Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly AEW Dynamite hits and misses series.
All Elite Wrestling presented the five-year anniversary edition of Dynamite from Pittsburgh last night. The Elite, Bryan Danielson, Britt Baker, Serena Deeb, and Mariah May worked the show.
Here’s what went down on the fifth anniversary of Dynamite.
Hit – Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet on AEW Dynamite
Will Ospreay put his International Championship on the line against Ricochet in the opening contest. Both men’s extreme familiarity from each other prevented a decisive outcome. Referee restarted the match, but Konosuke Takeshita interfered to cause a DQ finish.
This was a fine opener between two men who’ve known each other for years. Ospreay and Ricochet gave a nod to their BOSJ ’16 meeting with the double flip. The crowd weren’t having any of Takeshita’s BS interference. In-ring action gets a thumbs up, but the DQ finish was a letdown.
Miss – Mercedes Mone promo
Mercedes Moné cut a promo on five years of AEW Dynamite. The CEO showed the crowd a music video of her accomplishments in AEW. MVP showed up and handed Moné his business card. The pair looked interested.
Mercedes Moné and a live microphone shouldn’t be in the same frame. She’s arguably the worst talker out of Four Horsewomen. It seems Tony Khan has finally decided to pair Moné with MVP.
Hit – Jay White returns on AEW Dynamite
Hangman Page assaulted The Gunns while making his way to the ring to take on Juice Robinson. Both men took turns beating each other in the crowd before the referee called for the bell inside the ring. Page picked up the win with a Buckshot Lariat, but continued the assault post-match. Jay White returned from injury to help his fellow Bang Bang Gang member.
Page and Juice had some entertaining spots in the crowd before the match. The in-ring action was shot but told the story. Jay White got a babyface pop from the Pittsburgh crowd. Let’s see how AEW books Page versus White.
Miss – TV time with Mark Briscoe
Mark Briscoe had some words for Chris Jericho. Briscoe said he’d put an end to the legend of Jericho at WrestleDream. Jericho went low with his Jay Briscoe reference causing Mark to lose his cool. It’ll be the two men for the ROH World Championship.
After taking away momentum from young stars, Jericho is finally taking on an established name. But should this match involve the ROH title? Jericho just had a run with the FTW title. Another title program is the last thing The Learning Tree needs.
Hit – Shelton Benjamin is All Elite!
Renee Paquette caught up with Shelton Benjamin for his announcement. Prince Nana interrupted by saying he didn’t like what Shelton had to say about him and Swerve last week. Nana teased lacing up his boots once again but Shelton said all he heard were complaints. He then introduced Shelton Benjamin to AEW fans.
Benjamin got a massive pop as he should. He’ll undoubtedly prove to be a great addition to the AEW roster. Prince Nana threatening to throw some hands was hilarious. He went mum as soon as Benjamin showed up. For those wondering if Bobby Lashley is going to show up next, read this update.
Miss – Underwhelming finish to a great main event on AEW Dynamite
Bryan Danielson took on Kazuchika Okada in a title-for-title match in the main event. This was a battle of epic proportions. Both men dished some hard punishment with lethal forearm strikes. Danielson took some nasty neck bumps with those piledrivers. Okada found himself too distracted by Castagnoli that he lost to a backslide pinfall.
AEW built this as a grudge match only to deliver yet another controversial finish. They could’ve let Danielson barely survive the match instead of doing the backslide pin. This was clearly a tease for another match between Danielson and Okada. Yuta coming to Danielson’s aid was fine. However, I’m thinking a heel turn for Wheeler is imminent next week.
Honorable Mentions
- Britt Baker and Serena Deeb had a solid match. Baker had to resort to some mat work against one of the very best in Deeb. The hometown crowd rallied up behind The Doctor, who applied the Lockjaw for the win. Deeb attacked Baker after the match before Queen Aminata showed up to make the save.
- Darby Allin cut an intense promo about losing everything after the match against Jon Moxley at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam. He then put out an open challenge for WrestleDream. Are we getting another surprise debut or return? I don’t know.
- Private Party won a squash match and called out the Bucks. The EVPs showed up and teased a title match before ducking out. Jack Perry attacked PP from behind. Christopher Daniels booked a match between The Elite versus Shibata and Private Party for Rampage.
Catch up on the full results from this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite here.
