AEW Dynamite: The Ship of Jericho
People either love or hate wrestling. I happen to be a fan of the new league All Elite Wrestling. The association was started over a bet on twitter and spiraled into a highly rated TV show on TNT and has been recently extended to 2023.
This particular episode (1/22/19) was unique because it took place on Chris Jericho’s Rock n’ Wrestling Rager at Sea cruise ship. It’s a four-day cruise ship from Miami to the Bahamas and back full of wrestling shows as well as performances by Jericho’s band Fozzy.
The night was full of epic showdowns between top AEW contenders like Jurassic Express, Jon Moxley, Britt Baker D.M.D., and MJF, to name a few. Overall the fights had me on the edge of my seat with near falls and German-suplexes.
The matches include a tag team match between Kenny Omega and Adam Page vs. SCU, Britt Baker D.M.D. vs. Priscilla Kelly, a three-person tag team match between Jurassic Express vs. Inner Circle’s Chris Jericho, Santana and Ortiz, MJF vs. Joey Janela, and the final match with the #1 contender spot on the line between Jon Moxley and Pac.
While being entertaining, there are some issues in the episode, specifically predictability. If you follow the storylines, then it’s very predictable how some of these fights are going to end. Despite the predictability, they do have those moments where they keep you engaged in the match and rooting for your favorite.
Another thing AEW needs to work on for the weekly show is the women’s division. The match between Britt Baker D.M.D., yes, a real dentist, and Priscilla Kelly, a new name on the AEW roster, fell flat amongst the other events. It didn’t have any real stand out moments, and the match was forgettable. Personally, I think it was the lack of experience on Kelly’s part. It was a bitter fight for a new contender, and one of the worst women’s division fights I have seen.
While predictability and the issues with the women’s division were noted in the episode, it was still as entertaining as it always is. The thing I love the most about the AEW wrestlers is their acrobatic ability. The way they can somersault around, and zip past their opponents still leaves me in awe and wanting more.
My favorite match of the night was between Jurassic Express and the Inner Circle. The two groups are equal fan favorites. I was rooting for Jurassic Express for three reasons. First, I loved the idea that Chris Jericho might lose on his own cruise ship. Second, I know Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus from outside the ring. Jungle Boy is Luke Perry’s son, Jack Perry, and I watched Luchasaurus (Austin Matelson) on season 17 of Big Brother. The final reason is Marko Stunt and his exuberant personality. He is 5’2” and barely weighs 100lbs, yet he will still go up against guys twice his size.
Of course, this cannot be a show on a cruise ship without someone going into some form of water. I was delighted that the person who was thrown into the pool was none other than MJF, one of AEW’s many villains, but definitely the most annoying one. After his win against Joey Janela, MJF taunted his foe Cody Rhodes, who, due to stipulations previously made, can’t touch MJF until the upcoming paper view. Cody made sure he didn’t touch MJF, but his best buds, the Young Bucks, were fair game. The brothers super kicked him and then dragged him over to the pool that happened to be about 30 feet away from the ring, and threw the loudmouth in the pool.
AEW Dynamite airs on Wednesday nights on TNT. The paper view Revolution is airing on Bleacher Report Live on Saturday, February 29th live from Chicago. The lineup will be announced soon for who is fighting.
