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It all came down to this. All Elite Wrestling's maiden Dynamite show debuted on TNT last night and lived up to its name from beginning to end. That was all to the good because the historicity of the occasion didn't go unmentioned. Tony Schiavone, a veteran of wrestling's hottest period, pointed out for all to hear that this was the first wrestling show broadcast on TNT since 2001.
But beneath the glitz and glamor, the show needed to deliver. AEW has a pay per view on November 9th, as the improved commentary team was keen to remind us. How effective was the show in debuting its roster and building its next big event?
Cody vs. Sammy Guevara: B
This match felt a little disjointed for the first few minutes. It seemed like Cody and Sammy didn't have chemistry together. Sure, the work rate was good, but there was something missing from it. After Brandi got hit by mistake on Cody's suicide dive, though, things kicked into high gear. Sammy put up a hell of a fight and showed what he's all about, but obviously, Cody wasn't going to lose a match while he's the top contender to Chris Jericho's AEW Championship.
The end result was that Cody got to get a good win and Sammy Guevera got to show to a wider audience what he can do, but his night wasn't over.
Chris Jericho ambushes Cody: A
After a tense handshake between Cody and Guevara, Chris Jericho blindsided the former and laid a beating on him. The camera work here was great, as we heard the crowd roaring, but didn't see Jericho until he actually attacked Cody.
The champion laid out his challenger with chairs and the title belt, among other weapons and maneuvers.
It was a simple, but effective, way to build their rivalry heading into Full Gear on November 9th.
MJF vs. Brandon Cutler: C
This was little more than a squash, but it was done effectively. The object was to get attention to MJF, clearly one of AEW's priorities for the future, and it did that admirably. AEW wisely decided to give him a pre-match promo which showed the wider audience just how much of a smug bad guy he is.
It was time well spent. MJF doesn't have a clear rival yet, but he will in due time, and he will be one of the main players in the company in the future.
SCU confronts the Lucha Brothers: C
Between MJF's match and the next one, we saw a short segment involving a confrontation between SCU and the Lucha Brothers during an onstage interview. This was meant to highlight the tag team division in the company, where the tournament to determine the inaugural champions will begin next week.
Much like MJF's match, this wasn't brilliant, but it did its job in highlighting the AEW tag team division, which looks like it will be the best in the entire industry. Having two of the stalwarts of the division on the first show and building heat between them is a smart way to use some downtime between matches.
Adam Page vs. PAC: A-
We've been waiting for this since January, and the debut episode of Dynamite was as good a place as any to air it. Though it didn't feel quite as good as it could have been, it was still an excellent television match, with the commentary team doing their best to elevate it above the kind of meaningless confrontations we see every week on WWE television.
For Adam Page, this was an important bout, given that he just lost the biggest match of his career and failed to capture the AEW Championship. PAC, meanwhile, was looking to get himself closer to a title shot, but it would have to come at Page's expense.
It was a back and forth affair, but ultimately, PAC hit the Black Arrow and then put Page to sleep.
PAC was put over as a big deal, while Page will now question himself further. Both will have dynamic stories from here on out.
Riho vs. Nyla Rose: A+
This might not have been the main event, but it was the match and highlight of the night. Riho had pinned Nyla Rose before, at Fyter Fest in June, but that was in a triple threat match, and the odds were certainly stacked against her in this singles encounter.
That was the glue that held the match together. It was certainly Nyla's best match to date, thanks to the contrast against Riho who was so much smaller.
The crowd was mega hot for Riho, clamoring for her to beat Nyla. The energy level really elevated the match and made it feel so much more important. The two contenders didn't disappoint them. Riho threw everything she had and an opponent whose own arrogance cost her (recall the steel chairs Rose pulled out only to miss a cannonball on top of them), but it still didn't look like enough.
It was a roller coaster until the ending miracle, when a few double knee strikes to the head secured Riho the title in the biggest surprise of the night.
Riho's win was the correct decision. In contrast to the heel-heavy men's division, the women's division now has a beloved, popular babyface champion who can put on electric matches to elevate the title. Nyla's time will come, but the "Native Beast" could still use some seasoning before winning a championship. One has to think that if wins and losses are to mean anything, Nyla's time in the title picture has temporarily expired, despite the beef after the match.
Riho has more exciting match combinations ahead of her. I look forward to seeing what she does next.
Main event chaos: A
The advertised main event was a six man tag team match between the Elite and Chris Jericho, along with his cronies, Santana and Ortiz.
However, the match quickly descended into chaos when Jon Moxley appeared from nowhere to ambush Kenny Omega, removing him from the equation as they battled all around the arena. Moxley would eventually DDT'ed Omega through a glass table in a VIP lounge. Their confrontation at Full Gear is certainly going to be fun.
Having now been put in a handicap situation, the Young Bucks fell to Jericho and co, but Cody came out for a little bit of revenge from earlier. Then Sammy Guevara came out to neutralize Cody.
This created a sequence where Dustin returned and then, Jake Hager (the former Jack Swagger in WWE), debuted to lay everyone out.
The show closed with Jericho and his friends looking smug over the fallen babyfaces, thus likely initiating a faction war between them and the Elite, all the while the rogue Jon Moxley looks like he'll be fighting anything that moves.
The whole thing was a great segment and an excellent way to close the show. AEW has arrived!
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
