Episode 56 of AEW Dynamite kicked off from Jacksonville, with just two shows left until their big Full Gear pay per view. Let’s jump right into the show and see how they hyped up their upcoming event.
We opened with a backstage promo in guerrilla position, as MJF said that if Wardlow won this contenders tournament, that he himself would get Wardlow’s title. Wardlow reluctantly agreed, and Sammy Guevara showed up. Sammy said that MJF isn’t getting into the Inner Circle, and they had a standoff. This solid promo accomplished a lot of things and set the table for the MJF/Jericho segment later in the show. I like Sammy getting something of a leadership role opposing MJF here.
Adam Page vs. Wardlow
This semi-final contenders tournament match was a great opener for this show. These are two physical, no-nonsense wrestlers, and Page bumped around for the bigger opponent a lot. Wardlow controlled with clubbing blows early, until the outside ringpost served as a good equalizer. Page really laid in his strikes tonight to make up for the size difference, adding extra believability to the match. Page won after two nasty Buckshot Lariats folded up Wardlow.
We got a Jon Moxley package where Mox said that Kingston is miserable and doesn’t belong in AEW. He said he’s not just defending his title, but he’s going to war at the PPV. The mic work for this feud has been excellent.
Eddie Kingston vs. Matt Sydal
Before the match, Kingston got the mic and said that Moxley is a coward for not being here. He references Sydal trying to steal his thunder at the Battle Royal, and says Archer never officially eliminated him. He tied in so many things in a short time, and continuity is so important in wrestling. The match was also very good. Sydal went to a mat-based style, and Kingston showed that he scouted his opponent by countering a lot of the submissions. Sydal has all the tools to be an upper mid-card guy in AEW, and it’s nice to see him showing an array of offense on an official episode of Dynamite. Kingston wins with Moxley’s bulldog choke, and makes Sydal (who he called Moxley) quit after the bell. Great stuff all around.
Excalibur did a satellite interview with FTR and the Young Bucks. FTR gets in a great shoot comment about Excalibur only having a job in AEW due to his friendship with the Bucks. As Excalibur focuses on the Bucks too much, FTR gets fed up and walks away. The Bucks’ promo here is fine, but they still seem to have no idea whether they’re faces or heels. Their work as heels has been very underwhelming. Even still, this interview did a decent job of making this Full Gear showdown seem important. If the Bucks lose, they can never get another AEW Tag Title shot again.
We get an Inner Circle/MJF media type segment, where Tony Schiavone and Dasha moderate and different wrestlers ask questions. Luchasaurus asks something hokey, but Peter Avalon comically asks if he can join Inner Circle. Eric Bischoff shows up and asks a few poignant questions about MJF’s loyalty history and how ego-centric guys like Jericho and MJF would co-exist in the same faction. Jericho says that he’s facing MJF at Full Gear, and if MJF wins, he can join Inner Circle. This was a fun segment, and is a great example of how you can have some silly moments and still have an effective segment without burying your characters. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked. I can totally see Guevara and the IC turning on Jericho at the PPV, aligning with MJF and giving Jericho time off of TV.
Cody vs. Orange Cassidy
This TNT Title match was a Lumberjack match, for seemingly no reason at all. Cassidy started out serious, but still defaulted to his slow comedy stuff at different points. In a timed title match, where he drew with Cody last time, his stalling to do comedy spots didn’t make sense here. But the athletics were fine, and Cody won fairly quickly (around 12 minutes) with a Crossroads. I wasn’t a fan, but Cody is still doing a slow descent into heel work, which is a nice hook.
We got a backstage promo where Miro and Kip Sabian approached Best Friends with a gift, saying they forgive them for ruining Kip’s video game. It’s a setup, and Miro and Kip jump Best Friends. This whole feud over a video game is stupid and it devalues Miro into a horrible first impression to new/casual fans.
Serena Deeb vs. Leyla Hirsch
This was an NWA Women’s Title match, as Deeb defeated Thunder Rosa last night to win the title. Rosa seems to be freed up of commitments now, and it’s unknown whether she’ll move onto AEW or WWE. This was perhaps the match of the night, as Hirsch debuted last night on Dark against Hikaru Shida. Hirsch is a Beyond Wrestling and CZW standout, blending submission wrestling with catch-as-catch-can grappling. Hirsch used a lot of rolls and arm work, as Deeb countered with an array of neck breakers. These two had great chemistry, and I hope Hirsch (and Thunder Rosa, while we’re at it) gets signed by AEW. Deeb retains with a Tequila Sunrise.
Hikaru Shida says she’ll face Nyla Rose at Full Gear. It should be another solid match between the two.
Shawn Spears vs. VSK
VSK debuted last night on Dark as well, but this was over in seconds. Spears wins a quick squash with a Death Valley Driver. After the match, a masked assailant assaulted Spears, and it wound up being Scorpio Sky. They’re facing off next week, but I wished they’d saved that match for the PPV.
Pentagon vs. Kenny Omega
This main event was to see who’d face Adam Page at Full Gear to win #1 contendership to the World Title. Omega is now doing his heel “Cleaner” gimmick, complete with long intro and broom girls coming out on the stage. It may be a tweak with the new persona, but the “Omega Face” was out of control tonight. I found myself audibly laughing at Omega’s overly theatrical faces and cheesy selling. It was very distracting, as was Pentagon’s repetitive “Cero Miedo” finger motion (he did it 6 times in this match). Omega won a long contest after a One-Winged Angel”.
Overall, this was a very solid show, and one of AEW’s better outputs in the past 5-6 weeks. I’ve been extremely down on the show lately, so much so that I didn’t even watch last week. But the first hour here was excellent overall. They focused a lot on solid matches and setting up their PPV card. They have built some intrigue around all of their announced Full Gear matches, and very few things on this show felt cheesy or out of place. I’m very happy with the balance of promos and matches, and the timing of these segments was well done. Next week is the “go-home” show before Full Gear.
