It was also going to be difficult to follow the momentous moment that was CM Punk's return to the world of pro-wrestling after a seven-year hiatus. Tonight's Dynamite was a lot of fun, but it was easily one of the weaker episodes in recent memory.
Loser: Matt Hardy Vs. Orange Cassidy
AEW's long streak of incredible openers has tragically come to an end. Opening with a Matt Hardy singles match in 2021 is a bold move, but it's especially gutsy when there are likely A LOT of people tuning in to Dynamite for the first time following CM Punk's debut on last week's Rampage.
It may have been Tony Khan playing 4D chess and assuming that most of the fresh eyes would be impressed if the show opened with a match between a WWE legend with whom they're familiar, and a wrestler who's (practically) unique to AEW.
The match itself was fine. Nothing spectacular, but Hardy did the best he could and Cassidy is always fun. Cassidy got the win with an innovative pin which he locked in by putting his hands in his pockets. Hardy ended the match with blood all over his face, presumably due to a blow to his nose, which looked swollen.
Winner: The Tag Team Eliminator Tournament Rolls On
The Lucha Bros defeated The Varsity Blondes in the second match of the AEW Tag Team Eliminator Tournament, the winners of which will face the Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Team Championships in a steel cage match at All Out.
The match was solid and probably should have opened the show. The Varsity Blondes continue to improve as a tag team and they have a fun gimmick that suits them perfectly. Penta and Fenix were as good as ever and got the win picked up the win following a double piledriver on Pillman.
The Young Buck, who had been watching the match from the top of the ramp, entered the ring and pushed Jurassic Express into the Lucha Bros in an attempt to make the two teams fight each other. They didn't take the bait, and The Bucks were superkicked out of the ring by Penta and Luchasaurus and then dived on by Jungle Boy and Fenix, much to the joy of the Milwaukee crowd.
The tournament has been well booked so far, and the two remaining teams are both teams who could conceivably defeat the Bucks.
Loser: One (Short) Women's Match
In the only women's match of the show, Jamie Hayter made short work of Red Velvet, who she attacked during her surprise return after the main event of last week's Rampage.
The match was short and kind of sloppy but it was designed to make Hayter look formidable and that's exactly what it did.
Britt Baker, Rebel, and Hayter continued to attack Velvet after the bell until Kris Statlander chased them off. It was then confirmed that Statlander will face Baker for the AEW Women's Championship at All Out.
AEW has got to do better when it comes to TV time for its female talent, though. Tonight's card was decent, but nothing special. Other than the one women's match, there wasn't a single match on the show that couldn't have been sacrificed and replaced with a second women's match.
Winner: Daniel Brian To AEW Confirmed (Pretty Much)
In his second-ever All Elite Wrestling appearance, CM Punk joined Tony Schiavone in the ring for a chat. The crowd was, understandably, absolutely electric and had to be told to quiet down so the segment could proceed.
Punk hyped his upcoming match with Darby Allin at All Out and sang the praises of his first pro-wrestling opponent in seven years. And one point he mentioned that he wants to see if he can still go, which made the crowd break out into a "YES!" chant.
“That’s somebody else’s schtick, and ya might just need to be a little more patient," Punk said, in an obvious nod to the rumors of Daniel Bryan/Bryan Danielson's impending AEW arrival.
At the end of the segment, Punk gave a shoutout to his wife April (AJ Lee).
Loser: The Bryan Thing Overshadowed The All Out Build
"It's a lot less about proving the haters wrong and more about proving myself right!" was how Punk said after he got back on track and remembered that he was there to get people to buy All Out.
Punk's back now, and he has a match at All Out which is less than two weeks away. AEW needs to use its time wisely. Obviously, everyone is plenty hyped for Punk's in-ring return but few of them will have been thinking about it in the immediate aftermath of this segment because of the impromptu Danielson and AJ Lee references.
Full Results And Noteworthy Moments
- Orange Cassidy def. Matt Hardy via pinfall with an innovative pin while his hands were in his pockets
- Chris Jericho challenged MJF to one more match at All Out. He proposed a stipulation that would see him retire from in-ring action if he loses. MJF accepted
- The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) (w/Alex Abrahantes) def. The Varsity Blonds (Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison) (w/Julia Hart) via pinfall following a double piledriver
- After the above match, Jurassic Express entered the ring to congratulate The Lucha Bros. The Bucks tried to cause trouble but were quickly disposed of
- Jamie Hayter (w/Dr. Britt Baker DMD & Rebel) def. Red Velvet via pinfall following a huge lariat
- After the above match, Kris Statlander ran down to chase Baker and co. off as they continued to beat down Velvet.
- Tension brewed between Evil Uno and Alex Reynolds of The Dark Order in a backstage segment that concluded with Reynold saying he was done with the group
- In a pretaped promo package, Andrade revealed that he would be going one-on-one with Pac at All Out
- Tony Schiavone interviewed CM Punk in the ring and asked him what made him want to come back. Punk sang the praises of Darby Allin in anticipation of their match at All Out
- In the same segment as above, Punk may have confirmed that Daniel Bryan is on his way to AEW when he urged the fans to be patient after they began chanting "YES!"
- Darby Allin, Eddie Kingston & Jon Moxley (w/Sting) def. The Wingmen (Cezar Bononi, JD Drake & Ryan Nemeth) (w/Peter Avalon) via pinfall following a Coffin Drop to JD Drake
- After the above match, Daniel Garcia jumped Darby Allin but was chased away by Sting, Moxley, and Kingston
- The Bunny attempted to convince Tay Conti to join the Hardy Family Office while the latter was being interviewed backstage. Conti tore up the contract The Bunny had handed her and the two women started fighting before being pulled apart by referees
- Christian interrupted a Kenny Omega/Don Callis promo and was eventually attacked by The Elite before Frankie Kazarian made the save
- In a backstage promo, Moxley confirmed he would be facing NJPW's Satoshi Kojima at All Out
- The Gunn Club (Austin Gunn, Billy Gunn & Colten Gunn) def. The Factory (Aaron Solo, Nick Comoroto & QT Marshall) via pinfall when Colten Gunn rolled up Marshall while the latter was busy trash-talking Paul Wight, who was on commentary for the match
- MMA guy Dan Lambert mocked AEW and millennials again and said that Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page are real role models because while touting their shoot combat sport experience
- Malakai Black def. Brock Anderson (w/Arn Anderson) via pinfall after a Black Mass
- Following the main event, Malakai Black hit Arn Anderson with a Black Mass and was about to cause more damage when Lee Johnson made the save