AEW Dynamite 10/28/2020 Quick Takes

Match #1: Adam Page vs. Wardlow

The show opens with Wardlow and MJF being interviewed. MJF mentions that IF Wardlow wins the title, the championship would go to Maxwell since Wardlow works for him. They keep laying the groundwork for a split and I’m all for it. There’s a little back and forth between MJF and Sammy Guevara teasing a program between the two. Once the match starts though, this was a great opener. Page looked great here, showing a lot of intensity. Wardlow got to show off some athleticism, with some great high-speed offense. They made Wardlow look very credible tonight. It took two Buck-Shots to finally put him away (I don’t think that’s been done in AEW yet), making Page really earn the win.

Segment: Jon Moxley

Real quick video of the champ explaining why he wants to beat Eddie Kingston at Full Gear. This was short and sweet. Moxley talks about how he takes out his haters one by one and Kingston is next on his list.

Match #2: Eddie Kingston vs. Matt Sydal

Eddie responds to Moxley’s video package and lets everybody know that unlike the champ, he IS here and he’s here to fight and calls out Sydal for trying to “steal his thunder” at Double or Nothing. Nice contrast of styles here. Matt using his speed advantage going against the brawling style of Kingston. It was interesting to see Sydal use a more mat-based approach. Lately, he has been using a variation of the Cobra Clutch as a finish. The Mad King gets the win with a Bulldog Choke, sending a message to Mox. He even went as far as calling Matt “Moxley” and then apologizing for what he did to his opponent.

Segment: FTR/Young Bucks

Nice little segment between the champions and the challengers. Excalibur brings up the change of attitude in the Young Bucks which they explain as getting that old edge back. FTR mentions that for a lot of people, this is a “dream match” but for them, it’s just a match. Excalibur goes back to the Bucks which makes FTR bail on the interview accusing Excalibur of favoritism. Matt announces that at Full Gear, if they lose, they will NEVER challenge for the AEW tag team titles ever again. That’s right, folks. The Young Bucks are pulling a Cody.

Segment: Inner Circle Town Hall

Here we go with another political parody, even referencing the recent presidential town halls. We even get an Eric Bischoff appearance We are finally getting a match between the Demo God and MFJ! It is announced that IF MFJ can beat Jericho, he’s in the Inner Circle. Ortiz takes a little offense to the situation and says that he and Sammy will take on MJF and Wardlow next week. I liked this segment. I thought that it had some direction and a purpose which is something I thought was lacking last week. I’m enjoying the little bit of descension in the Inner Circle ranks.

TNT Championship Match: Orange Cassidy vs. Cody (c)

I know I sound like a broken record but, do not sleep on how good Orange Cassidy can be. Both men showed aggression here. There was not a whole lot of use of the lumberjack stipulation in this one. There was a pretty funny moment of the Best Friends catching OC but then dropping Cody when he did a similar spot. Trent even got a cheap shot in when the ref wasn’t looking. It would seem that the main purpose of having the lumberjacks was to keep the Dark Order out of the match. The lumberjacks brawled which led to a superplex onto the (waiting) crowd. I’m pretty much over those spots. The Dark Order is able to successfully interfere in the match which allows Cody to get the win with a Cross-Rhodes. Everyone brawls as Darby Allin looks on from the upper deck.

Match #4: Serena Deeb vs. Layla Hirsch.

The new NWA Women’s champ vs. my breakout athlete of the recent Bloodsport. I admit I don’t know a ton about Layla but I assure you that this will change soon. This was one of the better women’s matches on Dynamite in recent memory. This was a match between experience versus drive. Deeb wins with a Tequila Sunrise. Hirsch looked really good tonight and I would not be surprised if we see more of her in AEW,

Match #5 Shawn Spears vs. VSK

This was one move: a C-4 for the win. That was literally the whole match. Afterward, Scorpio Sky takes out Spears and thus, continues their feud.

Main Event: Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Kenny Omega

We have a substitution here as Penta takes the place of his brother in this semi-final match and rematch from All In. Kenny brought out the AAA Mega Championship to mess with the Lucha Bros. which I thought was a nice touch. Part of me thought we were gonna have “t-shirt” Kenny for this match. Man, I’m glad I was wrong. I enjoyed the different dynamic this match had as opposed to the All In match. I have no problem saying that I prefer Kenny playing the heel in the match. Penta is always great as a badass ‘tweener and I hope he gets a chance to shine at some point. Kenny wins a One-Winged Angel and the tournament finals are set. This was easily the match of the night and was PPV quality.

Final Thoughts

1. I’m kind of confused with Sammy Guevara’s character. He’s clearly a heel when working with Matt Hardy but shows babyface tendencies when paired with MJF. I’m OK with this as long as they explain it in some capacity.

2. The Young Bucks/FTR storyline is starting to falter for me. Something about this just isn’t clicking. I’m not sure if it feels rushed or what but there is a definite disconnect.

3. The MJF/Jericho program has redeemed itself to me. I like this dynamic of two sleaze bags trying to out sleaze each other.

4. Push Wardlow!

5. Yes, we all knew that the tournament would end with Kenny and Adam. That’s fine. Sometimes, predictability is ok because it tells the appropriate story.

6. I’m low-key getting Taz/Sabu vibes from Moxley/Kingston and I dig it.

#InnerCircle #FullGear #EddieKingston #ChrisJericho #AEWDynamite #AEW #KennyOmega