All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite: May 22, 2024

May 22, 2024 4:41 PM - Season 5, Episode 34

It's the last Dynamite before Double Or Nothing... let's watch Bryan Danielson fight a giant! Saraya will work a match for the first time since February, tagging with her pet Harley to face Toni Storm and her protege Mariah May. Orange Cassidy and Will Ospreay team up against their current grudges, and AEW Champ Swerve faces Nick Wayne in a preview of this weekend's main event against Wayne's "dad".

The announced card for Dynamite tonight:

FTW Championship Eliminator 3-Way Match: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hook vs. “The Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith (with Chris Jericho on commentary)

Bryan Danielson vs. Satnam Singh

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Matt Sydal

Orange Cassidy and Will Ospreay vs. Trent Beretta and Roderick Strong

Bang Bang Gang will be at Dynamite

“Timeless” Toni Storm and Mariah May vs. Saraya and Harley Cameron

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Malakai Black

Jon Moxley will be in the building

Swerve Strickland vs. Nick Wayne

posted by The Pluto Gangsta (4 comments total)

The opening match went at top speed, with all four men bouncing back-and-forth, especially Roderick Strong using all the ropes to do multiple drive-by shots. Don Callis actually tried to intervene in Orange Cassidy's favor when Roddy's friends distracted the ref, but couldn't stop Wardlow -- the forgotten Undisputed Kingdom member -- from clobbering Will Ospreay from behind and letting Trent manhandle Cassidy for a win. Interesting that the Trent/Orange match is the only non-title, non-stipulation match currently on for DON.

Bang Bang Gang (apparently the "Bullet Club Gold" moniker is over) came out to mock PAC for not seeing last week's ambush coming, but PAC's like "Never mind that shit, REY FENIX IS BACK!" (and looking jacked!) It'll be the full Death Triangle vs. BBG for the trios titles this weekend.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 5:35 PM on May 22

Bryan Keith tapping out to Hook and Shibata at the same time is kind of dopey, but it sets up a triple-threat excuse for Jericho to retain (with Big Bill's intercession, I'm certain).

Takeshita handles Matt Sydal in minimal time with a Ganondorf smash elbow to the head. He'll face Jon Moxley in an "eliminator match" for the IWGP Heavyweight title this Sunday, and just pause and consider that AEW is having their guy fight a DDT Pro guy for the chance at a NJPW title!
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 5:56 PM on May 22

AEW is making sure Swerve comes off as a genuine badass face -- overcoming post-match interference from Christian and Luchasaurus to chase Christian out of the arena and into the parking lot! Christian attempts to GTA an SUV from someone, only to have his escape route blocked by Prince Nana and narrowly avoid getting Con-chair-to'd on the hood.

Then, after Kyle O'Reilly and Malakai Black have a great striker-vs-striker match, the room pulses in red light, and Black gets gallons of chunky viscera dumped on him from above. Adam Copeland comes out on video with the vampire fangs installed -- The Brood is coming back!
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:49 PM on May 22

On his 43rd birthday, Danielson gets the gift of Satnam Singh slapping his entire chest with a single hand... Sanjay Dutt hilariously ruins a chokeslam on the announce desk by accidentally triggering the desk to collapse early. At least Singh gets to plow right through Jeff Jarrett's guitar. The Elite then all jump Danielson together, and then TONY KHAN DRIVES DARBY INTO THE ARENA WITH A FLAMETHROWER.

The entire second hour of the show was a constant upward climb into crazy awesome.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 7:07 PM on May 22