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The Inner Circle.Credit: AEW
This week’s AEW Dynamite returned to its usual arena setting after spending last week on Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea.
All Elite Wrestling is building toward its next pay-per-view on February 29, Revolution. The only confirmed match for the event is Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley, and their feud was on full display this week.
We also got to see The Young Bucks in action against The Butcher and the Blade, while Cody Rhodes took on Kip Sabian, and Nyla Rose battled Big Swole. The Hybrid2 took on SCU and the main event saw Darby Allin and Private Party take on Jericho, Santana and Ortiz.
We also got another promo from Britt Baker to further her heel turn and a few interesting video packages from Pac and The Dark Order.
Let’s take a look at everything that happened on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
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Credit: AEW
Dynamite opened with Jon Moxley making his way through the crowd. He was wearing an eye patch to sell his injury from last week at the hands of Chris Jericho.
He gave a promo hyping his upcoming match against Jericho for the AEW World Championship at Revolution. It was all very routine.
He called out his opponent, and Le Champion did not make him wait long. Y2J insulted Moxley’s mother and told him everything that has happened up until now is his fault because he turned down Jericho’s offer to join The Inner Circle.
He did the usual heel speech about how Cleveland didn’t deserve to see him fight on Wednesday night before calling out the rest of his group to join him on the stage.
Mox said he would fight everyone if he had to and prepared to do battle. Y2J said they brought in some special help for the night. Santana and Ortiz called out a group they referred to as thugs to join them.
As expected, Moxley did not back down and tried to take on all 10 men before security came out to break up the fight.
Grade: B-
Analysis
Moxley is as over with the AEW crowd as anyone in the company. He received a huge ovation and a couple of chants when he made his way to the ring.
Opening the show with the No. 1 contender giving a promo is a very WWE thing to do, but that isn’t a bad thing. WWE is successful for a reason and taking a few format ideas isn’t going to hurt AEW.
Jericho and Moxley are arguably the two biggest stars in AEW. The hardcore and casual fans love both of them, so more people are likely to stick around than they would be if the show opened with two lesser-known talents.
As far as quality is concerned, this segment was fine. Both men are great on the mic, but we have seen all of this before when they feuded in WWE.
Jericho looked like the villain he is and Moxley was the devil-may-care loner he has been since joining the company. The goal was accomplished.
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The Butcher, The Blade and The Bunny.Credit: AEW
AEW’s newest tag team took on its most prominent in the opening match of the night when The Butcher and the Blade took on The Young Bucks.
Matt and Nick Jackson controlled the first couple of minutes before The Blade took out both Bucks with one stiff clothesline. The Bunny did her job at ringside and yanked Matt off the apron so The Blade could lay him out at ringside.
The villains dominated the match for some time before Matt and Nick made one of their trademark comebacks. The Bucks won but The Butcher and Blade attacked them after it was over. Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page made the save to end the segment.
Grade: B-
Analysis
MJF joined the commentary team and reminded us why he is one of the best heels in AEW. He sounded convincing with his words while never taking away too much focus from the action in the ring.
We all know how good The Young Bucks are at this point. Even if they aren’t your cup of tea, it’s hard to deny the technical ability and experience they possess.
The Butcher and The Blade are going to take time to establish themselves, but they are off to a good start. The crowd already gives them decent heat, and The Bunny has shined in her role as a manager.
This match was good if a bit forgettable, but it was clear AEW has taken some of the criticisms of its tag team division to heart. More attention is being paid to tags, and the illegal partner for both teams was never in the ring for an excessive amount of time.
The brief moment with Page handing Nick his drink so he could hit a Buckshot Lariat before taking a swig and leaving was funny, and it added to the growing tension between Hangman and The Elite.
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Credit: AEW
Nyla Rose used her considerable power advantage to control the pace from the opening bell. Big Swole tried to knock her down with a shoulder tackle, and it was like she ran into a brick wall.
AEW usually has split screens of the action during the commercial breaks but this match did not get that luxury. When we returned, Swole was just beginning to make a comeback.
The underdog came close but Rose put her away with a powerbomb to score the win.
Grade: C
Analysis
Big Swole is a star who is just waiting for her time to shine. She is still new to AEW, but fans of indie wrestling know her well. She has only been wrestling for five years and has already built up a good reputation.
Rose has been booked somewhat sporadically, which makes it hard for the fans to connect with her as a heel. She was getting good heat at the end of the match, but she is not as reviled as a vicious heel should be.
They did not have a lot of chemistry in the ring but everything they did hit the mark. There was no feud behind this match so it was difficult to be invested in the outcome when it was predictable.
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Credit: AEW
Kip Sabian rushed Cody and hit a dropkick as soon as the ref called for the bell. He tried to capitalize but The American Nightmare ended up sending him out of the ring.
Sabian shoved Arn Anderson to get under his skin because he knew Double A wouldn’t hit him back as it would get Cody disqualified.
Penelope Ford stood behind Cody and taunted him until he accidentally knocked her down. She pretended to be hurt long enough for Sabian to take advantage of the distraction.
Ford threw one of her boots into the ring and Anderson threw it into the crowd. He pushed the referee a bit and was kicked from ringside as a result. Ford took Cody down with a hurricanrana while the ref was dealing with Sabian.
Once he had the upper hand, Cody hit his finisher three times before finally making the cover.
Grade: B
Analysis
This was a good match but there was a little too much happening outside the ring. All the drama with Anderson and Ford would have been fine in a longer match but it kept Cody and Sabian from reaching their full potential.
Ford is great as a scheming heel manager who is capable of getting her hands dirty when the need arises. She was just misused in this bout.
Cody and Sabian worked well together so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them paired up again once The American Nightmare is done with MJF.
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Credit: AEW
Britt Baker came out for another interview with Tony Schiavone to address what happened last week during their exchange in the ring.
The Dentist was in full heel mode here. She insulted Schiavone again before focusing her attacks on Jim Ross. If anyone had any doubt she was turning heel, that was washed away with this segment.
Grade: B+
Analysis
Baker was struggling to get over as a babyface so AEW is wise to take her character in this direction. You can’t always hear the AEW crowd too well, but it was easy to hear the boos she was receiving.
She leaned into her life as a dentist perfectly because so many fans have mocked how many times the announcers remind us of her non-wrestling career every week.
This was her strongest promo to date and will hopefully be the thing she needs to start gaining momentum once more.
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Credit: Lee South/AEW
Christopher Daniels, Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian came out for their match with Jack Evans and Angelico wearing Kobe Bryant jerseys to pay tribute to the late basketball legend.
The match began with a basic technical exchange of takedowns and counters. The pace picked up gradually over time in a natural way, which is something we do not always see in tag team matches.
Evans and Angelico looked good in this match, but SCU was the team that ended up taking home the win.
Grade: B
Analysis
Evans and Angelico are talented wrestlers, but AEW has given us no reason to care about them. They have had almost no mic time so fans who are not familiar with their indie work don’t know what to make of them.
It’s not often we see The Young Bucks outshined, but this match was better than than the one they had with The Butcher and The Blade earlier in the show.
Daniels’ storyline with The Dark Order continued after the match with a quick video message from Evil Uno and Stu Grayson. They promised to go after everyone Daniels holds dear.
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Credit: Lee South/AEW
The main event of the night saw Darby Allin team up with Private Party to take on Chris Jericho, Santana and Ortiz. As usual, Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager were not far behind.
Allin shocked Le Champion with his unconventional style and sent him running to the corner to tag Ortiz. Isiah Kassidy and Marc Quen helped kick things up a notch until Y2J intervened as the show cut to a commercial.
When we returned, The Inner Circle had taken control. They cornered Kassidy by using quick tags and double team moves to keep him away from his partners.
The good guys had the lead for a bit, but one Judas Effect from Jericho put Kassidy down for the pin.
Le Champion told his cronies to attack Allin after the match was over. They proceeded to drive Allin’s own skateboard into his throat before Moxley ran down with a baseball bat to make the save.
Grade: B
Analysis
Six-man tag team matches can be tricky sometimes. There are a lot of people to keep track of, especially when everyone starts getting involved toward the end.
AEW has been criticized on social media for sloppy officiating during tag bouts due to the level of mayhem that often occurs, especially when both teams are filled with high-flyers.
Thankfully, that seems to have been addressed. All three tag bouts were easier to follow than what we have seen in the past without sacrificing the high-impact style AEW likes to display.
This was a decent main event, but The Inner Circle did not need this victory. Private Party and Allin would have gained so much more.
