Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of AEW Dynamite on February 21.
We are just under two weeks away from Revolution, but All Elite Wrestling still made sure to pack its weekly Wednesday show with some fun action.
Here is a look at the card advertised for this week's Dynamite:
- Toni Storm in action
- Deonna Purrazzo in action
- Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley vs. FTR
- Brian Cage, Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland vs. Hook, Rob Van Dam and "Hangman" Adam Page
Let's take a look at everything that happened on Wednesday's show.
BCC vs. FTR
Moxley and Castagnoli came out to "Wild Thing" to kick off this week's Dynamite, which has almost become a tradition for any show Mox is on lately.
Cash Wheeler and Moxley started for their teams. Wheeler tried to wrestle his rival down to the mat, but Moxley just nailed him with a forearm to daze him.
Dax Harwood's shoulder was heavily taped up, so it came as no surprise to see Wheeler lifting the heavier load early in the match. Both teams made tags several times during the first half, but the action eventually spilled out of the ring with all four men.
This was not a technical clinic despite three of the competitors being celebrated technicians, but it was still a fun, hard-hitting fight that made all four guys look tough.
This match kept getting better as it went. Every time the announcer revealed how much time was left, it added to the sense of urgency. The bell rang as FTR was about to hit the Shatter Machine, making it a draw.
The crowd began chanting "Five more minutes" and when both teams started fighting, the ref called for security to break it up. They kept finding ways to keep fighting despite the dozen people trying to keep them apart.
Result: Draw
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Opening with "Wild Thing" is a great way to get the crowd in the right mindset for the evening.
- The spot when Mox and Wheeler were headbutting each other was good but didn't make a ton of sense.
- Castagnoli was so casual as he walked up to Moxley to save him from Harwood on the outside. It was pretty funny.
- Wheeler's hot tag sequence after the break was awesome.
- The dueling Sharpshooters was a fun spot.
Mike Bennett vs. Orange Cassidy
During an interview with Renee Paquette, a doctor told Orange Cassidy he was cleared to compete, so he decided to step into the ring against Mike Bennett to continue his feud with The Undisputed Kingdom.
Cassidy charged at Matt Taven and took him out with an Orange Punch before he and Bennett fought their way to the squared circle.
Roderick Strong ran to the ring to provide a distraction so Bennett could hit a low blow. For several minutes, Bennett had firm control over the match.
OC made his usual comeback and won with Beach Break. Predictably, the rest of The Undisputed Kingdom came out to attack.
The thing nobody saw coming was Jake Hager coming to OC's rescue. This is an interesting development, but we will need to hear from Hager about why he saved OC despite having no previous history with him.
Result: Orange Cassidy defeated Mike Bennett
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- OC being more aggressive has been so good for his character progression.
- The suicide dive from OC was filmed well. AEW used a good angle so it was a surprise to viewers at home.
- Ruby Soho and Angelo Parker were shown leaving for a date.
Toni Storm and Deonna Purrazzo in Action
After a segment with Daniel Garcia being told he would be facing Christian Cage for the TNT title at Revolution, Storm came out for her performance.
The local talent she faced tried to get in a little offense, but a Thesz press from the champ put her on the mat.
To prove a point, Storm used Purrazzo's signature Venus De Milo submission to get a quick win.
This was the definition of a squash match.
Result: Toni Storm won
Grade: Incomplete
Before Storm was even gone from ringside, Purrazzo made her way to the ring to upstage her. Her opponent for the night was AEW coach Madison Rayne.
They shook hands before locking up to show mutual respect. Unlike the previous bout, this was a competitive fight between two experienced wrestlers.
The pace was a bit on the slow side, but most of what they did looked great. The bout may have been a better fight, but the outcome was just as predictable as Storm's was.
Purrazzo is preparing for her first AEW title shot, so there was no way she was going to be booked to lose this close to the pay-per-view.
Unfortunately, a late-match botch that led to Rayne falling right on top of her head took the wind out of the contest's sails. She was able to finish the match, but it was only a moment later. Let's hope she is alright.
Result: Deonna Purrazzo defeated Madison Rayne
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Storm being billed from Stage 7 at Warner Studios is hilarious.
- Keeping Storm in black and white while showing Purrazzo in full color in the same shot is such a simple but effective way to use her gimmick.
- The spot with Rayne falling on top of her head was scary.
Joe, Swerve and Cage vs. Hook, Hangman and RVD
The main event of this week's show was a trios bout with Hook, RVD and Hangman taking on Swerve, Joe and Cage.
Hook and Joe kicked things off with a basic lockup that ended with Joe easily shoving the young man to the mat. After the veteran tried to big-time him a bit, Hook managed to take him down with a clothesline, which only served to anger the AEW champion.
As soon as Hangman and Swerve were in the ring together, they were brawling. This match saw several combinations of opponents, but Swerve and Hangman felt like the main focus, even with Joe involved in the bout.
This was the usual AEW trios match with a lot of multi-man spots and no attempt to keep the illegal partners out of the ring.
This was fine, but it felt like something was missing. It's tough to say what it was because it felt like all six men were doing their best.
Hangman put Swerve through the announce table with a powerbomb, but Joe was able to win for his team by choking out RVD.
Result: Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland and Brian Cage defeated Hook, RVD and Adam Page
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Wardlow came to the ring and gave a long rant about not getting the opportunities he deserved before this match.
- It's been great to see Cage getting more matches on AEW TV. He's a talented performer with some unique qualities for a powerhouse.
- RVD has so many signature moves that he can fill a few minutes of a match just with those.
The Final Word
Wednesday's Dynamite started off strong with BCC vs. FTR, but a few moments through the rest of the show kept it from being as good as it could have been.
The scary botch with Rayne and Ric Flair's weird segment backstage stood out the most for bad reasons, but most of what we saw in the ring was decent.
The main event fell short of the opening bout, so the show felt a bit lopsided. If you only watch one match, make it BCC vs. FTR.
Grade: C+
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