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From Brodie Lee taking shots at Vince McMahon, to Matt Hardy and Chris Jericho's unique encounter at the end of the show, this week's edition of AEW Dynamite featured some contrasting moments.
Last night's Dynamite may not have reached the level of AEW's first empty arena show, but it still did a good job in pushing storylines forward instead of pushing back on live content.
Due to some new restrictions, AEW may have scrapped the presence of ringside talent, despite the idea's success, as seen previously.
Here are the 5 biggest news stories from this week's episode of AEW Dynamite (March 25, 2020).
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
#5: Cody got an ominous message from Jake Roberts after facing Jimmy Havoc in a singles match
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Last night's episode kicked off with Cody facing Jimmy Havoc in singles action.
Excalibur and Jim Ross weren't on commentary duty this week. Instead, Cody and Kenny Omega filled in for them, alongside the other regular member of the broadcast team,Tony Schiavone.
Cody and Jimmy Havoc's bout was centred around a clash of two different styles. Havoc is the hardcore maniac, while Cody's mat-based techniques helped him in picking up the victory against Havoc this week.
JR's absence was felt on commentary throughout the show, but especially for the duration of this match. Without JR and a group of heel wrestlers in the crowd, it was hard to capture the same level of excitement on last night's show as compared to previous week's episode.
After the bout, Jake "The Snake" Roberts had a message for Cody Rhodes on the big TitanTron.
The legend cut an ominous promo about how Lance Archer can't wait to destroy someone in an AEW ring. He also claimed that AEW executives saw what Archer did in Japan, and that they were afraid to bring him in as a result. But the time to wait is over. Archer wants to face Cody, now more than ever.
Cody said that Lance Archer will debut, in the ring, next week.
#4: Jon Moxley's first AEW Championship program might be against Jake Hager
Jake Hager has been a dominant force in AEW so far.
Most of his matches have ended via referee stoppage, and this tradition continued on last night's episode, where Hager faced Chico Adams.
The unknown competitor didn't stand a chance against Hager, as The Inner Circle's muscle put his opponent to sleep using an arm triangle submission.
After the match, Jon Moxley arrived and put down Hager with a Paradigm Shift. Jake Hager forgot to watch his blind side and paid the price as a result. Hager managed to escape any further assault from the hands of the AEW World Champion, but a future showdown between both of these superstars is imminent.
This was also the first major direction to Moxley's post-title victory booking. Jake Hager may face the champion soon, even though it is Moxley who targeted the former WWE Superstar this time around.
Moxley's character is known as a risk taker, and igniting a personal feud against a dominant Hager might be the first of many such risks fans get to witness him take during his title reign.
#3: Brodie Lee amplified his digs against Vince McMahon this week
Brodie Lee's arrival as The Exalted One was one of the best moments of AEW Dynamite last week.
Lee also took a shot against Vince McMahon - with reference to being held back - on the previous episode of Dynamite, but those digs were amplified to a point that may have left many casual viewers confused this week.
A pre-taped video package featured Brodie Lee having dinner in front of a couple of his disciples. This felt like a more grounded approach to The Exalted One character, that was until the whole thing ended up being a major dig that highlighted Vince McMahon's pet peeve of people sneezing in front of him.
AEW Dynamite is a show that is specifically catered to hardcore fans of professional wrestling. However, it is important to develop a primary foundation instead of alienating casual fans at the same time.
So far, The Exalted One has been more focused towards his WWE past instead of building a fearful cult in AEW. Hopefully, fans get a layered insight towards Brodie Lee's AEW gimmick in future episodes.
#2: Sammy Guevara disgusted Brandi Rhodes during an exhilarating match against Kenny Omega
Kenny Omega defended his AAA Mega Championship against Sammy Guevara during last night's main event.
This time, Cody called the match alongside Tony Schiavone. Compared to Schiavone's excitement, Cody failed to match the intensity of a highly-competitive main event between Omega and Guevara.
It would have been amazing to see the audience react during several spots and kick-outs that were specifically geared towards generating a massive reaction from a live crowd. But with all things considered, both men still put on an exciting, athletic showcase this week.
Omega retained after delivering a One-Winged Angel to his opponent.
There was a major moment during the bout where Sammy Guevara disrespected Cody by kissing a drawing of Brandi Rhodes. The ultimate disrespect resulted in cringe-worthy reactions from Brandi and Cody instead of pure rage, as one would have expected.
The AAA Mega Championship wasn't going to change hands on TNT, but Guevara still gave his best to stand out in a match with Omega.
As an aside, Picard was clearly the greatest Star Trek Captain, Mr Schiavone!
#1: A "magical" showdown between Matt Hardy and Chris Jericho resulted in The Elite standing dominant this week
A face-to-face confrontation between Chris Jericho and Matt Hardy was inevitable after Hardy made his first AEW appearance on last week's episode.
Jericho's main objective was to convince Matt Hardy to join The Inner Circle. One of the best highlights of this segment occurred when Jericho tried to negotiate with Vanguard One (Hardy's drone), in front of an empty arena (unless you count the souls of historical figures like Martin Luther King Jr. sitting in the vacant stands).
When the actual confrontation happened, it became apparent that "Damascus", who currently inhabits Matt Hardy's vessel, won't join The Inner Circle anytime soon.
You could sense that there was a comedic layer to this whole segment, in a good way.
From cutting promos with drones to teleportation throughout the arena, Matt Hardy's surreal gimmick continues to push the traditional boundaries of professional wrestling in 2020. AEW just happens to be the perfect place for Hardy's odd character, where fans are more likely to accept it, as opposed to being confused by it.
