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From Cody defeating Shawn Spears in the main event to Matt Hardy inviting Chris Jericho for The Elite Deletion in The Hardy Compound, this week's edition of AEW Dynamite featured some contrasting moments.
This week's episode of Dynamite was fine under the circumstances. We have seen AEW do much better in empty arena shows. But with all things considered, they still managed to put on a more entertaining show, than say, this week's RAW after WrestleMania 36 episode.
With the TNT Championship Tournament underway, last night's Dynamite felt more important than the previous week's show. AEW has managed to use pre-recorded vignettes to their advantage under current restrictions as well.
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What were your thoughts on this episode? How did NXT fare against AEW in terms of quality this week? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Here are the 5 biggest news stories from this week's episode of AEW Dynamite (April 8, 2020).
#5: Chris Jericho was great on commentary this week
Tony Schiavone has been teaming up with AEW talent on-air since Jim Ross and Excalibur are unavailable under current restrictions.
There was a lack of energy felt during the past few episodes when Cody and Kenny Omega joined Schiavone on commentary.
However, Chris Jericho brought a fresh bundle of excitement on-air this week.
Both men had great chemistry as a duo, and Le Champion could easily consider this profession as an adequate career after retiring from in-ring action.
Jericho and Schiavone added a lot to Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida's opening bout and Le Champion's bias for the heel talent didn't distract viewers from in-ring action in any way.
Chris Jericho may be one of the biggest stars of the show as well as the first-ever AEW Champion to carry the company on his shoulders, but the man truly lived up to his status as the jack of all trades on commentary this week.
#4: Britt Baker had her nose broken and bloodied by Hikaru Shida
Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida were scheduled to take on each other in singles competition this week.
As of this moment, Shida is the top-ranked contender to face the AEW Women's World Champion, Nyla Rose. Britt Baker would move ahead in the rankings if she could defeat Shida last night.
Baker has also received a lot of TV Time, so the odds weren't stacked against either competitor during their encounter.
Both women put on a great bout, and Baker came out as the more popular star despite the fact that Hikaru Shida won the match eventually. The top-ranked contender broke her opponent's nose.
But that wasn't the only moment which made Baker look like a legit star. Jericho kept putting her over on commentary as a wrestler who stands out from the rest in terms of star-power.
Baker also addressed Schiavone on camera during the bout, which was a great touch right after Jericho mentioned her awareness of playing towards the cameras at all times.
So even if Shida and Rose may be AEW's primary women's program, Britt Baker's popularity is exactly what this division needs in excess quantities.
#3: Matt Hardy invited Chris Jericho to The Hardy Compound as AEW hyped Jon Moxley and Jake Hager's title match via video packages
After WrestleMania 36, Cinematic Wrestling has become the hot topic of conversation all over the internet.
As we all know, Matt Hardy is directly responsible for pushing this idea into a mainstream landscape, and another version of The Ultimate Deletion match was inevitable ever since Hardy moved to AEW.
Since then, it has become apparent that Hardy has a huge amount of creative control over his bizarre segments. The Broken One invited Chris Jericho to his compound for The Elite Deletion in a video promo during this week's episode.
One can only imagine what will happen when you fuse the creative inputs of Jericho and Hardy in a Cinematic Match in AEW.
Jon Moxley and Jake Hager will battle it out in a No Holds Barred Match for the AEW World Championship next week. Interestingly, we saw a more down-to-earth side of Hager through another video package, while Moxley remained his hardcore self and stated that both competitors are not in the business of putting smiles on people's faces.
AEW made the smart decision by using video packages to hype a title match under these unique circumstances.
#2: Kenny Omega & Michael Nakazawa faced Best Friends in a ridiculously entertaining bout
Comedy and Pro-Wrestling go hand-in-hand, but fans are always split on this topic even to this day.
Fans witnessed a slapstick bout that featured Michael Nakazawa & Kenny Omega teaming up against Best Friends (Chuck Taylor, Trent) (w/ Orange Cassidy) on this week's episode.
You know that a match is overly-slapstick when someone like Jericho is cringing on commentary throughout its entirety. Most of the bout's ridiculousness centered around Michael Nakazawa and a bottle of baby oil.
Both Nakazawa and Omega have been friends for years. Nakazawa wanted them to team up under the moniker, 'Best Friends' as well. Chuckie T. & Trent, the actual Best Friends won this bout and all four men embraced each other after it was all over.
Best Friends versus Best Friends was the most entertaining match of the night. Yes, it was ridiculous. But with Jericho's reactions on commentary, coupled with the ringside talent's enthusiasm, this match was a treat to watch during times where viewers have limited options for new content.
#1: Cody defeated Shawn Spears and moved to the next round of AEW's TNT Championship Tournament
The main event of this week's AEW Dynamite culminated with a first-round match of the TNT Championship Tournament.
Cody defeated Shawn Spears with an unconventional finish during last night's episode.
Shawn Spears doesn't have the best AEW record, and it was unlikely that he would overcome Cody - who is AEW's most successful babyface - in the first round of the TNT Championship Tournament.
Also, Cody is primed for a potential encounter with Darby Allin after what happened at the end of last week's episode, as well as one with Lance Archer and a possible rematch with his brother, Dustin Rhodes.
Cody's presence is far too important (and newsworthy) for this tournament.
But Spears did appear strong towards the end, where he kicked out of two consecutive Cross Rhodes. Spears lost when both of his shoulders touched the ground for a three-count during Cody's Figure-four leg lock.
It would have been great if Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard were present for a show-off near the ring. But at the end of the day, you have to give both WWE & AEW some leeway under these circumstances.
