5 Biggest Takeaways from AEW Dynamite (February 9th, 2022)
I like to keep things as positive as possible.
I like WWE.
I like AEW.
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What. A. Show. AEW Dynamite delivered one of, if not their best show to date. The hype surrounded a debut and surprise and as good as those two were, that’s not what made this show what it was. With Revolution coming up, the build truly began last night as we got a taste of what we might be looking at for this show. The show opened with a brilliant segment that showed us the continuation of their best ongoing feud and ended with the start of what hopes to be their next big program. Everything in the middle served a purpose and also built towards their pay per view. An amazing tag team match between Punk/Mox and FTR, back to back women matches on the show(even though one was a squash/segment) and the build for the Revolution ladder match to determine who gets a shot at the TNT title got some air time as well with the Darby and Andrade storyline getting a tad more interesting.
Enough of the small talk, let us jump into the top 5 biggest takeaways from this week’s AEW Dynamite!
#5: Disbanding Circle
The Inner Circle ran its course a long time ago. With Sammy Guevara branching off and succeeding on his own, it was only a matter of time before we would see Santana & Ortiz do the same… or so we thought. They had a brief stint away and things were looking good for them before being drugged back by Jericho to do his biddings. Well, enough is enough. After a small push from Eddie Kingston, Pride and Powerful have finally taken charge of their direction and have laid down the law.
.@ortiz_powerful gives a little history lesson to @IAmJericho!
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) February 10, 2022
Tune in to #AEWDynamite LIVE on @TBSNetwork right now! pic.twitter.com/J8uYpxJ6YT
Santana out promo’d “The Influencer” Chris Jericho on Dynamite as he voiced their frustration and goals moving forward, without the Inner Circle. Jericho took offense and barked back which would lead to Sammy trying to play peace maker. Out of frustration, Jericho would tell Sammy to shut up which would lead to him leaving his vest in the ring and telling the other 4 members that if they can’t figure things out, he was done. After walking out, Ortiz challenged Jericho and Hager for a tag team match next week as Santana mocked their former leader. This was a huge segment for Santana and Ortiz moving forward and a win over Chris and Hager next week would ultimately send them on the path they should have been on long ago. Goodbye Inner Circle!
#4: Hangman’s Next Challenger
The title reign has been very lackluster for the most part and this small program with Lance Archer was a glimmer of hope that they would start trying to correct it. Hangman had a nice title defense in the deathmatch against Archer as it told a very good story. After overcoming the obstacle, Hangman was a battered champion that was holding his head up high after the successful defense. He would be greeted by his next challenger shortly after by a very familiar face.
Adam Cole has been making it known that he had his eyes set on the AEW Title for a few weeks. His number 1 “ranking” helps justify the challenge that he delivered last night. It was very short and very simple. He picked up the AEW Title, propped it on Hangman’s shoulder and then slapped it a few times while looking at Page in the eyes before turning around and leaving. With what happened earlier in the night(we’ll get to that later), it seems like we are moving in the direction of a much larger storyline here than just Adam Cole versus Hangman Adam Page.
#3: Not Yet, MJF
Maxwell Jacob Friedman threw himself a celebration with a grand entrance included. He was quite proud of himself for his accomplishment from last week when he beat CM Punk not once but twice! He would celebrate with Spears and FTR as Wardlow watched on as the hired help and gloated about the feat over and over again. As he then made it known that he had his eyes set on the AEW Title, he would be interrupted by CM Punk. Punk understands the numbers game will always be an issue and decided to bring some help, Sting and Darby Allin.
https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1491599319945953284?t=m8BDvO4i-aZblAL_EhmXKA&s=19
CM Punk would then declared he wanted his rematch and if MJF wasn’t willing to give it to him, then he would come down and beat it out of him. This would lead to the stipulation that if Punk could beat FTR later in the night he could get his rematch. Only issue, CM Punk can’t use Darby or Sting as his partner so “good luck finding someone who likes you PG Punk!” Punk would find a more than capable Partner in Jon Moxley and the two of them would come out victorious over FTR. This means we are getting a CM Punk versus MJF match at Revolution(most likely) and this time will more than likely have a stipulation. I don’t know many people that will complain about getting a few extra weeks of this feud due to how great it has been thus far.
#2: Keith All E-Lee-te
The rumors were all true. Keith Lee made his AEW debut last night and qualified for the ladder match at Revolution which will crown Sammy Guevara’s next challenger. This is good news for the main event scene in AEW because the one thing they are lacking in my opinion is big men. And the best part about Keith Lee is that when he’s healthy, he can move with these smaller guys and still showcase that power as an advantage. It opens up the possibility of some new styles that will make for fresh matches. We all know what Keith Lee is capable of and I’m sure that he is more than willing to prove his worth after all the issues he had towards the end of his WWE run.
#1: Bullet Club vs The Elite
Since Adam Cole arrived in AEW, you could see the small tension building between him and Kenny Omega. It wasn’t so much visual as it was just backhanded comments that were setting up the story to unfold down the road. With Kenny Omega out with injuries, this program was put on the back burner for the time being and Adam Cole was left coasting until they could build more from it. With Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly coming in at Cole’s side, it looked like we might be getting an Undisputed Era versus Elite feud. After last night, things seem to be heading in a different direction.
Jay White showed up on Dynamite last night during the Young Bucks/Adam Cole attack on Roppongi Vice much to the surprise of the Young Bucks. Adam Cole looked on in excitement as White grabbed Trent and threw him into the truck trailer. Later in the evening, the Bucks would question Cole’s motives behind inviting White and referenced the issues that Omega and White have. Adam Cole asked them to just trust him and then left as he had “business to take care of.”
This whole situation has Bullet Club versus Elite written all over it and could even possibly bring back Hangman Page to the Elite. AEW has proven that they can tell these kinds of stories over time with underlying hints that end with payoffs that leave the fans happy. This is one of those stories that the fans have been waiting for for quite some time now and if it truly is what it looks to be, this will be a very exciting time for AEW.
Check out the Dynamite Recap to see what else happened on this week’s episode.
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