AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy def. Jay LethalThese two have proven in the past that they have quality chemistry together, so although it had plenty of shenanigans around ringside, it ended up being a pretty good match. I wish they would have toned down the silliness, but I guess I've come to expect it. On the bright side, Cassidy continues to deliver as champion by having entertaining matches every week. The title is practically pointless, but I appreciate the attempt to make it feel more meaningful than it actually is. Top Flight def. AEW World Trios Champions The Young BucksIt was really cool to see Top Flight and Young Bucks run it back after Top Flight had their Dynamite debut against Young Bucks back in November 2020. This time, Top Flight were able to avenge the loss, which was a sweet surprise. I assume this sets up an AEW World Trios Championship match between The Elite and the trio of Top Flight and AR Fox. If you're not a spot-fest fan, you probably liked this match less than others, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, personally. The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn Interrupted The GunnsThe Acclaimed are still very over as an act, but I can't say I've cared for a lot what they've done as a team the last month or so. Their matches with Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett were entertaining, but the segments themselves have been too silly and stupid for my liking. This was along those lines as well as it looks like we're getting "family therapy" with these teams and Billy Gunn. Maybe it exceeds expectations, but I don't have high hopes. Ricky Starks def. Jake HagerHager matches do nothing for me at this point, so I appreciated that this was kept relatively short and sweet. The match we got was perfectly fine and Starks was able to win decisively to keep his momentum going, which is key. I assume the next step of this storyline will be Starks and Action Andretti taking on two members of Jericho Appreciation Society in a tag team match. I appreciate that we have yet to get 50/50 booking with them. Bryan Danielson def. BandidoIt was already established that Danielson has to win all of his matches through early February in order to officially be declared number one contender to the AEW World Championship, so the outcome was never in doubt. Despite that, this was a tremendous match and the crowd was into all of the action. I'm stoked Danielson signed with AEW because it made matches like this possible. Bandido really needs to start racking up wins on the main shows soon, though. Toni Storm def. Willow NightingaleEven with the babyface vs. babyface dynamic and it being right before the main event, the crowd wasn't completely quiet for the match. They didn't get a ton of time (likely due to Danielson vs. Bandido going as long as it did), but it was well wrestled and Nightingale scored enough offense to look credible in defeat. Post-match, Storm and Saraya turned heel out of nowhere, though it was subtly teased earlier in the episode and at least with Saraya a few weeks ago when she slighted Hikaru Shida in a backstage segment. Are they setting up for an AEW originals vs. ex-WWE stars storyline with the women? AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin def. KushidaKushida appearing on Dynamite alone was awesome. I've been a big fan of his for years, including prior to him joining WWE, so this was quite the treat. I don't know how far he'd go if he was signed to a full-time deal, so I liked that it was a one-off for the AEW TNT Championship. He and Allin had a really nice match with Kushida dominating a majority of it. Allin's open challenge gimmick has been kicking ass and has maintained the importance Samoa Joe brought back to it. Overall ShowWhile this wasn't on the level of the last two weeks, this was still better than most Dynamite shows we were getting in the final few months of 2022. The in-ring action once again delivered and there was effective storyline progression along with build for the coming weeks. Dynamite has hit its stride again in 2023 and all we do is hope they can keep it going on the road to Revolution. Above all else, thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Jay Briscoes during this tragic time.
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