AEW Dynamite Review - December 30, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Colt Cabana and AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks def. Matt Hardy and Private Party

First and foremost, the 10-bell salute that opened the show for Brodie Lee was wonderful. It was honestly hard to not shed a tear while watching it, especially when the wife and kids were shown front and center. As for the match, I figured most storylines would be on pause with this being a tribute show and they were to an extend, but Hardy still showed some subtle heel tendencies down the stretch. This was an entertaining opener and it was nice to see Cabana spotlighted for a change.

Lance Archer and The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) def. Eddie Kingston, The Butcher and The Blade

Archer and Kingston have been feuding for a while now, but that bad blood took a backseat here. Uno and Grayson were the focal point as you'd expect and rightfully so. I've said this time and time again, but they're a terrific team and I hope they re-enter the AEW World Tag Team Championship picture soon. The best part about this was Archer paying tribute to Lee by wearing his Luke Harper gear. He was the perfect person for it.

"Hangman" Adam Page and The Dark Order (Alex "3" Reynolds and John "4" Silver) def. Inner Circle (MJF, Santana and Ortiz)

MJF trying to match his gear with Santana and Ortiz's was hilarious. Better than that was Page joining up with Silver and Reynolds again. Them teaming had a different vibe this time around for obvious reasons and it probably made for the most emotional match on the show, especially with how close Silver and Reynolds were to Lee and how much he helped them out. Silver has breakout star written all over him and I'm glad he and Reynolds are getting more opportunities to shine. The former Erick Rowan's appearance was a pleasant surprise and I was happy he got to pay tribute to his longtime tag team partner.

Anna Jay and Tay Conti def. Penelope Ford and Britt Baker

You could tell Brodie meant a lot to Jay while watching her in this match. She came close to crying at one point and that almost made me tear up, too (trust me, plenty of other stuff did on this show). I'm sure Jay and Conti have been waiting to make their debut as a team, but it's a shame it had to come under these circumstances. Both women continue to impress and Baker and Ford had solid showings as well. By the way, if you were left wondering what Baker meant by her "big rig" comment at the end of her promo, that was a nod to Brodie Lee's old nickname.

Preston "10" Vance, Cody Rhodes and Orange Cassidy def. Team Taz (FTW Champion Brian Cage, Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs)

Vance, Rhodes and Cassidy are the favorites of -1 (Brodie Jr.), so that's why they teamed together here. I've said several times before that we don't get to see enough of Vance on his own, so this was really cool. Everything else about this was terrific. Rhodes furthered his feud with Team Taz, Cassidy worked well with everyone, and Vance scoring the winning pinfall was perfect. You also had Darby Allin (complete with Brodie Lee written on his face pain) and Sting coming out afterward in the aisleway. If that doesn't confirm they're teaming at some point, I don't know what would.

Tony Khan Presented "-1" Brodie Jr. with the AEW TNT Championship

If you didn't shed a tear at any other point during this show, you had to have during this segment. The video package honoring his life and career was phenomenal and I'm glad they were able to include footage from his days on the independent scene as well as photos of Brodie from when he was in WWE. Khan bestowing the TNT title belt upon Brodie Jr. was truly special and a visual no one will ever forget. From what I understand, AEW is legitimately retiring that version of the TNT title and is in the process of creating a new one, which is a really cool gesture.

Overall Show

What a tremendous tribute show. Seriously, this was one the best I've seen and there wasn't a dry eye in the house (or at home). It was a beautiful two hours filled with touching tributes from the wrestlers, enjoyable matches, memorable moments, and just a tearjerker of an ending. You never want to see shows like this given the circumstances, but AEW deserves a lot of praise for putting together such a stellar show that was everything I hoped it would be and more. Rest in power, Brodie. You'll be dearly missed.