AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Shahid Khan, and TNT
Another week has passed which means another week of wrestling action from everyone’s favorite cool alternative brand! AEW has their Full Gear PPV coming up so the next few weeks will be all about building up matches and story lines for the big event, and with a tournament for the number one contender’s spot as well as four way match to challenge the AEW Tag Team Champions, will they have the momentum they need to make their PPV another success while giving us a great episode of Dynamite in the process? Let’s find out!!
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Wardlow Vs. Jungle Boy – AEW World Title Tournament
Jungle Boy is accompanied to the ring by Luchasaurus and Marko Stunt
This is a very traditional and very basic Face/Heel match which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Jungle Boy has to put in five hundred percent to gain any momentum and Wardlow’s sheer size is enough for him to overcome whatever offense Jungle Boy brings to the match. You’ve got your hope spots, your heat segments, a few Suicide Dives, it’s not exactly the Shakespeare of matches, but it’s a good opening bout that’s got its fair share of fun spots. For all the momentum that Jungle Boy has in the latter half of the match though (built off the back of an impressive Hurricanrana from the top rope), he just doesn’t have enough to put Wardlow away and after eating two F10s from the man finally stays down for the three count. We’ve got a BIG show ahead of us tonight, so I don’t have a problem with this first match not overstaying its welcome, though I thought it would have been nice if Jungle Boy got to the next round.
AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Shahid Khan, and TNT
Did you know the PPV is less than a month away!? Doesn’t it feel like we JUST got done with a PPV a month ago? Oh who even knows anymore; it’s not like time MEANS anything at this point. We’re all just barreling through this ridiculous world at ten billion miles per hour, and hey if nothing else, since it’s happening the Saturday after the election (PLEASE GO VOTE!!) it’ll be either a nice treat for a world that just saved itself from the brink of destruction or it’ll be the last spot of joy before this country inevitably crumbles into a fascist dictatorship. In any case, I hope that Will Hobbs gets a title shot on that show! Before we look towards the future however, let’s keep our eyes squarely on the present and take a look at this show right now. Will this episode start building up to the PPV in fun and exciting ways, or do they need a bit more time to get everything into place? Let’s find out!!
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FTR Vs. Best Friends – AEW Tag Team Title Match
FTR is accompanied to the ring by Tully Blanchard
Look, we know that both teams are good and that they can have great matches, so I don’t want to sound negative about this on the outset. It’s not a bad match, but BOY is it a non-descript one for what’s supposed to be a title defense! Trent is in command for a good chunk of this match before FTR get the upper hand and start generating heat for what feels like an hour before Trent eventually gets the hot tag on Chuck who goes wild for a bit. Things at least get a bit interesting there when Tully interferes and Chuck retaliates by chocking him with his own jacket, and there was a pretty impressive nearfall where Best Friends land a Soul Food on Cash to get a two count, but there’s just not a whole lot going on here. Aside from the nearfalls, the only move that really stuck out for me was when Cash dropped Trent’s leg onto the ring ropes which was an interesting visual, but Trent doesn’t sell the leg at any point in the match (he even uses the knees to counter a Vader Bomb), so what was the point of specifically targeting it? Speaking of nearfalls, FTR manages to regain the advantage and are getting the heat on Trent with a series of suplexes, but Trent won’t stay down for the three-count and tries to fight his way out of this rough spot. They eventually brawl to the outside where Kip Sabian is playing away on an arcade cabinet, and Cash throws Trent right through it; destroying it utterly and leaving Kip with nothing but a fight stick to entertain him. The match eventually returns to the ring and Trent manages to get the tag to Chuck, but it’s ultimately futile as Cash manages to smash Chuck in the face with the title belt while the ref was distracted which is enough for Dax to get the pin and retain their titles. Like I said, there wasn’t a whole lot going on with this match and the stuff at the end, while entertaining, wasn’t exactly the most THRILLING directions for a match to take and I’d honestly take the match they had last week with TH2 than this one.
AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Shahid Khan, and TNT
So last episode had some wonky moments and a rather ho-hum finish, but they were also dealing with an unexpected change in plans due to Lance Archer contracting COVID-19, so a bit of sloppiness to try and fill in the cracks is understandable, and while Archer isn’t back YET, they did at least have more time to prepare which hopefully means a more cohesive night of wrestling action! Is AEW back on track after the unexpected fumble from last week? Let’s find out!!
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Before we get to the opening match, we get a video promo for Darby Allin that stars a guy named JPEG MAFIA. I don’t know who this guy is, but he pushes Darby down a giant slide while calling Ricky Starks a punk, so fair enough I suppose. Wait, is that the opening match!?
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Ricky Starks Vs. Darby Allin
So what, we’re not gonna hold this one off until the PPV? Heck, we’re not even going to wait for Archer to come back so they can fight it out in the Six Man Tag match? Well I guess it DOES take two weeks to recover from the virus so they had to do something here to keep the feud hot, and for what it’s worth it’s a pretty excellent match! There’s a lot of athleticism and a really nice spot where Darby manages to kick Starks into the air, and Starks as always has a PHENOMENAL spear that’s always exciting to see! Then out of nowhere, Brian Cage comes out from the back! While we knew for sure that Archer had COVID-19, Cage merely said he “felt sick” so I guess he passed the tests and was able to come back here, but before he can properly hit the ring and put Darby in traction, WILL HOBBS runs out and they punch each other all the way to the back! YES! MORE WILL HOBBS PLEASE! Well sadly that’s all the Hobbs we get for the moment as Starks and Allin are back in the ring and beating the crap out of one another. The only spot that felt a LITTLE bit sloppy is when Starks puts Allin in a one leg Boston Crab, but before he can even GRAB the ropes, Starks release the hold. A bit of bad timing there, but it’s a BIG EXPLOSIVE match between two fast guys, so it’s not a big deal. The BETTER submission spot was a bit after that where Allin has Starks on the ground in a Fujiwara Armbar, and while Starks is reaching for the ropes with his other arm, Darby grabs it and ALSO puts it in a submission. Ricky, pretty much having to crawl with his CHIN just barely makes it underneath the ropes; just far enough for his constricted hand to still grab the ropes. It returns to a slug fest after that as both are standing on wobbly legs and smacking each other with Darby getting the advantage. Darby manages to land a stunner and goes for a Springboard attack, but before we can figure out what he’s going to do now that he’s in the air, Starks SPEARS HIM OUT OF THE SKY; like an ICBM hitting a rocket ship!! THAT was amazing and I probably would have ended the match there, but Darby somehow manages to kick out. Stark puts Allin on the turnbuckle and tries to land an Avalanche Roshambo which to me seems like a REALLY bad move to try and land on a guy from the top rope, but thankfully Darby manages to wriggle out of it and knocks Starks off the top rope. With Starks having nothing left in the tank, Darby Allin lands the Coffin Drop and gets the three count to win the match. It felt perhaps a bit wasted for them to have this blow off match here instead of at a bigger event, but that was a GREAT opening fight, and unlike the Matt Hardy/Sammy Guevara match, NO ONE HAS ALMOST DIED YET FOR THIS FEUD! Okay, Darby Allin almost got a broken neck, Ricky Starks got his back shredded, and Darby got thrown around in a body bag, but still!
All Out and all the images you see I this recap are owned by All Elite Wrestling and Shahid Khan
The last few weeks of television have been disappointing as AEW is stumbling their way towards not just to this PPV but having a live audience again and doing it in a way that’s safe while also enhancing the show. It hasn’t been an easy journey and they’ve made some mistakes, but the buildup to this show has been solid if nothing else, and with so many marquee matches to watch… well, let’s just hope that they can pull it off better than they’ve been pulling off Dynamite; and CERTAINLY better than from what I heard went down in that women’s Tag Tournament. Is this show a culmination of all the stumbling effort they’ve been putting in the last few weeks, or has all that bad luck spilled over to the PPV itself? Let’s find out!!
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Joey Janela Vs. Serpentico – Buy In Match
Serpentico is accompanied to the ring by Luther while Janela is accompanied by Sonny Kiss
Serpentico is one of those dudes who I’ve seen A LOT standing on the outside of the ring these last few months, but this will be the first I’m seen him in a match. According to the announcers, he and Luther have formed a tag team on Dark which is why he’s out here sticking his tongue out like he does, and Luther if you recall was the dude who was hanging out with Brandie Rhodes when she was doing her Nightmare Collective Shtick. Well whoever these guys are, Joey comes out the gate with gusto as he’s still upset about having lost his match against Jericho as badly as he did (complete with giant bandage on his forehead in case you forgot what happened), and in his rage he manages to shake off whatever offense Serpentico can muster… at least until he gets pushed off the top rope and takes a real nasty looking tumble. It doesn’t look like he got injured, but it was definitely not a fun ride down! Serpentico takes over for most of the match after that and the guy seems like a decent wrestler with some solid gymnastics to his repertoire, but the story of this match is that Joey has more stamina and strength; so whatever ten moves Serpentico dishes out can’t seem to match the impact of one of Janela’s. Now usually the one who has to fight from underneath is the babyface in a match like this, but Serpentico is also a dirty cheater as he’s constantly distracting the ref so that Luther can take cheap shots at Janela, and with this strategy Serpentico is able to stay in the game and even get a few near falls, but it’s just not enough to secure victory. Janela’s building up speed for a big attack on Serpentico, but Luther grabs his legs from the outside while the ref is distracted. Sonny Kiss, who’s been holding back this entire match, decks Luther in the face and Janela finishes him off with a Diving Drop Kick. With Luther no longer a factor, Janela knocks Serpentico down with a running clothesline before landing a top rope elbow drop to get the pin. It was a fine match though I think Janela is one of those guys who works WAY better when he’s got a story to build off of. Even something simple as his feud with Shawn Spears led to that AMAZING Santa Claus match, so if this is the start of something with Serpentico then I’m all for it!
AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Shahid Khan, and TNT
By the time this goes up we’ll be just one day away from the All Out PPV, and like any good wrestling company AEW is clearly trying its best to get us to buy the darn thing with a show filled with angles and cliffhangers! Do they manage to make the most out of their Go Home show, or will this be just as disappointing as last week’s episode which I will remind you had like a six minute main event? Let’s find out!!
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Best Friends Vs. Proud N Powerful
I’ve been rather lukewarm on the Proud N Powerful/Best Friends feud, and I guess AEW was as well because they’re blowing it off here as the opening match on the Go Home show instead of saving it for the PPV. The two teams brawl for like ten minutes before the bell even rings so at least they’re TRYING to make look like they’re out for blood, and the two teams are talented wrestlers if nothing else. Then again, I’m not sure why Chuck spends several minutes making a mountain of chairs if he just wanted to beat the hell out of his opponent, but he does just that and of course Santana ends up tossing him into it. The bell finally rings right after that spot and its Trent basically all alone out there as Chuck is still knocked out from the mountain of chairs. Trent and Santana manage to have a pretty good back and forth for a few minutes there, but with Ortiz on the outside running interference it doesn’t take long for Trent to be overwhelmed. He’s a survivor though, and manages to stay in this match long enough for Chuckie to crawl his way to the corner and make the hot tag who at which point Chuckie runs wild on the two of them. He sends both Santana and Oritz to the outside of the ring, and he does a flip Senton Cannonball over the top ropes onto both of them. If there’s one thing notable about this match it’s the solid teamwork that both of them display. Trent gets back in the ring but is almost just as quickly sent flying onto the steel steps after Ortiz holds him on the apron, and just a moment later Chuckie manages to cut Ortiz’s legs out from under him which gives Trent enough time to pull off a pile driver. THEN Santana manages to get Ortiz to the ropes during the pin which kept them in the match. It’s still not the aggressive and sadistic match up I was hoping for, but they both definitely have their game faces on and are not afraid to do what it takes to win the match. Sadly for the Best Friends though, Proud N Powerful wanted it just a little bit more as Santana sneakily attacks Trent with a baton which lays him out. The two of them land a street sweeper right after, and get the pin on Trent which I guess means they DON’T have to apologize to Trent’s Mom Sue for wrecking her car. Does that mean insurance won’t cover it? In any case, it was a decent match to start off with and definitely had some high points for both teams, but the feud still doesn’t feel all that IMPORTANT despite how much time they spent building it up.
AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Shahid Khan, and TNT
Okay, so I had thought I posted this thing like three days ago but I guess with all the New Mutants and Bill & Ted excitement that I forgot to finish this darn thing and so here I am trying to put this thing together right before the next episode of the show is supposed to air. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to actually be BUSY doing this stuff which is in its own way a comforting bit of nostalgia (remember when we all got to DO things before the world came to a screeching halt?) and I’ll hopefully won’t be making this mistake again in the future; especially since we not only have another episode of Dynamite this week but a PPV on Saturday! Let’s get started!!
There was an announcement that AEW would be selling tickets to fans and I think this is the first week where that’s the case. The opening moments spend A LOT of time focusing on all the people in the crowd, and while it IS outside and they DO seem to be separated into clusters, it still makes me very nervous. In any case, Chris Jericho is on commentary tonight and gets a full entrance, while the wrestlers in the opening match to the Tag Team Gauntlet are already in the ring, so I guess AEW knows whose entrance is the money maker.
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Tag Team Gauntlet Match – Number One Contender for the Tag Team Championship
Now I didn’t quite get what this was when they announced it (I thought it would just be a four way between the four teams) but thankfully the give us a quick rundown of the rules. It starts with The Nightmare Family and The Bucks, then the winner of that match immediately has to face Best Friends and then the winner of that has to face FTR. These kind of matches never really made sense to me as it doesn’t REALLY show who the best team is as one the freshest team will obviously stand the best chance and I think it works better in a Royal Rumble where you DON’T have to wrestle a full match to advance and there are ways to strategically recuperate if needed. Still, it should be fun to see all these teams go at it; especially with FTR as the final boss!
First Round – Natural Nightmares Vs. Young Bucks
QT Marshall is a great wrestler but is even better at making everyone else look good and he does a great job eating a bunch of moves from The Bucks before Dustin jumps in and runs wild for like a minute before gassing out completely and taking a prolonged breather. The Bucks though are polite competitors and give him a chance to catch his breath which proves to be a pretty big mistake because Dustin comes back very strong and he and QT take control of the match for a bit. Now in most tag matches this would simply be getting heat for The Natural Nightmares, but because this is a gauntlet match, it means that every minute The Bucks take punishment means they’re going into the next match that much worse for wear. QT Marshall has both Bucks in the ring and goes for a QT special which as far as I can tell is a flip in the ring followed by a back elbow, but The Bucks duck the blow and follow up with Superkicks. At this point The Bucks are in full control of the match and after a minute or two of moves Nick gets the pin on QT after both of them land a BTE Trigger.
AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Shahid Khan, and TNT
With another PPV just two weeks away (literally this time due to the schedule change), AEW has to kick things into overdrive to get people pumped for the big show! No more of this back and forth where one week is good and the next week is meh! Nope, just good matches, good stories, and lots of exciting angles so that people drop their fifty bucks to see it all play out! Does this show manage to create the right kind of buzz to sell All Out to the fans at home, or will it take more than one good show to get things back on track? Let’s find out!!
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Private Party Vs. FTR
Already in the ring and with no introductions, both teams are in the ring and this match is underway. Not only that, Tully Blanchard is in FTR’s corner wearing an FTR jacket so I guess they’re teaming up with him and the conspicuously absent Shawn Spears. I thought they were going to go with Arn, considering the meeting they had a few weeks ago, but I guess his and Cody’s heel turn isn’t happening any time soon. FTR gives a lot to Private Party in this match, and they look pretty good! Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy can be a bit hit or miss at times, but they seem to have brought their A game here, and FTR continue to be consummate professionals in whatever they do. Still, there’s not much TO this match even though both teams are doing a great job in it. We get some Superkicks from Private Party, FTR beats up Quen in the corner for a while, and Private Party tries to fight back with high flying and flashy maneuvers; my favorite probably being when Kassidy flipped over the ropes into a Stunner on Dax Harwood. The only part that felt a bit off was some not especially great looking Leapfrogs from FTR, but other than that it’s a solid match between two teams. At some point Quen is down and Kassidy is trying to make the save by diving onto Harwood on the outside. At the last moment, Tully Blanchard pulls him away and Kassidy lands on the floor; leaving Quen alone in the ring and so both members of FTR bring this to a close with the Goodnight Express for the pin. So, yeah; it was a good match, but not one that had a lot of highs and lows for me. Nothing stood out all that much despite both teams putting in the effort.
AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Shahid Khan, and TNT
We’re back with another week of exciting wrestling action! Well, at least I HOPE it is, because last week’s show was a pretty big disappointment all things considered. Certainly not as bad as SOME shows I could mention (I’m STILL reeling from that Extreme Rules PPV…), but far below the expectations I had for the card they advertised and certainly below the expectations I have for AEW in general. Have they fixed whatever issues prevented last week’s show from being all it could be? Let’s find out!!
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The Elite & FTR Vs. The Dark Order – Twelve-Man Tag Match
Now if you read my recap of last week’s show which, why wouldn’t you (it’s so convenient and easy to find on this website!), you’ll recall that I was rather disappointed by the ten-man tag match from last week and I didn’t think that adding TWO more people into the mix was going to solve anything. Needless to say that my expectations had been lowered significantly for this one, but to my surprise, they pulled it off here and gave us a solid show opener! I remember a LONG time ago that there was like a four-team tag match that was a beautiful display of over the top violence and spots, and while this wasn’t quite up to that level, it was still a fun spectacle that fixed many of the problems I had with last week’s match. I think a drawback with this (as well as last week’s) match is that these are two teams of twelve instead of six teams of two (or even four teams of three if they’re feeling spicy) because you want a match like this to have variety; to see how all these disparate parts react when allowed to bounce off of each other which is somewhat lost when so many of the competitors are just standing off to the side waiting for their turn. The action ultimately feels limited with just so many people hanging onto the ropes with the same objective in mind, but they do their darnedest to compensate for this with a really fast pace and enough leeway from the ref to basically let them do whatever the heck they want. For example, the match basically starts with Brodie Lee facing off against both of The Bucks and it’s basically two guys trying to take down one giant monster; not necessarily the most ORIGINAL setup, but usually this happens so that the one monster can squash the tag teams which always feels silly (*cough* WrestleMania 34 *cough*) but this makes it more of an even fight which is far more interesting to watch. It does perhaps slow down a bit too much when they get Nine The Creeper in there to essentially take move after move after move from the good guys without getting pinned, but this is all compensated by just how explosive everyone is in the match and how much effort they’re putting into every move. So a lot of stuff happens with both sides getting their chance to show off some moves until the bald member of FTR ends up hurting his knee, and so both FTR members along with Page head to the back; leaving The Bucks and Kenny to face all six members of The Dark Order. The Bucks certainly put up a valiant effort, especially since Kenny is nowhere to be seen for whatever reason, and Matt Jackson in particular eats six consecutive corner splashes before Cabana goes up to the top rope; smashing into him and going for the pin but only getting a two count off of Matt. Probably my favorite individual spot in the match, at least on the heel side, is when Evil Uno catches a kick from Matt Jackson and tosses the leg to the ref who is perplexed and just sits there holding it; allowing Uno to go for a Cutter but only getting a two count. See, THAT’S what I want from Evil Uno; a guy who’s just fine in the ring but comes up with clever moments like that to really set him apart from everyone else there. It’s why I was so annoyed at Brodie Lee for treating him and Grayson like mere jobbers when they lost their match last week because those two are a genuinely talented pair when given the chance to shine. In any case, Matt Jackson goes to give Nick the hot tag, but Uno snatches him from the corner and he and Grayson take him out. I still don’t know where Kenny is, but Matt is all alone taking on all the Dark Order members, and sure enough he manages to rally and takes them ALL out before going for the corner again to find no one. Stuck with Five The Creeper, he fights valiantly until Page finally shows back up and Matt makes the tag to the Hangman. The fresh Page runs roughshod over everyone as I’m sure he has no idea who he can actually pin (I’m right there with him), but eventually, it comes down to him Brodie Lee; both legal and ready to rip each other’s head off. Brodie Lee, GIANT MO-FO that he is, does a SUICIDE DIVE and destroys Hangman Page. They feed him to Colt Cabana who gives Page a Chicago Skyline (where he drops Page onto the top ropes) and is about to get the pin before Kenny runs in out of nowhere and breaks it up. Oh, so NOW he shows up! TOOK HIM LONG ENOUGH! Despite Kenny making the save, Page is still the legal man and in bad shape, but he’s not about to quit even after taking a top rope splash from Stu Grayson which gives The Elite JUST enough time to jump the rest of the Dark Order and team up on Brodie Lee. Lee takes a surprising amount of punishment from The Elite, but it’s not going to be enough to put him away unless Page musters up his strength and gives him a Buckshot Lariat. Kenny’s got him in a Full Nelson, The Bucks are off to the side, and Page flips over the rope… but then the Creepers in a beautiful display of teamwork drag Kenny and The Bucks out of the ring at the same time; freeing Brodie Lee who ducks the Buckshot, and follows up with a Discus Lariat of his own; sending Page flying through the air and giving Lee the pin when he comes back down to Earth! That was a really fun match with the right level of goofiness and the kind of energetic tone you want for an opening match. I PROBABLY would have shortened it a bit and I think twelve people is a bit excessive (something they must have realized when they contrived for FTR to leave the match), but I LOVED the ending and overall it was better than any match we got last week!
AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Shahid Khan, and TNT
We’re back with another week of Wednesday Night ACTION as AEW has one of their most impressively stacked cards in recent memory; even against their big sorta-PPV events as far as I’m concerned! Luchasaurus, The Dark Order, big stars like Omega and Moxley; what more could you ask for in a two hour show!? Is this the episode I’ve always wished to see, or will I find myself gripping a monkey’s paw by the end of it? Let’s find out!!
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Luchasarus, Jungle Boy, Chuck Taylor, Trent, and Orange Cassidy Vs. The Inner Circle – Ten Man Tag Match
Hey, I’m as surprised as you are! I would have bet money this would be the main event instead of the opening match, but I guess Jon Moxley is still the biggest draw which is why this is going first; none of which I’m sure the Demo God isn’t pleased about. It starts off with Jake Hager and Orange Cassidy in the ring with the latter not the least bit afraid; keeping his hands in his pockets as Hager fails to menace him. Within two minutes of them squaring off, The Inner Circle jumps Cassidy and EVERYONE is in the ring in an instant. The match is absolute chaos at that point as everyone just runs to the outside and starts pounding on each other, including Marko Stunt who is thrown by Luchasaurus like a lawn dart at The Inner Circle. You’ve got to feel for Ref Aubrey here. This isn’t a No DQ match or even a Falls Count Anywhere match, but what are you supposed to do? Try to corral TEN FREAKING DUDES IN FUNNY OUTFITS at the same time!? She has the right idea of just staying in the ring and watching EVERYONE instead of setting herself up for obvious distraction spots, and for what it’s worth it’s at least a FUN descent into chaos which does eventually lead back to being a proper match. Honestly though, I like it better when it’s not trying to follow the rules because it feels like kind of a waste otherwise. Trent ends up having the worst of it as he gets stuck in the middle of the ring taking beatings from every member of The Inner Circle in turn and when there are FOUR people who could be making the save it just feels a bit tedious. Eventually, Luchasaurus gets the Hot Tag and runs wild on everyone; leaving him and Hager to smash each other over the head with fists and BIG clotheslines. For a moment the match has its momentum back, but then things get a bit off track when Luchasaurus’s mask threatens to fall off and Cassidy has to run in to make the save while Luchasaurus puts his face back on. The match devolves into chaos again with Jungle Boy getting his first big moment in the match by giving Jericho a Backbreaker which I thought was a Code Breaker at first just in case you were wondering how qualified I am to be doing these recaps. Sammy and Luchasaurus are left in the ring again and Sammy does manage to rally for a bit, but just as he’s about to jump from the top rope, Matt Hardy’s music hits for the distraction. While Aubrey is looking to see if someone comes out, Hardy sneaks up on Sammy and hits him in the back; knocking him to the floor and leaving him to get pinned by Luchasaurus. I’d have pegged this as the best match of the night, but in hindsight, it was probably doomed to being a mess. The thing is that if you’re going to have THIS many people in the ring you need a match type that is suitable for it, and a one-person-at-a-time tag match is not a good use of the immense talent there. Chuck Taylor did like one dive from the apron, but that’s it; I don’t think he even tagged in! They’ve been holding off on Blood and Guts for MONTHS now, and frankly this would have been a good candidate for the first one of those matches, but instead we got this. It’s not BAD, but I could have seen it be so much better.
AEW Dynamite is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Shahid Khan, and TNT
We’re back with another episode of Dynamite, and after the very odd feelings I had for last week’s show I went into this one a bit wary. Not dreading it as there are PLENTY of worse shows you could be watching right now (*cough* Extreme Rules *cough*), but perhaps a bit unsure as to where all this was going now that we’ve had our three weeks of big event matches. Do they pick up the plot threads from last week and take them in interesting directions, or are things looking bleak for this upstart company? Let’s find out!!
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Cody Vs. Eddie Kingston – TNT Championship Title
So… who the heck is Eddie Kingston? I mean I’m out of the loop as far as Indie Superstars, but the way this guy comes out and starts talking before the show can put its metaphorical pants on, you’d think that he’s been on Dynamite at least once, but as far as I can recall this if the first time the guy’s shown up and spends several minutes talking mad smack on Cody before confirming that this title defense will be a No DQ match. For the most part, this is a pretty standard match that doesn’t take much advantage of its gimmick for the first half or so. It starts rather basic with a few weight belt shots a few minutes into the match followed by Kingston tearing up the floor mats just to take a bump on the concrete moments later. Speaking of whom, after the initial shock of this dude coming out of nowhere and talking like he’s cock of the walk, I can say that Kingston does have a way with words in a manner much like Taz does with just how viciously he can deliver his speeches with utter conviction. His in-ring performance, while not quite up to his mic skills is solid for what he has to do and comes off like a mid-card Hardcore kind of guy; not exactly a superstar but with enough authenticity between the over the top WRESTLING antics to make his straightforward style compelling in its own right. What I found pretty odd though were the commentators who kept bringing his recent weight loss up for seemingly no reason; first, because there’s a match going on that they could be calling instead, and second for anyone who’s never even HEARD of this guy (like myself) it’s not something that we’re inclined to notice. In any case, the match is going along until at one point Kingston’s knee gives out and he’s on the ground utterly helpless for whatever Cody has planned next. At least you’d THINK that, but since this is no DQ he manages to keep Cody at bay with a low blow which leaves HIM on the floor now, and after a moment or two Kingston manages to get back up and grabs a back of tacks from underneath the ring. The tacks are strewn across the mat and normally what would happen is the Babyface would find a way to get the Heel to fall into his own tacks, but not this time! Kingston works over Cody a bit and then manages to POWERBOMB HIM INTO THE TACKS! You can’t say that Cody doesn’t suffer for his company, but it seems to have the opposite effect that Kingston was expecting as being stuck with the tacks has only pissed him off and he’s pushed into OVERDRIVE; not selling for any of Kingston’s strikes and manages to lock him into a brutal Figure Four Lock which he taps to; giving Cody the win and continuing his reign as TNT Champion. I’m not the biggest fan of Hardcore matches, but the right spot at the right time will give the match the edge it needs, and this was a REALLY great tack spot that gave the finish the oomph it needed to make this opening match pop and set us up for a great episode!
The Reviewers Unite 