Episode 44 of AEW Dynamite was taped last week, so we were still without Excalibur (who chose to sit out after comments of his on a show in 2003 surfaced last week). So JR, Tony, and Taz called the action. One production note that REALLY hurt the show this week was the crowd sweetening. It seemed like it was noticeable in small spots last week, and this week it was constant and egregious. They have wrestlers in the crowd to make noise, they don’t need this phony, piped-in noise that distracts from the show.
The Elite/FTR vs. The Dark Order
We open with no entrances, right into the 12 man tag team match. I said last week that AEW has jumped the shark on multi-man tags, and this match proves it. Dark Order didn’t even have six available signed members, so they had someone in a bodysuit called “9” as a made up partner. From the opening bell, this was just a car crash. There was no psychology, no heat, and no tag team rules being followed. I hate spotfests with no rhyme or reason, and that’s what this was. Two solid points from this: someone in FTR got hurt (it seemed like an angle) so the Elite had to fight from underneath. And Brodie was the right man to get the pin (with his lariat). Let’s calm down on the gymnastic tag matches now.
They show Best Friends pulling up outside in Trent’s mother’s car. This act is so incredibly uncool. How AEW thought this would help make this team more likeable is beyond me.
We get a major highlight of the show next, as Jon Moxley cuts a reserved promo on a stairwell. He’s less aggressive in his words tonight, but he’s still very deliberate with his tone. He says that he’s been the reckless guy who’s been warned not to do things in the past, and now he’s doing that for his friend, Darby Allin. He tells Darby to stay down tonight, because Moxley will do what he has to do to retain his title. I love the idea that Moxley respects Darby because he sees the scrappy hardcore fighter in himself. Nice character depth for Moxley there.
Santana/Ortiz vs. Best Friends
This is a solid way to continue the Inner Circle vs. Best Friends crew feud. The match is nothing special though, it just sort of exists. It went on way too long, following the earlier tag match (that also went way too long). Santana and Ortiz do some nice heel isolation work on Trent, who has potential as a solo act. After a forgettable match, Trent wins with a roll-up.
MJF takes us backstage to his campaign office, where he continues the #WeDeserveBetter championship campaign. He insults his staff and looks at a poll (where he’s destroying Moxley in the results). This would be a campy title shot angle for most people, but MJF’s smarmy attitude makes it work perfectly. I want to see these every week.
Matthew Hardy is out for a promo, and he says he’s here to be himself. He says AEW listens to the fans, and he wants to help younger talent. He says he wants to help Private Party, and tried to help Sammy Guevara. Sammy sneaks up behind him, and the two start brawling. Sammy throws a chair at Hardy on the outside, and one of the legs gets through and cuts Hardy’s head BADLY. It looked really nasty, but also helped the realism and intensity of the brawl. Guevara hits a 630 splash off the stage through a table and leaves Hardy a bloody mess. These two match up well together, and this was Hardy’s best segment in AEW so far (crowd sweetening aside). This could really help Sammy if they get a good match at All Out.
Santana and Ortiz are outside, and they vandalize and destroy Trent’s mother’s car from earlier. Later in the show, Best Friends attempt to cut a serious promo, saying that Santana and Ortiz owe his mom an apology. I have no interest in the feud, or Best Friends as characters. The whole thing comes off as campy and lame.
Cody/Matt Cardona vs. Dark Order
Our third match of the night is also our third tag team match. Dark Order is represented here by Jon Silver and Alex Reynolds, who are simply jobbers. I don’t think they’ve won a single match on Dynamite yet, in fact. Matt Cardona (the former Zack Ryder) looks absolutely jacked, and he used his time off well. AEW would’ve benefited from a vignette for Cardona or an explanation as to why he’s here. That withstanding, this is a good, serviceable match. Cody takes the isolation from Dark Order well, and this was the best that Cardona has looked in the ring in a long time. Solid showing from Silver and Reynolds, and Cardona wins with the Radio Silence. It used to be called the Rough Ryder, but Radio Silence is a reference to his “Radio” theme song in WWE. Scorpio Sky confronts Cody in the tunnel after the match, and they’re facing off next week.
Next up is the Chris Jericho/Orange Cassidy debate, and the special moderator is Eric Bischoff. To see WCW’s former President and tide-turner back on TNT network for the first time in 20 years is surreal. Bischoff asks the two men questions. Jericho answers with aggression and shows off his heel mic work, while Cassidy stays silent. Bischoff asks a question about global warming, and that makes Cassidy speak up. Again, Cassidy is in a main event feud with a total legend who’s busted him open in the past, and he’s not showing any seriousness or passion here. At the end, he tries to say it’s the biggest match of their lives, before Jericho and Hager lay him out. Bischoff says Cassidy won the debate. Jericho tried to cut good promos here, but that couldn’t save this segment from being tone-deaf, comedic, and unfocused.
Big Swole vs. Reba
Tony Schiavone talks briefly to Britt Baker, who says she’ll face Big Swole if Swole can beat an opponent of her choosing. She chooses her associate, “Reba”. Reba is Rebel, a wrestler best known for her days in Impact Wrestling. Reba hits a few moves, and acts surprised that she still knows how to wrestle. She misses a decent moonsault, and Swole wins this nothing match with her discus forearm. It took us about an hour and a half to get our first singles match on this show.
Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin
They saved the best match for last here, as the World Title match main events the show. They fought once before on the Dynamite main event, and it was equally good this time around. Early on, Moxley threw Darby off the stage into the ringpost in a nasty bump. The styles worked well here, as Moxley used high-impact power moves and Darby took the advantage with his speed and dives. Darby bumped around like a boss and worked Moxley’s hand, and Moxley’s face told the story of not wanting to hurt his friend too badly. MJF ran in with a belt shot on Moxley and stole the title. Darby kept kicking out of big moves, but Moxley reluctantly won with the elevated Paradigm Shift to close the show.
Overall, the show was more down than up this week. The show instantly got heat due to the bad crowd dubbing, which was painfully distracting. The pacing was awful as well, as we got three straight, overly long tag matches, and one of only two singles matches (in the final half hour) was a squash. The 12 man tag was a mess, and the Best Friends stuff was really uncool. With that said, some of the top guys did really good promo work this week (MJF, Hardy, Moxley, and Jericho), and the main event was really good. Here’s to hoping that AEW can correct some of their length and pacing issues on next week’s card.
