AEW Dynamite- April 21, 2021
by Samoa Rowe
From Daily's Place. Our hosts are Jim Ross, Tony Shiavone, and Excalibur.
Ricky Starks (with Hook) vs. Hangman Adam Page
Hot start for Page, and he hits a slingshot plancha to the floor. Starks then side steps to hang Page on the bottom rope. Starks lands on his head in a German but kips up, but Page recovers with a clothesline. Vertical suplex by Page gets 2. Starks answers with a sitout powerbomb. Avalanche fallaway slam by Page and a lariat gets a good nearfall. Page traps the leg in an STF to win at 8:52. Decent back and forth move festival, **½.Winner: Hangman Adam Page
Taz distracts Page from commentary, allowing Hook to chopblock the back of the knee. Page almost shakes off the 2 on 1 beatdown, but Brian Cage waltzes in. The Dark Order chase off Team Taz.
Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Trent (with Orange Cassidy)
They trade stiff shots early and Trent clears the ring for a somersault senton. Penta hits sling blade for a nearfall. They hit a Destroyer to send us to commercial. Back from break, Penta builds some steam with a series of power moves. Trent hits a piledriver on the ring frame. Penta's translator talks some trash, luring Trent away with a chair. Penta clears out Cassidy and finishes Trent with a package piledriver at 11:04. Decent match dragged down by the late nonsense, **¾.Winner: Penta El Zero Miedo
Jim Ross sits down with The Pinnacle. MJF defends his scarf, he's been rocking it since he appeared on the Rosie O'Donnell show. Wardlow gifts a new scarf to MJF, since it's silk season and all. Wardlow calls J.R. out for putting over Jericho's promo as "immortal", despite stumbling over his Wardlow insults. MJF gives Jericho an F for not elevating talent around him. MJF says he's better at 25 than Jericho was at 25, since he's beating top guys and not curtain jerking on World Wide. MJF isn't a mark for Jericho, but a mark for his spot, and he's taking in at Blood n' Guts.
AEW Women's Championship:
Hikaru Shida © vs. Tay Conti (with The Dark Order)
Conti hits a quick elbow to the face, and they slug it out. Conti hits some running kicks. Shida crawls out of a waistlock. Shida trips Conti on the apron and hits the drive by knee lift. Shida hits a delayed suplex onto the concrete floor. Shida works a bow and arrow and then transitions into a chinlock. Back from commercial, Shida hits a second rope suplex, but Conti pops up for a pump kick. Conti goes on an absolute rampage and drapes her on the buckles for a back senton! Shida kicks out! Falcon Arrow by Shida gets a predictable 2 count. Shida hits the "Witches Shot" onto the top buckle. Pump kick by Conti and Tay-KO, but Shida kicks out! Shida counters into an Air Raid Crash for a good nearfall. Fireman's carry backbreaker by Shida and knee to the face finishes at 12:18. Good match that nicely teased a title change before settling for the predictable outcome, ***½.Winner and still AEW Women's Champion: Hikaru Shida
Last week, Dr. Britt Baker vowed to pick up cheap wins on Dark to pad her record and move up the rankings, and MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! That was quick. She flaunts her new status as #1 contender in front of Shida.
Tony Shiavone hosts Chris Jericho and the Inner Circle in the ring. They promise to drag the Pinnacle through a trail of tears at Blood n' Guts, and force them to eat all meals through a straw. Santana calls the Pinnacle out for their "b!tch moves" tactics. Jericho then sings a show tune about beating up MJF, and I can't tell if it's supposed to be bad or if Jericho can't remember the lyrics. While it's fun to make jokes about the Pinnacle, they're going to have an old fashioned parley in the ring to review the rules of Blood n' Guts. They wrap things up with a middle finger salute.
Billy Gunn vs. QT Marshall (with The Factory)
Anthony Ogogo reveals he doesn't like America and is only in this dump to make some money. This prompts Gunn to attack the Factory on the stage, because he loves his country almost as much as his own @ss. On paper, this might be the least appealing match in Dynamite history, so let's keep it short, fellas. Gunn slams QT onto the apron and I think I might get my wish. The match comes to a screeching halt until Billy's sons run in to chase off The Factory. QT gains the upper hand anyway and taunts with a crotch chop. Gunn doesn't take kindly to copyright infringement and makes a comeback. Ogogo runs in for the liver punch on Billy, and QT finishes with the Diamond Cutter at 5:15. I guess this was better than I want to admit, kind of felt like a 1999 Raw match, *.Winner: QT Marshall
QT grabs a wooden chair but Dustin Rhodes runs in with a bull rope. Dustin hits a power slam, but QT slips out. Ogogo distracts, but Dustin spins around to smash the wooden chair over Nick Comoroto's caveman skull. Comoroto totally no-sells the attack, and officials break it up.
AEW World Champion Kenny Omega, Don Callis, Young Bucks, Good Brothers, and Michael Nakazawa are hanging out in Kenny's tour bus. They put themselves over for boosting business in Japan and getting their merch sold in Hot Topic, and dare their enemies to come fight them. Omega is having a hard time talking because some jerk won't stop honking their car horn outside the bus. Moxley and Kingston pull up in a truck and crash into the trailer. They enter with weapons only to discover that Omega and friends have hightailed it. Moxley declares them to be "b!tch AF" and they wait to fight another day. This was incredibly well done, especially considering that unless there was some clever editing at play, Moxley and Kingston were actually in the truck that hit the trailer.
Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Christian Cage
They lock up and Hobbs quickly tosses Cage onto the ramp. Outpowered, Christian is forced into luring Hobbs into a baseball slide dropkick. Hobbs retakes control and throws Christian over the rails. Back from commercials, Christian fights out of Hobbs' chinlock. Hobbs viciously blocks the Killswitch. Hobbs casually steps on the chest, but Christian comes firing back with a pendulum kick and flying uppercut. Hobbs answers with a slick spinebuster (that J.R. calls a powerbomb) for 2. It's okay, Jim, I'm sure if someone took a close look at my PBP's, I botch move names constantly. Anonymity is my friend. Anyhoo, Hobbs blocks a spear with a body avalanche and hits a hip attack into the buckles. Christian latches on a sleeper, Hobbs rams him into the buckles, but Christian slips into the Killswitch and wins at 10:30. Hobbs looked awesome while dominating the match, Christian looks lucky to have squeaked out this win, **¾.Winner: Christian Cage
Ricky Starks rushes in to check on Hobbs and locks eyes on Christian.
Jade Cargill video package. She doesn't need a manager but would take one for the right price.
TNT Championship:
Darby Allin © (with Sting) vs. Jungle Boy (with Luchasaurus)
They cautiously lock up and Jungle Boy tries to steal it with a quick roll up while working the arm. Darby back drops out, but JB arm drags him back into an armlock. Darby clotheslines them both over the guard rail because it's time for some commercials. They return with a frantic exchange, resulting in Jungle Boy hitting an overhead suplex into the buckles, followed by a German suplex and Tiger suplex for a great nearfall. Allin answers with a flipping stunner for 2. Jungle Boy comes back with a poison rana of sorts (Excalibur calls it a body scissors) and tope suicida. Second tope by JB, followed by a somersault plancha. Darby recovers with a Coffin Drop onto the apron! Luchasaurus helps JB up, prompting Sting to confront him on the stage. Make your own joke about two dinosaurs duking it out, but they brawl on the stage and disappear into the tunnel. Meanwhile, Jungle Boy nails a Brainbuster and running elbow but Darby kicks out! Come on, JB, last week Darby kicked out of a chair assisted Twist of Fate, you've got to do better than that. JB locks on the Snare Trap but Darby gets the ropes. Jungle Boy applies the rolling Romero Special, and reapplies the Snare Trap. Another rope break, and JB slaps Allin out of frustration. Darby rolls through a sunset flip and rolls JB up to win at 14:47. This is what professional wrestling looks like in 2021, like it or not, ****.Winner and still TNT Champion: Darby Allin
Allin and Jungle Boy are jumped by Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky. Lance Archer rushes in, but they hit him with a double low blow. Sting returns with his magical baseball bat and clears the ring while Jake Roberts watches. Babyfaces have friends in AEW, and it's a beautiful thing.
Final Thoughts: Professional wrestling has brought a lot of joy into my life, as well as much frustration. Dynamite has stumbled a bit in 2021, but seems to be pulling itself back together with Blood n' Guts and Double or Nothing on the horizon. There's a lot to like here.
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