The Road to “Full Gear” took a detour Wednesday night, as AEW returned to the Bayou Music Center in Houston for Episode 318 of Wednesday Night “Dynamite.”
While “Full Gear” is only two and a half weeks away, the bulk of this week’s episode was dedicated towards next week’s “Blood and Guts.” There were three advantage matches this week, to determine which team will have the advantage in the men’s and women’s “Blood and Guts” matches. The series are best two-out-of-three, with the outcome ultimately being decided on this week’s edition of Saturday Night “Collision.”
Alongside the ongoing women’s tag tournament, the advantage series only seemed to muddy the water – obscuring the focus that last week’s episode established.
The other curious booking decision this week was Tony Khan’s groundbreaking announcement of a new championship title. At “Full Gear,” a Casino Gauntlet match will be held to crown the inaugural AEW National Championship. While introducing the title, Tony Schiavone mentioned the National Title’s history on Turner Broadcasting – while MVP mentioned former National champions like Paul Orndorff, Dusty Rhodes, Wahoo McDaniels and Nikita Koloff.
To say this seems redundant would be an understatement. Before its unification with the Continental Championship, the International Championship seemed to serve the same purpose. Utility aside, it means that AEW will have 11 unique championships exiting “Full Gear.” That doesn’t include ROH’s own gamut of championships, which frequently appear on AEW’s programming.
The show was bookended by segments between “Hangman” Adam Page and Samoa Joe, bringing this rivalry to the forefront. In the end, it was The Opps who stood victorious – settling the score with Page after last week’s masterful ending to “Fright Night.”
This week’s episode of “Dynamite” was a marked departure from last week’s terrific episode. For better or worse, “Blood and Guts” has brought the road to “Full Gear” to a screeching halt. Fortunately, the overall match quality made up for its haphazard attempt at putting a bow on next week’s special episode of “Dynamite.”
Show Rating: ***
Matches
Orange Cassidy vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Classic babyface fire from Orange Cassidy, filtered through the unique lens of wrestling’s most unorthodox competitors. Claudio Castagnoli was rock steady here, providing a canvas for Cassidy to paint a thrilling comeback.
Rating: ***½
Mercedes Moné & Athena vs. The Babes of Wrath
A fun tag match for Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron. More importantly, a savvy booking decision from Tony Khan – allowing Kris Statlander to intervene on the babyfaces behalf. Mercedes Moné’s hopes of a thirteenth title have momentarily been dashed at the world champion’s expense, creating a little more tension before their match at “Full Gear.”
Rating: ***
Darby Allin vs. Daniel Garcia
This was Daniel Garcia’s best heel performance in years. The “Red Death” was relentless, applying constant pressure on the mat – culminating in a decisive Dragon Tamer. Unfortunately, Garcia was facing a babyface for the ages in Darby Allin, who reversed Garcia’s Dragon Tamer into a Scorpion Death Lock of his own.
With the advantage series tied at one win apiece, a rubber match between Jon Moxley and Roderick Strong on “Collision” will determine what team has the advantage at “Blood and Guts.”
Rating: ***½
Megan Bayne vs. Mina Shirakawa
This was the first match in the women’s advantage series, with the second and third (if needed) being held on “Collision.”
Mina Shirakawa never had a chance. Fortunately, “Timeless” Toni Storm’s work on commentary made this considerably more enjoyable.
Rating: **½
“Hangman” Adam Page, HOOK, & Eddie Kingston vs. The Opps [c]
An ode to King’s Road wrestling, surely engineered by the brilliant minds of Samoa Joe and Eddie Kingston. This is the sort of six-man tag team wrestling that I love. The crux of this affair was HOOK’s injured back, greatly diminishing the babyface contingent’s chances of victory. In the end, it proved to be their Achilles heel, when Powerhouse Hobbs forced him to submit with a backbreaker.
Rating: ***½
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