St Patrick’s Day Slam
March 17th, 2021
Commentators - Excalibur, Jim Ross, & Tony Schiavone
I’ve missed the last two weeks review wise. Just didn’t have time or energy to review while watching BUT WE BACK.
Show opens with MJF, Wardlow, FTR, Shawn Spears & Tully Blanchard arriving earlier today on a private jet. Damn, I understand mixed thoughts on the reveal / angle from last week but they looked GOOD here.
1) Cody Rhodes vs. Penta El Cero Miedo
What a match to kick off the show with! This got set up from last week where Penta took a cheap shot at Cody bringing his yet to be born child into the verbal exchange. Not to mention all the brutality Penta put Cody through in the Revolution ladder match. So yeah, only 2 weeks of build, but the intensity is here as Penta dives onto Cody during his entrance and the action gets going on a high level. This really ruled as they kept that pace the entire time. Cody busted out a fucking step up hurricanrana off the top rope which was nuts. They went at a fever pitch for like 10 minutes before Penta went to target Cody’s injured shoulder/arm and got rolled up for his troubles for a quick pinfall. Not quite the way I wanted this to go, but it was very fun while it lasted.
Match rating - ***
Awesome attack on Cody by Penta post match so this is definitely continuing. Dustin Rhodes, Billy Gunn and all his kids came out for the save. Penta mocks them and as he is leaving on the stage, QT Marshall comes in late to ask if Cody’s okay. This furthers his slow heel turn, but it just reminded me of the same angle they ran with the Good Brothers and the Bucks the other week which felt kinda lazy and I don’t give a fuck about QT anyway.
Backstage, AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks are interviewed. Don Callis walks up and tells them to look in the mirror and let him know if they really see the same Nick & Matt that they were in New Japan. Callis says they aren’t Elite anymore etc. The Bucks look to really be pondering what Don is saying.
2) Jade Cargill vs. Dani Jordyn
First singles match for Jade. They lock up, Jordyn goes for a standing switch, but eats a damn kick moments later that floors her. German suplex with a nip up to follow. Oh yeah.. Jade is looking amazing here and she finishes Jordyn as I’m typing this. Fantastic squash.
MJF and all his new cohorts are out next. Tully starts off the promo and it’s great then MJF knocks it out of the damn park explaining the name of their group - The Pinnacle. He runs down/introduces each member and explains his goal was always to destroy the Inner Circle. He says the Pinnacle will run AEW for years to come and they take what they want when they want and that starts with Jericho’s locker room tonight.
3) Jungle Boy, Luchasarus, Marko Stunt, & Bear Country vs. Matt Hardy, Private Party, The Butcher & The Blade
I really was dreading this more than anything else on the show because Matt Hardy "signing" random people has run it's course with me. However, this was a load of fun. Jurassic Express continue to impress and show why they are all stars in their own right. Luchasarus had some shining moments here and even Bear Country looked strong. Butcher & Luchasarus tearing into each other was probably my favorite though. No complaints here, this was a little blast.
Match rating - **3/4
Christian Cage is backstage. He says he is here for the AEW Title, but he knows he has to prove himself first. Cage says he will do exactly as his shirt says and outwork everyone, cementing his legacy in the process. LETS GOOOO. Just listened to his podcast with Renee Paquette and I highly recommend giving it a listen, he basically paraphrased here what he said on there.
4) Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows
Some may say I’m overrating this but I LOVED it. The pre match attack made me question if this would actually happen, but it did and it built perfectly for the isolation of Eddie for the entire first half of the contest. This just felt like a real fight with so many heavy blows and no nonsense exchanges from start to finish. It never felt fake or forced, it felt like the best form of a pro wrestling brawl and I don’t think you could’ve asked for anything more from these guys. Just fantastic stuff. Mox recovers on the floor while King fights from underneath building to the big hot tag for Moxley when he finally makes it to the apron. Shit breaks down and it’s just great. Mox gets a flurry but then fights from underneath himself. Anderson & Gallows still toy with him slapping his face around, fiery babyface Mox slaps him back hard before taking more punishment. This match was filled with a lot of great little moments like that. Anyway, King tries to break up the assault and gets thrown to the floor and into the railing by Gallows. This allows enough of a break, though for Moxley to catch Anderson in a pinning combo for the victory.
Match rating - ***3/4
To cap this off, we get more awesome post match stuff. Good Brothers continue beating down Moxley and Kenny Omega’s music hits and he joins them. Omega sits down in a chair BUT KINGSTON WIPES HIM OUT FROM BEHIND. Anderson & Gallows take care of Kingston snapping his leg with a chair per orders of Omega. Then they set Moxley up in a similar predicament, but the chair is set up around his neck instead. OH NO. BUT THE YOUNG BUCKS ARE HERE. Gallows was up top to drop the leg on Mox so that woulda been BAD. Bucks argue with their partners / former partners IDK. Well I got my answer, as The Bucks reluctantly refuse to “too sweet” their former Bullet Club brethren. Kenny gets in their face and rips off the shirt which commemorated when they all too sweeted on Dynamite months ago. In the midst of all this, Moxley recovers and charges for Omega, Callis, and the Good Brothers with the chair. They retreat as the Bucks watch on. I loved this segment and the icing on the cake was Eddie at ringside asking refs to “put him in the ring with Mox” and that sent chills down my arm. The loyalty and emotion of Eddie Kingston is truly something else. Fuck the faulty pyro, King and Mox are an amazing tandem and this whole match & segment proved it.
Next up is another TONY SCHIAVONE INTERVIEWS STING segment. I rolled my eyes when I saw that on Instagram earlier, but this turned out to be very good. Darby Allin is out also. He says he wants to be a fighting champion now that he's done with Team Taz and he wants to do it in honor of the greatest TNT Champion of all time. BRODIEEEE <3 :'( - Darby then extends a challenge to any member of the Dark Order for a chance at his title next week. Lance Archer interrupts next and is rude and shit. He & Jake talk some shit to Sting. At least we got a little more than last week's awkward interruption. It was pretty funny and interesting. THEN Taz comes out to join the party with TEAM TAZ. Brian Cage interrupts him though, showing the dissension in the group. He says he wants to talk for himself tonight and tells Sting that he respects him and that Ricky Starks was wrong - he is still The Icon. Team Taz argues and Sting & Darby leave. LOOOOTS accomplished here. Good shit.
5) Fenix vs. Angelico
Fine little cool down match here. Honestly was so blown up after the last few segments/matches that I didn't pay a whole lot of attention. Angelico is the stronger of his team in singles (that are sprints, anything more is a no-no) and Rey Fenix is wrestler of the year so far, so yeah. They gave us a good breather and threw in some crazy shit near the end. Fenix wins when all is said and done.
Match rating - **1/2
Miro and Kip Sabian segment is up next. Pre-taped thing. Don't really care, but they accepted Chuck & Orange's rematch challenge, I think?
6) Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa - Lights Out Unsanctioned Match
This is one of those matches where I truly do not know where to start or how to even properly review. I expected this to probably be good, but the truth is, my interest was so little in it that I forgot it was even on the show around mid-way when I was trying to remember what the main event was. Now, here I am, contemplating going five stars on it. This was that special and for so many reasons. For one, this is the first time that two women main evented AEW Dynamite on TNT in a singles match and it's not even for the Women's World Championship. In a company where the women's wrestling hasn't been treated like many had hoped.. this is a big deal and these women absolutely knocked it out of the park and then some. In a day and age where the women have began getting more opportunity and recognition across the world of wrestling - Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa raised the bar. This match will be looked back on as the standard for the women's division in AEW for the entirety of the promotion's existence and in my opinion, it will be looked back on as a match that changed women's wrestling as a whole all over again. I, for one, have never seen a women's match this brutal, this intense, and this bloody. It wasn't just a trash brawl, though. It wasn't sloppy. It was battle. It was the perfect grudge match in pro wrestling and one of the best women's matches of all time. The best in AEW history? Obviously. But I'm stamping it as one of the best of all time, too. These women raised the bar, stole the show, and showed any doubters that they CAN draw. They CAN main event and they ARE main event, top of the line stars. Enough of me, talking it up, though.. go watch this match. If you missed it live, I feel bad because as I watched, it felt so special as it happened. The unpredictability of what was next had me on the edge of my seat and just when I thought they wouldn't go further, they did. Thumbtacks, ladders, tables, the whole nine yards. This fucking ruled. Five stars. And oh yeah, the outcome. Thunder Rosa pretty much almost killed Britt with a spot off the apron through a table and subsequently wins.. amazing.
Match rating - *****
Final thoughts: Another episode of Dynamite that definitely ranks in the Top 5 eps of all time and that's saying something because there's been a lot of them. The main event is must see and everything else is quality pro wrestling TV. I felt like this was on the way to one of the best ep's of Dynamite yet before the main event even happened and then it turned out to be a five star, insane match, so yeah. Watch this show. I love you, AEW <3
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