AEW Dynamite kicks off with who else, but Orange Cassidy. I enjoy how AEW consistently puts the AEW International Championship or a match with the champion up first on a consistent basis. At first I thought the TNT Championship would be the TV Title equivalent, but it seems the International Championship better suits the role. Orange Cassidy defeated Kyle Fletcher via pinfall. Great match, granted, had a slowish start, but once it got going it was one bone-crushing move after another. Brainbusters, Grimstones, and multiple DDTs. At one point the ref got gloves on but I didn’t notice any blood. Even though we all knew Fletcher wasn’t taking the title, it was still a damn good match and very enjoyable.
Backstage Ricky Starks is attacked by Juice Robinson and Jay White. Looks like their feud is not quite over yet. Is it just my wife, or does Robinson look like a cross between Jason Momoa and Jack Black. I don’t think she’s wrong.
Pre-tape promo from Jungle Boy hyping up the four-way championship match.
FTR in the ring ready for a fight and boy does they verbally tear down Jeff Jarrett and TNA, including Karen Jarrett and Dixie Carter. Love it. However, before they wrap up, an Angry Mark Briscoe arrives and we nearly get a brawl between him and Dax, while Cash tries to cool everyone down. Things get even more interesting as Briscoe then smacks all members of Team Jarrett, except for Karen who gets pushed aside carefully.
I can’t help but wonder if this will lead to the ultimate prank on Team Jarrett. If it’s the other way around, this will be a creation of uber-heels, but I am not sure it’s a good thing. I don’t think anyone wants to see Briscoe go heel, and at some point fans will get tired of seeing Jarrett.
Backstage promo with Sammy Guevara and his hopes for winning the AEW World Championship
House of Black retain the Trios Championships over AR Fox, Blake Christian, and Metalik
Again, pretty predictable outcome, and the majority of the match was a squash. Sure, the challengers got their high fly stuff in, but ultimately a trio of submissions would square away the victory.
I definitely enjoy trios matches, but we need something a bit more substantial to make these matches more intriguing. Live crowd was mostly dead, until the end. Give House of Black something big.
MJF in the ring and cuts a beautifully delicious promo, putting over the main event and his challengers all by himself. Just let MJF cut the promos, we don’t need anyone else. MJF brings up his eventual contract expiration date, and talks about taking his ball and going home, making numerous comments awfully similar to CM Punk. MJF’s promo is fire, until Darby Allin comes out and makes it personal, once again telling his story of survival. It’s cool and all, but we’ve heard it for the past few weeks. MJF shuts him up with a swift kick to the nuts, but that triggers both Sammy and Jack Perry to come out, with Perry cutting MJF off from escaping, holding the AEW World Championship in hand to close the segment.
I gotta be blunt. While I am excited for a great match featuring four AEW originals, I fully expect MJF to retain. I love the three challengers, but I struggle to see them as credible contenders. However, out of the three, Darby Allin is the most credible threat as a championship contender.
Taya Valkyrie defeated Lady Frost
I was more impressed with Frost than Valkyrie. But couldn’t get into this match, and Jade’s appearance did nothing either. Sorry.
Tony Khan announces the first episode of AEW Collision will take place in Chicago. So it’s official folks! We’re just missing the announcement of a certain somebody we all want to reappear in AEW.
Contract Signing between Adam Cole and Chris Jericho. Cole threatens an insane amount and detailed level of bodily harm, and I like it. This will be an “unsanctioned” match which means we can expect a lot of extreme and hardcore fighting. Jericho doesn’t seem fazed, because he believes to have the numbers, but Cole has a surprise of his own… SABU!
Okay, this was right out of left field, and I can’t fathom what the beat up ECW original is going to do, but it’s going to be nuts.
I also hope we get returns from ReDragon soon. Solid segment, except for Jericho trying the whole “Cole just lay there” when Baker was attacked by the JAS. It never made sense before, and even though it’s to drive Jericho’s delusional persona, it still didn’t work.
Roderick Strong defeated Daniel Garcia
Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic match. Matches like this bring out the best form Garcia. Don’t forget, earlier this year he was on a hot streak, feuding with Danielson. He had some great submission spots, one of which was stomping Strong’s face into the mat. However, once Strong hit his groove, Garcia was outgunned. Too much dancing and “entertaining” would once again cause his downfall as Roddy would hit a gutbuster followed by the End of Heartache for the win.
Again, the commentary team drives the point of how Garcia loses by “entertaining” rather than wrestling. One of these days this will pay off.
AEW Dynamite 5/24 Main Event: The Lucha Brothers retain the ROH Tag Team Championships against Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta
A fantastic main event. Lots of near falls, Danielson on commentary is brilliant as always. I’ll cut to the chase, the finish saw the Young Bucks prevent Claudio from saving Yuta from the package driver finisher, allowing the champs to retain. Post-match, the BCC rushes out, Mox gets on the mic and promises a new level of brutality in AEW history.
So the stage is set, the lineup is made for Double or Nothing this Sunday on pay-per-view. It looks like a solid card, even the matches which didn’t get a lot of build or matches which normally wouldn’t seem appealing have the big-match feel to it. I’m looking forward to Sunday, and I have a sneaking suspicion we are going to be in for a wild treat.
