This week's episode of Dynamite marked two years on television for All Elite Wrestling, so company president Tony Khan packed the show with big matches to make it feel important.
Bobby Fish made his first appearance for the company this week when he challenged Sammy Guevara for the TNT Championship.
The women's division was put in the spotlight when former AEW women's champion Hikaru Shida took on former NWA women's champion Serena Deeb.
The Casino Ladder match returned with Lance Archer, Jon Moxley, Matt Hardy, Orange Cassidy, Pac, Andrade el Idolo and a mystery competitor.
The biggest match on the card both literally and figuratively saw The Elite take on Jurassic Express, Bryan Danielson and Christian Cage.
Let's take a look at everything that happened on Wednesday's Dynamite.
The show opened with all eight men in the ring ready to fight. Justin Roberts made the official introductions for each wrestler before Jungle Boy and Nick Jackson started for their teams.
They began with a fast series of takedowns and counters that ended with Jungle Boy hitting a textbook dropkick. Adam Cole tagged in and stomped a mudhole in Jungle Boy. Cage got the tag and brought Jungle Boy right back in for a double-team. They did this a couple of times.
The Super Elite tried to keep Jungle Boy cornered with quick tags and more double-team offense. When Danielson came in, he unloaded on Matt Jackson with kicks to the chest. He brought in Luchasaurus for a massive chest chop.
Cage took out Michael Nakazawa at ringside before Brandon Cutler sprayed him in the face with cold spray. The Young Bucks hit their signature double-team Tombstone on Cage on the ramp. Nick almost missed on his way down. Cage sold it well.
After taking a lot of damage, Jungle Boy managed to make the hot tag to Danielson. He and Omega ended up taking everybody else out before having a standoff in the middle of the ring. The American Dragon almost had the win before the Bucks broke up a pin.
Everyone came in and started trading big moves until Luchasaurus started running over everybody. The heels tried to hit him with a big powerbomb, but it ended poorly. The Super Elite hit Danielson with a triple superkick before taking out Jungle Boy with a four-man BTE Trigger for the win.
Grade: B+
Analysis
This match had wrestlers who represent the past, present and future of this business. The mix of veterans and young talents allowed for some interesting combinations of opponents.
A couple of the high-flying spots came off as contrived, but that is almost impossible to avoid with a group of this size. Certain spots require a lot of setup to get right. Some might say that is why some of those spots should be avoided, but the crowd clearly loved every bit of it.
It felt like the big sequence at the end went on a little too long and led to some of the moves looking a little sloppy. Other than that, this was a fun match designed to get a lot of pops from the crowd. It succeeded in that goal and then some.
CM Punk came out and said he will never get tired of the crowd cheering him on. He talked about his new Jordans before talking about how he got into this business in Philadelphia. He said he is glad to be part of this community again. He threw down a challenge to Daniel Garcia to meet him on Rampage this week. We also saw a quick video of Arn Anderson trying to give Cody Rhode a pep talk.
Fish and Guevara locked up after a brief staredown. Fish hit a flurry of strikes but missed the big roundhouse at the end.
The Spanish God showed his agility with some leapfrogs and flips before hitting a dropkick. Fish regained the upper hand with a stiff back elbow.
We returned from a commercial break to see Guevara trying to make a comeback before Fish hit a back suplex to score a two-count. The champ hit a Spanish Fly out of nowhere to give himself a little room to breathe.
He climbed to the top rope, but Fish kicked his leg out from under him. He hit a falcon arrow from the top, but Guevara kicked out at two. The TNT champion was able to make a comeback and scored the win with his finisher.
Grade: B+
Analysis
Fish has been known for his striking and grappling ability for a long time, so he brought the brutality while Guevara brought the high-flying offense.
This was a solid match with some great moments for both guys. We don't know if this was a one-off appearance or if Fish will do more with AEW, but he is off to a great start if he decides to stick around.
Guevara looked especially crisp in this bout. He made some difficult moves look smooth.
Darby Allin got the action started right away by hitting a dive from the top rope during his entrance. After his initial flurry, Nick Comoroto overpowered him with a bodyslam.
We returned from a break to see Allin hit a Coffin Drop almost immediately for the win. QT Marshall came in and hit Sting with a cutter, but the legend popped right back up to his feet and kicked him in the groin. He spiked Marshall with a Scorpion Death Drop.
Grade: C
Analysis
Most of this match happened during a commercial break. Even with the picture-in-picture feature, it still came across as a weird booking choice. Most people use commercials to go to the bathroom or grab a snack, not watch a tiny part of the screen.
The little bit we did see was fine, but it was too quick to do anything other than pop the crowd for Allin's finisher.
After Tony Schiavone introduced a new TBS Championship for the women's division, Shida and Deeb made their entrances for this match.
They started out with some basic arm drags and wristlocks. They came to a stalemate, and Shida offered her hand as a show of respect. Deeb slapped her instead.
The former AEW women's champion cornered her for some mounted strikes before she hit a running knee on the apron. Deeb prevented her from using a chair as a launchpad before the show suddenly cut to a break.
We returned to see Shida hit a front facelock spin before heading to the top rope for a missile dropkick. After kicking out of a nice pinning combination, Shida hit a crossbody from the middle rope.
Deeb hit a chop block and a swinging neckbreaker for a two-count. Shida came back with a falcon arrow for another near-fall. The former NWA women's champion raked Shida's eyes and hit the detox for a close two-count. She locked in the Serenity Lock for the submission victory.
Grade: A-
Analysis
Deeb is considered one of the best technicians on the planet, and for that reason, Dean Malenko granted her the nickname The Woman of 1,000 Holds.
She and Shida showed good chemistry during this match. They each had plenty of time to hit the moves they wanted and made each one look good.
The most important thing was that they didn't rush. They worked a steady pace and sold big moves for the appropriate amount of time. From a technical standpoint, this was the match of the night.
This match had seven participants and a lot of action, so the recap has been kept to big moments and the outcome to keep it at a reasonable length.
Pac and Cassidy started in the ring. They didn't even have a chance to climb a ladder before El Idolo made his entrance as the third competitor. He hit Pac with a huge sunset flip from the ladder.
Hardy was the fourth man to enter the match, and he went right after Cassidy with a Side Effect. Lance Archer made his entrance during the commercial break.
Moxley was up next, and Archer met him in the crowd to get the fight started. The Joker was revealed to be Hangman Adam Page. He went for Mox as soon as he hit the ring.
He took out everyone by himself before Pac hit him with a chair. Hardy put Cassidy through a table with a leg drop from the ladder. After fighting off Moxley, Hangman grabbed the oversized poker chip to claim the win.
Grade:B+
Analysis
Having this match begin with two competitors with one added every couple of minutes helped keep it from getting out of hand too quickly. That has always been the problem with the Money in the Bank match. There is chaos from the moment the bell rings. This setup allowed for more buildup.
Considering how much AEW enjoys big spots, the lack of moves involving the ladders was surprising. They were used but not nearly as often as you would have expected. It actually made it more meaningful each time it was used.
Page being The Joker was a cool moment to bring him back. The crowd gave him an incredible response. This was another solid episode of Dynamite with some great action and logical storyline developments.
