Reviews by Dave
By David E Houston II
Show air date: March 2, 2022
Tony Khan promised a big announcement for this episode of AEW Dynamite and he definitely delivered, announcing he has purchased the Ring Of Honor promotion, a much-respected wrestling promotion celebrating its 20th year. That is damn huge.
Bryan Danielson defeated Christopher Daniels
In honor (HA!) of the company, they started with a match featuring two of the three men who main evented the first ROH show, “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson and “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels (the third man was Low Ki, it’s worth chasing down). A very good match with both guys putting up a strong effort with Danielson getting the win. Danielson then reminds everyone this isn’t ROH, instead of having a Code of Honor handshake, proceeded to stomp Daniels in the face and head before calling out his Revolution opponent, Jon Moxley.
I understood why they did this but it works better if Danielson just bailed instead of doing the very cliché spot where Moxley challenges him to fight, Dragon fakes like he will before bailing. That is stupid every time. I don’t see how it makes the face look good to want to fight someone who just had a match or how the heel is the coward for refusing.
Good short promo by Sting and Darby Allin, to hype their Revolution trios match against Andrade, Matt Hardy, and Isiah Kassidy as well as Allin’s TNT title match against champion Sammy Guevara, their teammate at Revolution.
The Young Bucks Wins Casino Battle Royal
They held a Casino Tag Team Battle Royal (just a gauntlet battle royal) to determine the third team for the Three-Way World tag title bout at Revolution (the champions are Jurassic Express and the second team is reDRagon). I didn’t care. I think it’s a little ridiculous to still be naming people to big title matches 3 days before the sho. I’m not that interested in battle royals.
Loved seeing the return of Darius Martin after a year away due to injury and reuniting Top Flight but it was FF until the end. Matt and Nick Jackson–The Young Bucks–won, with Matt Jackson and Darius Martin being the final two and Jackson being the final elimination.
FF was putting in work when “Le Shittion” Chris Jericho was on the screen, but I stopped when Santana and Ortiz popped up. Nice segment.
You always got their back, Christopher? When???
This is What Was Needed
The absolute best thing on the show saw CM Punk call out Maxwell Jacob Friedman after not being sure how to process MJF’s emotional diatribe last week. Punk was great here because he noted Friedman’s words last week don’t match his action over the last 5 years (3 in AEW alone). He should have followed his first mind. He was not only low kicked by MJF but beaten, bloodied, and hung over the top rope by MJF’s chief ally, Shawn Spears.
This was what I was saying they needed to do before the pay-per-view and they killed it. Loved all this. When he asked “Am I the bad guy?”, I thought “Go ask Colt Cabana and Paul Levesque.”
Thunder Rosa and Mercedes Martinez defeated Dr. Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter
Women’s champion Dr. Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter took on Baker’s Revolution foe, Thunder Rosa and Mercedes Martinez. I keep seeing people talk like Hayter is good, but I rarely see it and this match, she and Baker–who I know can do better–looked like they were out of their depth. Rosa and Martinez win with Rosa pinning Baker.
I was afraid Tay Conti was going to cut a promo with Alex Marvez before her TBS title opportunity against champion Jade Cargill but Cargill showed up and saved us all while simultaneously bodying Conti. “Bit–, shut up before I kick you in your face again. Nobody gives a damn about that karate shit.” I was dead. First-ever multiple rewinds with anything involving Conti.
Ever wonder why some fans think a heel turn is needed for some talents?
Watch Legit Leyla Hirsch spit fire in her dueling promos against Kris Statlander, her Revolution opponent. Statlander was her normal bland self.
Wardlow defeated Cezar Bononi
Wardlow wiped out Cezar Bononi, went to the back, and got slapped in the face by MJF. A little logic hole here. Warlow isn’t employed by AEW? Okay. He’s 51 matches into an AEW career so MJF firing him isn’t a threat.
Main Event: Adam Cole and reDragon defeated Adam Hangman Page and The Dark Order
The main event saw world champion Hangman Page team with his lame-ass Dark Order friends of John Silver and Alex Reynolds to lose to Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish–reDragon–and Page’s Revolution title challenger, Adam Cole (BAY BAY) in a good match but it didn’t really hit me as a “must-see” match.
Cole pinned Reynolds and they beat everybody up so I guess the rest of the DO had somewhere else to be. Probably should have closed with the Punk-MJF angle to leave it on their highest note. A great go-home show where the good great outweigh the bad.
A good show that closed with a strong main event.
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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.
