Welcome back to the weekly review of AEW Dynamite! This week’s episode was the go-home show for Double or Nothing! There was a lot of professional wrestling in this week’s two hour show. Orange Cassidy continued his vow to destroy his own body to defend the AEW International Championship, The House of Black made another Open House Rules defense, and the Lucha Bros defended their RoH Tag Titles.
Let’s talk about how good this week’s episode was!
AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Kyle Fletcher
Before we get into the first match, let’s take a moment to appreciate Orange Cassidy. He’s amidst a storytelling clinic with this International Championship reign. The Champ has gone from not caring about anything to wanting the title, then gaining the title, then accepting all challengers, and now he’s just barely surviving each and every match he’s in. His body is coming apart piece by piece, yet he still finds a way to win. It’s brilliant.
And that theme continued with his opening match this week against the newly signed to AEW, Kyle Fletcher. The United Empire member dominated Cassidy in this match. Freshly Squeezed had his quick moments of brilliant moves, but every move delivered to him and by him looked like the last move he could ever do or take. Despite this, Fletcher could not put the champ away. He even hit double tombstone piledrivers in a row and an avalanche Michinoku Driver, but still could not pin Cassidy.
Orange Cassidy just keeps finding a way to win, and with each match, he becomes more and more desperate in doing so. Fletcher went for one more Tombstone Piledriver, but Cassidy reversed it into a rollup pin for the victory. Fantastic match that should be run back. This was so good.
4/5
Match of the Night
Segments:
- Renee Paquette started her, abnormally short, evening backstage with Ricky Starks. The Absolute One declared he was in the Blackjack Battle Royale, but was quickly attacked by Juice Robinson and Jay White. Messing with Ricky Starks is “too fun” for the Bullet Club Gold. There have been worse motivations in pro wrestling history.
- Jungle Boy had a wonderful backstage promo talking about his trips to Double or Nothing in Vegas– his first one, last year with Christian Cage, and now this year. He vowed to drive home this Monday as the AEW World Champion. This was a great promo!
- FTR then came down to the ring to discuss their tag team championship match with Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. They make things a little personal by calling Lethal and Jarrett TNA rejects, which is funny and technically accurate. The special guest referee for their match, Mark Briscoe, then confronted them about their actions last week. This was funny because Mark didn’t even listen to the rationale; he just smacked FTR, Jeff Jarrett, and told Jay Lethal that he was “done with the bullshit.” I’m invested in this storyline way more than I should be. It’s silly sports entertainment and I love it.
- Renee finished her quick evening, by her standards, by talking to Sammy Guevara about MJF. She relayed that the offer from MJF to lay down on purpose was still on the table. Sammy denies it and talked a big talk about taking the title. Cool.
AEW Trios Championship: House of Black (c) vs. Blake Christian, Gran Metalik, & AR Fox
Up next was another Open House Rules match between the House of Black and the team of Blake Christian, Gran Metalik, and AR Fox. The challengers selected Lucha Rules, which made sense for the three high flyers. Unfortunately for them though, the House of Black wasn’t fazed.
It was fun watching the challengers fly around in this one, but it was a lot quicker than expected. The House of Black dominated after a few minutes. Brody King also about decapitated Blake Christian with his chokehold from the apron. A match that was short and sweet.
3/5
The Open House Rules are one of my new favorite things in wrestling. Variety is baked into the rules. Freaking brilliant. The changeup of crowd lights was a cool twist too.
Segments:
- Danielson and the Blackpool Combat Club were then backstage. They were excited to win the ROH Tag Team Titles later in the evening and “End the Elite” in Anarchy in the Arena. Another week and another great BCC promo.
- Everyone’s favorite AEW Champion slowly made his way to the ring to talk about the Pillars 4-way match. He proceeds to tease leaving in 2024 again and that he’s bored with AEW. Darby Allin then arrived to talk about how much he loved AEW. This was a cool dichotomy between the AEW originals. Here comes Darby Allin, who talks about his touch life after high school. MJF then kicks Darby in the crotch and all four Pillars make an appearance to beat up MJF. This was fine. It wasn’t any more beneficial or detrimental to the hype level of the Pillars 4-way. That’s going to be a good match with a predictable outcome.
Taya Valkyrie vs. Lady Frost
Up next was a good showing from Taya Valkyrie in a match against the debuting Lady Frost. This match actually lasted longer than expected because Frost is great and unique. Both ladies had a good seven-minute match with Taya Valkyrie hitting the Road to Valhalla to put away Lady Frost. Jade Cargill did her damnedest to distract from the rampway, but it didn’t matter. Another fun match on an evening loaded with them.
3.25/5
Segments:
- Remember when Tony Khan didn’t want to be an on-screen character? His mindset has shifted a little as he made another appearance to announce that the first AEW Collison is set for June 17th in the United Center. This can only mean one thing. Hopefully, the voice of the voiceless has a little less to say, nowadays.
- Alex Marvez was backstage with Hangman Adam Page, who discussed last week’s reunion. The Elite not being about friendship, but family is a beautiful sentiment. Family might hurt you sometimes but they usually come together when the need emerges.
- The contract signing between Adam Cole and Chris Jericho was up next. Contract signings are a storied practice in professional wrestling for some reason. It’s just an excuse to craft a segment around confirming a future match. They’re usually unnecessary but can be fun. This one was bland until the end where we got the AEW debut of…Sabu! Did anyone have Sabu in AEW on their 2023 bingo card? No? Not a soul? Yep me neither.
Roderick Strong vs. Daniel Garcia
The last segment led directly into the next matchup between Roderick Strong and Daniel Garcia. It was a good match that displayed how good Roderick Strong can be. Jon Moxley is the purveyor of violence, but Roddy is the baron of the backbreaker.
Up next The chopping begins! Roddy Strong is so good as he backbreaks Garcia and takes over. Oh dear god Garcia smashes Strong’s face. Fans distract Garcia and Roddy takes advantage. Pace picks up as Strong builds momentum. Strong’s backbreaker are awesome. Oh wow nice transition into the Dragon Tamer. And yet, Roddy Strong gets out of it fast and hits the End of Heartache for the victory.
3/5
RoH Tag Team Championship: Lucha Bros (c) vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta
And just like that, it was main event time! Wednesday nights are a whirlwind that make two hours pass by in the blink of an eye. This week’s main event was a Ring of Honor Tag Team Championship match between the Lucha Bros and BCC’s Claudio and Wheeler Yuta. This was high impact and high intensity from bell to bell.
Claudio and Wheeler tried what many have unsuccessfully tried before — ground the Lucha Bros. It worked for a little bit, but it was only a matter of time until the proverbial hot tag was made. Claudio and Wheeler make a fantastic team by the way. Claudio used the giant swing on Fenix, then Wheeler hit a dropkick simultaneously. Was a really innovative maneuver.
The pace quickened after Penta hit the hot tag, but the fun was only just getting started. Destroyers and big moves galore ensued. The Lucha Bros are one of a kind. They have a special brand of constant movement and intensity. Except they had help from a storied rival…
The Lucha Bros were setting up for the Fear Factor when Matt and Nick Jackson appeared from under the ring to stop Claudio from interfering. This led to the Fear Factor and the Lucha Bros retained in a wonderful match to close out a great Dynamite.
3.75/5
OVERALL
Dynamite was a ball this week! It wasn’t an elite episode, by any means, but this episode delivered on all fronts. It was good from start to finish with fun matches and great stories to help advance to the PPV. Speaking of Double or Nothing, this episode absolutely raised the hype level of that show. All in all, job well done for a go-home show!
Verdict: 4.25/5