It’s incredible how time has flown. We’re on the brink of celebrating the fifth anniversary of AEW Dynamite!
I still vividly recall the thrill and anticipation that filled the air when the announcement was made. It was a moment that sparked a new wave of excitement in the world of professional wrestling.
Everyone knew this was big for the wrestling industry before they began doing live shows. The anticipation for any more news was killer.
AEW’s ascent to prominence, despite the formidable shadow cast by WWE, is a testament to its allure. The company attracted notable figures in professional wrestling, including Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Chris Jericho, among others, further solidifying its position in the industry.
After the first AEW pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing, in May 2019, AEW introduced AEW Dynamite. Dynamite is their first weekly live show, airing every Wednesday since October 2, 2019.
As we approach the fifth anniversary of AEW airing weekly, let’s look at some of the most historic moments and matches on Dynamite in the last five years. It was so hard to narrow down this list because of the phenomenal stories and matches that are put on every week, but here are some moments that I think have been unforgettable.
Blackpool Combat Club vs Jericho Appreciation Society
We were blessed to get this grueling match on free television. Part of the AEW Dynamite: Blood and Guts 2022 event was a Blood and Guts match consisting of the 12 best wrestlers on the roster at that time.
The Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta, Santana, and Ortiz) versus The Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, Angelo Parker, and Matt Menard). To say the least, this match lived up to the name Blood and Guts.
Blood was all over the ring, and it was hard to tell who was bleeding and who was covered in someone else’s blood. The match officially started when everyone was in the two rings, about 30 minutes after the action began.
It takes incredible endurance and stamina to be involved in not only such a long match but also a violent one. It was, in total, about a 50-minute fight (including the 30 minutes before the match officially started), and there was not one dull moment.
So much was happening at once that finding who to watch in the ring was difficult. Kendo sticks were broken, chairs were demolished, broken glass was spread across the ring, forks were stabbed in heads, and more just continued to happen.
It is truly unique how they were all able to walk out of the ring and how they all sacrificed their bodies to put on an unforgettable show.
MJF Pipebomb
While this wasn’t the best moment for AEW, it became one of the most memorable. It is arguably one of the best promos in wrestling today, what some call MJF‘s pipebomb, from the June 1, 2022 episode of AEW Dynamite.
MJF came out with so much anger and emotion that it became hard to tell the difference between whether this was part of a storyline or reality. To this day, I think that is still debated, especially because Friedman allegedly has had some backstage management issues.
No matter what fueled that promo, he got people talking, and he got a lot of fans behind him through that promo, too, calling out the President of AEW, Tony Khan. It was one of the company’s most interesting and controversial moments, but not necessarily in the bad way.
MJF didn’t stutter once and said what he felt needed to be said, a thing that some people in the company have issues doing. Maybe he got backlash backstage as a result of this promo, but he got more fans watching this one.
Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa
It took a lot of work to narrow down a women’s match to add to this list. They continue outperforming themselves weekly and at pay-per-view events, especially recently.
However, I had to include this match from 2021 between Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa. Not only was it violent, but it was very important for the AEW women’s division at this time.
With AEW only starting at the end of 2019 and having a lot of new and upcoming women’s wrestlers, it was important for them to have a memorable match, and boy, did they. This match kept people talking about the women’s division for weeks.
It was 20 minutes of pure violence. It was hard to watch but even more challenging to look away.
They used anything you can imagine: ladders, thumbtacks, steel chairs, steel steps, etc.
There were fans in attendance but, because this was after COVID, attendance was limited. It’s a shame that this match happened when coming back from COVID because, if they had a full arena of fans, it would’ve been electric.
This match brought more attention to the AEW women’s division, which helped many of the stars we see shine in AEW now.
Kenny Omega vs. Bryan Danielson
Fans have been hoping to see Kenny Omega versus Bryan Danielson for years—a dream match for the ages, as some have called it. It did indeed live up to the expectations… for the most part.
The match itself was perfect; if anything, I wish they could fight forever. You would think they’ve wrestled each other a million times by their chemistry in the ring and how they can work the crowd.
But that brings me to my next point: the only disappointing part about this match was the ending.
They ran out of time. Nothing is worse for a wrestling fan than having a dream match end in a way that’s not fair, whether it be disqualification or count-out, but in this case, it was the time limit.
Even though the fans didn’t like the ending, it doesn’t change that the match exceeded expectations. It was a classic, vicious match.
There was not one dull moment. Hopefully, we will see a rematch between the two before Danielson’s retirement.
It will be bigger than the last.
Brodie Lee Tribute Episode
The tribute episode of AEW Dynamite (12/30/20) will most likely forever be one of the best and most emotional episodes of any live show that AEW has. It’s hard to capture who someone is without truly knowing them.
As fans, we all knew Brodie Lee. Some may have known him as Luke Harper, while his colleagues knew him as Jon Huber – a friend, father, and husband.
Throughout the episode, all of the AEW stars introduced the fans to Jon Huber, telling some of their favorite stories and describing him as a person. What stood out the most was how much he loved his family.
His wife, Amanda Huber, was present, along with their two sons, Brodie and Nolan, who were heavily involved in this episode and remained appearing for the upcoming weeks. The Dark Order, Brodie Lee’s faction, came out on top in various matches throughout the night.
The night couldn’t have been closed out in a better way. Brodie Lee Jr., accompanied by his mom, Amanda, emotionally placed Lee’s wrestling boots in the ring.
Brodie Lee Jr. was then appointed by both Cody Rhodes and Tony Khan as the “TNT Champion forever”, gifting him the TNT Championship Belt. The show closed out with a beautiful tribute video, showing how much he was loved and will be loved forever by many.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – AEW – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their YouTube
