‘AEW: Dynamite’ Review (Nov 6th 2024)

Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dynamite, which was broadcast from the SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH. We’ve got Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness, and Tony Schiavone on commentary, so let’s get into the review!

Match #1: Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin vs. The Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli & PAC) (No Contest)

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Orange came out by himself. Claudio and Pac approached Orange on the ramp. Darby jumped off the top of the entrance stage at Claudio. Pac pump kicked Orange in the face. Orange shoved Pac off the turnbuckles and then Orange planted Pac with a diving DDT! Claudio ran in and nailed Orange with a gut buster into a rib breaker, manhandling “Freshly Squeezed”. Claudio charged at Cassidy, but Cassidy dodged Claudio. Claudio’s momentum sent him crashing into the steel ring post. Darby tagged in and nailed Pac with a Coffin Drop! Darby jumped toward Claudio, but Claudio plucked him out of midair. Claudio sent Darby flying with a back body drop, covering Darby for a near fall. Pac entered the fray and hit Darby with a German Suplex. The Death Riders double teamed Darby in the corner. Pac blasted Darby with a brain buster. Pac leveled Darby with a brain buster from the top rope! Orange jumped in to break up the pin attempt. Orange grabbed a tag and bounced Pac headfirst off the top turnbuckles. Orange connected with a flying cross body on Pac. Orange clobbered Claudio with a stun dog millionaire while Darby drilled Claudio with a Code Red. Orange Cassidy spiked Pac with a DDT! Wheeler Yuta jumped into the ring, but Orange decked him and Claudio with Orange Punches! Marina Shafir jumped into the ring, kicking the ref out of the ring. Jon Moxley ambushed Orange, looking to put him to sleep. Darby whacked Moxley from behind with a skateboard. Darby hit Pac and Yuta with the skateboard. The numbers finally caught up with Darby. Claudio hoisted Darby and threw him at the ring post! Moxley, Pac, and Claudio triple teamed Orange in the ring, stomping a mudhole into him. The match was thrown out because of Marina’s interference.

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #2: The Conglomeration (Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, & Tomohiro Ishii) def. The Learning Tree (Chris Jericho, Big Bill, & Bryan Keith)

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Both teams began to brawl as the bell rang! Briscoe cracked Jericho over the head with the ROH World title belt. Jericho blocked a Jay Driller on the apron by gouging Mark’s eyes. Ishii grabbed Jericho and back dropped Jericho through a table on the arena floor. Briscoe catapulted off a steel chair and crashed onto Big Bill. Kyle clubbed Bryan Keith, peppering him with right hands. Keith grabbed Kyle and pulled him off the apron, both men crashing through a wooden table. Big Bill choke slammed Briscoe onto a ladder that was propped against the barricade! Big Bill booted Briscoe and Ishii in the head. Big Bill planted Kyle with a Bossman slam! The Conglomeration took down Big Bill with the high-low. Kyle smashed Big Bill with a jumping knee strike from the apron. Ishii chopped Jericho. Briscoe chopped Jericho! Keith cracked Briscoe and Ishii with a kendo stick. Keith climbed to the top turnbuckle. Big Bill and Kyle O’Reilly brawled through the arena backstage. Big Bill tried to chokeslam Kyle off a road case, but Kyle applied a guillotine choke. They crashed through two tables below. Briscoe spiked Jericho with a Jay Driller! Briscoe set up a table in the ring and put Jericho on it. Briscoe climbed to the top of a ladder and smashed Jericho with a Froggy Bow! Briscoe covered Jericho but Bryan Keith broke up the pin just in the nick of time. Ishii hit Jericho with a sliding lariat. The Stone Pitbull planted Jericho with a brain buster and pinned Jericho! After the match, Ishii picked up Jericho’s ROH World title and held it overhead!

My Score: 3.5 out of 5

Match #3: Adam Cole def. Malakai Black

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Black targeted the wrist and the upper body of Cole. Black took down Cole with an arm drag and continued to focus on Cole’s left wrist. Cole lured in Black and sent Black sternum first into the barricade. Black bashed Cole with a knee strike. Black jumped off the apron, but Cole countered with a thrust kick, delivered with pinpoint accuracy! Cole stunned Black with a neck breaker across his knee. Cole caught Black with a Destroyer. Black fired back with a knee to the jaw and covered Cole, but Cole kicked out at the two-count! Cole was looking to lower the boom but Black countered with The End kick! Black covered Cole and Cole managed to kick out! Black was shocked that Cole kicked out of Black’s best shot. Cole spiked Black with a Panama Sunrise. Black stared at Adam Cole. Cole dropped the boom with the knee strike and pinned Malakai Black!

My Score: 4 out of 5

Match #4: Jamie Hayter def. Penelope Ford

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Penelope grounded and pounded Jamie Hayter. Hayter back dropped Penelope, planting her on the back of her neck. Penelope connected with a back handspring into an elbow strike. Penelope dropkicked Jamie for a near fall. Jamie dodged a moonsault attempt. Hayter hit a brain buster! Penelope ducked a cutter and countered with a Matrix stunner. Hayter drilled Penelope with the Hayter Ade, wiping Penelope out and pinning her!

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

Match #5: Ricochet & Powerhouse Hobbs def. The Don Callis Family (Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita)

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Both teams began to brawl! Takeshita and Fletcher got bulldozed by Hobbs! Takeshita dropped Ricochet with a big elbow strike. Hobbs booted Fletcher. Ricochet moonsaulted off Hobbs’ shoulders and onto Fletcher and Takeshita on the arena floor! Hobbs hit Fletcher with a delayed vertical suplex. Fletcher fired back with a DDT on Ricochet. Takeshita and Fletcher rocked Ricochet with stereo kicks. Hobbs nailed Takeshita with an avalanche powerslam. Fletcher was there to break up Hobbs’ pin attempt on Takeshita. Hobbs and Takeshita traded forearms in the center of the ring. Takeshita nailed Hobbs with a German Suplex. Hobbs got right back up and took down Takeshita with a running clothesline. Ricochet and Fletcher made tags for their respective teams. Fletcher power bombed Ricochet, but Ricochet kicked out at the two-count. Takeshita dodged a 450 from Ricochet and countered with a jumping knee strike. Ricochet went for a poison rana on Takeshita, but Fletcher drilled Ricochet with a Doomsday Device. Ricochet stunned Takeshita with a thrust kick. Takeshita took down Hobbs with a German Suplex. Ricochet almost pinned Takeshita after a hurracanrana cradle. Ricochet connected with a shooting star press, but Takeshita managed to kick out at 2.99! Ricochet blasted Takeshita with another running shot and pinned the International Champion!

My Score: 4 out of 5

Final Verdict: 4/5

Another great episode of Dynamite this week. OK, so I complain that the show is spoilt by too many backstage segments, promos etc. But the great matches more than made up for all the promos etc. It was great to see Ricochet team with Powerhouse Hobbs in the main event, it really lifted Hobbs back up from the doldrums, where he’s been for a while now unfortunately. However, the big surprise this week was Malakai Black losing his singles match against Adam Cole – something that set the IWC ablaze with comments that Black was on his way out of AEW… Apparently, according to reputable sources, Black and his House of Black stable are being turned babyface, so losses are on the card to make them less dominant (which makes sense given the Death Riders stable is THE heel stable and I can see HoB joining with the AEW crew to take them on in future). Overall this was another great week for Dynamite!