AEW Dynamite Review - January 4, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ricky Starks def. Chris Jericho

Everything about this was excellently executed. Starks was wildly over with the audience and Jericho played his role extremely well. They ended up having strong chemistry and the crowd ate up everything they did. I was worried Jericho might go over after that baseball shot to Starks from ringside, so Starks winning clean was a pleasant surprise. Both he and Action Andretti were attacked by Jericho Appreciation Society afterward, so clearly the feud isn't over yet.

Jon Moxley Confronted "Hangman" Adam Page

I'm glad Page finally explained why he's been angry with Moxley because, on the surface, it was strange he had bad blood with Moxley considering Moxley didn't injure Page on purpose when they faced off back in October. This was another really good exchange between these two that effectively built toward their rematch, which I assume is being saved for next week. Page heavily teased it, but it oddly wasn't officially announced until the end of the show.

AEW World Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed def. Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal

As much I don't care to see Jarrett and Lethal involved in the tag title picture when AEW has so many other teams who can be in the spot instead, this was an entertaining affair that the crowd was into, likely because of Acclaimed's involvement. Lethal and Jarrett work well together as partners and the false finish was well done. The camera didn't get it very well, but I believe Billy Gunn helped Anthony Bowens score the pinfall win. That set up a rematch for Battle of the Belts V on Friday that I'm not sure is necessary.

Bryan Danielson def. Tony Nese

I was stunned when I saw this match announced last Friday during Rampage. Danielson is a Washington native, so you'd think he'd have a higher profile opponent in his return to his home state. That said, they had a nice little sprint. Danielson challenged MJF afterward and MJF told him that he'd have to win all of his matches through February 8th in order to earn an AEW World Championship opportunity at Revolution. I feel like that's become a tired trope with MJF feuds, but that Iron Man match at Revolution will be worth it.

Swerve Strickland def. AR Fox

I was very happy to hear Excalibur acknowledge the history these two have from their Lucha Underground days, back when they were Killshot and Dante Fox, respectively. Unsurprisingly, they had a super fun match in the time allotted to them. Fox hasn't been properly established since arriving in AEW, so the outcome was never in doubt, but he did look good in defeat. My guess is Strickland vs. Keith Lee goes down at Revolution, and that can be a potential show-stealer given the great run Strickland has been on as of late.

The Gunns Mocked FTR

In case you missed it, FTR lost their IWGP Tag Team Championship at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 earlier today, so they have officially lost all of their titles. The Gunns made mention of that as well as how they beat them two weeks ago on Dynamite. FTR's music played, but it was revealed to be a ruse put together by The Gunns. This was a simple segment designed to get The Gunns heat, and while it worked to an extent, I still can't bring myself to care about this feud. I just feel FTR should be involved in something more important on the program with a team that has more potential than The Gunns. I'd be shocked if FTR stick around when their contracts come due in the spring.

AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill and Red Velvet def. Kiera Hogan and Skye Blue

This dissension within The Baddies hasn't been handled well at all. Honestly, it came completely out of nowhere. Cargill had no reason to boot Hogan from the group a few weeks ago, and Velvet has had no reason to tease tension with Cargill. Hogan and Blue received no reaction from this crowd because they didn't get any mic time beforehand. The match itself was fine, but this whole storyline with The Baddies has been rushed, disjointed and devoid of creativity.

Darby Allin def. ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe to Win the AEW TNT Championship (ROH World Television Championship Was Not Defended)

While this didn't reach the same level their original encounter did, it was still a top-notch main event with terrific showings from both men. Joe is killing it in his current role and Allin was extra over in front of his home state. This was a wonderful back-and-forth bout with a superb closing stretch. Although I wish Joe's reign wasn't cut short, Allin regaining the gold made for a cool moment. Here's hoping Allin's second run will be on par with his first.

Overall Show

This was the best edition of Dynamite all year hands down. Okay, so it was the only edition of Dynamite in 2023 so far, but it was a hell of a show, nonetheless. The Seattle crowd was electric for everything except the segment with The Gunns and the women's tag team match. That was when the show died down a bit, but they ended the evening on a high note with the main event and title change. All in all, this was an exceptional effort and the new set is a welcome change, even if it feels very WWE-esque. They've set up another must-see episode for next Wednesday that should ideally keep AEW's hot momentum rolling.

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