HEYDORN’S DYNAMITE RECEIPT 12/22: C.M. Punk and Sting show off chemistry in fun six-man main event

This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.

-Adam Cole and Orange Cassidy had a nice match to open the show this week. Not surprising given both are very talented, but a fun way to open the show nonetheless. Is it the best way to get Adam Cole primed for the top of the card? No, but for what it was, it worked.

-Who saw that coming?! Kyle O’Reilly is now in AEW. Shocking right? I’m laying the sarcasm on thick, but this was obvious and obvious isn’t always bad. Overall, the debut was low key compared to others and that worked. Based on the angle, we’re going to get an Elite and Era storyline with Adam Cole as the focus as middle man between both sides. It’s a big story for the company and one that needs to be rooted in serious content to be most effective. Elite vs. Era is a money match for AEW if done right.

-It’s time for Adam Page to act like the champion. Look, the story arch that was told around Page throughout AEW’s existence was about growth. That was the root to it all – Page growing, changing, and building confidence to win the big match. That played out brilliantly. Let’s not relive it though. We’ve been there and done that. Page needs to continue to show growth. Walking out and declaring he doesn’t feel like a champion after lasting 60 minutes against Bryan Danielson is a double down on the Page doubt. There was no reason to do that. As champion, you must be beaten and he wasn’t. Page didn’t have to hang his hat on that fact, but articulating confidence with the underlying mission to pin Danielson was important to finesse and he missed there.

-Page vs. Danielson on the first TBS Dynamite episode is great business for AEW. Smart booking.

-Nice try, AEW. Nice try! Dan Lambert isn’t going to get Cody cheered. Not going to happen. I still think Cody knows that and is feeding this madness, but we’ll see.

-How about that Owen Hart tribute video? Wow. That was quite the piece of work and hit hard because we haven’t seen much deep tributes to Owen on television due to strained relationships with WWE. This was emotional, very memorable, and the tournament is sure to be can’t miss stuff.

-Nyla Rose vs. Ruby Soho had the best match in the TBS Tournament thus far. Good psychology and storytelling throughout and great selling by Soho to carry that narrative through the match. More and more it feels like Soho is going to be wearing that TBS Championship as its first champion.

-Where’s the Malaki Black, Black Mass on Brian Pillman Jr GIF at? Anyone? That’s a must have as soon as possible. Wow.

-The six-man main event delivered in a lot of ways. Most importantly, the ring work and match clicked and highlighted the styles of all involved. Darby Allin had some wild moments including the dive through the ropes and C.M. Punk and Sting showed off good chemistry as well. MJF and FTR have always gelled well since linking up and this match was no different. Outside of the ring work, the match fed Punk vs. MJF as neither one touched during the match due to MJF ducking Punk at every turn. Ultimately, the match was fun and delivered another way to keep the Punk/MJF program going in a unique way. Win, win.

CATCH-UP: HEYDORN’S NXT 2.0 RECEIPT 12/21: Grayson Waller gets prime developmental face time with A.J. Styles