AEW Dynamite Review - October 23, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Lucha Brothers def. Private Party in an AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Semifinal Match

Lucha Brothers and Private Party are two of my favorite teams in wrestling right now, but for as much as I loved this match and some of the insane spots they pulled off, this was way too fast-paced. It wasn't a major gripe by any means, but it was honestly hard to follow the action at certain points, especially when trying to figure out who was legal. I'm all for tag team wrestling getting a chance to shine like it did here and I did think it was an outstanding affair, but I agree with those who believe AEW is too spot-fest heavy at the moment with matches such as this one being a prime example. Less is more, in my opinion.

SoCal uncensored def. The Dark Order in an AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Semifinal Match

This wasn't nearly as wild as the opener yet was equally enjoyable. Dark Order do nothing for me as characters, but at least their matches have mostly been passable so far in AEW. Meanwhile, SCU are just terrific and never cease to get the crowd in their corner. It was only logical that they advanced to the finals after Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix injured Christopher Daniels on last week's show. The finals of the AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament will go down next week.

Kenny Omega def. Joey Janela

Janela was originally advertised as going one-on-one with Jack Evans, but the bout was changed to Janela vs. Omega after all the buzz their original encounter received last week on AEW Dark. Despite being in attendance for it, I personally wasn't as big of a fan of that match as others were, but I appreciated that they had a chance to go at it again, this time without a stipulation in play. Janela finally showed that he can hang with the top talent even in a standard singles matchup while Omega picked up his first singles victory in months (his last win over Janela doesn't technically count due to it being unsanctioned).

Cody, Dustin Rhodes, MJF and Diamond Dallas Page Brawled with The Inner Circle

Yes, you read that correctly: DDP was involved in a televised segment on a major wrestling show in 2019. It's been well documented that he is really close with Cody, so at least it made sense from a storyline standpoint. Before the brawl broke out, Cody was being interviewed by Tony Schiavone about his upcoming AEW World Championship match at Full Gear. He was constantly drowned out by The Inner Circle, who were sitting up top in the press box, and then that was when the chaos ensued. It was a hot angle that successfully hyped up Cody vs. Chris Jericho for Full Gear. The crowd being as electric as they were for this added to my enjoyment of it as well.

The Young Bucks def. Best Friends

I continue to get a kick out of the alliance between Best Friends and Orange Cassidy. It isn't for everybody, mind you, but I find it to be fun. The match itself was entertaining with Best Friends scoring an ample amount of offense before eating defeat. I was also pleasantly surprised that this lasted as long as it did. Post-match, Young Bucks officially accepted Santana and Ortiz's challenge for a matchup at Full Gear. That has show-stealer written all over it.

Britt Baker def. Jamie Hayter

Baker is clearly being groomed to be the female face of AEW, and rightfully so because she comes across like a star, yet I have yet to see one truly above-average match from her. I know she isn't the greatest wrestler on their roster, but the fact that not even Riho could get a great matchup out of her is slightly alarming. This was decent for what it was and Baker's hometown crowd was behind her from start to finish, but Baker should have been way more dominant than she was. If Hayter was a full-time member of AEW's women's division, then I would've been fine with this being as competitive as it was. I still feel a heel turn would be the best thing for her.

Jon Moxley vs. Pac Ended in a Time Limit Draw

Moxley and Pac are two of AEW's top talents and it was cool to see them do their thing in the main event of Dynamite. Pac has been established as an absolute asshole and Moxley simply doesn't care about anyone except himself. They brought the best out of each other here and had a hard-hitting match. As seen at Fyter Fest with Cody vs. Darby Allin, time limits can be effective if utilized properly and this was the perfect place to do one. Pac didn't need to lose here after getting pinned in tag team action last week and Moxley shouldn't losing before Full Gear, either. It wasn't as underwhelming of an ending to the show as you'd think because it set up the need for a rematch, assuming this is ever revisited.

Overall Show

Dynamite is really starting to lock in a strong, cohesive format with storylines and characters that are clicking and matches that are delivering. The build for Full Gear in a few weeks has also been well done and I'm definitely looking forward to it. My biggest nitpicks of the show continue to be the over-reliance on spot-fests and the women not getting much development, but hopefully those things are addressed and improved in time. Similar to NXT, I appreciate that AEW puts effort into promotion for the following week and gives fans multiple matches to get excited about.