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PETERSON EVENTS CENTER | PITTSBURGH, PA
This action-packed episode of AEW Dynamite featured a battle between The Elite and The BCC, a whole lot of title turmoil, and much more
AEW Dynamite came to us LIVE from The Steel City of Pittsburgh and it was rather fitting for a night of hard work and hard-hitting wrestling. Things were flowing as swiftly as the Alleghany River on this night, as we saw most of the company's prime-time players on the program.
As always, there's a lot of interest in the World Championship right now. But it's become even more highlighted in recent weeks as the brightest homegrown stars in the promotion have taken center stage in the main event. MJF stands on top of this company, and he's (rightfully) the guy who is leading the way. However, Tony Khan's other Pillars are all starting to assume the mantle of the main event right alongside The Salt of the Earth.
It was another exciting week of action for AEW. Here's a look a five things that stood out about this edition of Dynamite.
#1 - The Four Pillars have a problem...
To start things off, Jack Perry was in the ring first, and the crowd sang along with Baltimora for an extended amount of time. However, Jungle Boy didn't even get a word out before Sammy Guevara joined him. He was then (of course) followed by Darby Allin.
We all know where this is headed, as all three men think they deserve a shot at their bastard brother in the four Pillars, MJF. Needless to say, the AEW World Championship was the primary topic of discussion again amongst this group.
After a lot of back and forth, MJF walked out on the ramp to insult the crowd in Pittsburgh and his fellow young stars.
The World Champion said he was tired of all the squawking and proposed a Pillars Tournament to decide who would face him for the 'Triple-B.' He pulled Darby Allin's name out of a hat - giving him a bye in the first round.
The Salt of the Earth then set up Jungle Boy and Sammy for later in the night. The Winner of that main event match-up would advance to face Darby for the title shot.
#2 - The Doctor is in, and possibly on her way to another World Championship
It's always a special environment when Dr. Britt Baker DMD returns to her beloved Steel City. The hometown girl teamed with Jamie Hayter in a really good match with Outcast members Ruby Soho & Toni Storm.
Fast-paced action here, with the ladies making sure to make Baker look like a million bucks. Her timing was great and her moves all looked believable. Of course, having the crowd punctuate every moment of impact didn't hurt, either.
Britt shined as bright as a Colgate Smile in this happy homecoming, securing The Lockjaw on Ruby for the tap-out win. Hopefully, this is another sign that she's poised for another Women's Championship reign.
#3 - More gang warfare between The Elite and The Blackpool Combat Club
The feud of the summer in AEW should be The Elite vs. The BCC as there were more fists flying in Pittsburgh. Fed up with recent events, Kenny Omega went to the ring and called out Bryan Danielson and his fellow faction members.
That prompted The American Dragon to make an appearance on the big screen to address The Cleaner.
It was all a set-up, however, as the other members of the BCC snuck up from behind and attacked Omega. Before long, all hell had broken loose, before Don Callis emerged from the locker room with an unlikely ally - Konuske Takeshita. He joined Kenny and The Young Bucks to fight off their attackers.
In doing so, Takeshita actually turned on one of his mentors, Danielson, to side with the babyfaces. The screwdriver came into play again, but any malicious action was thwarted when the Japanese star came in to handle business. For now, it looks like Takeshita is firmly aligned with The Elite.
#4 - Wardlow rules a television channel again
No one in All Elite Wrestling has had more confusing booking over the past year than former phenom, Wardlow. Once the fastest-rising star in the promotion, he has cooled down significantly, and it was believed that he had lost favor with Khan. He even appeared to be getting supplanted in the pecking order by the man he would face on Wednesday night.
Powerhouse Hobbs has been trending in the exact opposite direction as Wardlow. After being featured for weeks in some really well-produced vignettes, the audience got to know his character better. That springboarded him to a TNT Championship in a win over Wardlow - even though it was gained through ill-gotten measures.
So many people had written Wardlow off, saying that perhaps the former champion was just a flash in the pan. And based on the way things were trending, it seemed like he was caught in a pretty familiar pattern. A lot of big, strong guys have come down the pike and ended up hitting a dead end eventually. They may stick around, but never fully live up to their promise. There's always a chance that Wardlow might just happen to be one of them, right?
Wrong.
Needing a 'fresh coat of paint', he enlisted WWE Hall of Famer and founding Four Horseman member Arn Anderson as his new manager. With Double-A as his second and a new lease on life, he re-captured the TNT title. This is a great move for the big man, for Anderson, and for AEW overall.
If anyone can re-light the fires for Wardlow, then it's definitely a promo and psychology master like Arn. Turns out? We may just have a star on our hands after all.
#5 - Sammy Guevara and Jungle Boy
Heading into this elimination match, Sammy Guevara had accepted a check backstage from MJF, who promised him a guaranteed win if he promised to lay down in their title match. The Spanish God agreed, but only after some tough negotiations. Even then, it wasn't clear if these two were on the same page.
Finally, it was time for the final match of the evening, with Sammy and Jungle Boy executing the action as expected. It's almost a given now that all of the roster's top young talent is going to display their amazing aerial skills, but they are now learning how to implement them properly into a match. Make no mistake: There's still not an ABUNDANCE of psychology there. But in this day and age? A little seems like a lot.
The heels stuck to the game plan, with Max knocking out Jungle Boy at ringside, causing a count-out win for Guevara. As Darby Allin looked on, the two had an over-the-top, cheesy celebration where it still felt like Sammy might turn on MJF.
Nevertheless, nothing occurred and the show ended by hyping the match between Allin and Guevara next week in Florida. However, it still feels like we are going to get a major swerve in this story, or possibly (?) all four men in the title match when it all shakes out, anyway. We shall see.
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