AEW Dynamite 10/21/2020 Quick Takes

Match 1: Jungle Boy vs. Wardlow

During the match, JR said something to the effect that we do not see enough of Wardlow. You know what? He is right. Wardlow looked really good here. He shines when there is someone smaller than him that he can toss around like a ragdoll. Jungle Boy was perfect for this. There were moments where I thought he may actually win. Wardlow does pick up the win with the F-10. At some point, Mr. Mayhem is going to break away from MJF and when he does, he is going to be a big deal.

Segment: Jon Moxley

The AEW champ cuts a great promo talking about his past with Eddie Kingston, wondering what happened to his friend that made him the person he is now. This was great. Once again, AEW does a wonderful pre-taped video.

Match 2: Sonny Kiss vs. Kenny Omega

Sonny Kiss has been announced as Joey Janela’s replacement for this match. Kenny Omega seems to have a new entrance to go along with his new attitude that is peak Kenny. Having John Roberts announce all of his accomplishments whilst two women dance with brooms was…an interesting direction. This was a total squash. There were two moves in this whole thing: a v-trigger and a one-winged angel. Kenny moves on.

Segment: Orange Cassidy/Cody

Orange Cassidy is backstage with Tony Schiavone, delivering your textbook OC promo. The freshly squeezed one leaves Tony completely flabbergasted with his responses. Outside, Cody talks a bit about putting on that extra 14 pounds of muscle and wanting to be an established heavyweight. He also puts down OC with a few snide jabs. Guys, he is going to turn.

Segment: Eddie Kingston

I have said it once, I’ll say it again: When Eddie Kingston talks, I’m going to listen. The Mad King offers his retort to Moxley. There was a line here that really stuck with me. Eddie explains that he is most definitely a liar and backstabber and that he actually hates what he has become but, in the end, the ends justify the means and he’s getting results.

Match 3: Penta El Zero M vs. Rey Fenix

Match. Of. The. Night! I was having old WCW cruiserweight match flashbacks or at least some Lucha Underground. Commentary did a great job putting over that the relationship between the two brothers led to some amazing counters. Brothers make great opponents, and this was no exception. The main story here was how much punishment the Lucha Bros. were willing to inflict on each other in order to advance in the tournament. Rey Fenix moves on countering Penta with a destroyer. Honestly, I thought this would have gone the other way, but I am kind of glad I was wrong.

Match 4: Colt Cabana vs. Adam Page

Colt is accompanied to the ring by Evil Uno because the rest of the Dark Order just really does not like Colt all that much. Cabana and Page both looked good here. Colt is one of those guys that are so good at the comedy, that it easy to forget how good he can be. Page especially looked like a bad@ss. This is Hangman people want to see. Colt came up with some interesting counters to the buckshot but eventually gets caught by Page for the win.

Segment: Team Taz

Not much here. Taz and Brian Cage bring up Will Hobbs and whether he will be joining Team Taz. Ricky Starks runs down Darby Allin. Cage should not talk on the mic…ever. This group has one of the best talkers of all time and one of the best in the current era. The Machine should not talk.

Segment: MJF/Chis Jericho

We have the Dinner Debonair. I did not care for this. This was some bad sitcom material complete with a musical number. I am aware that this was intentionally cheesy but dang. They even had a chorus line. I will say that MJF has a pretty good voice. Aside from that though, this was rough. It sounds like we may have another installment of this next week…yay…I guess.

Match 5: Britt Baker vs. KiLynn King

This went too long. This match could have been an effective squash but KiLynn got way too much offense for my taste. One could argue that Britt was messing with her opponent, but this should have been similar to the earlier Omega match. Baker wins with the lockjaw.

Main Event: Tag Team Number 1 Contender Match: Butcher and Blade vs Dark Order vs. Private Party. vs. Young Bucks

I am not the biggest fan of multi-team tag matches, but this was fine. There was A LOT going on here. All four teams played off their history with one another. Butcher and Blade looked particularly dominant, especially when matched up against Private Party. It was nice to see the Beaver Boys/Dark Order get some shine since they are often overlooked. Young Bucks get the predictable win with Matt countering a roll up. It’s gonna be Young Bucks against FTR at Full Gear. After the match, the new number one contenders stand off against FTR before they get attacked from behind by a masked Tully Blanchard, who lands a very nice spike piledriver. FTR stands tall against the challengers as the show goes off the air.

Final Thoughts:

1. Peaks and valleys. When this show was good, it was really good. When it was lacking, it was really lacking.

2. Next week is Omega/Fenix. Have Kenny defend the AAA Mega Championship.

3. The Elimination Tournament has been going as expected so far. Predictable? Yes. If it furthers a story along though, sometimes that’s ok.

4. I appreciate that they explained that Kingston is getting his shot because Moxley demanded it instead of relying on the rankings. Breaking away from the rankings is fine every once in a while, but explain why it’s being done.

#prowrestling #FullGear #AEWDynamite #wrestling #AEW