This is the coherent wrestling Wednesdays where I usually give you my thoughts on NXT and AEW but since NXT was literally a highlight reel, I'm only going to talk about the latest edition of AEW Dynamite. So, how did TNT's only wrestling show do this week?
Going into this show, I was afraid of how this episode will turn out because unlike WWE, they don't have a huge library of matches to fill 2 hours of programming.
But after witnessing this show, AEW did a fantastic job of executing the episode with an empty crowd. They put WWE to shame on how to air a wrestling TV show with no crowd and this is coming from the resident WWE shill.
Highlights.
Cody And His Elite Buddies Address Their Match At Blood And Guts.
The American nightmare starts off this episode of Dynamite in an empty area with a great promo about social distancing, Tony Khan his upcoming blood and guts match and his fellow Elite member, Nick Jackson.Speaking of The Elite, out came the other half of The Young Bucks Matt Jackson and Kenny Omega and after Hangman Page showed up near the stage area, they wanted him to join them in the ring but that didn't happen. That was a great way to kick off Dynamite. Great stuff from the elite.
MJF And Shawn Spears Were Grambling!?
I'm not an MJF fan nor am I a fan of Tye Dillinger's *coughed once*, I mean Shawn Spears' character in AEW but I thought them betting on each match of this episode was funny. Shout out to Tony Khan or anybody that came up with the betting idea.
Best Friends vs Lucha Brothers.
A solid match. The usual Best Friends hug was turned into an elbow greeting which was great and so was this match. The Lucha Brothers win with a double team packaged piledriver into a stomp to Trent.After a match in an interview with Tony Schiavone, Best Friends challenged Lucha Brothers to a rematch but this time in a street fight outside the arena. Should be a fun one.
The Exalted One Arrives.
Evil Uno cuts a promo about how the exalted one will lighten the audience and Christopher Daniels came out from the crowd to say that there's no "exalted one".
Well, Daniels was wrong as the exalted one was revealed as former WWE's Luke Harper aka Brody Lee. Daniels and Frank Kazarian were then later attacked by Lee and his Dark Order. What a debut.
I'm glad AEW scooped up Brody Lee because he was literally the most underutilized talent in WWE ever since he left the Wyatt Family. He's also an underrated guy in the mic so I'm excited to see Lee in his new role as a leader.
A Certain Broken One Emerges.
By the end of the 6 man tag team match between The Elite and The Inner Circle, Page and Nick Jackson delivered a double Northern Lights suplex on Jake Hager and the two elite guys aimed for the indie taker finish but Hager prevented it.
Santana took that as an opportunity to pin Nick Jackson with a roll-up for the advantage in the upcoming match at Blood And Guts.
After that victory, Chris Jericho said that they in Inner Circle, will dominate in Blood And Guts. A certain drone landed inside the ring and Nick Jackson announced his 5th member in the cage match.
That member is none other than Matt freaking Hardy. Holy Moses splitting out the red sea, Matt Hardy is actually on AEW TV.
That return alone was better than RAW this week which by the way, you can click here to read my thoughts on Monday Night RAW.
Some Other Things That Happened.
Kris Statlander vs Hikaru Shida vs Penelope Ford vs Riho - A meh match. Hikaru Shida wins with a shining wizard to Penelope Ford.The Butcher And The Blade vs Jurassic Express In Jungle Boy And Luchasaurus - This was a decent bout. The Jurassic Express won the match with a tombstone piledriver position from Luchasaurus into a cutter from Jungle Boy to The Blade.
Lance Archer Squashed A Bunch Of Guys In A Video Package - I've not seen a person squashing a crap ton of men since John Cena did it against the Nexus at SummerSlam 2010.
The question is, what are some of the highlights on both episodes in your opinion? Let me know in the comments below and follow me on Twitter @omartheplayaguy. Anyways, stay safe smarks.