By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Dot Net reader Bill Pivetz attended the AEW Dynamite event on Wednesday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and sent the following report.
AEW in Philadelphia took place at the Liacouras Center at Temple University. I’ve never been to this place so I didn’t know what to expect when it came to the layout and the number of seats. They did a good job filling it up to fit as many people as possible.
Doors opened at 6:30 but there were people lined up since about 5:45. The majority of people were aged 20-35, which says a lot.
The show started with one AEW Dark match around 7:35. There were still a lot of empty seats in the upper sections. Taz got a huge pop. We didn’t get to hear him, so I wonder how he sounded on commentary.
The main show kicked off with SCU vs. Best Friends. By this time, most of the seats were filled, but there were some pockets of empty seats. This was a great match, but I would have went with the Best Friends winning because of the pre-match attack.
John Silver and Alex Reynolds vs. Santana and Ortiz. A squash win for the heels, who were cheered heavily.
During the Cody video package, DDP got a huge pop from the crowd. We could barely hear the video though.
Britt Baker vs. Riho was next. Good match. They seemed a little rushed so I wish this went a little longer. The crowd enjoyed the mandible claw to roll-up finish.
Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express. Marko Stunt filled in for Luchasaurus with no explanation given to the crowd. We were a little disappointed. The Lucha Bros were murdering Stunt throughout the match. It got a bit excessive towards the end.
Jon Moxley and PAC vs. Kenny Omega and Adam Page. Omega got one of the biggest pops of the night. He was OVER in Philly. The crowd hated PAC for taking away the weapons. I enjoyed this match a lot, probably my match of the night.
Chris Jericho vs. Darby Allin. Darby got a nice reaction. He’s going to be a major player down the line. Jericho could do no wrong, he has the crowd eating up everything he does. I hated the duct tape spot and the crowd HATED Jake Hager’s interference to end the match.
The heels continued to celebrate after the show went off the air. The ring crew changed the mat for the next two AEW Dark matches.
After the AEW Dark main event, Cody thanked the crowd. There was a kid in the front dressed like Orange Cassidy. Cody brought him in and called for a ref. He took a back bump and the kid pinned him. One of the Bucks asked if that would count against his W-L record. Fun moment.
Cody said he had 102 degree fever the night before but made sure he was wrestling at the show. He said they were definitely coming back to Philly.
Overall, it was a great experience. Though, the only thing that stood out, outside of the Cody vignette was there was a not a single promo, either backstage or in the ring. I wouldn’t have minded that instead of six matches, four being tag matches.
If AEW is coming to your area, definitely try to go. Outside of commercials, there weren’t many dead spots in the show or moments where you’re just sitting on your hands. If they continue to run arenas this size, there isn’t a bad seat in the place.
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, ROH, Impact Wrestling, MLW, Evolve, and other notable live events. If you are attending an upcoming show and are interested in writing a report or sending basic results, email us via dotnetjason@gmail.com
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