Written by Brian McNamara
Jake Roberts and Lance Archer are out first on AEW Dynamite 5/13 to give their “apology” for the attack on Brandi Rhodes last week. It goes about as well as you’d expect. Jake spouts some good ol’ heel misogyny and is eventually cut off by the revving of Cody Rhodes’ F150. The pickup busts down a barricade at low speed before Cody hops out to take the fight to Lance Archer. They tussle and Cody seemingly gets the upper hand. He heads to beat up Jake in the ring but Archer rebounds nearly instantly and puts the hurt on the American Nightmare. Cody gets the upper hand on Archer and uses Archer’s own ponytail to choke him out. They battle some more before Roberts pulls Archer into a tactical retreat.
Jurassic Express vs. The Best Friends
This match was preceded by a pretty nice hype package for the AEW tag division as a whole. We start off with an athletic exchange between Jungle Boy and Chuck Taylor before Trent and Luchasaurus tag in. It’s a solid back and forth tag match. The Best Friends are able to take out Luchasuarus on the floor and go for the Best Friends hug, where Jungle Boy takes them out with a dive. They continue with this pretty balanced match after the break with Luchasaurus scoring some good kicks. But it all falls apart when Rey Fenix attacks Orange Cassidy at ringside and then MJF comes in and knocks out Jungle Boy. The Best Friends take advantage and Chuck Taylor delivers a devastating pile driver to Jungle Boy to pick up the win. Somewhat of a low key match with some solid moments, but both teams are capable of stronger matches.
Winner: The Best Friends
Penelope Ford vs. Kris Statlander vs. Dr. Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida
Ford takes quick advantage and gets Statlander down. Baker rushes Shida and the two spend the first minutes of the match fighting each other. Statlander is able to pick up – literally – Baker and frees Shida. The two seem to form an uneasy alliance early on in the match. That alliance carries through a few key sequences, before Statlander sees an opportunity and turns Shida’s superplex on Penelope Ford into a superplex and powerbomb. She then tosses Brit Baker to the mat from the opposite corner. It’s a nice moment for Statlander, who is then taken down by a high knee strike from Shida. All four are down and the count is on.
Statlander and Shida pull out some heavy strikes and rock each other. Britt Baker is able to take advantage of the two ignoring her and Ford and pulls out a Canadian Destroyer and Paige Turner in quick succession. Shida enziguris Ford and takes out Kip Sabian for good measure, who had interfered in the match. Shida and Ford seem more or less alone, and Ford is barely able to kick out of a fold up pin. The two battle before SHida delivers a falcon arrow, back breaker and knee strike in short order. Shida picks up the win as Brett Baker puts Statlander into the claw hold on the floor.
All around a fun match that did a lot of highlight Shida and Statlander while giving Britt Baker some great heel moments. Penelope Ford seemed a little lost in the jumble, all told.
Winner: Hikaru Shida
Santana & Ortiz vs. Kenny Omega & Matt Hardy
Santana and Ortiz rush Kenny Omega before he can even finish his entrance and put the hurt on him. Matt Hardy finally heads out and puts the hurt on Satana, including biting his ear, finders and… shin? Hardy comes down to the ring and plants some punches on Ortiz and the bell finally rings. Watching four performers who are all very good at grappling is something else. This is a light and airy match, and yet I feel like we’re seeing game time Santana and Ortiz and Omega. Omega and Matt Hardy even break out a Poetry in Motion early on. It’s got a nice pace and flow and it’s incredibly engaging.
Kenny and Ortiz have some great back and forth action but the hot tag to Matt Hardy and Santana enlivens the match. Hardy has some real fire and delivers a pretty great looking clothesline that spins Santana around. Kenny pushes Santana into the corner and Ortriz slides into the ring and rolls up his own partner who then springs out and hits a cutter on Omega. It’s a beautiful maneuver with a fair amount of psychology behind it. Matt Hardy tags in and puts Ortiz in a body capture butterfly lock that’s almost successful. Sammy Guevara comes out with a chair to try and win a DQ for his Inner Circle comrades, but Hardy plants him with a twist of fate. Kenny and Matt are able to hold down the advantage Ortiz and Santana received from Guevara and pick up the win. A great match top to bottom with great chemistry between the teams.
Winners: Kenny Omega & Matt Hardy
Backstage Hikaru Shida is being interviewed about her upcoming title shot where she is then interrupted by the Champion, Nyla Rose. She says she has a gift for Hikaru and then strikes her full on the head with a kendo stick. Nyla Rose then turns right to camera in
MJF vs. Lee Johnson
MJF launches the match with a strong elbow before the bell that looks vicious. He pulls out a strong looking belly to belly suplex and takes easy control of the match from the enhancement talent. MJF shooting “make yourself famous” and “someone help him” are really good moments in this match that help it feel like it’s more than just a rote squash match. A nice shoulder break into an armbar ends the match. A good way to reintroduce MJF back from injury.
Winner: MJF
MJF cuts a solid heel promo and challenges Marko Stunt to a “tune up match” next week before his match with Jungle Boy at Double or Nothing.
Suge D (Pineapple Pete) vs. Chris Jericho
Pineapple Peter comes out strong with fists against Jericho, putting the hurt on Le Champion. Pete uses a good amount of speed to strike at Jericho but it’s short lived as Jericho whips out the Judas Effect and ends the match early. Was kinda hoping for a little more out of this match then a quick squash before a promo. Albeit, it’s a good promo.
Winner: Chris Jericho
Jericho setups the “Stadium Stampede” match which… I think maybe it’s a take off of the Bunkhouse Stampede match of Dusty’s Jim Crockett days? They’re interrupted by… Vanguard 1! Vanguard 1 returns the shirt it stole from Jericho and Guevara last week. It’s kind of wild that Jerciho talks to Vanguard 1 as a person. He offers the drone a chance to join the Inner Circle, but then takes out the flying communicator with the “sixth member of the inner circle” floyd the baseball bat. Vanguard 1 is down. Matt Hardy comes out to deal with the carnage of Vanguard 1’s pieces, looking incolsable.
Christopher Daniels vs. Brodie Lee
Brodie Lee comes out with the stolen AEW title and demands the ring announcer call him the self-proclaimed champion. Daniels starts out cautious and gets an early advantage on the Exalted One. But Lee uses his size advantage and roughs up the veteran. Daniels is able to wriggle past Lee and get in some high-flying offense against the big one. Brodie snatches back the advantage with his size and starts getting in the referee’s face. He shoulder blocks Daniels before rolling out to ringside to taunt the rest of SoCal Uncensored and then comes back into stomp on Daniel’s head.
Lee has been in control for a while, but Daniels is able get a surprise advantage. Daniels pressed his luck and was able to knock Brodie off his feet. But as soon as he’s in position to win, 10 comes to interfere, which prompts SCU to leave their seats and attack him. With the referee distracted, Brodie comes back with a chair. He can’t use it against Daniels but Daniels is able to kick into Lee and then use it himself. But before he can pin, the Dark Order underlings interfere which gets SCU and Colt Cabana back in. But now Lee has control and he makes short work of Daniels, ending him with a discus lariat. A solid match if somewhat oddly paced.
Winner: Brodie Lee
Brodie demands to be announced as the champion in his win. Which prompts Moxley to enter from the “crowd” in pursuit of his stolen title. He fights his way through successive Dark Order lackeys before getting in the ring. Brodie doesn’t stick around and Moxley cuts a promo setting up their match for his stolen title at Double or Nothing. As the camera fades, Mox gives another of the underlings a death rider on the outside.
AEW Dynamite 5/13 was a very strong night of wrestling. However, it felt the slightest bit light tonight. The backstage segments were fluffier than normal. The matches felt a little lowkey, a little safe. Adapting to the situation has meant having to frontload a lot of content. Dynamite is a nice, brisk show and the two hour format can support more squashes and simple contests. In some respects, I do think the content on AEW Dark can be stronger or more engaging than some of the main show content. It was nice to see a Woman’s Division on the show since they had been lacking in recent weeks. Overall, a solid show but perhaps one that’s losing a little bit of steam leading up to the Pay Per View.
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