AEW Dynamite Review - April 6, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Adam Cole def. Christian Cage

This is a match I didn't know I wanted until it happened. We've barely seen Christian in the ring in recent months, but this served as a nice reminder of what he can do, while Cole was excellent per usual. Thus, this was a very entertaining outing and it was wisely positioned as the opener. I'm looking forward to the rematch between Cole and Adam Page, but I have no idea why it needs to be a Texas Deathmatch. We literally just saw Page have one of those with Lance Archer two months ago. Rushing into it for no reason is completely unnecessary.

Samoa Joe def. Max Caster to Qualify for the Men's Owen Hart Cup

On a quick side note, Joe's new entrance music is beyond badass. I loved his WWE music, but this was as close as you could get to that. He'll certainly be limited with what he could do at this stage of his career, but the crowd was hot for him and ate up all of his offense. It was awesome seeing the Muscle Buster brought back, too. This was an extended squash as it should have been. I'm excited for his first promo in AEW and I appreciate how they've already found his first feud with Jay Lethal.

"Captain" Shawn Dean def. Shawn Spears

Dean was the same dude who beat MJF by disqualification (albeit with help from CM Punk) on the first Dynamite of 2022, so this made sense. The match was basically a backdrop for Wardlow coming through the crowd, distracting Spears and costing him the win. I'd like to see AEW actually capitalize on this latest win for Dean, but I doubt they do. The MJF and Wardlow stuff has been well done so far and I'm curious to see how else they'll get creative with it heading into Double or Nothing.

Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz Addressed Jericho Appreciation Society

I laughed my ass off when Kingston walked into camera view in the back holding a giant TV over his head before chucking it in the direction of Jericho Appreciation Society. That was hilarious. I'm still not sold on this feud, but this was terrific mic work from all three men. They just made so much sense as a trio. I just fear this is leading to a Blood and Guts match or, worse yet, a return of Stadium Stampede at Double or Nothing. I'll pass on that, please.

Tony Schiavone Interviewed AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill

It's been nice to see Cargill gradually get more and more television time since becoming champion. It's also been apparent in her promos that she really doesn't need Mark Sterling anymore as her manager, if she ever did in the first place. She comes across as a total star as seen in this segment. They did a nice job of hyping up her upcoming title defense against Marina Shafir.

The Hardys def. The Butcher and The Blade in a Tables Match

I've been digging The Hardys' reunion run so far and the crowds have been into them. That said, this was easily their worst showing yet. Both Matt and Jeff are starting to look their age in the ring, and while that's totally fine, they probably shouldn't be put in random Tables matches when they don't mean anything. This was an absolute mess and the rules were confusing as hell considering they didn't seem to abide by them. Also, are they building to Sting vs. Andrade El Idolo? If so, why? Where was Darby Allin?

Hikaru Shida def. Julia Hart to Qualify for the Women's Owen Hart Cup

It's been many months. Why the hell is Hart still wearing that ridiculous eyepatch? It looks so silly. The subtle attitude change for her has been cool to see, but she's still very much a work in progress in the ring. The match was decent for what it was and I appreciate AEW wanting to give the women more time, but I don't know this needed to last eight minutes. Shida qualifying was obviously the right call. I wonder in what round we're going to get her against Serena Deeb in the big blowoff to their feud.

ROH World Tag Team Champions and AAA World Tag Team Champions FTR def. The Young Bucks

What a fantastic match this was. I loved their original encounter at Full Gear 2020, but this was so much better due to the crowd and both teams having more defined roles. I didn't think FTR would be dropping the ROH tag titles so soon, but those nearfalls down the stretch sure were suspenseful. The action was exceptional and they told a tremendous story. This is right up there with FTR's match with The Brisoces from Supercard of Honor as one of the best bouts of 2022 so far. This was a necessary win for FTR, who have quickly become the hottest team in all of AEW given their recent string of wins.

Overall Show

My biggest regret about this edition of Dynamite that I wasn't there to see it live in Boston. I just flew home from WrestleMania weekend in Dallas late Tuesday night, so I would've been exhausted, but it would have been a blast to be there because this was a strong show. Okay, so that Tables match in the middle was a cluster, but most of the other stuff delivered and the crowd was hot all night long. Two thumbs up from me for this episode.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews