All Elite Wrestling Dynamite was in San Antonio, Texas, this week for their yearly edition of the Holiday Bash! This episode was loaded from top to bottom with rising stars and established names. A Christmas-themed Game 5 between The Elite and Death Triangle, Jon Moxley in action, FTR settling an old score with The Gunns, and the thrilling main event between Jaime Hayter and Hikaru Shida made up this episode’s action. Did Santa bring Dynamite fans the episode we all wanted for Christmas, or were our stockings loaded with coal?
Let’s find out!
This week’s episode started with a promo for Ricky Starks. The Absolute One was still angry about last week’s ending, where MJF cheated to retain his AEW Championship. But instead of immediately handing Starks another shot at MJF’s title, AEW threw a random wrench into the mix. Chris Jericho interrupted Starks to offer a spot in the Jericho Appreciation Society. After an awesome promo battle between Jericho and Starks, Jake Hager attacked Ricky from behind, and Jericho’s new nemesis, Action Andretti, made the save. This was fun, simple, and a fresh feud for all involved. This should be an exciting story.
Game 5: Death Triangle (3) vs. The Elite (1)
Despite a best-of-seven series possibly not being the best idea, Game 5 between The Elite and Death Triangle was a hoot. A No-DQ stipulation allowed this match to feel much different than the previous four. A Christmas Tree being involved also helps! This match was a great time, just like the previous four, with high-intensity action throughout. The Christmas theme helped add to the craziness too.
We all know the story by now. Death Triangle continues to use ring bell hammers to win matches, but what happens when weapons are being strewn about to neutralize said hammers? The Elite were banged up in this one too. Nick Jackson claimed his ankle was ready for battle but re-injured it almost immediately. Kenny Omega’s shoulder still bothered him, and Matt Jackson’s lower back issues are a beaten path.
This match was perfect utter chaos. Excalibur said the words, “The unforgiving artificial pine needles,” as Penta threw the Young Bucks into a Christmas tree. There were plenty of other weapons thrown around for these six to use. A trash can was used at one point, chairs, and tables galore. Kenny Omega made a lovely callback by using his Cleaner broom with barbed wire wrapped around it.
The match eventually came to a conclusion when Death Triangle grabbed three hammers to finish off the Elite. Fortunately for the fans, this series was not over! Kenny Omega hit a brutal snapdragon out of nowhere, which led to the Bucks hitting a Meltzer Driver to win Game 5. The Elite are still down 3-2, but they’ve built momentum heading into Game 6.
4/5
After the match was over, Death Triangle beat the crap out of the Elite. Next week is going to be interesting!
Segments:
- A promo video taped after last week’s Dynamite aired with MJF pissed off about Bryan Danielson. Crazy and delusional MJF is the best MJF.
- Newly signed star, Action Andretti, was backstage for his first promo! He was not half bad! 2point0 interrupted the kid to distract him from what was about to happen. Jericho the wizard threw a fireball at him, which landed HARD on his face. His “hot streak” is now literal. Hopefully, he’s okay.
- Renee Paquette announced Bryan Danielson to the ring up next. The American Dragon reminiscences about being trained initially in San Antonio by HBK, but the person that turned him into the wrestler he is was William Regal. Danielson flicked the intense switch as he addressed MJF. He called out MJF, but was greeted by Ethan Page and Stokely Hathaway. This was a weird interaction, despite Stokely calling him a “Raggedy Bitch” being incredibly funny. The crowd did not like this, and neither did I.
- We’re getting a $300,000 Casino Christmas Trios Royale! That is different! Moxley was backstage and tells Hangman to meet him there. The Blackpool Combat Club leader had another amazing promo. “Aint my problem you got a glass jaw,” was a phenomenal line. This Moxley and Hangman feud has been fantastic, and they haven’t even stepped into the ring yet!
- Speaking of amazing promos, Samoa Joe wishes a bunch of people happy holidays. But not Wardlow! Joe and Wardlow are going to fight next week.
- Hook faced some poor soul, called Exodus Prime, and dominated him. Stokely Hathaway, Lee Moriarty, and Big Bill Morrissey beat up Jungle Boy backstage, causing Hook to come running for help. This was simple and effective!
Jon Moxley vs. Darius Martin
Up next was a surprise match between Jon Moxley and Top Flight member, Darius Martin. This was Darius’s first singles match in AEW, and unfortunately, it looked like it. The kid looked a little outmatched against the former AEW Champion. This match was not bad by any means; it just looked like a match Moxley should have won quickly.
The story in this match revolved around Darius not being able to hang with Moxley but doing just enough to survive. His couple of bright spots were towards the end of the match, with a slingshot flatliner and Pele Kick knocked Moxley for a loop. It was only a matter of time before Moxley had enough, as he stomped and hit the Death Rider for the victory.
The point of this match revolved around Darius not being able to hold his own against Mox, but his flurries of offense were a little on the weak side. Not my favorite match of the evening, that’s for sure. Better days are ahead for the Top Flight member.
2.75/5
- Up next was another awesome vignette detailing the Book of Hobbs. This man has lived a troubled life! The next chapter in the Book of Hobbs will be to “spill everyone else’s blood.” What Hobb’s does next will be very interesting!
FTR vs. The Gunns
AEW has had huge surprises for two weeks in a row. Granted this match wasn’t as big a surprise as the Jericho/Andretti match, but the stories revolving around Jericho and FTR seem to be similar. Jericho continues to lose, as well as FTR. This match between FTR and The Gunns wasn’t technically perfect, but the story was fantastic, and the Gunns are great annoying heels.
FTR was still recovering from their brutal affair with the Briscoes from Final Battle. Dax was taped up, which required Cash to shoulder more of the burden. The Gunns took advantage of these injuries wholeheartedly. Austin Gunn slammed Dax’s hip into the steel steps, which looked very painful. Cash had to constantly save the match, but the Gunns got the upper hand again by neutralizing Cash with the barricade. The Gunns just had FTR’s number this week.
The match came to a conclusion as Dax Harwood couldn’t hit a spike piledriver, due to his hurt hip. Dax eventually attempted to roll up Austin Gunn, but the hip weakness allowed Austin to reverse it and get the victory with his brother’s assistance. FTR is now on a three match losing streak! The Gunns are surprisingly entertaining at everything they do. Nothing they do is flashy, but they’re sound in the ring and obnoxious heels. Good stuff here!
3.5/5
- Sonjay Dutt makes an…ATROCIOUS rap talking about beating up The Acclaimed on Rampage.
- Up next was the face-to-face between Swerve and Keith Lee. Sometimes there are segments that you wish you could scrub from your memory. I understand what they were trying to do here, but the execution was horrible. The entire segment revolved around Keith Lee and Swerve finally discussing their differences with Rick Ross, who’s friends with Swerve, mediating it. Instead of talking it out, Swerve gathered a faction to eliminate Keith Lee. That premise had potential! Unfortunately, this segment was bogged down by Rick Ross constantly talking over everything. Between Ross and the crowd constantly yelling too, this entire segment was wasted. Not to mention that Parker Boudreax and some tattooed wrestler nobody had heard of were Swerve’s followers. I’m okay with Parker doing something cool, but who’s the nobody? AEW has a huge roster that could use some television time. This entire segment was poorly executed. The Swerve Stomp with a cinder block notwithstanding…
AEW Women’s Championship: Jaime Hayter (c) vs. Hikaru Shida
Dynamite main events are usually the betting favorites to win the match of the night. Although they do not always win, AEW schedules main events for a reason. They are the last thing the audience sees before turning off the TV. And what AEW wants the audience to see right now, is that this AEW Women’s division is about to change the game. Strapping up Jaime Hayter with the AEW Women’s Championship was one of Tony Khan’s smartest booking decisions of 2022. She can lead by example with amazing matches like this main event with Hikaru Shida.
This was Hayter’s first title defense, and it was a slugfest. The story here revolved around Hikaru Shida’s toughness and wanting her belt back. Shida’s reign as AEW Women’s Champion almost exclusively happened during the pandemic with zero fans, which rightfully frustrated her, and she decided to take out that frustration on the current Champion. They tore each other apart! Neither one held an advantage for any significant period; they just traded huge move after move.
If the match wasn’t already intense, it got amped up even more after Hayter missed a moonsault. Neither lady could put the other away. Hayter kept hitting lariats, but Shida would kick out. Shida on the other hand, could not hit her finishing Katana Kick. That ended up being the deciding factor as Hayter finally put Shida away with a hellacious Hayterade Lariat for the pinfall. FANTASTIC main event to save a weird second hour of the Dynamite.
4.5/5
Match of the Night
Britt Baker starts attacking Shida directly after the bell. This triggered Toni Storm and eventually Saraya to neutralize the forces of Britt and Hayter. This was a simple, yet wonderful, way to end the show. It displays who the division is being built around.
OVERALL
And that was AEW Dynamite for this week! Did you enjoy Holiday Bash?
I know I did, despite the wonky parts. This year’s episode of the holiday tradition was a mixed bag. We got the amazing presents of The Elite and Death Triangle, yet a big ol’ helping of coal from Swerve and Keith Lee. The first hour of this episode was a blast from an original Dynamite past, but the second hour was mired in weird decisions and saved by an amazing main event. An up-and-down evening makes for a Dynamite Holiday Hodgepodge. If hodgepodge isn’t the perfect word to describe AEW, I don’t know what is.
Verdict: 4/5