All Elite Wrestling broadcasted its third Dynamite show last night (sorry for the late review, I had a cable provider issue) from a true epicenter of wrestling, Philadelphia PA. Though losing about 400,000 viewers from week one to week two, they still came out way ahead of the NXT effort for their second straight week of head-to-head programming. Let’s see how their third show went.
Tag Title Tournament: SCU vs. Best Friends
This third match in the Tag Title Tourney was altered before it even began. It was going to be Daniels teaming with Kazarian for SCU, but Pentagon and Fenix came out and ambushed them during their entrance. Pentagon gave Daniels a package piledriver on the ramp, so Scorpio Sky had to fill in. They told the story of Sky wanting to let the veterans be SCU’s team in this tourney, and not being prepared to wrestle. Best Friends’ offense really benefited from a TV format, as they looked a lot tighter with their moves than normal. Sky was incredibly athletic in spite of only having on one shoe (as the crowd chanted “He’s got one shoe”). The ring generals SCU controlled this, and got the win with a dodgy-looking powerbomb dropkick combo. Sky was the showcase here, and he walked off a bit upset after the win. Now they’ve set up SCU/Lucha Bros down the line, and there are a bunch of directions they could go with Sky’s emotions. Solid storytelling.
Santana/Ortiz vs. Alex Reynolds/John Silver
This was a nice enhancement match to get the former LAX a win on television. Reynolds and Silver played the “jobbers” here, and they’re known for their time in CZW, Evolve, and PWG. Santana and Ortiz seem to be living the gritty gimmick, and they look like they’re energized to be in AEW. They get a smooth win with the Street Sweeper.
After the match, Jericho appears on the big screen to say that Santana and Ortiz want to challenge the formerly best tag team in AEW, the Young Bucks. That match is set up for Full Gear on November 9th, and it should be a great mesh of styles.
They cut to a great package to show Cody training for his match with Jericho at Full Gear. AEW really does great work with these packages, and I wish they’d showcase more of them to highlight more stories. This goes in-depth about Cody’s one track mind, and how he needs his first AEW World Title to prove himself. Cody is truly the best psychology-related performer in the business right now.
Women’s Title: Riho vs. Britt Baker
The way this started off, I thought we were in for a long night. A lot of the feeling out process was very choppy, and the two seemed to have bad chemistry. But it truly picked up in the middle. It seemed the quicker their exchanges went, the smoother it became. Riho added a few things to her offensive arsenal here, and the crowd was really biting on some false finishes. There was a moment toward the end where Baker tried to apply her Lockjaw submission, and Riho wouldn’t open her mouth. Then Riho used the momentum to roll through and retain her title with a cradle. This was the best ladies match we’ve seen in AEW so far, really good stuff. Still, I can’t help but think this match was rushed. This could’ve been built for months and highlighted as a top division match on Pay-Per-View. AEW is in Britt’s hometown of Pittsburgh next week, so it’ll be interesting to see how she follows up on this loss.
Tag Title Tournament: Jurassic Express vs. Lucha Bros
They said on commentary that it was supposed to be Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus representing the Express here, but Luchasaurus suffered a serious, non-contact injury. I sure hope he’s okay, because he has massive star potential as a monster heel. Marko Stunt fills in here, and I’ll say this: for as small and unbelieveable a performer as Stunt is, at least all of his offense is assisted. They book him in such a way that he can only do damage to his opponent when he lucks into it or is helped into it by his teammates. This was an extremely fun tag team match that was an under the radar show-stealer. Fenix continues to innovate every time he wrestles, and Jungle Boy takes one of the best beatings in wrestling. One thing AEW must figure out is if they want him to go by Jungle Boy (as most people call him) or Jungle Jack Perry (as Jim Ross always calls him). The double stomp-package piledriver combo wins it for the Lucha Bros. So next week, it’s the Lucha Bros vs. Private Party and the Dark Order vs. SCU in the semi-finals of the tourney. If Luchasaurus is out for any real length of time, it’d be nice to see Jungle Boy get a little singles run as an athletic underdog.
Jon Moxley/Pac vs. Kenny Omega/Adam Page
Justin Roberts is announcing Jon Moxley in the exaggerated way he used to announce John Cena, and I’m all for it. This all-star match combines two of the biggest feuds in AEW right now. As you’d expect, this contest is extremely hard-hitting and has a little of everything. They played up how Pac hates both Moxley and Omega, and has been inserting himself into their tryst. They build around the times that Moxley and Omega are in the ring head-to-head, and the Philly faithful are eating it up. Moxley and Omega go and get their barbed wire weapons, and for some reason the referee fleas the ring and allows the match to continue. Pac takes the weapon off of Moxley, then Moxley flips off Pac and gives him the Paradigm Shift. Moxley walks out on Pac, allowing Omega to pin Pac. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pac makes this match at Full Gear a three way, or at least gets involved in the match somehow.
World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Darby Allin
They made this match a Philly Street Fight, a stipulation that really benefits someone who takes a beating as well as Allin. This told the old school story of the underdog who comes out with energy, then fights through a hellacious beating. Allin out-quicks Jericho early, then spends most of the match selling for the longtime veteran. This was a well-paced match that made Allin feel like a big deal for being able to hang with “Le Champion”. At one point, Jericho duct taped Allin’s hands together behind his back, but Darby still unleashed crossbody blocks, outside dives, and moonsaults with his hands bound together. It was really inspiring to see the plucky skateboarder dodging and creating offense with his limbs encumbered like that. He goes up top for a Coffin Drop, but Jake Hager punches him off the ropes. Jericho puts a bound Allin in the Liontamer for the submission win. The show goes off the air with the Inner Circle having a little bit of the bubbly.
We’re starting to see what AEW Dynamite will be like now, as the show takes shape three weeks in. It’s a show of wrestling matches, with one or two promos in between a bunch of in-ring action. While the lack of angles and set-ups early on is a bit deterrent to the casual audience, AEW doesn’t seem to care about attracting the channel-surfing public. They want to be a show for wrestling fans, by wrestlers. And on the positive side, they’re presenting a much more coherent show than WWE. Titles matter, pushes count, and the bit of in-ring work that they use to enhance stories is followed up on. I’d still like to see a bit more stuff done outside of the ring, but in its infancy, Dynamite has a lot to be happy about. I’ll be there live at the Pittsburgh show next week, so I’ll give you all my live thoughts next Thursday.
