Britt Baker Basks In Hometown Adulation As Rampage Approaches

AEW headed to Britt Baker's hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for this week's edition of Dynamite, which was overall very enjoyable but nowhere close to what the company is capable of in terms of quality.

Strangely, there was very little follow-up to the ending of last week's Dynamite. Just a brief pre-taped promo from Malakai Black who said he's just getting started. The addition of Rampage is certainly welcome, as AEW seems to be struggling to provide all of its stars with an adequate amount of screen time each week.

Winner: Dante Martin Reverses The One-Winged Angel

This week's edition of AEW Dynamite kicked off with a six-man tag between The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) and the team of Dante Martin and the Sydal brothers (Matt and Mike).

The match was largely standard Elite fare: fast-paced action peppered with some arrogant posing and dastardly tactics, but it also featured a few creative spots. Dante Martin and the Sydals combined well and executed a few innovative triple-team moves which popped the crowd. Martin ate the pin, but the match was designed to showcase his incredible athleticism. He even countered the One-Winged Angel at one point, which clearly shows that the company has big plans for the 20-year-old dynamo.

The crowd seemed unusually quiet as the show began, but by the time the first match was over they were making plenty of noise. It was a great way to open the show, although not quite as thrilling as some other recent AEW opening bouts.

Loser: Wheeler Yuta Eats A Pin

Newcomer Wheeler Yuta teamed up with Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor to take on Matt Hardy and Private Party in the second trios match of the evening. Yuta has been treated like the exciting prospect he is over the last few weeks, but tonight he was pinned by Matt Hardy. Being pinned by a legend like Matt Hardy certainly won't do any damage, but if the result had been flipped it would have done wonders for Yuta's AEW career.

The match itself was decent but nothing mind-blowing. Hardy's hodgepodge faction of Private Party, The Bunny, and The Blade doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's a solid mix of talent so it has potential.

Winner: Kris Statlander Beats Nyla Rose

Kris Statlander climbed the rankings with a HUGE win over the powerhouse Nyla Rose. Following the previous match, Statlander was jumped by Nyla and she was selling her injuries as she made her way to the ring for the pair's match.

At first, it seemed like a forgone conclusion that Nyla would overpower Statlander, and score an easy victory, but the alien fought hard and outsmarted her opponent in a solid match. KRis got the win when she pinned Nyla following an Area 451 splash.

Nyla has now lost two consecutive Dynamite matches, after failing to beat AEW Women's Champion Britt Baker a few weeks ago. Although she has scored victories on Dark in the intervening weeks.

Winner: Britt Baker Comes Home

Obviously, Brit Baker is a winner. She's the AEW Women's Champion, and she fully deserves to be.

During an in-ring interview with Tony Schiavone to hype her upcoming title defense against Red Velvet, Baker wore Steelers-inspired gear to the ring and basked in the adulation of fellow Pittsburghers! The segment was objectively good and the crowd was absolutely electric, but Britt is at her absolute best when she's heeling it up which she didn't do much of here (although she did take a couple of subtle dig at the town's sports teams and declared herself a symbol of hope to the town, which was neat).

Of course, one could argue that Baker isn't technically a heel anymore. But she's not exactly a babyface either, and it was her cocky mean girl swagger that got her over in the first place.

Winner: Chris Jericho Earns His Rematch

In spite of MJF's best efforts, Chris Jericho defeated Wardlow to earn a rematch with his former protege. Jericho got the win when he hit Wardlow in the head with a baseball bat while referee Aubrey Edwards was busy ejecting MJF from ringside. Jericho then hit the Judas Effect and that was that...almost.

After the bell, Shawn Spears jumped Jericho from behind MJF returned to the ring to join in the beatdown.

Loser: The Labours Of Jericho

The "Labours of Jericho" concept was an ambitious attempt at long-term booking that was always going to be difficult to pull off. AEW deserves plaudits for taking a swing in the first place, and it's kept MJF and Jericho busy for a few weeks. It started off well, with MJF using his stooge Shawn Spears and then hiring a mercenary in Nick Gage when Spears couldn't get the job done. But after Jericho's gripping deathmatch with Gage the whole thing kinda ran out steam.

It hasn't been a total failure of an angle, but it's a relief that it's conclusion is imminent.

Full Results

The Elite (Kenny Omega, Nick Jackson, and Matt Jackson) def. Dante Martin, Matt Sydal, and Mike Sydal via pinfall after multiple V-Triggers to Martin
Darby Allin def. Daniel Garcia via pinfall with a Coffin Drop
Private Party and Matt Hardy def. Wheeler Yuta, Orange Cassidy, and Chuck Taylor following a Twist Of Fate to Yuta
Kris Statlander def. Nyla Rose via pinfall with an Area 451 splash
The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) def. The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) via pinfall with a Magic Killer
Chris Jericho def. Wardlow after hitting with a baseball bat followed by a Judas Effect

Noteworthy Moments

After the opening match, The Elite was confronted by Christian Cage and Jurassic Express, who are number one contenders to the AEW World Championship and the AEW Tag Team Championships respectively
Christian Cage revealed that he would be facing Omega for the IMPACT title in the opening match of the first episode of AEW Rampage
Jungle Boy revealed that he and Luchasaurus would be facing The Young Bucks for the AEW tag titles on next week's Dynamite
In a pretaped promo, Malakai Black said that what he did to Cody Rhodes last week was just the beginning
Pac, Penta, and Fenix called out Andradeduring a backstage interview following Andrade's recent attempts to get in their heads
Andrade responded to Pac's promo, and Chavo implied that the two men could face off at All Out
Sting fought off 2.0 during Darby Allin's match with Daniel Garcia. Later on it was conformed that Sting and Allin would take on 2.0 in tag team action next week
Another FTR/Santana & Ortiz hype package aired in which Santana warned FTR that he and Ortiz aren't going anywhere
The Bucks tried to pull off a layup during a backstage promo but the dunk was blocked by Luchasaurus while Jungle Boy scored the rebound
In front of her hometown crowd, Britt Baker hyped up her match against Red Velvet which will be the main event of Friday's Rampage
Red Velvet attacked Baker and the two women scuffled until they were pulled apart by referees
QT Marshall confronted Tony Schiavone and instructed Nick Comoroto to drag Schiavone's son Chris out of his front-row seat and into the ring where Marshall beat him up
Paul Wight made his way to the ring. When he arrived, QT Marshall shoved Aaron Solow into Wight's path. Marshall fled as Wight chokeslammed Solow
After the main event, MJF confirmed that Jericho is banned from using the Judas Effect when the two men face off next week