AEW Dynamite Match Review: 29 June 2023
Image courtesy of All Elite Wrestling
A crazy Tornado Tag Team Grudge Match for the ages
Broadcasting from Hamilton, Ontario this week was a Dynamite full of surprises. The local crowd were in for a treat with most of the match taking place outside of the ring, giving some avid fans the chance to get involved in the action. This match also gave us a taste of some potential feuding to come between ‘The Painmaker’ Chris Jericho and ‘The Icon’ Sting. This comes after Jericho crashed a post-Forbidden Door media scrum with Sting, Tony Kahn, and Darby Allin out of nowhere earlier this week, making for some great action between the two in this Tornado Tag Team Grudge Match.
At 64 years of age, Sting is a man who doesn’t let age hold him back from delivering a belting. Teaming up with Darby Allin, the two form a pretty formidable combo in the ring. Allin has a heartbreaking back story and channels his pain into punishment for his adversaries, making him the perfect teammate for Sting.
Image courtesy of All Elite Wrestling
The Painmaker is my favourite personality of Jericho’s because it’s his most theatric look and most relentless persona to date. Not bad, given he is also in his 50’s. Sammy ‘The Spanish God’ Guevara brings an interesting dynamic to his partnership with Jericho, and I’m not sure if the two are as in sync as you’d expect a duo to be. That said, Guevara brings a trademark arrogance to the ring which means he doesn’t disappear in Jericho’s shadow.
After an epic entrance from Jericho, the beef between he and Sting kicks off with a baseball bat jousting match while Allin and Guevara go for each other outside of the ring. The action continues there with Allin copping the brunt of the Irish Whip from Jericho and Guevara, then getting marched through the crowd for a further bit of pain. It was great to see a bit of crowd involvement too, with one guy getting to deliver Allin a chop to the chest. Sting and Allin then got cornered in the crowd by Jericho and Guevara for more of a whooping, with Sting getting choked with his own poster by Jericho. It definitely felt like Jericho and Guevara were seeking revenge for their loss in Forbidden Door.
That said, Sting and Allin didn’t take the payback attempt laying down, and quickly started to regain dominance. The highlight of the match was a ridiculous move delivered by Sting, launching 10-plus feet from a ladder onto Guevara who was laying on two tables below outside of the ring. Needless to say, neither the tables nor Guevara recovered.
Image courtesy of All Elite Wrestling
Things got pretty scrappy from there. Allin attempted to deliver a Coffin Splash to Jericho, which Jericho shut down and followed with the Judas Effect in reply. At the end of it all, veterans Jericho and Sting were left bloodied and head-to-head before Sting’s Scorpion Deadlock submission scored the victory.
This was a grudge match worth watching for sure!
I give this match 3 out of 5 stars:
