A week ago, Roderick Strong made his All Elite Wrestling debut, helping friends Adam Cole fight The Jericho Appreciation Society. In a blockbuster eight-man tag team match on Dynamite on Wednesday night, he joined his Undisputed Era teammate Orange Cassidy, Bandido, and International Champion Orange Cassidy to take on the heel faction.
In addition to the contest, another episode geared toward the Double or Nothing included a high-stakes “Four Pillars” Tag Team Match, the latest in the battle of attrition between The Elite and Blackpool Combat Club, the return of Saraya to the ring, and a massive trio match.
Card of Matches
The first of eight
For Wednesday’s show at the CFG Arena in Baltimore, the following artists were announced in advance:
- Darby Allin and “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry vs. Sammy Guevara and MJF in a “Four Pillars” Tag Team Match
- Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Bandido, and Orange Cassidy vs. Jericho Appreciation Society (Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard, and “Cool Hand” Angelo Parker).
- Battle Royale of the Tres de Mayo Trio
- Juice Robinson vs. Ricky Starks
- Saraya vs. Willow Nightingale
- Promo for Elite
Dynamite Kicked Off With 8-Man Tag Team Action
2 out of 8
Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Bandido and International Champion Orange Cassidy battled Jericho Appreciation Society members Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard and “Cool Hand” Angelo Parker in the party match of the week.
The match was predictable action-packed until the final minutes, when chaos erupted. Cole scored the victory for his team and immediately avenged his teammate Chris Jericho by attacking The Ocho.
Despite Strong’s style being unfamiliar to many, the match produced the latest in Cole-Jericho’s feud and offered solid work from Cassidy. This one-on-one match is expected to be one of the highlights of the May 28 Double or Nothing pay-per-view, and this did so without overexposing them.
- The result
- Against Garcia, Hager, Parker, and Menard, Cole, Strong, Cassidy, and Bandido prevailed
- The grade
- C+
Moments to remember
As Jericho entered the arena, he wore a Britt Baker T-shirt that was the subject of social media discussion this week.
Chris Jericho is coming to London, right? The Ocho asked because, well, of course.
Cole was taunted by Jericho on the headset for failing to protect Britt Baker two weeks ago, and the heel ignored the fact that he had handcuffed his budding rival.
Garcia’s disgust as Cassidy unleashed his uninspired offence was priceless.
For the win, Cole lowered the Boom on Parker.
Cole tackled Jericho through part of the staging and hammered away at him while Jericho looked right at the monitor.
Willow Nightingale vs. Saraya; Blackpool Combat Club speaks
3 out of 8
Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley, backed by Ring of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta, had words of warning for the AEW locker room.
Prior to their cage match on next week’s show, Moxley warned Omega to wrap up the brief promo that included an insult aimed at Bret Hart.
AEW locker room rivalry continued in the arena as Toni Storm and Ruby Soho interfered constantly to help Saraya defeat Willow Nightingale.
In response, Hikaru Shida swerved the heels and joined Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. and Jamie Hayter in spray painting “AEW” across the heels.
At least it appears as though an endgame is in sight with the arrival of the criminally underrated and oftentimes undervalued Shida. At Double or Nothing, the former women’s champion will team up with Hayter and Baker to face The Outcasts.
Afterwards, it’s time to move on.
A heel interference hampered the match’s quality, as too much attention was paid to the antics instead of the actual action in the ring.
This was done in order to make fans hate The Outcasts. However, this far into the program, it is clear that they are the villains, so it was only further emphasizing a point that has been hammered home over and over again.
- The result: Nightingale was defeated by Saraya
- The grade: C
Moments to remember
Danielson called Bret Hart egotistical for believing no one could ever be better than him backstage.
According to Moxley, Blackpool Combat Club is a bunch of blades looking for wire to sharpen themselves, and next week’s steel cage match with Kenny Omega will be canceled.
As Saraya expertly distracted the official, Soho and Storm attacked Nightingale behind his back.
Despite Nightingale’s death valley driver, Storm distracted the official from making the count, allowing Saraya to deliver the Goodnight for the tainted victory.
Battle Royale of the Tres de Mayo Trios
4 out of 8
A challenge to the AEW World Trios Championship was extended by Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews, Brody King and Julia Hart, with a few new rules under “House Rules”: no rope breaks, 20-second counts on the floor, and no disqualifications.
The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass overcame the odds to eliminate Butcher, Blade, and Kip Sabian in a Tres de Mayo Trios Battle Royale.
The crowd popped for the individual acts, but the match itself was not nearly as hot as one would expect, given the collection of wrestlers involved. It may be the result of the de-emphasis on the trios titles by The Elite, not to mention the fact that less than half of the teams involved compete together regularly.
They should be exorcised immediately if even the slightest idea exists of putting them over The House of Black.
Participating teams
- (John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and Evil Uno)
- Daddy Ass and the Acclaimed
- Aaron Solo, Powerhouse Hobbs, and QT Marshall
- Kip Sabian, The Butcher, and The Blade
- El Hijo del Vikingo and the Lucha Bros
- Josh Woods, Tony Nese, and Ari Daivari are the Varsity Athletes
- The result: It was the Acclaimed that won
- The grade: C
Moments to remember
“Welcome to the open house,” Julia Hart said ominously, inviting any trio to challenge The House of Black.
With Vikingo eliminated, Hobbs capped his physically dominant performance by rekindling his rivalry with Lucha Bros.
Taz said about Daddy Ass as he held onto the ropes, evading elimination, “That’s from all the scissoring.”.
Wardlow in Action: Kenny Omega speaks
5 out of 8
Dynamite’s Kenny Omega and Don Callis warn Jon Moxley about the violence he’ll face inside a steel cage next week.
Callis interrupted Omega and made the whole ordeal about himself for a hot minute before The Cleaner sealed the deal.
In the arena, Wardlow destroyed the unknown enhancement talent Logan Leroux with his powerbomb symphony.
Since he failed miserably in his attempt to ignite a physical confrontation with Luchasaurus by calling him and Christian Cage out, The War Dog was left bewildered after another staredown.
Since last year’s Double or Nothing, Wardlow’s creative inconsistency has plagued the feud between the TNT champion and his prospective No. 1 contender.
Despite being the hottest babyface in the industry, he has seen his star dim due to questionable booking decisions. The once-popular powerbomb symphony is no longer met with the same reception.
It’s going to be fun to watch the upcoming match between these two big, athletic heavyweights, but it feels like a missed opportunity instead of a highly anticipated showdown.
- The result: Leroux lost to Wardlow
- The grade: C
Moments to remember
Omega warned Moxley, “What you did to Don…you made it personal. It ends next week.”.
Apparently unaware of how it works, Wardlow demanded an open challenge from him.
Ricky Starks vs. Juice Robinson at Sandy Fork
6 OUT OF 8
In their battle with FTR for the AEW World Tag Team Championship, Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, and Satnam Singh visited Mark Briscoe in Sandy Fork, Delaware.
In a hard-fought match with Rochambeau, “Absolute” Ricky Starks retaliated against Bullet Club Gold for their recent attacks on him by defeating Juice Robinson. “Switchblade” Jay White’s post-match attack extended the feud and indicated a future showdown between him and Starks, probably at Double or Nothing.
Despite Starks’ disappointing defeat to Chris Jericho at Revolution, the match with White is still a big deal and should at least be entertaining.
Starks won a quality match against Robinson with a solid and physical performance.
In the event of Starks’ loss, he will essentially return to the status quo that existed prior to the Jericho feud.
- The result: Robinson lost to Starks
- The grade: B
A few of the best moments
Mark was warned by Papa Briscoe about the guy in overalls, only to find Singh and Dutt both wearing them. The entire segment was enjoyable and, if nothing else, was a nice change of scene.
As Robinson and White entered the arena, “Rock Hard” opted to go it alone against Starks.
White attacked Starks after the match, and Excalibur suggested they would collide.
Darby Allin and Jack Perry versus MJF and Sammy Guevara in the “Four Pillars” Tag Team Match
7 OUT OF 8
Wednesday’s main event, like its storyline, was clunkier than it needed to be but ultimately benefited from the performances.
In the match, MJF and Sammy Guevara’s egos boiled over, and Allin and Perry’s distrust of one another emerged, but they prevailed the babyfaces eventually achieved the feat the heels were unable to: coexist long enough to force a four-way AEW World Championship Match at Double or Nothing.
In May 28’s nightmare, MJF’s self-centeredness turned his dream of an easy night in Las Vegas into a nightmare.
It will be a defining moment for AEW and one that should confirm Tony Khan was right to build several top storylines around the four young stars.
- The result: Guevara and MJF were defeated by Perry and Allin
- The grade: B+
Moments to remember
Guevara called out MJF earlier in the show, but foolish bought it and reconciled with him.
MJF attempted to manipulate Perry backstage, creating further tension between him and Allin before the tag team main event.
Perry locked MJF in the Snare Trap after Allin made a late blind tag. Guevara made the save, only to be left behind during a dive as the champ refused to follow.
Guevara looked dismayed by the situation as MJF stole a pin attempt from him.
Perry laid Guevara out, but Allin, who made a blind tag, scored the win with a Coffin Drop after The Salt of the Earth slapped The Spanish God.
Overall Show Grade: Focused, but not flawless
8 OUT OF 8
Based on the grades assigned to each segment of the show, it is hard to consider the May 3 episode of Dynamite to be one of the best.
In general, however, this week’s episode showcased the feuds, stories, and stars that will be featured at Double or Nothing.
Cole vs. Jericho, Starks vs. White, the Elite vs. Blackpool Combat Club, AEW Originals vs. The Outcasts, a teased rivalry between The Acclaimed and House of Black over the trio titles, Wardlow vs. When the creative forces began developing the Memorial Day weekend card, Luchasaurus, and the Pillars four-way were all prominent.
However, the show was a step in the right direction and gave fans the impression that Tony Khan at least knows where he’s going in time for one of the biggest events of the year.
B- for overall Event
