All Elite Wrestling enters 2020 with a return to the organization's roots, as Daily's Place hosts Dynamite for the very first time, commemorating the event that was held to announce the formation of the new promotion in front of TIAA Bank Field, elsewhere on the complex. Behind the scenes, the end of 2019 saw a significant shake-up, one that wouldn't be known to many wrestling fans until months later, but it was central to the evolution of AEW's product. Initially, the thought had been that Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega would collaborate with Tony Khan to control the overall directive of AEW's programming, in addition to the minutia of individual matches and promos. But Khan reacted strongly towards criticism of AEW's current creative work, most notably the closing angle to the last episode of Dynamite, where The Dark Order's minions laid out every member of The Elite and SoCal Uncensored. Khan decided that one vision was necessary, the lesson many failed to learn until the dying days of WCW, and took complete control himself, reducing The Elite back to being distinguished in-ring performers. There were certainly positives that you can take away from the first 3 months of Dynamite, but when it comes to the overall creative direction, I do agree with Khan that a full shake-up was necessary. The booking had been wishy-washy, new acts like Brandi's Nightmare Collective and The Dark Order were failing to get over, and outside of some admittedly great promos, the main event scene was sorely lacking in cohesive, white-hot singles programs. Cody, Kenny, and the Jacksons are all excellent performers, and possess wonderful minds for wrestling, but presenting a compelling weekly product is quite the challenge, and having them re-focus on what they do best was the right call. It's time to truly see what Tony Khan's vision for AEW looks like, and prepare for the most difficult year in modern wrestling history.
- AEW Dynamite #13 (January 1st, 2020) has been branded as the "Homecoming Edition", and comes to you from Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Tony Schiavone is replaced by Taz in the commentary trio, and while I do appreciate Tony's work, it's a no-contest that this is a definite upgrade. Taz (especially if you disregard his final years in TNA/Impact Wrestling) is one of the greatest color commentators out there, and after an excellent previous performance on an episode of Dark, this opportunity had certainly been earned.
- Our opening contest is a Fyter Fest 2019 rematch, as Darby Allin gains his opportunity at redemption against Cody Rhodes, which was his bargaining chip to team with Cody two weeks ago. Their first battle was an entertaining showcase for Darby, and this demonstrated the steady progress he's made since, as his offense was tighter and the big spots were layered in expertly. The narrative they tell focuses on the power of Cody, which Darby steadily works to take away, picking on Cody's shoulder. They build to a fiery comeback from Cody, who unleashes a springboard cutter and an inverted superplex, before Darby upends everything with a wild avalanche Code Red, which really shouldn't have been during the commercial break. The final stretch was a little ropey, as they mistime Cody countering the Coffin Drop, and fight over an exposed turnbuckle. Arn Anderson, now officially named the "Head Coach" of the Nightmare Family, proves his value by warning Cody that the Coffin Drop is coming after he bumps off said turnbuckle, and on a second try, Darby crashes into the knees of Cody, who secures a backslide hold to seal it. There's definitely still some room for Darby to grow, but sticking him in the ring with reliable veterans has brought the best out of him, as Cody once again solidified his status as one of the best story-tellers on the roster.
- Riho is back wrestling at last, making her first televised appearance since Full Gear 2019, which was also her last title defense, to defend the AEW Women's gold in a 4-way against Hikaru Shida, Britt Baker, and the newly reinstated Nyla Rose. In a confusing run-around, Kris Statlander is still the number one contender, but has been sidelined for this week after being jabbed by Brandi's high heel, though I'm in the dark as to how that meant the other three women were suddenly now worthy of a title shot. Despite the bizarre logic that continues to hinder the division, this was entertaining, with Nyla tossing women around willy-nilly, only to meet her match in the form of Riho's foot stomps and Shida's unreal display of power, planting Nyla on her dome with a Michinoku Driver, revenge for being splashed through a table by the "Native Beast". That awesome moment unfortunately doesn't lead to any good things for Shida on this night, as Riho retains in rather lame fashion, surprising Baker with a jackknife cover. The champ stays in the inferno heading into next week, as Statlander will get her title shot, and Riho's case for retaining was made worse by an infuriated Nyla splashing her through a table after the three count.
- In the most obvious filler match of the night, Jon Moxley, still the number one ranked competitor to Chris Jericho's AEW World title but mulling over an offer by the latter to join The Inner Circle, works with Trent Beretta for a little while. These two quality brawlers put in a solid shift, with Trent hanging in it thanks to a few suplexes and a tornado DDT, plus a distraction from Orange Cassidy. Moxley pocketing his hands to mirror Cassidy was wonderful, and it led to a heck of near fall, with Trent landing a flying knee strike and planting Mox with an old-school spike piledriver. Mox's violent tendencies are too much to be overcome, though, as a Paradigm Shift on the ramp, and one more in the ring, maintain his spotless record in singles matches. This was a means to an end to lead to more development between Moxley and Jericho, which I'll take more on later.
- Dustin Rhodes turns back the clock to utterly dominate a hapless Sammy Guevara, who is booked to be an absolute chump after weeks of sticking his nose in Dustin's business. Even though I fundamentally disagree with making a hot prospect like Sammy seem this out of league, at least Dustin remains a massive fan favorite. Sammy paid his dues, getting flattened by big slams and even taking a damn Canadian Destroyer on the apron, and at least he's tossed a bone by adding a dub to his resume, although Jake Hager was the more important figure in the finish, landing a low blow on Dustin after referee Bryce Remsburg was distracted by fracas involving Sammy in the corner.
- Main event time, as an all-star six man tag closes the night, with The Elite battling PAC and the Lucha Brothers. This was, an anticipated, an endless conveyor belt of wild action, and just as exhilerating as you would expect given the names involved. Rey Fenix walks the tightrope, leaping over Omega's swipe to deliver a hurricanrana to a seated Nick Jackson during the commercial break; Kenny and PAC fester more animosity, exchanging vicious strikes and snap suplexes; Penta breaks out a cool float-over backstabber; and Fenix commando rolls from every direction to land multiple cutters, before meeting his doom, twirling into a jaw-breaking V-Trigger from Kenny, who plants the luchadore with the One-Winged Angel for the victory. It's an entertaining watch, but one that didn't do much to advance any on-going rivalries, outside of Kenny's interactions with PAC, and the ending scene of a sloshed Adam Page refusing to join his boys in the post-match celebration.
- Non-Wrestling Roundup: This was a subpar week for vignettes and promos. Sammy Guevara trash talks Christopher Daniels with some standard "old man" barbs to set up a match between the two; Kip Sabian ambushes Joey Janela backstage, for undisclosed reasons; The Dark Order speak of their "Exalted One" for the first time; Chris Jericho ups his offer to Jon Moxley, adding in an expensive car, to which Moxley gets heat from the Jacksonville crowd for saying he'll officially respond next week; Britt Baker yells at Riho for having the nerve to pin her after not working every week (yeah, I don't see why anyone thought this needed to make air); and MJF lays out his stipulations for a match with Cody. MJF's in-ring promo was the only segment of these with intrigue and obvious intent, and I love the smarmy relish he had when dictating that he would be lashing Cody in the future, that really emphasized how heinous of a villain he truly is.
8/10
AEW's return to Daily's Place was a joy to watch from an in-ring perspective, but a shaky start to the year narratively. I think the main drawback to these shows right now is the glacial pace of the Moxley/Jericho program, which was designed to carry the main event scene, but hasn't been featured consistently. Dynamite remains rough around the edges one week into an era now fully controlled by Tony Khan, but it's still an excellent two hours of wrestling.
- Henry
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