AEW Dynamite Results and Review (10/12/22): AEW Star Returns
AEW Dynamite was the company’s first-ever international show. It’s hard to believe this is the first time AEW has traveled outside of the United States. Nevertheless, they need to deliver during these weekly shows. With WWE increasing the quality of its product and roster, it puts pressure on AEW. It’s no secret that the company has been having some issues of late. But I believe they are slowly moving on from them because this show delivered some good moments. In case you missed Dynamite, here are the results and my review of the show.
Results
Luchasaurus def. Jack Perry
WarJoe def. The Factory
Swerve Strickland def. Billy Gunn
Chris Jericho def. Bryan Danielson
Hikaru Shida & Toni Storm (c) def. Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter
Orange Cassidy def. PAC
Review
Luchasaurus vs Jack Perry
This match was just as good as one would think going into it. It’s a classic tale of former friends turned bitter rivals and the match did not disappoint. There were a ton of great spots throughout the match. It’s clear that Jack Perry and Luchasaurus have great chemistry in the ring. Also, I enjoy how they’re calling him “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry instead of just “Jungle Boy.” To me, this is a sign of his character growing. He is evolving as a wrestler and is starting to learn to fight on his own.
The crowd was really into this match which made it feel like a pay-per-view level fight. Actually, it’s a match that I predicted for the Full Gear match card. With Christian Cage out for several months with an injury, it’s unclear where they will go from here. Luchasaurus securing the win means the feud will likely continue, but it can’t possibly go on until Cage is healthy.
WarJoe vs The Factory
This is a match that simply didn’t need to happen. The whole point seemingly was to give Shawn Spears his moment in front of his home crowd. Now, Spears deserves this moment, but there are other ways to do it that are more meaningful. It feels like every week I’m writing about how I hate these squash matches, yet AEW continues to do them. And don’t get me wrong, I love everyone involved in this match, even the Factory. But this was a filler and could have been given to the women’s division. Also, the name WarJoe is just bad. These are two men who hold mid-card titles in two companies, yet they are being put together for meaningless feuds — it just doesn’t make sense to me.
Swerve Strickland vs Billy Gunn
This match was decent at best. While Billy Gunn is still in great shape, it was clear that as the match went on, he was getting extremely winded, and it got sloppy as a result. I love the pairing of Gunn and The Acclaimed, but Gunn has 52 wins in his AEW career. I’m not sure how that happened or who thought it was a good idea, but it’s not. They made the right decision by having Strickland win on AEW Dynamite, but I still would have liked to see it happen clean.
It’s clear The Acclaimed are extremely over with the crowd, so it’s nice to see them get television time. Also, Swerve being a heel and his tag partner, Keith Lee, being a babyface doesn’t really make sense. AEW has to turn them heel as a team or have Swerve turn on Lee. Either way, they need to do something with the pairing.
*ROH World Championship Match*
Bryan Danielson vs Chris Jericho (c)
These two men put on another incredible match. Chris Jericho showed he can still get physical with one of the most hard-hitting wrestlers on the roster, Bryan Danielson.
This was the third match between Jericho and Danielson in AEW and all three have been amazing. It’s clear that they have great chemistry in the ring with each other. Also, I love the idea of Jericho trying to destroy ROH and its legacy. His challenging former champions is a great idea, and I can’t wait to see it all unfold.
Daniel Garcia turning on Danielson is interesting. I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about it, but I will say I’m not immediately mad. While many thought Garcia was going to join the Blackpool Combat Club, I never thought that. I thought, and still do think, he is going to go on his own. While it seems as if he remains in the Jericho Appreciation Society, I don’t necessarily think that’s the case. I still believe that Garcia is going to go out on his own.
Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter vs Hikaru Shida & Toni Storm (c)
This was a great match on AEW Dynamite, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since the women’s division puts on great matches every week, despite very little television time. While these are four of the best wrestlers in the women’s division, on paper, the match wasn’t that intriguing. It feels like we have been getting these women’s tag team matches that don’t have much build to them every week. Yet, they put on great match after great match. AEW’s biggest problem is booking the women’s division.
Every show features only one match and most pay-per-views as well. When they do get time, the women of AEW kill it. They remind fans every week, just how good the division is as a whole. It’s clear that AEW is just waiting for Thunder Ros to get healthy to give Toni Storm a meaningful feud. But that shouldn’t be the case. There are plenty of people who can start an actual feud with her, instead of just a one-off match.
*AEW All-Atlantic Championship Match*
Orange Cassidy vs PAC (c)
It’s nice to see that AEW is finally putting some effort into the All-Atlantic Championship. Since the belt was created and revealed, they have done an underwhelming job of creating prestige. Many people had forgotten the belt even existed. You can even make the same argument for the trio’s titles. So, AEW is finally getting the title involved in weekly television and the results have been paying off. I’ll say it every time I mention his name, PAC is a top-five wrestler on the planet and has been for years. He proves it every week by being able to wrestle in any style, with any character.
This week was no different as he took on Orange Cassidy. These two have been putting on great matches recently. PAC is one of the most underrated sellers in the game today. The way he sells a DDT is like no other. Also, Orange Cassidy is one of my favorite wrestlers of the past five years. So, it’s nice to see him finally win some gold on AEW Dynamite.
