Full results and grades from this special one-hour AEW Dynamite.
With all of the NBA Playoff madness going on, AEW was given an extra full hour of programming dubbed “Late Night Dynamite”. When it was initially announced, a lot of questions were up in the air about the hour.
Could this attract NBA Playoff viewers? How many (if any) big names/matches should be included? Could this be a preview of when that third hour of Dynamite could be taking place and how it would be structured?
Well, for that third question, whenever that third hour airs, it definitely won’t be as late as when this episode eventually aired. The episode started a little after 12:30 am. It’ll certainly be interesting to see what the ratings are not just for this show, but for the program that preceded it, Inside the NBA, as I’m sure there were plenty of viewers tuning in just to see if Dynamite is on yet.
Regardless of when it aired, the show still had three matches, so let’s look at them all.
Scorpio Sky vs Benjamin Carter
Result: Scorpio Sky pins Benjamin Carter
This was an interesting matchup, as Sky had been dominating on Dark to prepare for a singles run until fairly recently, and Carter has been making waves with his recent Dark matches against Ricky Starks and Lee Johnson (the latter of which aired earlier that night). The match itself was explosive and fun, with plenty of quick maneuvers. With this being Carter’s big chance on TV, he did an excellent job at showing off his skills, and his and Sky’s move-sets complimented each other wonderfully. After numerous near falls, Sky picked up the win and the two showed that a face vs face test of strength match can work really well.
Grade: A
Between almost immediately introducing Chris Jericho on commentary (practically a household name in terms of modern wrestlers) and having such an attention-grabbing match first, AEW definitely did their best to keep the NBA fans still watching from going to bed and wake up any sleepy AEW fans tuning in. Hopefully, this will build more momentum for a great Scorpio Sky singles run, and perhaps a Benjamin Carter signing. Tony Khan, if you are reading this, please make it so.
Anna Jay vs. Brandi Rhodes
Result: Anna Jay wins by submission
This match had the most story behind it, as Brandi was trying to get revenge for the Dark Order’s prior attack on Cody, with Anna Jay attacking her specifically. After a successful face vs face match, it was interesting to have Brandi come out of the heel side, thus making this a heel vs heel match. Brandi’s character has seemingly been switching back and forth a lot in recent memory, but given what happened to her before the match, it would have made perfect sense for her to be a face here.
The action in this match was solid, and the two wrestlers did a great job of making the viewer believe that they hate each other. At one point, Brandi hit Anna with the Shot of Brandi, but the referee was distracted by Stu Grayson and Evil Uno, thus allowing Anna Jay to escape. The timing of the Dark Order coming out when they did was a little too convenient – they perhaps could have just stayed at ringside, and it does force me to wonder why no one from the Nightmare Family was with Brandi – but it did do a good job at showing the Dark Order’s devious nature.
It was neat to see Anna Jay win the match, especially with a submission hold with a name as cool as “The Queen Slayer”. Conversely, Brandi being knocked out rather than tapping out really showed her resolve and desire to still get her vengeance.
Grade: B+
Anna Jay is proving to be a very interesting player in the Women’s Division. Between this feud with Brandi, her joining the Dark Order, and her friendship with Tay Conti, there’s a lot to be excited about.
Matt Sydal vs. Shawn Spears
Result: Shawn Spears pins Matt Sydal
Before the match, as Scorpio Sky was being interviewed backstage, Matt Sydal decided to join in, and this strangely enough didn’t end with a minor fight breaking out. Sky was putting Benjamin Carter over, Sydal was putting Sky over, and Sky in turn put Sydal over. I don’t think this is the start of a new faction or anything, but it was nice to have a good positive interview.
As for the match, the setup was that at All Out’s Battle Royale, Sydal not only attacked Spears before entering the ring, but he also eliminated Spears. As the match progressed, you can’t help but root for Sydal after his painful botch at that Battle Royale.
As expected, Spears went for an aggressive and violent approach, while Sydal worked with agility and speed, leading to some neat spots when the two styles clashed. Spears already has a reputation for being ruthless in the ring, and this match was sort of a revenge match for him after being eliminated by Sydal, but it didn’t feel like he had much of an opportunity to get really ruthless during the match beyond putting the weight in his glove at the end to get the upper-hand as he usually does. However, the finish itself was well done.
Grade: B
I’m very glad this match happened, as it gave Sydal the opportunity to really show his stuff in one-one-one action without any botches or multi-man mishaps, and the match itself was still great to watch. However, it just didn’t quite have as much of an excitement factor as the first match nor the compelling storyline of the second. An attempted post math beatdown by Spears was interrupted by Scorpio Sky, no doubt building to an eventual Sky/Spears match. Both are trying to keep their respective momentums going, so it should be a fun matchup.
Overall, this was a great extra hour of Dynamite. Other than the inclusion of Jericho on commentary – a move AEW does tend to make when they want to draw ratings – it was interesting to see them choose to do a card that doesn’t have any big name vs big name matches to try and draw viewers, and even including two wrestlers that have yet to be officially signed.
Perhaps this was a bit of a testing ground for Carter and Sydal – and if so, both passed with flying colors – and the focus was more on just having some solid matches for those who decided to stay up. And solid matches they were.
Late Night Dynamite also proved to be a really good template for what a third hour of AEW programming could look like: strong matches that shine a needed spotlight on other members of the roster with some sparse but good interview/promo work mixed in. So if you decided to DVR this instead of watching it live, well, sorry to have the results spoiled, but I’d say you have a lot to look forward to.