‘AEW: Dynamite’ Review (April 13th 2022)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dynamite, which was broadcast live from the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. As usual we have Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, and Jim Ross on commentary and ANOTHER stacked card!
Match #1: CM Punk def. Penta Oscuro
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
They had a stare down and then shoved one another. Neither Punk nor Penta would back down. Punk chopped and then Penta fired back an elbow strike. Things broke down and they traded a flurry of strikes. Punk was looking for the GTS early but Penta Oscura countered and went for an ankle lock. Punk countered by sending Penta Oscura facefirst into the turnbuckle. Penta retaliated with a sling blade for a near fall on Punk. Penta Oscuro kicked CM Punk in the quad and then threw him to the arena floor. Punk was waiting and jumped back into the ring—only to rocket himself to the outside onto Penta Oscuro with a tope suicida! Punk slipped off the top rope, landing on his knee, and began writhing in pain. Penta Oscuro quickly went to work on Punk’s knee. Punk fired back with a hurracanrana off the top rope. He followed up with a rising knee strike to Penta Oscuro. Punk was trying for the GTS but Penta dropped elbows on Punk. Somehow Punk transitioned to the Anaconda Vice but Penta Oscuro managed to reach the ropes, forcing the ref to break the hold. Punk and Penta Oscuro went toe to toe on the ring apron. Penta booted Punk in the midsection and tried to go for Fear Factor. Punk connected with a roundhouse kick to Penta Oscuro, knocking Penta back into the ring. Punk followed up with a springboard lariat. Punk rocked Penta Oscuro with a rising knee strike in the corner. Punk hoisted up Penta Oscuro and went for the GTS but Penta blocked it! Penta drilled Punk with an enzaguri kick! Penta cradled Punk for a near fall. Penta Oscuro knocked Punk silly with a kick. Punk caught Penta in midair and drilled him with the GTS for the pin!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #2: AEW World Tag Team Title Match – Jurassic Express def. reDRagon
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Jungle Boy dropkicked Bobby Fish, but Fish kicked at the inside of Jungle Boy’s knee. Kyle tagged in and put Jungle Boy in a headlock. Luchasaurus tagged in and put his boots to good use on Kyle O’Reilly. Outside the ring, Bobby Fish used a dragon screw on Luchasaurus, chopping the big man down. ReDRagon used tandem offense on Luchasaurus in their corner. Jungle Boy tagged in and body slammed Bobby Fish. He hit a comebacker lariat on Kyle and then a tope suicida. And then Jungle Boy his a top suicida on Bobby Fish! While Kyle distracted the ref, Fish yanked Jungle Boy’s arm and pulled him down, with Jungle Boy’s shoulder smashing into the edge of the ring! Luckily Luchasaurus cleaned house on ReDRagon with a double chokeslam and then a standing moonsault press on Kyle for a near fall! ReDRagon double teamed Jungle Boy and Kyle put Jungle Boy into a cross arm breaker! Jungle Boy reached the ropes with his foot and the ref broke up the hold. Bobby Fish hit an avalanche falcon arrow on Jungle Boy but Luchasaurus broke up the pinfall. Kyle and Luchasaurus traded strikes. Jungle Boy DDT’ed Kyle! Luchasaurus cracked Fish with a tail whip! After their tandem finisher, Jungle Boy pinned Bobby Fish!
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #3: Captain Shawn Dean def. MJF
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
MJF blindsided Shawn Dean from behind. MJF grabbed Dean’s arm and whipped him into the turnbuckles. Backstage footage showed us that security was knocked out. MJF was ringside when Wardlow, dressed as AEW security, surprised MJF. MJF ran off! Shawn Spears cracked Wardlow from behind with a steel chair but Wardlow shrugged it off! An army of security swarmed Wardlow! Because of the sea of security guards holding Wardlow back, MJF couldn’t get back into the ring. MJF was counted out of the ring, and the winner was Captain Shawn Dean!
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #4: Trios Match – The Jericho Appreciation Society def. Eddie Kingston, Santana & Ortiz
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Jericho flipped off Santana at the start of the match. Santana connected with a stray punch to Jericho. Santana dropped big right hands-on Jericho. Santana connected with a big boot. Kingston teed off on Garcia outside the ring while Ortiz went after Hager! Santana pursued Jericho but Santana caught Jericho and drilled him with forehead punches. Hager flattened Ortiz back in the ring. Ortiz tried to even the odds with a dropkick to Hager’s knee. Garcia tagged in and used the ground and pound attack on Ortiz. Jericho tagged back in with a cocky cover on Ortiz but Ortiz pushed Jericho off. Ortiz finally made the tag to Kingston, who then suplexed Garcia. Santana tagged in and hit the three amigos suplexes on Garcia! Santana followed up with a frog splash for a near fall on Garcia! Kingston collided with Hager with a tope suicida! Santana jumped out of the ring! Ortiz wiped out Angelo Parker Matt Menard on the outside. Kingston slapped Garcia and followed up with an exploder suplex! Jericho cracked Kingston in the back with Jericho’s baseball bat, unbeknownst to the ref, and then Garcia pinned Kinston!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #5: Marina Shafir def. Skye Blue
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Marina hurled Blue around with Judo throws. Marina chucked Blue to the mat. TBS Champion Jade Cargill and “Smart” Mark Sterling were seen watching backstage. Marina Shafir hurled Blue overhead. Marina hit Blue in the sternum with a palm strike. Marina locked Marina in a triangle and forced her to tap out!
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #6: Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs def. Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Swerve and Starks began the match for their respective teams. Starks quickly tagged out to Hobbs. Swerve ducked shots from Hobbs but then Hobbs shoulder blocked Swerve! Hobbs tossed Swerve with a fallaway slam. Starks tagged in, walked the ropes, and dropped an elbow onto Swerve. Keith Lee tagged in and went for overhead chops but Starks ducked them. Swerve held back Starks while Lee connected with overhead chops! The sound of the chops echoed throughout the arena. Swerve launched himself off the chest of Keith Lee and then backflipped onto Hobbs and Starks who were outside the ring! Hobbs got to his feet and shoulder tackled Swerve! Back in the ring, Keith Lee manhandled Starks in the corner. Hobbs splashed Keith Lee from behind. Starks connected with a knee strike. Lee lifted Starks and hurled him at Hobbs! Swerve and Lee used a combination assault on Starks for a near fall! Starks speared Swerve! Starks blasted Swerve with a flipping DDT for a two-count! Hobbs and Lee faced off but Hobbs was an illegal man and the ref forced him out of the ring. Starks nailed Lee with a kick. Taz walked out to the ring. Hobbs blocked a tornado DDT from Starks but Starks speared Hobbs. Starks covered Lee but Swerve broke up the count with a 450 splash. Taz grabbed Lee’s boot while the ref was distracted and then Hobbs planted Lee with the spinebuster. Hobbs pinned Keith Lee after the interference.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #7: ROH World TV Title Match – Samoa Joe def. Minoru Suzuki
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt were ringside. Joe and Suzuki traded hard palm strikes. Joe staggered Suzuki with a forearm to the jaw. Suzuki fired back with a forearm to Joe and Joe smiled. Joe lured Suzuki in and used his 80lb weight advantage to drive Suzuki off his feet. Suzuki trapped Joe in the ropes with an arm bar! Joe was able to reverse the momentum and began to stretch Suzuki, putting all his weight on Suzuki. Suzuki kicked Joe in the chest for a near fall. Suzuki was looking for the Gotch-style piledriver but instead decided for another chop fest with Joe! Suzuki ducked a chop but Joe came back with a side suplex. Suzuki connected with a well-placed dropkick on Samoa Joe. Suzuki tried for the Gotch style piledriver but Joe backed out of it. Joe used his bulk to push Suzuki back into the turnbuckles. Joe nailed Suzuki with the muscle buster and pinned him! Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal had a present for Joe… a middle finger! The lights went out in the arena! When the lights returned, Satnam Singh made his TV debut and rammed Joe into the steel ring steps! After Samoa Joe was softened up by Satnam Singh, Lethal and Dutt picked apart the new ROH TV champ! Lethal drilled Joe with the Lethal Injection!
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
Well this was a fantastic episode of Dynamite yet again. Well until that debut. The show opened strong with one hell of a match between two guys who know how to put on a show, if you didn’t like this match you don’t like wrestling IMHO. That was followed by another great tag team match, not as good as FTR’s last two matches but still excellent wrestling. We had a brief respite in the middle of the show with a couple of squash/non matches and the less than exciting Trios match featuring the Jericho Appreciation Society – now I don’t know about you but the JAS kind of sucks and its a terrible gimmick, easily one of the worst – if not THE worst – faction ever in AEW. Loved the Team Taz match, especially the fact that Hobbs and Starks got the win (even with some interference), which I did not expect. That probably means we’re due more tie-ups between these two teams in future, which I’m here for! Then we got the final match, a hard-hitting match between two veterans that was guaranteed to please. Only it was ruined by that post-match debut. What a damp squib that was! Lights go out and we get a rookie making his AEW debut. Not something you’d believe to happen with THAT kind of intro surely? Well, you can’t have everything… and by everything I mean Cesaro debuting in AEW!