AEW Dynamite: Homecoming Review - January 10, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

"Hangman" Adam Page def. Claudio Castagnoli

This was the perfect choice to start the show, especially with it being a first-time-ever encounter. Page was the MVP of AEW's pandemic era, whereas I don't believe Castagnoli has made a single appearance in Daily's Place until now. It was the great match you'd expect from them. Page picks up a necessary win as he sets his sights on the AEW World Championship (as seen a little later on).

Preston Vance, Adam Copeland, Dustin Rhodes and AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy def. Mogul Embassy (ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Brian Cage and The Gates of Agony) and Lance Archer

Yes, this was a random assortment of stars who have absolutely nothing to do with each other at the moment, but it was made clear from the get-go that this was meant to be a tribute to Brodie Lee, who debuted for AEW at Daily's Place nearly four years ago. Seeing Copeland in Daily's Place was certainly surreal. Despite being inconsequential from a storyline standpoint, this was nicely paced and the crowd had fun with it. Vance picking up the win for his team was logical given his history with Brodie.

Swerve Strickland, "Hangman" Adam Page and FTW Champion Hook Confronted AEW World Champion Samoa Joe

I'm stoked Joe is getting the chance to excel as the world champ because he can have a hell of a run if he stays healthy. This was an excellent first promo from him and the rest of the segment was solid as well with his next three opponents being established. Page and Strickland should be saved for a three-way at Revolution, but Hook will be facing Joe one-on-one next week. That will be a welcome (and overdue) step up in competition for Hook.

Sammy Guevara def. AEW World Tag Team Champion Ricky Starks

Starks feels more like an AEW "pillar" than Guevara, but that's just me. Anyway, this was designed to serve as a preview of the AEW World Tag Team Championship match coming up at Saturday's Battle of the Belts special with Starks and Big Bill defending against Le Sex Gods. They had a quality contest with Guevara winning as I assumed he would. Jericho's entrance music playing while he brawled with Starks and Bill afterward (seemingly to drown out anyone who could have been booing him) was pretty funny.

Anna Jay, Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale and Thunder Rosa def. Skye Blue, AEW TBS Champion Julia Hart and The Outcasts (Saraya and Ruby Soho)

This was similar to the eight-man tag team match from earlier in that this wasn't about furthering feuds but rather showcasing how far some of these women have come since the Daily's Place era of Dynamite. Most of these women are homegrown stars and have progressed exceptionally well over the years. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about this, but it was well wrestled and they put forth a commendable effort. Jay went over for the same reason Vance did.

Roderick Strong def. "The Bounty Hunter" Bryan Keith

Man, Keith has been all over AEW programming for the last month. Good for him. I assume he's under some sort of a deal to the company, but I wish they'd make it official with an "All Elite" graphic. This was nothing more than a glorified squash for Strong to keep Undisputed Kingdom's momentum going. Adam Cole's post-match promo was more of the same from last week. I just hope this Undisputed Kingdom stuff doesn't get too tiresome before he's cleared to compete, which may not be anytime soon.

Sting and Darby Allin def. The Don Callis Family (Powerhouse Hobbs and Konosuke Takeshita) in a Texas Tornado Match

I always worry about Sting and Allin's well-being whenever they have these hardcore matches because they tend to do dumb stuff, and sure enough, that's exactly what happened. That said, this was enjoyable, even though the finish looked off. Post-match, Tony Schiavone asked Sting who he wished to face in his final match, which led to The Young Bucks coming out and staring them down. The Bucks are obviously a top team, but it's ridiculous that Sting and Allin won't have challenged for the tag titles a single time during their time together despite going undefeated (unless the Bucks become champs before Revolution).

Overall Show

I was entertained by this episode. I'm not as nostalgic for the Daily's Place era as AEW itself seems to be, but it's definitely a cool venue and the crowd was hot throughout tonight. The two eight-person tag team matches were whatever, though I can't give them too much flack because apparently they were booked by Brodie's son, -1. I liked the progression of the AEW World Championship picture and the main event, so that stuff was enough to earn this edition of Dynamite a thumbs-up in my book.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews