AEW Dynamite Review - November 13, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jon Moxley def. Michael Nakazawa

Nakazawa was shown in the locker room with Omega when Omega got checked up on by the doctor before the show, so Moxley facing Nakazawa was a nice touch. He's a comedy character, so I had no problem with Moxley putting him away in a matter of minutes. In fact, his post-match promo lasted longer than the match itself. He was unhinged as always and put the entire roster on notice. This was a great way of kicking the night off and planting the seeds for Moxley's next opponent.

The Dark Order def. Jurassic Express

I've said this many times before, but as talented as Dark Order are in the ring, their gimmick does nothing for me. Thankfully, they had quality chemistry with Jurassic Express as this was a fun match. Jurassic Express desperately need wins, but it would have made no sense for them to beat the once-undefeated Dark Order. We finally got to hear from Evil Uno afterward with Dark Order offering Marko Stunt a spot in their group. Before Stunt could accept/decline, Jungle Boy stepped in and got beat up for his troubles. That was when Luchasaurus returned to a huge ovation. Stunt filled in for him just fine for the month he was gone, but it's awesome to have Luchasaurus back. Him and Jungle Boy are one of my favorite tandems in all of wrestling.

Darby Allin def. Peter Avalon and Shawn Spears in a Three-Way Match

This felt like a random match on paper, though it became clear that it was designed to give Allin a boost and that Avalon was only involved so he could take the pinfall loss (which he did). It didn't overstay its welcome and was decent for what it was. Joey Janela got involved halfway through and brawled with Spears, so Spears was protected in defeat thanks to his interference. I guess this means their rivalry isn't over yet. As for Allin, he called out Moxley, and next week, they'll face off one-on-one.

Nyla Rose def. Dani Jordyn

Rose largely been relegated to AEW Dark since failing to become the inaugural AEW Women's Champion on the debut edition of Dynamite over a month ago. Personally, I'm not complaining because I don't find her to be that good, but at least they're trying with her by starting from scratch with these squash matches. She made short work of Jordyn before going over in decisive fashion.

Awesome Kong Attacked Allie

Allie was being interviewed by Tony Schiavone when she was interrupted and attacked by Awesome Kong and Brandi Rhodes. We saw something similar from Kong and Brandi at Full Gear when they targeted Bea Priestley. It was weird hearing Allie talk about being fourth in the power rankings despite never actually competing on Dynamite as of now. At any rate, the jury is still out on the Kong-Brandi pairing so far. What they've done so far has been fine, and if nothing else, it keeps Brandi out of the ring.

Wardlow and MJF Attacked Cody

AEW World Champion Chris Jericho started off this segment by addressing his win over Cody at Full Gear and receiving loud cheers from the fans in attendance. I got a big kick out of his interaction with MJF, who explained his betrayal of Cody and did a terrific job of doing so. Cody then came out and attempted to exact revenge on MJF, only to be ambushed by the debuting Wardlow. I love the idea of Wardlow serving as MJF's bodyguard and doing his dirty work for him.

Pac def. "Hangman" Adam Page

These two have been trading wins back and forth since the debut of Dynamite last month and this was another excellent encounter from them. ​They never cease to work well together and make the most of the time they have. I liked how they played off spots from their previous encounters, but Pac ultimately going over was questionable. These two seem to have fallen victim to 50/50 booking, so I fail to see who benefits at this point and where they go from here, assuming this was supposed to mark the end of their feud.

The Young Bucks and Santana and Ortiz Brawled

I thoroughly enjoyed the outing these two teams had at Full Gear, so I'm glad their rivalry is resuming. This was a smart way of furthering their feud without putting them in another match so soon after the pay-per-view. The brawl was well done and Santana and Ortiz got the upper hand in the end. We'll see if they can keep their momentum rolling next week when they do battle with Private Party.

AEW World Tag Team Champions SCU def. AEW World Champion Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara

As a match, this was strong stuff. Jericho and Guevara are wonderful as partners and SCU are always a treat to watch. This might have been a rare instance where I would have preferred interference for the finish, because Jericho had no business getting pinned. It's safe to say Scorpio Sky will be challenging Jericho for the AEW World Championship sometime soon, but why? What's the point of the power rankings in that case? Plus, why should I take Sky seriously as a threat to the title when he's already a tag champion? If couldn't tell, I despised the closing moments of this show.

Overall Show

My disdain for the ending aside, this felt like a hot followup show to Full Gear and a solid reset at the same time. We saw a handful of wrestlers who haven't received a ton of television time on Dynamite up to this point. I also appreciated the abundance of promos before, after and in between the matches. The in-ring action was top-notch on the whole per usual, but the talking segments were a welcome change. Luchasaurus' promo, Wardlow's debut, the tag team title main event, and MJF's promo made it a newsworthy night. To top it all off, several storylines were furthered and there was plenty of hype for next week's show. These were two awesome hours of wrestling.