The Wednesday night Wars begin ~~~~
1) Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara
Interesting, but sorta logical choice for the first ever Dynamite. Including one the biggest names in Cody to kick things off makes sense, but looking on paper a Cody/Guevara match isn't very appealing. They somehow really busted out a great, high energy opener here though which ended with a handshake/moment that will be remembered as an epic piece of foreshadowing.
Match rating - ***1/2
And after the match, Cody's arch rival for months and the man he will challenge at Full Gear, the first PPV since the AEW TV era next month, CHRIS JERICHO hits the ring for a god damn beatdown. Oh, he's also the AEW Champion how must I forget. Good stuff to get Jericho in during the first half hour.
2) Brandon Cutler vs. MJF
This was essentially just a showcase for MJF. I'm really excited that Cutler got the job and chance to work with AEW bc of his association with the Bucks. The Cutler Bros ruled in a circa 2009-10 era PWG so this is well deserved. I doubt he will ever be more than a quick sprint guy and that is fine because he's a very solid base esp in this position. MJF goes over and looks good.
Match rating - **
3) PAC vs. Hangman Page
As you probably know, this was supposed to happen back at Double or Nothing in May, but PAC pulled out for Dragon Gate or disagreements or whatever reason. BUT he is here now and we get this match. Hangman is still a big hit or big miss for me. Here, he was decent enough however PAC was what really shined to me just because he's such a good villain right now. This was solid though, super hard hitting and urgent - exactly how it should have been.
Match rating - ***1/2
4) Riho vs. Nyla Rose - AEW Women's Title Match
This match is to crown the first ever AEW Women's Champion. Both women get good responses. I am admittedly pretty unfamiliar with both, but I left a fan of them both. Very good first display for what the women's division will be in AEW despite not being a barnburner like I'm sure some had hoped. But definitely a fantastic first showing for both women in my opinion, as someone who was unfamiliar with both. RIHO wins and is my new favorite wrestler <3
Match rating - ***1/4
5) Chris Jericho, Ortiz, & Santana vs. The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega
Lord have mercy. So, the match was whatever. Basic wild Elite six man tag. All the angles, the finish and post match was the must see part of this. Jon Moxley runs down to beat the hell out of Kenny Omega and put him through a glass table during the middle of the match to hype their upcoming bout at Full Gear. Eventually, the bad guys go over and we proceed to get a segment that I never expected to ever see in my life, much less get excited over. Jericho and his LAX buddies proceed to continue to take advantage of the 3 on 2 advantage on the Bucks. Cody Rhodes runs down because ELITE/BULLET CLUB 4 EVER only to get lowblowed by the man who shook his hand earlier Sammy Guevara. DUSTIN RHODES is out next cause he ain't having that shit. Dustin cleans house only to get taken out by.... JACK SWAGG-- I mean.. JAKE HAGER. What the fuck. This was so hype. I admittedly I always oddly liked Jake in WWE under the name Jack Swagger, and just felt he was under utilized and this debut felt like a total rebirth. He clears everyone out to an insanely hot and responsive crowd.
Jericho, Ortiz, Santana, Guevera, and Hager all stand tall to close the show and it looks like we have our first stable in AEW!
Final thoughts: They tried to cram a lot in here to get every character and a feud a good start on this big first night and with that in mind, it felt a litle cramped at times, but that will shake out in the next few weeks (I'm writing this in retrospect). The ending of this left me insanely stoked to see what comes next and all in all, this was the best episode of wrestling TV in a long time and definitely felt like the start of a new era.
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