Pantoja’s AEW Dynamite Review 5.10.23

AEW Dynamite

May 10^th, 2023 | Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit, Michigan

While I have been watching lately, I really haven’t been into AEW lately. The only storyline in the company that I enjoy is the Blackpool Combat Club vs. The Elite. Four Pillars angle? Nah. The Outcasts stuff? Very not good. Tag Title situation? Pass. That said, this is a loaded card and it’s one I have time to cover so let’s see if AEW can turn things around.

Double Jeopardy Match: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Rey Fénix

I was under the impression that this was for both the ROH World and Tag Titles. Instead, it’s a case where the winner gets a shot at the other person’s title. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing because I really like the idea here. Both men were in the ring to start the show so I didn’t get any records. Anyone who has seen these guys compete before should’ve known this would rule. Fénix is great and Claudio works incredibly well against smaller high fliers. The spot where Fénix went for a tope suicida only to get caught in a seemingly effortless press slam is all the proof you need. Then, the spot where Fénix walked across the barricade for a rana took this up a notch. They kept up a great pace throughout and worked through a commercial where, upon return, Claudio was in control and picking up some near falls. Fénix began a rally but jumped into an uppercut for two only to then counter the Ricola Bomb into Code Red. It looked good but the GOAT version of that is still Generico/Claudio in 2007. I love that when Fénix kicked out of the Alpamare Waterslide Claudio responded with Danielson elbows. He added the Ricola Bomb to win in 14:20. Obviously, that was rad as both guys played to their strengths. [****]

Backstage, Renee Paquette ran into the returning Miro, who entered Tony Khan’s office. Good, there are PLENTY of people who need more love in this company and Miro is near the top of that list.

A video package saw MJF discuss the “four pillars” and how they had unlimited potential but the difference is that he’s the only one who has done something. He’s not wrong when he talks about the gap widening between him and the rest.

FTR came out to issue an apology to Mark Briscoe but they got Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, and co. instead who want their shot at the titles. Dax said they’d accept a challenge if Sonjay admitted to using Mark Briscoe. That brought out Mark with drinks for everyone and then he announced that Tony Khan booked the match for the PPV with Mark as the special referee. I feel like there are way better uses of Mark Briscoe but whatever. Sonjay drank the booze and then spit it at FTR, sparking a brawl. Jarrett tossed Mark into a blinded Dax, who hit a piledriver. This felt like one of those WWE angles where nobody goes to the video to see what really happened.

Chris Jericho was interviewed to say that he got a court order banning Adam Cole from any building he’s in. Roderick Strong interrupted to challenge him to a Falls Count Anywhere match and Jericho accepted for next week. So we know how this goes, right? The fight spills outside of the arena, where Cole can kick Jericho’s ass.

Renee Paquette must’ve sprinted to TK’s office after that last interview. As she waited for talk to the owner, Thunder Rosa returned and entered the office to talk to him too.

Sammy Guevara and some others talked about him as part of the Four Pillars. Maybe don’t let him talk, it never goes well.

TONY KHAN HAS A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT NEXT WEEK! What’s this, announcement #423 in AEW’s history?

AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy [c] (12-0 in 2023) vs. Daniel Garcia (5-4 in 2023)

At first, OC’s title reign felt like another case of “babyface is a fighting champion.” It gave us good matches and nothing more. That has changed recently and is actually a storyline I forgot I’ve been enjoying. He has a bad hand and it feels like he’s had to find more creative ways to win without the Orange Punch. He’s also getting more desperate and exhausted by the schedule which is fun to see play out. This was pretty even until Garcia grabbed at the hand only for OC to come back with a tope suicida. Garcia dropped him on the guardrail to take us to commercial. Returning, things picked up as OC kept trying to get something going but Garcia would find ways to cut him off. The closing stretch here was really strong from Garcia hitting a piledriver to Cassidy’s flash pin attempts to Garcia attacking the hand again. When Garcia had a crossface in and stomped on the hand, I believed it would be the finish. However, Cassidy countered it into a few pin attempts, finally getting three on one of them at the 13:24 mark. They told a hell of a story there. I really liked the start and ending here though some bits in the middle didn’t fully click for me. [***¾]

A video package aired to hype Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida against The Outcasts next week. Both sides spoke (except Shida who is back in Japan) and this just further added to why Hayter’s title run has kind of died. This angle is rough.

Christian Cage and Luchasaurus came out for an interview. Christian dissed Detroit a bunch before calling himself the #1 contender for the TNT Title. He promised not to go after Wardlow’s dead dad because he’s not famous and nobody cares. He then covered Arn Anderson, who was just Ric Flair’s lapdog and Tully Blanchard’s partner. Christian went on to diss Detroit more, getting “Edge is better” chants. He ended by telling the city to kiss his ass. Christian remains one of the best in the game on the mic.

It’s time for Darby Allin’s promo/video package. He’s a daredevil if you didn’t know.

No Holds Barred Match: Anna Jay vs. Julia Hart (6-0 in 2023)

Anna Jay jumped Julia during her entrance by hitting her with a chair, getting this off to a quick start. Commentary hyping them as “best friends” is funny since we literally have been told forever that Anna’s bestie is Tay Conti. The ladies brawled around the ring with a kendo stick through a commercial. Chairs and a trash can came into play upon return, with Anna using a Gory Bomb onto a pile of chairs. Basically when Anna Jay enters a hardcore match she becomes Sabu. Inside, Anna put the trash can on Julia and hitting her with a pin kick of sorts for two. Anna then set up a bunch of chairs as Julia seemed to have an injury that needed tending to. Julia recovered and eventually hit a superplex onto a pile of chairs before winning with Heartless in 9:17. A lot of that worked though some of the brawling outside was repetitive and the injury section hurt the momentum. [***]

Backstage, Best Friends were interviewed ahead of their upcoming Trios Title match. They didn’t totally understand the “Open House” rules gimmick that the House of Black set up and they didn’t even know they had to add a rule. Since they’re scared of Julia Hart, they opted for “all witches are barred from ringside.” OC had no final words for his teammates, simply ending with “I’m so tired, Renee” which got a response of “Me too, bud.”

AEW Trios Championship Open House Rules: The House of Black [c] (5-0 in 2023) vs. Bandido and Best Friends

I guess another rule of this match is that the lighting would be different. Unlike the goofy Sin Cara or Bray Wyatt lighting, this worked because it wasn’t goofy. They just simply dimmed the lights on the crowd and put the focus on the ring so it looked like an old house show. Anyway, the rules are no rope breaks, 20 counts outside, no DQ, and no Julia Hart. This was mostly an average tag here as they kind of had a house show match so the lighting was probably appropriate. After a commercial break, I was hoping it would pick up but it didn’t really. Brody beat Chuck with Dante’s Inferno at the 8:20 mark. A ho-hum defense for the champs. [**½]

Backstage, OC has been knocked out by Kyle Fletcher of Aussie Open.

Jungle Boy video package time.

RAMPAGE!

• The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass vs. The Butcher, the Blade, and Kip Sabian
• Kyle Fletcher vs. Action Andretti
• Toni Storm vs. Allysin Kay
• Mogul Embassy vs. Dark Order

 

DYNAMITE

• Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida vs. The Outcasts
• Jay White vs. Ricky Starks
• Chris Jericho vs. Roderick Strong in a Falls Count Anywhere match

 

Steel Cage Match: Jon Moxley (71-8-1) vs. Kenny Omega (16-0-1 on Dynamite)

The fight started in the aisle and then ended up involving run-ins by Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli and the Young Bucks. We got big dives and spots as they fought to the back, while Bryan Danielson remained on commentary. Once in the ring, Omega brought out a barbed wire steel chair, showing up that this would be their usual violent affair. Mere minutes into this, Moxley was busted open, so that’s nothing new. Kenny took a superplex onto the chair heading into break and the show came back to see Moxley fishhooking Kenny with a piece of the turnbuckle, much to Danielson’s delight. Things remained violent with the introduction of broken glass but they also kept up things like counters for big moves. The memorable spot came right after, with Kenny hitting a V-Trigger that sent Moxley through the cage and to the outside. Kenny’s leg got trapped in an awkward, painful way. Moxley went to use his screwdriver as a weapon but Don Callis stole it. Kenny got going thanks to the distraction and hit the One Wined Angel but then Don hit him with the screwdriver to break up the pin. Moxley then covered Kenny to win in 14:29. My least favorite of their matches but still a very good main event that felt like a big deal with a huge angle at the end. [***½]

Post-match, Don teased using the screwdriver again but instead tossed it aside and kissed him before throwing him down.

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

They are likely gonna get destroyed in the ratings but they went out there and swung for the fences. I respect that. They put on a hell of a show and delivered quality wrestling throughout though some angles didn’t quite work.