The Opening
Dynamite kicked off with CM Punk making his way to commentary before Dante Martin and Malakai Black made their way to the ring. It was a fun match to start the show and one of Dante’s best performances in his young career.
Most of the story of the match revolved around Malakai Black working on Dante’s leg, as he tried to keep Dante grounded and take away his speed and ariel ability. Dante sold it well, as he kept trying to use his offense, but it would be flawed as the leg injury would hamper him.
I also like the idea that if it were a veteran in the ring against Malakai then they would be able to change their in ring style and find a different way to win, for Dante, at this point in his career most of his in ring style is based around his high flying move set so he had to find a way to fight through the pain to pull off an upset.
Malakai would get the win after hitting Dante with a Black Mass. Lio Rush was ringside as the manager of Dante, and during the end it looked he tried to give Dante some advice and told him not to go to the top, but Martin didn’t listen. This was a good match though and it continues to show the potential Dante has and his understanding of psychology and storytelling in a match.
As Black was walking up the ramp he would turn around for a moment and nod his head at Dante as a sign of respect. Malakai once again is looking like a complete badass and remains undefeated as he heads into his third match against Cody Rhodes next week on Dynamite.
The Super Frogs
The Lucha Brothers took on the Andrade’s tag team pick, the legendary ‘Super Frogs’ from Mexico. CM Punk was quick to point out on commentary that the Frogs are actually FTR in disguise, and much to my shock he was indeed correct as during the match the Lucha Brothers would reveal that The Super Frogs were Cash Wheeler and Dax Hardwood.
The match itself was fine but I felt like the gimmick of it and the crowd reaction got in the way of it. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though, this match was more about the story they are trying to tell rather than going out and putting on match of the night. But it did seem like Miami was hoping for a legit team from Mexico to fight for the titles.
FTR would get the win and be crowned the new AAA Tag Team Champions after Tully Blanchard came down to provide a distraction allowing Hardwood to use one of the belts to hit Ray Fenix in the head as he came down delivering a moonsault.
The rematch will be what everyone is talking about. This felt more like a tease of what to eventually expect and when both teams get to that eventual rematch, I have no doubt they’ll tear the house down.
Later in the show they would reveal that Andrade paid MJF for FTR’s assistance. It’ll be interesting if it leads to anything in the future with Andrade and The Pinnacle or if it’s more of a one off and a way to put the AAA Tag Team Titles on a different team.
Wild Thing, Paradigm Shift, Job Done
Wheeler Yuta accompanied by Orange Cassidy came down as Yuta awaited his opponent. Mox came out looking serious. He entered the ring, beat down Yuta and won the match in about 45 seconds before then leaving the ring.
I was a little surprised with how quick for the match. In recent times they have given Mox these short five minute matches that allow his opponents to get some spots in and I thought we were going to get that with Wheeler Yuta, but what we got was a dominant squash win for Mox.
It makes him look strong though as heads into the Eliminator Tournament and they are continuing to push Mox with more of a heel edge. We also got to see a more serious and concerned Orange Cassidy as he was checking on his friend in the ring. It’s most likely we are getting Moxley against Cassidy in the semi-finals, and it should be a lot of fun.
The SuperKliq vs The Dark Order
The Dark Order were represented by Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, and Jon Silver. Some people are going to love this match, other people aren’t going to like it as much. It was all action from the beginning. The match felt like something taken from the independent scene or a match form PWG but put on national television.
If you’re into that style of professional wrestling, then this is definitely one for you. I was really impressed by Alex Reynolds. We all know the talent of The Young Bucks and Adam Cole. Evil Uno is a veteran and Silver has been one of the standouts in AEW in recent times, but I felt that Reynolds never got lost in the action and showed a lot of fire especially during the final stretch of the match.
There was a big moment in the match when Evil Uno took one of Nick Jackson’s socks and forced it down Nick’s mouth which received a big ‘socko’ chant. It could’ve been something spontaneous, but with Mick Foley’s recent appearance in GCW and it looking like him having a falling out with WWE, there could be more to read with the spot.
The SuperKliq would get the win after Adam Cole hit the Panama Sunrise on Reynolds, followed by the BTE Trigger from the Bucks and then eventually the Boom by Cole. Post-match, Jungle Boy runs down to the ring to try and get some revenge on the SuperKliq after they earlier alongside Kenny Omega ambushed Jurassic Express in the back.
Penelope Ford vs Kiera Hogan
They had a fine match. Both women have a lot of potential but there wasn’t much build up to it and it was more of a showcase match. I think Ford is already a good heel in the division and Kiera Hogan has proven in other companies that she has the makings to be a top star in AEW so it’s only a matter of time before they put her into a proper story.
Penelope Ford got the win as they continue to build to the eventual TBS Title Tournament. Post-match Ruby Soho ran down to attack Penelope after Ford laid her out on Rampage 24 hours earlier with the brass knuckles. The Bunny comes down to aid Ford as Ruby stands tall in the ring as they tease a showdown in the upcoming tournament.
The American Dragon and a Red Dragon
This was a fun match and continues Bryan’s streak of great matches. When he had the match against Kenny Omega, as spectacular as it was, there was still a feeling of the WWE version of Bryan in the ring. Since the match against Nick Jackson on Rampage it now feels that The American Dragon is back, and it was again evident here.
24 hours ago Bryan put on a stellar performance against the legendary Minoru Suzuki and to come out the next night and back it up shows how good he is. Both men showed their technical side and spent much of the match viciously working over various body parts.
It built and built to a big moment when Bobby Fish hit Bryan with an Avalanche Falcon Arrow for a big nearfall. They both exchanged some brutal kicks while both were tied up. Bryan would get the win as he made Fish tap out after locking him in a heel hook.
I love how Danielson has been winning matches in different ways. He has his signature moves that he can win by, but he also can break you down and win by a more standard submission but adding a slight edge to it. It makes all of his matches unpredictable as you don’t know how it’s going to finish, and it really puts Bryan over as this dangerous wrestling machine.
Other Segments
- The Inner Circle reunited and had a back-and-forth argument with American Top Team. Dan Lambert received an insane amount of heat again. I thought Santana sounded great on the mic, and Jericho had some lines targeted towards Paige VanZant. They ended with a challenge for a five vs five match with Men of the Year having to find some partners, as well as either Scorpio or Ethan Page challenging Sammy for the TNT Title.
- MJF came out to run down Darby and saying that he has broken him mentally. MJF has Wardlow bring out referee Bryce Remsburg and forces him to stat a ten count. The lights go and Sting makes an appearance. He enters the ring and Max throws Wardlow into Sting as Sting hits him with the baseball bat. MJF retreats to the top of the stage as the tensions between him and Wardlow continue.
- A video package on location with Cody Rhodes and Arn Anderson at The Nightmare Family warehouse. It was basically Cody taking on the rest of the Nightmare Family as Arn tries to get him ready. Arn shows a photo of Dusty giving Arn a bloody beatdown and says that Cody has to reach that place if he is to beat Malakai next week.
- Adam Page cut an amazing promo about the meaning of ‘Cowboy Shit.’ It was the perfect way to set up the World Title match against Kenny Omega and showed that Hangman now has his confidence back.
- Serena Deeb and Hikaru Shida had a backstage brawl and later in the show Britt Baker and Anna Jay had a similar one. Baker and Jay are scheduled for an upcoming match.