AEW Dynamite Review - March 15, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

"Jungle Boy" Jack Perry, Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin Crashed AEW World Champion MJF's Re-Bar Mitzvah

It was definitely cool to see the "four pillars" of AEW in there at one time and I thought the mic work was strong on the whole. An argument can be made for Perry possibly being next in line for a title shot following his win over Christian Cage at Revolution, but in reality, none of these three guys feel like legitimate threats to the title right now. There will likely be a number one contender's match and the winner should get their opportunity on Dynamite, not at Double or Nothing. That said, these are three fresh faces in the world title mix and I can't complain about that.

Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta) def. "Hangman" Adam Page and The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson)

I don't know if Grayson is still technically a part of Dark Order after leaving AEW last year, but he was included in the group as part of the graphic, so I'll assume he is. Although Grayson being back to compete in his native Canada was nice touch, the timing of this match felt weird. It definitely should have happened before Page beat Moxley at Revolution because now it feels like their feud still isn't over with Moxley picking up the win for his team here. Uno and Grayson work wonderfully together and they got the crowd to come alive halfway through, but the finish was flat. I have no desire to see this continue. Heel Blackpool Combat Club should be fun, though.

AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill def. Nicole Matthews

Cargill issued an open challenge to the best Canada had to offer, and apparently Matthews (no relation) accepted. She didn't receive a televised entrance and was promptly beaten within a minute. Taya Valkyrie was the popular choice, but I actually liked that she came out afterward instead. She's officially "All Elite." If she doesn't dethrone Cargill for the TBS title, hopefully she doesn't end up on Dark with nothing to do as several others have before her. At the very least, I'm happy to see her on a big stage where she belongs.

AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy def. Jeff Jarrett

The AEW All-Atlantic Championship is now the AEW International Championship. The International title has a slightly different design, but that's about it. Cassidy has been killing it in this role for months and this marked the first Dynamite he hasn't kicked off in several weeks. This had way more smoke and mirrors than I would've liked, but the crowd was hot for Cassidy, if nothing else. The title is what it is at this point, but Cassidy should get a step up in competition to make his matches a little less predictable.

Riho, Skye Blue and Willow Nightingale Saved AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker From The Outcasts

The Outcasts isn't a bad name for the trio of Saraya, Toni Storm and Ruby Soho. This was another decent promo from them explaining their logic for turning heel. I'm still not sold on the storyline, but this was an improvement and at least they're getting more mic time. Riho has been winning more matches lately because she's presumably joining Hayter and Baker in their war with The Outcasts and her making the save for Baker and Hayter made sense (though it was silly for The Outcasts to flee just because Riho had a lead pipe in her hand). My guess is that Thunder Rosa will be back soon and join the heel squad seeing as how her announcement of vacating the title back in November was cheered.

AEW World Trios Champions House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews) def. Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia) and The Elite (IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) in a Three-Way Tag Team Match

As expected, this was all over the place, but it was entertaining. You pretty much know what you're getting with an Elite match at this point and throwing this many people in one ring was only going to result in complete chaos. The crowd was into all of the action, highlighted by any interaction between Winnipeg's own Omega and Jericho. I don't think Jericho tagged out to Garcia at the end, and since the commentators didn't mention that, I assume that was a botch. The Elite backing up Page against Blackpool Combat Club to close the show was an excellent cliffhanger.

Overall Show

The Canadian crowd brought it and enhanced my enjoyment of this episode. That's why I'm happy to hear they'll be back in Canada this summer for a string of shows, including Forbidden Door 2. This was the best edition of Dynamite in weeks with the matches largely delivering and a notable debut (I'd like to forget QTV even happened). The night opened and closed on a high note and I was left looking forward to what's to come. There was plenty of storyline-significant stuff and it helped make the show more worthwhile than it's been in a bit.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews