Hello again! Thanks for dropping by! As promised, I’m going to attempt to get some more reviews of AEW out there, and possibly somehow entice Other Luke to start blogging about NXT. So we can become your one stop shop for all wrestling news! Obligatory link to our other wrestling items here. If you didn’t read what happened the day prior (technically week), on AEW Dark, you can also check that out. And last thing! (One more thing callback), if you’ve somehow stumbled on this and you’ve not given our podcast a listen, please do so. We have a lot of fun and somehow always try to sprinkle some wrestling into our episodes so check out our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or wherever you crazy kids are listening. Opinions Anonymous. Thank you!
Now, time for the Best and Worst of AEW Dynamite – the February 5, 2020 episode. The show starts off with one eyed Jon Moxley (fka Dean Abmrose in the WWE for all you new viewers) taking on a member of The Inner Circle, Ortiz. A little background if you’ve been living under a rock, Jon Moxely is the number 1 contender for Chris Jericho’s AEW World Championship and the two are fighting later this month at REVOLUTION! Chris Jericho stabbed Moxley’s eye with a stake, so yeah. He’s got one eye and he’s sending his goons to take care of business.
Best in this match for the commentary explaining why this is a no brainer that Moxely will win. He’s a great singles competitor, he’s never lost a singles match in AEW (10-0-1 according to my records) AND, maybe more importantly, Ortiz hasn’t wrestled a singles match in 583 days. That’s important. It’s important because a guy who hasn’t lost since joining the company versus a guy who hasn’t wrestled a singles match in a couple years should have a clear cut winner and it should be the guy who is gaining momentum to face the world champion. Also, Jericho on commentary is GREAT.
A minor nit pick worst for Moxley wearing an eye patch. Do you really think that doesn’t impact you wrestling? If you legitimately were used to having two good eyes and then suddenly only had one, wouldn’t that be difficult? Think about your day job, then you suddenly lose an eye, doesn’t that get more difficult? Close one of your eyes. Now work for the next 5 minutes or do normal activities. Go take a walk. I don’t know, maybe I’m not embracing the kayfabe but I think one eye would make a guy like Jon Moxley lose to PAC (a couple weeks ago). Then we’re doing it again as he takes a car key to Santana’s eye. So now what? We have two eye patch guys??
One thing AEW does is pit face vs. face matches quite a bit. The next bout of SCU vs. Best Friends is between two face teams which the crowd generally loves. Of course, I just wrote about Best Friends on Dark’s review and they’re accompanied by Orange Cassidy. A worst for automatic rematches. I’ve never liked that. Announcers say that SCU is still guaranteed that rematch with Adam “Hangman” Page and Kenny Omega for the Tag Titles – but they shouldn’t be? They should drop a couple spots and work their way back up. Or drop to number one contender but if Best Friends wins, they should fall. Another minor nit (and because I can’t have all bests!)
The Dark Order comes out after the match and I’m all in on the rebuilding of the Dark Order. Some people hate them (I was one of them) and their in ring work needs help! But I love them as a faction. I just wish they had the talent to back it up. I’m not sure how I feel about rumors of Matt Hardy coming to be their leader. It would help, and would be cool – but can he save them? Maybe that’s the piece they’re missing. Also a weird dynamic they have going on with “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels. Maybe he’s the ‘Exalted One’. I guess we will stay tuned to this story. Could be a cool heel turn.
Next up, we have Britt Baker (Dr. Britt Baker) versus the returning/debuting Yuka Sakazaki. Sakazaki hasn’t wrestled since Fyter Fest, which was last June. Let me say, first, a huge BEST to heel Britt Baker. I wasn’t super into Britt Baker who was being shoved down our throats, I thought. But ever since telling Cleveland that with her, they finally have a Baker they can believe in, I’m all about Britt Baker! She works so much better as an entitled heel. They were throwing her being a real life dentist down our throats, but now when she does it, she can be a bitch about it and it works! So great job here by the producers and by Britt to make this work. Another best to Yuka Sakazaki. She looked very good here and I hope she sticks around! She provides some depth to a women’s division that is just getting started.
Sakazaki gets a surprise roll up win and Baker continues her demise into being a great heel with a post match attack. Then her taunting the crowd is great. If she develops her mic work and continues to improve in the ring, I think she can be great. I hope the teeth stuff after the match was a work and Baker didn’t really knock Sakazaki’s teeth out. Pretty gross stuff regardless, so good work!
I’ve mentioned before that AEW does a lot of work with their tag team wrestling and our next match pairs up The Elite (The Young Bucks and Adam Page/Kenny Omega) versus The Lucha Brothers and The Blade and The Butcher. The key storyline here is Adam Page’s continued decent into (maybe) a heel turn or just not liking the Elite anymore. He’s also got a drinking problem and says “Cowboy Shit” which has turned him from a guy that people didn’t really care about to someone they love. Who would have thought – a little beer and a little cursing and you’re cool!
The Bucks and the Lucha Bros have fantastic chemistry, per the usual, and this match has some great spots. I really do think the Young Bucks are probably the greatest tag team ever – whether they’re winning matches, super kicking the shit out of people, or putting over the other talent – they are incredible. The Butcher and The Blade – I LOVE the idea of them, but they haven’t delivered, yet. I love that The Bunny is with them (and she’s also beautiful).
But we’ve got to do more with them, right?? The Lucha Bros are incredible as always and Rey Fenix might be the best wrestler, ever. Some of the stuff he pulls off is ridiculous. Then there’s Omega/Page. I actually didn’t like Page at all when AEW started. I, again, feel like he was pushed down our throats but now that he’s getting some character development, I’m starting to come around. His moonsaults are ridiculous and overall he’s doing some good work. This match, again, was a spot fest and just crazy, but it was a best for me!
I love the vignette of Darby Allin – hopefully continuing his feud with Sammy Guevara (since Jericho is busy). As I mentioned on Dark – I love the crazy video packages. More of these, please.
The next match is the blood feud between Joey Janela and Kip Sabian. This feud is somehow over real life girlfriend of Kip Sabian (Penelope Ford), who is also Joey Janela’s ex. I don’t like when they do this kind of stuff sometimes. Have you ever been broken up with? Kind of sucks, right? Why rub it in the face of Janela time and time again? Maybe he’s cool with it, but it’s kind of weird to see his ex (who he wrestled with a ton in the indies) out here making out with another guy and talking shit about him. I guess if they’re all cool with it, sure, but I’m not a huge fan. (**NOTE** I HATE the Rusev/Lana/Lashley bullshit – don’t make someone else’s wife make out with another man right in front of her husband. It’s weird and dumb.) There were 2 moments at the very beginning of the match that looked a little stiff and I just don’t want people getting real life heated over something sensitive is all.
The “Main Event” tonight is the 10 lashings on Cody by MFJ. Now, you knew something was going to come of this, but you really don’t know what. This is part of the ridiculous list of things Cody must overcome to face MJF at Revolution. MJF is the best heel in all of wrestling, dare I say, right now. The crowd chants “ass-hole” several times and he loves it. He taunts Cody then the lashings begin. As fake as wrestling may be, you can’t really fake this stuff, and the welts prove it.
Ole trusty Arn Anderson comes out to tell Cody not to give MJF the satisfaction. This makes Cody superman….for a minute. Then Dustin Rhodes comes out as The Inner Circle, and The Butcher, Blade, and Bunny watch from the stage. With the Bucks, Dustin, Arn, and every fan cheering, Cody somehow makes it to his feet time and time again. Then MJF gives one of his lashes to Wardlow who is a monster of a man. With one lash left, Brandi comes down the ramp. As much of a shitty character as she is in AEW, she’s a great wife to Cody. One more lash and one step closer to fighting MJF – this was brutal to watch and I can almost feel the pain. But that’s it for this week’s Dynamite!
Next week on Dynamite, we get an AEW Women’s championship match between Nyla Rose and Riho, an “eye for an eye” match between Santana and Moxley, an AEW Tag Team Championship rematch between SCU and Omega/Page, and a Tag Team Battle Royal to crown the number 1 contender for the tag titles at Revolution. Keep an eye out for a recap next week!