‘AEW: Dynamite’ Review (Jun 28th 2023)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dynamite, which was broadcast live from the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario. We’ve got Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Taz on commentary so let’s get into the review!
Match #1: Jon Moxley def. Tomohiro Ishii
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
They went right at it, exchanging heavy fire with vicious chops. Ishii took Mox down with an explosive shoulder tackle. Mox chomped on Ishii’s face and then grinned. Moxley stomped down on Ishii with his boots. He tossed Ishii to the outside, with Claudio and Wheeler looming over Ishii. Moxley wiped out Ishii with an elbow suicida. Eddie Kingston’s music hit! Kingston came down to the ring, grabbing a steel chair. Moxley spiked Ishii with a Gotch-style piledriver for a near fall. Kingston watched from outside the ring. Moxley locked in the bulldog choke. Claudio was staring daggers across the ring at Kingston. Ishii got to his feet and hit a back suplex. He clotheslined Moxley. Mox fired back with a charging knee strike. Both men connected with lariats and both men fell to the canvas. Moxley, busted open, traded headbutts with Ishii. Moxley planted Ishii with the Paradigm Shift for a near fall! Ishii answered with his own Paradigm Shift and then turned Moxley around with a wicked lariat. Moxley crushed Ishii with a cutter but Ishii bounced right back up. Moxley countered a brainbuster attempt with the Death Rider. Ishii kicked out at the two-count. Moxley nailed Ishii with a curb stomp, followed up with the Death Rider, and pinned Tomohiro Ishii!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #2: Orange Cassidy, Keith Lee & El Hijo del Vikingo def. Jericho Appreciation Society (Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Vikingo hit a springboard arm drag to Garcia. Orange and Parker tagged in for their respective teams. Orange took away Parker’s switchblade comb and put it in his pocket. Garcia stole the comb back. Vikingo connected with a double foot stomp and then a shooting star press on Garcia. Garcia distracted the ref while Daddy Magic snuck in some cheap shots on El Hijo del Vikingo. Parker suplexed Vikingo for a two-count. Keith Lee tagged in and cleaned house on the J.A.S. Keith Lee blasted Garcia with a double handed overhand chop. Keith Lee picked up Vikingo and used him as a battering ram against Menard and Parker. Garcia countered the Beach Break with a piledriver. Garcia locked on the Dragon Tamer, but Vikingo made the save. Daddy Magic bludgeoned Keith Le with shots but Keith powerslammed Matt Menard in the center of the ring and pinned him!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #3: The Elite (“Hangman” Adam Page & The Young Bucks – Matt & Nick Jackson) def. Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, John Silver & Evil Uno)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
John Silver and Hangman tied up. Hangman took down Silver with a side headlock. Evil Uno and Matt Jackson tagged in. Uno took a shot at Hangman who was standing on the apron. The Young Bucks used their tandem offense on Silver and Reynolds. The Bucks superkicked Evil Uno, knocking him out of the ring. Nick and Matt took to the skies, jumping from the top turnbuckles to the Dark Order on the arena floor. Evil Uno slapped Page in the face. Page had enough and he and Evil Uno slugged it out. The Dark Order gained some momentum on the Elite with combo offense. Matt Jackson saved Page from the Pendulum Bomb. Page rocked Silver with a lariat. Page went for the Buckshot Lariat, but Silver countered for a near fall. Hangman nailed Silver with the Dead Eye. The Bucks then followed up with the BTE Trigger. Page finished off Silver with the Buck Shot Lariat and pinned him!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #4: Ruby Soho def. Alexia Nicole
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Ruby stomped a mudhole into Nicole. Ruby planted her twice in a row with side suplexes. Ruby applied the Lock Jaw and Nicole tapped out!
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #5: Tornado Tag Team Grudge Match – Darby Allin & Sting def. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Darby went right at Sammy with a shotgun dropkick. Jericho demanded that Sting grab his bat. Sting jousted Jericho with the baseball bat. Sting connected with a Stinger Splash on Jericho. Sammy rocked Darby with a cutter. Jericho walloped Darby with a chair shot to the back. Sammy flung Darby into the steel ring steps. Jericho planted Darby spine first on the ring apron. Sammy and Jericho whipped Darby into the steel ring steps. Darby flipped over and then crashed onto the top of the steel guardrail. Darby smashed Sammy with a Coffin Drop to the outside of the ring. Stinger used his Stinger Splash on Jericho on the guardrail. Darby and Sting set up two tables side by side on the arena floor. Darby propped up a ladder inside the ring. Sting put Sammy on the tables. Sting climbed up the ladder and jumped, putting Sammy through the tables outside the ring. Darby grabbed his skateboard, jumped off the top rope and smashed onto Jericho. The Painmaker dropped the ladder on Darby’s spine. Jericho countered a Coffin Splash by swinging the skateboard at Darby. Jericho followed up with the Judas Effect. Sting grabbed Jericho from behind, but Jericho transitioned into the Walls! Sting crawled and grabbed the baseball bat. Sting wacked Jericho with the bat. Jericho was busted wide open! Sting splashed Jericho. Sting attempted a second Stinger Splash, but Jericho countered with a Code Breaker. Sting planted Jericho with the Scorpion Death Drop for a near fall! Jericho attempted the Code Breaker, but Sting countered with the Scorpion Death Lock and Jericho tapped!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Final Verdict: 4/5
I don’t know what I was expecting from the episode after Forbidden Door but what I got was a hot-as-hell episode of Dynamite that really lived up to its name! This week’s show opened strong with a badass Forbidden Door-worthy match between Ishii and Moxley; that was followed by not one but TWO tremendous Trios matches – one that was a bit of crowd-pleasing fun and a second that really delved deep into some long-term storytelling whilst being. great match in its own right! Then we got a Ruby Soho squash match to replace what would have been a more competitive match against Britt Baker and then a main event that was the real surprise of the night… Why? Well, when you have a match that features two veterans and two young up-and-comers you’d expect the young wrestlers to take the brunt of the hard hits and the vets just put on a show for the fans. Nope. That’s not what happened here, instead Jericho and Sting went at it and went at it HARD. Goddamn, you don’t expect Sting to take (and give) such a beating these days. Even more so given that he took a table spot at Forbidden Door!
