anna J.A.S
As soon as Willow Nightingale made her AEW debut, it was only a matter of time before her push. She has that “IT” factor that so few talents have. Her innate connection to the audience makes her one of the most popular wrestlers anywhere she goes. Maybe it’s the infectious smile she has, or maybe it’s her awesome ability in the ring. It’s quite possibly all of the above to create a total package that might take over the AEW Women’s division. A good first step? Her first singles win on AEW Dynamite against an established talent.
The story of this match revolved around Willow’s strength needing to neutralize both Anna Jay and Tay Melo. Willow started strong with a back suplex, hip attacks, and a crossbody, but Anna was able to turn the tides with her running kicks. It’s time to give Anna Jay some wins as well, by the way. Anna was impressive in this one too. Her time in the Jericho Appreciation Society has helped her tremendously.
In the long run, Willow was able to outlast Anna and Tay. Her spinebuster was awesome! Hopefully, she uses that more. Willow reversed the Queenslayer, hit a huge lariat, and finished the match with a Doctor Bomb for the win. This was a very good match from both ladies! It’s nice to see lesser-utilized Women’s talent get a good chunk of Dynamite.
3.5/5
There was another surprise return immediately following this match as well. Ruby Soho came down to the ring to exact revenge on Tay Melo for breaking her nose.
Segments:
- Schiavone was backstage with QT Marshall and Orange Cassidy. QT challenged Cassidy to a Lumberjack match on Rampage. This All-Atlantic title reign is fun and fresh. Orange Cassidy doesn’t care about who challenges him or what they’re proposing. He accepts it all without any pushback at all. It’s silly and fits Cassidy so well.
- Jade Cargill and her TBS Celebration followed that. This segment was a little odd. Jade’s ego is growing and growing to where she doesn’t think she needs Baddies anymore. Bow Wow appeared on the screen and is coming to Dynamite soon. This felt rather pointless, outside of establishing that Jade feels untouchable. Maybe Bow Wow brings a Mercedes with him to knock Jade down a peg.
- Daddy Ass became a drill sergeant for the Acclaimed in a hilarious segment. It sort of sounded like The Tag Champs were giving a title shot on Rampage, but it wasn’t entirely clear.
Game 3: Death Triangle (2) vs. The Elite (0)
This week’s main event was Game 3 between Death Triangle and The Elite in their Best of Seven series. What do I say about these two teams at this point? There’s no point in outlining this match. Much like humans breathe air, The Elite and Death Triangle create good matches without effort. That being said, this match was the weakest of the three so far.
A Best of Seven match series needs to differentiate. This one accomplished that by The Elite attacking before the bell rang. This caused both teams to brawl throughout the arena for a long time before anyone stepped foot in the ring. Once everyone actually cooperated with the pleading referee, the trio’s action could officially begin. The energy was high, like always. We got the quintessential tandem moves by both teams; More Bang for your Buck and the Fear Factor among them.
This Best of Seven series has seemingly been all about Death Triangle and their want to use ring hammers. PAC has persuaded Penta el Zero Miedo and Alex Abrahantes to use them, but Rey Fenix regrets using his. This caused a little friction after Fenix took the hammer from his brother and scolded him. How this story continues to unfold will be interesting.
Both teams amplified the intensity tenfold as they escalated toward the finish. Matt Jackson looked to be in trouble after eating a Fear Factor from the Lucha Bros, which put him directly under PAC about to strike. PAC’s Black Arrow was awesomely reversed into a surprise pin to steal a victory for the Elite. It’s now 2-1!
3.75/5
Everyone knows this is going to the seventh game in the Kia Forum. How AEW gets there was always the question. Allowing both teams to trade wins is a much better route than putting the Elite down 0-3, which then automatically gives away the next four matches. Kudos to AEW!
OVERALL
And that was Dynamite for the week! How did All Elite Wrestling do? Did they repeat last week’s perfect episode?
I don’t think so, but this was another strong one. There were good matches and great segments from start to finish. The only down in a show of ups was the Jade Cargill and Bow Wow segment. Something was disconnected there. Hopefully, it all amounts to something cool.
But overall, This week’s Dynamite was another banger. All Elite Wrestling is poised to end 2022 on a strong note, which means big things are in store for 2023.
VERDICT: 4.5/5