Reviews by Dave
By David E Houston II
Show air date: April 20, 2022
CM Punk defeated Dustin Rhodes
AEW Dynamite was broadcast live from the Petersen Event Center in Pittsburgh.
AEW Dynamite starts immediately with the first-ever meeting of two world-traveled veterans with CM Punk beating “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes in a very good match that was given a lot of time and they used every bit of it to be damn good. It’s a nice change of pace to just have a match with two competitors who just want to win a match with no beef or heat. The show of sportsmanship at the end felt the most like a legit combat sport of anything done on AEW TV.
A celebratory Punk is met at the top of the ramp by AEW World champion Hangman Page in an intense face-off.
Some stuff with Wardlow arriving and security… never mind. This is some overbooked WWE-style shit right here. Why and when did Maxwell Jacob Friedman lift his “ban”? If all Tony Khan had to do was book Wardlow for a match, why hadn’t he already done that when he saw MJF abusing these new powers he’s acquired? Wardlow later goes on to beat the Butcher in a decent hoss fight.
The Blackpool Combat Club defeated Dante Martin, Lee Moriarty, and Brock Anderson
The Blackpool Combat Club–Jon Moxley, “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson, and Wheeler Yuta–beat a Battle Bowl-drawn team of Dante Martin, Lee Moriarty, and Brock Anderson. It was good for what it was. I could have done without all three of BCC getting individual ring walks but the match itself was entertaining that allowed the three young mix match team to have some good moments before they were all just stomped out.
Kyle O’Reilly defeated Jungle Boy
Bad awkward backstage talking with the Undisputed Elite that ends with Kyle O’Reilly promising to beat Jungle Boy Jack Perry in their Owen Hart Foundation Tournament qualifier. A promise he kept and kept in a surprisingly dominant fashion. Perry got his shots in and had his moments, but I was stunned at how much O’Reilly got of that match. Just beat that boy clean.
MJF is still offering money for someone to take out Wardlow and the money is accepted by Jake Roberts, who was going down a dark path with his promo, to only be cut off his charge, “The Murderhawk” Lance Archer, who says he doesn’t even want the money!! Bruh!!! Take the money!!
Why keep having Jake and not let Jake do his thing? Is the Archer-Rhodes feud over already?
Some more awkward backstage talking, this time from TBS champion Jade Cargill (who only seems to defend her title on TNT) and her new Baddies, Red Velvet and Kiera Hogan. The two years of beef between Cargill and Velvet is just over, and Tony Khan shows again why he needs help with the booking. My guy, Britt Baker is already doing this “I got two flunkies” gimmick.
Hook defeated Anthony Henry
Hook Goldberg beat Anthony Henry in Hook’s Dynamite debut and then gets challenged by Danhausen since the curses aren’t working. A little Danhausen goes a long way.
The Segment Was a Mess
Embracing turning new TNT champion Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti makes sense. Turning Men of the Year and Dan Lambert? No. It’s okay for heels to fight amongst themselves. That segment was a mess too. Sky agrees to an intergender match to get a title rematch. Okay. When? If the rematch is next week, he doesn’t have to hold up his end at all. And what is it with champions booking themselves into matches where they give away their own advantages? That’s what Guevara does, screaming out the ladder match stip at the last second.
Dr. Britt Baker, DMD defeated Danielle Kamela
Dr. Britt Baker DMD beat Danielle Kamela to qualify for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament and then cuts a promo in the ring. Nothing about this was particularly interesting, making her line about a woman knowing what to do with the microphone ironic as hell.
A great video package for the final battle between Serena Deeb and Hikaru Shida.
Main Event: Darby Allin defeated Andrade El Idolo
In a Coffin Match
Darby Allin beat Andrade El Idolo in a Coffin match. Not a great match but fun with some expected crazy bumps and dives by Allin and Sting flashing back to the Nitro days. His appearance conveniently in the audience where they were fighting was a little too cute but it’s still a fun callback and we should appreciate Sting while we got him. Thumbtacks on the inside of the coffin lid were a nice touch. The three marquee matches delivered but man, the booking was a lot messy this week.
The Real Uncle Dave grade: B (barely).
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Reviews by Dave is the best wrestling review on the internet! It’s written by David Houston II, who writes about WWE NXT 2.0, AEW Dynamite, and IMPACT Wrestling.
