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Dynamite opened and out walked Renee Paquette, the newest signing to AEW to an incredible ovation in front of her home crowd. It’s so good to see one of my favourite wrestling personalities back on TV! She addressed the crowd and welcomed us to AEW Dynamite - so without further adieu;
Renee introduced Canada’s own Christian Cage, who quickly turned on the crowd with a joke about the Toronto Maple Leafs. He announced Luchasaurus as his right hand of destruction. ‘Jungle Boy’ Jack Perry got his usual warm welcome from a crowd that would add so much to this show.
Luchasaurus w/ Christian Cage (Winner) vs ‘Jungle Boy’ Jack Perry
Jungle Boy started hot with a dropkick and was able to get the better of his foe in the corner, springing over him and knocking him into the ropes. From here he used the top rope for leverage and stood on the back of Luchasaurus as he taunted Cage at commentary. He then jumped to the outside and struck his opponent, a classic Christian combination. He then pulled Luchasaurus’ arm into the second rope.
Back in the ring Luchasaurus was able to hit an interesting deadlift German Suplex to take control. He put Jack on the top rope and punched him, sending him down to the floor. The Dinosaur set up a table at ringside but Jungle Boy was able to fight out of a powerbomb, only to be thrown into the ring post. Luchasaurus went for a big chop but Jack Perry ducked and used the post to do further damage to his former partner’s arm. Christian ironically admonished him for resorting to such tactics.
Luchasaurus overpowered Perry into the ring apron as they traversed the ringside area and threw him into the barricade as Cage said the brain is the biggest muscle in the body, what?
The Cretaceous Crusher slammed Jungle Boy onto the ‘hardest part of the ring’ and maintained control throughout Picture-In-Picture, slowing down the fast pace they had kept so far. Back from the break, Jack caught a stomp from Luchasaurus and recovered to the corner. He was able to dodge his charging opponent, sending him out of the ring.
Jungle Boy attempted a tope suicida which would have sent both crashing through the table set up earlier, but was caught in a chokeslam. He avoided this with a headscissor once again sending Luchasaurus flying into the ring post. After more fighting on the apron to determine who would put the other through the table, Jack was able to hit a running sunset flip powerbomb through the ropes which did the job and Luchasaurus broke through the table to a huge reaction. Jungle Boy tried to maintain his momentum but was distracted by Christian, who was bullied by the crowd with hilarious ‘Edge is better’ chants. Some in the crowd must have muscles for brains!
This epic match continued in the ring and they picked up the pace yet again. Jack went for a few thrust kicks but Luchasaurus was able to drop him with some big power moves. The T-Rex hunted his prey, setting up for a move off the top rope. Jungle Boy however turned this around and performed an avalanche poison-rana. It was his turn to fail a charging corner attack, with Luchasaurus somehow using his legs to pull Jack’s face into the floor. I popped big for that. He hit a chokeslam which I thought would do it for a great nearfall. Commentary explained that Luchasaurus had used his left arm due the damage done to the right, allowing Jungle Boy enough life left to kick-out, good call.
Jungle Boy countered Luchasaurus’ finisher into a wild crucifix bomb for 2. He almost cost himself the match by going for an Unprettier, but ended up planting his enemy with another poison-rana. With Luchasaurus on his knees, Jack hit Christian’s finisher this time but pnly for another close nearfall. Jungle Boy locked his opponent into the Snare Trap, but was foiled by Christian helping his man get the rope break. This distraction allowed Luchasaurus to throw Jack from the top rope and deliver the cut-throat for the win.
Opinion:
What a damn match. These two took us for a hell of a ride on the Jurassic Express one more time and went to war with each other. This wouldn’t have been out of place opening an AEW Pay-Per-View (or any). I’m not bothered with the distraction element as it makes sense here and I was pleasantly surprised with Luchasaurus getting the win. Jungle Boy will likely beat him eventually and I think Luchasaurus gains a lot with this victory. The way he went through the table reminded me of the big table spot when they lost their titles, a nice little touch. Go out of your way to watch this.
Renee introduced another fellow Canadian in Ethan Page with Stokely Hathaway. No-one was able to get a word in before Matt Hardy & Private Party interrupted. Ethan challenged Isiah to a match on Rampage. If Isiah wins, him and Marq are free from The Firm’s hold on their contracts but if he loses, Matt must join The Firm too.
Opinion:
In the theme of the show, “eh” - but I’m glad to see Ethan Page get a match in Canada even if the stipulation means I’d like Isiah to win. I don’t think I’m alone in wanting less random alliances for Private Party. I also wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of the wrestlers in and around The Firm end up primarily in Ring Of Honor and if Hardy Party breaking free is a storyline whenever a weekly show launches for the brand.
Back from the break, Greased Lightnin’ QT Marshall was in the ring. He made fun of Samoa Joe and Warldow not being more creative for their tag team name. I agree, especially when J-Low was right there.
The Factory (QT Marshall & Nick Comoroto) vs WarJoe (Samoa Joe & Wardlow) (Winners)
Joe & Wardlow made their entrance in matching red and black gear. QT threw Aron Solo into Joe to gain an advantage but was hit with Joe’s inverted atomic drop, big boot and senton combo as Wardlow fought Nick Comoroto outside of the ring. Joe chopped Marshall in the corner and went for the Muscle Buster but Nick, who must have gotten the better of Wardlow momentarily, broke it up. Joe knocked Comoroto out of the ring with a headbutt. QT came off the top rope but Samoa Joe did his classic ‘walk away’ as Taz marked out about him.
Wardlow tagged in and clocked QT with his huge wind-up lariat. Marshall tagged out and Nick once again briefly was able to attack Wardlow before he was put down with a big Wardlow slam. The TNT Champ jumped off the top with a huge Senton Atomico and Joe locked in the clutch for the win.
QT fell victim to a powerbomb after the match, but The Embassy interrupted before we could get into the music. Prince Nana complained about J-Low getting involved in their business last week and Brian Cage electrified the room with his promo making fun of FTR. The crowd popped big for Dax & Cash when their music hit and they hit the ring with The Embassy at ringside. Dax dropped an ‘F Bomb’ and introduced their partner for a 6-man tag on Rampage. He asked Cash what time Rampage starts and Cash responded with ‘10?’ - Preston Vance made his entr- wait, hold on, could it be?! That’s Shawn Spears! He got a cool reaction and threw Solo back into the ring to eat a Big Rig from FTR.
Opinion:
Shawn Spears’ new theme sounded very similar to his old one from NXT. They are suggesting a return to the Perfect 10 gimmick but equally it could be a swerve, with him joining The Embassy during or after the trios match. I don’t mind either way but I know I’m a bigger Spears fan than many.
Chris Jericho and 2Point0 of the J.A.S. were interviewed backstage. Cool Hand shouted at Bryan Danielson for causing a rift in their family. Matt Menard’s lines were barely audible. Jericho explained that he hadn’t spoken to Garcia for a week and that it was tearing him apart. Tony commented on his recent ‘systematic cheating’ but Jericho told him not tonight and that the Lionheart would out-wrestle Bryan Danielson to retain the Ring Of Jericho Championship. He closed with ‘All Honor The Ocho’ - I can see him getting some mileage out of that line.
Next up Swerve Strickland made his entrance before the roof came off the place for the arrival of The Acclaimed. Max Caster rapped about the most over star in professional wrestling today, Billy Gunn and made a pretty funny joke about a Justin Trudeau scandal. He said Billy would put Swerve on the ice like Austin Matthews. This was my weekly Acclaimed line I had to Google as I can’t say I watch Ice Hockey. (I’ve seen a few Cardiff Devils matches live so I’m not a hater or anything)
Swerve Strickland (Winner) vs Daddy Ass (Billy Gunn)
The standing crowd serenaded Billy with ‘Ohh scissor me Daddy’ as he milked taking off his shirt. He showed off his ridiculous physique and went on offence early with two shoulder tackles and teased revealing his Daddy Ass. Swerve didn’t take kindly to this and used his speed on the ropes to hit a low dropkick. He took control on the outside during the PIP break and pushed Billy Gunn into the ringsteps leg first. He covered him in the ring but only got a one count. Strickland tied up Billy’s leg but couldn’t keep him down. Gunn couldn’t get momentum and took another big kick to the leg from Swerve.
Strickland maintained the slow pace as the show returned from the break before pushing Billy Gunn out of the ring. He dove over the top rope with a knee drop, again to the injured leg. Daddy Ass was able to mount a comeback with a big powerslam as Swerve came off the ropes. He hit two clotheslines and an ‘Ass-Hammer’. Gunn set up for the Fame Asser but instead of the DX taunt he performed a Self Scissor! He took too long however, allowing Swerve to regain control and hit a Swerve Stomp but Daddy Ass kicked out and the crowd went nuts. Billy rolled through after dodging a kick and went for what I’ll call The Million Dollar Scissor, only for Swerve to counter it into a pin for the win. Swerve grabbed the bottom rope for leverage during the count.
After the match, Mark Sterling came out with Tony Nese. He announced that he has bought the trademark to the term ‘Scissor Me’ in pro-wrestling. They can no longer scissor, or even say it. Plus all their t-shirt money goes to him. He threatened to sue them when The Acclaimed were going to scissor anyway. He closed the segment with “Scissor me Daddy Nese!” and scissored Tony.
Opinion:
This was like one of those random New Japan Cup matches when you get a star from the Junior Division against one of the New Japan Dad’s. They kept it slow and the live crowd ate it up anyway. Swerve dominated most of the match so there was no real need to have him cheat. It does make sense for his character but AEW could do with more clean finishes these days and this match was a foregone conclusion. This was going to be effective with the crowd without the needless finish. The match was fine for what it was though.
Mark Sterling is good at what he does and as long as this doesn’t go on longer than it needs to it should be a fun moment when The Acclaimed scissor again. I understand if one isn’t too excited to see them face Tony Nese & Josh Woods but as The Acclaimed are still early in their title reign I’m all for padding their reign with an extra defence. With the addition of a fun little angle it’s the first match I’ve looked forward to from the newly named ‘Varsity Athletes’.
MJF was backstage with Alex Marvez. He was asked about the moment last week where Wheeler Yuta offered him a handshake and about William Regal. Stokely interrupted and MJF called out ‘the old Dynamite’ trope. He told him this was strike number 2 and that getting in his business last week was strike 1. MJF, after experiencing ‘kuck-envy’ last week, threatened to tell of him and Regal’s dark past.
He told Marvez that he honestly didn’t know if he was going to shake Wheeler Yuta’s hand. He said he’s done a lot of self-reflection over the week and that he learned at a young age that ‘nice guys finish last’. He says he knows he’s hated in the locker room and by the audience.. MJF says nobody knows what it’s like to be him and that he has no choice but to be the bad guy. MJF said that he’s broken his hand many times punching his own reflection. He fired up saying ‘If you don’t like me, guess what? When I walk through that curtain, I don’t like me either!’. He closed by calling himself a generational talent.
Opinion:
MJF’s promo was excellent. I love what he’s doing right now and if we are to be rooting for him soon it’s hilarious that the common ground his character has found to be relatable with us is the shared hatred of MJF. But more than that it’s a further example of his layered character beneath the low hanging fruit and local sports team insults. I’m starting to think MJF may need to lose his title shot in order to get where he needs to go but this promo really stood out as one of MJF’s best, even if that’s just because it was different.
Jon Moxley made his entrance and met Schiavone in the ring. He said it’s great to be back in Toronto after 3 long years. He described his time as AEW Champion during that timeframe. He says ‘they wanted what he had until they walked a mile in his shoes.’ He detailed the pain of being champion and said many crumble and self-destruct, ‘some faster than others’ he added. He says it’s a dirty job and that he loves it. Moxley calls out Hangman Adam Page and his music hit.
Hangman said that coming from Moxley, those words last week meant the world to him. He explained that he’s watched Moxley for the last 3 years and has come to respect him in and out of the ring. Says that Jon is a hell of a champion, father and husband. He told Moxley that there were times he looked up at him as the man he wanted to be. Hangman said those illusions were then shattered by calling him a ‘nice kid’. Mox said that he thinks exactly that about Hangman and that unlike last year, Hangman wouldn’t have the guts to take him out as he did in the Casino Ladder Match. Hangman agreed that he isn’t the same man and told Moxley that he hesitated in May and lost the championship. He described failing to win the Trios Championships with his friends who have been disappearing. The Elite were then alluded to properly for the first time on TV since All Out with Hangman saying his old friends have disappeared too. Shouting now, Hangman says he’s not the same; he’s angry, frustrated, depressed, that he can’t sleep at night and the medicine isn’t working. He said that he’s still here because he’s a man.
He listed his accomplishments and told of family members being lowered to the ground and of bringing new life into this world, just like Jon did. He says he keeps coming back because he’s a man and punches himself in the head a few times, so hard that he draws blood.
Page brings up that he doesn’t care which family Moxley has in the building next week, he’ll beat him within an inch of his life. Hangman tells Moxley he has nothing but his shot and his word. He says that he will take his shot next Tuesday but give Mox his word tonight, which is that he will be the next AEW World Champion. The crowd chanted for MJF. Hangman leaves after saying unlike MJF, he wanted to tell you that face to face and man to man.
Opinion:
I’ve watched this promo over and over and there aren’t enough words I could say about it. Hangman vs Moxley is one of the matches I’ve looked forward to the most since AEW got started and especially since Page became Champion. This promo segment sold the idea of it to me again. It’s not often Moxley comes off second in a promo segment but Hangman was something else here. He delivered his promo with raw emotion. You can tell these two really respect each other. Moxley also gave Page a nod after the part where he said he was angry and frustrated which added to Page’s fire in the moment. Speaking of the moment, the only potential negative here is all the camera shots to MJF. One which I thought added to the segment was when Hangman had said he had seen the man he wanted to be in Moxley, MJF gave such a subtle shake of the head it was barely noticeable. That was interesting after MJF’s own promo earlier. Though the constant cuts to the sky box did put me off a little bit, the chants for MJF at the end of the promo set up Hangman for his closing line nicely.
This promo segment was so rich in context, from the similarities between Hangman and Moxley as people in and outside of the ring, to each of their histories in AEW and the references made to CM Punk, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. They may not be the first but certainly were the most obvious mentions of their existence since All Out and it made for a fascinating exchange reading both on and in-between the lines. Hangman Page is a new age, unique wrestling character who is relatable to many of us and while I’d love to go into the segment a little bit more, I’ll throw over to Greyson who wrote a brilliant article about Hangman on the site this week here
After an awesome video package using footage from Ring Of Honor, Bryan Danielson made his entrance before the opening of Judas played. The crowd popped big for their Canadian hero but the music changed to Jericho’s Lionheart theme in an attempt to get some heat with the crowd. I’m not sure how well this went however as the crowd just waited for it to end and started singing Judas anyway!
Bryan Danielson vs Chris Jericho (Winner) for the Ring Of Honor World Championship
The two squared off for the Code Of Honor while the crowd entertained themselves with Judas. Bryan got off the mark with some chops and knee strikes against the ropes. He caught a codebreaker attempt and catapulted The Ocho outside. There he hit a tope suicida before maintaining control of Jericho in the ring. The crowd counted along with ten punches in the corder, but Jericho fought the opposite side and hit ten of his own. Wrestling crowds just love counting to ten. They traded strikes in the ring before Jericho hit more punches on Bryan in the corner and sent him flying across the ring with a top-rope hurricanrana.
Jericho soaked in the crowd but succumbed to a quick ankle pick from Bryan who went to work on Jericho on the mat. He seemed to revel in the boos from the crowd as he tied up the Champion. Bryan leathered Chris with his round kicks as he was on his knees and continued to taunt the crowd with an homage to Jushin Thunder Liger - a historic rival of the Lionheart. Danielson maintained control of the mid-section as the show returned from PIP. but much to the crowd’s delight Jericho was able to drop Bryan with a DDT and then his classic triangle dropkick which sent Bryan to the outside.
Back in the ring Jericho went up top but Bryan met him there and he hit an avalanche butterfly suplex before locking in the Le-Bell Lock in ring centre. Chris Jericho powered out with forearms and turned The Dragon into the Walls Of Jericho. Bryan rolled through the hold and rained forearms of his own down on Jericho, locking him in a Boston Crab. He didn’t get the win, so hit The Ocho with the hammer and anvil elbows, but Lionheart was able to channel John Cena and counter with a fireman’s carry slam. He missed a Lionsault and Daniselson came off the top twice with leaping knees. Bryan went for one more but was caught by a codebreaker for a good nearfall.
The two men traded shots on their knees and then Danielson flipped over Jericho from the corner before referee Paul Turner was taken down in a collision. Both men were down from a double clothesline as Daddy Magic threw the ROH belt into the ring. Jericho recovered and was ready to knock out Danielson but Daniel Garcia ran down the ramp and confronted him in the ring. He pushed Jericho into a running knee from Bryan, but then hit Danelson with the title belt himself. Paul Turner was able to count the three and Chris Jericho retained the championship. After the match, JAS embraced, but Wheeler Yuta and Claudio ran off the heels with William Regal.
Opinion:
To start with the match, this was another awesome chapter in the Danielson/Jericho rivalry. I’d say not as strong as their previous two AEW meetings but it wasn’t positioned to be either. This was about the live crowd getting to see their man and the latest twist in the Daniel Garcia saga. I’ve seen all sorts of takes coming out of this but I think many have come from the wrong angle. If this was a premeditated move from Garcia then I would agree with some of the more negative ones but I don’t think it wasn't that at all. You could almost see the wheels turning in Garcia’s head as he was out there, as if he knew that he would need to run down to the ring but not what he would do once he was in there. It’s clear in the story that Daniel Garcia respects Ring Of Honor and what it stands for, so perhaps he just went out there to retrieve the belt from Jericho - but seeing how this then allowed Bryan to win an unfair advantage he tried to make things right there and then. This of course inadvertently allowed Jericho to win through nefarious means again.
If any of this wasn’t an accident on his part then I don’t think Garcia would’ve been so conflicted at the end of the segment. It’s also worth noting that the way Garcia hugged Jericho signalled a stab in the back, watch it again if you didn’t see! I honestly think the idea here was to show that Garcia hasn’t made his mind up one way or the other. Losing the tag match last week showed him perhaps that success comes at the expense of honour, which is the very thing he was trying to enforce here before he ‘ruined’ the match by accident. I would agree that we have passed a certain sweet spot in this rivalry for Garcia to switch but I’m not sure it will end up going that way either - and we might end up with a much more interesting character off the back of this than if Garcia had simply embraced his hero’s ideology and joined Blackpool Combat Club last week.
Renee interviewed Nyla Rose with Marina Shafir and Vickie Guerrero. Nyla said that she is the law before being interrupted by Anna Jay. Nyla accepted her challenge for Rampage and promised to whoop her ass. I can’t wait to see Nyla Rose as a badass, funny babyface moving forward.
Jamie Hayter entered to a huge reaction followed by another pop for the D.M.D. Following this the team of Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm made their entrance, affectionately named ‘ShidStorm’ by the aforementioned Nyla Rose on Twitter!
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D & Jamie Hayter vs Hikaru Shida & Toni Storm (winners)
Shida and Hayter started the match to duelling chants from the crowd. These two set out at pace with hard strikes and Shida took control with a dropkick before tagging in the Interim Champion. Toni hammered away on Jamie and dropped her with a big kick. She set up for the running hip attack only for Britt to distract her from ringside, allowing Jamie Hayter to knock her down and swing the momentum. Hayter performed a suplex and tagged in her Dentist friend. Britt went to work on Toni, pulling her into the ring post. She taunted Shida who was on the apron.
The heel team doubled up on Toni in the corner and Jamie played to the crowd. Hayter maintained control and grounded Storm, positioning herself between Champion and partner. Storm fought to her feet and found some hope with a neckbreaker. Both made the tag and old rivals Shida and Baker went at it. Britt was dropped with a big jumping knee and Shida hit mounted punches on her in the corner. Hayter tried to interrupt but was thrown into the ring by Shida with a suplex over the ropes. She then suplexed Britt onto her partner and capitalised with a meteora, but Baker kicked out. Shida attempted her finisher, the Kitana, but Britt caught her leg and Jamie was able to drop her with a backbreaker. Toni entered the ring and knocked Hayter down but fell to Britt’s signature twisting neckbreaker. Shida fought off both women but ran into a double thrust kick. Baker dropped Shida with the stomp but Toni Storm made the save.
Storm launched off the ropes to hit her tornado DDT on Britt Baker and followed up with the Storm Zero. Shida tried to pin Baker but Jamie pushed Toni onto the pin to break it up. Jamie was knocked out of the ring by Shida with a springboard kick and Storm DDT’d her on the outside. In the ring, Shida attempted the Falcon Arrow only to be rolled up. She escaped but Britt went for her Lockjaw finisher. Shida got out of it and planted Britt with a weak Falcon Arrow. Britt tried to roll through but after a couple of pin counters, Shida was able to come out on top and get a victory for her team. After the match Toni Storm & Hikaru Shida shook hands.
Butcher & The Blade called out Claudio & Moxley. They challenged them to a fight on Friday. The Bunny snapped at the camera. (I had to ‘acknowledge her’!)
Orange Cassidy (Winner) vs PAC for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship
Excalibur explained during the entrances that PAC’s recent cheating is the desperation of a man burning the candle at both ends while he defends both this and the Trios Championships. I find double champions in wrestling are rarely done right and this is the exact sort of thing I’d like more of when we do get somebody with two belts. It helps that both belts are extremely different in nature too.
Orange Cassidy went for an Orange Punch right away but PAC ducked and landed kicks on his old rival. He hit a running uppercut into the corner and then a bicycle kick. PAC dragged Orange into the middle of the ring and forced Cassidy’s hands into his pockets before mocking the signature Orange Cassidy weak kicks. He took too much time though and Cassidy kipped up and hit a dropkick. He dived into PAC on the outside but using his surreal strength, PAC caught him and planted him with a Falcon Arrow.
Back in the ring, PAC continued to pick apart Orange Cassidy as the crowd chanted ‘you’re a bastard’ and ‘freshly squeezed’ back and forth. The announcers ran through PAC’s list of defences as the Champion dragged Orange up the entrance ramp. He dropped Cassdy head first with a Tombstone Piledriver at the top of the ramp. PAC was happy to take a countout victory and waited in the ring as Orange Cassidy rolled all the way down the ramp. He was just able to make it back into the ring before ten. Upon re-entry though PAC locked on the Brutaliser straight away but they were close enough for Orange to get a foot on the ropes. PAC went to retrieve his bell hammer but Bryce Remsburg wasn’t having it. This allowed Cassidy to hit PAC with a Tope Suicida and then another dive through the ropes, this time performing a DDT. He threw PAC back into the ring and once again hit a tornado DDT, sold only the way PAC can. I thought he had it won with an Orange Punch but PAC kicked out late, good near fall.
PAC stole a page from Orange’s book by rolling slowly away while Cassidy was waiting to dive off the top rope. Meeting the Champion on the apron, Cassidy dropped him head first with the Beach Break. Another attempt at the Orange Punch was this time caught with a PAC suplex and he locked Cassidy in the Brutaliser. The crowd favourite was able to roll into the ropes for a second time. PAC headed out to get the bell hammer again but Danhausen revealed himself in the time keeper’s chair. The crowd popped big, but while the ref was distracted PAC had another hammer stashed under the ring. In the ring he tried to use it but ran into an Orange Punch. Cassidy took the hammer and spent some time deciding whether to get revenge or the victory. He chose the latter and gave away the hammer but was rolled up for 2. Orange popped straight up though and connected with the Orange Punch. Cassidy made sure by hitting his finish one more time, turning the Bastard into Pac L’Orange. We have a new Champion!
Orange confetti fell as Cassidy celebrated his first title win in AEW. Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta embraced him in the ring as the people got what they wanted. Orange Cassidy’’s theme ‘Jane’ played as the show came to an end. If that wasn’t ‘feel-good’ enough, though the cameras had stopped rolling at this point, Kris Statlander made an appearance to bring Orange Cassidy his backpack, in which he will keep his newly won and very deserved AEW All-Atlantic Championship.
Opinion:
When AEW announced PAC vs Orange Cassidy for Revolution 2020 I wasn’t sure what to really expect. Fast forward almost 3 years and this has been one of my favourite pairings this company has put together and their rivalry has heated up over recent months. Going into today I was hoping for PAC to retain with Best Friends getting the win for the Trios Championships instead, but in viewing this show I wouldn’t change it at all. This was a wonderful feel-good moment. I really enjoyed PAC’s run as All-Atlantic Champion and he put a stamp of quality onto the new belt. I’m sure this will continue with Orange even if the matches may be very different. I mentioned during the match opening that I had enjoyed the use of PAC as a double Champion and I commend AEW for making each reign of his feel separate despite having a common thread with this Best Friends feud. I wonder if Death Triangle fully embrace the dark side as a team in the Trios Championship match next week or if PAC’s actions cause them to lose their titles too. Whatever happens this was a great match, with a couple of fun moments with PAC pulling some tricks out of Orange Cassidy’s bag. But the space in his rucksack where those tricks came from now occupies a shiny Championship belt. Finally, it was great to see Kris Statlander!
Overall Thoughts:
I loved AEW Dynamite this week. The pumped-up crowd added so much to all the matches and segments and as you often see, the performers rose to a different level as a result. One small thing I loved in terms of the wrestling itself was that each match was a very different style/pace and it really showed the variety that AEW can throw at us fans on any given night. The strongest part of the show has to be the Hangman and Jon Moxley promo segment, closely followed by the opening and closing matches and MJF promo.
While I’m sure the match could’ve taken place earlier in the show, I very much enjoyed the women’s tag. I can’t wait for Shida and Storm to fight for the title and that should be great next week. Britt Baker, once again taking a loss, I’m sure will continue to come under strange fire for her booking. I would agree that Toni often doesn’t feel like the star in these matches, but frankly, nobody is coming across as the star other than Hikaru Shida when she’s out there and Jamie Hayter is so over at the moment. Where I don’t mind the ongoing Daniel Garcia saga, I would say the time to turn Hayter is now before it’s too late.
If you didn’t watch this show, I hope you enjoyed my first AEW Dynamite review on PW Musings (thanks for having me!) but definitely go out of way to watch the matches which bookended this show and the promo segments I mentioned above. Thanks for reading everyone!