AEW Dynamite Review - February 17, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

"Hangman" Adam Page and Matt Hardy def. The Hybrid2

This ongoing angle with Page and Hardy has been fun to follow these last few weeks. As I've said before, TH2 are a talented team, but there was zero reason to believe they were winning here. They've settled into that role where they'll win minor matches but never win the major ones (or even the semi-important ones, as seen here). It was a fine opener. Page then revealed that he signed a different contract last week than what Hardy gave him. He now has a match with Hardy at Revolution where the loser must give up all of their first-quarter 2021 earnings to the winner. The match makes sense and although the stipulation is in line with what the Big Money Matt character would do, nothing tangible is at stake an thus it's hard to care.

Riho def. NWA World Women's Champion Serena Deeb in an AEW World Women's Championship Eliminator Tournament First-Round Match (Non-Title)

This marked Riho's first AEW match in nearly a year due to the pandemic preventing her from traveling over from Japan. She's very good, but I honestly never understood the hype around her. That said, this was probably the best match I've seen her have in AEW and having an awesome opponent in Deeb was an obvious factor. They were given plenty of time and had a wonderful outing. I don't usually like when champions lose non-title matches, but there was no way the inaugural AEW World Women's Champion was losing here. Hopefully these two can have a rematch down the road for the NWA World Women's Championship as a result of Riho's victory.

Orange Cassidy def. Luther

Luther has no place on Dynamite aside from quick squashes such as this one. Even then, it feels like a waste of television time to even bother featuring him. On the bright side, this was only a minute or two long and didn't overstay its welcome, but it served no purpose aside from giving Cassidy a showcase win. This is the type of stuff that should be saved for Dark. Are Chuck Taylor and Cassidy still feuding with Kip Sabian and Miro? If so, why should I care?

Team Taz Attacked Sting

I fully expected this to be no different than any segment we've seen with Sting for the last two and a half months, but they shockingly switched it up. I was wondering where Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs were, but it quickly became clear when Hook and Brian Cage went after Sting, who ditched his signature bat at Taz's request. Sting taking that powerbomb from Cage was brutal. I'm not saying he shouldn't have done it, but maybe that match at Revolution won't be cinematic after all. Sting wants to get physical, but hopefully he doesn't get seriously hurt again. It was about time Team Taz got some real heat back on them.

AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks def. Santana and Ortiz

I thoroughly enjoyed the pair of matches these two teams had in late 2019, and while it was cool to see them rekindle that rivalry here, this didn't quite reach the level of those matches. It was also illogical for Santana and Ortiz to get a title shot in the first place and it was extremely predictable they weren't winning here. This was entertaining while it lasted albeit slightly disappointing. I don't think the belts needed to be on the line.

FTR def. Mike and Matt Sydal

I honestly had no idea that Matt Sydal had a brother, let alone one that was a wrestler. He did well, but I don't think the loaded AEW tag team division needs the Sydal brothers in it. This was a good win for FTR as they prepare to face all of Jurassic Express in two weeks. They'll be teaming with Tully Blanchard, interestingly enough. We'll see how much the 67-year-old will actually do. By the way, did the lights really need to go out afterward only so Luchasaurus could come back with the same mask he had before?

Jon Moxley, Lance Archer and Rey Fenix def. Eddie Kingston, The Butcher and The Blade

Moxley, Archer and Fenix are all coming off tag team losses, so it was imperative that they won here. It was a quality main event, but this was the third or fourth week in a row where Dynamite was headlined by a multi-man match. Is a one-on-one matchup too much to ask for? Much like most of the match on this show, this was designed to serve as a backdrop for what happened post-match with Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers attacking Moxley and announcing that it will be Omega vs. Moxley in an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch. I'm willing to give it a chance, but I also feel like it will go overboard with the independent hardcore wrestling and be too much for some viewers. I know it's what Moxley is known for, but I can't say it's for me, personally.

Overall Show

The Revolution card is finally coming together and it has potential on paper. We got two pay-per-view match announcements on this show and the rest of the episode featured solid setup for the coming weeks. The wrestling felt like it took a backseat, though I did think Riho vs. Deeb was the best bout of the night. The two hours were entertaining, but I wish AEW would cool it with all of the tag team matches. Yes, they have a stacked roster, but some people don't need to be on every episode, at least not in the ring.