‘AEW: Dynamite’ Review (Aug 2nd 2023)

Welcome to this week’s review of the 200th episode of AEW: Dynamite, which was broadcast live from the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida. We’ve got Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Taz on commentary so let’s get into the review!

Match #1: Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita def. Daniel Garcia & Sammy Guevara

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Jericho hit a shoulder block on Sammy and Sammy sprung right back up to his feet. They traded chops and then Sammy connected with a corkscrew dropkick. And Jericho got right up to his feet. Garcia tagged in and wrenched at Jericho’s arm, yanking him down to the mat. Garcia taunted Jericho by dancing in front of him. Takeshita grabbed a tag and took down Garcia with the Takeshita Line. Jericho nailed Garcia with a vertical suplex and then blew a kiss to the viewers at home. Callis grabbed Garcia’s boot as Garcia was hitting the ropes. The distraction allowed Jericho to continue his onslaught on Garcia. Jericho attempted the lionsault, but Garcia raised his knees to counter. Sammy and Takeshita both tagged in, and Sammy unleashed a flurry of offense on Jericho and Takeshita including an elbow suicida and a tornillo. Sammy got a near fall on Takeshita after a frog splash. Jericho broke up the pin attempt, and Sammy pushed Jericho. “The Ocho” pushed back until Garcia took exception, jumped in and grounded and pounded Jericho. Sammy’s attention was diverted, watching Garcia pummel Jericho. Takeshita took advantage of this and planted Sammy with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Takeshita locked Sammy in the Walls of Takeshita. Sammy escaped but Jericho tagged in. Sammy rocked Jericho with a Spanish Fly. Jericho and Sammy both had the same idea, trying for clotheslines, and they collided, knocking one another down. Garcia tagged in but he was intercepted by Jericho and the Code Breaker for a near fall. Sammy nailed Takeshita with a thrust kick. Sammy followed up with a shooting star press to Takeshita on the arena floor. Garcia charged at Jericho in the ring, but Jericho raised a boot. Garcia blocked the Judas Effect and rolled up Jericho for a near fall. Garcia applied the Dragon Tamer. While the ref was distracted by Takeshita and Sammy brawling outside the ring, Callis grabbed Jericho’s bat and cracked Garcia in the head with it! Jericho turned to look at Callis and said, “What the—?!” But then Jericho covered Garcia and scored the pinfall victory.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

Match #2: Anything Goes Match – Trent Beretta def. Jon Moxley and Penta El Zero Miedo

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

The action spilled outside before the match even began, with all three men brawling! Moxley chomped on Trent’s forehead. Penta cracked Mox and Trent in the head with a trash can. Moxley surprised Penta El Zero Miedo with a cutter out of the corner. Moxley grabbed a barb wire wrapped 2×4 from beneath the ring. Mox used the weapon on Trent, raking Trent’s face with it. Moxley spiked Trent with a piledriver on the barb wire 2×4. Trent fired back with a suplex to Moxley onto the barb wire 2×4. Alex Abrahantes helped Penta set up two tables outside the ring. Penta climbed to the top turnbuckle but Moxley ambushed Penta. Trent jumped onto the apron, climbed up to meet Moxley and then superplexed Moxley through the tables on the arena floor. Trent and Penta teamed up to nail Moxley with thrust kicks. Penta crushed Trent with an avalanche destroyer through the table! Moxley rammed into Penta with a shoulder tackle, sending Penta through the table! Moxley spilled a bag of thumbtacks onto the mat. Moxley planted Penta with a Gotch style piledriver onto the tacks for a near fall. Moxley crushed Trent with a cutter onto the thumb tacks! All three men traded forearms and chops in the center of the ring. Moxley connected with a King Kong Lariat on Trent. Moxley clobbered Penta with the Paradigm Shift! Trent charged at Mox with a knee strike and then pinned Penta!

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #3: Trios Match – The Elite (Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks — Nick & Matt Jackson) def. Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett & Satnam Singh

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Jarrett grabbed a headlock on Omega. Double J body slammed Kenny Omega and then did the Fargo strut. Jay Lethal tagged in but Omega was ready for him with an arm drag. Matt Jackson tagged in, and he and Nick hit tandem offense on Lethal. Satnam Singh tagged in, and the Bucks dropkicked him. Satnam connected with a cross body on both the Bucks. Nick Jackson nailed Jeff with a superkick. Omega tagged in and cleaned house on Lethal and Jarrett with Polish Hammers. Omega went for a moonsault but Lethal countered by raising his knees. The Bucks invited Lethal and Jarrett to a superkick party. They brought Satnam down to size with superkicks. Kenny followed up with a V-Trigger to Satnam. Karen Jarrett jumped on the apron and distracted the referee. Omega hoisted up Satnam for the One-Winged Angel. Sonjay Dutt ran into the ring and blindsided Omega. Lethal planted Omega with the Lethal Combination! Brandon Cutler hopped onto the apron and sprayed Karen with the cold spray. Sonjay rocked Brandon with a haymaker. Matt and Jeff Hardy ran to the ring and neutralized Sonjay Dutt! As the ref was distracted by the Hardys and Dutt, Jarrett grabbed a guitar. He swung it at Omega, but Omega ducked. “Hangman” Adam Page appeared out of nowhere and derailed Jarrett with the Buckshot Lariat. Lethal grabbed the guitar but before he could use it, Omega clocked him with the V-Trigger! Omega finished off Lethal with the One-Winged Angel and pinned him!

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #4: ROH World Tag Team Championship Match – Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) def. El Hijo del Vikingo & Komander

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Vikingo took down Fletcher with a tornillo. Davis tagged in and Komander walked off the shoulders of Vikingo and came down with a hurracanrana on Davis. Davis booted Komander in the head. Aussie Open double teamed Komander with their tandem offense. Vikingo tagged in and sent Davis to the floor with a dropkick. Vikingo nailed Fletcher with a diving leg drop. Vikingo and Komander attempted stereo tope suicidas but Aussie Open caught them and then rammed them against one another spine first. Komander and El Hijo del Vikingo walked the ropes and hit double moonsaults to the arena floor on Aussie Open! They followed up with stereo 450 splashes on Davis, but Fletcher broke up the pin attempt. Aussie Open rallied back and squashed Komander with clotheslines and then finished him off with the Coriolis for the victory!

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #5: AEW Women’s World Championship Match – Hikaru Shida def. Toni Storm

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Storm and Shida traded forearms in the center of the ring. Storm rolled outside to collect herself. Shida grounded and pounded Toni Storm. Shida battered Storm until Storm grabbed the ropes. Shida nailed Storm with a running knee. Shida whipped Storm into the barricade. Hikaru Shida suplexed Storm into the turnbuckles. Storm gouged the eyes of Shida. Storm crashed into Shida with a hip attack. The Outcasts double teamed Shida outside the ring. Shida intercepted the hip attack and then German Suplexed Toni Storm. Shida dazed Storm with two running knee strikes. Shida followed up with a missile dropkick for a near fall on Storm. Shida walloped Storm with a meteora for a two-count! Shida hoisted up Storm onto the top turnbuckle. Ruby Soho yanked Shida down. Toni Storm DDT’ed Shida! Storm crushed Shida in the corner with a hip attack! Storm followed up with the DDT, but Shida kicked out at the two-count. Shida connected with a knee strike. Shida planted Storm with the Falcon Arrow for a near fall! Saraya slipped a kendo stick into the ring. Shida and Storm fought for the kendo stick. Storm dropped to her knees and urged Shida to use it, knowing that Shida would get disqualified if she did. Instead, Shida turned around and hit Ruby Soho in the head with it! Shida hit Saraya with it next. Shida threw the kendo stick down. As ref Paul Turner grabbed the kendo stick and turned around to remove it from the ring, Toni Storm sprayed Shida in the eyes with the spray paint! Storm spiked Shida with the Storm Zero but Shida kicked out at two! Shida cradled Storm and pinned her!

My Score: 3.5 out of 5

Final Verdict: 3/5

For an “anniversary” show, this week’s Dynamite felt a bit… dull. Don’t get me wrong the in-ring action was good across the board. But it wasn’t great, it wasn’t spectacular as you might expect from such a [apparently] huge show. Christ, even the announcement that the Elite had resigned didn’t generate any excitement. And that’s got me worried for All In later this month… I’ll be there in person but so far there’s nothing happening in AEW that has me actually excited to go down to London and see AEW live. Hopefully, we get something great out of the welcome change in the women’s title scene (anyone else think Toni Storm delivered good title matches but wasn’t that great of a champ in terms of charisma and putting over the prestigiousness of the belt?) at All In but we’ve got to have more than just Adam Cole versus MJF as the highlight of such a huge show right? Right?!