‘AEW: Dynamite’ Review (April 27th 2022)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dynamite, which was broadcast live from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As usual we have Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, and Jim Ross on commentary and ANOTHER stacked card!
Match #1: Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Qualifier Match – Dax Harwood def. Cash Wheeler
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
CM Punk was the special guest commentator for this match. The match began with tremendous chain wrestling between Dax and Cash. They got to their feet, smiled, and shook hands as a sign of mutual respect. Dax superplexed Cash, but both men felt the impact. Dax went up for a diving headbutt but Cash dodged it. Cash tried a body slam but Dax countered with a cradle for a near fall. Cash employed a powerbomb reversal for a near fall.Cash nailed Dax with a piledriver for a two-count. Cash shoved Dax off the top turnbuckle. Cash attempted a suplex off the top rope but Dax landed on top. Both men tumbled through the ropes to the arena floor, and Cash grabbed his knee on impact. Back in the ring, Dax was looking to apply the sharpshooter but Cash cradled him, but then Dax countered and scored the pin. Dax Harwood is advancing in the tournament!
My Score: 4.5 out of 5
Match #2: Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta) def. The Factory (QT Marshall, Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
William Regal joined the commentary team for this match. Wheeler Yuta connected with a dropkick on Aaron Solo. Danielson tagged in, connecting with strikes on Solo. Danielson continued with kicks to Solo and then applied the LeBell Lock. QT ran in to break it up but Mox launched QT with a half-and-half suplex. Moxley clotheslined QT Marshall out of the ring. Wheeler Yuta and Nick Comoroto began to duke it out. Comoroto hurled Yuta halfway across the ring and then a second time, before Yuta slipped out and applied a sleeper. Yuta smashed Nick Comoroto with the hammer and anvil elbow strikes. Yuta secured a seatbelt pinning manoeuvre on Comoroto and scored the pin!
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #3: Wardlow def. Lance Archer w/ Jake “The Snake” Roberts
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Archer spiked Wardlow with a chokeslam for a near fall. Lance Archer nailed Wardlow with the Blackout but Wardlow rolled up Archer for a two-count. Wardlow blasted Archer with headbutts. Wardlow followed up with a massive senton. Wardlow powerbombed Archer and then signaled for the start of the symphony! Wardlow hit a third and then a fourth powerbomb on Archer and then pinned the “MurderHawk Monster”!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #4: Philly Street Fight – Serena Deeb def. Hikaru Shida
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Shida ran in with a kendo stick. She swung it at Deeb but Deeb dodged it. They began swinging wild punches at one another. Shida connected with a missile dropkick knocking Deeb out of the ring. Shida charged with a knee strike to Serena Deeb’s ribcage! Shida jumped off the apron with another knee but Deeb had it targeted and blocked the knee strike with a steel chair! Deeb used a knee breaker on dropped Shida on the steel chair. Deeb tossed powder into Shida’s eyes, blinding her momentarily. Shida grabbed a bottle of water and was able to rinse the powder out of her eyes. Shida grabbed the kendo stick and began wearing out Deeb with stiff shots from the kendo stick. Shida tried to knee Deeb but Deeb countered with the steel chair! Both wrestlers jockeyed for position on the top turnbuckle, but Shida planted Deeb with a falcon arrow for a near fall! Hikaru Shida began to choke Deeb with the kendo stick but Deeb countered with a cradle. Deeb thumbed Shida in the eyes, once again targeting her eyes. Deeb nailed Shida with the Deeb-tox on the chair for a two-count! Deeb was looking for the Serenity Lock and Shida grabbed the ropes, but there are no rope breaks in this match. Deeb locked on the Texas Cloverleaf and Hikaru Shida had no choice but to tap out!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #5: 10-Man Tag Team Match – The Undisputed Elite: Adam Cole, The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) & ReDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) def. Dante Martin, Varsity Blonds (Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman, Jr.), Lee Johnson & Brock Anderson
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Julia Hart sat on the ring steps, showing no emotion. The Undisputed Elite got the jump start on their opponents. Matt Jackson then isolated Dante Martin. Kyle and Matt tried to double team Dante but Dante took them both down. The Varsity Blonds tagged in but were quickly taken out by a dropkick from Nick Jackson. Bobby Fish suplexed Brock with an exploder. Dante fired back with a springboard dropkick. Lee Johnson wiped out the Young Bucks with a springboard of his own! And then Dante followed by taking out the Bucks outside the ring. Nick Jackson flipped from the apron backwards, taking out the Varsity Blonds. He followed up with another dive onto Dante and Lee! The Bucks were on fire! The Bucks and ReDRagon hit the BTE Trigger on Big Shotty and then Cole lowered the boom with his knee strike and then pinned Lee. After the match, Adam Cole handed out “Undisputed Elite” shirts to the Bucks, and the Bucks put them on. The Undisputed Elite all posed together!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #6: TNT Championship Ladder Match – Scorpio Sky def. Sammy Guevara
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Sammy and Sky began brawling outside the ring. Scorpio whipped Sammy into the guardrails twice! Sky followed up with vicious body shots. Sky grabbed a ladder from the ramp and carried it back to the ring. Sammy went for a dropkick but Scorpio Sky avoided it. Sammy blocked a suplex attempt from Sky and sent Sky overhead with a German suplex onto the ramp. Sammy catapulted Scorpio but Scorpio was ready and jumped onto the ladder. Sammy pulled Sky down and then Sammy began to make the climb. Sammy flipped from the top of the ladder and crashed down onto Scorpio Sky below! Sammy jumped from the turnbuckles over a ladder, but Scorpio Sky countered with the TKO cutter from his own ladder! Scorpio Sky pulled out a ladder that was wrapped in barbed wire and placed it in the ring. Sammy used a standing Spanish Fly on Scorpio Sky onto the barbed wire ladder! Dan Lambert was checking on Sky but Sammy pulled him into the ring. Tay Conti entered the ring and kicked Dan Lambert between the legs. Paige VanZant sprinted to the ring and she teed off on Tay Conti while Scorpio Sky peppered Sammy with punches! As Scorpio and Paige celebrated, Sammy and Tay retaliated with thrust kicks! Scorpio Sky leaped into a flatliner, which had Sammy stunned on the ground. Scorpio Sky tried to climb the ladder but Tay jumped on his back! Sammy tried climbing the ladder but Paige jumped on Sammy’s back. Sammy and Scorpio climbed the ladders with the women on their back until Paige and Tay were knocked down by one another! On the mat, Paige and Tay neutralized one another with thrust kicks. At the top of the ladder, Sammy flipped off Sky but Sky bit Sammy’s finger! Scorpio Sky pushed the ladder and sent Sammy crashing spine-first into the barbed wire ladder! Scorpio Sky climbed the ladder and pulled down the TNT title! And new TNT Champion… Scorpio Sky!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Final Verdict: 4/5
Wow. AEW just put on one hell of a show! Out of all 6 matches on the card, the only one that was a little disappointing was the 10-man tag match and that’s down to the usual issue with these kinds of matches – they just break down and become too chaotic to follow, especially when it’s something of a spot-fest like this was. FTR’s opening match was a joy to watch… These guys always talk about pure wrestling and that’s what they delivered with this one. Hard to believe that, given these two guys are a tag team, we’ve been missing out on these two going at it like this week after week! As if that opening match wasn’t good enough we got another instant classic between Hikaru Shida and Serena Deeb, in a match that felt, on paper, like they were retreading the boards and stretching out this feud one match too far. But no. We got the opposite, after seeing this I want a rubber match ASAP. Just brilliant. And Shida’s social media post after the match positioning her as a Rocky-style underdog? LOVE IT! As usual, BCC can be counted on to deliver and this match was all Wheeler Yuta’s – the crowd were behind him and he managed to take down the big man Nick Comoroto. If ever a wrestler was “made” in a faction it’s Yuta. The guy was amazing on the indies, got lost a little in the move to AEW and the Best Friends but now he’s certainly one of THE guys to watch in AEW every week! As for Wardlow. He’s the new WCW era Goldberg. But in the best way possible. His turn to babyface and the crowd support has worked a treat. Credit has to go to MJF and Shawn Spears for being such utter b*astards that one can’t help but root for Wardlow each and every match. This thing is building so much that I fear the climax won’t deliver as well as this run has so far! Then we have the main event. Another superb, and deadly looking, ladder match from Sammy Guevara. This match cemented Sammy and Tay Conti as heels, it really did. Paige Van Zant managed to make a hell of an impact in all the shenanigans too, raising her profile even more (as if she needed it) and getting people really eager for her to actually get into a match with Tay. But let’s be clear, the TNT title has lost some of its’ luster. It has. You can’t deny that the fact it’s swapped hands loads of times recently has kind of tarnished the prestige that the previous champs, the long-running reigns of Darby Allin and Miro AND Sammy Guevara’s first title run gave it. It needs to stay in the hands of a champ who’ll defend it regularly but KEEP it too – restore the prestige before the year is out.
