8 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite: New Year's Smash (Jan 6)
Kenny Omega battles Rey Fenix, Bullet Club reforms, and Snoop Dogg guest stars.
A semblance of normality returned to All Elite Wrestling's weekly programming last night, as the promotion unleashed the first New Year's Smash show one week later than planned, though things will never be truly normal in this company ever again.
Rest in power, Jon Huber. Last week's Celebration of Life was as crushing and gutwrenching as it was cathartic. The organisers couldn't have done a better job of honouring a beloved 41-year-old taken from his wife, two children, friends, and fans entirely too soon. It hurt, but it was beautiful, and while the eternal hope is to never have to go through it again, Brodie Lee was done proud. Long live the 'Exalted One'.
Headlined by a potentially blistering AEW World Championship match between the incumbent Kenny Omega and Rey Fenix, this lineup was originally intended for 30 December. It ended up starting AEW's 2021 on an exciting note. While far from the best two hours the promotion has produced on TNT, New Year's Smash closed on one of the biggest angles in Dynamite history, welcomed Snoop Dogg into AEW, and delivered a calorific sugar rush of a main event.
Elsewhere, Hikaru Shida put the AEW Women's World Title on the line against Abadon, Darby Allin debuted his new TNT Title design, and Wardlow met Jake Hager in a big beefy battle.
Let's light the fuse...