AEW Dynamite Review - January 3, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Bullet Club Gold and AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn Attacked Undisputed Kingdom

Adam Cole's first promo since revealing himself as The Devil at Worlds End was great. He worked well as a babyface last year because he was organically over, but he's absolutely in his element as a heel. He explained his motives for betraying MJF and established every member of Undisputed Kingdom (a perfect name, by the way). Bullet Club Gold (sans the injured Juice Robinson) and The Acclaimed and Gunn being their first rivals makes sense given they were all attacked by Undisputed Kingdom at one point or another in the past three months. This was a strong segment to start the show.

AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy def. Dante Martin

This was set up on last week's Rampage with Top Flight and Action Andretti beating Cassidy and Roppongi Vice in a six-man tag team match. Dante was having some strong singles showings two years ago before injuries and being back in the tag team division halted his momentum, so I'm glad he was able to remind everyone of what he's capable of here in what was a good matchup. I was also happy to see Private Party return afterward. Marq Quen was out injured for a long time.

Mariah May def. Queen Aminata; Deonna Purrazzo Debuted

I was fine with this lasting longer than your average squash match because it gave May a chance to showcase her skills. She obviously has experience from her time in Stardom and she carries herself exceptionally well. Purrazzo officially debuting afterward was a pleasant surprise as she's been a free agent for only a few days, but she's a very nice addition to AEW's women's division. Now the key is for them to actually use her and not book her for a handful of television matches before banishing her to Rampage and eventually ROH TV.

AEW TNT Champion Christian Cage Held a 2024 State of the Union

As much as I disliked the angle that followed the AEW TNT Championship match at Worlds End, I can't complain about Christian holding onto the title for a little longer. This was the usual promo from him, but it was solid and the crowd ate it up. My only nitpick is that we heard from Shayna Wayne, who should not be cutting promos. She shouldn't be a part of the act at all, but whatever. At least they generate genuine heat.

Konosuke Takeshita def. Darby Allin

It's inexcusable how Tony Khan has failed to follow up with Takeshita after he pinned Kenny Omega twice a number of months ago. Hopefully we still get to see that rematch someday. These two had the top-notch match you'd expect from them. During a backstage segment that aired afterward, Don Callis challenged Allin and Sting to face Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs, which will take place next week.

Trent Beretta def. "The Bounty Hunter" Bryan Keith, ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion Brian Cage and AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo in an AEW Continental Championship Four-Way Eliminator (Non-Title)

What a random array of talent, especially with two of them not being under full-time deals to my knowledge. By the way, when is Keith getting that "All Elite" graphic? None of these guys feel overly important at the moment, but they're all very talented and had an enjoyable four-way. Beretta is typically the guy they throw in title matches just to lose, but I'm sure him against Eddie Kingston on Collision will be a quality contest.

Swerve Strickland def. Daniel Garcia

This was a fitting main event for the first Dynamite of 2024 as these are two guys AEW should be looking to build around this year. Strickland is obviously already on the verge of cementing himself as a main event player, but Garcia needs to keep racking up important victories. Nothing was at stake, but they delivered and the crowd was behind them both. Post-match, Adam Page brawled with Strickland and I have no idea why we're revisiting that rivalry so soon.

Overall Show

In a lot of ways, this felt like the AEW equivalent to WWE's post-WrestleMania Raw, and the timing couldn't be better with it being the first Dynamite of the year. It set a positive tone for the year and reshuffled the deck so to speak. Samoa Joe, the new AEW World Champion, not appearing in person was certainly a choice, but this was an entertaining episode on the whole. Mercedes Mone didn't debut as many thought she might, but she could still be AEW bound before long.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews