All In and All Out are in the rearview mirror, which means the summer is coming to a close. All Elite Wrestling is entering a CM Punk-less era and needs to mold their shows into something a little different than previously known. Without a soft brand split, it’ll be interesting to see what everything looks like in a month. If Dynamite looks like this, then the last four months are going to be a riot. This episode was a lot of fun and set a lot of new feuds in motion.
Let’s talk about it!
- One of the greatest champions in recent memory did what he did countless times to open Dynamite—he showed up. Orange Cassidy had a simple segment to thank the fans and say his new catchphrase: “I do not have a catchphrase.” He’s a superstar, through and through.
AEW International Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. AR Fox
The AEW International Championship has become the weekly warrior title, and that’s fine by me. Replace one warrior with another and keep having bangers like this one. This match was nothing special, but AR Fox held his own against the former AEW Champion. AR Fox tried to fly around but eventually ran into the Mack truck that was Moxley. Fox got bullied and then found himself the recipient of the Death Rider for the pinfall. This was a straightforward match that was perfect for TV. Did exactly what it needed to do—keep the Ace fighting.
2.75/5
TBS Championship: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Emi Sakura
If Orange Cassidy is no longer the workhorse for the men, make another best friend the workhorse for the women. Let Kris Statlander have weekly sprints like this amazing match with Emi Sakura. Also, USE EMI SAKURA MORE. This match was not a marathon, by any means, but Emi and Stat almost killed each other despite that. Statlander hit a Discus Lariat and Wednesday Night Fever piledriver for the win. Such good stuff here.
3.75/5
- It’s 2023, and Roderick Strong and The Kingdom are recurring characters in the biggest story of AEW this year. That is crazy and wonderful to see because they are killing this role. Roddy Strong had an amazing promo about his upbringing and how his parents cared more for drugs than him. He vowed to win the Grand Slam Tournament to face MJF at Grand Slam. His still wearing the neck brace was just the icing on the cake. Can you take him seriously? Of course not. Does it matter? Nope!
Le Sex Gods vs. Aussie Open
The reunion of Le Sex Gods against Aussie Open was next. Jericho and Guevara had a messy altercation last week but found a common goal in the AEW World Tag Team Championships. They started with a great match against the former ROH Tag Champs. And this was no quick match. It was a roller coaster of action and character.
Everything started all honky-dory between Guevara and Jericho. They did all the old taunting and tandem moves, and everything was well and good. Guevara especially showed growth in that department. He used to be a little awkward and cringy. Le Sex Gods were hitting on all cylinders until Jericho tried flying over the top rope and hit Sammy instead of Fletcher.
Aussie Open almost stole the win twice, but Jericho survived to hit the Judas Effect to win. That being said, Jericho accidentally hit Sammy again before hitting the Judas Effect. It’s awesome storytelling because Guevara is sick of taking a backseat to Jericho, which he had to do once again. Yes, they’re partners here, but Jericho literally knocked Sammy down to get the win. Great stuff here.
4/5
Match of the Night
- Ricky Starks had an incredible promo about his loss to Bryan Danielson this past weekend. He’s sick of losing and waiting for “his time.” Something big is about to happen with Starks.
- Renee Paquette was backstage with Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita, who were quite boisterous after defeating Kenny Omega twice in seven days. They are going to reveal their next target next week.
- Next was about to be another fantastic MJF promo, when Samoa Joe interrupted to add his incredible aura to said promo. We had fat jokes, tiny dick jokes, and a flashback to when NXT was good. Oh my! It was an incredible segment, especially with the crowd adding the chants. They brawled, and Adam Cole made the save, but not before MJF hurt his neck again. And if that wasn’t enough, Roddy Strong made his presence known again by yelling at Adam Cole prior to his upcoming match. Remember, Samoa Joe was the one who caused Strong’s original neck injury. That’s called…layers.
Grand Slam Tournament: Roddy Strong vs. Trent Baretta
And then the great matches continued, as Roddy Strong and Trent Baretta had a battle of the neck injuries. Both guys targeted each other’s head and neck regions. Trent had a nice Death Valley Driver and piledriver, but Roddy Strong ultimately won the battle of attrition with a knee strike and the End of Heartache. This was a good match between veterans, and it’s exciting to see Roddy Strong in a great position moving forward.
3.25/5
- Renee Paquette was backstage again, this time with the greatest character in AEW right now—Toni Storm. Renee pressured the former champion about costing Ruby Soho the win at All Out, but Toni claimed to have no recollection of it. This was so good. She’s playing a larger-than-life Hollywood starlet perfectly. Toni then threw another shoe at Renee. No clue why she’s throwing the shoes, but it’s so funny that it doesn’t matter.
- Tony Schiavone invited Hangman Adam Page to the ring to ask about the future. Swerve made a rude interruption to confront Page about being gone for a long time. This was an amazing character promo because Swerve questioned the self-esteem of Hangman. The former champion re-signed with AEW, but did he truly want to be there? Or was he there only because the Young Bucks and Omega were there? A wonderful character-driven segment. Brian Cage blindsided Hangman to set up a match next week.
Grand Slam Tournament: Darby Allin vs. Nick Wayne
And finally, the main event of this week. Eighteen years old, and Nick Wayne gets his first Dynamite main event. The first of many, surely, but this was a great match to start with. Prior to the match, Nick had been upset with how quickly Darby forgave AR Fox after being attacked in his own home. Nick does have a point because he was left in a pool of his own blood, so let’s forgive the person somewhat responsible two weeks later.
The match itself was great. Darby whiffed on a nasty suicide dive attempt, which allowed Wayne to take advantage. The youngster appeared apprehensive about hurting his friend. So much so that Darby stopped the match to yell at Nick for not hitting him harder. That was a cool little touch.
After that, the match picked up, Darby almost lost to a Wayne’s World, and he finished the match with a shoulder submission move. This was an innovative way to finish the match. I cannot recall Darby ever using that move, and Wayne wasn’t favoring the shoulder at all during this match. Not bad, but interesting that Darby used such a devastating submission to defeat his friend.
4/5
OVERALL
And that was Dynamite for the week! It’s good to be back reviewing Dynamites, and what a fun episode to come back to. The summer is winding down and AEW is putting fresh spins on a lot of storylines. Every single matchup this week was different and fun, even with shorter matches. That Grand Slam tournament helped this episode stay strong throughout the night.
Vercict: 4.25/5