Tonight's results are sponsored by Reba (Britt Baker's manager, went by Rebel in TNA which produced this gem):
AEW Dark: April 20, 2021:
-The Butcher and The Blade def. QT Marshall and Billy
-Serena Deeb def. Mel
-Matt Sydal def. Serpentico
-Dr. Britt Baker def. Yuka Sakazaki
-Matt Hardy def. Evil Uno
AEW Dynamite: April 21, 2021
Segment 1:
MJF opened up the show in the ring, surprisingly all by his lonesome, and he immediately started to shit talk Sting again. The old fool has agreed to fight me at Crossroads, but why wait til Saturday? Bring your old ass out here now, unless you're afraid of getting schooled by a guy 30 years your junior.
After no answer, MJF needles him further by raising the stakes. "I know you liked to make a name for yourself taking down top factions...so how's this for a wager? Remember how our former "boss" of the Inner Circle threatened to break up the group and couldn't back it up? If you win, I will leave the Inner Circle just as soon as I entered it. But if you lose, you're done. No more wrestling, no more AEW, a distant memory like the charred ashes of WCW. If you're gonna take this deal, come face me one on one, you coward!"
Lights go out and when they come back on, in my best Tony Schiavone voice,
it's Stiiiiiiing! He nods at MJF to accept the challenge, points the bat right to his throat. And then, in a sign that he's ready for a fair fight, drops the bat.
MJF just laughs "wow, all these years later, you are way too trusting".....and Sting is soon jumped by Sammy Guevara! Massive heel heat and the two put the boots to Sting before Sammy's opponent tonight, Cody Rhodes, emerges from the back to run the two of them off! The rest of Inner Circle make their way out but think better of intervening when Sting retrieves his bat again.
82% overall
Segment 2:
Lance Archer makes his in-ring return against 33 year ring veteran and former Japanese deathmatch legend Luther. Luther is ancient and probably another guy the game will retire once his birthday comes, so he's just here to put over others and this is another case where I threw two guys with good brawl stats at each other and imagined it as a squash but actually it ended up being a solid match.
Archer puts Luther down with the EBD Claw to win his return match after a few months on the shelf. Eddie Kingston on commentary runs Archer down, and builds up their clash for next week on Dynamite.
***, 73% overall
Segment 3:
We hear a commotion outside of SCU's locker room. Tully Blanchard leads out FTR and Shawn Spears, all of whom have smug looks on their faces. The cameras go inside and we see Christopher Daniels down along with fellow SCU member Scorpio Sky. Daniels was supposed to team with Frankie Kazarian tonight for #1 contendership - bah gawd how could this happen!
69% overall...nice
Segment 4:
6-man tag goodness to continue the Hardy/Page angle that is winding down to a conclusion. Matt Hardy and Private Party vs. Hangman Page, Alex Reynolds, and John Silver. Another good match as many of these guys gel with one another. Chaos ensues as always and Matt grabs a win via cheap pin on Reynolds.
***, 73% overall
Segment 5:
Hardy Party beat down the three Dark Order members in the ring. Matt proclaims that the rest of Dark Order won't be coming out to save them tonight as he paid off a venue worker to block their locker room...it pays to have money! Muahaha. Remember how you allowed me to pick the rules for our Double or Nothing match? I know you were worried about fine print, but fear no longer. The winner takes all, no matter how they win. No underhanded tactics, no easy way out, a perfectly fair fight between the two of us. And I have procured a very special guest referee to ensure it!
82% overall
Segment 6:
Dr. Britt Baker DMD in action tonight against Serena Deeb. Worst match of the night so far, but very much still in the realm of perfectly acceptable wrestling. Baker gets the cheap victory. Afterwards, she instructs Reba to hand her some...shears? Why does dentist need shears? She looks like she's going to take off some of Serena's hair just as Kong did to her two weeks ago.
Awesome Kong could see no more of the gimmick infringement as she makes her way out to the ring. Baker and Reba stare down Kong, Baker shoves Reba at Kong and Reba takes a Samoan drop like a trooper while Baker hightails it again.
**1/2, 70% overall
Segment 7:
Kenny Omega and Don Callis interview promo to talk up Kenny's triple threat title defense on Saturday. No matter how much AEW tries to stack the odds up against the best wrestler in the world, the result will be the same: Kenny will be right back on top of the mountain by this time next week.
83% overall
Segment 8:
Tag match intersecting two feuds that are also reaching a conclusion on Saturday as Orange Cassidy and TNT Champion Darby Allin face off against Miro and Brian Cage. A cage match and a street fight happening the same night on Saturday - what is this, Extreme Rules? I imagine the faces came across as great underdogs in this one since they have a clear and distinct size disadvantage working against them.
Darby eventually makes the hot tag to Orange Cassidy, who comes in like a house of fire as the crowd goes wild. Miro is reeling outside the ring, OC sets up for a Superman Punch outside the ring...he charges, MIRO SMACKS HIM WITH THE RING BELL! The ref calls for the bell, which doesn't ring because it's embedded into OC's skull.
Chuck Taylor tries to help but it's all for naught as OC, Darby, and Chuck are beaten down by Miro, Kip, and Team Taz. The heels standing tall and getting the momentum going into Saturday. This ruled.
****, 86% overall
Segment 9:
FTR make their way to the ring to win their match and rightful earned #1 contendership by forfeit...Frankie Kazarian says not so fast and makes his way out to the ring solo. He had a chat with Tony Khan and he agreed the #1 contendership can't end this way. Since neither Daniels nor Sky can compete tonight, let's change it up and make it a 6-man tag. FTR and Shawn Spears vs. Frankie Kazarian and...The Young Bucks!
The heel team was not happy with that at all as the faces charge the ring like a house of fire. This ended up being my second good trios match of the night, Bucks showing character willing to fight alongside Kazarian knowing that he'd be getting screwed out of a shot at their belts.
Bucks and FTR are brawling outside the ring. Tully Blanchard gets on the apron and starts to undo a turnbuckle pad only for a hobbled Christopher Daniels to pull Tully off the apron! Spears is caught off guard, Wave of the Future! Kazarian wins and he and Daniels retain their #1 contendership! The heel team is pissed off as SCU and the Bucks exchange a handshake ahead of their match Saturday.
***1/4, 82% overall
Segment 10:
Jon Moxley and PAC are talking, acknowledging they've had fun teaming up the past couple of months but that's all gotta end Saturday. Kenny Omega and Karl Anderson enter both sides of the room much as Mox and PAC did last week. Mox and PAC both pick up chairs and dare the heels to come on in...they back into each other and immediately turn around out of instinct, they nearly clock each other with the chairs as the heels rush out of there snickering over causing tension among the faces.
89% overall
Segment 11:
Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara in a rematch of what was the first ever match on Dynamite. During the match it is confirmed that Sting's Career Threatening Match on Saturday has been upgraded to a tag team bout: Sting and Cody vs. MJF and Sammy. Cody wants to drive MJF out of Inner Circle and could not stand to see the Stinger go it alone against the devious Inner Circle. Plus I'm sure this decision has nothing to do with the fact that a 62-year old Sting should not be working a singles match and Cody can shoulder the workload and play a convincing Ricky Morton.
It's a solid match to close out the show, with a red hot crowd to boot. We get our second "heel fuck up interference" finish in as many matches as MJF climbs on the apron to distract Cody only for Sting to come OUTTA NOWHERE with a baseball bat shot to the back, MJF is down, Sammy is concerned and Cody capitalizes with the Cross Rhodes.
Much like at the start of the show, Inner Circle are held at bay with with threat of Sting's bat. The faces stand tall to end the show.
***, 85% overall
79% overall show rating
---
Crossroads Card:
-AEW World Championship: "The Bastard" PAC vs. Jon Moxley vs. "The Cleaner" Kenny Omega (C)
-AEW TNT Championship Street Fight: "The Machine" Brian Cage vs. Darby Allin (C)
-AEW World Tag Team Championship: SCU (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) vs. The Young Bucks (C)
-AEW Women's World Championship: Dr. Britt Baker DMD vs. Awesome Kong (C)
-Luchas de Apuestas Tag Match: Sting and "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman and "The Spanish God" Sammy Guevara
-Steel Cage Match: "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy vs. "The Best Man" Miro
-Double or Nothing Special Guest Referee Match: "Big Money" Matt Hardy vs. "Hangman" Adam Page