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AEW Dynamite Review - October 16, 2021

10/16/2021

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By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Malaki Black def. Dante Martin

I'm really happy Martin is getting more chances to showcase his skills. He's an incredibly impressive athlete and he proved with his brief promo last week on Dynamite that he can hold his own on the mic. I'm sure he'll be reuniting with his brother sooner rather than later, but hopefully he won't get lost in the shuffle. Lio Rush stood in his corner for this and looked disappointed when he lost, so that inevitable match should be stellar. It was an enjoyable opener that kept Black's momentum rolling. I'm convinced he's losing to Cody Rhodes next week, though.

Inner Circle Challenged American Top Team

The amount of heat Dan Lambert gets on the mic is unreal, and the funny thing is that I believe American Top Team is based out of Florida. Lambert even said he once called Miami home. I can't say I'm super invested in this feud, but Lambert's mic work has been top-notch and his group has been put over strong. This was a solid segment to set up the five-on-five tag team match, though I could have done without Chris Jericho singling out Paige VanZant specifically. I also didn't understand what the tag titles had anything to do with this, but we'll see where it leads.

"Los Super Ranas" FTR def. The Lucha Brothers to Win the AAA World Tag Team Championship

I'm pretty sure this marked the first time the AAA tag titles have been defended on AEW TV since Lucha Brothers won them back from The Young Bucks at All Out 2019. It was obvious who "Los Super Ranas" were from the moment they walked out and even CM Punk wasn't pretending he didn't know it was them on commentary. The match was decent, but I know they could do better. I appreciated that FTR were unmasked halfway through as opposed to at the end, which is what almost always happens. FTR vs. Lucha Brothers for the AEW World Tag Team Championship is looking likely for Full Gear.

Jon Moxley def. Wheeler Yuta

Well, this was a random match. I'm sure it would have been good with more time because Yuta is talented, but AEW insisted on it being a complete squash instead with Yuta losing in under a minute. He looked like he was out of it afterward, but I haven't heard anything about him being legitimately hurt, so he was probably just doing a great job of selling it. With Orange Cassidy being at ringside, was this supposed to plant the seeds for Moxley vs. Cassidy in the semifinals of the upcoming AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament.

The Super Kliq (Adam Cole and The Young Bucks) def. The Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silver and Alex Reynolds)

The match made sense given Dark Order's issues with The Elite over the summer, but there was no way they were winning here. Despite that, I enjoyed the match. It was your typical Super Kliq spot-fest, so if that isn't your thing, you probably hated it, but I have no complaints about the fast-paced action. The important thing is that Cole just keeps winning, so they're clearly building him up for something.

Sting Confronted MJF and Wardlow

Last week, MJF vs. Darby Allin was briefly advertised for this edition of Dynamite before Allin was ambushed backstage by The Pinnacle (though they were wearing masks for some reason so it can't be confirmed that it was them in storyline). MJF wanted to win by forfeit before Sting came out, attacked Wardlow and sent them packing. This was simple progression of the program ahead of the likely singles match between Allin and MJF at Full Gear. Could we get Allin and Sting against MJF and Wardlow before then?

Penelope Ford def. Kiera Hogan

This was easily the biggest low point of the show, which is a shame because both women are talented. It wasn't terrible, but it seemed like both ladies had an off night and just didn't click. This merely existed to give Ford a win so it will mean more when Ruby Soho eventually beats her because Soho beat Ford's partner The Bunny on Friday's Rampage. I suppose it's logical, but the "feud" feels formulaic and is a significant step down from the hot start Soho had in AEW.

"Hangman" Adam Page Addressed AEW World Champion Kenny Omega

What a tremendous promo. Page's character arc over the last two years has been picture-perfect and although I thought All Out was the ideal event for him to beat Omega for the title, he took time off to become a father and it still worked out well. He even incorporated that into this promo along with all of the setbacks he's suffered since late 2019. He had the crowd behind him the entire time here and left fans fired up for Full Gear. It has to be considered the most anticipated AEW World Championship match so far in AEW's short history.

Bryan Danielson def. Bobby Fish

Fish is only a few matches into his AEW run and he already finds himself in the main event of Dynamite. That's pretty cool. I doubt he'll be positioned as a main event player going forward and he doesn't need to be, but the key will be him maintaining a position in the midcard and not getting lost in the shuffle and ending up on Dark every week. He and Danielson had an entertaining main event and their respective technical styles meshed nicely. Danielson continues to rack up wins heading into the AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament.

Overall Show

The Saturday night Dynamite shows are always tough and weren't too eventful in the past, but this was probably the best one they've done to date. It had everything you'd want out of an episode of Dynamite from top-notch wrestling to storyline progression to hype for Full Gear. Several matches were set up for next week as well. The biggest issue with Dynamite is still that they attempt to cram too much into the two hours and some stuff gets forgotten about at the end of the evening, but I guess that's what happens when you have a loaded roster. On a side note, it sure looks like that "leaked" Full Gear card from Tony Khan is coming together.
SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews
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