Reviews

The John Report: AEW Dynamite 04/28/21 Review

By John Canton • Published 29th April 2021

Welcome to the AEW Dynamite review here on TJRWrestling. This is going to be a condensed review. I got my first COVID-19 shot yesterday afternoon here and I felt like shit when I woke up this morning. I had a fever plus arm pain, so I really don’t feel like writing a 6,000-word review.

I watched Dynamite early this morning, so I’m just going to put down the match results and write some thoughts on the results. It was taped last Thursday with Jim Ross, Excalibur and Tony Schiavone as usual.

This is AEW Dynamite from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. Here’s my AEW Dynamite TV review archive. Let’s get to it.

Brian Cage defeated “Hangman” Adam Page

This was a surprising result since Page has been booked so strongly this year, but I guess AEW figured that Cage needed a win in this battle of guys with rhyming names. They did set up the finish with Cage attacking before the bell with a Powerbomb on the ramp. That meant Page was weakened, so Cage hit the Drillclaw finisher to win after about six minutes. Match Rating: **1/4 Good for the time given, but it was a short match.

The Young Bucks defeated Matt & Mike Sydal

This was not for the AEW Tag Team Titles held by The Young Bucks. It was an entertaining, fast-paced match by two brother teams, but it’s not like the Sydal Brothers get pushed much by AEW, so you know it was all about putting over The Young Bucks. I liked the cheating ways of the Young Bucks with Matt hitting a low blow to set up the BTE Trigger to win the match. It went about ten minutes. Match Rating: ***1/4 They made the most of their time and had a fun, albeit predictable match. I enjoy heels Young Bucks a lot. They are good at it.

Orange Cassidy (w/Trent) defeated Penta El Zero Miedo (w/Alex Abrahantes)

This was the best match on the show. I thought Penta might win, but this is another match on this episode where they probably figured Orange Cassidy needed a win and that’s okay. It’s obvious that AEW loves Alex with Penta and that’s great because Alex has proved to be an entertaining manager type of character. I really like how the finish was booked. Cassidy was sick of Alex causing distractions, so Alex was brought in the ring and that allowed Trent to hand Cassidy the microphone for the Orange Punch with a microphone to make it look more deadly. Lots of action in this match for 13 minutes. Match Rating:***3/4 They worked well together. Clever booking for the finish. If you’re going to have guys at ringside, use them in match finishes sometimes so that’s what they did here.

There was a quick Dr. Britt Baker interview talking about how she is now the number one contender for the AEW Women’s Title based on her record. I assume they will do Baker vs. Hikaru Shida for the AEW Women’s Title next month and I think Baker should win the title.

The Inner Circle & The Pinnacle Face to Face

The five Inner Circle guys faced off with the five guys in The Pinnacle that are part of the Blood & Guts match next week. It’s basically a WarGames with a different name. The good people at AllEliteWrestling.com transcribed the MJF and Chris Jericho promos, so I’ll post those below.

MJF: “As a gentleman, I’d like to thank Chris Jericho. Without you, there is no AEW. You were the top guy, the draw, the bridge for the lapsed fan. And all the while you managed to create the best group in pro wrestling, the Inner Circle. I’ll give that to you. However, Chris, I can’t imagine the pressure you must feel. ‘Cause let’s face it, man, every time you come out here, if you don’t hit a homerun, you’re taking food out of everyone’s mouth in this company. You look exhausted, Chris. You don’t have to worry anymore, Chris, because come next week at BLOOD AND GUTS, I’m going to take that heavy burden of a crown off your head. And the Pinnacle will take its place at the top of the mountain. When I look down at your mangled body after BLOOD AND GUTS, I will once again say ‘thank you.’”

Chris Jericho: “How do you think you can inherit a spot just because you want it? It doesn’t work that way. You want a spot? You’ve gotta earn it. At 25 years old, I headlined arenas in Japan and Mexico and that’s where I learned respect. If you want my spot, a good place to start earning it is at BLOOD AND GUTS. You want to talk about a family? The Inner Circle is a family, part of AEW since Day 1. You’re going to have to kill us to make us surrender. And when that doesn’t happen, we’re going to step on you like the pile of crap you are. If 1969 was the Summer of Love, 2021 will be the Summer of Pain for the Pinnacle. And next week at BLOOD AND GUTS, summer starts early for you!”

The Pinnacle will have the advantage in the match after it was agreed upon earlier in the promo.

TJR Thoughts: I thought Jericho and MJF did a terrific job although I don’t know if we needed to be sold on it anymore because it’s a huge match that has been built up well. It’s going to be a very bloody match as well as a long match. I think Inner Circle should win as the faces, but if The Pinnacle wins it would establish them as a great group.

Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley beat up Kenny Omega and Michael Nakazawa to set up a tag team match next week. They threatened to break Omega’s ankle unless Don Callis agreed to the match, so Don agreed to it. This feud has been going on way too long.

Christian did a promo trash-talking Taz about how the guys in Team Taz will soon realize that they are better off working without Taz.

Kris Statlander defeated Penelope Ford

They got around seven minutes with a break in the middle. It was just a simple match to put over Statlander as she continues to get her push after coming back from knee surgery. It went about seven minutes. Match Rating:*1/2 A short and simple match to continue Statlander’s positive momentum.

QT Marshall, Nick Comoroto & Aaron Solow (w/Anthony Ogogo) defeated Dustin Rhodes, Billy Gunn & Lee Johnson

The Factory group led by QT Marshall picked up another win by cheating. It was short for a six-man tag where they got about six minutes and then Ogogo hit a punch to the ribs of Johnson, who loses a lot. Marshall pinned Johnson at around six minutes. Match Rating:*3/4 There are so many stables in AEW that it’s hard to keep track sometimes. I have liked how The Factory has been booked in AEW so far. I just don’t know how far they are going to go when other stables have more star power.

After the match, Cody Rhodes returned and gave Marshall a Figure Four leglock on top of a bus. That means Cody got his payback.

Here are matches announced for next week.

They also announced Jon Moxley defending the IWGP US Championship against Yuji Nagata on May 12 episode of Dynamite. That’s pretty cool

Miro beat up his former friend Kip Sabian, so now Miro is free from the stupid video game storyline. Maybe now they can push Miro the right way.

TNT Championship: Darby Allin vs. Ten (Preston Vance)

This feels like one of the weakest main events they have ever had. I know Ten was ranked on their rankings, but the guy barely wrestles on Dynamite. Allin main evented for the third straight week, so clearly the bosses are getting behind him in a major way. They did the Hart/Piper WrestleMania 8 finish (and other matches including Hart/Austin at Survivor Series 1996) with Ten applying a submission and Allin kicked off the ropes leading to him landing on top for the win. They got about 12 minutes. Nice gesture by Allin holding up the “Brodie” name as well. Match Rating: **3/4 Just an average match here. At no point did I think Ten was going to win.

After the match, Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page attacked Allin and Sting, who was at ringside for the match. Sky and Page beat them up for about a minute until Lance Archer ran out there to make the save. That was the end of the show.

TJR Thoughts: I am glad they are finally doing something with Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky as a heel duo. The announcers were screaming about what they were doing there, but I think it’s a case of guys not being used on TV much and making a statement with a cheap attack.

Three Stars of the Show

1. Penta

2. Orange Cassidy

3. Chris Jericho/MJF

The Scoreboard

This Week: 7 out of 10

Last Week: 7.75

2021 Average: 7.38

Final Thoughts

It was a solid episode of Dynamite this week although not as good as their best episodes. They were lacking in terms of the big, important matches, but that’s because they have the Blood & Guts match next week. That will be huge for them with a bigger crowd than there has been in the last year. I find it strange that they haven’t announced anything for Double or Nothing next month yet. I guess the reason for that is they wanted to get past Blood & Guts first.

I hope you enjoyed the condensed review. I wrote about 30% of what I do in a normal review in terms of word count. I should be back to normal for Blood & Guts next week.

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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Raptors (it’s been a rough season) and Toronto Maple Leafs. You can contact me using any of the methods below.

John Canton

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter: @johnreport

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