AEW Dynamite: Anniversary Review - October 5, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

MJF def. Wheeler Yuta

MJF rarely wrestles on Dynamite these days, so this felt special and I'm happy it kicked off the anniversary episode, especially since MJF has been a part of the promotion since the very beginning. The commentators acknowledged their history from the independent scene and it was clear they had chemistry together. This was a great match and another example of how talented MJF truly is in the ring. MJF nearly accepting Yuta's handshake afterward was interesting. We'll see where it leads and if it's a part of a longer story being told with him.

Darby Allin def. Jay Lethal​

There wasn't any reason behind this match other than it being an excuse to get guys on TV. Allin has been spinning his wheels all year while Lethal has essentially been cemented as a stepping stone. Thus, the outcome was never in doubt, but this was very well wrestled as expected and the action was enjoyable. Post-match, Allin and Lethal shook hands (yes, this happened two matches in a row) and Allin seemed to convince Lethal that he didn't need Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh anymore.

AEW TNT Champion Wardlow def. Brian Cage

Although I was looking forward to this coming into the show, it definitely would have meant more a year or two ago when Cage was more prominently featured on AEW programming. Hell, when he was featured on AEW programming at all! Not only has he been off Rampage and Dynamite for the most part over the last year, he's also barely been absent from Dark and Elevation. He appeared on Ring of Honor's two pay-per-views this year and that's it. This was more of a spot-fest than it was a hoss fight, but it was fun, nonetheless. FTR and Samoa Joe made the save for Wardlow against The Embassy afterward. It's about damn time FTR resurfaced. Can they please be put back in a regular role?

AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm, Willow Nightingale and Athena def. Penelope Ford, Serena Deeb and Jamie Hayter

Is it just me or does it feel like all we see from the women on Dynamite are multi-woman matches and tag team matches? On the bright side, this was good stuff and was nicely paced, despite not receiving a ton of time. Nightingale picking up the victory for her team was a pleasant surprise. Hopefully that means she's officially signed by AEW. Britt Baker made the comment in a backstage interview beforehand that "doctors" said Saraya wasn't cleared to compete, which I assume was a red herring and Saraya will wrestle eventually after all. I feel like that was pretty obvious when she got physical during the post-match brawl.

​Swerve Strickland Interrupted AEW World Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed and Challenged Billy Gunn

I still find the whole "Scissor me, Daddy Ass!" shtick to be stupid and wish Gunn wasn't a regular on television at this point, but there's no denying it's over with the audience and the trio was beyond beloved here. The best part of this segment was Strickland coming out and it's logical he'd want to challenge Gunn after Gunn cost Swerve In Our Glory the tag titles, so that match will take place next week. Acclaimed and Gunn laid out Mark Sterling as well.

"Hangman" Adam Page def. Rush

I though Rush had been signed with AEW since he debuted in that vignette at Double or Nothing, but apparently it wasn't official until Tony Khan tweeted his "all elite" graphic last week. He's a great get for AEW and I'm happy to see him being utilized more as of late. This was a competitive, entertaining affair with Rush looking credible in defeat. Jon Moxley confronting Page post-match and hyping up their AEW World Championship match in two weeks' time was also well done.

Luchasaurus def. Fuego Del Sol

Despite the recent mean streak he's shown on the Dark shows, Fuego remains AEW's go-to jobber and it's the role he's best in. Luchasaurus wasted no time in taking him out and it was a one-sided squash as it should have been. Jack Perry emerged afterward and went right after Luchasaurus, who fled the ring. Christian Cage declared that Perry and Luchasaurus will finally go one-on-one next Wednesday on Dynamite in Canada. By the way, will we ever get an explanation for why Cage and Luchasaurus joined forces?

Jericho Appreciation Society (ROH World Champion Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara) def. ROH Pure Champion Daniel Garcia and Bryan Danielson

TMZ reported earlier in the evening that Guevara and Andrade El Idolo were involved in a backstage altercation following the back-and-forth they had on Twitter on Tuesday. Andrade was bumped from the Rampage main event this Friday because of it, and not only did Guevara compete here as advertised, he picked up the winning fall. Did Tony Khan not want to deviate from his plan? That was weird, to say the least. The match itself was as well-worked as you'd expect given who was involved and I continue to dig the story they're telling with Jericho and Garcia, but I wish it didn't take precedence over pretty much everything else on the show right now.

Overall Show

This was the second straight week that the Jericho Appreciation Society storyline has taken center stage and played out in the main event slot. It's held my attention, but why is Khan putting all of his eggs in that basket right now? Why should viewers care about anything involving Ring of Honor when it doesn't have a weekly show yet? I thought the rest of this show was strong and had a wonderful energy to it thanks to the lively fans in attendance. The matches in particular shined on this show, which was a refreshing change compared to last week's heavy-promo episode.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews