AEW Dynamite Review - November 30, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jon Moxley and "Hangman" Jon Moxley Brawled

I was curious what would be next for Moxley coming off his loss of the AEW World Championship (and I didn't have much of a desire to see a rematch any time soon), so Page's return was perfectly timed. They have unfinished business from last month when Page got hurt in their AEW World Championship match. I'm glad he's been cleared and they can pick up where they left off. It's a great use of both guys.

Bryan Danielson def. ROH/IWGP/AAA World Tag Team Champion Dax Harwood

Harwood's singles matches have become must-see in 2022 and this was no exception. While I wish there was more of a storyline reason for it, they definitely delivered and Harwood had another stellar singles performance. Based on MJF namedropping Danielson during his promo later in the show, I assume we're headed toward Danielson challenging for the AEW World Championship soon (likely at Revolution) and you'll get no complaints out of me.

AEW TNT Champion and ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe def. AR Fox (ROH World Television Championship Wasn't Defended)

Fox was officially made "All Elite" via Tony Khan on Twitter earlier in the day. It's well deserved as the guy is a terrific talent and I'm happy they immediately capitalized on his momentum by having him take on Joe in an open challenge for the TNT title here. Granted, he had no chance of capturing the championship, but he looked credible in defeat and they had an enjoyable affair. Joe and Wardlow furthered their feud with their post-match verbal exchange.

AEW World Champion MJF Attacked William Regal

We've seen significantly stronger promos from MJF in recent months, but this was still good stuff and I liked how he namedropped multiple people he could potentially defend against in the months ahead, including Danielson and Eddie Kingston. Honestly, his promo from the Full Gear post-show press conference was better and more fired up than this, but at least it effectively set the stage for his reign as champ. I should've seen MJF attacking Regal coming, though. The angle was exceptionally done, but I'm bummed the MJF and Regal "alliance" is already over, unless reports are to be believed and Regal is indeed on his way back to WWE.

Ricky Starks def. Ari Daivari

Starks is confirmed to challenge MJF for the AEW World Championship at Winter Is Coming in two weeks while Daivari is the ultimate enhancement talent, so it was wise to keep this short and sweet and not drag it out longer than it needed to be. Ethan Page went off on Starks beforehand, but I can't say I care about those those continuing to feud. Even with Stokley Hathaway as his manager, Page still hasn't clicked for me as a singles star.

Willow Nightingale def. Anna Jay

Two straight weeks of Nightingale in action Dynamite? What did we do to deserve this?! This stemmed from the interaction they had in last week's three-way tag team match. Jay's latest heel run has been terrible, but she's still solid in the ring and I thought they had a quality contest. Nightingale winning was a nice momentum-booster for her and I only hope that her television time remains consistent. She can be a real star for AEW with the right booking. She connects with the crowds so easily.

Bow Wow Interrupted Jade Cargill's AEW TBS Championship Celebration

Cargill was out there looking like an absolute star as always and I appreciated she got some actual mic time in the ring on Dynamite for a change. Unfortunately, this segment solely existed to further her feud with Bow Wow that I don't care about. I understand AEW wanting to get mainstream attention out of this, but unless Bow Wow is bringing in someone interesting for Cargill to have a match with, I have zero interest in this crap. And no, I don't think Bow Wow is bringing in Sasha Banks, who I believe is still under contract to WWE.

The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) def. AEW World Trios Champions Death Triangle (Pac and The Lucha Brothers) in Match #3 in the AEW World Trios Championship Best-of-7 Series

All things considered, this wasn't drastically different than their other two encounters, which was what worried me about this Best-of-7 Series when it was originally announced. I know a majority of AEW fans eat up these spot-fests, but I'm already tired of seeing it, personally. That said, I applaud their effort to switch things up by brawling for the first half and The Elite entering desperation mode as a result of their first two losses in the series. They finally picked up their first win and the fourth installment will take place at Winter Is Coming.

Overall Show

Much like last week, I thought the show started strong with the Moxley and Page brawl and AEW followed that up nicely with Danielson vs. Harwood. I don't think the rest of the episode reached those heights again. The MJF promo was slightly disappointing by MJF standards, even though the Regal angle was excellently executed. There was some decent build for stuff coming up on Rampage, next week's Dynamite and at Winter Is Coming, but the two hours weren't particularly thrilling on the whole.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews