 Darby Allin def. Swerve Strickland; Allin and Sting Exchanged Words with AEW World Champion MJFAllin and Strickland have plenty of history from the independent scene and it was cool that they finally faced off in AEW. Both guys are great, so unsurprisingly, this was a very entertaining opener. What did surprise me, however, was Strickland eating the clean loss given the momentum he had when he first turned heel a few months back, but Allin is the one who will soon be challenging for the AEW World Championship. The post-match verbal exchange between Allin, Sting and MJF was excellent stuff and delivered in the same way MJF's segment with Jack Perry did two weeks ago. The bar has been set for the eventual MJF and Sammy Guevara promo. AEW TNT Champion Powerhouse Hobbs def. Silas YoungYoung was the hometown hero here, hence why he was the one who accepted Hobbs' open challenge. Granted, his entrance wasn't televised, so you had to know this wouldn't be competitive. Not only was it not competitive, it was booked like a squash with Young being made to look like a total loser, so that was a bummer. Wardlow returned to destroy Hobbs' new car outside, setting up their title rematch for next week. Does anyone honestly care with how much of an afterthought Hobbs has felt like as TNT champ? AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy def. Buddy MatthewsMatthews felt like one of the biggest threats to Cassidy's reign to date. We don't see nearly as much of Matthews in singles action as we should, so I thoroughly enjoyed this. They worked really well together and Matthews was made to look credible in defeat. It's funny that this took place right after the TNT title match because the International title continues to feel far more important than the TNT title. Jeff Hardy and FTW Champion Hook Saved Matt Hardy and Isiah Kassidy From The FirmMatt had a confusing line about how he and Kassidy were already freed from The Firm as a result of Page's loss to Hook last week (he had it written into the contract for the match) before saying that he had to win a match against The Firm in order to be freed. What? Obviously, the big takeaway was the return of Jeff, who we haven't seen since his arrest last June. I honestly don't think being back is the ring and on the road is what's best for him at this point, but if he's happy and healthy, that's what matters. Let's just hope he can stay clean this time, but he doesn't have the strongest track record. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley and ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli) def. Brandon Cutler and Michael Nakazawa by Referee StoppageI guess Cutler and Nakazawa are technically members of The Elite, but I won't classify them as such seeing as how they never really wrestle and are the lackeys of the group if anything. They're not, well, elite. Nonetheless, this had no business being an actual match and I'm glad it wasn't. Rather, it was a straight-up beatdown of Cutler and Nakazawa. AEW uses blood way too match in matches, but it worked here. Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks made the save afterward, basically telling us that they're bad friends who couldn't bother to save Cutler and Nakazawa when they were being destroyed. The Outcasts (Toni Storm and Ruby Soho) def. Skye Blue and RihoThe Outcasts act has improved from where it was before Soho joined at Revolution, but the storyline is clearly stuck in a holding pattern for now. I appreciate that they've been racking up wins and haven't been victims of 50/50 booking, but they've been beating the same babyfaces for weeks now and the crowds don't seem to care. It's become really formulaic with them at this point and I'm just ready for the next stage of the rivalry. This was a fine showcase for them, but it felt flat. Chris Jericho def. Keith LeeThis was a first-time-ever encounter and felt special on paper. It didn't live up to the hype (especially with it being the main event), but it was a solid match and I was just happy to see Lee wrestling on Dynamite for a change. Swerve Strickland cost him the win, so apparently that program isn't over yet. Have they not been tied up with each other for a year at this point? There was also another tease for Adam Cole vs. Jericho as the show went off the air. Overall ShowHardy's return was easily the biggest thing to come out of this episode, and even that was understandably controversial. I really liked the opening segment and subsequent promos from Allin, MJF and Sting, but the episode gradually died down from there and never really recovered. Dynamite is back to being in a lame duck period as we wait for things to heat up again heading into Double or Nothing, so hopefully they can pick up the pace again in the next few weeks.
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