The show opened with a backstage segment with a doctor telling Kenny Omega he wasn’t medically cleared to compete this week. Jon Moxley on the other hand was and he’s in a two-minute squash match. After an easy victory, Mox grabbed a mic and delivered an exciting promo challenging anyone to have the balls to step up to him.
Takeaway: The match accomplished one thing for Mox to grab a mic and ironically ask if that win counted? He then proceeded to cut one of the best promos I think I’ve ever heard from him. He was unhinged and questioned if anyone in the locker room had the balls to step up to him. The difference between the company Mox came from and here is, that he looks, talks, and acts like a bonafide badass.
The Dark Order vs. Jurassic Express
After about five minutes of incredible high-octane action from Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt to Stu Grayson, Evil Uno got the tag and hit a huge Swanton bomb off the top rope for a near-fall. The heels brutally assaulted their opponents until a tilt-o-whirl flatliner allowed Marko to come back into the match. After some stellar double-team maneuvers and creative offense, Dark Order put Jurassic Express away with a devastating Fatality!
After the match, Uno grabbed a mic and was trying to convert Marko over to the dark side but he declined and in return endured a massive beatdown. Luchasaurus made his triumphant return and singlehandedly beat the holy hell out of Dark Order and the minions.
Takeaway: Holy crap these two smaller superstars took down massive men in impressive fashion. I don’t know anything about Jurassic Express but Luchasaurus appears to be the glue holding them all together. Dark Order continues to impress me a little more every week.
The lights go out and “The Chairman” Shawn Spears is making his way down to the ring.
Darby Allin vs. Shawn Spears vs. Peter Avalon
Allin and Spears stare a hole into each other while Avalon went up top for a splash but both competitors just let him crash down. After a decent amount of back-and-forth action, Joey Janela attacked Spears on the outside which took him out of the match. Allin went right at Avalon and hit an innovative stunner followed by a Coffin Drop for the victory.
After the match, Allin accepted Moxley’s challenge for a match next week.
Takeaway: It’s a shame that this triple-threat was interrupted and essentially just turned into a singles match where you knew who would win. Peter Avalon reminds me a lot of Damien Sandow with the way he carries himself. Allin vs. Mox next week will be absolutely insane and I can’t wait.
Nyla Rose obliterated Danni Jordan in just under four minutes with a devastating Sit-down Powerbomb.
Medical update on Dustin Rhodes, the commentators state that he’s still a month out from in-ring action but he can begin training in two weeks.
A huge announcement of the AEW Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal next week where twelve competitors will fight and the last two will battle the following week.
Tony Schiavone is interviewing Allie who claims she’s been showcasing her talents on AEW Dark but she feels it’s time to do it on Dynamite. The lights went out and Awesome Kong and Brandi Rhodes main appeared. Allie charged at Kong but she was bulldozed through and Brandi took a lock of her hair as another sick souvenir.
“The Le Champion”/MJF Promo
Chris Jericho came out to a red-hot Nashville crowd that popped huge for the Le Champion. He continued to advertise he and Sammy Guevara challenging SCU in the main event for the AEW Tag Team Championships. Cody’s music hits and MJF came out to a flood of boos.
Takeaway: Y2J and Maxwell engage in of the most ingenious and entertaining promos that I’ve seen since Jeri-Ko from WWE. The two obnoxious heels have stellar chemistry and we don’t know if MJF has joined The Inner Circle because Cody rushed down to the ring and attacked them. Le Champion left and Maxwell endured some payback until Wardlow made his AEW debut and obliterated “The American Nightmare.”
PAC vs. “Hangman” Adam Page
PAC made his entrance for the rubber match followed by Hangman. The match started with “The Bastard” beating the hell out of his rival with stiff kicks and a stunning splash to the outside. Hangman fired back with some tremendous high-octane offense including a thunderous sidewalk slam on the ring apron and a picture-perfect moonsault! After a terrific sprint of a match, PAC ended the rivalry with a massive pump kick and another jaw-dropping Black Arrow and The Brutalizer.
Takeaway: A spectacular match within the allotted time produced some of the best highly-intense wrestling. Both competitors got in a great deal of offense but cowboy shit wasn’t enough to put away The Bastard who ended this brutal rivalry appearing more dangerous than he did when it started.
A huge backstage brawl ensued between The Young Bucks and Santana and Ortiz that carried all the way to the arena. Matt and Nick Jackson were put through tables and blasted in more ways than one. The two thugs took the Bucks out of action and Private Party stepped up to the heels.
Main Event: SCU vs. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara: (AEW Tag Team Championships)
Frank Kazarian and Le Champion started off the match and Kazarian got the better of both members of Inner Circle with some great rest holds and arm drag takedowns. Scorpio Sky entered the match and immediately took down the young up-and-comer. Guevara brought the fight to the tag team champions until I missed shooting star press off the top rope.
Both competitors delivered a series of stiff kicks and Sky hit a beautiful spinning stunner over the ring ropes. Jericho finally got the tag and went toe-to-toe with Sky who hit a TKO for a near-fall. Jericho hit the Lionsault for a 2.9. Le Champion distracted the official and Guevara almost secured the victory. Christopher Daniels and Jake Hager fought at ringside. Sky rolled Jericho up in a cradle pin to retain the titles.
After the match, an irate Jericho tore apart the ringside area and barricades while slamming a steel chair at the show ended.
Takeaway: Man, I really thought for a moment that Inner Circle was about to hold all the gold as the heels tried to win by hook or by crook. Guevara continues to grow and develop his character as the obnoxious heel alongside Le Champion. He’s shining in the spotlight given to him by Jericho. A stellar match all around for both teams but the wily tricks of the veteran cost him in the end.
Summary: Another great episode of AEW Dynamite it ended some great rivalries for a little while at least. Cody getting reinjured will put him out of action for a few months until the next big pay-per-view. MJF and Jericho’s in-ring segment was beautifully-written and a true gem. The announcement of Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin and Private Party vs. Santana and Ortiz will be insane matchups.
For the first-time-ever, I decided to watch Dynamite this week before NXT because I wanted to see the fallout episode and how the stories from Full Gear would culminate and what developments would occur and I was not disappointed!
