AEW Dynamite Review - February 26, 2020

​By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kenny Omega def. Pac in a 30-Minute Iron Man Match

I loved the decision to have this match kick off the show while the crowd was at their hottest, and make no mistake about it, they provided an incredibly electric atmosphere. This had an excellent layout from start to finish with both guys having phenomenal performances. I don't think it's a stretch to say that this was the best match Omega and Pac have had thus far in AEW (and I don't mean together). The Young Bucks being ringside for Omega while Page was nowhere to be found effectively teased tension within the ranks of The Elite and I appreciated that their involvement was limited to the bare minimum. Going to sudden death made it that much better and Omega's victory felt like a big deal. I can't praise this matchup enough. Omega desperately needed this to remind people he is among the greatest wrestlers in the world today. Two thumbs up.

Jurassic Express def. Inner Circle

Inner Circle consisted of Sammy Guevara, Santana and Ortiz. They've had issues off and on with Jurassic Express for months, so this match made sense. It was a ton of fun and Jurassic Express are at their strongest when they're together. Interference is never ideal in my opinion, but the crowd popped huge for Darby Allin costing Guevara the victory (successfully furthering that feud in the process). Guevara seems to lose more often than not, so I'm not really sure how much it would mean if Allin beats him at Revolution, but I'm looking forward to it, nonetheless.

Best Friends def. The Butcher and The Blade

The Butcher and The Blade were responsible for eliminating Best Friends from last week's number one contender's Battle Royal. I haven't been super high on The Butcher and The Blade and whatever their gimmick is supposed to be, but their matches have been entertaining enough. This was a nice little sprint with the right team going over. It was officially announced afterward that Pac will face Orange Cassidy at Revolution, which should be very interesting to say the least.

Hikaru Shida def. Big Swole, Yuka Takazawa and Shanna in a Four-Way Match

Nothing was on the line here, but it was a solid showcase for the up-and-coming women of AEW, nonetheless. None of these ladies have received a shot at the AEW Women's Championship yet, but I think it's only a matter of time before Shida does. She unquestionably has the most potential of the four. This was well wrestled but would have benefited from the competitors receiving some mic time beforehand to give the crowd a reason to care about them.

Jim Ross Hosted a Sit-Down Interview with AEW World Tag Team Champions "Hangman" Adam Page & Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks

J.R. really shines in this environment, so here's hoping they keep doing these types of interviews with him as the host. He knocks it out of the park every time and this was no different. The Bucks and Omega were obviously very respectful of each other, but Page gave them the cold shoulder and claimed they just want to take his moment. The Bucks went so far as to say that he owes them everything because of how they saved him from obscurity in Ring of Honor and recruited him into the Bullet Club years ago. This was a stellar segment that left me hyped for their upcoming encounter for the AEW World Tag Team Championship.

The Revolution Weigh-In Between AEW World Champion Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley Descended Into Chaos

Contract signings are so overdone in wrestling that I thought going with a weigh-in instead for the final segment involving the champion and challenger ahead of Revolution was a refreshing change of pace. They gave it a big fight feel, the presentation was wonderful, and everyone played their roles well. Jericho in particular came across like a complete star. It was a hot brawl to close the show that hyped up several matches for Revolution and left viewers with the image of Inner Circle standing tall (meaning Jericho may not be champion anymore after Sunday). This was a terrific piece of business.

Overall Show

AEW has had its ups and downs with Dynamite since October, but these past three shows have been the best ones to date I'd say. This was a hell of a go-home show for Revolution on Saturday, an event I'm highly anticipating. That Iron Man match could have happened at Revolution or any other pay-per-view and I don't think anyone would have complained. Everything else served a purpose as well, except for maybe the women's four-way but at least that provided Shida with a bit of a momentum boost. All in all, this was another outstanding episode and I'd argue they've done a better job of building Revolution than any of their other pay-per-views so far. AEW has hit their stride lately and I hope they can keep it up coming out of Revolution.