Chair Shots With Killem Faulkner: AEW Dynamite 2 Year Anniversary

For a company that hasn’t been around long, AEW certainly has a strong sense of its own history. With the very first episode of Dynamite airing on October 2nd, 2019, AEW took the opportunity this week to celebrate two years of its flagship weekly show and showcase the company’s past, present, and future – with a heavy emphasis on the latter. The company introduced a new title, the new TNT Champion had his first title defense, and an AEW World Championship match was up for grabs in the night’s main event. All of these matches plus other storyline developments figured to further chart the course to next month’s Full Gear pay-per-view and continue to build on AEW’s recent run of high-profile quality shows. So without further ado, let’s look at the biggest developments from the 2nd anniversary edition of Dynamite.

Best Match of the Night

There were four strong contenders for best match this week, so it’s going to take splitting some pretty fine hairs to determine which was the best. The opening match pitting Bryan Danielson, Christian Cage, and Jurassic Express against the Super Elite was a fantastic showcase of some of the absolute best wrestlers in the world, but some uncharacteristic sloppiness – the Young Bucks “didn’t get all of” the IndyTaker on the outside that laid out Christian Cage (though it’s still a tombstone piledriver on the floor even if Nick Jackson’s assist doesn’t quite land the way it’s supposed to), Jungle Boy’s flying hurricanrana over the top rope ended up looking more like some sort of leg lariat, and Kenny Omega’s attempted quadruple powerbomb will definitely land on Botchamania in the near future. Still, it was a really good match that only didn’t quite live up to expectations because everybody involved is capable of even better. Bobby Fish vs. Sammy Guevara for the TNT Championship was also a really good match, though there was no doubt about the finish. Fish looked great in either a brief stopover before he gets to wherever he’s really heading or the start of his AEW tenure (*EDIT: apparently it’s the latter), and Sammy got his title reign started off right with a hard-fought victory over a very game opponent. Serena Deeb vs. Hikaru Shida was a technical masterclass and paid homage to AEW’s “wins and losses matter” mantra as Shida looked to become the first women’s wrestler to win 50 matches. With the announcement of the TBS Championship, a secondary women’s title that will be awarded to the winner of a tournament that will presumably culminate when Dynamite switches channels on January 5th, AEW will need to keep its women’s division strong outside of the Women’s World Championship picture, and matches like this are the way to do exactly that. The Woman of 1000 Holds was vicious, attacking Shida’s knees at every turn to soften her opponent up for the Serenity Lock, while Shida showcased the high-flying offense that has made her one of the unsung heroes of the women’s division over the past two years. Ultimately, the milestone victory will have to wait, as the former NWA Women’s World Champion was finally able to get the tapout to her signature hold, and she added insult to injury by smashing the trophy AEW had prepared for Shida’s 50th victory over her fallen foe’s head after the match was over. Whether Shida gets revenge in the TBS Championship tournament or at Full Gear, it’s safe to say we haven’t seen the last of this rivalry, and if this match is anything to go by, their rematch will certainly be one to look forward to.

While Deeb vs. Shida was a great example of how to build a quality match without involving a title, the Casino Ladder Match was elevated by having a title shot on the line in addition to several personal rivalries intersecting in a single multi-man match, and that’s ultimately why it gets the nod from me as best match of the night. PAC vs. Andrade, Matt Hardy vs. Orange Cassidy, and Lance Archer vs. Jon Moxley are all exciting enough pairings by themselves, so throwing them all into a blender and cranking up the speed is a surefire recipe for success, but then with the joker being revealed as Adam Page, we also got to revisit the PAC vs. Page rivalry from AEW’s early days. Page hit PAC with a move that I would never in a million years even want to take, and PAC took it off the top of a ladder through a table in one of the most insane spots in a match that is practically tailor-made for insane spots. Matt Hardy put his nemesis Orange Cassidy through a table with a signature legdrop, Jon Moxley threw a chair into Lance Archer’s face only to have it thrown right back at him, and Andrade hit PAC with a massive sunset flip powerbomb from the top of the ladder before later getting headbutted by his Newcastle-born foe off the top onto a ladder outside the ring. The match culminated with arguably the two most deserving challengers for the title, Page and Moxley, slugging it out atop the ladder for the right to take down the oversized poker chip. The Anxious Millennial Cowboy taking home the victory was the correct choice, of course, as the live crowd exploded with cheers in anticipation of the long-awaited showdown with Page’s former tag team partner, Kenny Omega. While the match may not have been as spot-heavy as one might expect a multi-man ladder match to be, each competitor got a chance to shine, and the emotional satisfaction of seeing Page return and claim the opportunity at the AEW World Championship that he has been so long denied was the right way to close out a show that was devoted to celebrating the best of what the company has had to offer in its first two years. Adam Page’s rise to the top has absolutely been one of the best storylines running, and knowing that we may not be far off of the ultimate payoff to that storyline should give AEW another big boost heading into Full Gear.

Best Moment of the Night

Look, if you’ve been paying attention to these weekly features, you’d know that your writer is a big fan of the Dark Order, so seeing them all on the same page again was a great moment, made even better by the humor of John Silver, Alan Angels, and Stu Grayson squabbling over who’s the worst-looking bald, bearded guy in the Dark Order before Anna Jay laid down the law to keep everyone on the same page. The Philadelphia crowd continuing to sing “Judas” while Dan Lambert was trying to talk was hilarious and perfect given the American Top Team leader’s professed hatred for that song. Malakai Black accepting Dante Martin’s open championship on behalf of “the House of Black” by spraying black mist into his face and hitting him with a devastating spinning heel kick was a tantalizing preview of what should be an absolute belter of a match. CM Punk capping off a heartfelt promo about his ties to the city of Philadelphia (even if he flubbed the line about buying everyone cheesecake…er, cheesesteaks) by giving his Jordans to the Orange Cassidy cosplayer sitting at ringside was a really nice moment.

I’m going to give this week’s moment of the night to a relatively small but important moment: Darby Allin‘s response to MJF taunting him last week about his uncle dying in a drunk driving accident. From his facepaint, tattoos, and overall alternative vibe, Allin already has a unique connection to the crowd that few wrestlers can claim, and AEW has done a masterful job of building him up over the last couple of years, but this feud with MJF could well take him to the next level as it offers him an opportunity to make that bond with the audience deeper and more personal. This week’s promo was short but significant in establishing how the incident his scarf-wearing nemesis referenced last week was fundamental to the man he has become, and his conviction that he’s seen guys like MJF before but Friedman has never encountered someone like him is likely to resonate with anyone who’s been underestimated or bullied for being “different” – and the backstage attack later in the evening that threatened to put Allin on the shelf gives the gutsy underdog yet another chance to overcome adversity and prove he is not someone to be dismissed.

Worst Matches/Moments of the Night

No surprise, there was nothing really terrible on this week’s show. Darby Allin vs. Nick Comoroto was pointless but inoffensive, though it was easily the weakest match on the card mainly because it mostly took place during a commercial break. At least Sting got to no-sell a diamond cutter from QT Marshall and hit him with a Scorpion Death Drop after the match. Ricky Starks claiming he was going to challenge Brian Cage to a Philly Street Fight but the big man didn’t show up…only for the big man to immediately show up seemed like kind of a waste of time even though it was nice to get the FTW Championship some screen time in the city where Taz made it famous. Oh, and Chris Jericho‘s mic cut out before he could make some scathing remarks about Dan Lambert and American Top Team so…yeah, that’s not great.

Like I said, there really wasn’t much to complain about this week.

Parting Shots

• AEW really doesn’t bother to hide the fact that Rampage gets taped after Dynamite, huh? Between CM Punk saying he’s going to wrestle in Philly only for it to be quickly confirmed that Tony Khan made the match between him and Danny Garcia official and the Philly Street Fight teased between Ricky Starks and Brian Cage, it couldn’t be more obvious that those segments primarily existed to keep the live crowd looking forward to something that would happen later in the night even though the audience at home would have to wait until Friday to see it.
• Arn Anderson followed up last week’s bizarro promo with a more understated appearance, but his reference to Cody Rhodes painting a star on his face was a nice shot at his former gimmick that was, uh, probably not the best time in his career.
• The TBS Championship is a cool idea that will hopefully keep more women in the division involved in storylines, but I’m not convinced the company has yet built up its women’s roster enough to justify a secondary title. At least the belt looks good, if a little nondescript. And we’re getting a tournament to crown the first champion, which is never a bad idea in my opinion.
• This section seems a little short this week for some reason. Maybe because the Butcher was nowhere to be found on this week’s show. Oh well, there’s always next week.

So that’s it for another week of Dynamite – another solid show this week with some excellent in-ring action and plenty to build upon in the weeks to come. Follow us on Twitter @FilmIronic and be sure to check out the rest of our entertainment news, reviews, and features!