Episode 54 of AEW Dynamite was the anniversary edition of the show. Happy one year to AEW’s weekly TV program, and I hope it continues to grow and find a true alternative to the WWE. Let’s dive right into the action.
FTR vs. Best Friends
This tag team title match kicked off with both teams in the ring. Best Friends took a more serious approach to this match than normal, and FTR really had their working boots on. FTR truly controlled the pace with deliberate high impact work, cutting off the ring from the babyfaces. The pacing of this match set it apart from most other AEW tag matches. The spot work came later in the match as both teams jostled to get the big win. This is the second time that I enjoyed a Best Friends match (the other being the parking lot brawl). FTR gets the solid win in 19 minutes with a cheap belt shot.
During the match, one of Best Friends crashed into Kip Sabian’s arcade video game machine, so he sent Penelope to get Miro. After the match, Miro comes out and destroys Best Friends.
Kip Sabian/Miro vs. Sean Maluta/Lee Johnson
This match continued the Miro anger, as he powered through the two well-bumping jobbers. This was a quick squash that Miro dominated with the Game Over. Afterward, Sabian still had the control for the arcade game. Miro said “Best Friends, you destroy my sh*t, it’s game over.” Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been clamoring for a more serious Miro, but to have him now entering his first feud, with Best Friends (of all teams), over a wrecked video game, is very comedic and stupid. They are surrounding Miro with talent and skits that are outside of character for him, and aren’t at his level. AEW has really bungled Miro over his first several weeks in a major way, in spite of his huge upside.
Backstage, Lance Archer attacks Jon Moxley ahead of their main event match tonight. Later, Moxley returns the favor. This sets up the title match tonight being No DQ. Nice touch here, giving an ongoing reason to change the match stipulation.
MJF and Inner Circle are out for MJF’s big announcement. The announcement is that MJF asks Jericho to join the inner circle. The wordplay from MJF is smooth and fun to listen to, and the two have good chemistry. The tone of their work is still too comedic though. They can get away with some one-liners because they’re both smarmy heels, but this is a bit too over-the-top at times. Ortiz takes the mic and says they don’t want MJF in the Inner Circle. Jericho says they’ll think about it, but they’re going to have a steak dinner together next week. Again, the characters involved here are great and the possible directions this could go are endless, but why make it SO comedic in such an out-of-place way? AEW is taking a potential big-money angle here and making it unbelievable to the masses.
We go to a spa package with Tony Schiavone and Britt Baker. This is a comedy promo that’s meant to make Rebel seem silly and put over Britt’s return from all the injuries and collusion. This suits her character just fine, but after Best Friends, then Miro comedy, then Jericho/MJF comedy, this came off as really watered down. Can’t anything be taken with serious intensity on this show?
Cody vs. Orange Cassidy
And now we have Orange Cassidy. I mentioned it last week, but Cassidy shouldn’t be getting this spot. Never-mind the prestige of this anniversary show, but Cassidy just had a TNT Title shot, that he lost, against Brodie Lee. We saw Darby Allin watching from the stands. They announced that Darby faces the winner here for the title at Full Gear. There was no buildup or reason announced, just that Darby would randomly be getting a shot. The match itself was rather weak, by Cody’s high standards. Cody did work Cassidy’s leg, which Cassidy sold mostly well. With only having 20 minutes to win the title, Cassidy should’ve cut all of his slow comedy shtick for the chance to be champion. Even in the final 30 seconds, Cassidy milked long chances to hype the crowd instead of going for the win. The match ended in a draw just before Cassidy could win. So I guess the new champion could beat Brodie Lee, but not Cassidy. They’re facing again in two weeks.
Matt Hardy talks to Tony Schiavone in the crowd. He looks happy with his family, and says he’s now 100% cleared to wrestle. A video pops up on the big screen, showing that Sammy Guevara was the one who attacked Hardy backstage weeks ago. They’ve already had 3 matches, and none of them went as planned. The table match was short due to bad timing by the producers, and the PPV match was cut way short due to Hardy’s concussion. I wish they had gone in a fresh direction with this instead of repeating this long-lasting feud right away.
Tony Schiavone (who got a workout tonight) was in the ring with FTR, as a bunch of random teams were on the ramp. Tony said they’d pick four teams out of a tumbler, who would face off next week, with the winners facing FTR at Full Gear. So in AEW (where wins and losses matter), they have a tag team rankings system, yet they’re picking teams for contendership out of a tumbler. They pick Private Party, Butcher and Blade, Silver and Reynolds (who’ve never won a tag match on Dynamite) and The Young Bucks. The Bucks superkick everyone and stand tall. The logic in this company is about as bad as the over-use of comedy. What’s the point of the rankings system?
Hikaru Shida vs. Big Swole
This women’s title match was one of the better efforts from Big Swole in AEW. The strikes were pretty clean (minus a few of Shida’s knees), and it was relatively botch free. They did some good work on the outside as Nyla Rose watched on. Shida wins with the running knee and it seems she’ll face Nyla at Full Gear. AEW has a lot of talented ladies on the roster that we haven’t yet fully connected with. Here’s to hoping we get more time with them.
We get a really solid Shawn Spears package, where he talks about his feud with Scorpio Sky. He says Sky robbed him of a classic moment against Sydal, so Sky owes him a moment. This put some good heat on a fun mid-card feud, and made Spears look like a credible threat. Good stuff.
Jon Moxley vs. Lance Archer
This No DQ world title match was looked upon by Eddie Kingston, Pentagon, and Fenix from the announce table. Kingston was a gem on commentary, building heat with Moxley by referencing their past in the hardcore indies. The match was a hard-hitting, plunder affair that sat nicely in the wheelhouse of both men. Both kicked out of each others’ finishers, and Moxley even hit the Paradigm Shift through two tables. Archer chokeslammed Moxley through two chairs before hitting a Blackout. Moxley rolled through and rolled up Archer for the pin in an excellent main event. Afterward, Pentagon hit Archer with a chair, to no effect. Jake got Archer to leave, but Kingston came down to praise Moxley’s first year in AEW. Then Kingston turned on Moxley and choked him out to end the show. This should be Full Gear’s main event, and is being built well.
Overall, this show had some nice bright spots. The opening tag match and the main event were both really good. Full Gear got more clarity into what should be a well built card. But the lack of logic in the contenderships for the World and TNT Titles really have been hurting the program. And the comedic tone to nearly every segment is a real problem. Fans was a sports-based alternative to WWE, not just their own version of jokes for a niche wrestling audience. I’m glad AEW has found a national home and a solid 800,000 fan base, but to grow and expand, they need to take things a bit more thoughtfully and seriously to attract a lapsed audience.
