8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (1 May - Results & Review)

1. Kenny Omega Returns

...Kenny BY GOD Omega.

If there had been a tick-list of things any longstanding Elite fan would have wanted from a Kenny Omega return promo at this point in AEW's lifespan, every box was surely checked by the time Dynamite went off the air.

The promo was one of Omega's strongest, evidently speaking from the heart while also understanding the value of what was about to occur. Having teased out retirement in front of his hometown crowd, he worked his way up to admitting just how much he missed wrestling, even if he only had a 1% chance of doing it ever again. From there, he made no secret of his disdain for Mathew and Nicholas' actions of late, all to tease a long-awaited dream showdown with Kazuchika Okada.

The face-off was temporarily electric, with gradually more fans from the quiet Winnipeg crowd finally capturing the gravitas just in time for Jack Perry to take out the 'Best Bout Machine' from behind. Omega fighting back was intoxicating, particularly when he sold his stomach after drilling Perry with a snap dragon, then ripped his shirt open in an act of defiance. By this point though, Okada had slid a steel chair into the ring for the 'Scapegoat' to use. Drilling Kenny in the guts felt brutal, as did the EVP Trigger The Young Bucks hit when they hit the ring.

This was everything last week's closer wasn't in terms of establishing the group as the company's biggest threat, and though admin squabbles should be viewed cautiously in pro wrestling, this already feels like it could be an excellent version of a risky idea.