AEW Dynamite Review - February 10, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin def. Joey Janela

Janela challenging for the AEW TNT Championship was really random, but I suppose he was a fitting person to eat a loss at the hands of Allin. I've never cared for Janela, but he had a standout match against Jack Evans on Tuesday's Dark and had another good outing here. This was an enjoyable opener with the right result, of course. I've liked the ongoing angle with Allin, Sting and Team Taz, but the TNT title has felt like an afterthought in all of it.

Lee Johnson and Cody Rhodes def. Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi

Avalon has improved his character since ditching the dumb librarian gimmick, but he still shouldn't be on Dynamite. This felt like it belonged on Dark, but I understand Cody wanting to give the other three guys more exposure. The match was perfectly fine but hardly anything worth getting excited over. Again, I applaud Cody for trying to get Johnson over, but a vignette telling us who Johnson is and why we should care about him would do him wonders. Bononi is a work in progress but shouldn't be on Dynamite at this point.

Pac def. Ryan Nemeth

This was the third match I've seen of Nemeth's in AEW and I'm still not impressed. As I've said before, he feels like a Dolph Ziggler knockoff and wrestles exactly like his brother. In other news, he's as bland as bread. Pac killing him in a matter of minutes is exactly what needed to happen. I'm not really sure what purpose this was supposed to serve aside from giving Pac a rebound victory following his loss in last week's main event.

Inner Circle (Chris Jericho and MJF) def. The Acclaimed; Sammy Guevara Quit Inner Circle

Both of these teams are heel, so while it was a weird dynamic, they made it work for the most part and had a solid match. The Acclaimed continue to impress me, but they've done nothing but lose since falling short of becoming AEW World Tag Team Champions back in December. The action was entertaining, but the real focus was on what happened afterward with Guevara quitting Inner Circle. He received an audible babyface reaction for it, so despite being a natural heel, this character shift just might work out for him after all. Either way, it's high time Inner Circle went their separate ways.

Team Taz Interrupted Tony Schiavone's Interview with Sting

Schiavone was advertised to interview Sting, but Team Taz popped up on the big screen (as always) before Sting could say anything. They were shown putting a battered Allin in a body bag and dragging him in the back of their car. It was a stunt you'd expect from Allin, and it led to Sting chasing after them. It was a decent tease for next week, but I'm just waiting for the tag team match at Revolution at this point. I maintain that Sting shouldn't be on Dynamite every week.

Thunder Rosa def. Legit Leyla Hirsch in an AEW Women's World Championship Eliminator Tournament First-Round Match

Hirsch isn't signed to a deal as far as I know, but she should be because she's that talented. I loved how Hirsh scored as much offense as she did and it was a well-wrestled, competitive contest. Rosa advancing was never in doubt, but I won't complain about getting a lengthy women's match on Dynamite. This is what AEW needs to do more of in order to make the division feel more like a priority.

AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and KENTA def. IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley and Lance Archer in a Falls Count Anywhere Anything Goes Match

Making this an unsanctioned match of sorts was a nice touch with KENTA not being under an AEW contract. They took full advantage of the stipulation and went all out by brawling all around the arena but not doing anything too crazy (unlike the Lights Out matchup Moxley and Omega had at Full Gear 2019). It was perfectly paced and just a ton of fun. Omega keeps his winning ways alive and I appreciated how it took four people to put Archer away.

Overall Show

I'm sorry but this show wasn't doing much for me up until the main event. The final half hour was great between the women's match and the main event, but the first three-quarters were fairly forgettable. Storylines advanced, but nothing felt overly important aside from the Inner Circle development. Is it just me or has the build to Revolution been underwhelming so far? The AEW, IMPACT and New Japan Pro-Wrestling crossover has been exciting so far, but the rest of the show still needs a bit of a boost.