AEW Dynamite brought some fantastic matches and huge surprises for their latest trip to Canada.
Broadcasting from Saskatoon, the show opened with Canadian hero Chris Jericho, and ended with the big reveal of the newest members of The Elite’s and Blackpool Combat Club’s Blood & Guts teams.
The show also featured Skye Blue in women’s action, and Orange Cassidy with Darby Allin in tag team action.
In this article, we’ll take a look at all the matches from the July 12th, 2023 episode of AEW Dynamite, analyzing how good each match was.
We’ll give our own star rating, as well as the rating from Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer, as well as the fan’s rating from Cagematch.
Chris Jericho vs Komander
With one of the top Luchadors in the world opposite him, Chris Jericho put on one of his best matches in a while.
He had some brilliant counters for Komander’s aerial moveset, although the pair mistimed a few jumpes (the top-rope Code Breaker counter being the biggest one).
The highlight of the match saw Chris Jericho catch Komander’s 450 splash, holding him up in a powerbomb position before locking in the Lion Tamer.
This forced Komander to tap out, ending what was a surprisingly great TV match for Jericho.
After the match, Don Callis showed some footage of he and Jericho from decades ago, trying to convince him to join his “Family”.
- Dave Meltzer Star Rating – 4 Stars
- Cagematch Rating – 6.83
- Atletifo Rating – 3 Stars
Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin vs Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia (Blind Eliminator Semi Final)
With the four men involved, this match was the expected fun tag that had the crowd on their feet.
The usual fan-favorites, Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy, once again had the crowd on their side, with their clashing styles making for an excellent tag team.
It featured the usual antics from each side, and showed some dissention between the JAS members in the match.
It looked like Cassidy and Allin would pick up the victory, but a run-in by Swerve Strickland cost them the match, and the chance at the AEW Tag Team Championships.
This could lead to a Swerve Strickland vs Darby Allin match in the future. The interference slightly lowered the star-ratings for this match, but it was still a fun little tag match.
Daniel Garcia & Sammy Guevara progressed to the final of the AEW Blind Eliminator Tournament.
- Dave Meltzer Star Rating – N/A
- Cagematch Rating – 6.52
- Atletifo Rating – 2.5 Stars
MJF & Adam Cole vs Big Bill & Brian Cage (Blind Eliminator Semi Final)
In the second eliminator match of the night, MJF & Adam Cole beat the impressively sized duo of Brian Cage & Big Bill.
Earlier in the night, a vignette showing MJF and Cole hanging out at a bar, and playing video games in their hotel, showed how close the pair had become.
This match started off as just plain fun. MJF tried to slam Big Bill, but failed and tried to leave. Adam Cole and Brian Cage then engaged in a push-up contest, before Big Bill hit MJF mid-push up.
MJF was beaten down for most of the match, but the pair worked the crowd most of the match for the hot tag to Adam Cole.
The team tried to hit the coveted double-clothesline, but eventually won the match after a heat-seeker piledriver into shining wizard combination.
While this match didn’t get the best star rating on this show, it was still a fun match that made all four men in the match look better than they did before – a rare feat.
- Dave Meltzer Star Rating – N/A
- Cagematch Rating – 6.81
- Atletifo Rating – 3 Stars
Skye Blue vs. Ruby Soho (Owen Hart Memorial Women’s Tournament Semifinal)
Skye Blue once again wrestled part of the Outcasts, in the semi-finals of the Owen Hart Foundation women’s tournament.
While it is one of three tournaments ongoing in AEW, these two women still managed to put on a decent match that held the crowds’ attention.
With help from her partners, Ruby Soho picked up the win over Skye Blue, in a decent match.
- Dave Meltzer Star Rating – N/A
- Cagematch Rating – 5.24
- Atletifo Rating – 1.5 Stars
Nick Wayne vs. Swerve Strickland
In the last match on the show (technically the main event) Nick Wayne made his AEW debut in impressive fashion.
The 18-year-old is considered a prodigy in wrestling, and the third-generation wrestler has impressed in the ring in the past two years.
He was led in his AEW debut by Swerve Strickland, one of the top wrestlers in AEW and bound to be a future star in the company.
Nick Wayne’s AEW debut was the best match of the night, and his high-flying antics drew comparisons to a young Will Ospreay.
Swerve cut him off at every opportunity, playing a fantastic heel to get the crowd on Wayne’s side.
The pair knew each other well, having wrestled before on the indies, and their chemistry showed in the ring.
The match lasted just ten minutes, but it sure to get the highest star-rating on AEW Dynamite this week. Nick Wayne is one to watch in the future, as well as Swerve Strickland in AEW.
- Dave Meltzer Star Rating – N/A
- Cagematch Rating – 8.14
- Atletifo Rating – 3 Stars