From The Young Bucks' huge statement for Full Gear to Orange Cassidy and Cody's TNT Championship rematch, this week's edition of AEW Dynamite featured many contrasting moments.
This particular episode extensively built towards AEW Full Gear since the aforementioned pay-per-view will go down next week. The promotion has gained some criticism regarding their booking decisions in recent memory, but last night's show felt enjoyable despite a few minor hiccups.
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 (October 28, 2020).
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#5: Chris Jericho vs. MJF at AEW Full Gear was announced in a Town Hall meeting segment; MJF joins The Inner Circle if Jericho loses
After the Le Dinner Debonair segment that split the AEW Universe to its core, Chris Jericho and MJF continued their storyline in a Town Hall meeting segment hosted by Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzalez.
Luchasaurus, Peter Avalon, Dr. Britt Baker, and Reba asked some questions to the participants in this meeting. But it was Eric Bischoff's return that gained the most attention.
The main question at hand was whether or not MJF would betray The Inner Circle members or butt heads with them due to his ego in the long run. MJF didn't give a straight answer, which prompted Jericho to deliver the only possible resolution: MJF and Chris Jericho will wrestle each other at AEW Full Gear. MJF said he would do anything it takes to win if a victory over Jericho secures him a spot in The Inner Circle.
But it's become apparent that other members of The Inner Circle aren't huge fans of MJF, which is funny because MJF is probably the only heel superstar in AEW who's hated the most by other heel talents on the same show.
On next week's AEW Dynamite, Ortiz and Sammy Guevara will take on MJF and Wardlow to ensure that MJF doesn't even make it to Full Gear.
#4: Serena Deeb wrestled her first match on AEW as the new NWA World Women's Champion
Abadon and Tay Conti's scheduled match from this week's AEW Dynamite was pulled due to an unexpected injury, so the new NWA World Women's Champion, Serena Deeb, wrestled Leyla Hirsch last night.
Deeb has appeared on AEW in the past, and fans may also remember her from The Straight Edge Society days in WWE. While that's all in the past, Deeb's jump to AEW has proved to be fruitful.
Serena Deeb became the NWA World Women's Champion for the first time in her career by defeating Thunder Rosa in United Wrestling Network's Primetime Live event, one day before last night's Dynamite.
Deeb and Hirsch fought each other in a decent match where the latter star also earned some offensive maneuvers throughout the bout, but Serena Deeb prevailed as the victor towards the end.
The main question here revolves around Thunder Rosa, who was a prominent part of NWA and AEW's women's wrestling scene.
Rumour killer on Thunder Rosa's status with WWE
Although Dave Meltzer reported that both AEW and WWE have an interest in signing Thunder Rosa, NWA President Billy Corgan confirmed that she is not a free agent and is contracted with NWA through 2021.
Thunder Rosa will likely continue making appearances on AEW Dynamite, judging by Corgan's statement and the company's working relationship with Tony Khan's promotion.
The NWA World Women's Championship has been featured more prominently on AEW Dynamite compared to the promotion's own title currently held by Hikaru Shida. While it's understandable that Deeb's match against Hirsch last night was an impromptu decision made due to Abadon's injury, it's the AEW Women's Championship that needs to be featured more frequently every Wednesday.
#3: Cody defeated Orange Cassidy to retain his AEW TNT title in a Lumberjack Match thanks to a few interferences
There is something odd about Cody and Orange Cassidy's in-ring chemistry on AEW Dynamite. Their match on this week's AEW Dynamite wasn't bad at all, but it just didn't live up to expectations compared to other in-ring offerings from this episode, perhaps because of the ending.
With the Lumberjack Match stipulation, some shenanigans were bound to happen in the TNT title match. Towards the end, Dark Order's John Silver got involved and hit Cassidy with a Pump Kick when the referee was distracted. This also allowed Arn Anderson to hit him in the head with a cheap shot, which gave Cody an opening to deliver a Cross Rhodes to Cassidy for a successful victory.
This didn't fit in with Cody's stance as a babyface, so it remains to be seen if he was genuinely unaware of Arn Anderson's cheap shot or it's all leading up to a heel turn in the long run.
Darby Allin was sitting in the stands, scouting Cody for their TNT title clash at AEW Full Gear.
It doesn't look like Cody's war with The Dark Order is over yet, as The American Nightmare will team up with Billy and Austin Gunn to face The Dark Order in a six-man tag team match next week.
#2: The Young Bucks revealed that they will never be able to challenge for the AEW tag team titles if they can't defeat FTR at Full Gear
The Young Bucks and FTR's dream match at AEW Full Gear is something that every hardcore fan has been looking forward to, but an unusual twist leading up to the event may have complicated the future of The Young Bucks in AEW's Tag Team Division.
Matt and Nick Jackson's new attitude has drawn some criticism among the locker room circles, but they didn't regret that the old Young Bucks were back despite being conflicted about it at first.
Matt Jackson's ankle is injured as per the storyline leading up to AEW Full Gear, so it probably wasn't the best decision for him to say that The Young Bucks will never challenge for the AEW World tag team titles if they lose at Full Gear.
Do keep in mind that Cody had enforced the same stipulation for himself during last year's Full Gear event for the AEW World Championship, and it didn't end well for him at all. Although Cody shifted gears to focus on the TNT title, there is no secondary title in AEW's Tag Team Division that The Young Bucks can pursue if they lose at the upcoming pay-per-view.
#1: Hangman Page and Kenny Omega will now face each other at Full Gear to earn a shot at the AEW World Championship
Wardlow and Hangman Page's semi-finals clash opened AEW Dynamite this week.
The size advantage for Wardlow was a problem for Hangman Page, but the latter star was more experienced out of the two inside AEW's squared circle. In the end, experience prevailed as Adam Page was able to put down his opponent for the three-count after much effort.
Kenny Omega was scheduled to face Fenix in the main event, but the latter's injury forced him to sit this one out. Instead, Penta El Zero M wrestled Kenny Omega in a solid match to end this week's edition of AEW Dynamite.
Omega's character-work was excellent throughout this bout, as he kept leaning towards his 'Cleaner' gimmick from NJPW, even while making a flamboyant entrance.
Kenny Omega even showed off the AAA Mega Championship to trigger his opponent. After all, Omega beat Penta El Zero M for the aforementioned title in the past.
Omega was able to pick up a victory thanks to the One-Winged Angel. At AEW Full Gear 2020, the former tag team champions, Hangman Page and Kenny Omega will clash in what could end up being one of the best matches of this year.
Long-term storytelling has been a huge factor behind their upcoming fight at Full Gear, so AEW fans are reasonably excited to see what's in store for them with only one episode of Dynamite left to air before the pay-per-view.