Adam Page vs Bryan Danielson
This was an excellent World Title match. It was bloody, intense, filled with drama and felt like a great culmination to this chapter of their rivalry although it wouldn’t surprise me if we get the third match at Revolution.
Danielson continues his streak of amazing matches and Page proved he is more than capable of hanging in the ring with the best of the best and the chemistry these two men have is incredible.
It’ll come down to personal preference on whether you think this match was better than the time limit draw, and with both standing out in their own way, I can see both arguments in what the better match was.
With that being said though, I like how both matches still blend together in the larger story. The pace of this match and the intensity to it told a story that these two men were never going to go to the time limit draw. There was going to be a winner with no time wasted as they literally bled for the gold.
They had many call-backs to the time limit draw but also to Danielson’s matches against the Dark Order with him busting out various submissions to try and keep Page down.
As ruthless as Bryan was, he wouldn’t be able to take the World Title from Page as the Buckshot Lariat would slay the American Dragon as Adam Page retains the World Title.
I’m not sure who the next challenger for the World Title will be. My guess would be possibly Miro, but if Jon Moxley is returning soon then I think that could be a good matchup with their history. Either way I am glad they had Page go over clean with the strong win.
MJF vs Shawn Dean
Not really much of a match as CM Punk runs down as MJF retreats to the ramp. Punk then hits Shawn Dean with the GTS for a moment of confusion before it’s revealed that MJF technically looses the match via disqualification which means he starts the year with no wins and one loss.
I believe this might’ve been the first time AEW has done a disqualification finish and it was done as a story device, so I don’t have too much of an issue with it. Hopefully it can lead to a little feud later in the year between Shawn Dean and MJF, maybe even a match against Punk rather than having him completely ignore what happened.
The match was used to set up a back-and-forth promo between Punk and MJF. Punk says that he will keep doing this until he gets a match with Max. MJF brings up Roddy Piper and how unlike CM Punk, Piper actually main evented a Wrestlemania and that if he doesn’t get the respect he deserves around here then he might go and main event a mania himself.
Punk laughs him off and says he only wants to kick MJF’s ass and if he wants to leave, he can go main event a ‘buy one get one free four-night extravaganza,’ get released faster than he does in the sack and when he comes back Punk will be here to kick his ass. He makes the challenge and MJF teases he is going to accept it but instead says that next week it’ll be Punk against Wardlow.
Wardlow vs Antonio Zambrano
Shawn Spears hits the C4 to Zambrano on the outside and tells Wardlow to pin him immediately. Wardlow wasn’t too impressed with Spears and instead delivers a powerbomb symphony with a total of five powerbombs as he gets the quick win.
I always love when something simple as a powerbomb can be used to get someone over if the crowd buy into it and the reactions get louder each week for Wardlow. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if we get some Wardlow love in his match against Punk.
Jade Cargill vs Ruby Soho
The final of the TBS Title Tournament. They showed Jade’s daughter in the crowd which was a nice moment.
Mercedes Martinez tries to get involved early in the match, but Thunder Rosa runs down the as two brawl to the back to continue their feud.
I didn’t think this match was as good as Jade vs Rosa, but I still thought Jade looked decent and Soho did her best. I like the story of Ruby having to fight with one arm as she tried different ways to overcome Jade’s size and power, but in the end it wouldn’t be enough.
I think the best compliment to give to Jade is that she never looks embarrassing in the ring to the point that she doesn’t belong there. She’s a work in progress, but the talent is there and there are little things in her game that show that she will become even better down the track.
But should she be the TBS Champion? I think I would’ve preferred Soho if the idea is that the TBS Title is the women’s equivalent of the TNT Title then you would want it on someone that can go out there and have those killer matches on a regular basis.
However, Jade is being pushed as the unbeatable star. She has the look and is someone they believe can bring some mainstream attention to them, so I understand Jade being the champion. I think as long as you keep her matches short against lessor opponents and her longer matches being against experienced veterans then it should be a decent title reign.
Malakai Black vs Brian Pillman Jr.
Julia Hart made her return after being out selling the effects of the mist sprayed in her eyes. She also wore an eyepatch.
They mentioned how Julia was a lot more serious ringside. Pillman also brought a lot of intensity in the ring, and they made it feel personal with him trying to get revenge for Julia and Griff Garrison.
The match was kept short but still enough time for Brian to get some offense in. The ending sees him slip off the tope rope into a devastating kick from Black as Malakai makes the cover for the pin.
I like the finish as it was the mistake from Pillman that led to him losing and it’s something they can further explore. I’m hoping we get to see some follow up with the Varsity Blondes and Julia Hart as this short feud with Black has allowed them to have some character development and I think there is more to tell with them.
As for Black, it looks like he will be moving on to something with the Lucha Brothers as post-match they come out to save Julia Hart and Pillman with Malakai playing mind games with them. Looking likely that we will be getting Malakai teaming up with Brody King to feud against Death Triangle.
Other Segments
- Chris Jericho and 2.0 had an in-ring segment which relied a lot on vintage Jericho and humour. It was fine with some funny lines, but its main purpose was to hype up the six-man match on Rampage between Kingston, Santana & Ortiz against Garcia & 2.0 as Garcia and 2.0 try to ambush Jericho but Kingston, Santana & Ortiz run out for the save.
- Serena Deeb had a sit-down interview with Jim Ross hyping up the match next week against Hikaru Shida. Deeb sounded great and she is set for a big 2022 if they continue to push her. I think she should be in line for a shot at one of the women’s championships whenever they decide to put the gold on a face.
- Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly had a backstage promo. There is still some friction between Kyle and Adam, and Adam mentions that with the Young Bucks on their side they would become an unstoppable supergroup.
- Ruby Soho is being interviewed after being defeated by Jade. It’s interrupted by Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter and Rebel. Britt basically calls Ruby a loser as it’s the second time she has failed in winning the big match. It leads to a brawl with Riho getting involved and setting up a tag team match with Soho & Riho against Baker & Hayter for Rampage.
- The Acclaimed called out Sting & Darby. They announce that next week they’ll be dropping a music video targeting them.
Lucha Brothers vs Jurassic Express
If you like Lucha Brothers matches, then you will like this match. One of the criticisms will be the amount of time they allowed all four men to be in the ring at once, and it was something Jim Ross brought up on commentary.
But if you’re someone that can look pass that and don’t mind matches where it’s more about hitting big moves then you will enjoy the action that all four men brought to the ring.
Jungle Boy was great and had brought a lot of confidence as he continues his progression into Jungle Man. Fenix was spectacular as always although there was a scary spot where Luchasarus puts him through a table with fears that Fenix might’ve broken his arm, but it appears he should be okay.
There was a moment in the match when the lights go out, but nothing really came from it. I assume it was Malakai Black continuing to play mind games on the Lucha Brothers but it kind of felt unnecessarily here if that was the case.
Overall, it was a good World Tag Title match with a lot of destroyers if you like those and being in the main event made it feel special. Jurassic Express would score the win after Jungle Boy rolled up Penta for the three count. They celebrate with Christian after the match and show shots of Jungle’s mother and sister at ringside, really putting it over as a big moment in Jungle Boy’s career, but also just as big for Luchasarus.
Before Dynamite goes off the air for the first time on TBS, we get a bunch of the heel tag teams appear on the stage signalling that they are coming for the new champions as well as shots of wrestlers sitting in the crowd watching.
Final Thoughts
It was a very good episode of Dynamite on its TBS debut. The World Title match was by far match of the night and an early contender for match of the year. The main event was fun and had a big ending with the titles changing, and we got a solid Punk and MJF promo thrown in. Dynamite finished second on cable for Wednesday night and averaged 1,010,000 viewers with a 0.43 in the 18-49 demographic and a huge 0.34 in the 18-34 demo.