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From Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford's wedding to a Tag Team Battle Royal, this week's edition of AEW Dynamite featured many contrasting moments.
Dynamite returned to its special episode format this week, in the form of Beach Break. Although it wasn't a perfect episode in terms of quality, Beach Break was certainly a newsworthy and engaging show, just like every special episode should be.
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 3, 2021).
#5 Chris Jericho and MJF won the AEW Tag Team Battle Royal, which led to further conflict between The Inner Circle
A Tag Team Battle Royal kicked-off AEW Beach Break, as the winner would get an opportunity to face The Young Bucks at the Revolution pay-per-view.
Had The Young Bucks won this contest, Matt and Nick Jackson would get to choose their own opponents for Revolution. However, Matt got eliminated before his brother. Nick held down the fort until The Good Brothers came out and proved to be an unusual distraction for the AEW Tag Team Champion. Nick was eliminated by Chris Jericho and MJF as a result.
While this was a good showcase for AEW tag teams, three Inner Circle members - MJF, Sammy Guevara, and Chris Jericho - managed to be a part of the final six spots in the match.
Even though Jericho ended up winning the match for himself and MJF, Guevara's elimination added further conflict between the faction. Later in the night, Jericho and MJF wanted to celebrate their victory with the entire group, but Guevara wasn't too keen on that idea.
As Sammy left the scene, Jericho followed The Spanish God to talk to him. Meanwhile, MJF ordered the cameraman to get out while he seriously wanted to have important discussions with other members of The Inner Circle.
It remains to be seen what the discussion was all about, but Chris Jericho's faction isn't getting back on the same page anytime soon. Perhaps this inner-conflict could even become a part of the buildup to MJF and Jericho's match against The Young Bucks at AEW Revolution.
#4 Matt Hardy may have lured Hangman Page into a long con on AEW Dynamite
Hangman Page has had a tough time with AEW factions and groups ever since he left The Elite.
While he had a great time with The Dark Order, Page just couldn't commit to another faction in AEW. But unlike most offers, Matt Hardy presented a 'no-strings-attached' partnership offer to Page on AEW Dynamite.
Hardy offered Page the chance to dress in the veteran's locker room, but Hardy also asked to team up with him to take on Chaos Project for one night only. Chaos Project had ruined Brodie Lee Jr's birthday celebration not too long ago, so Hangman just couldn't decline the offer right away.
While Hangman Page had almost earned a relatively easy victory against Serpentico and Luther, Matt Hardy tagged himself in at the last minute and stole the spotlight to take credit for the pinfall win.
Matt Hardy's current gimmick in AEW points towards the possibility that he has plotted a plan against Hangman Page to benefit himself in the end. It will be interesting to see if Page gets tricked into signing a bad deal with Hardy, just like how the veteran's character has successfully conned many other members of the AEW locker room.
#3 Eddie Kingston and Lance Archer fought in a chaotic Lumberjack match on AEW Dynamite
AEW Beach Break featured a chaotic showdown between Lance Archer and Eddie Kingston, as their Lumberjack match got out of control pretty quickly.
Whenever Lance Archer is thrown into a combustible environment, it always results in an exhilarating match or segment on AEW Dynamite. Also, Kingston's brawling mentality fits in perfectly with Archer's hard-hitting in-ring style.
Archer took out the lumberjacks with a dive, at one point. The Bunny, A.K.A Allie, tried to get involved in the bout, but The Murderhawk Monster threatened to attack her with the Blackout. Amongst the lumberjacks, even a legend like Jake Roberts took part in some action, as he attacked Angelico outside the ring.
Lance Archer lost to Eddie Kingston last week, but The Murderhawk Monster was able to move past that hiccup to defeat his rival on this week's AEW Dynamite.
Lance Archer has been a part of non-title mid-card storylines recently. But now is the time to push him to the upper card once again, as the same possibility was indicated towards the end of this episode.
#2 Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford's AEW Beach Break wedding was ruined by Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy
Pro wrestling weddings are entirely silly most of the time, and Kip Sabian's matrimony with Penelope Ford on AEW Dynamite pretty much encapsulated that tone from start-to-finish.
James Mitchell officiated the ceremony, while Chuck Taylor accompanied The Best Man, Miro, as a butler.
Miro has had a history with pro wrestling weddings, so he made sure to steer clear of the usual traps and tropes from these kinds of segments. There were a few hilarious moments embedded in between the wedding itself, although AEW made sure not to go overboard with the whole concept.
When The Best Man cut his speech, Chuck Taylor secretly cuffed Miro's leg to the ropes, off-screen. The wedding got out of hand when Orange Cassidy popped out from the cake. Miro wasn't able to do anything, as the bride's face predictably smashed into the cake, and the babyfaces stood tall at the end of the segment.
This was a pretty standard and entertaining wedding angle, but one couldn't help but wish for more since Kip and Penelope's wedding was teased for several months. Nonetheless, the aforementioned arc added more steam to what could have otherwise been a normal non-title tag team feud.
#1 KENTA appeared on AEW Dynamite to attack Jon Moxley after an excellent main event
Kenny Omega and IMPACT Wrestling's Good Brothers wrestled Jon Moxley, PAC, and Rey Fenix in a highly-engaging AEW Dynamite main event.
This particular bout turned out to be so fast in terms of pacing, that the commentators couldn't keep up with the action at several moments. AEW decided to play it safe with Sting and Shaq's arcs this week, but the main event was certainly worth watching.
Omega, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows were able to pick up the victory after a back-and-forth match. The heels delivered a post-match beatdown to the babyfaces, which is when Lance Archer appeared to make the save. It seems like The Murderhawk Monster has fully transitioned into a babyface role on AEW Dynamite.
When Jox Moxley was about to send a message to Kenny Omega, a masked man attacked Moxley at the end of AEW Dynamite. This masked man was NJPW's KENTA, whom WWE fans would know as Hideo Itami.
Primarily, KENTA's surprising appearance was to set up his IWGP United States Championship match against Jon Moxley. But could this finally open the doors between NJPW and AEW?
A Bullet Club vs. The Elite clash would be inevitable if KENTA's appearance was to establish a working relationship between AEW and NJPW in the future.
In the video embedded above, do check out SK Wrestling's The Debrief, where Jose G & Rico "El Glorioso" review the latest episodes of AEW Dynamite and NXT.
