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This week's AEW Dynamite proceeded at an enjoyable pace. The balance between matches and promos seemed pretty efficient, as viewers witnessed a newsworthy show from start to finish.
No professional wrestling show is perfect, but this week's episode had something for every type of fan. Most importantly, the people in charge did a good job of building the hype for the upcoming Blood and Guts special episode.
How did NXT fare against AEW in terms of quality this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Here are the five biggest news stories from AEW Dynamite (April 28, 2021).
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#5 Sting and Darby Allin got ambushed by a relatively new duo at the end of AEW Dynamite
The main event of this week's AEW Dynamite featured a TNT Championship contest between Darby Allin (w/ Sting) and The Dark Order's 10 (Preston Vance). The late, great Brodie Lee's history with the TNT title was a significant plot thread when it came to The Dark Order's involvement in this bout.
10 wasn't the first star from the faction who wanted to honor Lee's legacy by attempting to bring the title home. But he certainly wanted to be the first one to succeed in this department.
Although 10 and Allin put on a back-and-forth contest, the latter successfully retained his title with a clever finish. The AEW TNT Championship may be held by a Dark Order member in the future, but now is Allin's time to shine.
After the match, both men acknowledged each other's efforts as Allin sported 10's "Brodie Lee" armband. But when Sting and Allin weren't surrounded by The Dark Order, they got interrupted by Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky.
Page assaulted the TNT Champion, while Sky focused his attack on Sting. Lance Archer and 10 eventually entered the scene to stop the ambush, but the damage was already done.
Sting hasn't had a major feud since his storyline with Team Taz.
But after the latest episode of AEW Dynamite, it seems very likely that Sting will wrestle Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky in a tag team contest. Alternatively, he could face either one of them in a singles match.
#4 Jon Moxley will fight an NJPW legend outside of his feud with AEW's The Elite
The Elite addressed their bitter rivalry with Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston during this week's AEW Dynamite. To deflect responsibility, Kenny Omega said that if Kingston wanted to face the AEW World Champion, he would have to go through one of The Elite's goons — MT Nakazawa.
Later in the night, it became clear that Kingston didn't want to engage in sports entertainment by wrestling Nakazawa. Instead, he got involved in a short brawl with The Elite's minion, threatening to break Nakazawa's ankle and baiting Omega to arrive at the scene.
While Omega just didn't care about Nakazawa's well-being in true heel fashion, Jon Moxley's arrival spelled doom for the AEW World Champion. As the two babyfaces gained more leverage, Kingston threatened to break Omega's ankle unless Don Callis agreed to their demands.
Moxley and Kingston wanted a tag team match against Omega and Nakazawa next week, and Callis reluctantly agreed.
The only issue here is that Kingston could have asked for an AEW World Championship match, and Callis would have most likely still agreed. Why settle for a tag team match instead?
Later in the episode, AEW pushed forward with their "Forbidden Door" narrative and announced a cross-promotional match featuring NJPW legend Yuji Nagata. Two weeks from now, Jon Moxley will defend his IWGP US Championship against Nagata on AEW Dynamite.
Moxley and Nagata have never wrestled before, and this clash promises to be a huge moment for hardcore professional wrestling fans.
#3 Brian Cage defeated the top singles contender on AEW Dynamite
Hangman Page has been on a roll in AEW lately. Before this week's AEW Dynamite, he was undefeated in 2021. However, that streak came to an end thanks to Team Taz's most dominant monster — Brian Cage.
Brian Cage vs. Hangman Page kicked off the latest episode of AEW Dynamite. Team Taz's status has gone downhill in recent months, but Cage temporarily shattered that image by dominating Page throughout their contest.
Despite his physical superiority over Page, Cage still pulled off an upset victory just because of his opponent's status as the top singles contender in AEW.
This particular win also comes off as an interesting decision from a booking standpoint. After all, Page's defeat will change the landscape for every challenger waiting in line to grab a major title shot.
Kenny Omega and Hangman Page's history as former allies in AEW is the perfect long-term storyline for their eventual title clash. Meanwhile, members of Team Taz are currently involved in a program with Christian Cage. So how will Brian Cage's victory over Page make sense in the grander scheme of things?
#2 Chris Jericho cut an exhilarating promo on AEW Dynamite
Next week's AEW Dynamite will feature a Blood and Guts contest between The Inner Circle and The Pinnacle. Without getting involved in a brawl, members of both factions participated in a parley this week to discuss their upcoming fight.
This cage-related match (with two rings) will only end via submit or surrender. The first two men will get a five-minute round, and then every two minutes, another participant will enter. The match will officially start only after all ten men have entered the cage.
Sammy Guevara ended up being the deciding factor when it came to the two-on-one advantage in the Blood and Guts fight. He pointed out Shawn Spears' inability to succeed in any major promotion and surprisingly handed the team advantage to The Pinnacle. The reasoning behind this decision was that since Spears has failed in both WWE and AEW (so far), he will likely lose and bring down The Pinnacle next week, irrespective of the advantage.
Santana and Ortiz also had a verbal exchange with FTR, but it all came down to the faction leaders — Chris Jericho and MJF.
MJF highlighted that Chris Jericho isn't in his prime anymore, and the weight of Jericho carrying AEW on his shoulders since day one will lead to the veteran's downfall. MJF seems ready to take over Le Champion's prestigious position in the professional wrestling industry.
However, Chris Jericho responded with a high-energy promo that encapsulated why MJF will fail next week.
“How do you think you can inherit a spot just because you want it?" Jericho said. "It doesn’t work that way. You want a spot? You’ve gotta earn it. At 25 years old, I headlined arenas in Japan and Mexico and that’s where I learned respect."
Apparently, MJF hasn't learned from his early career mistakes like Chris Jericho did, and the former's foolish pride may lead to The Pinnacle's defeat on AEW Dynamite.
Jericho claimed that The Pinnacle would have to kill The Inner Circle's members to make them surrender. This bold statement likely indicates that the Blood and Guts contest will be one of the most intense AEW matches of all time.
#1 Cody Rhodes returned and engaged in a rooftop brawl during AEW Dynamite
QT Marshall's AEW faction has dominated members of The Nightmare Family in Cody Rhodes' absence. This week, Marshall, Nick Comoroto, and Aaron Solow (w/ Anthony Ogogo) arrived on a fancy bus. The trio faced Dustin Rhodes, Billy Gunn, and Lee Johnson in six-man tag team action.
The tables turned in Marshall's favor when Anthony Ogogo singlehandedly took down the opposition with his devastating punches. QT Marshall's team may have won the match, but it ended up being a bad night for him.
After a post-match brawl, Marshall retreated towards the bus, only to find Cody Rhodes waiting to dismantle him in front of everyone.
The two stars brawled on the roof of the bus as Cody unofficially tapped out his former friend to make a solid statement upon his return.
The entire visual of Cody and Marshall fighting on top of the bus created an iconic AEW Dynamite moment.
Next week, Cody Rhodes and QT Marshall will wrestle each other in singles action. Who do you think will walk out as the winner from their one-on-one clash?
In the video embedded above, do check out Sportskeeda Wrestling's 'The Debrief,' where Jose G and Rico El Glorioso review the latest AEW Dynamite and NXT episodes.
