By Geno McGahee
Wrestling is back on TNT! What a great day it is. I was a huge fan of WCW Nitro and have been disgusted with the WWE over the past 20 years since they took over the sport. They are more lost than ever. AEW has answered the call and tonight, it has made quite the impression on the fans and myself with its debut episode.
It’s great to see Tony Schiavone back and even better to see him with Jim Ross on commentary. There is a great deal of WCW woven into the AEW fabric. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I would swear that I took a time machine and went back to the glory days of WCW tonight.
CODY RHODES VS. SAMMY GUEVARA
Cody came out to the ring and you could see the pride he had in AEW, which he was largely involved in. The crowd went crazy and rightfully so. There was excitement in the air and the match with the high-flying Guevara was tremendous. Cody’s strength vs. the mobility and speed of Guevara.
There were a lot of great spots, including a top rope back suplex by Cody and some interference with Brandi, leading to a great win for Cody. This was a great match. Jericho would run out and attack Cody in a brutal attack, setting up their title match in November.
MJF VS. BRANDON CUTLER
One of the biggest stars that AEW has and one of the best heels in recent history, MJF, came to the ring and insulted his opponent, Brandon Cutler and the crowd and even the viewers at home, calling everyone losers. It was hilarious. He hit up Cutler on his enjoyment of Dungeons & Dragons. MJF had a great time making fun of everyone and it was great fun to watch. Tony Schiavone gets a big thumbs up for calling MJF a “little prick.” I was dying.
MJF finally scored a win with a submission and continues his march to super stardom.
JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK…AGAIN
A very thin Kevin Smith (Silent Bob) and Jason Mewes (Jay) were there to promote their new movie when Angelico and Jack Evans interrupted the promo and then Private Party came to the rescue. This segment sort of sucked. I used to love Kevin Smith, but his work hasn’t aged well and his new stuff doesn’t seem promising.
HANGMAN PAGE VS. PAC
Hangman Page, fresh off his loss to Chris Jericho, headed into the match against the Bastard, Pac. Pac is one of the best guys that AEW has, mixing high-flying and classic grappling. Page had a great match, but it was Pac using a low blow and his Brutalizer to end the match. It was the same move that he was able to beat Kenny Omega with. Pac is on the rise in AEW.
RIHO VS. NYLA ROSE – WOMEN’S WORLD TITLE
The 98 pound Riho taking on the beast for all the marbles. Britt Baker was at the commentary booth to give her thoughts about the match, but she didn’t give much. She was relatively quiet as Riho and Nylo used their strengths. Nyla was trying to overpower the quick and elusive Riho. Riho was able to avoid Nyla and hit her with several running knees to win the match and become the first ever AEW women’s champion.
When the Japanese interviewer came into the ring to interview her, Nyla attacked him and power-bombed him. He went into convulsions. It was hilarious. Kenny Omega came out to stop Nyla before she hurt Riho, but that poor interviewer wasn’t spared.
KENNY OMEGA & THE YOUNG BUCKS VS. CHRIS JERICHO, SANTANA & ORTIZ
The main event of the evening. Chris Jericho is doing awesome as the heel champion and we have one hell of a main event here on the debut of AEW. The fight goes back and forth but right when Omega and the Bucks get the advantage, John Moxley attacks, taking Omega out of the match and creating a 2 on 1 match.
As hard as the Bucks fought, they could not beat the odds and the bad guys won, but that wasn’t enough. They kept attacking the Bucks, leading to Cody Rhodes running out. Sammy Guevara ran out next and kicked Cody in the balls. Dustin Rhodes would run out next and all hell was breaking loose and that’s when he appeared: Jack Swagger.
Swagger destroyed everything in his path and we saw a union with Jericho, Ortiz, Santana, Guevara and Swagger, to take on the Elite. Moxley was DDT’ing omega through a glass table in the meantime.
AEW DYNAMITE was just what the wrestling gods ordered. After all these years of hating WWE and wanting to like wrestling, something has finally come along to get me back into the spectacle that I used to love so much. WCW has been reborn in the form of AEW. What a debut!
