SPECIAL EDITION: Live AEW Dynamite Review
The Grand Slam live in NYC? Don’t mind if I do!
Image courtesy of me
If you would have told me six months ago that I would be seeing a live Dynamite event in New York City this year, I probably would have laughed at you. Well, the joke would have been on me, because little did I know that an epic 21st birthday surprise was waiting just around the corner. Yep, that’s right, my present from my parents for turning 21 was a trip to NYC. They had managed to keep it hidden right up until my birthday, when they started giving me a series of clues to put together for the grand reveal. Safe to say, I was more than stoked. I love America and NYC in particular, so felt lucky and excited to be going back.
Somehow, my mum (the legend that she is) managed to line up the trip so that we could attend an ice hockey match at Madison Square Gardens (best popcorn ever), an NFL match at MetLife Stadium (don’t ask me about the food), a Yankees game at Yankee Stadium (crazy good) as well as the AEW Dynamite Grand Slam event. Given this, this week’s Dynamite review will be a bit different because the match info will be outdated and also because the whole trip was such an awesome adventure that I can’t help but share the whole experience.
Image courtesy of me
Image courtesy of me
I’ll be real with you, when I first found out that I was going to the Dynamite Grand Slam I got pretty emotional. It was so surreal to know that I would get to experience it in person. So, in preparation for the big day, I started researching everything I could to make sure I was fully ready for the epicness.
When the day arrived, I was beyond excited, so waiting for the evening event seemed to take forever. Finally, the time came. After a bit of a search, we finally located the stadium. I did not expect to see tailgaters outside an AEW event, but it was awesome and added to the atmosphere. I also wanted to make sure I was dressed for the occasion, so I bought and wore a new Adam Cole and MJF tag-team shirt, which reads: “Better than you, bay bay”.
Then, we went inside. Let me tell you, I was not prepared for the sheer noise of the crowds at the event. TV doesn’t do the volume of it any justice whatsoever, and it blew any sporting event I’ve been to previously out of the water. I now know that audio editing on the broadcast is not always as it seems, because even the quieter moments in the event were pretty darn loud.
I talk a lot about the energy of the crowds in my reviews, but I cannot begin to describe how incredible it was to be surrounded by it all. The fans were all so enthusiastic, vocal, and energised in person.
Image courtesy of me
Given the event was a Grand Slam, the lineup of wrestlers was pretty great. The first match off the rank was also my favourite, as it featured Claudio Castagnoli and New York native Eddie Kingston. Castagnoli and Kingston have a long history with each other and each hold titles already (ROH World Championship and NJPW Strong respectively), so this grudge-match was bound to be awesome from the outset. Another great match was the title fight between MJF and Samoa Joe, which saw one of my favourite wrestlers (MJF) go up against an absolute icon of the wrestling world (Joe). What I didn’t expect was when Sammy Guevara, who has historically been a babyface, joined Don Callis’ team of heels in a surprising move for the young gun. I did not see it coming, so I will be interested to see how this plays out over time.
All in all, the event surpassed my expectations.
Once Dynamite finished up, we stayed on to watch the Rampage Grand Slam. I was surprised at how the stadium started emptying out, but I figured it was getting later at night so people were getting tired. For me, experiencing the events at night-time really added to the vibe of it all. If I lived there, I would probably be going to every AEW event that came to town (even if it sent me broke).
Outside of the AEW goodness, there were a few other big highlights for me on this trip. The Yankees game was definitely one of them, as the Yankees are my team and a game has been on my bucket list for a long time. Another highlight was when we found ourselves in an LSU-themed sports bar when the LSU game was on - let me tell you, that was a great time and an awesome thing to witness, especially given LSU won. I really enjoyed visiting Madison Square Gardens because of the sheer amount of history there, although I probably would have liked to have seen the Dallas Stars play the Rangers in a revenge match instead (but hey, maybe next time).
New York City is one of those places you fall in love with, and it feels like no matter how long you spend there, you would never run out of things to do. So while I’m sad its over, I had such a brilliant time and cannot wait to get back to do it all again.
I give this trip 5 out of 5 stars…
… and if I could, I would give it more!
