It’s AEW Dynamite! You know what that means…
Well, I’d say “No More BS,” but this stick of Dynamite before AEW Revolution really felt like a big show. I wouldn’t say it was a pay-per-view quality Dynamite but it was still a fairly solid episode that did a good job of getting fans excited for Revolution.
And a lot of that was thanks to a celebrity match where the celebrity beat a full-time wrestler and an old man pinning a younger talent. Wait, WHAT?!
Yes, I know, those sound HORRIBLE, but they’re actually better than you think.
Let’s start with the first match—which blew away any expectations fans may have had—Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet vs. Shaq and Jade Cargill. This was a very good celebrity match where everyone worked hard, with both Jade and Red Velvet, in particular, putting on a great performance. Considering how this was Jade’s first-ever TV match, she carried herself well, worked hard, and didn’t do anything beyond her capabilities.
The fact that this match was live and not pre-recorded shocked me since it was pretty much perfect for what it was, minus the cameraman missing Red Velvet’s spear. Come on, how many of you guys expected to see Shaq deliver a great powerbomb (complete with a Brodie Lee tribute) or get put through two tables? While the celebrity team won, it was Jade who got the win with the Glam-Slam (Double Chickenwing Facebuster), so they at least made a young star with this match.
FTR and Tully Blanchard vs. Jurassic Express was another match that was way better than it had any right to be. This match made me appreciate AEW hiring someone like Marko Stunt since it gives older wrestlers someone they can beat up without making fans think about how fake their offense looks. Tully also deserves some credit for taking a few bumps, including a spinning kick from Luchasaurus, which had to hurt a little, arms up or not.
Now, I should complain about Tully pinning Luchasaurus but I can’t get too mad about it. There was a lot of cheating beforehand from former Four Horsemen member JJ Dillon and the returning Shawn Spears. Plus, the over dinosaur was pinned by FTR’s assisted spike piledriver, which is the same move that won them the AEW World Tag Team Championship from Kenny Omega and Hangman Page.
Don’t get me wrong: they shouldn’t have pinned Luchasaurus and I do not want to see anyone else pinned by 67-year-old Tully Blanchard. But—and this is going to make me sound like a big old hypocrite—AEW doesn’t do this kind of booking a lot, so they get a pass. It helps that the match was pretty good and the heels had to win by cheating, so this was a fun watch. As long as they don’t repeat this style of booking too often, I can accept it.
Family. @DaxFTR @CashWheelerFTR #TullyBlanchard pic.twitter.com/UlA3JiKZkF
— Shawn Spears (@Perfec10n) March 4, 2021
Plus, they are teasing a new Four Horsemen-style stable with FTR, Shawn Spears, and, maybe, Cody Rhodes? Arn Anderson coming out couldn’t have been a coincidence right? This could be great.
Oh yeah, Paul Wight appeared. His “No BS” shirt is awesome and the promo was funny, even with the “Evolution” botch. I agree with The Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez in that Wight should just be booked like Andre the Giant for any future matches, meaning short squashes with a lot of chops, no selling, and a couple of power moves that quickly lead to the end.
A lot of this good stuff happened in the first hour, so I’m sad to say that the second hour did dip a bit in quality, at least until the main event.
Nyla Rose and Ryo Mizunami actually had a pretty solid match but giving Mizunami the win is baffling. Yes, she’s a talented and charismatic wrestler who will put on a great match with Hikaru Shida at Revolution but I’d be lying if I said this result made me happy. Nyla Rose is so much better now than when AEW started and fans care more about her than Mizunami, while Britt Baker is easily this division’s biggest star.
Okay no point in me beating around the bush; Britt Baker needs to win the AEW Women’s World Championship from Shida so that AEW can build the women’s division around her. She has an over character, is very good on the mic, and has improved a lot in the ring. Give it to her, you cowards.
Sting and Darby Allin also beat up Team Tazzzzzzzzzzzz *snores.*
Final Grade: Solid go-home show before Revolution. The first hour was excellent, while the second hour struggled until the main event. B+
Bullet-Point Party:
- Who is Paul Wight bringing to Revolution?: As much as we all want CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, or Christian, it will probably be someone like RVD or Kurt Angle.
- Pac and Rey Fenix beat some jobbers: Both guys are very good and can easily be placed in top singles programs, so it’s interesting to see them getting a tag squash and then getting added to the Tag Team Battle Royale for Revolution. Hope they win.
- The Young Bucks interrupt The Inner Circle’s “press conference:” This was actually a pretty good segment. I find the press conference bit gimmicky but it gives Jericho and MJF a literal platform for their heel mic work. The Bucks then cut a solid babyface promo, which I dug, but also found hilarious. Sure, Papa Buck taught you about empathy, that’s why you two superkicked random dudes around for no reason when Hangman Page cost you guys the tag team championships, what white meat babyfaces.
- Max Caster beat The Dark Order’s 10 to qualify for Revolution’s six-man ladder match: A shocking result. Honestly thought 10 was going to get the rub. Not a great match but I liked how Matt Hardy and TH2 cost The Dark Order this match.
- Scorpio Sky is really good on commentary: Please push this man AEW.
- Hangman Page and John Silver beat Matt Hardy and Marc Quen in the main event: Very simple, very well-done main event. Hangman wanted to get his hands on Matt, Matt did everything he could to avoid facing Hangman’s wrath, to the point that he didn’t even break up the pin in the end. Good stuff all around and I dug Hardy’s post-match attack with the microphone.
- Shaq disappears: Are we really doing another kidnapping storyline? Why does this keep happening in AEW? (And NXT?)
Images from AEW
*****
: A Big Show Before Revolution){kind=link}