AEW Dynamite Review - May 28, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Darby Allin def. Cezar Bononi

Allin typically works well with larger opponents such as Miro and Brian Cage. Bononi is a big dude, but unfortunately, he isn't very good. I've said this before in my Dark reviews, but he was under a developmental deal to WWE for years and apparently didn't improve much. Maybe putting him on Dynamite or having dominate a majority of a match wasn't the best idea. At the very least, this segment and the aftermath built toward the tag team match at Double or Nothing and The Dark Order battling Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page later in the night.

Cody Rhodes and Anthony Ogogo Weighed in Ahead of Double of Nothing

I know what weigh-ins consist of, but this was pretty lame and honestly did nothing to get me more excited for Rhodes vs. Ogogo on Sunday than I was previously. No one seemed the know what the hell to do. Rhodes came out with an army of people (I realize they were his students, but it might as well have been the entire school), Marshall's mic worked sucked, and Paul Wight couldn't use the scale to save his life. All this segment did was reinforce the idea that Wight will likely be the final entrant in the Casino Battle Royale and toss out Marshall. This was a waste of time otherwise.

"Hangman" Adam Page def. Joey Janela

AEW has had small crowds at their shows for months, but obviously this was their biggest crowd in over a year and Page was very over when he made his entrance. You could probably hear a pin drop when Janela came out, however, which wasn't surprising he's been a background player for almost his entire AEW run. In fact, it looked like he turned heel on Tuesday's Dark when he failed to save Sonny Kiss from Brian Cage. There was zero follow-up with that here. The match itself was solid, but there was nothing special about it whatsoever. It just served to give Page a win before the pay-per-view. I liked his face-off with Cage at the end even though it was fairly basic.

Orange Cassidy Attacked AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and Pac

The main purpose of this segment was to see if Cassidy would relinquish his shot at the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing. Needless to say, he didn't, but it was a nice preview of what to expect in their three-way match on Sunday. Pac had the weakest showing of the three of them as the crowd couldn't have cared less about his promo it felt like. I've been saying for weeks that this rivalry was rushed and that was evident in this segment. Cassidy standing tall with the belt in hand all but confirms that Omega will be retaining the title.

Jade Cargill def. KiLynn King

I think the lack of reaction King got when she made her entrance should tell you that not everyone watches the Dark shows. She's been all over Dark and Dark: Elevation for the last year yet has almost never (if ever) appeared on Dynamite. She can have an impressive win-loss record, but until AEW gives her mic time and a character, none of that will matter. Obviously, this was all about Cargill and establishing her credibility. For what it's worth, she's officially aligned with the wrestling lawyer Mark Sterling, which feels like a pointless pairing.

AEW TNT Champion Miro def. Dante Martin

If you're wondering how Dante Martin of Top Flight earned a title shot, it's because he's amassed a bunch of wins on the Dark shows over the last two months while his partner Darius is out injured. He had an impressive outing, but he never had a shot in hell of winning. Miro and Archer got into it afterward and left me looking forward to their upcoming encounter. As I've said before, that should be a hell of a hoss fight.

Britt Baker Interrupted AEW Women's World Champion Hikaru Shida

It's about damn time the AEW Women's World Championship belt got a makeover. Okay, so it's the same design, just bigger, but that's still an upgrade because the previous belt was ridiculously small. It was nice to hear from Shida for a change and I thought Baker also did well with her promo. I've thoroughly enjoyed the build to their bout and expect it to be one of the better women's matches AEW has had yet if given the time it deserves.

"All Ego" Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky def. The Dark Order (Stu Grayson and Evil Uno)

I feel like we don't see Grayson and Uno in action together often enough. They're the strongest duo Dark Order has to offer in my opinion, yet haven't been positioned as a team of importance in a long time. This was a quality contest with the predictable result ahead of Page and Sky's Double or Nothing match with Sting and Allin. The two teams brawled again afterward and Sting removing his mask to reveal himself was a great callback to this hilarious TNA moment.

The Pinnacle Attacked Inner Circle

Inner Circle's celebration was essentially a video package recapping their last year-and-a-half together and was hosted by Eric Bischoff, I guess because he's been associated with Jericho the most in all of his AEW appearances. They all cut good promos, but I honestly hope Double or Nothing is the end for them as a unit so they can move on even though I know it probably won't be. The Pinnacle's attack on Inner Circle could have benefited from being a little longer, but it was strong angle on the whole that gave The Pinnacle one last momentum boost before the pay-per-view.

Overall Show

Above all else, having a capacity crowd in attendance was the best part about this episode. I'm sure it will get old at some point for all the companies, but for now, it's refreshing and elevates the quality of the shows as it did for this one. They were quieter as the night went on, but I've read that the Dark: Elevation taping that took place beforehand may have been a reason for that. As a go-home show, this edition of Dynamite succeeded in setting up everything for Double or Nothing. The talking segments were better than the matches for a change and everything served a purpose, though the Cargill match felt oddly placed on the show. The weigh-in was the only truly terrible thing all night. What a misfire there.