So we’ve got ourselves a special episode of Dynamite last night… and you know what? This was worth getting out of the hospital to watch… I’ll need to update the banner one of these days, but I can safely say that for the first time in a long time, I enjoyed an episode of Dynamite from top to bottom without much cause for complaint.
Well… almost.
This episode is special, for it is the 289th episode of Dynamite, which surpasses the 288 episode run of WCW Monday Nitro on the Turner networks. Regardless of what you think of the show’s quality as of late – and I’ve had more than my fair share of issues – that is quite the accomplishment and AEW should be applauded for reaching this point. There’s a part of me that wishes AEW chose a better venue – possibly the Mall Of America if that still exists or Club La Vela – but that’s okay. The current arena set-up looks pretty sweet, too. And there’s always the breaking of WCW Saturday Night’s 1992-2000 run in about 198 episodes.
The show opens with a pre-show assault by the Death Riders that sends HOOK to the hospital… yeah, thanks, TK. Not even five seconds and I’m already suffering PTSD.
Opening match sees Mercedes Mone defeat ROH Women’s Champion Athena to advance in the Owen Tournament. Pretty good match to boot, which I credit to Athena being an excellent worker who deserves a better chance to shine than to be the latest victim of Mercedes’ bankruptcy run.
Next match sees the debut of former TNA wrester Josh Alexander, who puts on a valiant match against Hangman Page, but is unable to overcome cowboy shit. This brings out the Callis family, who distracts Page long enough for Alexander to get some licks in before the whole family joins in. Josh Alexander joining the Don Callis family is certainly a choice and hopefully, this means something significant for this guy who really does deserve a decent run if nothing else.
We get a clip of Collision, which explains Fuck The Revival’s reasonings for their turning on COPE at the last PPV… for those who don’t know, FTR and Cope were challenging for the Trios titles, they lost, and then FTR took it out on poor COPE. I’d almost feel sorry for FTR if they hadn’t gone after poor Tony Schiavone, who has officially taken the Jim Ross spot of announcer you beat up for cheap heel heat. Fortunately, Nigel McGuiness made the save and… I guess that’s the next thing for FTR is a formerly retired Desmond Wolfe… what’s next? The return of Lloyd Boner?
Nobody is going to get that.
The Hurt Business retain their tag titles over some tag team I don’t recall (probably some folks who linger on that ROH show that I don’t watch) and then MJF comes out to plead his case to join the Hurt Business. MVP is all for it, while Shelton Benjamin is almost convinced thanks to some ladies and a watch before Lashley goes no. MJF promises to get what he wants because he’s MJF and stuff. I honestly don’t know why MJF wants to join the Hurt Business, but hey, whatever gets him to where he wants to be, I suppose.
(Yes, I know they’re the Hurt Syndicate now. Old habits and shit.)
Will Ospreay defeated that Takeshita guy to advance in the Owen tournament in the usual great Will Ospreay match – not a knock on Takeshita; he’s also pretty damn good, but Ospreay is like a cheat code. You’re not going to get a bad match from here… the occasional questionable spot, maybe, but never a truly bad or horrible match unless he was really in a bad mood.
And in the main event, the trio of Samoa Joe, Shibata, and replacement partner Powerhouse Hobbs defeated the Death Riders via Samoa Joe choking out Jon Moxley to win the Trios titles and finally give the Death Riders a death blow of sorts, handed their first real defeat in what seems like forever. And then a bunch of wrestlers come out to celebrate and make this win feel like a big deal… and you know what? Mission accomplished, because this DID feel like a big deal and it also gave fans a rare happy ending. How often have I said that these endless Death Rider run-ins and beatings ending the shows put a sour taste in my mouth? How often have people complained about the dominance of this lame duck stable? Seeing them get this kind of loss is a big deal, it felt like a big deal, and after what seems like forever, it feels like SOMETHING important is happening in this storyline that feels like we might be moving forward.
As much as I feel bad for HOOK not getting this moment – not sure if he suffered some real injury or if there are contractual issues at play – this did open up an opportunity for Powerhouse Hobbs to take the spotlight and that dude deserves every bit of it that he can get. The man has a presence and a charisma that people gravitate towards and with the proper build, he could be a major presence in the promotion. It would be nice if he could be that major presence in AEW, rather than wait out the rest of his contract to become a major presence in WWE, so let’s see where this takes us.
And that’s the end of the show, kids. Like I said, I’ve very little to complain about this one. There were some good matches, there were some good bits, I’m not thrilled about the Mercedes run being a thing still, but at least they kept it to a good match that gave Athena some shine on a show that isn’t ROH purgatory… yeah, you know what? Screw it. This is a good show. The first good episode of Dynamite that I can safely say that I enjoy.
Please don’t let this be a one-time deal, though. I’d like to be able to watch Dynamite and enjoy on a regular basis again, just like the old days.
dtm666 