AEW Dynamite Review - September 1, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Santana and Ortiz def. FTR

It's a shame this feud had to be put on ice for over a month due to Cash Wheeler's gruesome injury, but I'm glad Wheeler was able to come back at all and they were able to pick up where they left off. This was a wise choice for the opener as it was very entertaining and a hot way to kick off the night. The crowd didn't sound too loud at various points, but they came alive down the stretch. Santana and Ortiz got their win back, and if they don't do a rubber match, then I hope AEW begins building them up for a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship in New York City later this month.

CM Punk, Darby Allin and Sting Attacked Daniel Garcia and 2point0

Punk didn't say much more than what he's said already in AEW, but it was cool hearing him address the audience in his hometown of Chicago, nonetheless. Business picked up once Allin and Sting saved Punk from the heels and they all took turns hitting their finishers. I have no idea why they'd give away his first GTS in seven years on the go-home show. I would have preferred to hear from Allin considering he's the one in action at All Out, but Sting's brief promo was great and it was surreal sitting him face-to-face with Punk for the first time ever.

Tony Schiavone Hosted a Sit-Down Interview with MJF

This feud has been going on for so long that MJF and Chris Jericho are repeating themselves in promos at this point, but on the whole, this was a solid sit-down interview. It was cool that AEW switched up the usual formula and had Schiavone do the pre-taped one for a change. The funny thing is that MJF wasn't wrong about a lot of what of he said. Jericho is undoubtedly past his prime, and while I honestly wouldn't mind if All Out was his last match (at least for a while), I've accepted the fact that Jericho will win.

Orange Cassidy def. Jack Evans

I'm convinced Cassidy has beaten every member of the H.F.O. at one point or another. This feud has been completely one-sided that it's impossible to care. The matches have been fine but have largely blended together. This was no exception, though I appreciate that it wasn't longer than five or six minutes. They finally had a match end during a commercial break, but I'll still never pay attention to the picture-in-picture because it's completely pointless. We found out later that the entire H.F.O. will face Best Friends and Jurassic Express on the All Out Buy In.

Jim Ross Interviewed Chris Jericho

This was similar to the MJF interview from earlier where Jericho didn't cover a ton of new ground, but at least he had the crowd to feed off of. He recapped his history with MJF and gave every indication that he's winning on Sunday. I suppose it makes sense for the storyline, but I'd personally rather see MJF go undefeated against Jericho and for Jericho to take time off, if not retire from the ring all together. Nevertheless, this did what it needed to do.

Powerhouse Hobbs def. Brian Cage

This is another storyline that feels like it's cooled off a lot lately due to unforeseen circumstances (in this case, it was Hobbs' mother passing away and him taking time off for about a month). Despite that, they had a quality, physical contest here with the expected interference from Ricky Starks, who attacked Cage the same way Hobbs did when Starks beat him for the FTW Championship two months ago. Nothing about the match stood out as special, but it was enjoyable while it lasted. I have no idea where you go with this feud from here.

Gunn Club and The Factory Attacked Paul Wight

I said weeks ago that I had no desire to see Wight vs. QT Marshall at All Out over the many names who aren't even on the card as of now. This segment solidified that. The stuff with Wight and Marshall is bad enough, but to get Gunn Club involved is even worse. Who in their right mind in AEW honestly thinks that anyone would give a shit about Billy Gunn turning heel on Wight in 2021? Didn't Gunn Club just beat Marshall and his band of losers a week ago? This was abysmal.

Tay Conti def. Penelope Ford

This stemmed from Ford helping The Bunny beat Conti last Friday on Rampage. I knew that the only reason Ford and Bunny were paired off was so Conti could reunite with a returning Anna Jay and that's exactly what happened. To the company's credit, they gave Conti and Ford more time than they do for most of the women's matches on Dynamite, and it was decent. Conti was the right winner and it was announced that Jay will be back in the ring as part of the Casino Battle Royal on Sunday.

The Elite (AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks and Impact World Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers) def. The Lucha Brothers and Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus)

Looking at this match on paper, I figured it'd be a total spot-fest and that's exactly what it was. If you're into that sort of thing, you likely loved it, and if not, you probably hated it. I fell somewhere in the middle. I enjoyed the fast-paced action, but not a lot of had a chance to sink in for me, especially since this show was already jam-packed with stuff and everything was moving at a frantic pace. The heels winning was a weird choice if they're going to be winning again on Sunday (time will tell), and the post-match chaos inside the steel cage was a mess. Kenny Omega talking throughout made it worse. I'm among those who haven't minded most of what The Elite have been doing this past summer, but even I am starting to get tired of their heel shenanigans, them constantly getting the better of their babyface adversaries, and the flat endings to their matches and segments.

Overall Show

This go-home show was all over the place. Let the record show that I'll be in attendance for Rampage and All Out in Chicago this weekend, so I'm excited for both events no matter what. This edition of Dynamite wasn't ineffective by any means, but I found it to be too chaotic for its own good. The hype for most of the matches on Sunday was well done, the video packages were well-produced, and the opener was the best bout of the night. I'm disappointed Andrade El Idolo vs. Pac had to be bumped from All Out due to travel issues, but at least the Casino Battle Royale with the women is making the main card. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what AEW has in store at the pay-per-view. They have plenty of momentum right now and need to hit a home run to keep it going.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews