Pantoja’s AEW Dynamite 12.22.21 Review

AEW Holiday Bash

December 22nd, 2021 | Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina

I always like themed editions of Dynamite.

Adam Cole (5-0) vs. Orange Cassidy (20-4-1)

Man, I am happy that Cassidy is done with the Matt Hardy feud. This match has been teased for a while and finally getting it to open the show is a pretty big deal. We got the usual antics early on like OC putting Cole’s hands in his pockets and kissing him on the cheek after a headlock takeover. They actually used that headlock quite a lot throughout the early stages. As OC really got going, the Young Bucks showed up with Brandon Cutler. OC took out Cutler and then Best Friends arrived to take them all to the back, leading to a commercial break. Cole ran his knee into the steel steps, putting him at a disadvantage. Following the break, they went into some of their bigger moves like Stundog Millionaire and the Brainbuster on the knee. Cassidy kicked out of the Panama Sunrise due to a lazy cover and he avoided the Boom. That set up the Bobby Fish distraction for the debut of KYLE O’REILLY. He laid out OC with strikes and kicks, allowing Cole to win with the Boom in 17:04. A hell of an opener between two top-tier wrestlers with a great debut. [***¾]

The Undisputed Era posed together as the Young Bucks returned, unsure of what to make of it all. Cole left with Fish and O’Reilly.

After it was announced that Hangman Page/Bryan Danielson II will take place on the first episode of Dynamite on TBS in 2022. Hangman spoke with Tony Schiavone in the ring and said he was disappointed and didn’t feel like a champion after last week. Danielson interrupted to call him an entitled millennial cowboy and made weak excuses for not winning. However, he also didn’t want Hangman to stall and go to a draw again next time. Basically, they resolved this by agreeing to have judges at ringside. It’s a nice old school touch but it’s not a gimmick I like. It reminds me of boxing and how screwy that can be. Also, this promo was a bit too long despite both guys being great.

MJF and the Pinnacle had a promo in the back where MJF was disappointed with the champagne Wardlow bought last week.

Shawn Dean (4-4) vs. Wardlow (26-3)

Wardlow is on a 14 match winning streak. He immediately hit a powerbomb and added three more to win in 1:12. Total domination. [NR]

Post-match, Shawn Spears attacked Dean with a chair and Wardlow was annoyed. Maybe have Wardlow turn face in Cleveland next month in front of his hometown fans.

A video package aired to hype Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara. Boy, I haven’t been this uninterested in a TNT Title match in a long time.

Dan Lambert spoke with the Men of the Year from the rafters. He cut a LONG-WINDED promo with his same usual stuff, eventually getting to saying someone from Men of the Year want the next TNT Title shot. This took forever and I question why they even have Lambert with MOTY. They can cut promos on their own. Put Dan with someone who needs it and cut his promo time in half to make it work.

We went to Britt Baker’s Christmas party with Jamie Hayter, Tony Schiavone, and Rebel (Not Reba). She ran down Riho for not being in her league and then quoted A Christmas Story. Off-topic but I think that’s a severely overrated Christmas flick. Might not even crack my top 10.

A classy video aired about Owen Hart with many home videos and clips from Japan cut in around AEW wrestlers talking about what he meant to them. Most guys discussed his influence but the likes of Matt Hardy and especially Mark Henry talked about knowing him.

AEW TBS Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Nyla Rose (25-5) vs. Ruby Soho (7-1)

Ruby Soho is the only person left in the tournament who didn’t have a bye. I’ve said it since the tournament started but it feels like Soho/Cargill is the way to end this, with Rosa getting a shot at Baker next. Rose jumped Soho before the bell and hockey fought her with the jacket over his head. Ruby was awkwardly trapped in the jacket for far too long. Due to that, Nyla had control of the action through a commercial break. Ruby made the expected babyface comeback but had to combat some interference from Vickie Guerrero. She survived Nyla’s constant attack on Ruby’s surgically repaired shoulder. Ruby had it won with a dragon sleeper but Vickie interrupted and got kicked for it. Ruby kicked out of the Beast Bomb and then pulled Nyla off the top with the Soho Kick to win after 10:27. That was a good David vs. Goliath style match with Ruby selling her ass off. [***]

A video package aired about Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb from Winter is Coming. Deeb called Shida’s win a tainted one and said this would never be over. I’m down for that because they’re damn good together.

Griff Garrison vs. Malakai Black (6-1)

Last week, Griff Garrison said he’d break Black’s jaw. lol. He didn’t even get a hometown pop or his record appearing on screen. As soon as the bell rang, he charged into a Malakai kick. Garrison did get in a few hope spots like a clothesline and a dive but that’s about it. Black worked on the leg with a heel hook and he eventually won with a half crab in 3:15. Fine enough for what it was. [**]

Brian Pillman Jr. ran in and ate Black Mass. Good. I saw his stupid “cancel cancel culture” shirt last week. Kick him again.

CHRISTMAS RAMPAGE

· Jungle Boy vs. Isaiah Kassidy (Matt Hardy and Jungle Boy both got promo time to hype this)

· HOOK is gonna murk a Bear Country dude

· Kris Statlander vs. Leyla Hirsch

· Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara for the TNT Title

NEW YEAR’S SMASH NEXT WEEK

· 2.0 and Daniel Garcia vs. Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz

· Thunder Rosa vs. Jade Cargill in the TBS Title Tournament

· Jim Ross is best

· Best Friends and Orange Cassidy vs. Undisputed Era

DYNAMITE ON TBS 1/5

· Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page for the World Title

CM Punk (8-0), Darby Allin and Sting (5-0) vs. FTR (28-5) and MJF (30-7)

It’s Sting’s first match in Greensboro in forever. He was out in CM Punk-themed facepaint. Meanwhile, Darby had pink Sting paint and Punk even sported Sting’s old surfer paint/gear style from Clash of the Champions. They teased Punk/MJF but of course, the heel bailed to prolong that action. They teased that a few times actually. Sting got a huge pop when he got involved too. At one point, after MJF ran from Punk and Sting, Darby took out him and FTR with a huge tope suicida heading into commercial break. Returning, Darby took the heat and commentary noted that the heels were playing with their food. Sting got the hot tag and the fans ATE UP everything he did. He played the hits and that’s exactly what he should be doing. He took the next heat through a second break after MJF interrupted the Scorpion Death Lock. The new hot tag went to Punk who lit up FTR. MJF was shown to be hiding during this time. He snuck back in and Sting cut him off before dumping him over the top onto FTR and he landed AWFULLY on his head. FTR immediately checked on him and he seemed to be okay. Sting also did a damn cross body off the top to the outside. Inside, MJF was left with the three faces so Dax sacrificed himself for his buddy. He ate the GTS into the Scorpion Death Drop into the Coffin Drop, losing after 25:53. That was a blast. Such a fun trios tag and MJF managed to avoid taking the beating he deserved, preserving that for down the line. [****]

MJF bragged to commentary that Punk dodged him all match.

9.0

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

What a great episode of wrestling TV. They opened with a banger, kept me engaged with solid matches and storytelling in the middle, and ended with a great main event.