AEW Dynamite Review - April 28, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

FTW Champion Brian Cage def. "Hangman" Adam Page (Non-Title)

Page beat Ricky Starks in last week's opener, so it made sense for another Team Taz member to be his next opponent. Page has been rolling in singles matches for months, so I was surprised as anyone that he lost clean here. Technically, Cage brutalized Page beforehand, but he still dominated a majority of the match and won without any inference. It was an entertaining opener and, personally, I didn't have an issue with the outcome. If Page isn't getting the next shot at the AEW World Championship, it makes sense to knock him down in the rankings a spot or two until that time comes. Plus, Team Taz desperately needed a notable win and this was it.

AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks def. Mike and Matt Sydal (Non-Title)

The Sydal brothers have been feuding with The Elite on the Dark shows for a over a month now, so this was a logical match to do now that Young Bucks are fully heel. The stipulation was that the Sydal brothers would earn themselves a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship had they won, so while the outcome was never in doubt, it was a well-wrestled affair, nonetheless. Afterward, SCU came out looking for their rightful opportunity at the titles. They'll get it on the May 12th episode of Dynamite if they win the four-way tag team match next week which I'm sure they will.

Orange Cassidy def. Penta El Zero Miedo

This is going to be a pretty polarizing match with half of the audience hating it and the other half enjoying it. Personally, I found myself in the latter category of fans who was entertained by it. The shenanigans early on went on a little longer than they should have, but otherwise, I thought this was very fun. Yes, Cassidy cheated to win, but it was in the same fashion Penta beat Trent last week, so I didn't have an issue with it. This is obviously all building to a six-man tag team match pitting Death Triangle against Best Friends.

Inner Circle and The Pinnacle Engaged in a Parlay Ahead of Blood and Guts

This is how you build to a big match. Damn, this was fantastic. I wasn't sold on this feud when it started last month because I felt AEW already had too many stables (and it definitely does), but they've quickly sold me on Blood and Guts with the promos they've been cutting in recent weeks. Shawn Spears' was probably the weakest in this segment, but everyone else's was on point. I also appreciated that they didn't get physical, either. This is a perfect example of how you get viewers excited for an upcoming attraction. AEW, and other companies for that matter, should be doing more of this type of stuff.

Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston Attacked AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and MT Nakazawa

Omega told Kingston earlier in the evening that he could have a match with Nakazawa on this show. Kingston said he didn't want any part of that "sports-entertainment crap" and refused to wrestle him. He and Moxley proceeded to attack Nakazawa and Omega, which led to Don Callis granting them a tag team match against the duo next week. I don't know why they'd want to face Omega and Nakazawa instead of demanding a shot at The Young Bucks' AEW World Tag Team Championship, but my guess is that's coming at Double or Nothing. There were aspects of this segment that were stupid, but at least it served to set up that matchup for next week.

Kris Statlander def. Penelope Ford

Statlander returned by attacking Ford during Arcade Anarchy, so it made sense to do this match at some point. I've been praising Ford's progress on the Dark shows and I was glad she had an opportunity to shine here since she was a background player during the Kip Sabian and Miro alliance. There wasn't a ton to this match, but it was decent while it lasted and Statlander winning keeps her momentum alive.

The Factory (QT Marshall, Nick Comoroto and Aaron Solow) def. The Nightmare Family (Dustin Rhodes, Billy Gunn and Lee Johnson)

It doesn't matter what combination of competitors are in the ring with each other; I can't bring myself to care about this feud. We're already getting the dueling factions with Inner Circle and The Pinnacle, so this feels like a lame excuse to get all these guys on the show. There wasn't anything wrong with the match, but it solely existed to set up Cody Rhodes' post-match return. How the hell did Marshall not see Cody standing through the bus door? They'll be facing each other one-on-one next week on Dynamite, so I'm glad it isn't being saved for Double or Nothing.

AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin def. Preston "10" Vance

This was the third straight week that Allin has headlined Dynamite in a match for his AEW TNT Championship, so it's nice they're making his title defenses more frequent. I also liked the vignette that aired beforehand with Vance discussing wanting to win the title so he could honor his mentor Brodie Lee. There was no doubt he would lose, but he had a solid showing, nonetheless. Vance and Allin showing off the Brodie armband would have been a perfectly fine ending, but of course AEW had to close the show with Allin, Sting and Lance Archer brawling with Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page. It felt like an exact repeat of last week.

Overall Show

There was a backstage segment toward the end of the show that saw Miro completely destroy Sabian, which should officially put an end to their partnership and allow them to go their separate ways. This was another strong edition of Dynamite on the whole. The only thing I didn't really care for was the stuff with The Factory and The Nightmare Family, but at least it served to set up Cody vs. Marshall for next week. Speaking of Blood and Guts, AEW has done a damn good job of hyping it up and I'm looking forward to it. Props to AEW for finding its stride over the last month and it's cool that it's being reflected in the ratings.