AEW Dynamite: 5 Biggest news stories - Deathmatch announced, Sting takes a major bump (February 17, 2021)

A significant stipulation match was announced for AEW Revolution.
A significant stipulation match was announced for AEW Revolution.

From an AEW Tag Team Championship match to an excellent women's bout, this week's edition of AEW Dynamite featured many contrasting moments.

Compared to the last few editions of Dynamite, this week's show was well-balanced, for the most part. A couple of botches aside, there were a few intriguing stipulation matches announced for AEW Revolution. Some storylines took interesting turns, which shall be discussed in this column as well.

How did NXT fare against AEW in terms of quality this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Here are the five biggest news stories from this week's episode of AEW Dynamite (February 17, 2021).


#5 Riho made a stellar return to AEW Dynamite after almost 11 months

AEW Dynamite featured the return of one of its key female players this week.

Riho returned to face Serena Deeb in the first round of the AEW Women's World Championship Eliminator Tournament. Although Riho was the inaugural AEW Women's Champion in the past, Serena Deeb is currently the NWA Women's Champion. As a result, Serena was the favorite to win in their clash.

The two women put on an excellent contest against each other. A lot of AEW's matches tend to become unfocused with their fast-paced action. However, Riho vs. Serena Deeb was focused in terms of spots and less gratuitous in the same department.

Towards the end of their back-and-forth match, Riho successfully rolled up her opponent for the pinfall victory.

Defeating a major champion has made the Japanese star a favorite in the tournament. Riho advanced to the quarterfinals, where she will now face the former NWA Women's Champion, Thunder Rosa.

Whoever wins between Rosa and Riho could probably go on to win the entire AEW Women's World Championship Eliminator Tournament. This tournament not only helps to build a formidable competitor for Hikaru Shida, but it also showcases the excellent potential of the women in AEW.

#4 The Young Bucks' father engaged in an entertaining altercation with Chris Jericho after an AEW Tag Team Championship match

The Young Bucks faced a tough challenge against The Inner Circle's Santana and Ortiz on this week's AEW Dynamite.

Matt and Nick Jackson are also scheduled to face The Inner Circle's Chris Jericho and MJF at Revolution. It would have been beneficial for the faction if Santana and Ortiz became the new AEW Tag Team Champions this week. After all, the titles would remain in The Inner Circle in that scenario.

Santana and Ortiz were very close to winning the match. However, Nick scored the victory for his team by rolling up Ortiz at the last second. The champions retained their titles, but their beef with The Inner Circle is far from over.

The Inner Circle kickstarted an assault on The Young Bucks after the match. Kenny Omega, Don Callis, and The Good Brothers took a while to decide if it was necessary to save The Young Bucks. Only The Good Brothers rescued The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega was nowhere to be seen in the ring.

Jericho also confronted Papa Buck near the guardrail. However, the latter shoved Jericho to stand up for himself.

As for Sammy Guevara's situation, The Spanish God didn't appear during this week's AEW Dynamite. However, Chris Jericho made it clear that he didn't want to hear about the former Inner Circle member anymore.

#3 Matt Hardy and Hangman Page double-crossed each other during AEW Dynamite

This week's AEW Dynamite kicked off with a tag team match pitting Matt Hardy and Hangman Page against TH2. Little did Hardy know that Page had plotted something against him after their match was over.

As expected, Hardy and Page won the tag team contest against TH2. Last week, AEW fans witnessed how Page was potentially coaxed into signing a bad deal with Hardy after their drinking session.

After the match, Page revealed that he would face Hardy at AEW Revolution in a one-on-one match. The twist came about when Page said he hadn't blindly signed a contract last week, as the contract included a match between them all along.

A mascot had brought the contract with him to the ring. The deal also stated that if Page were to win, he would get all of Hardy's 2021 first-quarter earnings. Hardy said it was only fair he would receive all of Page's first-quarter earnings this year if he won the match instead.

The deal was modified as per Hardy's wishes, but the mascot was revealed to be Private Party's Isaiah Kassidy. Hardy had double-crossed Page as well, as Kassidy attacked the babyface from behind.

The Dark Order (w/ Negative One / Brodie Lee Jr) rescued Page, but it wasn't made clear if the latter still wanted to join the faction.

As a whole, this was an entertaining series of moments between Matt Hardy and Hangman Page. They will wrestle in a Big Money Match at AEW Revolution, and the stipulation is why many fans are now looking forward to their bout.

#2 Sting was power-bombed in a physical confrontation with Team Taz on AEW Dynamite

For weeks, Sting's appearances have been limited to promos and interruptions on AEW Dynamite, but he took his first major bump during this episode.

Taz and his son entered the ring with Brian Cage on this week's AEW Dynamite. Taz cut a promo and called out Sting immediately. This time around, Sting would enter the ring without Darby Allin.

The WCW icon put aside his baseball bat and attacked Brian Cage. Sting got a few shots against the opposition, but he was put down by Cage with a powerbomb.

While Sting was expected to take a few bumps at some point, it was surprising to see that he would receive a powerbomb right away. For a man his age, Sting looks like he can still do a lot more than what people expect of him in AEW.

Sting made an error by falling for Taz's bait on this week's AEW Dynamite. However, it was good to see that Brian Cage did not sell himself short against the legend during their confrontation.

#1 Kenny Omega challenged Jon Moxley to an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch for AEW Revolution

Kenny Omega went from catering to the children's demographic to laying down a death-match challenge in the same episode of AEW Dynamite.

Jon Moxley teamed up with Lance Archer and Fenix against Eddie Kingston, The Butcher, and The Blade. This was the main event of the night. After a back-and-forth battle, Moxley's team emerged as the winners.

It wasn't too long after the match when The Good Brothers entered the ring to attack Moxley. Kenny Omega also came out and addressed his rematch for the AEW World Championship against Moxley.

To everyone's surprise, Omega advocated for an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch between the two. The episode ended with Omega and The Good Brothers dominating Moxley.

Anyone who has watched a pro wrestling death-match knows that it won't cater to wrestling fans who get turned off by brutal spots. Props go to AEW for pushing the boundaries of their main storyline.

If Omega and Moxley's upcoming bout will be anything like their Unsanctioned Lights Out match, then AEW Revolution is sure to be a wild event.

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In the video embedded above, do check out SK Wrestling's The Debrief, where Jose G and Rico El Glorioso review the latest episodes of AEW Dynamite and NXT.

Meet the man who called CM Punk the softest man alive HERE

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Edited by Zaid Khan