From faction-related drama to an Unsanctioned Lights Out main event, this week's edition of AEW Dynamite featured many contrasting moments.
AEW Dynamite: St. Patrick's Day Slam may not have been the most engaging special episode as a whole. But the main event ensured that this episode would have a special place in the history of AEW Dynamite.
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 this week's episode of AEW Dynamite (March 17, 2021).
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#5 Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston teamed up for the first time in their AEW careers
Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston faced IMPACT Wrestling's Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) on this week's AEW Dynamite.
Gallows and Anderson recently lost their IMPACT World Tag Team Championships to FinJuice at the Sacrifice pay-per-view. The title loss allowed AEW to book them in a losing position this week without any major consequences.
As a result, Moxley successfully rolled up Anderson and earned a victory for himself and Kingston. After the match, The Good Brothers assaulted Moxley, which led to Kenny Omega getting involved in the one-sided brawl.
Even though Kingston tried to help out his friend, the numbers were stacked against the babyfaces. Eventually, The Young Bucks ran out and talked down their pseudo-allies to prevent them from seriously injuring Moxley and Kingston.
The Bucks made it clear that they didn't approve of Omega and his crew's actions inside the ring. Matt and Nick Jackson did not engage in The Elite's hand gesture taunts either.
It seems that the AEW World Tag Team Champions have broken off their friendship with Kenny Omega as well. Since The Good Brothers are no longer the IMPACT Tag Team Champions, it is possible that they could challenge The Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Team Championships soon.
After all, Don Callis is the main catalyst behind The Elite's drama. It makes sense for him to push for Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson's inclusion in AEW's tag team division.
#4 MJF revealed the name of his new faction on AEW Dynamite
The biggest news story from last week's AEW Dynamite featured The Inner Circle's drama with MJF. When MJF was kicked out of the faction for being a master manipulator, he lived up to his reputation and introduced a brand new faction of his own.
FTR, Tully Blanchard, Shawn Spears, Wardlow, and MJF will be known as "The Pinnacle," which was revealed during this week's AEW Dynamite.
Tully spoke about the formation of The Pinnacle and compared it to his time with the legendary Four Horsemen:
"34 years ago I was with the greatest group of guys in the history of professional wrestling. And I’m going to finish my career with the greatest group of guys in professional wrestling. You can mark the words.”
MJF expressed his frustrations at being overshadowed by Chris Jericho for several months. But in the end, it was all worth it for MJF because he achieved his main goal — to destroy The Inner Circle from the inside.
Since The Inner Circle's members weren't present in the arena during this week's AEW Dynamite, The Pinnacle's immediate goal was to take over their locker room. MJF and his crew lived up to their word and accomplished that goal later in the night.
Despite MJF's hatred for Chris Jericho, the two are very similar to each other in many ways. It's almost as if the young heel is being set up to take over the reins from Jericho in the long run.
#3 Darby Allin paid tribute to Brodie Lee on AEW Dynamite
Darby Allin's feud with Team Taz has slightly affected his responsibilities as the AEW TNT Champion in recent memory. This week, Allin promised to be a great TNT Champion now that he has moved past Team Taz on AEW Dynamite.
Since winning the TNT title in November 2020, Allin has only been able to defend it three times. Thanks to this fact, Allin admitted that his reign so far has been a "joke." However, he wanted to change the narrative from this point onward and defend the title week in and week out.
According to Allin, the first step to accomplishing this goal is by paying tribute to the greatest TNT Champion of all time — the late great Brodie Lee.
"I want to start by paying tribute to the greatest TNT Champion of all time. Dark Order, if you want this belt back, step up, it’s an open challenge.”
Members of the Dark Order were given a chance to bring back the TNT title to their faction. Later in the night, John Silver was picked as the contender to challenge for the said title next week.
It's unlikely that Darby Allin will lose his championship gold at the moment. However, next week's match could lead to a long-term angle in AEW. Thanks to Hangman Page's association with The Dark Order, will he enter the TNT title picture soon?
#2 Brian Cage teased some conflict between him and Team Taz on AEW Dynamite
Brian Cage and Ricky Starks failed to squash Sting and Darby Allin's threat during the AEW Revolution pay-per-view. However, fans did not expect there to be an inner-conflict angle between Team Taz's members on AEW Dynamite.
When Allin wanted any one of The Dark Order's members to challenge him for the TNT Championship, Sting stood by his side.
The Murderhawk Monster Lance Archer and Jake Roberts interrupted Sting and Allin's segment on AEW Dynamite. Archer sent a warning to the enigmatic duo. He was sick of Sting getting all the television time and disagreed with the internet's favorable opinion of Allin. Roberts also teased a potential match between Archer and Sting down the line.
Just as Roberts and Archer walked away from the scene, Team Taz showed up in full force. While it seemed like Team Taz wanted to continue their feud with Sting and Allin, Brian Cage had a different opinion of his own. Cage directly addressed Sting and revealed that he had nothing but respect for The Icon.
"After that street fight, I gotta say: I respect you. And I gotta say Ricky Starks is wrong. With or without your bat, you are still The Icon.”
Clearly, Team Taz's members were unhappy with Cage's comments. However, the latter pushed through his allies and went backstage.
Will Brian Cage leave Team Taz in the long run?
Additionally, QT Marshall's potential exit from The Nightmare Family was also teased earlier during the episode. It's safe to say that the faction-related drama became quite overwhelming on this week's AEW Dynamite.
#1 Dr. Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa brutalized each other in a historic AEW main event
The first-ever women's main event match on AEW Dynamite did not disappoint. Dr. Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa proved that they deserved their main event spot in AEW.
During the Unsanctioned Lights Out contest, the inclusion of thumbtacks and other foreign objects led to a whole lot of blood being spilled in the ring. Both women took each other to their limits by engaging in brutal warfare.
“When will this madness end for these two women?" - Jim Ross.
Rebel also got involved in the match to turn the tables in Baker's favor. Ironically, Rebel went through a table herself during the bout. Unfortunately for Baker, her opponent proved to be the better competitor at the end of the night. Rosa was able to pin her opponent after delivering a Fire Thunder Driver through the table.
The AEW women's division has received a lot of criticism in the past, especially when it came to their overall booking. Currently, the division seems to be heading in the right direction.
Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa is a major milestone in that regard, as the match will go down in history as one of the most defining moments for the women in AEW.
In the video embedded above, do check out SK Wrestling's 'The Debrief,' where Jose G and Rico El Glorioso review the latest episodes of AEW Dynamite and NXT.