AEW Dynamite: 2/2/2022

It’s Wednesday night, and yes indeed we all know what it means. It’s time once again to dive into the AEW side of things with another special Dynamite episode. We finally get the match that has been building for months with CM Punk finally getting his hands on one Maxwell Jacob Friedman, which makes it all the more special considering Dynamite was in Punk’s hometown of Chicago! However, how does the rest of the show play out? Well, let’s hop right into it with our opening match!

Match 1: Jon Moxley vs Wheeler Yuta. (Rating: 2.75/5)

Originally this match was supposed to have Moxley facing off against former WWE superstar Brian Kendrick, however it was scrapped due to unforeseen circumstances in the part of Kendrick. Taking his spot was Best Friends member Wheeler Yuta who was accompanied by Orange Cassidy, and also the man, the myth, the absolute legend: DANHAUSEN! Yes, Danhausen is officially All Elite now as he made his debut last week during Cassidy’s Light’s Out match with Adam Cole and has sided with Cassidy and the rest of the Best Friends. This match was absolutely good from start to finish, and once again Moxley was taken to his limit. I haven’t seen much of Yuta’s matches but the man’s really amazing and does work well with Moxley’s unorthodox style of wrestling. The match, to no one’s surprise, was won by Moxley after hitting a Paradigm Shift for the pinfall victory. After the match, Moxley was once again confronted by one Bryan Danielson; but rather than fighting the former AEW world champion, Danielson proposed that him and Mox shouldn’t fight against each other but rather together and dominate the tag team division by capturing the tag titles. Next week we’re gonna get Mox’s answer! (Which would, once again, seem really obvious but it’d be an interesting twist for Moxley’s character if he accepted Danielson’s proposal).

Match 2: Tag Team Match; PAC and Pentagon Jr vs House Of Black. (Rating: 4/5)

It’s Malakai and Brody’s first big match together as a tag team and what better way to solidify themselves and the House of Black stable as a whole by facing off a big name team. PAC and Pentagon (along with the injured Rey Fenix. Best wishes and hope he recovers quickly!) have had their problems with Malakai in the past, especially considering the fact Black was responsible for blinding PAC with the mysterious black mist to the eyes. All and all, this was one of the best matches for both respected teams so far. I didn’t think a babyface version of PAC would work because the man clearly reigns superior as a heel but he’s just that incredibly talented that he’s made the face turn work. The match was won by Black and King after a Dante’s Inferno on Pentagon for the pinfall victory. Really hoping for a singles program between Black and the Bastard.

Match 3: Ruby Soho vs Nyla Rose. (Rating: 3.5/5)

This was the best match that Nyla has wrestled in what seemed like an eternity. Rose is not a bad wrestler by any means, she is truly amazing and can really work well with those that are smaller in sized but she really hasn’t had great chemistry with any other female competitor since feuding with Riho during AEW’s inception. This wasn’t the first time that Ruby and Nyla have faced off against one another, as both competitors have faced off during the TBS championship tournament several months ago. This time it was Rose with the victory as she laid Soho out with a the Beast Bomb for the three count.

Main Event: CM Punk vs MJF. (Rating: 5/5)

Wow, just wow. Not only was this one of the best matches MJF has had in his career, and not only was this Punk’s best AEW matches but this is going down as one of the best main even matches in the history of Dynamite! A 40 minute classic between the past of professional wrestling facing off with the future of the industry. MJF is already the most hated man in wrestling currently, so him being in Chicago for Dynamite to take on Punk made him public enemy number one. Friedman was able to showcase more of his technical side as he targeted one of Punk’s legs throughout a good majority of the match so he wouldn’t be hit with Punk’s GTS. There was a point in the match that MJF seemed to have actually won against Punk as he put him to sleep with a submission hold , however the match was forced to restart due to Friedman using his wrist tape to apply more pressure on the hold. Even with the match being forced to reset, MJF was the first man to hand CM Punk his first official lost (technically second since of the first finish, it should still count) in AEW after decking Punk in the face with the Dynamite Diamond ring thanks to MJF’s muscle, Wardlow.

Final rating: 4/5