AEW Dynamite Review - May 28

The Pinnacle stood tall to end the last Dynamite before “Double or Nothing.” (via All Elite Wrestling/YouTube.)

With just two days to go until Double or Nothing, AEW looked to build up hype for their most important event of 2021 so far. Although their flagship show Dynamite was pushed to a new time slot, they still went all out in the hopes of getting fans ready for a huge Sunday night.

The show opened with Darby Allin’s entrance, as Sting accompanied him to the ring in front of AEW’s biggest crowd of fans since before the country went into shutdown. The stage was set up similarly to how it was in the Jan. 2020 event Fight for the Fallen, a welcome change signifying AEW’s exodus from the days of empty arenas. Already in the ring was Cezar Bononi, Peter Avalon, JD Drake and Briley Pierce of The Wingmen, and Allin and Bononi opened the card against one another.

Bononi controlled the match early, targeting Allin’s taped-up midsection with a variety of slams and throws. Allin eventually gained the upper hand, and he used the corner for an assist to land his stunner, which he followed up with a shotgun dropkick and finally the Coffin Drop for the win. Allin’s offense was limited in the match, but all of it was high impact, and it made for a fun and quick opener.

Allin got on the mic after the match ended and called out Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky, but when they came out they didn’t seem interested in fighting until their tag team match on Sunday night. Mid-exchange, The Wingmen jumped Allin and Sting from behind, prompting Page and Sky to join in. As Sky went to “Pillman-ize” Sting’s ankle, the Dark Order ran down the ramp and chased off the duo. They exchanged fistbumps with Allin and Sting, as the four have all found common enemies in Page and Sky. It was a simple but effective segment to build hype for Dark Order’s Evil Uno and Stu Grayson to take on Page and Sky later in the show, as well as the match between Allin and Sting versus Page and Sky match at Double or Nothing.

Next up was the weigh-in between Anthony Ogogo and Cody Rhodes ahead of their match on Sunday night. Both participants came out with their respective crews in tow. When Ogogo weighed in as one pound heavier than Cody, QT Marshall got on the microphone and boasted that Ogogo would have the advantage on Sunday because of it. At one point Dustin Rhodes apparently tried to jump at Marshall, but it wasn’t caught on the live camera, and nothing really happened here. The whole thing, hosted by Paul Wight, felt largely pointless and didn’t advance the story in any way. 

After a video package hyped up this Sunday’s Stadium Stampede match between the Inner Circle and the Pinnacle, we cut to Powerhouse Hobbs and Christian Cage mid-brawl backstage. They were eventually separated, but not before Cage speared Hobbs into a pile of boxes. I was disappointed that this was all we got from either of these guys this week, but with so much to build for Sunday, it’s understandable.

The next match was “Hangman” Adam Page taking on Joey Janela, with Taz on commentary to scout Page ahead of his match with Brian Cage on Sunday. Janela’s Phoenix Suns-esque tights did not bode well for his chances, though both competitors landed some heavy shots in this match. After Janela couldn’t put Page away with some heavy offense, Page responded with two consecutive rolling elbows followed by a pop-up powerbomb, and the bloodied Page closed Janela out with a Buckshot Lariat. 

Post-match, Taz sent Brian Cage out to the ring, but before anything could happen Page grabbed a microphone and pointed out the ambush before it could happen. With Team Taz on the apron, Page confronted Cage, questioning why he needed their help to beat him. Cage took umbrage with this, calling off the attack and instead, getting in Page’s face. The mic work from both Hangman and Cage was well done, after a surprisingly hard-hitting match. Page remains one of the most over guys on the show.

Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston cut a promo on The Young Bucks, discussing their own history together and how the Bucks and Kenny Omega have forgotten about the rest of the locker room. While the feud between these teams has felt underwhelming at times, the chemistry between Moxley and Kingston is enough to keep fans listening anytime they have a microphone.

Tony Schiavone announced Orange Cassidy to the ring to make his decision on whether or not he would defer his participation in the triple threat match for the AEW Championship at Double or Nothing, but Pac came out in his place. 

He called Cassidy irrelevant and Omega’s actions as champion pathetic, but he was greeted by Don Callis on the big screen. Omega attempted to attack Pac from behind, but he was caught and ate some kicks at the hands of Pac. Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson saved Omega from the beatdown but were chased off by Pentagón Jr. and Rey Fénix. Orange Cassidy then entered with Best Friends and handed Kenny an envelope that contained last week’s contract shredded up. He laid Omega out with a superman punch, and after Pac tried to capitalize, Cassidy gave him one as well. 

This had some great work from Cassidy and Pac, but Omega’s lack of shine without promo time or even much offense in the beatdown felt a bit like an oversight.

Jade Cargill’s interview was interrupted by Matt Hardy who continued to recruit her to his stable, only to be shot down by her new representative, Mark Sterling. She then faced KiLynn King in a match that saw King get all of one shot off on Cargill. Cargill dominated the match, continuing to impress with her offense.

Dante Martin challenged Miro for the TNT Championship in another short but exciting match. Miro had the crowd going, with “Miro’s gonna kill you chants” early in the contest, and he largely controlled the match, but Martin’s offense was jaw-dropping when it came. The height Martin gets on his springboards is a sight to see, but Miro’s brutal yanking back on the Game Over was all it took to end the match. 

Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Lance Archer came out after the match, and Roberts cut a pretty weird promo about fairytales and literal gibberish. Miro called Archer out, prompting him to charge the ring and start a brawl. Miro came off like the hero through all of this, with the crowd in his corner, but they got behind Archer as the brawl came to a close and he took the upper hand. Their match on Sunday should be great.

Hikaru Shida came out for a segment honoring her for holding the AEW Women’s Championship for a full year. She was presented with a new title belt, and as she started to talk about how great it was to have fans back for this moment, Britt Baker interrupted from the ramp. Baker congratulated Shida before pumping herself up, saying she’ll be the face of a “new era” after Sunday. Baker, one of the company’s best heels, didn’t sound like a bad guy at all here, but the history these two have built called for that and her promo fit the tone well. Based on their prior encounters, this match is another one to get excited for on Sunday.

Uno and Grayson of the Dark Order then took on Page and Sky in a tag match. Page and Sky did typical heel things, while Grayson’s offense got huge pops from the crowd. The hot tag to Uno let Dark Order hit all their big notes, but right before their finishing move, Sky took Grayson down for a heel hook and Page threw Uno down with an Ego’s Edge to win it.

Before Page could say too much post-match, Allin made his return accompanied by a mob of Sting doppelgangers. Allin went right at Page while Sky took on a gauntlet of Stings. One of them didn’t go down so easily, though, and Sky wasn’t happy when they took their mask off to reveal that it was the real Sting, adding a new iteration to the greatest bit of his career. The tag match was above average and the post-match shenanigans were worth it for the Sting reveal.

The show was main evented by a celebration of the Inner Circle. Hosted by Eric Bischoff, the Inner Circle spent about 10 minutes reminiscing over their 18-month run together, telling each other they love them and getting the crowd behind them. MJF appeared on the screen at the site of Sunday’s Stadium Stampede, only to reveal he and Wardlow had Dean Malenko tied up to the goalpost. The Inner Circle rushed to his aid, but were ambushed by the Pinnacle on the way, and when the fight spilled onto the turf, FTR brutally put Santana and Ortiz through tables with simultaneous piledrivers. The show closed with the Pinnacle posing.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable go-home show to Double or Nothing. Almost every segment served a purpose to build to Sunday’s event, and the only segment that did not feel productive was the weigh-in. 

Double or Nothing will be a huge night for AEW, and this episode of Dynamite did a good job of emphasizing that fact.