It’s WWE Dynamite! You know what that means…
"There's nothing in your life that will top seeing a live WWE Dynamite." - Jim Ross pic.twitter.com/jfdCAsXUyM
— SkullsMedia.com by GIFSkull #WWEDynamite (@SkullsMedia) July 1, 2021
Thanks, Jim Ross! Now you got me making mistakes. #relevantjokes
You know, it’s a real shame that this stick of AEW Dynamite had to end with that botch. Putting that aside, along with the horrible women’s tag match, this was a fantastic episode and a fitting farewell to Daily’s Place. And what better way to say goodbye to the AEW fans in Jacksonville than with a glimpse at the company's future?
Not only did we get a fantastic main event match with Sammy Guevara and MJF, two of the company’s youngest and most promising prospects, but AEW finally got the wheels turning for Hangman Page vs. Kenny Omega.
While the wheels for Hangman vs. Omega are finally turning, they are moving slowly, and that's a good thing. Everything they set up here was perfect; I loved seeing The Dark Order vouch for Hangman getting a title shot for the AEW World Championship, while Omega rightfully pointed out how Hangman wouldn't like them speaking for him. The champ was right too because our favorite drunk cowboy was mad about what happened, though The Dark Order didn’t back down, cheerfully telling Hangman to get back on that horse.
Does anyone know who @KennyOmegamanX could be talking about? Asking for a friend*
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) July 1, 2021
*us #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/MZfnPHYzKC
I just love everything about this Hangman Page story since it’s almost a deconstruction of the Top Guy archetype in wrestling. Adam Page is not an overly confident superhero who wants to take on all comers; he’s an insecure and anxiety-filled man who couldn’t take the pressure his EVP friends put on him. You don’t see this story in wrestling a lot, if at all, and I hope they keep the slow-burn build to this feud now that it's officially started.
Moving on from one part of AEW’s future to the next, as Sammy Guevara and MJF tore the roof down with a Match of the Year candidate. These two put on a pay-per-view quality main event and you could argue that this was better than last weekend’s phenomenal Omega vs. Jungle Boy match. It helps that Guevara and MJF have been feuding for months so this match was highly anticipated, even if the build wasn’t always great.
There’s just so much to talk about with MJF vs Sammy Guevara. We can discuss how great that opening salvo of acrobatics and wrestling was, or how insane Sammy is for that dive he did, or THAT FUCKING SECOND ROPE TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE FINISH BUT IT ADDED TO THE STORY WHEN MJF INJURED HIS KNEE BUT I’M STILL MAD BECAUSE YOU NEVER SEE A SECOND ROPE TOMBSTONE ARGHHHHHHHHHHH.
*coughs*
MJF won via shenanigans. Please watch this match.
Before we get to the final grade and Bullet Point Party, Dynamite ended with a beautiful video that showed everything that happened in Daily’s Place during the pandemic. It was an incredibly well-made tribute to the arena that housed AEW and I implore you to check it out. No words can do it justice.
I miss Brodie Lee.
Final Grade: JR’s botch, the bad women’s tag match, and all the repetitive gang warfare couldn’t detract from this fantastic stick of Dynamite. A.
Bullet Point Party
- Eddie Kingston and Penta El Cero Miedo beat The Young Bucks, earn a tag team championship match: Now that’s what you call an upset! AEW has been doing a ton of these Eliminator matches where you earn a championship match by beating the champion, but these always end with the champion winning. Because AEW keeps their champions strong, it made The Young Bucks’ loss here feel like a big deal and I can’t wait for their match next week. Bonus points to Brandon Cutler for accidentally spraying Matt Jackson in the face and not knowing how to stop. Oh yeah, the match was good too.
- Miro is still God’s favorite champion, breaks Brian Pillman Jr in half: Everything about this version of Miro is amazing. His presence, his promos, his intensity, it’s all out of this world. I love how his nickname is now The Redeemer, which makes him way more badass. Turning him into a crazy religious monster was a stroke of genius.
- Ethan Page cancels the Coffin Match after Darby Allin rakes his eyes: Awesome promo from Ethan Page, who is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I loved how much of a chicken-shit heel Page was when he whined about Darby attacking him.
- AEW falls on bad habits and only has one terrible women’s match: What the fuck was this? AEW’s women’s division was kicking ass for a while and now we need to see Rebel and Vickie Guerrero “wrestle” in a tag team match? Rebel got injured too, making this match/segment even worse. They could have easily had Britt Baker in action against Serena Deeb, Tay Conti, Red Velvet, Kris Statlander, The Bunny, Leyla Hersch, Riho, Big Swole, or any of the other women. I hope they learn from this because AEW’s women’s division was on a roll and it feels like all of that momentum has halted.
Images from AEW
*****
Nico Parungo is a freelance contributor for Geeky PH and previously wrote for Epicstream. He provides weekly recaps of AEW Dynamite for Smark Henry and has contributed several reviews for PWR and MWF shows. When he isn't frustrated about the WWE, he's playing video games at home and is bugging his friends with glorious puns. He's new to the world of Twitter drama but is quickly getting hooked.
: Goodbye, Jacksonville){kind=link}