Tonight’s Dynamite needed to feel like a reset, and a continuation. It accomplished that, wholeheartedly. All Out was an amazing PPV, and felt like the true AEW was back, after all the drama with CM Punk and his island named Collision. The show opened with the man who officially made himself a main eventer after All Out, Orange Cassidy. He told us that he was informed he should stay home, but he refuses to. He will be here, every week, because his name is Orange Cassidy, and he doesn’t have a catchphrase.
As the former International champ leaves, the new one enters. After an amazing main event, Moxley became the third ever champion in the lineage. Orange looks back, but leaves, walking by Moxley’s challenger tonight, AR Fox. The match was electric, with Fox going out and delivering his greatest hits, from his innovative DDT to his many awe inspiring dives, but, in the end, Moxley wrestled a great, cerebral match, and he picked up the win with a Death Rider.
Darby checked on Fox after the match, while Nick Wayne stayed in the back, being accosted by Christian Cage and Luchasaurus, the former of which seems to want to recruit him. They’ll be wrestling in the main event later tonight, the second of two tourney matches. Statlander and Sakura were up next, and it was an amazing sprint. The match may have been short, but the action was explosive, and it was all killer, no filler. This is the level the other talents, male or female, should be holding themselves to. Statlander retained here with Wednesday Night Fever.
Roderick Strong was interviewed backstage with The Kingdom by his side. He talks about quite the bad childhood he had, and how, despite it, he became one of the best, and he very much plans on winning the tourney. Le Sex Gods faced off against Aussie Open next, in a great tag bout. The match was far better than I even expected, with chemistry off the charts. It was a back and forth affair, and, at times, I thought Aussie Open would win due to Le Sex Gods’ issues between one another, after a flurry of double team moves. Still, they battled back, and Jericho won off of a killer Judas Effect. Still, the damage was done, and Sammy shoved him away, and security involved themselves. Could a fight be in their future?
Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita, fresh off their back to back PPV wins, are being interviewed by Renee. They revel in their success, and plan to reveal their next target via painting… next week. MJF came out to the ring to talk up the tourney, and the eventual match at Grand Slam. Right when he’s about to address him, Samoa Joe comes out, and a promo battle ensues. The entire time, both men are trying to get under the skin of one another, but it is Joe that debatably succeeds by repeatedly calling Max “Kid”.
MJF recovers from this, however, and instead tries to get Joe to explode on him, slapping him. Joe refuses to be tricked like this, however, and let MJF leave… into a swift kick to the ropes, hitting MJF in the down under. Joe poses with the world title, and MJF responds in kind with a low blow. MJF has the upper hand until Joe hits him with a corner uranage that sends Max down on his neck. Joe puts him on the top rope, attempting the muscle buster, but Adam Cole saves his brochacho, something he failed to do when Joe hurt Roderick Strong. Joe leaves laughing at Max, and calls him a kid one final time.
As Cole walks to the back, we hear a loud “ADAM!” Roderick Strong, along with the Kingdom, are walking to the ring for the first tourney match of the night and the tournament itself, facing off with Trent Baretta. The Kingdom remove his neck brace, and the match can begin. Strong immediately outwrestles Trent, getting him to the ground and working him down. He stayed on top of him until Trent fought back, eventually hitting a major DDT that scared the Kingdom, due to Roddy’s neck troubles. Strong would fight back into the match, but eventually Trent would hit a major piledriver, with Roddy only surviving due to putting his foot on the rope. He would then be checked on by his friends and the referee, as his neck had suffered major damage. Seemingly, as Trent turned his back, Roddy recovered enough to keep fighting, hitting a strong knee strike and the End of Heartache, to secure the victory. He, of course, quickly had the neck brace put back on.
Next up were a couple interviews. Toni Storm was asked by Renee about how she’d been, and Toni accused her of being nosy, but revealed we’d get a sneak peak into her life next week, and then threw shoes at Renee. This character is so fun, and could really be a great thing. After this, we had Hangman in the ring, talking about the charity battle royale he won on the Pre-Show. He then pivoted towards his plans for the rest of the year, when Swerve, accompanied by Prince Nana, interrupted him. Swerve laid into him, accusing him of not taking great enough advantage of the opportunities he was granted, saying that, if he’d been given those, he would’ve been the first black AEW World Champion. Generally, Swerve was the microphone for a lot of complaints fans have had of Hangman’s booking in the last year, as it felt like he was severely underutilized. Page told him he’d give him a match if he got it made, but he was done with this shit. Swerve made a comment about Hangman’s family, and Page went right after him. All according to the Mogul Embassy’s plan, it seems, as Brian Cage laid him out. This feud could be one of the best AEW has done in ages, and both men should end up far better for it.
Now, it’s time for the main event. Darby Allin vs Nick Wayne. This match was inherently very friendly, as it was between Master and Pupil. They threw many moves at each other, but the match really heated up when Nick Wayne starting throwing punches at Darby. Darby told him he hit like an 18 year old, and needed to fight like he meant it. This lead to another level of competition, but it also lead into Christian Cage and Luchasaurus arriving at the commentary booth. Nick went on a tear, hitting many moves, but, when Darby gained the upper hand, it gave him pause. He didn’t want to hit young Wayne’s back with the coffin drop. This opening allowed Nick to get a near fall with Darby’s Last Supper flash pin. Seemingly, this kicked any doubt out of Darby’s mind, as he got his arms locked at stomped Nick Wayne’s head until he was unconscious, and the referee called it. Great main event, and a stellar show. AEW is back, and the feeling is here.