The tenth week of AEW Dynamite came to us live on TNT from Champaign, Illinois, in front of a small but hungry audience. It seemed in particular this week, that Tony Schiavone really started to click with the modern product. Obviously he’s a battle-tested legend, but it feels like he’s really finding his groove with the current day roster and sounding smoother in AEW now. Let’s jump right into the opening bell.
Young Bucks/Dustin Rhodes vs. Proud and Powerful/Sammy Guevara
This was an excellent, fast-paced choice to open the show. This showcase of The Elite versus The Inner Circle was a smooth collection of spots that also sported some nice character work. Dustin pretended his was tired after a barrage of powerslams to pop the crowd. Sammy used his camera phone to stream a selfie while he flew off the turnbuckles. The dives to the outside were plentiful in this one. Guevara hit a beautiful 630 at one point. The Bucks get the pin with a triple team (double Meltzer Driver and back senton combo). The Bucks face P&P in a Texas Street Fight next week, in what should be a wild contest.
Fenix vs. Trent
This spot fest continued the feud between the Lucha Bros and the Best Friends. It was mostly just a collection of moves with little psychology, but I’ll confess that Fenix is the best high-flyer in the business. His transitions as he rolls through and springs off the ropes is so smooth and effortless. Trent has all the tools to be a singles star in AEW, he just needs to find his charisma. At one point, Chuck Taylor raised up Orange Cassidy’s hand and slapped it down to cheer on Trent, and that was a great basic way to get a character over. Fenix wins with the spinning sitout muscle buster.
Cody comes out for a promo, and 2019 was truly his year to become a transcendent superstar in wrestling. His aura and confidence have just come alive. He talks about his chaotic life, from being attacked last week, to being betrayed by MJF, to his friends all being too busy to help him. He says The Butcher, The Bear, and The Bunny can pick his partner and face him in a tag match next week (they chose former ROH veteran QT Marshall). He references MJF’s botched Crossroads last week, saying they botch that on two networks now (referring to NXT on USA). He says MJF won’t face him, so he offers to put up his watch, his custom shoes, cash, etc. He gives a young child $100 bill as proof that it’s real. This is a great promo and a great use of continuity to further two separate feuds.
Joey Janela has a backstage promo saying that he’s been overlooked, and he wants to make a splash in AEW tonight by beating Jon Moxley. Moxley shows up and just says “kids”. It’s nice to see the undercard getting some mic time, but this was just okay.
We get another entrancing Dark Order promo. Two of the followers from the last few weeks go out into a ceremony in the woods to join the cult. They’re asked why they want to join. One says revenge, and the other says he wants to make friends. The editing and music in these really shine. These macabre promos have become one of the best things on the show, and they add depth to previously reviled characters.
Nyla Rose vs. Leva Bates
This is an uber quick squash to keep Nyla on a roll. She wins in about a minute with the sitout powerbomb. She hits another after the match, and Shanna (who she was shown attacking last week) comes out for revenge. Nyla powerbombs a referee through a table, and then powerbombs Shanna on top. This should be a hard-hitting feud that will truly introduce us to what Shanna can do.
Chris Jericho and Jake Hager are out for a promo. He’s sold 20,000 bottles of “A Little Bit of the Bubbly” Champagne in a week. He says AEW is making him fight once more, in two weeks on the 2019 finale of Dynamite. He brings out a list of people he refuses to face. He mentions Moxley about 10 times, along with a host of other great comedic choices. Just as he says “Marty” (a reference to the Elite member, ROH’s Marty Scurll), The Jurassic Express come out. Luchasaurus shows off his vocabulary and intelligence, but it’s actually Jungle Boy that’s facing Jericho in two weeks. Jungle Boy goes after Jericho while Luchasaurus brawls with Hager. Jericho has done an excellent job at taking on undercard talent and giving shine to lesser known guys (Allin, Sky, and now Jungle Boy). This should be a nice way to give Jungle Boy a bit of a rub for the national audience.
Kris Statlander vs. Hikaru Shida
Statlander is back after her impressive performance last week on Dynamite. Some websites are saying she’s been signed by AEW, while others report that she was only given an offer so far. Either way, she’s a tremendous upgrade for this roster and she brings a character and energy that most in this division don’t have. Kris is simply one of the best athletes in the world of wrestling, of any gender. Shida is still pretty bland, and offers nothing to stand out, outside of her knee off of the chair on the outside. This match is pretty smooth, and that’s mostly on the back of Statlander’s rolling offense. Her version of a tombstone (I didn’t catch the name) gets her the win over the #1 contender. You have to think she’s figured into AEW’s future plans in a major way after this.
Kong and Brandi come down to the ring, and Brandi says she and Kong are known as the Nightmare Collective. They are here to do the dirty work that nobody else wants to do. They tell Statlander to pledge to them so she can be protected. A plant from the crowd (Shimmer veteran Melanie Cruise) says she wants to pledge to them. They cut off her hair and she plays the obsessed cult fan very well. Cruise has signed with AEW, and this is a good fit for her. This segment is a winner all around. Statlander feels like an Earth-shifting talent, Brandi is gold on the mic, and Cruise fits with them like a glove.
Chris Daniels vs. Pentagon Jr.
This is a solid singles match that continues a long standing feud, since Pentagon injured Daniels way back in the tag team title tournament. It starts with a lot of fake, leg-slappy offense, but it slows down into a solid contest once Daniels takes control. The crowd is a bit dead for this one, and Daniels misses the ropes on an Arabian Press to the outside and eats the ramp. Fenix comes down and involves Daniels’ mic stand. While the ref’s back is turned, Pentagon low blows Daniels and hits the package piledriver for the victory.
The Butcher, The Blade, and The Bunny gets a short promo vignette looking like badasses. Allie says they came to AEW because they were sick of seeing Cody’s face on everything and they want to take over. Very brief but nice character building work.
Jon Moxley vs. Joey Janela
This is a re-match from Fyter Fest, where the two hardcore standouts had a Lights Out Match. Moxley won that brutal contest, but it didn’t count on his record. Joey Janela has worked really hard in AEW. Not only is he one of the best bumpers in the company, but he added a ton of offense in this match. Moxley has his working boots on here, and like Jericho, he’s been working with a lot of younger talents to help them. This is a fun, hard-hitting main event that made Janela feel like more of a star than he’s ever felt like before. Moxley wins with the Paradigm Shift. Afterwords, Jericho and his crew come out through the crowd, just as Moxley did to Jericho last week.
Overall, this was another nice effort from AEW. They’re down for the last 2 weeks in ratings to NXT, and they put on a good show here. The opening and closing matches were very good. The Dark Order and BBB both had great packages. Cody and Jericho both had awesome promos. Melanie Cruise debuted, and Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus got a big rub from Le Champion. AEW has a lot of momentum to move forward on to close the year.
