AEW Dynamite Review - July 22, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW TNT Champion Cody def. Eddie Kingston in a No Disqualification Match

Tony Khan teased on Twitter coming into this week's AEW TNT Championship open challenge that it would be answered by one of the "top independent wrestlers in the world." Eddie Kingston certainly fits that billing. To be honest, his pre-match promo was more memorable than the match itself, but it was an enjoyable outing, nonetheless. I could have done without the No Disqualification stipulation and the stupid thumbtacks spot, but Kingston showed heart and looked good in defeat. I'm totally fine with AEW not signing him because it makes it more exciting when future free agents answer the open challenge and they aren't immediately signed to a contract by the company.

MJF def. Griff Garrison

It's been a running joke on Being The Elite for a few weeks now that Garrison is Jungle Boy's older brother, so I got a kick out of MJF calling him "Jungle Man." This was a fun showcase for MJF, who shines any time he has a microphone in his hands. Thankfully, he did during this match. I maintain that it should be him challenging Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship at All In. He's been unbeaten for this long and badly needs direction.

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley Saved Darby Allin From Brian Cage and Ricky Starks

On Tuesday's episode of AEW Dark, Starks officially formed an alliance with Cage and Taz by helping Cage lay out Allin. Their latest ambush on him here was brutal and Allin sold the beating like a champ. Moxley saving Allin was logical after Allin did the same for Moxley last week, setting up a tag team bout for next week. This was excellent all around, but my guess is that AEW is having Moxley continuing to kill time until his opponent for All Out steps up. As previously noted, I hope that person is MJF.

The Young Bucks def. The Butcher and The Blade in a Falls Count Anywhere Match

As I've said several times before, I couldn't care less about The Butcher and The Blade as characters, but I'm willing to stomach them whenever they're in the ring with talented people. They can hold their own in certain situations and they definitely did here. This benefited greatly from the stipulation and it was a blast seeing them take the fight all over the arena. Of course, it was an obvious win for Young Bucks, but they need to rebuilt back up heading into their inevitable encounter with FTR.

Diamante def. Ivelisse

I was looking forward to seeing what Ivelisse and Diamante would bring to the table for this match. I've been a fan of both women for years now and this felt like a test for AEW to see who of the two they should sign. Unfortunately, it wasn't the strongest outing and neither of them had overly impressive performances. I figured Ivelisse would win because she's the bigger name of the two, so I was surprised by the outcome. I don't know if Ivelisse will get a contract or not, but it looks pretty likely for Diamante.

AEW World Tag Team Champion "Hangman" Adam Page def. Alan "Five" Angels

I was happy when AEW signed Angels recently and he's a fine fit for The Dark Order, but it was completely ridiculous that he lasted as long as he did against Page here. I remember him taking Kenny Omega to the limit earlier this year, but this should have been a quick and easy win for Page, especially since the match itself wasn't all that exciting. The focus was on what happened afterward with FTR making the save for Page from Dark Order before Omega could. I'm all for Omega and Page vs. FTR if that's where this is heading, but Omega and Page have to overcome Dark Order first next week.

Inner Circle (Chris Jericho & Jake Hager) def. Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus)

I'm not a fan of Jurassic Express always losing whenever it matters most given how popular they are, but if they come out on top in next week's 10-man tag where they'll team with Best Friends and Orange Cassidy against all of Inner Circle, then that's fine. As for this match, it was sloppy on spots but entertaining on the whole. I'm stoked Sammy Guevara is finally back and the reveal of him unmasking after he assumed to be Serpentico was well done.

Overall Show

It was announced that we'll be getting a women's tag team tournament called The Deadly Draw this summer (which is odd because we're in the middle of summer). Maybe it'll exceed expectations, but AEW has an issue with filling out its women's division as it is, and introducing tag titles for the women is way too premature. Thus, I'm not sure what purpose that's supposed to serve aside from furthering the uneventful story between Brandi Rhodes and Allie. Nevertheless, this was an above-average edition of Dynamite. Not every match was super smooth, but the show had a nice vibe to it and a lot of things felt like they clicked. AEW always leaves viewers with more to look forward to each week and I appreciate that a lot.