All Elite Wrestling continued their Canada tour this week on Dynamite in Edmonton, Alberta. The crowd was on fire this week for a fantastic episode of Sports Entertainment! Yes, All Elite Wrestling was created as an alternative to the Supermax Sports Entertainment factory, but that style of Professional Wrestling can still be fun. Remember that Professional Wrestling is supposed to be fun!?
Let’s talk about it!!
- Dynamite opened with a small segment to preview the first bout of the evening. Darby Allin had some choice words for Keith Lee and told him to step up and win despite not wanting to tag with his partner. Big fan of how much personality Darby has shown lately.
Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland vs. Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin
And so began the Blind Tag Team Tournament. The winners get a tag team championship match. Long-time wrestling fans might be tired of the “Can they co-exist?” story, but this concept can be done well. The execution of the team announcements has been lackluster, however. Instead of cool segments, we got random announcements. Granted, forcing Lee and Swerve back together was a great move for this match.
Also, Keith Lee took what Darby Allin said to heart because he looked like a monster here. He dominated despite his partner’s clear attempts to sabotage the match. Swerve kept ‘accidentally’ hitting Lee, similar to how they used to when they were a tag team. That didn’t stop the Limitless One from walking up the steel steps on top of Darby Allin with Orange Cassidy strapped to his back. This version of Keith Lee has championship potential.
But the team of Cassidy and Allin wouldn’t be denied. They’re undefeated in AEW and continued that streak. Darby Allin pinned Swerve with the Last Supper once again. Pretty sure Swerve hasn’t figured out how to get out of that move. He will at some point.
Great opening match!
3.5/5
Segments:
- Our first of many segments was a video package with Darby Allin detailing the Buddy Wayne Academy. Darby Allin’s mentor passed away at an early age, which required Darby to look after his son, Nick. If you’ve lived under a rock and haven’t heard of Nick Wayne, do yourself a favor and go to Youtube. He’s a wrestling prodigy and his debut is next week after his 18th birthday. This kid has an amazing future ahead of him.
- Tony Schiavone was in the parking lot next, awaiting Jack Perry to arrive. The former Jungle Boy barely said anything before HOOK blindsided him. Jack then escapes in the car, denying HOOK his revenge once again. This version of Jack Perry is very good so far. He’s learning a lot from Christian Cage about how to be a cowardly heel.
- There is nothing better in this world than MJF and Adam Cole. They had a vignette of them working out together, and MJF was impressed by Adam Cole being just as strong as he was. They bonded over a hatred of Schiavone once again and the segment ended. MJF will betray Cole the second he gains that trust and friendship, but hopefully, we get a bunch more of these vignettes before that time.
The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass vs. Blade & The Bollywood Boyz
Quick trios match up next between The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass versus Blade and the Bollywood Boyz. Blade and the Bollywood Boyz were a weird pairing that probably shouldn’t have had as much offense as they did. One of the brothers had similar tights as Max Caster, which confused me for a few seconds. Daddy Ass sets up Caster for the Mic Drop to finish a fast match.
2.25/5
Harley Cameron popped up with a QTV promo again. AEW seems hellbent on making people dislike this girl because she’s…trying to seduce openly gay Anthony Bowens? She apparently has a video to show everyone next week. Greeeeat. This is wild and straight out of Attitude Era WWE.
Segments:
- A quick Moxley vignette about Eddie Kingston followed. His promo detailed their history and how Eddie should stop complaining all the time. It was short and sweet, like most Moxley promos. His ability to be savage and succinct is incredible.
- Another backstage Blind Tournament announcement with Matt Hardy picking Jeff Jarrett as his partner. Now that’s a weird partnership!
- Up next was a brilliant segment between Chris Jericho and Don Callis. Jericho made his way to the ring to discuss his future since he’s made losing a theme of recent memory. The Scum of the Earth Don Callis made an appearance to recruit Jericho into what he is calling, The Don Callis Family. Jericho then surprises everyone by saying, “Maybe.” Everything about this segment is intriguing. What is Callis up to, and where is Jericho headed? The JAS is a heel faction. Is Jericho ditching his heel faction for another heel faction where he’s not the leader? So many questions…
- Another chapter in the Samoa Joe and CM Punk saga begins this Saturday on Collision. A quick back-and-forth vignette between the two was good stuff. That match should be great.
- We went backstage again, this time with Roddy Strong and Doc Sampson. The doctor wouldn’t clear Roddy after the Samoa Joe attack from Collision. Which leads to the glorious pairing up next.
MJF & Adam Cole vs. Daddy Magic & Butcher
Okay, let’s talk for a second. Why can’t MJF have a full babyface run? This guy is gold with everything he does. Yes, he’s being super corny and fake in this Adam Cole program right now, but it WORKS. Somehow it works. Remember his return promo in Buffalo where he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand?! He’s one of the best things in wrestling in 2023, and there’s a babyface run just begging to be had with MJF.
Just look at that hilarious dweeb in the photo trying so hard to be Adam Cole’s friend. It’s so good.
The match itself was an opening-round matchup in the Blind Tag Tournament against Daddy Magic and Butcher. That was a fun pairing, but the match was exclusively story-driven. MJF was the one being isolated, which was weird, but he kept trying to get Cole to cheat with him throughout.
Adam Cole tagged in and finished the match quickly with the Boom Knee to secure the victory. MJF was yelling about using a new tag Double Clothesline, but Cole finished the match too quickly. Fun match!
3/5
Segments:
- But we weren’t done with everyone’s favorite forced friendship! MJF addressed the crowd to hype up Adam Cole and to propose another bro day. It was Adam Cole’s birthday and MJF arranged streamers and an impromptu birthday party. MJF then tried to push Cole into the cake, in jest apparently, but Cole was ready for it and dodged. This was soooo good! Just cannot get enough of these two being goofballs together.
- Renee was then backstage with the returning Dr. Britt Baker DMD and talked about her match later against Ruby Soho. Nice little promo as she pulled out the beautiful Owen Hart Cup belt.
- Renee finished her evening backstage with Jericho, Garcia, and Guevara. Garcia and Guevara were a little upset that Jericho didn’t deny Don Callis earlier in the night. Jericho defended that “Maybe” by telling them that he can’t lead forever. That’s very true, to be honest! Jericho in a group that he doesn’t lead would be interesting. Garcia and Guevara were then partnered up in the Blind Tournament.
Owen Hart: Dr. Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho
First-round Owen Hart Women’s action with Ruby Soho facing off against last year’s winner, Dr. Britt Baker DMD. This match was a rematch of the finals, with Ruby Soho picking up the upset. This was an Outcasts match, alright, with interference galore. One thing still needs to be said: why are the Outcasts the only women with friends? These ladies need to put together a “Victims of Outcasts” support group and start bonding.
This match was pretty good, albeit slightly discombobulated in parts. They felt out of sync, which felt weird because of how good both Ruby and Britt are. No offense could truly be gained on Britt’s part because the Outcasts continuously interfered. They grabbed Britt’s ankle, used the Owen Hart belt, interrupted the Lockjaw, and held Ruby’s arm to finish the match with a cool rollup pinfall.
I know interference is the Outcasts thing, but even this match was too much. Incredibly happy for Ruby, though.
3/5
Kenny Omega vs. Wheeler Yuta
Wrestler of the Year 2023 is going to be a bloodbath. Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega are leading the charge, Bryan Danielson took an injury hit but is still in contention if he heals quickly, Gunther in WWE is killing it, and we can’t forget about everyone’s favorite Salt of the Earth. This main event match between Kenny Omega and Wheeler Yuta was a great reminder of how good Omega can be against random opponents on any given day.
Because he made Yuta look like a million bucks in this one. Omega’s neck was still hurt from his match against Ospreay at Forbidden Door, which Yuta took advantage of. Yoots did a fantastic job of being a cocky heel and constantly targeting the injured neck of Omega.
Kenny eventually came back, despite almost losing to the Seatbelt pin once again. Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita inserted themselves also, but Omega withstood it all to deliver the One Winged Angel for the win! This was very good!
3.75/5
Match of the Night
- The Blackpool Combat Club closed the show by doing what they always do– attack Elite members. Hangman and the Bucks save Omega, but not before the Dark Order took a chair from Hangman. The ending felt rushed (it was), but having the Dark Order start going on the offensive is a good move. Pretty sure we’re getting an evil Dark Order. Excited for that!
OVERALL
And that was Dynamite for the week! What a fun show! What did you think!? Let me know of Twitter!
It’s clear that AEW is in that lull period between PPVs. They are building stories and focusing on the entertainment side versus big matches right now. That’s totally fine with me if we get awesome character moments like MJF and Adam Cole. Those two were the best part of the whole evening.
The rest of the show was good, not great. Nothing bad though! (QTV is getting close…)
Verdict: 3.75/5