AEW Dynamite Review - April 29, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Cody def. Darby allin in an AEW TNT Championship Tournament Semifinal Match

Are the opening matches Dynamite usually commercial free? This would have been an ideal time for that given what was at stake here. Either way, this was great as these two continue to work very well together. They made every minute matter and I loved the final stretch. I didn't mind the finish as it protected Allin in protect and he thought that the referee was counting Cody's shoulders, not his own. When Allin inevitably defeats Cody down the road, it's going to be a big moment. My only nitpick of this match is that it should have been the main event because the outcome was more in doubt than it was with Lance Archer vs. Dustin Rhodes.

Wardlow def. Musa

Musa was just seen on Tuesday's edition of AEW Dark teaming with Lee Johnson against Best Friends. Meanwhile, Wardlow has been getting plenty of television time lately with MJF sitting at home "injured" from his hangnail. He's been booked to look completely dominant and has been winning all of his matches in decisive fashion. As much as I miss seeing MJF in person on these shows, I can live with the short and sweet squashes from Wardlow.

Best Friends def. Jimmy Havoc & Kip Sabian in a No Disqualification Match

I have no idea why this had a No Disqualification stipulation, but to their credit, they had a highly enjoyable affair. They constantly kept these interesting and worked with a sense of urgency. Interference from Orange Cassidy and Penelope Ford was expected and they played their roles well. With this loss, I don't think Havoc and Sabian need to remain a tandem going forward. Then again, I figured it was only temporary due to the current circumstances.

Shawn Spears def. Baron Black

Due to AEW working with such a limited roster, I'm not surprised to see so much of Spears on Dynamite and Dark lately. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of his, but he's been such a non-player for so long that it's difficult to care. That said, I sincerely hope this string of victories will make him more meaningful once things return to normal. That tag team storyline he was doing a while ago didn't seem to have an endgame and wasn't doing him any favors, so I hope that's been abandoned.

Brodie Lee def. Marko Stunt

As awesome as Lee looked here, Stunt deserves an equal amount of credit. He bumped around like a madman and sold his offense beautifully. I'm glad they held off on the Lee-Dark Order vignettes this week because almost all of them have seemed to take a shot at Vince McMahon in some form or fashion. I'd be lying if I said they weren't funny, but he needs to establish an identity of his own.

Lance Archer def. Dustin Rhodes in an AEW TNT Championship Championship Tournament Semifinal Match

I didn't have much of a desire to see Rhodes compete in a 20-minute-plus going in, but I thought they told a strong story here and made excellent use of the time they had. Rhodes had a very good showing and did a hell of a job of coming across as sympathetic. Cody coming to Dustin's aid at the end was a nice touch and now the stage is set for Archer vs. Cody for the AEW TNT Championship at Double or Nothing.

Overall Show

AEW President Tony Khan went on record recently and claimed that this would be one of the best empty arena shows you'll see anywhere, which may have hurt this episode more than it helped it. Other than that, AEW continues to produce entertaining content and this was no exception. The two tournament matches were very well-wrestled, the squash matches served their purpose, the No Disqualification tag team match was better than I thought it would be, and even the latest Bubbly Bunch segment was hilarious. I believe next week's show will be live, so we'll see if anyone who hasn't been on in a while will return or they'll be sticking with the same crew for the foreseeable future.