AEW Dynamite Review - September 15, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Adam Cole def. Frankie Kazarian

Kazarian was the perfect first opponent for Cole in AEW, much like when Christian Cage faced him in his first AEW match earlier this year. They didn't have the same amount of history together, but Kazarian is The Elite Hunter after all and works well with just about everyone. This wasn't a blow-away bout by any means, but it was an enjoyable opener with both guys looking great. Cole got a monster reaction when he made his entrance, so he clearly has a bright future ahead of him in AEW. He then announced that it will be him and The Young Bucks (a.k.a. The Super Kliq) against Christian Cage and Jurassic Express next Friday night on Rampage.

Brian Pillman Jr. Interrupted MJF and Wardlow

The shots MJF has been taking at Pillman's family have been awful yet hilarious. I'm sorry but I can't help but laugh at MJF calling his mom "Methanine" (if you saw that episode of Dark Side of the Ring earlier this year, you get it). Pillman coming out and fending him and Wardlow off was simple stuff. I'm happy Pillman has been getting the singles spotlight the last two weeks, but it'll obviously be an easy win for MJF before he moves onto his next program. Who that will be with remains to be seen.

FTR def. Matt Sydal and Dante Martin

I have no idea why Sydal teamed with Martin and not his brother Mike, but Dante being in there did make the match more fun. Sydal and Martin have developed great chemistry together and worked well as partners here. Meanwhile, I feel like we don't see enough of FTR in the ring these days (and that's probably by design so they don't climb to the top of the power rankings), so this was a treat. It also gave FTR a necessary win ahead of their next big match.

Malaki Black and Cody Rhodes Brawled

Did anyone else feel like this should have happened last week? Unless I missed something, I don't remember Rhodes popping up on Dynamite before he emerged from the crowd here, which felt underwhelming. Black vs. Rhodes was already announced for the Grand Slam Dynamite before this, so the booking felt backwards to me. It was a good brawl for what it was, and I'll never complain about Rosario Dawson making a wrestling appearance.

Chris Jericho and Jake Hager Interrupted Dan Lambert and Challenged Men of the Year

What a weird segment. I find Lambert to be a terrific talker and I've been digging his appearances on Dynamite, but Jericho of all people interrupting him was random. Some of the insults thrown back and forth fell flat for me and it set up a match that I don't care about between Inner Circle and Men of the Year. Jericho and Hager aren't a compelling team to me and Men of the Year being with Lambert just doesn't click. In other words, this feud is filler at its finest. It's an odd way to follow up with Jericho after he beat MJF at All Out.

Jade Cargill def. "Legit" Leyla Hirsch; Powerhouse Hobbs Attacked CM Punk

I was really looking forward to Cargill vs. Hirsch coming into this show after that barn burner of a bout Hirsch had with Kamille for the NWA World Women's Championship at EmPowerrr last month. Because she's so small, Hirsch is able to shine against the taller women. However, Cargill is still super inexperienced, so I can't say I was surprised that this was on the shorter side. I'm actually glad they got more than a few minutes, which is what the women usually get on Dynamite. Meanwhile, I liked the angle with Hobbs attacking Punk and putting him through the commentary table, or at least attempting to because it didn't break. They'll go one-on-one next Friday night on Rampage in what will be Punk's first match on television since January 2014.

Darby Allin def. Shawn Spears

Spears is a perfectly competent performer. He's had some solid matches in the last month or two with Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara, but to be honest, it's impossible to care about the dude. He's simply the setup guy in FTR and never wins whenever it matters most. There's also a ton of people on the roster who are far more interesting who don't get as much television time as he does. That said, this was a well-wrestled affair. FTR attacking Allin and Sting afterward sets up that tag team match for next week. FTR recently lost to Santana and Ortiz, so I hope they're not going to suffer another big loss so soon.

AEW World Champion Kenny Omega Accepted Bryan Danielson's Challenge

In all of the promos Danielson has cut since coming to AEW, he has made it quite clear that he doesn't want the entire Elite but rather only Omega. Thus, that match was made official here for next week's Grand Slam edition of Dynamite. I knew we'd get it at some point but not so soon. I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I like that Danielson is doing something different from everyone else and not working his way up the card. He's going for the world champ in a non-title scenario from the get-go. But who goes over? Does Danielson win and get a title shot at Full Gear? Isn't that too similar to what AEW just did with Christian Cage? Where does Adam Page factor into all of this? I have a lot of questions, but I'm sure we'll find out more next week. Nonetheless, this was a strong segment.

Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston def. 2point0

I really likely 2point0 and it was cool that they got the main event spot on Dynamite (what a difference a few months can make), but they've been doing the same stuff since debuting for AEW: attacking their opponents beforehand with Daniel Garcia, getting their asses kicked, and losing. It's not a terrible formula, but they'll have to switch it up at some point. This was as basic of a bout as you'd expect. The reason it closed the show is because Minoru Suzuki and Lance Archer came out afterward to brawl with Moxley and Kingston to set the stage for their tag team match next week.

Overall Show

This felt like a "go-home show" of sorts for AEW ahead of next week's stacked editions of Grand Slam Dynamite at Arthur Ashe Stadium and Rampage that Friday. Seriously, we're getting Omega vs. Danielson, Allin and Sting vs. FTR, and Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho for the AEW Women's World Championship on Dynamite followed by Punk vs. Hobbs followed by Cole and Young Bucks vs. Christian and Jurassic Express on Rampage. That's wild. The setup for that stuff on this episode was well done, even if it felt like they tried to cram way too much into the two hours (nothing new there, I know). No matches stood out, but Cole's in-ring debut was fun and the Omega and Danielson interaction was effective.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews