 AEW World Champion and ROH World Tag Team Champion MJF def. Daniel GarciaGarcia demanded a title shot after scoring his first singles win in forever last week on Rampage and was granted it. There was really no reason for the championship to be on the line (especially since there was zero chance of Garcia winning), but they had a good, well-worked opener. Garcia attempted to show respect to MJF afterward but was thwarted by Matt Menard and Angelo Parker. A split from them for him has been long overdue. Sting and Darby Allin def. The OutrunnersThis was a straightforward squash as it should have been. I assume The Outrunners are under some sort of a deal to AEW since they've popped up on AEW programming as well as ROH TV many times this year, but I would've liked to see an actual team in there with Sting and Allin (though not necessarily lose as quickly). This served no other purpose than to give Sting and Allin a showcase win ahead of their upcoming six-man tag team matches alongside Adam Copeland on Saturday's Collision and at Full Gear. Swerve Strickland def. Penta El Zero MiedoSimilar to Strickland's outing against AR Fox last week on Collision, this felt like a match you'd see on Lucha Underground and that's the ultimate compliment. They had a very entertaining affair and had terrific chemistry. Adam Page attacked Strickland afterward and put him through a table by the stage in what was a sweet spot. Their rematch is already confirmed for Full Gear, but it'd be a mistake for a stipulation to not be added. ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe def. Keith LeeAlthough this didn't live up to my admittedly lofty expectations (I realize neither of them are the same athletes they were five years ago), it was a fun hoss fight, nonetheless. A full-fledged feud between them would've been cool, but AEW opted to get it out of the way as a one-off television match. Joe proceeded to relinquish the title in a post-match promo because he's resetting his sights on the AEW World Championship and I'm not a fan of that move at all. He held the gold for almost 600 days and broke the record, only to give it up without elevating it anyone by being beaten for it. It's not as if Joe is undefeated at the moment, either. What a strange decision. The Gunns def. The Bollywood BoyzBollywood Boyz appear occasionally for AEW, but they didn't have a chance to do anything here as they were promptly squashed by The Gunns. It was what it needed to be. The focus ended up being on the post-match promos they cut on MJF, hyping their ROH World Tag Team Championship clash at Full Gear. Joe was shown standing next to MJF backstage, giving the impression he might be MJF's partner (which I'd definitely be down for). Julia Hart def. Red VelvetVelvet has missed a lot of ring time in the last year and a half due to back-to-back injuries. Meanwhile, Hart went from being an unnecessary addition to House of Black and being limited in the ring to showing serious signs of improvement. She's been impressive for a few months now and I'm glad she's still in the AEW TBS Championship picture for now. Based on the post-match angle, it looks like it will be a four-way for the title at Full Gear with Hart, Kris Statlander, Skye Blue and Willow Nightingale. Jay White def. Mark BriscoeThe idea that White's shot at the AEW World Championship at Full Gear was on the line was completely ridiculous. White has had a handful of matches in the past month and none of those matches had that same stipulation. This wasn't a meaningful main event, but it was solid for what it was. The show closed with the dude in The Devil mask and his cronies attacking The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn backstage, so the mystery continues. We're going to need some significant development with that storyline soon, but at least this was something. Overall ShowI was excited for this edition of Dynamite on paper, but even with all of the above-average action, I felt like you wouldn't have missed much if you didn't tune in. The hype for Full Gear was fine and they've announced more matches for the card (hopefully they don't add another six matches next week), but Dynamite feels like filler most weeks these days and this episode was adequate at best. The wrestling carried it, so your opinion will vary depending on your personal preference, but some of the booking decisions have been mind-boggling recently and makes me question what the hell is going on behind the scenes.
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