Chair Shots With Killem Faulkner: Show Me Violence Dynamite

Nashville, TN played host to this week’s Dynamite, and it feels like the pieces are falling into place for Revolution in just three short weeks. Challenges were made and answered, a high-profile grudge reached its climax, and a big-time title match headlined the show in front of Clarissa Darling…er, Melissa Joan Hart and the rest of the AEW faithful. As always, let’s take a look at the highs, lows, and everything in between from this week’s show.

Best Match of the Night

I have to admit, none of the matches this time out completely clicked for me. That isn’t to say any of them were bad – far from it, in fact, but they all felt like there was some ineffable flaw that held them back from their full potential. I guess it’s just the fact that all the performers are capable of better, and if any of these matches had a truly compelling rivalry behind it, there might have been more to get the audience invested. Probably the best rivalry coming in was Thunder Rosa vs. Mercedes Martinez, which contributed to it being a better than average match – the no DQ stipulation didn’t hurt either. Martinez had cost Rosa a few matches coming in, so there was at least some justification for the match to get the special treatment even if it didn’t feel like there was an intensely personal issue between the two women, but the match itself reflected the lukewarm feud leading up to it. On the one hand, there were plenty of weapons and big spots involved, but on the other hand, it never really felt like they were really going all out to punish or injure each other. Again, that’s not really a criticism – the spider German suplex Martinez hit from the top rope was a thing of violent beauty, and Rosa hitting the fire thunder bomb onto a stack of chairs to finish off her opponent was an appropriate conclusion – but it felt like both women were just doing what it took to win the match within what was permissible under the match stipulation rather than trying to put the other away with something truly devastating. Martinez got her comeuppance, even though Rosa showed her respect afterwards and seemed to bury the hatchet with her former rival, and the real storyline – Rosa vs. the AEW Women’s Champion Dr. Britt Baker DMD – was developed further in the post-match beatdown. For a placeholder feud, Thunder Rosa vs. Mercedes Martinez was perfectly serviceable and reached its logical conclusion here, but it never felt like anything more than something to bide the time with until Revolution, which is kind of a shame and held this match back from feeling more important.

The main event between Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara for the TNT Championship was similarly hamstrung by a lack of storyline coming in, but it was a good match nonetheless, maybe just a notch above the women’s match but mainly because it had a bit more time and a few more big spots. Allin and Guevara are considered two of the four pillars of the company for a reason, so it’s no surprise they put on an excellent main event, but Darby randomly deciding to go after the TNT title again felt like an endgame without an organic starting point rather than the other way around. Andrade’s involvement was all but guaranteed after last week’s confrontation with Allin and Sting, and the most likely outcome has always been a triple threat between Andrade, Allin, and Guevara for the title at Revolution, which meant it was probably better for this match not to go all out as they need to save something for the pay-per-view. Still, looking at this match in isolation, it felt like they did just enough – maybe a little extra since it was the main event – to make it a good match for TV that never threatened to be truly great. Unsurprisingly, many of the highlights were of the top rope variety – Sammy dropped Darby chest-first from a fireman’s carry position onto the top turnbuckle for a sick bump to the outside; Darby returned the favor by rolling out of the way as Sammy went for a senton on the apron from the top rope in another nasty spot. Allin also used the top rope for a creative submission-like maneuver, setting Guevara up in the tree of woe and wrenching one leg backwards while the other remained trapped in the rope, and there were plenty of creative counters to keep the match feeling like it could go either way before the inevitable screwy finish to protect Allin while keeping the title with the champ. As I said, there was nothing wrong with this match – it was a great showcase for two young stars who we have almost certainly not seen in the ring together for the last time – but the inevitability of the finish and the feeling that this matchup is capable of producing a true match of the year contender if given more time and storyline build held it back just slightly.

The best match of the night from a technical standpoint, while still not quite living up to the full potential of its stars, was Bryan Danielson vs. Lee Moriarty. Sure, Moriarty isn’t at the point in his AEW career where a win over Danielson is a realistic possibility, but for an exhibition match in which Danielson challenged him to “show me how much violence you’ve got inside you” this lived up to its billing. There was plenty of technical wrestling on display as one might expect from these two, with submission holds going back and forth as they jockeyed for position. Danielson continued his impressive heel work, slapping Moriarty multiple times as the ref called for a break, though one has to wonder how well that fits into his plan to recruit people to join him and Jon Moxley. I’m sure some wrestling prospects would respond to this “tough love” approach, but I’d like to think most young wrestlers these days wouldn’t put up with their trainers taking such liberties with them in the ring. Don’t be a bully, be a star, and all that jazz. Bryanson amped up the violence, hitting a running knee strike that probably knocked Moriarty out, but refusing to be satisfied the former Yes Man stomped his prone opponent’s head into the mat and locked on a triangle sleeper for the ref to finally acknowledge him as the winner. Again, I’m sure this isn’t the last time we’ll see these two face off, and hopefully by the time AEW circles back around to it Moriarty will be closer to Danielson’s level so we can get the full display of what they can do together. I suspect it will be something like Wheeler Yuta vs. Jon Moxley last week – a measuring stick rematch showing just how much the young star has improved since the last time they faced off. Still, both men are such talented wrestlers that they were able to show off enough of their potential here that their first encounter was worthy of match of the night honors.

Best Moment of the Night

On the promo side of things, this week’s episode fared somewhat better in my opinion than the in-ring output. Adams Page and Cole had a spirited back and forth, leading to an obvious blindside attack from reDRagon until security and the Dark Order could run them off. Page and Cole both feel entirely at home in their respective characters at the moment, and their feud is only just starting to heat up, which feels appropriate since a title switch is unlikely to happen at Revolution but the feud may continue beyond that point. Alternatively, AEW may opt to circle back around to it after the inevitable Cole/Elite breakup, allowing this short-term rivalry to be just a teaser for things to come. Either way, it’s working so far even if the Dark Order making the save immediately undercut Cole’s point about them not being there for Page. The backstage segment later in the night with Cole flanked on either side by reDRagon and the Young Bucks was even more effective – I got a good chuckle out of Matt and Nick Jackson trying to one-up first-time dad Kyle O’Reilly and Cole having to play peacemaker by assuring them they all have beautiful families. Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley also had a standout promo segment, as Mox assured Danielson that he hasn’t decided one way or the other yet about joining forces, but he isn’t convinced that his  offer of collaboration is borne out of a genuine desire to work together and not just a means of avoiding a fight with the purveyor of unscripted violence. It was a short but to the point segment that smartly avoided a direct yes or no answer and built more intrigue about what the ultimate outcome will be. The Kings of the Black Throne had another short but well-produced segment hinting at a third member joining the House of Black for their upcoming clash with Death Triangle. With Penta promising to revive his Dark persona to raise the stakes for their next encounter, it only makes sense that Malakai and Brody would escalate things themselves. Plus you really can’t go wrong with spooky tarot cards, shadowy figures, and vaguely spooky ominous threats. The best moment of the night was CM Punk announcing his decision to challenge MJF to a dog collar match at Revolution. This feud has really brought out the best in both men, and Punk was in fine form in this segment. He recapped their entire feud up to this point and laid out his reasoning for choosing such a classic, barbaric match stipulation. He said he wanted to ensure Max couldn’t run away from the lessons he needs to learn and to neutralize the Dynamite Diamond, which has been his trump card despite the fact that he didn’t even win it by himself in the first place. Bringing out the photo of Max as a kid getting an autograph from Punk brought things full circle one more time, and MJF being left speechless by the end of the segment really sold the idea that Punk has him backed into a corner. Of course, MJF is a crafty, conniving weasel so he’ll probably have something cooked up by the time Revolution rolls around, but for now it was an impactful moment to see the usually mouthy heel drop his mic and hightail it backstage at a complete loss for words.

Worst Matches/Moments of the Night

Here’s an oldie but a goodie: there wasn’t anything really that bad this week! Well, nothing on the show itself was bad. I do want to talk about something that bugs me: I love signs in the crowd, but the “Adam Cole has a dad bod” has to go on the Mount Rushmore of bad AEW signs. I understand that professional wrestling and bodybuilding have long been intertwined, so there’s a subset of fans who won’t accept anything less than a six pack and bulging pair of biceps as a valid body type, but it’s gross how much online commentary has focused on the perceived lack of physical prowess among AEW’s roster. Considering the wrestling industry has also been full of steroid abuse and middle-aged men with beer bellies who could fold you up in a pretzel and make you kiss the soles of your own feet, maybe it’s worth appreciating that being a jacked up muscle man isn’t exactly natural for everyone and wrestling skill comes in all shapes and sizes. Besides, apparently someone forgot to tell Sign Guy the most important thing: Adam Cole’s a way better wrestler than you regardless of your irrelevant opinion on his looks. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

Parting Shots

• May as well address the elephant in the room – Cody Rhodes is out and reportedly on his way to WWE, and the internet is all over the shop about what it means and whether it’s a huge deal. I have to say that it doesn’t entirely make sense to me why he would want to go back, but I guess if he reportedly wasn’t going to be offered EVP privileges/responsibilities if he stayed with AEW anyway, maybe he decided to take the best money he could get as a wrestler. And given that his in-ring work has continued to be good even as the AEW crowd has soured on his character, it makes some sense that he’d want to give it a go somewhere else. Regardless, he deserves to be happy with whatever he chooses to do wherever he chooses to go, and his influence on the early years of the promotion will always deserve respect and appreciation.
• Speaking of Cody Rhodes, there were lots of mentions of his match against Brodie Lee as the only previous dog collar match in AEW. I appreciate that the company isn’t being petty and acting like a guy who was just on the show less than a month ago suddenly doesn’t exist, but it was a little weird that they didn’t acknowledge it once and then move on to saying Punk vs. MJF will be “the second ever dog collar match in AEW history” and just leave it at that.
• It’s great that we’re getting a three-way tag title match at Revolution, but I feel like two battle royals in two weeks is not the most interesting way to get there. I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned my distaste for battles royale, but they are among my least favorite match types of all time. Punjabi Prison matches may be worse but at least they happen less often.
• Wardlow qualifying for the Face of the Revolution match was no surprise, but it’s cool that Max Caster had basically the most competitive match anyone has had against him yet. Squash matches are fine and all but gradually raising the challenge is important to keep them from getting too formulaic. Besides, if Wardlow is going to surpass MJF and have a solid solo run, it’s about time he started having longer matches that push him to show what he can do.

That’s it for another week – pretty solid show all in all, and lots to look forward to in the coming weeks between now and Revolution on March 6th. Thanks again for reading and I hope to see you all back here next week for more Chair Shots!