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The June 15, 2022 edition of AEW Dynamite emanated from a city that knows professional wrestling very well. For years, St. Louis was the home of the NWA and legendary promoter Sam Muchnick. But this week, it played host to All Elite Wrestling.
AEW has had so much going on. Between an injury to their newly crowned world champion to trying to hustle and get ready for the Forbidden Door event, things are jumping for Tony Khan and Co.
Add in the conclusion of the Owen Hart Memorial Tournament, followed by what appears to be a hastily thrown together bracket for the brand new All-Atlantic Championship.
With so much going on, fans were braced for a big episode of AEW Dynamite. That's exactly what they got, as there were a lot of moving parts to this one. Here are five things that stood out on this week's show.
#5 - The Wardlow 'crush fest' went way too long and didn't do anything for his evolution
The entire premise of this bout was absolutely silly, and it had a predictible ending. As the vignettes leading up to the so-called match illustrated, this was a class action showdown with members of the security team as the plaintiffs.
Wardlow was once again impressive in this show of strength and dominance, but there was only one problem: he was facing too many opponents, so this segment was way too long. The audience was into it from the start, but about halfway through the bout, they started to get weary of one guy just throwing everyone around.
One shining light to this segment was that it appears the next step in the big man's journey will be targeting the American Top Team and TNT Champion Scorpio Sky.
Sky and Dan Lambert came out to chastise Wardlow, and Lambert implored UFC legends (and St. Louis-area natives) Matt Hughes and Tyron Woodley to get involved. However, they both sided with Wardlow in what was basically just an excuse to get them on the show.
#4 - Toni Storm had an impressive promo and made her case for being the next AEW Women's World Champion
This was probably Toni Storm's most defining backstage interview since joining All Elite Wrestling. It was a nice touch that the production team added some highlight clips of her, with her talking over, and sometimes narrating, the action. It made her seem more important, and adds to her appeal.
Storm might have to wait awhile before she gets her hands on the gold, as Thunder Rosa has been a more than effective title holder and is popular with fans.
In her head-to-head match-up with Dr. Britt Baker DMD later in the show, she scored a huge win over the former champ. That was pretty good timing, considering it led to her immediately securing a title shot against Rosa.
#3 - The Hair vs. Hair Match between Chris Jericho and Ortiz delivered as promised, with a major twist
It was a nice slugfest between the two, with the crowd completely into the action. This was the opening match of the night, and the guys' light the pilot light. They did, and it heated up the already muggy St. Louis night.
Both parties' sides eventually got involved, and as things broke, Fuego del Sol came out. He grabbed Jericho's baseball bat and knocked Ortiz cold, securing the victory for AEW's resident wizard. But something was amiss.
As it turns out, it was revealed that Sammy Guevara was the one who was under the mask. Once an original member of Jericho's Inner Circle, The Spanish God was one of the most despised men in AEW. By costing the popular Ortiz his hair, Guevara has only solidified that position.
Side note: William Regal is such a joy to listen to when he's doing commentary. He's not only articulate, his knowledge of technical wrestling adds to the broadcast.
#2 - Jay White laid out Hangman Adam Page and has left the IWGP title match at Forbidden Door up in the air
Page made his original challenge to Kazuchika Okada, admitting to the audience that he didn't factor in the possibility that the Rainmaker could lose the gold before Forbidden Door.
Lo and behold, Switchblade Jay White captured the championship from Okada. He then showed up at Dynamite this week to jump the Hangman and leave him laying. He knelt over Page and informed him that he wouldn't be getting a title shot.
#1 - The faceoff between Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi was a great moment for both AEW and NJPW
With a moment that will no doubt be frozen in time, the AEW Warrior and The Ace of New Japan were eye-to-eye as they prepared to square off for the interim championship at Forbidden Door. Moxley cut a passionate promo to set the stage for their showdown.
And while it seems like a longshot that Tony Khan would allow a New Japan star to win the AEW title, anything seems possible at this point.
The moment in time is unique and new to professional wrestling. Both of these companies should be lauded for setting an example of what cooperation can be like if done correctly.
With the AEW interim title and the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (opponent to be determined) both on the line, Forbidden Door promises to be one of the most important cards of the year and possibly of all time.
Factor in all of those aspects, as well as The Young Bucks defeating The Jurassic Express for the World Tag Team Titles followed by Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus being turned on by Christian Cage, a terrific match between Will Ospreay vs. Dax Harwood and the growing conflict between Jericho's crew and The Blackpool Combat Club.
The show was everything that AEW fans wanted to see out of Dynamite. While it may be difficult to continue at a pace like this, the episode really set the stage for Forbidden Door. As things are heating up outside, the temperature is rising in AEW.
