wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s AEW Dynamite Review 2.16.22
Image Credit: AEW
Loading...AEW Dynamite
February 16th, 2022 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee
We open to CM Punk sitting in the ring with a shirt that says MID, designed after MJF’s scarf. He spoke about his old “straight edge means I’m better than you” promos and said he’s happy to have inspired so many but that includes shitty like Max from shitty little Long Island. He ended up announcing that his rematch with MJF will be at Revolution and it’ll be a Dog Collar Match. It’s fitting of the Roddy Piper talk. Punk then called out MJF and showed off a photo of a young Max meeting him years ago. Punk said that was MJF’s greatest night and just a Friday for him, while Revolutionwill be MJF’s worst night and just another Sunday for him. MJF was unnerved and speechless, slamming down the mic. A very good opening segment to set up our first official PPV bout.
A Jurassic Express promo revealed that Revolutionwill see a three-way for the titles, with challengers being announced in the coming weeks.
Bryan Danielson (13-1-2) vs. Lee Moriarty (5-2)
AEW stats can be so dumb. I believe for Bryan it was like “12-1-1 in his last 14 matches.” Like, that’s barely different than his total record you nerds. This stems from Danielson mentioning Lee as a guy he and Moxley could mentor and Lee is out to prove something to him. Melissa Joan Hart was shown in the front row. These guys went back and forth to start with Dragon showing his superior mat skills, only for Lee to display that he could hang. I chuckled at JR having NO CLUE what a Border City Stretch was. Following a commercial break, they got tangled in the legs and fired off strikes at each other in a cool moment. Danielson looked impressed by Lee’s ability to bring the violence as promised. Lee came close to winning a few times and managed to throw bombs with Danielson. Of course, Danielson hit the Busaiku Knee and then KICKED HIS FUCKING HEAD IN. A Triangle Sleeper later and Lee was out at the 12:12 mark. I might be ranking this a bit high but I loved it. This is one of my favorite stories in all of wrestling and this was a masterful execution of it, with hard-hitting action blended with technical stuff. [****¼]
Danielson called out Moxley for an answer to his proposal last week. Man, between BDSM Punk/MJF and Danielson wanting a long-term relationship with Moxley, this is a pretty gay episode of Dynamite and I’m all for it. Moxley responded with a long-ass entrance. He cut a promo about how he has never beaten Danielson. He also said that he couldn’t think of a reason to no except that Danielson might want to team up because he doesn’t want to fight Mox. In the end, Moxley basically said he’s not saying yes or no but he won’t team with someone who he hasn’t bled with, basically meaning they’ll have a match before anything can happen. This entire thing was brilliantly done and Moxley/Danielson is MONEY.
A vignette aired to hype Keith Lee.
Face Of The Revolution Qualifying Match: Max Caster (48-21) vs. Wardlow (42-7)
Caster’s rap should’ve included a Cody mention. Instead, he called Wardlow MJF’s bitch boy. There wasn’t much to this match. Since Caster is an actual roster member, he got some shine as this went through a break. He used the steel steps for help. Wardlow kicked out of the Mic Drop and won with the Powerbomb Symphony in 4:49. Still, not much of a match. [NR]
Bowens jumped Wardlow after the bell and Shawn Spears ignored it. Wardlow destroyed Bowens with a powerbomb.
Backstage, Britt Baker was interviewed with her crew and Mercedes Martinez. She basically scolded Martinez about getting the job done. She randomly also introduced her sensei, Martin Kove. Kreese said that if Martinez didn’t do it tonight, Britt should finish her. No mercy.
Hangman Page came out for a promo but was quickly interrupted by Adam Cole. He kicked Tony Schiavone out of the ring and then discussed the history he has with Page. That includes having similar friends and that whenever they’re in the same company, Hangman is the “other Adam.” Cole also mentioned how bad of a friend Hangman is. This is an emotional conversation and I’m loving how gay this episode is. Cole shook Page’s hand and said when they fight, the best man should win. Of course, that was all a rouse to bring out reDRagon to jump Hangman until Dark Order made the save. 10 threw around security guards too.
Chris Jericho (38-14-1) and Jake Hager (17-11) vs. Santana and Ortiz (31-10)
It’s about that time Santana and Ortiz finally break through and get the shine they deserve. Hager is in great shape so there must be an MMA fight on the horizon. Before the bell, Eddie Kingston made his return and got a huge pop. It warms my goddamn heart. As expected, this was a quality match that went through the break. Santana and Ortiz were the better team but when they got out of isolating and quick tags, the individual advantage went to Jericho and Hager. After the commercial, the hot tag went to Santana who stood toe to toe with Hager. There was a good closing stretch with Jericho and Santana, including the latter reaching the ropes on the Liontamer with encouragement from Kingston. After trying to hit Kingston, Jericho missed Judas Effect, took a shot from Ortiz, and lost to a Santana lariat in 10:52. Big win for Santana and Ortiz, as it should be. [***]
Post-match, Jericho and Kingston brawled and were pulled apart by officials.
Adam Cole hyped his match with 10 on Friday after the Young Bucks straight up said they’re done attacking Hangman Page at this point. There were then issues about which of Adam’s friends will win the tag battle royal.
No Disqualifications Match: Mercedes Martinez (1-1) vs. Thunder Rosa (49-7)
John Kreese was in the front row. Hell yeah. Martinez brought out a pipe and Rosa had a chair. They swung at each other in the aisle and Rosa won out before taking things into the ring. That didn’t last long as they were soon outside and fighting through the crowd. By the way, Rosa had Kill Bill-themed gear. She hit a dive off a railing that was clearly not sturdy. Martinez turned the tide during the break and brought more weapons into play. Returning, Martinez hit a Fisherman Buster off the apron onto a table but it didn’t break. Inside, Rosa dropkicked Martinez while inside of a trash can. Martinez breaking a pin with a rope break was dumb though considering this has no rules but whatever. Martinez came back with a top rope German suplex. In the end, the Fire Thunder Driver onto a pile of chairs put down Martinez in 9:31. Not surprising that this was awesome. Thunder Rosa is great, as is Martinez. [***¾]
Post-match, Thunder Rosa and Mercedes Martinez showed each other a sign of respect. That didn’t sit well with Britt Baker, who showed up with her friends and went over to John Kreese. He said to finish her, so Rebel and Jamie jumped Thunder Rosa. The right move is 100% to put the title on Rosa as Britt has lost tons of momentum but the way they got here was odd. Thunder Rosa was off doing her own thing and Britt decided to basically put a target on her. Anyway, Martinez couldn’t pull the trigger on attacking Rosa with the pipe, so Hayter attacked her and Britt beat on Rosa. Put the damn title on Thunder Rosa, I’m over Britt Baker, M.I.D.
The House of Black had a vignette about wanting to hurt people and they also teased a new member.
NEXT WEEK!
· House of Black vs. PAC and Penta El Zero Miedo
· Eddie Kingston face to face with Chris Jericho
· A battle royal to determine one challenge for the Tag Titles at Revolution
RAMPAGE SLAM DUNK
· Adam Cole vs. 10
· Jay White vs. Trent (we got a Jay White promo about how everyone is talking about Switchblade. He better be used in AEW as more than just fodder for Kenny/Cole)
· Serena Deeb’s Five Minute Challenge
· Dante Martin vs. Powerhouse Hobbs in a ladder match qualifier
AEW TNT Championship: Sammy Guevara [c] (5-0 in 2022) vs. Darby Allin (54-17-1)
Oh, I am not a fan of these guys. I actually think Sammy is my least favorite wrestler right now. Alas, they did have a banger of a match at Revolution 2020 even though it only went about 5 minutes (****). They showed respect before the bell and Darby had the mat advantage before Sammy did some flippy stuff. My thing with Sammy is that he’s fine as a wrestler but really bland as a character and there are plenty of guys who do what he does but better (like Dante Martin for example). We got a WILD spot where Sammy basically fell off the top with a gutbuster that dropped Darby onto the top turnbuckle. Following the break, Darby targeted the leg. Sammy hit a Spanish Fly off the top and sold the leg to the point where he couldn’t cover. I also appreciated that the rotation on the move was off because of the knee. Good work, Samuel. The Figure Four with the slaps was fun, as was Darby nearly winning with the Last Supper. Sammy then caught a diving Darby with a cutter, which was sweet. Sammy missed badly on an apron senton and was hurt. Darby went for the Coffin Drop but looked conflicted since Sammy was so hurt. Jose the assistant got on the apron and Sting took him out. That allowed Andrade to show up and level Darby with a tablet (what a dumb weapon). Sammy took advantage with GTH and won in 14:20. That was a hell of a match even if I don’t care for either guy. [****]
After the bell, Matt Hardy ran out and beat on Darby for reasons. Sammy ran him off, only for Andrade to lay out Sammy with the tablet. He then posed with the TNT Titles (just do one belt already) until Sting ran him off. PUT THE TITLE ON ANDRADE AND STOP WASTING HIM!
