‘AEW: Dynamite’ Review (Oct 18th 2023)

Welcome to this week’s review of AEW Dynamite, which was broadcast live from the Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, Texas. We’ve just got Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Taz on commentary this week, so let’s get into the review!

Match #1: “Switchblade” Jay White def. Penta El Zero Miedo

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Jay White walked out wearing the championship he stole from rightful AEW World champion MJF. Penta wiped out Bullet Club Gold, jumping over the top rope and crashing onto them as they made their entrance. Penta followed up with a sling blade to Jay White! Penta El Zero Miedo crushed White with a diving double foot stomp for a near fall. Jay White spiked Penta El Zero Miedo with a DDT. Jay White hit a snap suplex on Penta El Zero Miedo. Penta connected with a thrust kick. Penta was looking for a monkey flip in the corner, but Jay White dodged it and then chopped Penta, sending Penta crashing to the arena floor. Penta El Zero Miedo retaliated with two consecutive sling blades to Switchblade! Penta jumped over the top rope, landing on Jay White on the arena floor! Back in the ring, Penta and White exchanged chops. Penta planted Jay White with a spinning Death Valley Driver! Penta was looking for the package piledriver, but Jay White countered with a uranage. Jay White drilled Penta El Zero Miedo with a brain buster for a two-count. Jay White nailed Penta with a sleeper suplex. Penta countered the Blade Runner with Made in Japan for a two-count! The Gunns distracted the ref while Juice clocked Penta with the left hand! Jay White smashed Penta with the Blade Runner and pinned him!

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #2: World Title Eliminator ‘Student vs. Teacher’ Match – Hikaru Shida def. Emi Sakura

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Sakura ambushed Shida as Shida was entering the ring. Sakura collided into Shida with a shoulder tackle. They traded chops in the center of the ring. Sakura went for a running cross body, but Shida countered with a knee strike. Sakura dropkicked Shida in the face while Shida was on her knees. Sakura splashed Shida in the corner with a running cross body press. Sakura sent Shida crashing to the floor after a running cross body as Shida was standing on the ring apron. Shida took down Sakura with a hurracanrana. Shida followed up with a missile dropkick for a near fall. Emi planted Shida with a Tiger Driver for a two-count! Shida dodged a moonsault and blasted Emi with the katana! Sakura nailed Shida with a back breaker. Shida fired back with a Falcon Arrow for a near fall. Shida rocked Emi with a knee strike and pinned her!

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #3: Wardlow def. Ryan Nemeth

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Nick charged at Wardlow but Wardlow powerbombed him. The ref stopped the match after a single powerbomb!

My Score: 0 out of 5

Match #4: Kenny Omega def. Kyle Fletcher

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Fletcher got the jump on Omega as Omega entered the ring. Kenny jabbed Fletcher with stiff shots. Omega chopped at Kyle Fletcher. Fletcher grounded and pounded on Omega. Kenny fired back with a vertical suplex. Omega jumped over the top rope with a cross body press down onto Kyle Fletcher. Fletcher rocked Omega with a kick, knocking Omega off the apron and onto the arena floor. Fletcher whipped Omega into the steel guardrail, sending him over the barricade. Omega nailed Fletcher with a hurracanrana. Omega was looking for the Terminator Dive, but Fletcher grabbed Omega’s ankle. Both men traded chops outside the ring. Kenny charged at Kyle, but Kyle tripped him, and Omega crashed into the barricade. Omega wiped out Fletcher with a middle rope moonsault. Kenny clocked Kyle with a dropkick from the top rope to the lower back. Kyle spiked Omega with a half and half suplex. Fletcher followed up with a brainbuster for a near fall. Fletcher lawn darted Omega into the turnbuckle pad. Fletcher kicked Omega in the back of the head. Omega spiked Fletcher with a reverse hurracanrana and followed up with a powerbomb and a V-Trigger for a two-count! Kenny went for the One-Winged Angel. Fletcher countered with a dragon sleeper. Omega escaped and planted Kyle with a snap dragon suplex. Omega rammed into Fletcher with a knee strike and then pinned Kyle with the One Winged Angel!

My Score: 4 out of 5

Match #5: “The MurderHawk Monster” Lance Archer vs. Barrett Brown

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Archer choke slammed his opponent on the ring apron! Archer suplexed Brown. Archer smashed into his opponent three consecutive times in the corner. Archer planted Brown and pinned him!

My Score: 0 out of 5

Match #6: Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale – Winner: Juice Robinson

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

The winner earns their shot to face AEW World Champion MJF for the Dynamite Diamond Ring. “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes was the first participant out to the ring. AEW World Champion MJF joined the broadcast booth for the main event. Matt Hardy slugged it out with Jake Hager. Jeff Hardy tried to hoist Juice Robinson over the top. Johnny TV and Daniel Garcia were about to have a dance off, but Menard stopped Garcia. Jeff splashed Menard in the corner. Hager hurled Matt Hardy over the top rope and eliminated him. MJF walked to ringside. MJF offered cash to Dustin and whispered in his ear, wanting him to eliminate Juice Robinson. Dustin kicked Juice between the legs. Komander hit a springboard dropkick to Hager. Menard and Garcia caught Komander and eliminated him. Trent suplexed Garcia. Dustin smashed Garcia with a Canadian Destroyer. Trent rammed into Hager and knocked him to the arena floor. Menard eliminated Trent. Jeff Hardy was thrown over the top by Garcia. Daniel Garcia inadvertently collided with Menard. Garcia eliminated Dustin Rhodes. Caster tossed Garcia out of the match. Max was trying to push Juice out of the ring. Caster kicked Juice. Caster charged at Juice, but Juice speared him between the ropes. Juice and Caster jockeyed for position on the ring apron. Juice gouged Max Caster’s eyes. Caster pushed Juice off the top rope. Caster hit the Mic Drop! Jay White ambushed MJF at the broadcast booth. They began to brawl on the ramp. MJF grounded and pounded Jay White and got his AEW World Championship back. Jay White connected with a low blow to the champ. Juice Robinson dug into his pocket and pulled out his ring. Juice slugged Caster with the Left Hand of God with the ring on it! Juice eliminated Caster and Jay White took the championship belt back from MJF!

My Score: 2 out of 5

Final Verdict: 3/5

Another week, another fall into “sports entertainment” territory for AEW. Some weeks it really feels like Tony Khan is focusing far too much on promos, interviews and vignettes rather than storytelling in the ring – which was AEW’s USP back in the day. I get it, wrestling needs a narrative but sacrificing matches for talking is not the way to go. Especially when you stacked your show with not one but TWO squash matches. Total waste. But hey, at least we got Lance Archer on TV (when was the last time he felt like a big deal in AEW? Or he was on TV for that matter?) Thankfully the matches we did get – outside of the predictable and frankly boring Battle Royale main event – were of excellent quality. Jay White and Penta put on a banger of an opening match, setting the bar high for all that followed. You knew Jay was going to get the win given the current Bullet Club Gold storyline(s) and he needed it; it’s a testament to how over Penta is that he can take a loss and it won’t affect him at all. The second match of the night was the only women’s match on the card this week but what a match! The student versus teacher thing we’ve seen before but it gave the match a deeper meaning and the fact that Shida and Emi Sakura just beat the crap out of each other (anyone else think that some of their moves weren’t as “pulled” as they are facing American wrestlers?) took this to the next level. We had to sit through a shit squash match and a terrible Warldow segment – WTF was the point of smacking into Tony Schiavone? Added nothing to the segment other than make Wardlow look like a douchebag. Up next was a fantastic singles match between Aussie Open’s Kyle Fletcher and Kenny Omega, which 100% proved the decision to let Fletcher have a singles run whilst his tag partner is out injured was totally the correct choice. Spot on! This match was the highlight of this week’s show and really should have been the main event, not the risible Battle Royale… The overall score this week was dragged down by the squash matches, far too many promos and the less-than-stellar main event; all of which are totally skippable. Just watch the good stuff on YouTube. Trust me.