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For the first time in several weeks, All Elite Wrestling went live once again for this week's episode of AEW Dynamite. Many established names of the brand were welcomed back with open arms and a new feel was brought back to the show on Wednesday nights.
With an already stacked card announced with Jon Moxley and MJF making appearances, Lance Archer going up against the Nightmare Family representative QT Marshall and a tag team main event that features the AEW in-ring debut of Matt Hardy, AEW Dynamite had a lot to live up to.
Not only did they do so, they perhaps even surpassed expectations. AEW Dynamite has been an incredibly consistent show since debuting in October last year but, even with that being said, this show will be remembered as being a stand out highlight. With the added benefit of having much more of the roster back on the show, it allowed stories to develop that we've been missing out on during this troubling time.
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But what did this week's episode tell us? Well please find five things we learned from the May 6th edition of AEW Dynamite.
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#5 Cody is ready for Lance Archer
Earlier this week, Cody sat down with Tony Schiavone to explain why he isn't having any nights off ahead of his TNT Championship match at Double or Nothing against The Murderhawk, Lance Archer. To Cody, the best way to prepare for a wrestling match isn't by running twenty miles, or lifting several hundred pounds of weights- it is by wrestling and, against an opponent the caliber of Joey Janela who is completely different to Archer, it keeps the American Nightmare on his toes.
The match on AEW Dynamite itself was incredibly back and forth; upholding the image that, despite Cody currently being at the top of the division, Janela is not to be overlooked or taken lightly.
Although, Janela had Cody on the ropes several times and almost got the win towards the end of the match, it's the established Rhodes who manages to hit the Cross-Rhodes and pick up an important win on AEW Dynamite to keep his momentum going ahead of a tough opponent in just over two weeks.
Whilst many see it as an obvious result with Lance Archer winning at Double or Nothing and becoming the inaugural champion, Cody has clearly made a statement that he won't go down without a fight and is going to bring everything he has to the PPV.
#4 Jake Roberts debuts an old friend on AEW Dynamite
Brandi Rhodes finally responded to Jake 'The Snake' Roberts.
In a video package, she stated that this isn't the 90's anymore and that she won't be threatened by himself and Lance Archer- if he slaps her, she'll slap right back. We then cut to Lance Archer who continued his path of destruction on AEW Dynamite against Brandi Rhodes' representative, QT Marshall.
The Murderhawk continued his trend of dominant victories over Marshall, despite some small flurries from the apple-eating competitor, and picked up the pinfall after hitting an incredibly impressive Blackout.
Brandi was then attacked from behind by Britt Baker and was thrown into the ring. Jake Roberts then shocked everyone and debuted Damien 2.0 on AEW Dynamite as he brought out a snake. With Brandi lying prone on the ring, he draped the snake over Brandi and taunted her, alongside Archer.
Whilst the AEW Dynamite segment has been met with an incredibly mixed response by fans online, Jake Roberts has continued to assert himself as one of the most dastardly and easily deplorable men, or individuals, generally within AEW.
And with Cody coming up against his client at Double or Nothing, it's fair to say that Jake will need to be looking over his shoulder come the PPV as Rhodes may set his sights on him.
#3 Nyla Rose is as dominant as ever
One of the biggest winners of the lock-down episodes of AEW Dynamite was the women's division, more specifically Britt Baker. The Role Model was hitting her stride in terms of heel promos with crowds in attendance but, over the past month or so with vignettes airing, she has become a staple of the division and one that many fans focus on when they think of women's wrestling in AEW.
That was until Nyla Rose returned this week on AEW Dynamite. The Native Beast aired her grievances at the gall of AEW management who had 'dared' to air a video package prior to her match hyping up potential challengers for her title. Individuals such as the aforementioned Baker alongside mainstays like Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander. Nyla stated that it is in fact she who is the sole dominator in the company and would prove it against her opponent, 18-year-old Kenzi Page on this week's AEW Dynamite.
Page got incredibly little offense, with Rose going for a pinfall before lifting Kenzi's shoulders up to inflict more punishment. After hitting three consecutive Beast Bombs, the AEW Women's Champion continued her dominating run and reminded everyone that, despite others perhaps stealing the spotlight, she is on top.
#2 Jon Moxley has a new challenger
It wasn't just the AEW Women's Champion who returned this week as Jon Moxley crashed back into the world of All Elite in a match that was advertised last week against Frankie Kazarian on AEW Dynamite. After a back and forth match between the two, the AEW World Champion managed to pick up another win on AEW Dynamite as he continued to run through the men's division in the company. However, The Dark Order made their presence felt.
The two men in the ring were beaten down by the faceless cult members with Scorpio Sky and Christopher Daniels also receiving punishment as they rushed out to save their tag partner and continued foes within the promotion. The Exalted One, Mr. Brodie Lee, then came out and stated that he is here to 'collect' on the bounty that Moxley put upon himself last week on AEW Dynamite when he openly challenged anyone on the roster to step up to him.
Lee stated on AEW Dynamite that he is no longer the man Jon knew in their past lives, referencing their time together in WWE, and that he wants what Moxley has, the AEW World Title. The current champion crawled over, accepted the challenge and then eats further beatings from the group. With a whole stable against him and a leader that has been at the top of his game since arriving in the company, Jon Moxley is certainly going to have to fight to keep his title.
#1 The Inner Circle are still at the top
If you haven't watched this week's main event from AEW Dynamite, you need to go and seek it out.
Kenny Omega and Matt Hardy, who was making his AEW in-ring debut, faced off against 'Le Sex Gods'- Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevera representing the Inner Circle in a Jacksonville Street Fight on AEW Dynamite.
And it was absolutely incredible with all men involved, not just the four in the match itself, going for it at 100 miles per hour, creating some of the best visuals we will see in wrestling this year.
However, the main focal point of the match on AEW Dynamite was that The Inner Circle, as a unit, are continuing to dominate AEW. Despite Chris Jericho constantly proclaiming how amazing they are together, it is hard to argue against him.
When one is in trouble, they all help out. When one man is about to lose, the other four will do everything they possibly can to stop that from happening. There's no miscommunication, there's no accidental attacks on each other and there's no in-fighting. They know the aim and they execute it perfectly.
With The Elite constantly arguing, accidentally hitting their finishers on each other and not coming to the rescue of their fallen teammates, it's clear that, although they don't have gold around their waists anymore- the Inner Circle are still the top dogs in AEW.
This sets up for another interesting AEW Dynamite episode next week.
