15 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (Oct 23)
Cody and Jericho light the fuse in this Show of the Year contender.
Last night's AEW Dynamite was stellar. Absolutely stellar.
You'll struggle to find two better hours of wrestling television all year, despite the potentially game-changing Finn Balor heel turn over on USA Network. While Dynamite didn't quite have anything as impactful as that, this was genuinely a pay-per-view calibre show from a company that has hit nothing but home runs since debuting on TNT, with a match-heavy layout breaking only for Cody to throw a fist through Chris Jericho's window.
AEW gave themselves a lot to do last night. With two tag team tournament matches, Britt Baker's homecoming, The Young Bucks vs. Best Friends and two blockbuster one-on-ones, this show could have been a jumbled, rushed disaster. It wasn't. It was a triumph of immaculate production, pacing, and pops, and with the Pittsburgh crowd on fire all night long, the argument that this is a dead wrestling city can finally be laid to rest.
The NBA's return could well make this an ugly, ugly night for Dynamite (and NXT) when the ratings come in tomorrow. A shame, as all the promotion can do is bring their best work to the table. That's exactly what Cody, Kenny Omega, and co. did last night...