AEW Dynamite Review (8.05.20)

AEW has a knack for getting their fans hyped for the following week’s show, and boy, did they deliver here once again. 

With a stacked card featuring an AEW World Championship Match, a huge 12-man tag, and a debate between Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy with a special guest moderator, the company delivered and then some. 

Airing live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL, the commentary team of Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone and Taz start us off in the best possible way, a huge 12-man tag featuring The Dark Order taking on The Elite and FTR

The Elite and FTR v. The Dark Order

If you want to start a show off right, this is the way to do it. The match begins with Dark Order leader Brodie Lee and Nick Jackson of The Elite. Nick and Lee go back and forth for a few seconds before Lee tags out. Nick hits a huge head scissors off the top rope on Nine for a nearfall. We see a lot of nearfalls throughout this match as everyone gets a chance to shine. Matt Jackson flies onto everyone on the outside which might have injured Dax Harwood, as we see him remove his brace and scoot away to the apron. The Elite help Dax walk up the ramp as Omega is getting stomped on in the corner, before reversing into another head scissors takedown. “Hangman” Adam Page hits an absolutely beautiful moonsault onto everyone in The Dark Order except Lee, who follows the big move with one of his one, hitting a suicide dive onto Page.  A superkick party by The Young Bucks on everyone in Dark Order allows them to get the upper hand, and it even looks like they have the match won with a superkick/snapdragon combo from Kenny Omega and The Bucks on Lee before the heel hits Page with a huge Discus Clothesline for the win. ****½. What a match. AEW has found its niche in putting on great matches at the beginning of their shows, and this continued that trend and some. Every member of the match got a chance to shine and hit a big move, and the stories set up by previous matches between the members were allowed to build here. It will be interesting to see if Harwood is actually hurt or if this will lead to even more advancement in the story involving FTR and Page. Seek out this match for its constant action and great storytelling. 

Following the match, we get another promo from AEW Champion Jon Moxley about his match later in the night against Darby Allin pleading for the challenger to stay down when it’s time to stay down.

Best Friends v. Santana and Ortiz

Chuck and Santana start this match with Chuck hitting an arm drag pin combination early in the match for a quick two count. Trent and Ortiz get tagged in after some back and forth and Trent immediately hits double knees to the chest, followed by a Northern Lights Suplex for one. The match picks up once the teams start introducing more tag-team maneuvers, including a Tornado DDT by Trent and a Stunner by Chuck before the two embrace in a hug. The heels take advantage as we head into break, even hitting a Northern Lights of their own. However, after a few nearfalls throughout the match, Best Friends hit a huge Superplex on Ortiz off the top rope before Santana prevented the tag by pulling Chuck off the apron. Santana hits a Cutter and a Superkick to Trent with Ortiz hitting a Powerbomb in between. However, Chuck pushed Santana off the top rope as the heels looked to take the match, allowing Trent to get a rollup for three. ***½. Another solid match to start the show, I feel like this match never got into the gear that it wanted to. Everyone looked great and the action was there, but it’s always hard for a tag team match to follow another tag team match, especially one with as much quality as the opener. Hopefully, Santana and Ortiz are able to recover sometime soon, as they haven’t been a major factor in the past few months. 

After the match, we see MJF at his “MJF Headquarters” where we see posters and pins being made for his campaign. MJF states that the campaign isn’t over until the belt is around his waist.

We also see Matt Hardy in the ring, talking about why he came to AEW. He discusses how he wants to help the younger guys on the roster like Private Party. He turns his attention to Sammy Guevara, who he has no desire to help anymore. Sammy comes out from under the ring and the two engage in an absolute brawl. Sammy throws a chair at Matt’s face and he starts bleeding profusely. Matt is placed onto the table as Sammy goes to the top of the stage, jumping off in a move that looked like time stopped, it was so perfect. Sammy lets Matt sit in the wood and his own blood as he stands atop the ramp. 

One last backstage segment, as we see Santana and Ortiz take out their frustrations from the previous match on Sue’s minivan. The heels use sledgehammers and spray paint to destroy the car, sending a message to Best Friends once again. 

John Silver and Alex Reynolds v. Matt Cardona and Cody

The anticipated debut of Matt Cardona is finally here, as the former WWE product looks ready. Cody and Silver start, with the TNT Champion hitting a suplex early for a count of one. Cody tags in Cardona, who immediately gets another nearfall for his team. Cardona gets hit with a suplex from Reynolds, but quickly follows up with a neckbreaker. The heels take advantage by hitting a few elbow drops to Cody, which causes the champion to favor his ribs. Cody takes a lot of kicks from the members of Dark Order, even asking for a few from Silver. However, the champ takes control by hitting a powerslam out of nowhere. Tag to Cardona who hits a dropkick on Reynolds before setting him up for the Bro Boot. Silver pulls his partner out of the ring to save him, but not for long as Cardona dives out of the ring onto both before bringing Reynolds back in. A huge powerbomb by Cardona gets a two count. The match ends with Cardona hitting Reynolds with Radio Silence for three and the win. ***. Nothing too special here, but it was nice to see the former Zack Ryder get the win for his team. I always thought Cardona was a great wrestler who was underused in WWE, so it will be great to see him get a real opportunity. Here’s to hoping he gets as over as he was when he won the US Title at TLC 2011. Another solid match that delivers on the hype.

 A quick backstage segment sees Scorpio Sky challenge Cody for the TNT Championship, which we will see next week.

AEW Super Wednesday Debate (Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy)

This should be fun. AEW has been keeping the guest moderator as a surprise all week, and ERIC BISCHOFF sure is a surprise! The former WCW head has been a fixture in wrestling since the 90’s, and it is great to see him here tonight. He introduced both Jericho and Cassidy and began asking them questions about their hatred for each other and who the better wrestler is. Of course, Cassidy remains quiet throughout the debate, except for giving a very funny and informative response to a global sea level question. When asked about how important the rematch between the two is, Cassidy asks Jericho “What will happen when Jericho loses to the guy who puts his hands in his pockets?” Cassidy is declared the winner which leads to Jericho hitting the Judas Effect on Cassidy, thanks to the help of Jake Hager. Best Friends come out to make the save, ending the segment. *****. I loved this. I loved seeing Bischoff back in the wrestling business. I loved Jericho’s great heel work, which is expected. And of course, I loved seeing Orange Cassidy’s mic work here. It would be in AEW’s best interest to have Cassidy win next week, continuing to build up his star. 

Big Swole v. Reba.

Swole starts the match off with a side headlock takedown before hitting Reba in the back as she escapes. Dr. Britt Baker distracts Swole, allowing Reba to get in some offense. Reba goes for a moonsault off the second rope, but Swole moves and hits Dirty Dancing for the quick win. **. Well, this happened. There has been a running story between Baker and Swole for the last few weeks, and this didn’t do much to advance it. The match was too short and didn’t allow for either competitor to look good. The first match of the show that failed to deliver. 

Darby Allin v. Jon Moxley (AEW World Title Match)

Allin comes out with a mask of Moxley’s face, which visibly frustrated the champion. Moxley starts the match with a punch to the mouth of Allin, who begins bleeding. Moxley gets the first nearfall of the match with an elbow drop, but is quickly thrown out of the ring by Allin. The challenger dives through the ropes, but is sent into the post after some back and forth on the outside. Back inside, the two begin trading chops before Allin hits the champ with a dropkick. He goes for another, but the champ blocks it and locks in a Boston Crab. The challenger escapes and hits another dive on the outside, followed by a huge swanton off the top rope. A little more back and forth before Moxley goes for the Paradigm Shift, only for Allin to reverse and hit Code Red for two. Wardlow shows up to distract the two, allowing MJF to hit Moxley in the face with the belt, giving Allin the chance to climb to the top rope and hit the Coffin Drop for another two count. Mox begins bleeding now and continues to get pushed to his limit by Allin. The challenger goes for another Coffin Drop but he’s caught in a sleeper hold. Mox goes for the win with a huge piledriver for two, only to follow up with a Paradigm Shift for the win to retain. ****. Wow, what a match. This was as hard-hitting as you could get without there being a stipulation to the match. Allin is a future world champion. He has a great character, is liked by the audience, and can absolutely go in the ring. There were a few instances where it looked like we might have a new champion, but the result was never really in doubt. MJF and Moxley have the chance to steal the show at All Out, which will hopefully also feature a match with Allin. He’s just too good to be left off the card. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw him take on Cage to continue their feud. 

In my opinion, this is one of AEW’s best overall shows to date. From huge tag matches to a hilarious debate featuring a great return, the show would have been enjoyable without the main event. Throw in the aforementioned World Title match, and you have a top five show in AEW’s short history. If you have two hours to spare, go out and watch this show. You won’t be disappointed.