Week seven of AEW Dynamite came to our TV screens from Nashville, Tennessee, and it was an extremely crucial episode. The crowd was perhaps the hottest audience that AEW has been in for a televised airing, and it came as the fallout episode from the successful Full Gear show last Saturday. There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s ring the bell.
We opened up with a Kenny Omega package, detailing his wounds and doctor visit after his brutal Lights Out match with Jon Moxley on Saturday. They had Jim Ross commentary as the voiceover, and Omega begrudged not being cleared by the staff. It was a nice quick look into his psyche and it made their match seem even more brutal.
Jon Moxley vs. Michael Nakazawa
Nakazawa was by Omega’s side for the package, so he gets the honor of getting squashed by Moxley here. The crowd was hot for Mox, and Moxley wins very quickly with the Paradigm Shift. Thankfully, he gets the live mic after. He says that Omega will never be the same again, and challenges anyone in AEW who is brave enough to step to him. Moxley is full of fire and is clearly hungry. You can see his raw character creeping out, and it’s evident that AEW isn’t micromanaging him and force feeding lines like WWE did. Great promo.
Jurassic Express vs. Dark Order
Luchasaurus was still out injured (but not for long), so Marko Stunt tagged with Jungle Boy here. This solid match had a bit of an old school feel to it, as the larger team cut off the ring and pounded on the Express until it was time for the hot tag. Marko Stunt seemed to get more independent offense in this week, instead of lucking into it, and it took me out of the match a bit. I’m not a codger or a sizest, but Stunt shouldn’t be able to flip these guys around on his own. Dark Order pins Stunt with the Fatality, and then Evil Uno gets a mic. He says Stunt can be better if he joins the dark side, but Stunt refuses. Uno orders the goons to take out the Express. Luchasaurus returns to save the day, to a nice ovation. They stagger the attacks so that Luchasaurus gets to dominate and toss around each of the henchmen. He cleans house and hugs the Express. This was great for a few reasons. It gives the Order a big win, gives them more personality as they recruit others, and it brings back a wildly popular act in a dominant fashion.
Darby Allin vs. Shawn Spears vs. Peter Avalon
Avalon was cutting a promo about country singers to get heel heat in Nashville, and quickly had his mic cut off. I’m guessing they were short on time. Darby Allin is the perfect plucky underdog, and he’s gotten over in a major way in AEW. Avalon is underrated overall, but the gimmick doesn’t work with most fans. This is a quick but solid match, and it turns to one-on-one when Joey Janela comes out and attacks Spears. Allin uses his quickness to neutralize Avalon, and wins with the Coffin Drop. Afterwords, he takes the mic and accepts Jon Moxley’s open challenge from earlier. I wish he’d have said more to get his character over, but this is a PERFECT fit to get sympathy on him. This segment continued Spears/Janela and also got Allin a win. Moxley vs. Allin is next week, and I can’t wait for it.
Nyla Rose vs. Dani Jordan
This was another quick squash to put over Nyla Rose. Dani Jordan seems to be from the WWA4 promotion in Atlanta. Rose closes distance nicely and shows off a lot of power that feels very tight. Rose gets back on track with a nice win, and she still has unfinished business with Riho.
Tony Schiavone is on the ramp with Allie, and he talks about the rankings system being in effect (and updated every Friday). It’s good to see wins and losses counting. Allie cuts a quick promo about winning recently on AEW Dark (their YouTube B-show) and wanting to be seen on Dynamite. The lights go out, and Kong and Brandi emerge angrily. They attack Allie and once again, Kong does her best Brutus Beefcake impression, cutting off a lock of Allie’s hair. This bully gimmick suits them well.
Jim Ross accidentally calls Full Gear “Fully Loaded”, as if he took the time machine back to 1999. Then we get the segment of the night. Chris Jericho comes out and gives some smug words about beating Cody. Cody’s music and entrance hits, but it’s actually MJF. MJF has NUCLEAR heat with this crowd. He’s instantly the number two heel in the entire company. MJF says Cody only cares about Cody, and Cody only buddied up to MJF to hold him down. Then he turns to Jericho, and they repeatedly tease MJF joining the Inner Circle. They have great chemistry and timing, and it was a joy to watch the two best heels in AEW go back and forth. They hug, and the real Cody comes out and fights past security. He jumps on the heels, and then Wardlow debuts. Wardlow lays Cody out with a fireman carry slam, and has a lot of energy in the process. When asked months ago how Wardlow should debut (he comes from my local hometown indie company), I said he should be the muscle for a chicken heel like MJF. This whole segment of character building and debuting their new monster was masterful.
Pac vs. Adam Page
Not counting the impromptu match these two had in the UK, this is their AEW rubber match. They didn’t waste much time feeling each other out or chain-wrestling, and they went right into the highspots. These two are always physical with each other, and this was no exception. This wasn’t as good as their previous two matches, but Pac got the win with his Brutalizer submission via pass-out. You have to wonder if Pac moves on to Omega now, or even up to challenge “Le Champion”.
They cut to backstage, where Proud and Powerful and the Young Bucks are brawling wildly. One of the Bucks put one of P&P through a table, while the other member of P&P dives off of a tall cart onto all of security. This felt chaotic in all of the best ways. They brawled out to the stage, where Proud and Powerful attacked Nick’s previously injured knee. Using the injury from their previous encounter was a great piece of continuity. They also put Matt through the stage, the same way they did to Ricky Morton last week. Private Party comes out to stop any further damage, and now Private Party and Proud and Powerful have a match next week. This was fast paced, had great callbacks, and told multiple stories. It’s always nice to have a reason to set up matches in the future.
Tag Team Title Match: SCU vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara
I don’t think Jim Ross likes saying “Guevara”, because he has a fascination with calling him “Sammy G”. He also referred to Jake Hager as “Swagger”, but then caught himself. This was a high-powered title match to go off the air with. They’ve told a nice story of Scorpio Sky being an underdog who’s been gaining more confidence. You can also see Jericho rubbing off on Guevara, who played to the crowd a lot and had some nice heel moments. The Inner Circle had a few nice false finishes to almost take the tag titles, but Scorpio Sky hit a flash roll-up on Jericho to retain the titles. This finish was truly shocking, as it’s Jericho’s first time being pinned in AEW, and it’s to a tag team wrestler. It helps the Sky storyline, but it feels like it came too quickly. I’m sure Sky will get a future title match for this win. We go off the air as Jericho has a fit, ala WCW 1997.
This was nearly a perfect wrestling show, and again, it feels like AEW’s best to date. They’ve really found their niche here, and they get better at storytelling every week. We saw a great return (Luchasaurus), an impactful debut (Wardlow), and great promos (Jericho/MJF/Moxley), on top of good matches and feuds continued. The undercard is coming more into focus, and a lot of guys are building legit star power. I’m already excited for next week.
