AEW Dynamite Review - June 10, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

FTR def. The Butcher and The Blade

I've made it quite clear in my reviews that The Butcher and The Blade bore me to tears, especially as characters, but they were probably the perfect first opponents for FTR in AEW. They can at least go in the ring and can easily absorb the loss because, well, they don't have the credibility to lose in the first place. You can tell that FTR are big, big fans of tag team wrestling and are thrilled to be able to showcase their skills in that respect again. This was a well-wrestled opener and FTR using The Brainbusters' old finisher was super cool given that Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard were in the audience watching.

Penelope Ford and Nyla Rose def. AEW Women's Champion Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander

I would have put this tag team match later on in the show so we didn't have three tag team matches back-to-back-to-back. Other than that, I enjoyed this. Ford felt like she was in there to taking the pinfall loss, but I'm actually glad she scored the win for her team instead by pinning Shida. That should set her up as the next number one contender for the AEW Women's Championship. Shida doesn't lose enough, so Ford beating her here genuinely meant something. Granted, she won't win the title (presumably at Fyter Fest), but she's a logical challenger of the month.

Orange Cassidy and Best Friends def. Inner Circle (Jake Hager, Santana and Ortiz)

I've been digging Inner Circle's current feud with Best Friends and Cassidy as it's something different and fresh for everyone involved. This was the best bout on the show in my opinion as it was very entertaining from start to finish and there never seemed to be a dull moment. The babyfaces pulled out the victory, but Inner Circle stood tall afterward. Chris Jericho's orange-filled beatdown on Cassidy could have been better executed, but it was a solid angle on the whole. I'm looking forward to Jericho vs. Cassidy if we get it at Fyter Fest.

Sammy Guevara def. Colt Cabana

Cabana lost to Jericho last week, so it made sense for him to take on another Inner Circle member here in Guevara. Like Cabana, Guevara also hasn't won many matches lately, but it was more important for him to go over than Cabana, especially given the story they're telling with Cabana potentially joining The Dark Order. From an in-ring standpoint, this was a fun little match.

AEW TNT Champion Cody def. Marq Quen

I appreciate that Cody has so far used his open challenge gimmick for new names such as Jungle Boy and now Marq Quen. Granted, the title was never in jeopardy, but Quen put up a good fight. Cody winning by submission for a change was a nice touch, too. My only issue with this was that it never felt like a true main event and that it probably should have opened the show instead. Then again, the sole reason this likely went on last was so that brawl could close out the show on a chaotic note. We found out it will be Cody vs. Hager at Fyter Fest for the TNT title and I can't say I'm overly anticipating that.

Overall Show

Jon Moxley was also being interviewed in the parking lot when he was ambushed from behind by Brian Cage, which effectively furthered that feud heading into Fyter Fest. As I've said before, it really feels like AEW is starting to hit their stride from week to week with Dynamite and, obviously, having most of the roster back from quarantine helps tremendously. The simplistic booking is what appeals to me personally and I like how they're handling a majority of their storylines at the moment. They announced a loaded lineup for next week including MJF vs. Billy, Kenny Omega and "Hangman" Adam Page vs. The Natural Nightmares for AEW World Tag Team Championship, Cody defending the TNT title, Le Sex Gods (Jericho and Guevara) vs. Best Friends, and Superbad Death Squad (the apparent new name for Kip Sabian and Jimmy Havoc) vs. The Young Bucks.