AEW Dynamite Review - March 22, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, Darby Allin and Sting def. Kip Sabian, The Butcher and The Blade

I guess this stemmed from something that happened at the AEW house show over the weekend. It was incredibly random, but the crowd was into it because the trio of babyfaces is incredibly popular. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about the match and viewers had zero reason to take the heels seriously, but again, it was enjoyable albeit inconsequential. If nothing else, I was happy to see Sting back in the ring for the first time since Full Gear in November.

AEW World Tag Team Champions The Gunns def. Top Flight

Top Flight have made the most of every opportunity they've been given on AEW TV lately, but I'm not sure what they did to deserve a title shot here. They've actually been relegated to ROH TV in recent weeks, hence why The Kingdom cost them the win. It was a nice match for what it was. Post-match, FTR agreed leave AEW if they can't beat The Gunns for the AEW World Tag Team Championship. I appreciate the stakes, especially with rumors swirling that FTR's contracts are legitimately up soon, but I get the feeling they've already re-signed and will be sticking around.

FTW Champion Hook def. Stokley Hathaway in a No Disqualification Match

Hook's feud with The Firm has had no heat because no one gives a crap about the pointless group, nor has Hathaway been built up enough for fans to care about seeing him get his ass kicked. That said, he played his role well and this was what it needed to be. Hook took his time destroying him and won within a few minutes. Let's start giving Hook some legitimate competition, please.

Daniel Garcia Confronted Adam Cole

Well, now we know why Garcia beat Brody King last week on Rampage. He's done nothing for me since he decided to stick with Jericho Appreciation Society last fall, but he's obviously very talented and him against Cole should be a fun first match for Cole. Cole initially returned on Dynamite over two months ago and has barely appeared since, so hopefully he becomes more of a regular on the show again going forward.

Jon Moxley def. Stu Grayson

Grayson returned to AEW last week when he reunited with Adam Page and Evil Uno in a losing effort against Blackpool Combat Club. Tony Khan announced soon after on social media that he was once again "All Elite," so it was smart to follow up on his standout performance with a singles match against Moxley. Granted, he stood no chance of winning, but I thought they had a quality contest. I hope Grayson gets a real run this time, either on his own or alongside Uno in the tag team ranks, because it would be a real waste if he goes back to being undercard fodder in The Dark Order.

Toni Storm def. Skye Blue

Is Blue AEW's only babyface jobber in the women's division? She has now faced every member of The Outcasts in the span of a month. She connects with the crowd and has potential, but she's still not the most polished and constantly loses on television, so I'm not sure how anyone could possibly see her as a viable threat to any of her opponents. This was a decent match, but it was definitely a placeholder week for The Outcasts, who were run off by Riho and Willow Nightingale afterward.

AEW World Trios Champion and IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega def. AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo (Non-Title)

It's been a long time since we got our last Omega singles match in AEW, so this was overdue. ​I've seen a few Vikingo matches and he undoubtedly lives up to the hype as the best luchador in the world today and one of the best of the world in general. He has a ton of awe-inspiring offense and I can see why him against Omega was billed as a dream match, despite this not being built up on AEW TV at all previously (outside of a quick video package on Rampage last Friday). Of course, not every match needs a story, and the important thing is that Vikingo showed out in his debut. It was a total spot-fest, but an entertaining one. Don Callis pretending to be hit by Page and Omega believing him was goofy, but I do like the overall story they're telling and am happy we finally have an intriguing angle we can look forward to watching unfold each week.

Overall Show

The main event is obviously worth seeking out, but I didn't think the show was all that meaningful. It was a week where stuff happened and the crowd went home happy, but there weren't any major angles or much significant storyline progression outside of what we got at the end. You didn't miss anything if you didn't tune in live, but at least they closed the show strong with Omega vs. Vikingo and post-match angle.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews