The AEW Dynamite Homecoming Edition was exactly the episode All Elite Wrestling needed to kick off 2020 with.
Let’s face it — AEW did not end 2019 well. Post-Full Gear the company has been mired in bad storylines like The Nightmare Collective, have had some main events miss the mark, and I don’t think anyone is forgetting the phantom punching creeper and the human throne that ended AEW’s 2019. The ratings reflected this downturn for the upstart company, and the usually hyper-positive AEW faithful weren’t happy.
Luckily, the creative team over at AEW was listening (at least for this week), and put their focus on the core values of AEW — wins and losses matter, highly competitive in-ring matches that got all the talent involved over, and the men who make up the “E” in All Elite Wrestling. The result was AEW Dynamite Homecoming Edition being one of the best, complete episode of Dynamite in quite some time.
Cody Rhodes versus Darby Allin was the right way to kick off AEW’s second year. The crowd at Daly’s Place (a great venue for wrestling) was red hot for these two. There was a lot more psychology and working a body part in this match than normal for a Darby match. In fact, this was Darby’s most impressive in-ring outing. Sure, his match with Jon Moxley was absolutely bonkers, but here we saw that Darby can work a submission, and tell a story that’s more than just “I don’t care if I die in the ring.”
Cody’s use of his new coach Arn Anderson was well done. It added a new element to The American Nightmare, and played into the, shockingly, clean finish. Arn yelling at Cody to get the knees up when Darby went for the Coffin Drop was an inspired touch. Both men looked really good in this match, and it’s definitely one I recommend a second viewing of since they did a lot of really good small things in the match.
However, I do say AEW needs to be careful with Darby. He can’t be AEW’s Samoa Joe or Dolph Ziggler — the guy who gets built up to lose to the bigger star. They need a feud and a direction for this special talent.
The Women’s Four-Way featuring Riho, Britt Baker, Nyla Rose and Hikaru Shida continued the slow rebuild of the AEW Women’s Division. As we stated on our podcast, Kris Statlander is the future of this division, and everyone needs to step up their game. And in this match, they all certainly did. Nyla Rose got a lot of time to shine here, and she showed the time away from AEW and in Japan really got her sharp. Shida might’ve looked the best in this match and her surprising strength came into play against Rose. Shida and Statlander really seem to be destined to become the cream of the crop of this division. Riho got in her normal spots, and they were impressive as always, however, her time away from AEW (unlike Nyla’s) definitely made her feel like less of a champion and more of an attraction. Then there’s Britt Baker. This may have been Baker’s smoothest match in the ring, and her eating the surprise pinfall was the actually the right move.
Why? Well, as proven later in the show, Britt interrupted Riho’s interview and vented her frustrations at the champion about never being around, and stealing her given spotlight. This is the edge we have seen hinted at with Baker, but never fully realized. Her work with Bea Priestley showed she could get vicious if needs be, but I think we need this edge full time from The Doctor. Much like Seth Rollins throughout the majority of 2019, there was really nothing for us to grab a hold of and emotionally connect with Britt. Now, we have it. Now, there’s something for her to do besides “chase her destiny.” Now she’s pissed. Let’s see that anger fuel her in-ring work like a Jedi turned to the Dark Side.
Jon Moxley versus Trent has been criticized by some because Trent got in way too much offense. I say nay. As much as Moxley has reinvented himself as a complete and utter bad ass, he’s not Bill Goldberg. He shouldn’t be murderizing people left and right — especially someone like Trent who had great, competitive matches with PAC, Fenix and Pentagon. These two, I hope, fight again because they beat the hell out of each other. To me, this is what AEW does right — give us two competitors going toe-to-toe and delivering damn good wrestling. And then there was the Orange Cassidy moment. Chef’s kiss perfection. Also, MAJOR props to Trent for pulling out that wicked piledriver.
Post-match Sammy Guevara and Chris Jericho (via video) make the big pitch to Moxley — if Mox joins The Inner Circle he’ll be running it with Le Champion and will reap benefits. Mox didn’t give his answer — we’ll wait till next week — and the crowd hated it. I don’t. Jericho wasn’t there (due to his New Japan commitments probably) in person, and that’s what they need for this all to work, a live reaction. I also like the intrigue here. Could we see Moxley join with Jericho? It seemed like there was no way a few weeks ago…but now maybe?
If I’m fantasy booking for a second, and it’s my site so why not, I’d have Moxley join. Jericho ends up defending the title at Revolution against Tanahashi (after Tana wins in Tokyo) then after months of things bubbling over it builds to Moxley versus Jericho at Double or Nothing. But that’s me. Also, major props to Jericho for tying the entire company together in one promo. He refocuses the shift of the audience, reminding everyone that The Inner Circle is THE faction that everyone should be paying attention to, that their goal is to destroy The Elite, he downplays his “loss” to Jungle Boy, and they’re going to run AEW. He still gives credit to the nightmarish Dark Order and Nightmare Collective factions to, which is more validation than they’ve gotten so far. As always, Jericho is the king.
Sammy Guevara came up huge in this episode not only in his promo with Moxley, but his Love Actually/Lodi-inspired signs during the picture-in-picture break on TNT. His match with Dustin Rhodes was a good piece of business. Dustin looked terrific, as did Sammy. Sammy had a terrible record in AEW in its first year, and a big win here is the right direction for the King of the VLOGs. AEW has put Sammy in a position for success since show #1, and the ROI is definitely there.
MJF’s “Stipulation” for Cody to face him at Revolution were further proof that he is one of the best heels in all pro wrestling.
The small interviews and vignettes here worked nicely throughout the show. Penelope Ford low-blowing ex-boyfriend Joey Janela and walking off with current flame Kip Sabian is a nice build for a feud between two super talented cats. The Jurassic Express interview, despite the lone audio issue of the night, was nicely done and reminds everyone about who they are and what’s to come.
Then there was the Dark Order vignette. There’s someone pulling their string. For the love of all that is holy, make it Marty Scurll. It cannot be someone in the company already (e.g. Dustin Rhodes, Jimmy Havoc), because that would just pour gas on this fire. Marty being the man behind the Order, makes sense (he is a villain, he hates his friends for leaving him, etc.) would definitely absolve (or at least cover up) some of the sins of this whole angle.
Also, I’d be remiss in not talking about the commentary for AEW Dynamite Homecoming. Taz was absolutely terrific on the show. This may have been his best mainstream commentary since his early, early days with TNA. His chemistry with JR and Excalibur was on point, and the commentary sorely needed this. JR hasn’t been on his game as of recent but tonight he was sharp and perfectly on point. While Tony Schiavone was missed, Taz more than carried his own, and I wonder how he figures into AEW’s plans in the future.
The main event of The Elite (The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega) versus The Lucha Bros and PAC was the perfect way to end the night. My words cannot do this match justice at all. However, it accomplished one thing — course correct Kenny Omega. Kenny looked more like the bad ass Omega on this evening than he has since Dynamite started. Yes, he’s looked good…but not this good. Him blasting an airborne Fenix with a V-Trigger was devastating to watch, and in the best way possible. Kenny needs to be the focus of AEW in 2020, and this is the right way to start that push.
AEW Dynamite Homecoming was an episode you can watch multiple times and really be impressed with every viewing. The wrestling was top notch. The pacing was tight. The timing was on point. The commentary bolstered the action. The storytelling was pitch perfect. Can AEW keep it up? Let’s hope so.
