AEW ‘Dynamite’ Digest: Break Ups and Bust Ups (RECAP)
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains spoilers for the February 10, 2021 edition of AEW Dynamite]
With Beach Break in the rearview, AEW looks ahead to Revolution on March 7, but if this week’s Dynamite was anything to go by, the road there is sure going to be a bumpy one (especially for Darby Allin).
Let’s break down all the highlights from February 10’s beautifully chaotic AEW Dynamite.
Cross-Promotional Warfare
Jon Moxley is a busy man. He has an upcoming IWGP United States Championship defense against KENTA. And he still has his sights set on regaining the AEW World Championship from Kenny Omega. But as he told us at the start of Dynamite, this week’s main event (a Falls Count Anywhere match pitting Mox & Lance Archer against Omega & KENTA) was “just for fun.” And boy, was he right.
All Elite Wrestling
This was a bonkers brawl that spilled all over the arena, even into the kitchen area backstage. Here are just a few insane things that happened: Mox “potatoed” Omega with a literal potato, KENTA hit a Double Foot Stomp on Mox off the stage and onto a table, Archer choke slammed Omega through a love-heart shaped bed, and Jake the Snake almost got his head taken off by a V-Trigger.
Omega & KENTA eventually picked up the win with the Good Brothers’ help, ending one of the craziest but most entertaining main events in Dynamite history.
Sammy Quits the Inner Circle
MJF goaded Sammy Guevara into hitting him early in the night by pretending to record their conversation (with Guevara presumably thinking MJF would manipulate the audio and use it against him). This was the final straw for The Spanish God.
Following MJF & Chris Jericho’s victory over The Acclaimed (an enjoyable match with both teams trying to out-cheat the other), Guevara made his way to the ring and told Jericho that he’s “done” with the Inner Circle.
This was perfect, right down to Guevara leaving through the babyface tunnel (in layman’s terms: the entrance tunnel the good guys use). The Inner Circle storyline needed to progress, and this adds an intriguing new wrinkle to the narrative.
Darby Goes for a Ride
Darby Allin kicked off the night by successfully defending the TNT Championship against a very game Joey Janela. Last week, I saw some criticism about Janela being in this match, but The Bad Boy more than proved he was deserving.
These two meshed together well, surprisingly starting off in a bit of a technical back-and-forth before Janela turned up the aggression, raking and clawing at Darby’s face. Janela reversed Darby’s springboard off the ropes into a German Suplex, soon followed up with a vicious Piledriver. But as always, Darby fought his way back, working over Janela’s arm and eventually hitting the Coffin Drop to retain.
All Elite Wrestling
But the night wasn’t done for the young skateboarding daredevil. Later in the evening, Team Taz interrupted an interview with Sting (shocker!), revealing that they had Darby wrapped up in a body bag in the parking lot. Oh, and that body bag was tied to the back of an SUV being driven by Powerhouse Hobbs.
I would say I’m worried for Darby, but given the reckless things we’ve seen him do to his own body in the past, I wouldn’t be shocked if this is how he spends an average Friday night in Seattle.
The Women’s Tournament Kicks Off
Leyla Hirsch and Thunder Rosa got the AEW Women’s Championship Eliminator Tournament underway in a hard-hitting, physical match, with Rosa coming out on top.
It’s a shame that the match was put in the “cooldown quarter,” a familiar spot for AEW women’s matches — a trend I thought might change after Rosa vs. Britt Baker killed it an earlier time slot last week. Still, it was a solid opener for what should be an exciting tournament.
Other Notes
Big Shotty Shines: The young upstart Lee Johnson got his first-ever win in AEW as he teamed with Cody Rhodes against Pretty Peter Avalon & Cezar Bononi. After the match, he gave an interview thanking Arn Anderson and the Rhodes family, but noticeably left out head trainer QT Marshall, who looked a little peeved in the background. Perhaps setting up a future rivalry?
Hardy Gets Hangman Drunk: In his continued quest to lure Hangman Adam Page into his faction, Matt Hardy took Hangman drinking. This, of course, was a ruse to get Page wasted and make him sign a contract. But notice how Hangman switched the contracts when Matt had his back turned? What on earth has Matt got himself into? I hope he accidentally signed himself up for Zumba classes.
All Elite Wrestling
PAC Dominates: “The Bastard” PAC brutalized Ryan Nemeth in a glorified squash match. While it’s always a pleasure to see PAC, this match didn’t really advance anything and felt like it could have been on AEW Dark.
Santana & Ortiz Get A Shot: Frustrated with what transpired in the Battle Royal last week, The Young Bucks have decided to put their Tag Team Titles on the line next week against Santana & Ortiz. If the challengers win, that means they would face MJF & Jericho at Revolution in a full-blown Inner Circle showdown.
AEW Dynamite, Wednesday, TNT
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