3 Big Takeaways from AEW Dynamite (February 16, 2022)

AEW Dynamite lit the fuse on Wednesday night, and the show exploded right off the bat.

It started with a terrific CM Punk promo and ended with a spectacular TNT title match. In between, there were very few wasted seconds. Punk, MJF, Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Keith Lee, and several others were featured or highlighted.

There was a women's No DQ match. Adam Cole set the stage for an upcoming title match with Hangman Page and, um... oh yeah! Sabrina the Teenage Witch and John Kreese also showed up.

Needless to say, it was a wild night. It was a jam-packed episode, but let's take a look at three particular things that stuck out in this week's AEW Dynamite.

#3 Starting the show with a CM Punk promo was an excellent way to kick things off.

Punk was already in the ring as the show went live, and that's when you knew right away that AEW wasn't messing around. Punk gave a very measured promo and eviscerated MJF.

Their feud continues to blossom wholeheartedly. Tonight's opening segment saw Punk produce a picture of a young Maxwell Jacob Friedman meeting one of his heroes (none other than Punk himself).

After challenging MJF to a classic, old-school dog collar match, MJF appeared only to show off some acting chops and displayed some great emotions. The youngster conveyed concern and surprise before walking away in silence without saying a word.

Mind games continue on the road to Revolution. Let's hope AEW continues into the summer with this feud because it's worth investing time in.

#2 Jericho and Hager vs. Proud and Powerful produced the desired results.

We saw a victory by Santana & Ortiz pretty much seal the deal that The Inner Circle has completely dissolved. The pair walked off victoriously alongside Eddie Kingston, while Jericho could only look on helplessly as referees held him back.

This continues with the recent push of Proud and Powerful. They have to be the favorites to become the next AEW World Tag Team Champions soon.

The bout also illuminated how Chris Jericho is returning into his old heel role in the promotion. That's a good thing because he's much funnier and more entertaining when he's on the other side of the rulebook.

#1 It looks like Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley will meet at AEW Revolution.

We had another face-off between the American Dragon and the Wild Thing, as Danielson demanded that Mox come out and give him an answer. The basic premise being: Are they going to join forces or not?

Moxley came out and went over the pros and cons of either befriending or fighting Danielson. He told the latter that he doesn't clash with anyone until he bleeds with them.

This looks like it might lead to a first blood match at AEW Revolution, but it may just end up being a straight-up bout. The only stipulation we can probably count on is that if Bryan Danielson can defeat Jon Moxley, he will join whatever group the star is trying to assemble.

This week's episode of Dynamite was, to borrow a term, total non-stop action. It started fast and rarely slowed down. Tonight was about putting the card together for Revolution, and they did that perfectly with this particular show.

What did you think of this week's episode of AEW Dynamite? Please share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.