Episode 29 of AEW Dynamite came to us from the “undisclosed location” again, as the quarantine amid the pandemic rages on. This pandemic has really affected the ratings of late, as both AEW and NXT have dipped into 600K viewership. AEW promised a strong lineup as it was coming off of one of its weakest shows in existence. Chris Jericho’s voice sounded a bit hoarse as he joined Tony Schiavone for commentary again, but this was one of AEW’s best nights of commentary so far. Jericho is an excellent heel announcer, and the two gelled tremendously. Let’s get to the action.
Cody opened the show with a package talking about the importance of the TNT Title. It made AEW feel large, and put emphasis on the tournament. These packages have been a nice way to not only fill time with meaningful content, but to build up the new title.
Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin both had short hype promos before their match. Guevara spoke eloquently and oozed heel charisma, and Darby had his signature dark, pained delivery.
Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin
This was a first round match in the TNT Title tourney, and it could’ve easily been the final. These two have excellent chemistry together, and they will be future company cornerstones who will be rivals forever. They had an excellent match at Revolution, which Darby won. This match started in a similar way, except this time it was Sammy who attacked Darby before the bell. Sammy laid Darby out on a ladder and did a top rope splash to the outside in an insane spot. I loved all of the little callbacks to their previous encounter. Sammy used a nice balance between brawling and flying here, and Darby countered by taking off Guevara’s boot and working his ankle. Guevara still did several springboard spots without his boot on, which looked mightily impressive. Darby wins the match of the night here with his Last Supper roll-up. Darby and Cody next week should be excellent as well.
Matt Hardy has a promo from his compound next, saying that Jericho never responded to his Elite Deletion challenge. He said only Guevara responded, because Jericho is scared of Broken Matt. So then Hardy goes into regular Matt Hardy mode, where he recants history between he and Jericho. Hardy shows a lot of depth here in being able to go between his Damascus Broken persona, and his normal one. I’m very excited to see how AEW handles the cinematic compound match.
Taz does a short segment here, where he breaks down Kenny Omega’s snap dragon suplex and V-Trigger knee. It looks like an ESPN style analysis you’d see Chris Berman or Jon Gruden do, and it’s good usage of a former wrestler who knows the science behind the moves. It gives the sports-based presentation that AEW is always talking about. Nice unique segment.
Kenny Omega vs. Alan Ingles
There was a lot of confusing stuff going on here. The jobber here is Alan Ingles, who got squashed two weeks ago by Lance Archer. In his introduction graphic, it showed “Alan Angels”, which is what he was announced as. Then Jericho called him “Alan Eagles” for most of the match. On top of it all, this wasn’t a squash at all. This was a competitive match, where an unsigned guy who got destroyed two weeks ago, got a majority of the offense on Omega. Omega is your Tag Team Champion, and a guy who the internet fans consider to be the best wrestler in the world. So unless AEW plans to sign and push Ingles, this was a pretty random exhibition. Ingles even kicked out of a V-Trigger. Omega gets the win after a second V-Trigger.
We saw a package on Scorpio Sky, where he candidly talks about his love for wrestling and almost having to give it up due to surgery. I’ve always loved these humanizing looks into the vulnerable world of the people behind the characters. Stuff like this gets the fans invested in the undercard talent. Great segment.
Orange Cassidy vs. Jimmy Havok
I complained last week that AEW did a poor job of explaining the reasoning and relationship between Havok and Sabian, and they didn’t address it this week either. Havok used a slow but deliberate pace to grind out Cassidy and control most of this contest. He’s believable as a dirty brawler, and I think he’s been underused thus far. Cassidy plays dead for most of the match, but comes alive once Havok puts Cassidy’s hands in his own pockets. A move from Penelope Ford gone awry gets Cassidy the roll-up win. Havok attacks after the match. Best Friends cut a promo later in the show, and we get a No DQ tag team match next week.
MJF cuts a promo from what’s listed as “ One of MJF’s Rat’s Houses”, and this is where the show picks up steam in my opinion. MJF says that while he gambled a few weeks ago, he badly injured his arm. He has it in a sling, but says he’ll work hard to return soon. Great way to explain keeping him off of TV while getting him heat for a fake injury. I truly see MJF as the next rightful World Champion.
Lee Johnson vs. Wardlow
Wardlow has an underrated charisma and agility to go with his beefy look and monster facials. He also has all the tools to be a future champion. This played like a wonderful 80s squash, as Wardlow bounced Johnson around the ring with impressive reckless abandon. He wins with that spinning F5, and Johnson bumps like a boss.
We see a package of a former college football star being broken up with by his girlfriend over voicemail. He goes online to join the Dark Order. The e-mail he sends them says he “had the whole world in his hands”, which is a clear reference to Bray Wyatt. Then Brodie interviews him, and is saying that not everyone in AEW is working hard, and asks the guy’s size. These comments continue to be Brodie doing a Vince McMahon impression. He gives the unseen recruit a mask. People have speculated that it may be Preston Vance, who’s been seen on AEW Dark lately.
Brodie Lee vs. Justin Law
We get back-to-back squashes with impressive agile big-men here. Brodie has his character down, and his intimidating facials to match his intensity. I can’t wait to see how a live crowd responds to him. Lee wins quickly with his discus lariat.
We get another Skype style “Bubbly Bunch” promo, where the Inner Circle are doing TikTok dances to compete for soap, or something. While these have fallen short of their possibilities for me, I applaud the effort of originality.
We see a Dustin Rhodes/Kip Sabian package hyping the importance of their main event tonight.
Dustin Rhodes vs. Kip Sabian
This is the final first round match in the TNT Title Tournament. I have to majorly criticize a booking move here. A few days ago, Dustin Rhodes announced that if he didn’t win this match, he’d retire. Why? Why randomly give yourself a retirement stipulation for a random TV match off-air with no build-up. This wasn’t a PPV match with a big build, or the culmination to a big self-doubt angle. This came out of nowhere, and completely killed any chance Kip had of winning the match. The winner being revealed hurt the match itself a bit too. It started slow and lacked a good deal of chemistry at first, before picking up in the end. Sabian’s been a glorified jobber (with potential and a high ceiling) from day one, so Rhodes wins here with a Canadian Destroyer. Okay match, but save retirement stipulations for major spots.
Overall, this show had its ups and downs, but was leagues ahead of last week. The squashes showcased the big men well, they tried some new segments, and the interviews all furthered characters. The Omega match and the main event were very strange and misplaced, but the rest of the show made up for it. The opening match and Brodie work were excellent. This show gives us a lot to build on for a good looking card next week.
