The John Report: AEW Dynamite 11/24/21 Review

This week’s AEW Dynamite features some big names in action with CM Punk facing QT Marshall while Bryan Danielson takes on Colt Cabana. Dynamite is in Chicago, so it’s the hometown of Punk and Cabana.

Also advertised for Dynamite is an 8-man tag with Cody Rhodes, Pac & Lucha Brothers facing Malakai Black, Andrade El Idolo & FTR. The Women’s TBS Title tournament continues with Thunder Rosa facing Jamie Hayter. Plus, some kind of “Friendsgiving” segment hosted by AEW Women’s Champion Dr. Britt Baker and Tony Schiavone.

Happy Thanksgiving on Thursday to those of you in the US. I’m in Canada, so we had Thanksgiving in October, but I do enjoy American Thanksgiving thanks to the three NFL games taking place.

This is AEW Dynamite episode #112 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. Let’s get to it.

It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means. The show began with Chicago’s own CM Punk making his entrance to a thunderous ovation from the crowd. The AEW commentary team of Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross welcomed us to the show while plugging what was coming up.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman made his entrance with Tony insulting him immediately and fans greeting MJF with “Asshole” chants as he got into the ring with Punk. It was last week on AEW Dynamite when Punk interrupted MJF, so MJF said it doesn’t feel good getting interrupted, “Punky Brewster?” MJF said it made him feel bad kind of like when Punk quit and took his ball and went home. MJF mentioned the “Pipebomb” promo saying that it was Punk’s best moment, but MJF said that every MJF moment is the best MJF moment. MJF said he respects everything that CM Punk is and even that he’s straight edge, but he’s amazed that a straight edge guy could look like a meth addict. MJF said that if he had to look at CM Punk’s face in the mirror, he would do some shots.

MJF brought up how when CM Punk did interviews about who he wants to face in AEW, Punk would name everybody except MJF. MJF claimed that CM Punk didn’t want any of MJF. MJF said in Punk’s career he was big fish in a small pond and called Punk a minnow. MJF said he’s going to verbally finish Punk quicker than his UFC career. That led to a loud “ohhh” reaction. MJF said that Punk has pipebombs, but MJF drops nukes.

CM Punk finally spoke up saying he was so disappointed in him. Punk said that last week, MJF introduced himself to Punk like a respectful young man and Punk learned that his name is Maxwell because Punk thought it meant My Jealous Fan. Punk didn’t want to feed MJF’s ego. Punk said he is in MJF’s head and that’s because there’s a poster of Punk on his wall. Punk said that he’s always heard about MJF, but then last week he shut up the great MJF without saying a word. Punk said that MJF came out here with the lowest hanging fruit with his insults. Punk said that in reality, MJF is just a less famous Miz. A long “ooohhh” reaction from the crowd for that. What a great line!

MJF said that was almost what he wanted. People chanted “Miz” at MJF, who told Punk that he is no more than nostalgia. MJF said that he was a fan of Punk. MJF said that in this ring and on the microphone, nobody could touch Punk because he was the best. MJF said that since Punk returned, he has struggled to beat easy competition and hasn’t said anything of intrigue. MJF said that Punk’s breath smells like shit probably because he’s kissed so much ass. MJF mocked a CM Punk promo in AEW where he sucks up to the city and the company. MJF said that Punk’s hair going grey and if anybody needs to go to sleep, it is CM Punk. MJF claimed this is PG Punk. MJF wondered about the guy he grew up on because Punk might as well be out here preaching hustle, loyalty and respect (John Cena reference). MJF said “I can see you” for another Cena reference. MJF said Punk claimed he couldn’t fix professional wrestling from his couch, yet he stayed on that couch for seven long years. MJF ripped Punk for making comic books and movies that nobody saw (ouch). MJF thought that maybe Punk believed he couldn’t hang anymore that he couldn’t hang in the first place. MJF summarized how Punk was held down in the other company and should have been the top guy. MJF wondered if Punk can be the top guy and asked the fans if they think Punk can do it, so the fans cheered. MJF said he knows Punk envies him and PG Punk is every single thing that Punk hates. MJF said he’s a clean cut competitor while Punk was a misfit from the dumpiest part of the midwest known as Chicago. MJF said that he knows what keeps CM Punk up at night and deep down Punk knows that his whole career he’s been nothing more than second best. MJF said whether it was the “You Can’t See Me” man or the “King of Kings,” Punk was never up to snuff. MJF let Punk know that MJF is better than him and Punk knows it. Punk just stared at MJF.

Punk said there’s some truth in what MJF said. Punk said he’s not going to lie. Punk didn’t know if the people would remember him or care, but he didn’t know if he still had it. Punk said he’s not scared any longer and certainly not scared of MJF. Punk said that the timing may not line up, but he was selling out MSG while MJF was on Rosie O’Donnell’s show. Punk mentioned MJF singing and making the New York Times, but now MJF will be in the NY Times in the obituaries. Punk said that MJF talks shit and he can’t shit without backup. Punk mentioned MJF’s guys FTR, Shawn Spears and Wardlow. Punk said he didn’t mention MJF in interviews because he went after the heart and soul of AEW like Darby Allin, which bothered MJF. Punk said MJF didn’t even realize that he’s been replaced in the Four Pillars of AEW by Britt Baker. The crowd cheered that even though Baker is a heel like MJF is. Punk said that MJF talks too much and they have wasted these people’s time. Punk said that they call Chicago the Second City because when it burned to the ground, they built a new city right on top of it. Punk said MJF is not number one around here. Punk said that the only way MJF would be number one is if Tony had a daughter that MJF could marry. Punk said last time in Chicago he gave everybody free ice cream bars and what could be better than that is punching MJF is his “needledick” (shoutout to The Waterboy) right here and right now. MJF took off his scarf/jacket looking like he’d fight, but then MJF left to get some boos from the crowd.

Analysis: That was awesome. I tried not to miss anything, but it was a lot of talking and I’m sorry if I missed any of the good lines. It’s rare for Dynamite to start with a 20-minute promo, but that was incredible by MJF and CM Punk trash talking eachother. No punches thrown. No brawl. Just words. It was f’n great. Some of the biggest reactions in the Punk and MJF promo were referencing WWE things like The Miz, John Cena, Triple H and other things. It works. The AEW crowd eats that up with a giant spoon and the wrestlers know it. Smart by Punk and MJF. AEW needs to have an ex-WWE guy that has a gimmick where they tell guys like CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole and other ex-WWE guys that without WWE nobody would care about you guys. It’s not true, but if you have a heel do it, that would get such massive heat. Anyway, this did a tremendous job of building up the first-ever Punk vs. MJF match whenever it happens. Lastly, if I have to say who won the promo battle, I’d give it to MJF although I think he got to speak for longer and also there’s a lot more you can say about a guy in his early 40s that has had a long career like Punk has. I enjoyed this immensely. The video clip below is 18 minutes long and it’s well worth your time.

(Commercial)

CM Punk vs. QT Marshall

Punk worked over Marshall with three body slams in a row. The fans cheered, so Punk delivered a fourth body slam with Marshall doing some ridiculous selling for it. Nick Comoroto held Punk’s leg, the referee saw it, so he sent Comoroto and Aaron Solow to the backstage area. Marshall left the ring, then back in and Punk hit another body slam. Marshall with punches to the gut and Punk came back with an elbow smash to the head. Punk worked over Marshall with punches followed by a hard whip into the corner. Marshall with a chinlock, then punches and Punk hit a back body drop. Punk with a clothesline over the top to the floor. Punk with a clothesline off the apron onto Marshall on the floor. They went to picture in picture break five minutes into it.

(Commercial)

Marshall was in control with a forearm to the face and Liger Bomb for two with nobody in the building thinking that might be the finish. MJF shoved Punk in the face repeatedly, so Punk did a roundhouse kick to the head. Punk with a leg lariat followed by a neckbreaker and a running knee to the jaw. Punk with a short-arm clothesline. Punk went up top and hit an elbow drop to the chest. Punk signaled for the GTS, Punk picked up Marshall and hit the Go To Sleep for the pinfall win after ten minutes.

Winner by pinfall: CM Punk

Analysis: **1/2 This is the kind of match where the bigger star CM Punk should beat the lesser guy QT Marshall in about five minutes and win in an impressive fashion. Instead, AEW likes to book matches longer so guys can get their moves in. You just had Punk do a 20-minute promo with MJF talking about how Punk isn’t as sharp as he used to be. He should be fired up to beat this guy Marshall quickly. Then again, maybe AEW wanted Punk on the show even longer, so that’s what happened. Anyway, nobody believed Marshall had a shot here. Easy win for Punk that could have been shorter and more decisive to make him look better.

Punk celebrated the win with the Chicago crowd giving him a lot of love as usual. Punk posed with a “We Want Larry” sign since that’s the name of his dog. That was cool.

Christian Cage, Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus were interviewed by Tony Schiavone. Christian said that their momentum felt good and they feel unbeatable. Christian said when you feel this way, good things happen. Christian noted that Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy are the number one ranked tag team in AEW and Christian said he’ll make sure they win the Tag Team Championships. The dinosaur guy growled to end it.

Analysis: I like Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus as a team. I’d like to see them win the Tag Team Titles although I also like Lucha Bros a lot as champions. I wonder if Christian’s comments means he might cheat to help them win, but I don’t know if that’s what he meant.

(Commercial)

Eddie Kingston was shown eating some food at a table alone, so he was interrupted by Daniel Garcia and the 2.0 tag team. Matthew Lee said that Eddie isn’t hungry anymore and Eddie was trying to eat some kick. Jeff Parker said they were there to help. Garcia threw some coffee (or some other drink) on Kingston and then some security guys broke it up.

Analysis: Kingston faces Garcia on Rampage so it was done to hype that.

Gunn Club entered for tag team action and they are 8-0 in 2021 for some reason. It’s daddy Billy Gunn along with Colten Gunn and joined by Austin Gunn. They beat up Darby Allin and Sting on Rampage. Their opponents are Bear Country, who are 10-2 in 2021.

Gunn Club – Billy Gunn & Colten Gunn (w/Austin Gunn) vs. Bear Country – Bear Boulder & Bear Bronson

The Gunns were tossed into eachother and Boulder did a press slam on Billy. Bronson charged at Colten and went into the barricade. Austin helped Billy avoid a charge and Boulder went crashing into the steel steps. Bronson hit an overhead suplex on Colten. Bronson ran the ropes, Austin held his leg and Colten hit the Colt 45 double underhook suplex for the pinfall win after about three minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Gunn Club – Billy Gunn & Colten Gunn

Analysis: *1/4 A quick win for Gunn Club, who finally get to have a match on Dynamite instead of just the Youtube shows that AEW has. A basic kind of ending there. Bear Country didn’t get to do much at all here, yet Excalibur still tried to tell us how great they are.

Sting and Darby Allin made their entrance on the ramp. Austin charged and Allin crushed him with a clothesline. Sting and Darby went into the ring, the Gunn Club left the ring and the faces had to stay in the ring instead of going after them.

Analysis: I always find it strange when wrestling companies book segments where guys can just leave the ring to avoid a situation while the other guys stand in the ring. I get why they do it because the segment has to end, but if you are so mad at them, why not leave the ring to try to fight a bit? I just think it makes sense.

A video aired for the AEW Battle of the Belts special on Saturday, January 8 in Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s a special Saturday night event on TNT.

Are you ready for a battle, Charlotte?

See you on January 8th on @TNTDrama#AEWDynamitepic.twitter.com/QvVjHVOcKj

— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) November 25, 2021

Adam Cole and Bobby Fish did a promo saying these past few weeks sucked. Cole mentioned some recent losses while complaining about whatever Friendsgiving is coming up later. Cole and Fish commented that Young Bucks weren’t cleared yet, Cole said they talk every day because they’re best friends. Cole said that him and Fish are practically best friends and like family. Chuck Taylor, Orange Cassidy and Yuta Wheeler walked up saying they are literally best friends. Cole insulted all of them. Cole focused on Cassidy and Wheeler, so it looks like a tag team match is coming.

Analysis: A tag team match was set up because a guy said “best friends” during an interview and a team named Best Friends didn’t like that. Riveting storytelling. One of the booking differences between AEW and WWE is in WWE, they would probably do the match on the same show they are on. In AEW, they do it on the next show. It’s fine either way.

(Commercial)

There was a backstage scene with Team Taz talking to Dante Martin and Lio Rush with Taz offering Martin an official contract to join Taz’s team. Rush said that this is something he didn’t want to be a part of and Martin signed the Team Taz contract. Taz’s team was happy about it. Hook offered Martin some chips, Martin had some and the fans popped for chips. Tony Schiavone, who was there, was shocked about it with Rush standing there wondering what happened.

Analysis: That was a surprise that Martin signed with Team Taz. I’m intrigued to see where it goes from here.

TBS Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Jamie Hayter (w/Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. & Rebel) vs. Thunder Rosa

Rosa and Hayter battled over a tight headlock with JR noting that Rosa was 29-1 in her last 30 matches. Hayter with a slap, so Rosa slapped back with a harder slap to the face. They left the ring with Rosa sending Hayter into the barricade. Back in the ring, Hayter got some stomps to the body. Hayter sent Rosa into the ropes leading to an elbow as well as a kick to the back. Rosa sent Hayter into the middle ropes followed by a dropkick to the back. Rosa with a running splash on Hayter’s back. Rosa whipped Hayter into the barricade. Rosa with a running dropkick that knocked down Hayter on the floor. Rosa with a suplex on the floor. Rosa jumped on Hayter on the floor, Hayter caught her and sent Rosa back first into the ring post. That led to a picture in picture break.

(Commercial)

The match returned with the fans chanting for both women as Hayter sent up Rosa on the top rope. Rosa suplexed Hayter off the top and hit a shotgun dropkick. Rosa with a corner attack with the knees followed by a running dropkick. Hayter came back with a backbreaker. Hayter blocked a Russian legsweep, they exchanged punches and exchanged forearms. Rosa got out of a slam attempt, then trapped Hayter in a Peruvian necktie submission on the mat. Rebel distracted the referee, Baker pulled Rosa off and Baker went to superkick Rosa, but Rosa moved and Baker kicked Hayter by mistake. Rosa countered a Hayter move and got a forward roll and sat on top of Hayter for the pinfall win after ten minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Thunder Rosa

Analysis: ***1/4 A pretty good match by two talented women wrestlers. The crowd really likes Rosa and gets behind her for everything she does. Hayter is very good technically while also bumping really well and she has believable strikes. The distraction attempt failed by the heels with Rosa moving out of the way and then getting the pin shortly after. I wasn’t surprised by that result. The right woman advanced.

After the match, Hayter was not happy with Baker and shoved her on the shoulder. Hayter walked away on her own.

Thunder Rosa moves on to the semifinals to face Jade Cargill, who is undefeated.

Chris Jericho was interviewed by Alex Marvez, who asked what is next for Chris. Jericho said it’s Thanksgiving Eve and he was interrupted by Daniel Garcia and the 2.0 tag team. Jericho ripped them for throwing coffee in Eddie Kingston’s face and Eddie’s going to kick their asses. Jericho ripped on Matthew Lee for having a square head calling him an ugly Spongebob Squarepants, so that led to a “Square Head” chant right on cue. Jericho said if they ever interrupt him again, he’ll knock their teeth down their throat. Garcia and 2.0 left with Jeff Parker telling Jericho to watch his mouth. Jericho wished Alex a Happy Thanksgiving.

Analysis: To summarize that segment, Jericho was asked what was next and didn’t really say anything, but he got a “Square Head” chant started. That’s cool. I assume Jericho against Garcia and 2.0 won’t be a major feud. It might lead to a TV match or two, but it’s not a big deal.

Bryan Danielson faces Colt Cabana after a break.

(Commercial)

There was a Friendsgiving meal of Dr. Britt Baker DMD sitting at a table with Tony Schiavone and Rebel. Baker said if Thunder Rosa wins that belt then it’s doomed. Baker reminded us that she is still the AEW World Champions. Tony said Baker and Rebel are his friends and he loves them both. They showed the Casino Battle Royal from AEW All Out 2021 when Riho wasn’t actually eliminated. Tony informed Baker she has to face Riho in a match on Rampage and if Riho wins then she gets a title shot at Baker. Britt was mad and said Tony isn’t invited to the Christmas party.

Colt Cabana entered with his Dark Order friends joining him. Cabana is 25-10 although I should add that this is his first singles match on Dynamite this year…in late November. Congrats on all the Youtube wins I guess. Bryan Danielson entered as the opponent with a 10-0-1 record and is the number one contender for the AEW World Championship held by “Hangman” Adam Page. We don’t know when that title match will be.

Bryan Danielson vs. Colt Cabana

The fans were solidly behind Cabana, who is from Chicago. JR said, “Daniel Bryan” within 15 seconds of the match beginning. Just saying. Bryan with an armbar on the mat followed by a cheap kick to the back. Cabana did a bit of a surfboard move, but Bryan broke free and delivered hard kicks to the leg. They exchanged chops, Bryan wrenched on the left arm and delivered kicks to the body. Bryan was booed as turned to face the crowd. Bryan with a kick that set up Cabana against the turnbuckle, then Bryan ran with a dropkick and Colt moved, so Bryan hit the turnbuckle and hit the mat hard. Cabana with punches leading to an elbow and a corner charge missed when Bryan moved, so Bryan hit a German Suplex. Bryan with a running dropkick in the corner. Bryan set up Cabana on the top rope, Cabana punched Bryan to knock him down and Cabana hit a moonsault off the top for two. Cabana with two elbows to the head, Bryan with a trip and Bryan stomped on the head of Cabana repeatedly. Bryan with a takedown, then some flexing to taunt the crowd and Bryan applied the LeBell Lock for the submission win after about five minutes.

Winner by submission: Bryan Danielson

Analysis: ** Thank you AEW for booking a dominant win for one of your top guys to make him look even better. This is what they need to do more often. A great showing for Danielson. Cabana barely wrestles on Dynamite, so I don’t think the loss is going to hurt him.

Post match, Bryan pointed at a tooth that was in the ring, so Bryan kicked a tooth out of Colt’s mouth. They went to a picture in picture break showing match highlights.

(Commercial)

Let’s Hear from Bryan Danielson

Bryan Danielson was interviewed in-ring by Tony Schiavone, who noted Bryan is undefeated and not making many friends. Bryan said when he debuted in Chicago he got a much different reaction than this. The fans booed. Bryan wondered if it was him or them. Bryan said that the fans are fickle and said he is not fickle. Bryan said he kicked Colt Cabana’s head in and he kicked his tooth out. Bryan said that next week they’re in Atlanta, so he hears some Dark Order members are from there, so he will kick their heads in. Bryan said all of this is leading to the head kicking of “Hangman” Adam Page.

The AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page walked down to the ring. JR said “Daniel Bryan” again. Page said that Bryan made his point, so he gets it. Page sucked up to the crowd saying they’re in Chicago and this building holds a special place in his heart. Page suggested that he should defend the AEW World Tile right here and right now. Bryan said of course he would say that after he’s already wrestled a match. Bryan said that’s not Cowboy Shit, that’s “Coward Shit.” The fans booed. Page said if you don’t want to do the match right now, then he’s not leaving Chicago without a fight. Page said since Bryan had a match, he’ll give Bryan the first shot. Bryan didn’t like being insulted by that, then Bryan slapped him and it turned into a brawl. Page with a boot while on the apron, Bryan avoided a Buckshot Lariat attempt and Bryan bailed to the ramp. Page celebrated in the ring while Bryan went to the back.

Analysis: Good segment. It wasn’t as awesome as their segment last week, but I still enjoyed it a lot. Bryan is further establishing himself as a heel with every match and promo. It’s working because the fans hated him while they showed love to Hangman as the AEW World Champion. Page challenging Bryan to a match right there is admirable for the babyface champion, but AEW viewers know that the company just doesn’t make matches on the fly like that. This match may not take place until the Battle of the Belts special in January, but maybe they will do it before that. I just think it makes sense to wait to do it until that special event. I look forward to it whenever it happens.

This Friday on Rampage Black Friday (taped after Dynamite):

* Daniel Garcia vs. Eddie Kingston

* Dr. Britt Baker vs. Riho

* Adam Cole & Bobby Fish vs. Orange Cassidy & Wheeler Yuta

Next Wednesday on Dynamite:

* TBS Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho. They showed pre-tape promos from both women.

More matches will be announced on Rampage.

Some of the entrances took place for the main event. Malakai Black’s entrance is awesome.

(Commercial)

The AEW Tag Team Champions Penta and Rey Fenix entered with their buddy Pac. The fans booed as soon as some entrance music hit – it was the music of Cody Rhodes. Cody entered in a robe with Arn Anderson joining him and Cody was booed some more.

Rey Fenix, Penta El Zero Miedo, Pac & Cody Rhodes (w/Arn Anderson) vs. Malakai Black, Andrade El Idolo, Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood (w/Tully Blanchard)

Cody started with Harwood with Cody hitting a shoulder tackle. Harwood got a shoulder tackle of his own, then ducked an attack, but Cody avoided a slingshot suplex. Cody with an uppercut punch and hit a powerslam. Cody threw his leather belt into the crowd. Somebody threw the belt back, so Andrade grabbed the belt and threw it under the ring. Pac with a back elbow, double ax on Harwood and a clothesline. Wheeler tagged in, Pac turned him over and Penta hit a dropkick to the groin, but I guess it’s not that since the referee didn’t care. Penta exchanged chops with Wheeler, Penta with a superkick, then some talking and Wheeler got a clothesline. Andrade with a back elbow in the corner and Penta broke free. Fenix tagged in, Andrade sent him to the apron, Fenix with a kick to the head and a hurricanrana followed by a dropkick. The three Death Triangle guys hit superkicks and low dropkicks. Cody tagged in leading to boos, then the heels triple-teamed Cody while the referee was on the other side of the ring. Cody avoided a suplex from Black. Fenix hit a double Cutter. Fenix hit an impressive arm drag off the ropes and then a kick to the head of Black. Blanchard got in Fenix’s way to run an attack. Black with an STO trip on Fenix as the heels took over. They went to a picture in picture break.

(Commercial)

The show returned with about five minutes left. Wheeler set up Fenix against the ropes, Fenix avoided a 619 attempt and Fenix hit a spin kick. Penta tagged in against Andrade leading to Penta hitting double DDTs on FTR, who were in the ring for some reason. Penta with a backstabber on Andrade for two. Pac tagged in with a shotgun dropkick, he kicked Black off the apron and two running forearms. Pac with a snap German Suplex on Black as well. Pac ran the ropes and jumped over the top with a twisting splash on a bunch of dudes on the floor. Pac with a running boot to Andrade, Wheeler with a backbreaker on Pac, Penta with a spinning slam on Wheler, Harwood with a piledriver on Penta and Fenix did a missile dropkick on Harwood. Black with a jumping knee on Fenix. Cody back in to boos from the crowd and he hit a spinning brainbuster on Black. Cody went for a superkick on Andrade, then Andrade moved and Cody kicked Pac by accident. Andrade hit an elbow drop to the chest of Cody, who rolled out of the ring. Andrade charged at Pac, who hit a belly to belly into the turnbuckle. All of the wrestlers were down around the ring, so Tully and Arn faced off in the ring. Jose the Assistant joined in, so Arn & Tully punched him out of the ring. Arn and Tully didn’t hit eachother. Fenix with a cross body block off the top on both FTR guys, then Penta with two Slingblades and Lucha Bros with clotheslines on FTR. Penta and Fenix each hit dives onto the FTR guys on the floor. Back in the ring, Pac was going up top, but Black spit the DREADED BLACK MIST~! in Pac’s eyes (the referee was on the other side of the ring) and Andrade hit El Idolo (hammerlock DDT) on Pac. Black kicked Cody off the apron to the floor. Lucha Bros and FTR were still down on the other side of the ring, so there was no save. Andrade pinned Pac for the win after 16 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Malakai Black, Andrade El Idolo, Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood

Analysis: ***3/4 This was a great match between eight talented guys. Strong boos for Cody once again, which really isn’t a shock anymore. I wonder if they will play up the idea that Cody screwed up and hit Pac with a kick although it was not the finish of the match. Things were chaotic towards the end with wrestlers into the ring illegally, but it wasn’t as bad as some Young Bucks matches where it goes on for way too long. The finish was a cheap thing for the heels with Black using the DREADED BLACK MIST~! to stun Pac and then it was over after that. Big win for Andrade there. I don’t think the Lucha Bros will be hurt by the loss even though they are the AEW Tag Team Champions. They weren’t involved in the finish. Maybe it will lead to Pac vs. Black again or something like that since Black spit the mist in Pac’s eyes.

The heel team of Andrade, FTR and Malakai Black celebrated the win. That was the end of the show.

Three Stars of the Show

1. MJF
2. CM Punk
3. Bryan Danielson

The Scoreboard

This Week: 7.5 out of 10

Last Week: 7.5

2021 Average: 7.40

Final Thoughts

A very good Dynamite as usual. The highlight of the show was clearly the CM Punk/MJF segment that was given 20 minutes to open the show. It was tough to follow that and I don’t think anything really came close to following it. I did think the main event tag team match was very good as well, so really when you think about the time of those segments, that was about half the show and that’s why I can say I liked most of it.

Daniel Bryan did a great job as usual with his match and then the segment with “Hangman” Adam Page further established Bryan as a heel. The booking has gone well in terms of setting Bryan up for that. Bryan’s performance has also been strong as well.

Some of the other matches and segments were just average, but at least the worst ones were kept short.

I like where things are headed. Nothing is rushed and there are some fresh storylines that I like right now. I’m a happy AEW viewer right now.

—

Thanks for reading. Go Los Angeles Rams, Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs. You can contact me using any of the methods below.

John Canton

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter: @johnreport