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The burning question heading into tonight’s AEW Dynamite is not “will they try and match the emotional crescendo” of last week, but rather, should they even try?
THE DARK ORDER (please join them) kicks us off threatening Adam Page and Kenny Omega as well as SCU right before their rematch for the AEW World Tag Team Championship. I always enjoy the pageantry of ring entrances, but I really appreciate AEW’s attempt to start hot. Sky and Daniels vs Omega and Page kicks us off and there’s a guy in a full Scooby Doo costume at ringside. As a child of the 70s I can’t love that more.
Lots of topes to get us started. My useless opinion: SCU needs the belts a heck of a lot more than Page and Omega. We’re clearly headed to a Page heel turn. Let’s not hold the belts hostage to do this. KAzarian and Sky are so good, it would really be a shame to see them in the middle or back of the pack. It should be noted that Christopher Daniels went to the back to hunt down The Dark Order. If he was smart, he’d join them like I did.
The crowd is 100% ready for Page to be THE guy. They see him as such a bigger star than Omega. That’s no knock on the Cleaner at all, but rather the great development of Page. This has been a hell of a match so far. Buckshot Lariat/V Trigger combo wins it and Omega and Page retain. Problem: Kazarian clearly grabbed the rope at 2.5
THE MIGHTY DARK ORDER joins us, as does every other AEW tag team involved in AEW, as we have a tag team battle royal next week. Oddly Private Party wasn’t out there but, not so oddly, The Butcher and The Blade got beat down like scrubs. Have I mentioned how good I think they are?
MJF vs Jungle Boy tonight. I’d prefer Cody to be not be there. If he is, I think the character needs to be somewhat gun-shy.
JR is with Santana, doing a pre-show interview. Pretty heavy stuff from Santana, talking about his father starting to go blind at 14. This an Eddie Kingston-esque promo from last weeks NWA Powerrr (I implore you to check it out) minus the suicide thoughts revelation.
We have another video from Darby Allin, who’s doing a FAR better job selling his throat injury than Jon Moxley is with his eye “injury” (unless eye injuries don’t carry over to Japan). He vows revenge on The Inner Circle, which leads us to the Spanish God Sammy Guevara vs Dustin Rhodes. I’m kind of bummed that Sammy won’t be gracing us with signage during the commercial. At this point, I know the Inner Circle is supposed to be the top heel group, but the only thing on my mind right now is seeing and hearing from MJF after last week’s angle. In 1997, I saw Dustin, as Goldust twice over a summer weekend, have 2 of the best house show matches I’ve ever seen vs. Savio Vega. 24 years later, the guy is STILL at this high of a level. Rhodes with the Final Reckoning for the pin. I love Dustin, but I really question feeding a future big star like Guevara to the babyfaces so often. Sammy is going to be huge, I’m just afraid he’s going to be way behind the 8 ball if and when the mega push starts.
Dustin with an impassioned challenge to Hager.
Poor Tony Schiavone is out for some more abuse by Dr. Britt Baker. Tony continues his streak of never getting the first question out before being intrerrupted. She defends her actions last week on Dynamite, needing to extract teeth that were rotting out anyway. I have to give her credit, this crowd is HATING her because she’s being a heel, not for any other reason. I didn’t find it extraordinary but her “Horns Down” gesture in Austin, TX is going to draw some real hatred.
Kicking off hour 2 with the AEW World Women’s title match. Personally I think it’s time to pull the trigger AEW should have pulled in October by putting the belt on the Native Beast. The AEW belt needs to be something almost impossible to get, Riho seems lucky to be champion. Rose can be the destroyer the title needs.
There is no way Riho, at 98 pounds, should be manhandling Rose with hurancanranas but here we are. Rose risks certain disqualification by bringing out a table. Riho attempts a bodyslam. OK. Impressive looking crucifix suplex but a Death Valley Driver off the top by a 210lb woman on Riho should end it, but it doesn’t. Riho with a Northern Lights. “This is awesome” chant. No it’s not. Spear and powerbomb and we have a new AEW World Champion. Not the dominant performance it should have been but the belt is in the hands of the person it needs to be on.
Backstage, Kenny Omega is pretty despondent, getting trash talked by the new champion.
Big news from Mr. Chris Jericho. Next week Moxley will have to wrestle Jeff Cobb (Yes, ROH’s Jeff Cobb)
FINALLY, we get a look at the public flogging MJF put on Cody last week. Brandi joins the commentary team, she acknowledges problems with the commentary team before but we seem past it now. Time for Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs Jungle Jack Perry. I never have any issue with JR calling him that, as I think it legitimizes him as more than a gimmick. Great touch having Marko Stunt and Luchsaurus leaving Perry to go it alone, he’s a star, no doubt. JR announced that Cody is not there. I love that. Keep him off TV for a week to sell what happened. 99 times out of 100, I’d be griping that MJF is hurting the big money match by going 50-50 with Jungle Boy. Perry has been established so well as a young stud/future mega star that him getting strong offense here seems perfectly appropriate.
Commercial and I DEMAND to know what’s going on with Jeff Cobb.
Damn MJF just grabbed his junk and told Brandi she could have a real man. MJF is playing this perfectly. Double Cross by MJF after a Ring-assisted punch and that’s all she wrote.
To no one’s surprise, our own Mike Johnson has all the Jeff Cobb details up already. If only he’d pledge his allegiance to The Dark Order, Scoops would be flawless. If he wasn’t likely getting beat down by Moxley next week, I’d be more excited.
What does make me excited is the upcoming 30 minute Iron Man match between Omega and PAC. PAC with another promo touting the big match in 2 weeks. We’re told the Lucha Brothers get to challenge Omega & Page next week on Dynamite. Jake Hager v Dustin Rhodes is now official for Revolution.
Le Champion, Hager and the Spanish God arrive in a luxury box for our main event. Santana with a full eyepatch, let’s see if Moxley suddenly had a relapse with his injured eye after how immaculate it seemed in Japan. As expected, we’ve got a full on brawl in the crowd to kick this off. Ortiz is hanging closeby. JR with the call that Moxley had the edge as he’s had a month to get acclimated to wrestling with a bad eye and this is Santana’s first time. Nice rolling cutter by Santana and anold school piledriver for a two count. I kind of expect Cobb to show up as the mass audience may not know who he is. Santana with a big frog splash.
For a singles match, Santana is aquitting himself nicely. Paadigm Shift out of nowhere and Moxley gets the win. He gets zero chance to celebrate as the Inner Circle beats him down. Jericho calls for his Bounty Hunter Jeff Cobb. Cobb with The Tour of the Islands as we go off the air.
Definitely not an AEW show with storyline advancement, but rather it gave rhe stories a nice chance to breathe and get the audience used to slowing the pacing down a little.
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