AEW Dynamite in Indianapolis was posed with a very unique task — do a show without the major draws of your promotion — Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Chris Jericho — not wrestling on the show.
Surprisingly, despite these core main event talents not wrestling on the show (except for Nick Jackson in a rare singles match), the show did not miss a beat, and did not feel any less grandiose, well-produced, or well-wrestled than in weeks prior.
The reasons for can be found in the new faces AEW is pushing to the forefront — Darby Allin, Luchasaurus, Private Party, and most importantly, Scorpio Sky.
Scorpio Sky, who one years ago, was “just a guy” in SCU is now being positioned as not only a credible threat to Chris Jericho’s title, but as a top guy in the company. Positioning is one thing, proving is another, and during his segment, Sky proved that he can hang with Jericho on the mic, and that “The Violent Delight” can hold the crowd in the palm of his hand.
Call me an AEW mark, superfan, nerd, or whatever — but I want to see this match so badly. Forget going to the bars on Thanksgiving Eve, I’m going to be glued to my TV because this match has me hooked. I truly believe there is a chance that Scorpio Sky could walk out of Chicago with the title. He could defeat Le Champion. And if it does happen, the roof of the Sears Centre will indeed be blown off.
Then there’s Darby Allin. If you ask the question “Hey, who has AEW gotten over?” The answer is Darby Allin. He’s evolved from “that dude who does the Coffin Drop” to a gothic cult of personality figure reminiscent of the early days of Sabu in ECW. His reckless abandon, his blatant disregard for his physical well-being, and his “you’ll have to kill me to stop me” attitude is undeniable, and the AEW crowds have latched onto him. His match with Jon Moxley was absolutely brutal — ripped straight from an ECW Hardcore TV episode — and the crowd was absolutely split. Allin had an audience cheering for him over Moxley, a man who is one of the top stars in wrestling and has years of multi-million dollars corporations getting their hype machine behind him.
Also, we need Moxley and Allin to happen again…soon.
Oh, how could we forget Luchasaurus? The crowd was dying for him to come out when Marko and Jungle Boy hit the ring to brawl with The Inner Circle. And when he did — it was Road Warrior pop adjacent. The Inner Circle bailing when he hit the ring was perfect booking. And the fact Jake Hager did not back down gives us a tease that these two hosses will brawl in the future. The squash of Peter Avalon by Luchasaurus was needed as the big man doesn’t have much of a record in AEW since Dynamite premiered.
Who knew we needed a Nick Jackson singles career? His match (the first singles one he’s done in years) with Rey Fenix was a damn masterwork in high flying lucha-influenced wrestling. Rey Fenix has hit another level as an in-ring performer. For years I always thought his brother Pentagon Jr. was the star, but in the past year or so Rey Fenix has just found “it” and right now is the best luchador in the world. As for Nick Jackson, he didn’t need the win. However, we now know if and when needed he can go on his own in the ring. It shouldn’t be a weekly thing, but it’s a good thing for AEW to have in their back pocket.
The Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal was a lot of fun. Battle Royals are technical masterpieces by any stretch, but when done right they are super fun. This one was indeed very fun. Everyone got their moments. Joey Janela‘s feud with Shawn Spears was furthered. Jimmy Havoc showed he’s a wild man. The Pentagon/Christopher Daniels feud furthered. We got a little bit of the Kip Sabian/Penelope Ford team. Sonny Kiss finally debuted and got some laughs (although we need to see more of him). MJF was the uber heel again. And, then there was Billy Gunn. Listen, I don’t need Billy Gunn on my TV every week, but the occasional cameo like this is welcome. I like that we’re getting Hangman Page and MJF next week (MJF is totally winning). But, here’s a thing AEW needs to tell us — why does this Dynamite Diamond Ring even matter?
The video package for the Dark Order… yes, thank you. Let’s have more of these for all the wrestlers in AEW. They’re well-produced and needed to build character.
Hikaru Shida and Britt Baker had a solid match. It wasn’t perfect, and the inexperience of both women showed here. There was rough patches, and it went a bit long. However, a few things were accomplished. First, Shida is now getting the rocket pack to the #1 contendership and I see her and Riho tangling and having a good match. Second, I think we’re getting a Britt Baker heel turn. Britt just seems like she’s dying to turn on everyone, and her turn would be 100% justified. Let’s make it happen.
Also, AEW, you need to keep doing more with the women. Build more stars. You’re doing it with the men, let’s do it better with the women.
Finally, Proud-N-Powerful vs. Private Party encapsulated a big issue with AEW. That issue is that they’re trying to do way too much in the ring. This match needed to be simpler and less chaotic. The chaos absolutely caused for the inexcusable referee mistake where Paul Turner stopped himself from counting three. It was a bad moment. Also, these guys needed to slow it down a bit and tell more of a story. I know, that sounds like an old fart thing to say, but sometimes simpler is better. Outside of the mistakes these four have good chemistry and the tribute to their fallen friend Matt Travis was very classy.
In closing, AEW Dynamite in Indianapolis was a hell of a lot of fun. It shows the depth of AEW’s roster, their booking creativity, and is a sign they are truly building new, bankable characters.
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