wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s AEW Dynamite Review 12.1.21
Image Credit: AEW
Loading...AEW Dynamite
December 1st, 2021 | Gas South Arena in Atlanta, Georgia
I had a busy November and missed some reviews but I’m hoping December will have more openings.
Alan Angels (15-24) vs. Bryan Danielson (11-0-1)
Hangman Page was on commentary for this. The entire Dark Order was with Angels during his entrance including Negative 1. This match went exactly the way it should’ve. Danielson didn’t take Angels seriously and mocked him from time to time while Angels managed to get in some hope spots to remind Danielson that he’s a quality wrestler in his own right. He got in his best shot with a Spanish Fly but then made a huge mistake by going for a moonsault. He missed and Danielson connected on the Busaiku Knee. He could’ve won it there but Danielson chose to kick his head in for a bit. He also could’ve won there but added a knee bar to win in 6:09. A good match that was booked to perfection. [***]
Post-match, Danielson dissed Atlanta and said they’ll be in Long Island next week, where another Dark Order member is from, so he’ll face him there. He badmouthed Hangman who got up, only for John Silver to show up (he’s from LI). Danielson and Hangman aren’t allowed to touch this week so Silver will do it for Hangman. Danielson bailed, saying Silver is beneath him. Danielson added more insults on his way up the ramp past Hangman. Good segment.
We got a weird, pretty comical Miro promo about how he will repair a problem in his life and embrace the other.
CM Punk (7-0) vs. Lee Moriarty (2-6)
Huge opportunity for Moriarty, who feels like he could be a huge part of the company’s future. By the way, I don’t really agree with MJF’s “four pillars.” I’d say it’s more likely himself, Jungle Boy, Dante Martin, and Britt Baker, rather than Darby and Sammy. Anyway, MJF joined commentary in a Hannukah-themed suit. He kept dissing Punk for struggling with Moriarty as the other commentators did their best to remind everyone that Lee has loads of talent. He was seemingly a step ahead of Punk at every turn. It’s a theme of Punk matches in AEW as he’s often a bit slow and outmatch in athleticism but makes up for it with experience and smarts. Lee’s top rope rana counter was good but he followed it with better stuff. At one point, he hit a big lariat to a pop, stiff kick to the face, and picked up a huge near fall. Alas, Punk countered him in the end and hit the GTS to win in 10:23. A very good back and forth encounter that again was perfectly booked. [***¼]
Time for a long-winded MJF promo. Unlike last week, this was filled with some lackluster and lame jokes. He made some odd references to Punk trying to get in Britt Baker’s pants, which doesn’t really work. Punk wanted to fight now but MJF declined and said he’s the spark that Punk has desperately needed since 2011. He said next week in Long Island, he’ll win the Dynamite Diamond battle royal for the third straight year and he’s better in his hometown than Bret in Canada or Punk in Chicago. When MJF threatened to put Punk’s dog to sleep, Punk went to fight but Wardlow showed up in between them. This promo worked a LOT LESS than last week’s.
Britt Baker and her friends were interviewed in the back. Jamie Hayter went back and forth with Britt a bit as Jamie said she had a great match with Thunder Rosa and Britt reminded her that she lost. So, Jamie said Britt’s best match was also a loss to Rosa. She’s not wrong. Anyway, next week, Hayter will face Riho ahead of Riho/Baker.
Adam Cole came out for commentary and hilariously entered the ring just to leave and go to the booth. Orange Cassidy was out for a match but had a face off with Cole instead. The Young Bucks snuck up behind him but Cass caught them, only to take a low blow from Cole. The Bucks mocked his slow kicks with superkicks and then hit real ones. Best Friends finally ran out to somewhat make the save. Another segment that didn’t quite click but did well enough.
Tony Nese cut a bland promo about facing Sammy Guevara Friday.
AC Adams (0-0) vs. Wardlow (33-6)
What is this, AEW Dark? Shawn Spears was out with Wardlow, making me like Wardlow less. He dominated and won with multiple powerbombs in 1:36. Spears wailed on Adams with a chair afterward too. [NR]
Eye-patch PAC and Penta El Zero Miedo were interviewed backstage. Apparently, Fénix is hurt so PAC will be replacing him on Rampageagainst FTR.
Darby Allin and Sting (4-0) vs. The Gunn Club (9-0)
It’s Colton and Billy Gunn. That trio/duo has been unbeaten on Dark for no real reason. Sting’s face paint here was cool as hell here, blending his typical one with Darby’s. The thing with Darby and Sting is that they work best in stipulation tags so you can hide Sting’s weaknesses at his age. Also, he should be in there with quality guys who can carry things. Colton and Billy aren’t those dudes. This was wildly average, with Colton and Darby handling the heavy lifting before we got a Billy/Sting interaction. WRESTLEMANIA 31 RELIVED! Man, Billy is so much bigger than 95% of the roster. They worked through a break, allowing Sting to come in hot down the stretch. The Scorpion Death Lock was interrupted and Sting ate a Fameasser but kicked out. Darby came in to help and Sting planted Colton with the Scorpion Death Drop in 10:10. Sting has been bringing energy and that was mild fun. [**¼]
Chris Jericho was asked about helping Eddie Kingston last week. He said wasn’t there to help but to beat up 2.0 and Daniel Garcia, who arrived and jumped him with a chair. During this, you could oddly hear some of the earlier Orange Cassidy segment in the background.
Lio Rush arrived to argue with Team Taz (Taz was on commentary) and Lio talked about how he has always had the odds stacked against him. Team Taz members and Lio will be in the Diamond gimmick next week. Dante Martin showed up to stare down Lio, who was sad about it. I think they needed to wait on this angle. The Dante/Lio pairing was great but it was too short-lived for me to totally get invested.
Jade Cargill spoke about facing Thunder Rosa’s student on Rampage. Thunder Rosa will be on commentary for it and she argued with Jade in Spanish for a bit.
AEW TBS Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Kris Statlander (26-4) vs. Ruby Soho (8-1)
I know Cody Rhodes is who he is but I would’ve headlined the show with this. They’ve hyped it up with video packages recently and both are among the top stars in the division. Things were pretty calm early but a Statlander “boop” seemed to anger Soho a bit. Maybe she wanted a more serious Statlander in such an important match. They worked through a commercial break and Soho hit a senton off the top before following with a superkick. Meanwhile, Statlander came close with a Blue Thunder Bomb. They continued to trade close shots and Statlander blocked No Future before trying for Big Bang Theory, only for Soho to counter into a victory roll of sorts, getting the win in 10:27. That was the match of the night and a very good, back and forth outing. Despite that, you got the sense they have something better in them. [***½]
The two shook hands and embraced after the match. Vickie Guerrero distracted Statlander on the stage as Nyla Rose snuck in to beat up Soho. The final four is set with Rosa vs. Cargill and Soho vs. Rose in the semi-finals.
RAMPAGE!
· PAC and Penta vs. FTR
· Sammy Guevara vs. Tony Nese for the TNT Title
· Jade Cargill vs. Thunder Rosa’s student
DYNAMITE!
· Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal
· Riho vs. Jamie Hayter
· Bryan Danielson vs. John Silver
WINTER IS COMING IN TWO WEEKS!
· Hangman Page defends the World Title against Bryan Danielson
Atlanta Street Fight: Andrade El Idolo (7-3) vs. Cody Rhodes (45-16-2)
I came into this with low expectations since I assumed Cody would win and I want more for Andrade. Alas, these are two guys who are both very good, so it was still a quality match. There were some odd things in the early stages including Andrade having a knife, them using a full trash can, and a laptop being used as a weapon. Cody got a chair from T-Pain in the crowd, which helped turn things around to the better portions of the match. Following a commercial break, they did bigger offense before Cody made this kind of cringe with a sledgehammer that he replaced with a golden shovel. We get it, Cody. Jose ran out with a taser but got hit with the shovel instead. Andrade hit running knees into a chair but then got hiptossed through a table. Cody went for a superplex through a table but here’s Brandi Rhodes (oh boy) to bring lighter fluid so Cody could hit a back superplex through a flaming table that looked more like Andrade did a Sliced Bread No. 2. That gave Cody the win after 19:29 even though his arm was on fire. A good match that was kept from being great by a few things. [***]
