AEW isn’t quite as kid-friendly as WWE, which probably helps the company get higher TV ratings in the 18-34-year-old demographic group. The final segment of the night was a perfect example of this: WWE would never allow for one superstar to lash someone 10 times with a leather belt, but AEW did and it’s awesome.
Cody takes 10 lashes from MJF
Cody Rhodes took 10 lashes from MJF with Cody’s own belt in about the most dramatic way possible. Almost every wrestler in the back came out to get a look for themselves. Cody’s brother Dustin, along with his wife Brandi and his coach Arn Anderson, came out to console him while MJF and Wardlow did the deed. Because Cody has taken those 10 lashings and he hasn’t touched MJF, a match will be booked between them for Revolution. Revolution is AEW’s next PPV event, so long as Cody can defeat Wardlow (Maxwell Jacob Friedman’s sidekick) in a steel cage match in two weeks on Dynamite.
Jon Moxley defeats Ortiz and takes out Santana’s eye after the match to hurt the continuity of The Inner Circle
Jon Moxley had a singles match with Ortiz that went over surprisingly well, considering Ortiz hadn’t wrestled a singles match in well over a year. However, he can’t clearly hang with the best and has a very high level of charisma. Moxley got the win, as he should have heading into his AEW World Championship match with Chris Jericho. It was also genius to have him get some revenge on Ortiz’s tag team partner Santana, who cut a brilliant promo later in the night.
This might be why many wrestlers like AEW – even the top stars like Chris Jericho are unselfish and completely willing to put over younger people and give them opportunities to grow within the company rather than wanting to give all the glory to themselves.
The Lucha Bros and The Butcher and The Blade defeated Kenny Omega and Adam “Hangman” Page (Tag Team Champions) and The Young Bucks
The tag team match pitting was easily Pay-Per-View worthy (I know some people have complained about not knowing who the legal man is during these tag matches, but does it really matter – NO). It also progressed a couple of storylines. The first was that it elevated tension between The Elite and “Hangman” Page, which will most likely culminate in a heel turn for Page at Revolution on February 29. The status of The Butcher and The Blade will also be instantly elevated by being associated with a team as highly regarded as The Lucha Bros, particularly in a winning effort.
SCU gains momentum
So. Cal Uncensored picked up a victory over the Best Friends, with the always entertaining Freshly Squeezed Orange Cassidy of course, going into their AEW World Tag Team Championship match next week against Kenny Omega and Adam “Hangman” Page.
Kip Sabian defeats Joey Janela
On a positive note, Kip Sabian has been featured on Dynamite a few weeks in a row so executives are obviously planning to push him, but his gimmick may not be quite right for his personality because it feels a little forced. He is not horrible at it by any means, but it could be better. Maybe he just needs time to grow into it – many wrestlers’ gimmicks feel this way towards the beginning of their careers. Maybe I’m being a little too critical – that may very well be a possibility.
Britt Baker loses to Yuka Sakazaki and attacks her following the match
The Britt Baker segment must have been planned to get her moreover as a heel by going against her moniker as a dentist by forcibly pulling the talented Yuka Sakazaki’s teeth. It feels weird to book someone at that level to lose to a lower-level performer like Sakazaki, so there must be a bigger story with this match. It will be interesting to see the next step in Baker’s evolution as a performer.
Brodie Lee/Luke Harper Debut Impending
Luke Harper has finally been granted his release from WWE and he will make an appearance for AEW on the 3/28 episode of Dynamite in his hometown of Rochester, NY under the name Brodie Lee.