AEW Dynamite Review - January 29, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jon Moxley and Inner Circle Brawled

I absolutely love how Moxley is still wearing his eye patch two weeks removed from the "injury" he suffered at the hands of Chris Jericho. I'm not a huge fan of Dynamite kicking off with drawn-out talking segments, but this worked, especially since Moxley is an Ohio native. Moxley sounded motivated on the mic and I enjoyed his exchange with Jericho. His brawl with Inner Circle and their backup didn't last long, but Moxley was able to escape in one piece. It's going to be a big deal when Moxley eventually gets his hands on Jericho.

The Young Bucks def. The butcher and The Blade

A brief video aired beforehand revealing that MJF has some sort of business arrangement with The Butcher, The Bunny and The Blade, which has been hinted at for weeks. They're basically MJF's punching bags, and as skilled as they are in the ring, I still can't bring myself to care about their characters. The Bucks got a good match out of them and the crowd was into their offense. The Elite (somewhat) reunited afterward when Kenny Omega and Adam Page helped the Bucks lay out Butcher and Blade. I assume the Bucks vs. Omega and Page for the AEW World Tag Team Championship will be added to the Revolution pay-per-view.

Nyla Rose def. Big Swole

Rose and Swole have picked up a few wins each on Dark recently and AEW clearly intends to go all the way in pushing Rose as a monster heel in the women's division. I can't say I agree with it necessarily, but at least she's improving somewhat. Swole's matches have been very hit or miss so far, but I thought she did well here. It was a fine match designed to continue Rose's recent dominant streak.

Cody def. Kip Sabian

Even with a win over QT Marshall, Sabian didn't feel like a threat to Cody whatsoever. I don't understand why Cody would even need Arn Anderson's assistance in facing Sabian. Anderson was an idiot for shoving the referee and getting himself removed from ringside, but it didn't end up mattering, anyway. It was a well-wrestled albeit uneven match and one of Cody's weaker efforts in recent memory.

Tony Schiavone Interviewed Britt Baker

I think it's safe to say that AEW's initial push for Baker as the face of the women's division flopped, so they were smart to turn her heel. I mean, with her being a legitimate dentist, it only makes sense. Her promo last week was atrocious, but this was a vast improvement. She felt a lot more comfortable on the mic and the crowd gave her great heat for it. Now if only she could get better in the ring...

SCU def. The Hybrid2

I honestly forgot The Hybrid2 were a part of the tag team division until they resurfaced here. That's a shame considering how talented Jack Evans and Angelico are. They've been treated like complete losers for the better part of their AEW run, and while I understand not everyone can be pushed at once, no tag team at the moment feels remotely special because of all the 50/50 booking. At any rate, this was a fun little match that got SCU back on track following their loss of the AEW World Tag Team Championship last week. On a side note, the Kobe Bryant tribute from SCU was very classy.

AEW World Champion Chris Jericho, Santana and Ortiz def. Darby Allin and Private Party

Jericho and Allin had excellent chemistry during their AEW World Championship clash back in October, so it was cool to see them rekindle some of that magic here whenever they were in the ring together. Private Party had the chance to shine again while Jericho, Santana and Ortiz were a terrific trio. This was easily the best thing on the entire show as they worked a fast pace and kept things exciting and entertaining throughout. Moxley made the save afterward and fended off Inner Circle.

Overall Show

Feuds were furthered and there were some quality matches, but I didn't think this edition of Dynamite had the same sense of urgency and unpredictability that the last two episodes did. I liked the main event and opening segment, but the stuff with The Butcher and The Blade does nothing for me while everything else in the middle felt average. It wasn't the worst Dynamite I've seen, but there have been better. If nothing else, a ton was advertised for next week and Revolution was also hyped for next month, so it did have its highlights.