A huge Dynamite from where it all began, Daily’s Place! What a show, great, fun matches and really gave the feel of what AEW was like just prior to the pandemic.
The show kicks off with a big match feel. “Hangman” Adam Page defeats Claudio Castignoli in what the kids call “a banger.” Hard-hitting with an assortment of power striking and charged up wrestling moves. Claudio swung around Hangman like he’s AR Fox. Page scores after two consecutive Buckshot Lariats.
A PPV-quality opener for a weekly TV show. Fantastic. The layout of the arena contributes greatly to the feel of tonight’s episode. Claudio always looks strong regardless of wins or losses. Hangman needed the win more than anyone right now, in order to be presented as a legitimate contender for the AEW World Championship.
Backstage: Bullet Club Gold and The Acclaimed hash out their mutual disdain for Undisputed Kingdom. Despite Anthony Bowens trying to sway them, even proposing they form The Bang Bang Scissor Gang, Jay White remains skeptical about it. Colten Gunn however tries to figure out scissoring.
Orange Cassidy, Adam Copeland, Dustin Rhodes, and Preston Vance defeated Gates of Agony, Brian Cage, and Lance Archer
A fitting tribute made to Brodie Lee. What a fun match. Reminds me of the ol’ multi-man matches in WWF and WWF during the early-to-mid 90s. Crazy moment with Toa Liona, Bishop Kaun, and Brian Cage passed Orange Cassidy around while in the vertical suplex position. Lots of great non-stop action throughout. Again, this is a rime example of enjoyable wrestling without the need for “the coveted story.”
Vance getting the pinfall was a nice touch.
Backstage with “Timeless” Toni Storm
Hysterical promo with Renee talking about the surprise debut of Deonna Purrazzo. Before she can reply, Mariah May interjects in hopes Storm watched her match. Disappointingly, she didn’t and May was upset that Purrazzo ruined her debut. Storm offers her chocolate as a consolation prize.
Samoa Joe in-ring Promo:
Fantastic. Decked in a suit, Joe evokes a professional champion much like the respected folks from the good ol’ NWA days. He carries the championship with pride and is praised as such by the live crowd. He changes the “championship structure” to something evoking a more professional atmosphere, while at the same time has no problem accepting an open challenge from deserved challengers. Enter Swerve Strickland. He promises Joe he wants the championship. It’s not personal, but he will make it so if he has to. Enter “Hangman” Adam Page, he directs his attention to Swerve, who eventually has enough and leaves. Page turns his ire towards Joe and puts him on notice as well. Just as the segment appears to close, the Bat Signal appears and Hook’s name is beamed high above the arena. Joe seems surprised as Hook comes out and goes eye-to-eye with the AEW World Champion.
I’m liking this. A lot. Joe and Swerve is going to be a huge money match when the time is right. Hangman is an easy pick to also slot for a brief title hunt, even if he comes up short. Hook will face Joe next week. Of course he won’t win, but damn this could be an indication Hook is ready for more than sporadic matches on Rampage.
Sammy Guevara defeated Ricky Starks
A fast paced contest which curiously appeared to favor Guevara, despite Starks scoring with what many would think to be match-closing moves. Two talents wrestlers, yet something felt a bit off with that match. Sammy hit a running Starks with a superkick following by an arm-drag assisted inside cradle for an unexpected pinfall. It seemed perhaps Starks got rocked and an audible was called.
The post-match saw a strange brawl with Big Bill and Chris Jericho getting involved. Jericho’s music played throughout the brawl. I highly doubt this was an homage to anytime New Jack was in the arena.
AEW is doing the best they can to build some sort of hype for the upcoming tag team title match, but since Omega’s sudden leave due to medical severity, it seems there’s been a general loss of interest, and of course the big elephant in the room doesn’t help either.
Backstage, Deonna Purrazzo and Red Velvet will square off on Collision this Saturday.
Anna Jay, Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander, and Thunder Rosa defeated TBS Champion Julia Hart, Skye Bue, Ruby Soho, and Saraya w/ Harley Cameron
Just like the men’s eight-man tag match, the women’s match was also a fun bout with everyone being featured. Spotlight primarily on Anna Jay, highlighting her connection to the Dark Order and Brodie Lee. She gets the submission victory with the Queen Slayer Sleeper hold on Skye Blue. This was good because the wrestling itself was smooth. Perhaps Anna Jay will be next to get a push towards a championship chase, and perhaps a title run?
Roderick Strong defeated “The Bounty Hunter” Brian Keith
Great wrestling match. Crowd was hot for this. Despite Roddy’s heel turn with Adam Cole, crowds love to see him go. Brian Keith has quickly become a fan favorite as well, and can easily be seen joining the ranks officially as a member of the roster.
Roddy’s suplexes and backbreakers still look so destructive.
After the match, Adam Cole cut another promo, similar to last week, but antagonizing the live crowd a bit more. Also seems to reiterate this stable is not going to be something temporary. I noticed while highlighting the championship aspirations of Strong and the reign of Taven and Bennett, this time Cole did not reference Wardlow giving Cole the World Championship, this time saying the word “we” instead.
I really hope they aren’t regurgitating Wardlow’s role from The Pinnacle.
Sting and Darby Allin defeated Konosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs
This was a brawl. Nothing pretty about this one. That being said, the booking makes sense. A match like this allows for Sting to remain mostly protected. Hobbs and Sting could brawl around, with Hobbs protecting Sting while making it look menacing while Allin and Takeshita destroy each other.
The finish saw Sting plow himself and Hobbs through tables with the Scorpion Death Drop. Sting pins for the win. Ric Flair cheerleading.
After the match, Tony Schiavone asks Sting who his final opponent will be at AEW Revolution, but before he could answer The Young Bucks return! They say nothing but loiter around the entrance ramp. Nick wearing a white suit with Matt in black. Cool and intriguing. I for sure thought Sting would challenge Darby in his last match, but it seems a tag team match may be in store? I really, really hope Sting and Darby goes over if that’s the case. Having the Bucks defeat Sting in his final bout would not be received very well.
Like Brock Lesnar ending the Undertaker’s streak. To this day people are still upset about it.
I would call Dynamite Homecoming a chill and fun show. Some storylines continued while we got some solid wrestling matches. Sometimes simple is better, less can be more.
