AEW Dynamite made a choice to go on this week, inviting integral personnel only to an empty arena. In spite of the mass chaos that the Coronavirus has put the world into, I commend AEW for wanting to sacrifice and entertain. I want to wish you all safety, health, and love during this scary and unknown time. With that said, I’ll go on doing what I do, trying to provide insight and opinions on the wrestling world. Let’s jump in.
Cody opens in the empty arena, saying AEW and the world must be strong and band together. He says The Elite must band together as well, as they get ready for Blood and Guts (aka the Wargames match). He goes over each member of the Elite, detailing his relationship with them. The passion here was excellent and I love the use of continuity. Details like that are why AEW stands over WWE in the quality department. Matt Jackson and Kenny Omega come out, saying they’re in a rough place with Nick Jackson hurt and Adam Page being distant. Page comes out and he salutes them with his whiskey, seemingly saying they can count on him. Good storytelling, good tension, and a hot way to open a unique show.
Taz joins JR and Excalibur on commentary tonight, as Tony Schiavone hosts the interviews and Brandi Rhodes does the ring announcing. The more people that are able to stay home, the safer it is. Points for creativity and effort tonight, on staffing as well as the layout of the show. They show a nice little package on the Death Triangle/Best Friends feud, and then they have Schiavone talk to MJF. Even in a darker and empty arena, MJF is the best heel in the building. He says he’ll watch tonight while the roster kills himself and he makes better money. They insinuate that he and Shawn Spears are betting on the matches, and Spears gets more camera time than he has in months (sadly).
Lucha Bros vs. Best Friends
The difference in the noises that the viewing audience can hear now is somewhat jarring at times. This is a pretty standard tag team match. The Lucha Bros dial back their offense a bit, as there’s no sense killing themselves with dives with no audience in the building. There’s a ton of chops and thigh kicks from Pentagon here. Best Friends tease their signature hug, but opt for an elbow bump instead as a Coronavirus joke. Clever stuff there. Orange Cassidy is on commentary and is asleep the entire time. Lucha Bros win with the Package Piledriver/Double Stomp combo. After the match, Best Friends get a rough and awkward promo, where they say they want a parking lot brawl with the Lucha Bros on the next Dynamite.
Penelope Ford vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Riho vs. Kris Statlander
This is a four way dance with three of AEW’s top women’s contenders in the rankings. Ford and Riho continued their new feud, as they fought on AEW Dark this week (Ford got the surprise win there). This was fast-paced, and it was the tale of two matches. It started a bit slow and botch-heavy, but got pretty fun by the end. Aside from Ford totally missing a top rope hurricanrana, this was a pretty good outing. Kip Sabian looked like a total punk though, interfering blatantly in front of the referee multiple times before repeatedly getting beaten up by the women. This felt like it buried the referee here, as well as Sabian. Shida continues her nice 2020 run by pinning Ford with a knee. Ford is a creative athlete with a pretty high ceiling, but she took the pin here.
After the match, Schiavone talks to Colt Cabana. He references Colt being 2-0 in AEW. Colt says he loved the last match, but Penelope is being pulled down by Kip Sabian. Sabian overhears this, and comes and challenges Colt. Colt slaps Sabian, and Sabian walks off. I’m all for an undercard feud between Cabana and Sabian, but they HAVE to stop making Sabian look like such a loser. I know he’s a lower-tier heel, but the booking of him this week was atrocious.
Jon Moxley still wasn’t cleared, so he’s outside next to his car, talking to Tony Schiavone. He says he’s never been cleared in his career, and he’ll always find a way to be in the Inner Circles’ blind spot. Great quick soundbites by the cool, unpredictable Mox.
Butcher and Blade vs. Jurassic Express
The Bunny was missing this week, so I’m guessing she just stayed home for safety. This was a decent match where Butcher and Blade used their prowess and power to isolate Jungle Boy. The heels laid in intense, realistic shots all match long. This formula was simple, but tried-and-true. Luchasaurus gets the pin with a pancake-cutter combo.
The Dark Order comes out and says the Exalted One is near, and Chris Daniels comes out to tell them they’re lying. We get a promo on the big screen, as the Exalted One (under a hood) says the Dark Order now does what they want, when they want. He pulls up the hood, and it’s Brodie Lee (the former Luke Harper in WWE). He says people have doubted him in the past, and paid for it. Daniels and Kazarian turn around, and Lee is in the ring with the Dark Order. Lee lays them out and looks like he’s in great shape. I cannot say enough good things about this reveal. The promo was really cool, and Lee was the absolute best choice for this role. He’s a total package with top level star potential. With Lee as a tailor made fit here, this group is instantly a big deal. What a great payoff.
Jake Roberts cuts another very solid promo as he talks for the intimidating Lance Archer. Jake says they are here to get Cody’s attention. They don’t like being ignored, and now it’s personal. This is another perfect fit with star potential, and a great way to use a legend to put over a fresh talent. They go to a Lance Archer package, where a bunch of guys surround a ring out in a forest. In carny/circus style, Archer challenges everyone and lays them out one-by-one as Jake watches. This was well shot, had a nice location, and was a simple way of making Archer look like a badass.
Inner Circle vs. The Elite
This week’s main event is a six man tag, where the winning team gets the advantage to go first in the Blood and Guts match. This was an old school match that was given time to develop. Jericho was on commentary, and you can tell he was having a great time. Sammy Guevara led the various heels in singing “Judas” as he came out. The whole match was built around the isolation teamwork of the unified Inner Circle team, as The Elite tried to overcome their tension with the rogue Adam Page. Page and Jackson started surprisingly working together, but it backfired as Santana rolled up Jackson to win for the heels.
After the match, Jericho fills time by getting the mic and saying how unified and untouchable his group is. Suddenly, a white drone comes down from high in the arena. Matt Jackson says they aren’t at a disadvantage with Nick being hurt, because he called in a favor from an old friend. Matt Hardy appears in the audience, fired up in his “Broken” attire. He does the “delete” symbol as we go off the air. Man, I truly wish we had fans in the arena for the live pop that both Lee and Hardy would’ve gotten. I did not expect to see both of them debut on the same show. Hardy’s veteran presence and creativity is a great fit in AEW, and their buzz and star-power just went way up.
The show started slowly overall, but that last hour was absolute FIRE. The two tag matches were solid and the Archer stuff was excellent…but now we have BRODIE LEE and MATT HARDY in AEW. These are two major players with credibility, and even without getting a live reaction, their debuts felt important and meaningful. There’s no telling for certain when the next episode of Dynamite will air, but I certainly can’t wait to see the fallout.
