AND NEW!!!!!
Darby Allin is our All Elite Wrestling Men’s World Heavyweight Champion! They finally pulled the trigger and put the belt on the guy who has selflessly carried the company and represented AEW since the beginning. They played it up extremely well, the seeds for this were planted at AEW Dynasty.
Key points:
- After retaining the championship against Kenny Omega, he says he’s going social media dark and keeping to himself until Dynamite.
- Dynamite begins with MJF and Don Callis in the parking lot where MJF assumed Andrade defeated Darby and would do the job at their title defense. Callis informs MJF this is not the case. So MJF didn’t pay attention to anything. Renee Paquette informs him the title match kicks off the show.
- Darby Allin can barely hold back tears while cutting a promo on MJF to start the show.
- MJF is furious, Bryan Danielson tells MJF he has the night to get ready for his championship defense to take place in the main event. This lets everyone know to tune in tonight for something special.
- Before the match, Old Man Sting arrives to hype him up.
It was his holding back hard from crying for me. As Darby could barely hold it, I’m sitting here wondering why he would get so emotional… OH. WAIT.
MJF distracted referee Aubrey Edwards and hit a low blow, trying to end it early. However, Darby played MJF at his own game, hitting a low blow of his own, followed by four consecutive Coffin Drops, followed by… THE HEADLOCK TAKEDOWN for the pinfall victory. BOOM. Crowd erupts in his home state of Washington.
Talk about long-term storytelling. The Headlock Takedown goes way back to their match at Full Gear 2021, where MJF struck Darby with the Dynamite Diamond Ring, then used the Headlock Takedown to pin him. Darby used the same hold and pinning combination to do it.
This was on the same level as when Mick Foley defeated The Rock for the WWE Championship on RAW, when Bill Goldberg defeated “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan on WCW Nitro, or when Dolph Ziggler cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Alberto Del Rio the night after WrestleMania 29.
Big championship changes CAN happen on TV, and boy was this huge. Darby has said it numerous times. Without AEW, he would have been traveling the indies for the rest of his life. No one would give him a chance. AEW gave him his chance and he became a household name.
Some may question the rationale on a title change on Dynamite after a PPV, but changes like this are not rare. WWE has done it plenty. WCW did it too. MJF just went through a grueling 39-minute match with Kenny Omega. If there was a way to get the title off MJF in a way which still protects him, this was it. That’s been the role of the MITB concept too.
Huge celebration, the internet explodes. AEW is going to get very interesting. If there was ever a time to stay tuned, this is it. Darby as champ is really going to test his skills both in and out of the ring.
For the rest of the show, here we go:
After Darby and MJF have their in-ring promo, Tommaso Ciampa defeated Dezmond Xavier. Good match, but it was pretty clear the more violent Ciampa was clearly going to win. Xavier sells everything like his life depended on it.
Footage from Dynasty: Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega have a heart-to-heart about their respective losses. Ospreay tells Omega he’s not giving up at all, while Omega seems to cast doubt on his future. However, Ospreay’s pep talk might have sparked Omega not to give it up just yet.
I still really hate that Diverticulitis is still being used as the Kryptonite for Omega to lose. Geezuz people. Just feed him a spicy meatball and that’ll cost him the match too.
FTR in-ring promo: Dax, Cash, and Big Stoke gloat about defeating Cope and Cage. They gloat about being the best team, and that there is no other team to step up to their level. They even took a shot at Tony Khan, saying he’ll just go recruit from NJPW or CMLL because there’s no one left in AEW. They mocked C&C with their own 10-second pose for the benefit of those with flash photography. Based on the live crowd reaction, very few people got the reference.
I did and this makes me a geezer.
There seems to be a streak of FTR promos which don’t seem to amount to anything or simply feels empty. There was no follow-up, no challenge, no nothing. Stokely adds some humor but also carries the serious tone of his team. Not sure where they go from here.
Kevin Knight retains the TNT Championship against Claudio Castignoli
An excellent match. While Knight is primarily known for his high flying and high risks, he also can carry himself as a grounded wrestler, matching and at times outsmarting the brutal offensive of Claudio. Some wild and powerful spots kept this match exciting. Knight pops the crowd and the crowd popped as Knight picked up the win.
Will Knight and Speedball stay together?
Chris Jericho in-ring promo interrupted by The Demand
Jericho appreciates being welcomed back to AEW, and while he laments losing to Ricochet, he respects him and has hopes to face him again, one-on-one. This brings out Ricochet who gloats in his victory, even going as far to say he is taking the Lionsault and renaming it the Ricosault. No one goes for it. Jericho then cuts a hysterical promo by inserting “bald” after random sentences which infuriates Ricochet, Toa Liona can barely keep a straight face, and the live crowd loves it. The Demand beat up Jericho to close the segment.
Jericho gets no save. Seems he may have to seek out some help. Honestly would have cracked up if the Conglomeration made the save.
To think, a year ago we were all sick of the “Learning Tree” gimmick and chanting “Please Retire.” Those memories have seemed to fade.
Will Ospreay defeated Hechicero
Fantastic match. Ospreay, while injured and recovering, still showed out. Hechicero is ungodly. The guy is a bona-fide magician in the ring. It wouldn’t have been a big deal for Hechicero to get a win. I feel like he hasn’t had many wins in the company, despite being billed as a major opponent for most matches. Ospreay is hurt and on the mend, so taking a loss wouldn’t have hurt him.
Thekla and Alex Windsor cut promos on each other. Windsor didn’t take too kindly to Hayter’s defeat at the hands of the AEW Women’s World Champion. Windsor even brought up how Thekla was booted from Japan. She tried to shrug it off, but then ran with it pretty comedically. Windsor vs. Thekla will be excellent.
Willow Nightingale defeated Kamille to retain the TBS Championship
Willow sold her PPV injuries during the bout, Kamille could have convincingly won the title. She’s back and badder than ever. Willow needed a roll up to win, which will probably be the evidence needed for Kamille to issue another challenge down the road. It is a bit of a bummer, Kamille returns, gets a championship opportunity, only to lose. I hope this doesn’t cause more harm than good for her return.
Could you imagine a stable with Megan Bayne, Lena Kross, Kamille, Stori Denali, and Penelope Ford?
Talk about dominance. Call them the Amazons and be done with it.
The final segment is the AEW Championship match as discussed at the top of the column. The main event pushed the show into the “Night after WrestleMania” territory to use as a comparison. The build to something exciting was organic, well planned, and executed extremely well. I have no doubt the podcasters and whomevers will crap on it on social media, but deep down probably sat back with satisfaction.
