AEW was coming off of two major events in consecutive weeks on TNT. It would be incredibly interesting to see how they continued their momentum from Bash at the Beach and the Jericho Cruise. Tonight’s show came into our homes from Cleveland, Ohio. Let’s dive right into the opening bell and see how they did.
Jon Moxley was out to a thunderous ovation to kick off the show with a promo. The one-eyed Mox is from Ohio himself, so you can imagine that he had the crowd in the palm of his hand here. He even did an O-H-I-O spelling chant with the audience. He talks about the kind of man that Jericho is, and how it’s his destiny to get to the top of the AEW mountain. Jericho comes out, and just as the crowd starts singing his theme, it cuts off (it seems this may start becoming a trend in AEW audiences). Jericho says Moxley made the wrong choice not joining them, and he brings out the Inner Circle. Moxley still wants to fight, so Ortiz calls out some additional gang members they brought to help (to which Jim Ross responds “What’s a hoodie-hoo?”). Moxley channels his inner Steve Austin and attacks them ALL. Security is out to break it up, and he fights them as well. It looked like former CZW/Evolve wrestler Cheech was out there to take a Paradigm Shift. Moxley looked like a badass here, and stuff like this will get him over in a big way.
The Butcher and The Blade vs. Young Bucks
Before the match, we got a theatrical Lucha Underground style package with MJF entering the lair of Butcher and Blade to pay them off, to get revenge on the Bucks for tossing him in the pool last week. Good nod to continuity, and a nice way to make Butcher and Blade feel more dangerous. MJF is great on commentary here, and the match itself is also very solid. Butcher and Blade are one of the more underrated acts in all of AEW, and the Bunny carries such a seductive and motivating aura about her. The Bucks use their speed against the power and isolation of Butcher and Blade, and the clash of styles makes for a very smooth, well-paced match. The Bucks win with the Meltzer Driver. Butcher and Blade are losing a bit too much for a team that’s supposed to be mercenaries.
After the match, they try to jump the Bucks, but Omega and Page (who’s drinking again) come out for the save. Adam Page literally does a “hold my beer” spot, where he hands his drink to Omega and does a Buckshot Lariat. The tension continues between Page and The Elite.
Nyla Rose vs. Big Swole
They show packages of both of these ladies being victorious on yesterday’s AEW Dark, and I really like that. That show needs to be held in cannon more often. This match was pretty disappointing. I like both acts, but the two powerhouses never really got to showcase their strength here. It was a bit choppy, and they relied on messy strikes and slow counters too much. Nyla won with the Beast Bomb. I think it’s time to pull the trigger and put the Women’s Title on her at Revolution.
Kip Sabian vs. Cody
As much as distraction finishes are overused, I think MJF distracting Cody here would’ve been nice. A statement win for Sabian would’ve been very helpful here. This match started well, but really got bogged down by messy execution of plot points. The referee and Arn Anderson got into arguments too much, and for way too long. They could’ve cut that down and just used the ending spot to get Arn tossed out. Also, Joey Janela popped up and intercepted a Sabian/Ford kiss. I know the two are feuding, but this had no bearing on the result of the match and slowed down the proceedings. I get what they were going for here, but I don’t like the way this was laid out. Cody is a star and Sabian is a future building block, but this was paced poorly. Cody wins with three Crossroads.
Britt Baker came out for a promo, and I truly LOVED this. This was the best piece of business that Baker has done since she’s been in AEW. She’s always looked the part, but her matches and babyface persona were simply falling short. The cocky dentist routine got major heat tonight, and I think this direction is perfect for the Pittsburgh native. She targets Jim Ross, telling him to be the voice she grew up on, and not some BBQ shill who can’t get the rosters’ names right. She tells Tony Schiavone he has gingivitis and gets on Riho for never being there. This was crass, articulate, and accurate. Wonderful job by Britt.
The Young Bucks are backstage with Kenny Omega, and Omega says the Elite is back on track and has an 8-man tag next week. Adam Page comes in and gives the Bucks their nameplates for if they would’ve won the titles. Page is doing the somewhat subtle, backhanded compliment thing that continues their awkward rift. Nice quick promo.
SCU vs. Jack Evans/Angelico
For as talented as Evans/Angelico are, I totally forgot they were on the roster. SCU comes out in Kobe Bryant jerseys (RIP to Kobe and all of the other passengers on that horrific plane crash on Sunday. My prayers go out to your families). They seem to cut a promo about Kobe, but it’s on picture-in-picture, so we can’t hear it. The crowd was dead silent for the entire match, and it seemed to hurt the quality. This felt like it was just thrown together to get SCU back on the winning track, and it wasn’t bad, but never quite clicked. SCU wins with the SCU-Later. On the screen after the match, the Dark Order says the Exalted One is upset that Daniels didn’t join them when they offered. They said they’re warning him that they’re going after his family. I’m loving these Dark Order promos every week.
Pac does a black-and-white promo with manic quick-cuts, and this also reminds me of Lucha Underground. Pac cuts a good scathing promo, saying he’ll come for Moxley if there’s anything left of him after Jericho is done. He says Kenny Omega is listening now, and things will start happening on Pac’s time next week. I like this dark, aggressive direction for Pac.
Santana/Ortiz/Chris Jericho vs. Darby Allin/Private Party
Santana and Ortiz are apparently no longer called “Proud and Powerful” for some reason. The crowd gets to finish singing “Judas” this time. This is a really fun six-man fray main event, that starts slowly with the heels getting heat. By the end, all six athletes were showing their stuff. Darby is more and more over every week. Aside from MJF, he may be the most over “homegrown” act in the company. Jericho pins Cassidy with the Judas effect. The Inner Circle comes back in to beat on the faces, and Sammy Guevara rams Darby’s neck into his skateboard. These two youngsters would tear it up if they fought at Revolution. Moxley runs out with a baseball bat and clears the ring to go off the air.
Overall, this was a very solid edition of Dynamite. The opening and closing tag matches were a lot of fun. Britt Baker turned a corner as a cocky heel here, and Moxley looked great in taking on…everyone. They continued Cody/Moxley and the Elite dissension nicely, and there were several good vignettes. Some of the matches fell a bit short of expectations, but that’s bound to happen sometimes. I’ll see you all next week!
