It’s fun to watch “All Elite Wrestling Dynamite.” Remember the word, “fun?”
The wrestling world went a little crazy a couple of days ago with swirling rumors of oil Billionaires making paradigm-shifting (sorry Mox) aims to purchase the biggest wrestling company in the world. Nothing concrete has been laid from that craziness, but All Elite Wrestling came to Los Angeles to remind us all that wrestling is supposed to be FUN. It’s not about money, shareholders, corporate boards, or egomaniac CEOs. All Elite Wrestling revolves around fun.
Let’s talk about it!
Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Adam Page
Dynamite began with a grudge match between newly formed rivals Jon Moxley and Hangman Adam Page. Everyone was waiting for Hangman to be officially cleared after being severely concussed in his previous match with the former AEW Champion. Well, Hangman got that clearance, and a great match to start this evening ensued!
As soon as the match started you could tell what the story was all about. Jon Moxley spent the entire match battering Hangman’s head after he said Hangman had a “glass jaw.” Moxley kept going for the move that put Hangman on the shelf for three months: the King Kong Lariat.
Instead of folding like a cheap suit, Hangman fought through the constant suplexes and forearm shots to the head. This match hit hard. Both men beat the hell out of each other. The exception was that it looked like Hangman was about to give up. Every move took something out of the cowboy, while Moxley looked like he could go forever. That was true until Hangman kicked out of the Death Rider.
Hangman used a burst of energy to hit the Deadeye, increasing the intensity of the match. Both guys went nuts until Hangman hit a huge lariat and then finished it with the Buckshot Lariat. Hangman picks up a massive return victory against one of AEW’s leading wrestlers in a great opening match.
4.25/5
Segments:
- There was a post-match angle that crossed over the commercial break. Moxley looked to have been rocked from the back-to-back lariats. AEW Doctor Sampson looked to be examining Mox while Hangman looked remorseful. Moxley needed to be escorted to the locker rooms by Doctor Sampson. Is Moxley going on that overdue vacation?
- Tony Schiavone was then in the ring to introduce a wonderful surprise! ADAM COLE BAY BAY!!!! Cole hasn’t been seen since August. He was back to give the fans a “good news bad news” update. He starts describing his horrific journey over the past few months. He looked like he was legitimately about to retire. Except that rapscallion got me! The bad news was for the other people in the locker room because Adam Cole BAY BAY is back and ready to go! It’s great to see that he’s okay!
- Acclaimed was backstage talking about getting a walk a fame star? Okay cool.
Big Bill & Lee Moriarty vs. JungleHook
Everything about JungleHook is weird: Jack Perry having a new tag partner, Hook having any partner at all, and the two current single stars teaming up. That being said, these two worked well together in their debut match against The Firm’s Big Bill Morrissey and Lee Moriarty.
The entire match revolved around the size mismatch between Hook and Big Bill. Hook suplexing Morrissey was teased last week and also multiple times in this match. This was a standard tag match with nothing special, outside of the ending where Hook eventually hit the T-Bone suplex on Morrissey. Lee Moriarty proceeded to tap out to the Snare Trap as JungleHook picked up their debut victory in a fun match.
3/5
- Orange Cassidy backstage with Danhausen and Paul Walter Hauser. Best Friends pop up and they do an awkward handshake. Paul will show off his Golden Globe on Rampage I guess.
- Konosuke Takeshita made his way to the ring for his match with Bryan Danielson, except Danielson is not who came to the ring. Everyone’s favorite AEW Champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, interrupted the entrances to greet Takeshita (or Take-a-shit-a according to MJF) and wish him luck. MJF proceeded to insult Takeshita, the fans, Ken Jeong, and Freddie Prinze Jr. This promo was crude, vulgar, and………..absolutely hilarious. The AEW Champion is a big troll with a microphone. He’s better than me and I accept it!
Bryan Danielson vs. Konosuke Takeshita
All of a sudden, Bryan Danielson ran down to the ring, which caused MJF to run off like a chastised child. This allowed everyone’s most anticipated match to finally start, and what a match it was! Bryan Danielson and Konosuke Takeshita delivered on every expectation and then some. This match was just two dudes trying to outlast one another. Could Takeshita keep up with the American Dragon?
In the end, no, but Takeshita put up one hell of a fight. That’s been the theme of Takeshita’s AEW run so far. He’s displayed his amazing abilities, except always in defeat. It will be special when he gets his first win.
This was a match to see. The intensity was palpable as they beat the hell out of each other with lariats and forearms. Takeshita had an unbelievable show of strength by reversing an Okada roll into a German Suplex with a bridge. He didn’t write a master’s thesis on the German Suplex for nothing, I suppose! Despite Takeshita kicking out of the Busaiku knee, Danielson locked in the Dragon Sleeper to make the young phenom pass out. Danielson begins his climb toward MJF with an amazing match!
Hell of a fight!
4.5/5
Match of the Night
- Juice Robinson backstage with Renee Paquette. He’s challenging Darby Allin for the TNT Title.
Jaime Hayter & Dr. Britt Baker vs. Saraya & Toni Storm
Up next was one of the most anticipated matches of the evening, except it had absolutely nothing to do with the match itself. Everyone was waiting to see if Saraya was going to pull a bait-and-switch with her tag partner because of the numerous teases over the past few weeks.
From time to time there are things outside of a match that affects the match itself. Saraya made multiple references to her having two tickets to the front row of the Kia Forum. She also had a “mystery partner” up until last week when Toni Storm was officially announced as said partner, despite Hikaru Shida’s surprise. This set up a tag match that could have gone in fifteen different ways. Unfortunately, they went with the safest option and confused everyone.
The match itself was fine; a standard tag match with both teams isolating and trading back and forth. It felt a little flat in some areas. Saraya kept yelling about this being her house. Yeah, we get it!
At one point, Hikaru Shida came out to cheer on Saraya and Toni. She was equipped with a Kendo Stick, for self-defense reasons surely.
Well, unfortunately, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The match escalated toward its conclusion after Toni Storm and Jaime Hayter knocked each other out. Rebel took advantage and distracted the referee, which prompted Hikaru Shida to throw her Kendo Stick into the ring for Toni Storm to use, except Britt Baker grabbed it, knocked Toni Storm with it, and Jaime Hayter hit the Hayterade for the victory.
3/5
This is a good story! Hikaru Shida looks to be turning heel, which is exciting! What happened to those tickets though? I hope someone cool used them!
Maybe they went to Ken Jeong.
Segments:
- Backstage segment with Eddie Kingston and Ortiz challenging House of Black on Rampage. The House has tormented these two for a couple of weeks now and it’s causing a divide between friends. Kingston and Ortiz were arguing despite getting their match.
- Up next, the Jericho Appreciation Society and Ricky Starks had a completely pointless segment. This didn’t advance any story or do anything specific outside of promoting future matches. Action Andretti got some microphone time, spoke some weird sexual innuendo involving Tay Melo, and made everyone uncomfortable. AEW could have made this a backstage promo and added some time to the previous and subsequent matches.
Match 7: Death Triangle vs. The Elite
ANNNNDDD NEWWWWW!!!!
The finale in this best-of-seven series could only be one type of match: Escalera de le Muerte!!!
There’s nothing to say about a match between The Elite and Death Triangle. It was amazing, there was one crazy move after another, and the rightful champions finally reclaimed their titles. It’s hard to pick a favorite match from this series. Maybe the first match from Full Gear would be my favorite, simply because of the shock factor of Death Triangle stealing the first victory.
After about five hundred moves between the two teams, Kenny Omega and Rey Fenix were the last two on the ladders. Kenny Omega proceeded to hit a One Winged Angel from the ladders and denies PAC’s attempt at the Black Arrow. Omega grabs the belt for the Elite and reclaims their Trios Championships.
A great finale to an amazing Best of 7 series!
4.5/5
Overall
And that was Dynamite for the week! All Elite Wrestling debuted its refreshed style last week, and it’s paying dividends so far. Two amazing episodes in a row! Dynamite feels like it has the magic back. Revolution isn’t too far around the corner, which can mean only good things going forward!
Verdict: 4.5/5