5 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (May 15 - Results & Review)
2. Hot Opener Sets Tone For Best Dynamite In Weeks
AEW
The opening match was loud, inessential fun. In a nice and inspired mini-preview of Anarchy In The Arena, hometown hero Bryan Danielson's music kept playing over the first several minutes of action, injecting Dynamite with a sense of energy and atmosphere it has sorely lacked over the last few weeks.
It wasn't quite pointless, even if you don't need a reminder of how great Bryan Danielson is ahead of him defending the honour of AEW at Double Or Nothing. Jon Moxley had an off night in his cursed match against Powerhouse Hobbs recently. He actually did need to remind people of how awesome he is, which often happens when a wrestler feels overexposed. He was the witty sh*t-kicker of old here.
When Kyle Fletcher burst a layer of his skin open with a gross series of chops, Mox, with a funny and much-needed tweak on the machismo chop battle, walked himself into the opposite corner and asked for some more. His usual offence looked that bit more devastating, too. His King Kong lariat was thudding in its impact and the Paradigm Shift almost looked botched, the angle was that harrowing.
The match - as with every last match on Dynamite, again - was predicable. It needed an excellent counter to shift the momentum in a halfway believable manner, and Jeff Cobb catching Danielson's Busaiku knee with an awesome spinning back suplex accomplished that.
Very good, not quite great. That sickening Paradigm Shift won it, after which Konosuke Takeshita rocked Mox with a German suplex.
If they can build on their past form, that presumed Double Or Nothing match could be absolutely incredible.