AEW Dynamite Review - November 2, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jay Lethal def. Darby Allin

This was another really enjoyable outing from two top talents. There haven't been any more hints of Lethal turning face despite it being teased the last time they went one-on-one, so this rivalry has resumed as normal. The outside shenanigans were what cost Allin the win and evened their score, though I have no idea what Cole Karter (who joined The Factory a few months ago) has to do with any of this. Even more random than that was the AEW debut of Jeff Jarrett, who has had a hell of a year between his appearances in WWE, GCW and Ric Flair's Last Match. Apparently he's joined the company in a backstage role, and that's fine, but does he really need to be an on-air character as well?

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley def. Lee Moriarty in an AEW World Championship Eliminator Match

This stemmed from The Firm (an awful faction, by the way) attacking Moxley last week on Dynamite. I appreciated Moriarty getting an opportunity to wrestle the world champ, despite not having a realistic chance of winning. They had a nice little match with Moriarty getting to score some offense before eating defeat. Additionally, Moxley's backstage promo beforehand was excellent as usual. We're clearly headed for Moxley against Ethan Page one of these days, though I don't have much interest in seeing Page win the number one contender's tournament coming up at Full Gear. When is this thing taking place if the pay-per-view is in two weeks?

Renee Paquette Hosted a Sit-Down Interview with Saraya

Britt Baker was advertised to take part in this pre-taped segment as well, but she didn't show up. Saraya explained why she joined AEW when she did, and when asked about whether she's been medically cleared, she said there's one more doctor (a.k.a. Baker) she needs to consult before answering. Obviously, she'll be back in the ring, presumably against Baker at Full Gear.

ROH/IWGP/AAA World Tag Team Champions FTR Saved AEW World Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed From The Firm

The Acclaimed's scissoring shtick is over with the audience, but they've been so over-the-top with it in the last month that it's grown a bit tiresome with me. Would it kill them to switch up the material and not rely on that stuff so heavily? That said, the crowd ate up the segment and the rest of it played out predictably, setting up the eight-man tag team match for next week's Dynamite. FTR vs. Acclaimed is coming at some point, but I'm glad they're not rushing into it right now.

ROH World Champion Chris Jericho def. Colt Cabana

I thought it was funny that Jericho mentioned in his pre-match promo that whoever answered his open challenge had to be a former title holder in Ring of Honor, not necessarily a former ROH World Champion. That's why Cabana, who never held the world title in ROH during his many years there, was Jericho's opponent. We haven't seen Cabana on AEW programming in many months and the timing is interesting with there being so much talk about CM Punk likely being on his way out of AEW. They had a well-wrestled match and Claudio Castagnoli going after Jericho on the stage should indicate Full Gear is where their rematch is going down.

AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy def. AEW World Trios Champion Rey Fenix and Luchasaurus in a Three-Way Match

Cassidy already had a three-way title defense on Rampage two weeks ago and this was equally chaotic and fun. It was a random clash of styles, but they all had quality chemistry together and had the crowd engaged throughout. Jungle Boy costing Luchasaurus the title was logical, and I thought the subtle story told with Pac wanting Fenix to cheat to win was well done. Post-match, Katsuyori Shibata received a warm welcome as he did at Forbidden Door, and now we have Cassidy vs. Shibata to look forward to on Rampage.

AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill def. Marina Shafir

Remember when these two competed in the main event of Rampage earlier this year? This was the rematch no one asked for. I know it was part of the program between Cargill and Nyla Rose, but Shafir wasn't a threat to the title and there was no reason for it to be on the line. The match itself was whatever, but it wasn't made any better by the live commentary from Rose and Vickie Guerrero. The whole thing was insufferable. Rose has been entertaining, but a challenger stealing the champion's belt is such a tired trope.

ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe def. Brian Cage

This was along the same lines as Wardlow vs. Cage from a few weeks ago in that it was well-worked big man battle. Do enough people care about the ROH TV title and Cage challenging for it to warrant this going on last? Probably not, but I liked this for what it was. Wardlow saved Joe from The Embassy afterward only to be attacked by Powerhouse Hobbs. I'm happy Hobbs is back on TV, but where the hell is Ricky Starks, who beat Hobbs to win their feud?

Overall Show

If you were looking for surprises on this show, you got three, and your enjoyment of the episode will vary depending on how much you liked each of them. Cabana accepting Jericho's open challenge was a letdown for me, but they had a good match. Jarrett came completely out of left field and doesn't need to be regularly appearing on TV going forward, but Shibata showing up was cool and now we have a hell of a matchup for the All-Atlantic title on tap for Friday's Rampage. This was a solid show on the whole. The Full Gear build has largely been hit or miss, and the fact more matches haven't been announced and it's two weeks away is a tad concerning.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews