Reviews by Dave
By David E Houston II
Show air date: September 8, 2021
AEW Dynamite was coming off a huge All Out pay-per-view this past weekend and this felt like a show to move things forward.
Malakai Black defeated Dustin Rhodes
Malakai Black continued his rampage over the Rhodes’ family, this time beating Dustin Rhodes. Solid match that worked at a more deliberate pace than I expected. Some miscues at times but overall it went fine. Looked like Black just realized how tall Dustin was with that kick at the finish. Good cover by Taz in saying what we all saw and selling the uncovered turnbuckle as the killing blow.
Good short promo from new tag champions, the Lucha Bros.
CM Punk’s Promo Sets Up Next Opponent
I was hoping CM Punk’s promo would set up his next opponent and it did. I liked the interaction with him and Taz. It was a…stark (ha) reminder of why I hate Taz to work commentary when his Team Taz guys have a match. Hook standing there in his medium tank top is not intimidating and not a substitute for a real “coach”.
Great promo from Santana and Ortiz.
Loved the face-off backstage between Women’s champion Dr. Britt Baker DMD (with Rebel and Jamie Hayter) and new number one contender Ruby Soho. Dr. Baker books Hayter into a match with Ruby.
Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Dante Martin
Team Taz muscle, Powerhouse Hobbs beat Top Flight’s, Dante Martin. Nice match. Good story of the much larger power wrestler against the much faster high flyer. Good display for two young guys with tremendous upside.
Love Dan Lambert. “All Ego”Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky–the Men of the Year–don’t need a manager to talk for them, but Lambert is a heat magnet and just allows them to stand there and flex in tight ass shirts (looking dead at you, Ethan. Give Hook back his shirts).
You Came to Talk, Brah?
MJF went out and went too long with his cheap heat act. The whole thing was ripped from Monday or Friday night wrestling. The mofo stood there and popped off about Brian Pillman Jr’s dead father and got in his aunt’s face. Pillman Jr came out…to cut a promo. I guess this is as good as any feud to get MJF back on the winning track. Yawn. Nice MLW reunion, I guess.
Ruby Soho defeated Jamie Hayter
Ruby Soho won her Dynamite debut, beating Hayter. Eh. They had some nice moments but didn’t click. Makes me go back and say it was Hayter, not Red Velvet, who was the problem on Rampage the other week. Baker and Rebel took advantage of Soho hugging the ref (what?), prompting a save by former champion Riho (the crowd went…shrug), and both needed saving by Kris Statlander, armed with a folding chair.
The Pinnacle defeated The Dark Order
FTR (with Tully Blanchard) teamed with their Pinnacle teammate Shawn Spears and got a win over Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, and John Silver of the Dark Order. The match was fine but more angle than match as it showcased the dysfunction in the Dark Order. Big Dark Order brawl at the end.
Blanchard challenges Darby Allin to face Spears next week. His burying of Sting was priceless. They haven’t butted heads since 1988.
I liked the promo sequence of the women that were involved in the Casino Battle Royal at All Out.
A Good Way to Get Heat
Does Don Callis know fans don’t vote for the PWI 500? Heeling Tony Schiavone is a good way to get heat with a crowd that wants to cheer for you and Adam Cole was effective here in the Elite’s in-ring promo and his own Dynamite debut. I don’t get why he would want to link up with the Super Elite as opposed to wanting to face Kenny Omega for the world title but it is what it is.
The segment went a bit long but good face-off with Omega and Bryan Danielson. Good brawl with Jurassic Express and Christian Cage saving Danielson. No need to do a lot to build this up. It sells itself. One note: Danielson is a five-time world champion if we’re letting Adam Cole say he won “world titles”. 4 WWE, 1 ROH.
Jon Moxley defeated Minoru Suzuki
Japanese legend, Minoru Suzuki’s US tour took him to Cincinnati for his Dynamite debut, facing hometown hero and New Japan rival, Jon Moxley in the main event. The live audience hit a “This is Awesome!” chant way early, but it was an awesome spectacle if not an awesome match. Solid match that got better as it went and almost definitely needed more time. Mox wins with a floating Paradigm Shift double underhook DDT. Some of that TV time spent showing Mox wandering around could have been in the ring action.
A solid show where they were trying to get A LOT done and showcase a big chunk of the roster.
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