The Young Bucks survived a four-way tag team match in the main event of Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite to earn a shot at Tag Team Champions FTR at November’s Full Gear pay-per-view.
After the match, FTR went to shake the Bucks’ hands but the challengers were surprised from behind by a Tully Blanchard chair shot, eventually leading to the champions “Pillmanizing” Matt Jackson’s ankle with a chair to close the show.
The four-way included Private Party, The Butcher & The Blade and Alex Reynolds/John Silver of the Dark Order. Matt Jackson pinned Isiah Kassidy with a roll-up to earn the victory.
The Bucks and FTR built up a rivalry on social media while FTR (then The Revival) were in WWE. When FTR signed with AEW earlier this year after being released, it was a question of when, not if, they would eventually meet in the ring as the two teams went face-to-face on their first night in.
FTR will be looking for the fourth defense of the titles they won from Kenny Omega and Hangman Page at September’s All Out. The Bucks have gone 0-2 in title shots thus far, losing to SCU at the December 18, 2019, Dynamite and to Omega/Page at February’s Revolution.
Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy in a ‘The Elite Deletion’ match has been announced for Full Gear.
The match was announced on tonight’s show, though what exactly a ‘Elite Deletion’ match is was not specified.
During tonight’s main event, Sammy Guevara and Matt Hardy, (who accompanied Private Party to ringside) brawled to the back during a picture in picture commercial break.
Guevara rekindled the feud between him and Matt Hardy last week when he cut off Hardy during an interview. The video screen showed him burning pictures of Matt Hardy as he revealed that it was him who attacked Hardy weeks ago.
The two last wrestled in a ‘Broken Rules’ match at All Out. The match was initially stopped when Hardy fell off a ladder and was knocked out on impact. The match continued, but it immediately went to the finish, where Hardy won.
Other matches announced for Full Gear, which takes place on November 7, includes the following:
Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston for the AEW World title in an I Quit match
Cody vs. Darby Allin for the TNT title
FTR vs. The Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Team titles
The finals of a tournament to determine the next contender for the AEW World title
Next Wednesday’s TNT Championship match between Cody and Orange Cassidy on AEW Dynamite will now be a lumberjack match, added due to the Dark Order threatening to interfere.
The winner of the match will defend the title against Darby Allin at Full Gear. Cody and Cassidy went to a 20-minute draw on last week’s Dynamite, leading to the rematch being signed.
Next week’s show will also feature the semifinals of an eight man tournament for an AEW World title shot as Kenny Omega will take on Fenix while Hangman Page will wrestle Wardlow. The winners will move on to the finals at Full Gear.
Also announced was a town hall held by the Inner Circle to decide whether MJF should join the group. He and Chris Jericho had a steak dinner that broke out into a song and dance routine Wednesday to advance the storyline that has been brewing over the past month.
Finally, Abadon will return to Dynamite against Tay Conti. Since losing to Hikaru Shida in her March debut, Abadon has won five straight while Conti is coming off a late-September win over Red Velvet.
The semifinals in the eight-man tournament for an AEW World title shot are now set following Wednesday’s edition of Dynamite.
Kenny Omega will face Ray Fenix in one semifinal while in the other, Hangman Page will take on Wardlow with the winners squaring off at November’s Full Gear pay-per-view.
In a match that opened the show, Wardlow pinned Jungle Boy to advance, his ninth straight singles win. Omega followed that up with a win over Sonny Kiss that took about ten seconds. Kiss was a last minute replacement for Joey Janela who was pulled from the show due to COVID-19 precautions.
That was followed by Fenix defeating his brother and tag team partner Penta El Zero M after reversing a Penta charge into a destroyer. Finally, Page defeated Colt Cabana after a competitive match to move on.
Full Gear, set for Saturday, November 7th, will be headlined by current AEW World Champion Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston, Darby Allin facing the winner of TNT Champion Cody vs. Orange Cassidy, and more.
The AEW World title match for Full Gear has been set.
Jon Moxley will defend the title against Eddie Kingston in an I Quit match. This follows what happened in the closing moments of last week’s Dynamite, when Kingston and the rest of his group (The Butcher & The Blade, Lucha Brothers) attacked Moxley.
In a promo tonight, Moxley said there was no one happier than him when Kingston signed with AEW. He used to know him, but now he seems whiny and miserable. Moxley is not going to apologize for his success. He said he never tapped in their first match on September 23 and said he would end this at Full Gear when Kingston verbalizes that he quits.
Eddie Kingston in response said he had to become bitter. He hates who he has become, but he had to become this because his ends justify his means. He said he has never quit in his life and that Moxley is going to have to reach into a deep, dark place, a place that Kingston lives in.
Full Gear will take place on Saturday, November 7.
Excalibur, Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone welcomed us to the show.
World title eliminator tournament first round: Wardlow defeated Jungle Boy
A fun opener.
Jungle Boy got some shine with a series of kicks and dropkicks. Wardlow cut him off after an attempted rana off the apron failed.
Wardlow worked Jungle Boy over. Jungle Boy made a comeback with a backstabber, tope suicida, tope rope rana and a double knee drop off the top for a near fall.
Wardlow cut Jungle Boy off again, then hit a massive F-10 for the pin.
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After the announcers previewed the rest of the card, they aired an incredible promo that Eddie Kingston cut on Jon Moxley after last week’s Dynamite.
Kingston ripped on Moxley for making millions of dollars in the land of entertainers while leaving Kingston behind. Kingston said he would die for pro wrestling and he’s going to make Moxley quit.
Moxley vs. Kingston in an I Quit match was announced for Full Gear.
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Moxley cut a pre-taped promo on Kingston. He said he wouldn’t apologize for making enough money to buy his mom a house. He promised to beat Kingston so badly he’d either get his old friend back or beat him into submission.
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Omega got a total heel entrance for his tournament match. He had dancing girls with brooms and Justin Roberts listed all of his Observer and Pro Wrestling Illustrated accolades.
World title eliminator tournament first round: Kenny Omega defeated Sonny Kiss
Omega won a squash in seconds after hitting a v-trigger and a One-Winged Angel.
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Tony Schiavone interviewed Orange Cassidy about his upcoming TNT title match with Cody.
Cassidy spoofed Bill Belichick and downplayed his loss to Brodie Lee in his last TNT title shot.
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Dasha interviewed Cody and Arn Anderson as they arrived at the building.
Cody said he heard there may be a stipulation added to his TNT title defense against Cassidy next week. He said he gained weight on his hiatus because even though it’s a light heavyweight company, if you look at the opponents he has faced, he’s practically AEW’s giant killer and it was time to go into heavyweight mode.
I’m not sure if this was supposed to be a subtle heel promo but it sure came off as one.
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Kingston cut another promo on Moxley. He said he hates what he’s become, but he had to become a snake. He said being a nice guy got him nowhere, but his current attitude has gotten him to a world title match on PPV.
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World title eliminator tournament first round: Rey Fenix defeated Penta El Zero M
Excellent match. They got a decent amount of time but they really could have gone longer. A big chunk of this happened during an ad break.
There was a scary moment where Fenix landed awkwardly on the mat after a top rope rana. Ref Aubrey Edwards was checking with him every few seconds for the next minute or so as he appeared out of it.
Just two of the very best guys in the world having a state of the art match. They traded kicks and the advantage. Fenix hit a tornillo off the post. Penta missed a chop and punched the post.
After the top rope rana, Penta took over. They traded a series of near falls. Fenix hit a destroyer for the pin.
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A video package recapped last week’s issues between Miro & Kip Sabian and Best Friends. Best Friends said they didn’t mean to destroy Sabian’s arcade game.
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Alex Marvez interviewed Colt Cabana, Alex Reynolds and John Silver about Dark Order’s big matches tonight. Reynolds said that Mr. Brodie Lee taught them to overcome adversity.
Silver did some of his BTE shtick but it didn’t translate as well in this setting.
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World title eliminator tournament first round: Hangman Page defeated Colt Cabana
A nice little back and forth match. This was Page’s best singles outing in quite a while.
Page showed off some of his power spots. Cabana cut him off and worked him over through an ad break. The timing on the commercial breaks on these shows is just brutal.
Page avoided a Chicago Skyline and kicked out of a Superman pin. Page teased a Buckshot Lariat but Cabana stepped away. Page then hit the Buckshot for the pin.
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A video recapped Sammy Guevara beig revealed as Matt Hardy’s mystery attacker.
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Team Taz came to the stage for a promo.
Taz said Team Taz has two problems, Will Hobbs and Darby Allin.
Taz said he hasn’t heard back from Hobbs since offering him a spot on Team Taz and he needs an answer.
Taz said he talked to Tony Khan today and learned that if Starks had beaten Allin weeks ago it would be Starks wrestling for the TNT title at Full Gear. Taz said that burns his ass.
Starks cut a great promo on Allin from there. Starks has a polish and a presence about him that is special.
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Le Dinner Debonair
MJF and Jericho were at their steak dinner. They did some one upsmanship regarding their steak temperatures.
From there, they broke into a “Me and My Shadow” song and dance routine. They changed the lyrics to the song to rip on all of the babyfaces in the company. This was a full blown musical.
There will be a town hall next week with Tony Schiavone moderating to discuss whether or not MJF should join Inner Circle.
The reaction to this is going to be polarizing. I thought it was funny. It also did not make me interested in seeing them team with or wrestle each other at any point.
Regardless, seek this out and make your own determination. It’s one of the most unique segments to air on wrestling TV in decades.
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Hey, it’s the bottom of the 9 p.m. hour, must be time for the one women’s segment on the show.
Britt Baker defeated KiLynn King
Baker won a rather stiff squash after hitting a flatliner, a curb stomp and using Lockjaw for the submission.
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Hangman Page vs. Wardlow and Kenny Omega vs. Rey Fenix, Tay Conti vs. Abadon, Cody vs. Orange Cassidy in a TNT Championship lumberjack match and an Inner Circle town hall were announced for next week.
Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara in The Elite Deletion was announced for Full Gear.
Darby Allin vs. the TNT Champion, Moxley vs. Kingston in an I Quit match for the AEW title and FTR vs. the winners of tonight’s main event for the AEW Tag titles were announced for Full Gear.
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Steve-O appeared in a Darby Allin vignette.
Allin rolled down a skateboard halfpipe in a body bag.
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Video from last night’s Dark where Kingston brought The Bunny back to the Butcher and Blade act aired as Butcher and Blade entered for the main event.
The main event is next.
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FTR joined commentary for this match.
Number one contender match for the AEW Tag Team titles: The Young Bucks defeated Private Party (w/Matt Hardy), Butcher & Blade and Alex Reynolds & John Silver
This was a very good match, just fifteen straight minutes of solid action. The tag division should be the in-ring calling card for AEW.
The Bucks dominated the opening stretch. Nick and Kassidy had a nice exchange. Butcher and Blade broke things up. It was then Private Party’s time to shine as Quen ran absolutely wild.
At the first commercial break, Sammy Guevara jumped the barricade and attacked Matt Hardy.
Silver and Reynolds tried to recruit Butcher and Blade during the match. Bunny jumped on the apron to distract them and Butcher and Blade remained in control.
Silver and Reynolds then had their opportunity in the spotlight as Silver ran around the entire ringside area delivering strikes.
Quen and Kassidy hit Silly String on Reynolds. Butcher and Blade hit their finisher on Kassidy. In each instance, The Young Bucks were forced to jump in and break up the pin.
The Bucks and Private Party were in for the closing sequence.
Nick teased a Meltzer Driver on Kassidy. Quen pulled him off the apron.
Kassidy rolled up Matt for what looked to be the finish. Instead, Matt reversed the cradle and pinned Kassidy.
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FTR went to the ring after the match and offered Matt and Nick beer. Matt and Nick slapped the beers away.
A masked man jumped in and attacked The Bucks with a chair. The masked man hit a spike piledriver off the second rope on Nick.
Cash then Pillman-ized Matt’s left leg with a chair.
Referees ran in and FTR and Blanchard retreated to the stage as the show ended.
Joey Janela is off tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite as a COVID-19 precaution.
AEW announced this afternoon that Janela has been pulled from tonight’s Dynamite after having exposure to someone at an independent wrestling show who later tested positive for COVID-19. “AEW and Joey Janela learned today that he had exposure to a known COVID-19 positive person at an independent show,” AEW wrote. “For that reason we are pulling him until such time as he is cleared to return consistent with our protocols.”
Janela was supposed to face Kenny Omega in the first round of AEW’s World title eliminator tournament on Dynamite tonight. Sonny Kiss is replacing Janela in the tournament and will face Omega on tonight’s show.
Janela faced AJ Gray at Game Changer Wrestling’s The Last Resort show in Silverado, California this past Saturday. Gray announced today that he tested positive for COVID-19: “Well, I got some bad news…. Last COVID test just came back…. and I tested positive…. I don’t really have any symptoms at all, but I’m still stuck on a 14 day quarantine, so yeah… this blows.”
Gray wrote that his positive COVID-19 test was taken on Monday. He noted that he believes he can pinpoint the exact person who passed COVID-19 onto him and it wasn’t someone in pro wrestling.
GCW announced ahead of The Last Resort that they were taking additional COVID-19 precautions following The Collective: “Here are additional precautions we took to ensure this event is as safe as possible: 1. All talent was required to be tested & produce a negative result before coming to CA. Some were tested twice. All talent, including local has been tested within 72 hours of event.”
The entire first round of the World title eliminator tournament is taking place on Dynamite tonight. Penta El Zero M vs. Rey Fenix, Omega vs. Kiss, Hangman Page vs. Colt Cabana, and Jungle Boy vs. Wardlow are the first round matches. The finals of the tournament will take place at Full Gear on Saturday, November 7, with the winner getting a future shot at the AEW World Championship. The title is currently held by Jon Moxley.
Set up on this past week’s Being The Elite, either Brandon Cutler and Peter Avalon will get their first AEW win this Tuesday on Dark as they will meet for the third time.
On BTE, company president and booker Tony Khan said that there must be a winner after their first two matches went to a double countout and double DQ, respectively.
In a storyline that played out entirely on Dark and BTE, the two had teamed up starting in May but never won a match in thirteen outings. The two finally came to blows after the final loss in August which eventually set up their first and then second singles matches against each other. Manager Leva Bates has reluctantly stuck with Avalon and has been conflicted in their two matches.
Both men have been with AEW since the start with Cutler making an appearance on the debut Dynamite in a losing effort to MJF. Avalon worked Dark for a month before making his Dynamite debut in mid-November. Neither man has been on Dynamite since a late-May battle royal.
The show had three major developments: Scorpio Sky continued his feud with Shawn Spears, Allie renewed her association with The Butcher & The Blade as the Bunny, and five of the eight competitors in the AEW World title no.1 contender tourney picked up decisive victories ahead of the first round kicking off Wednesday.
Show Recap:
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary with Ricky Starks joining the team later in the show.
Shawn Spears (w/ Tully Blanchard) defeated Christopher Daniels
Spears has been feuding with Daniels’ SCU compatriot Scorpio Sky. This match was shorter than expected. Spears stalled at the start, taunting his opponent, before Daniels hit a suplex and a pescado. Daniels tried a whip on the floor, but Spears reversed it and sent Daniels into the barricade before hitting a neckbreaker on the floor.
Back in, Spears pulled down his kneepad but missed a knee drop. Daniels fired up with strikes, but was whipped hard into the turnbuckle and DDT’d. He fought out of the C4 and hit a Complete Shot and an STO followed by a cradle for a near fall.
Daniels hit a diving crossbody for two and called for the Angel’s Wings. Spears fought out and attempted the C4 again, but Daniels countered into another cradle for two. Daniels attempted a slingshot move, but Spears caught him out of the air and hit C4 for the win.
Post-match, Spears hit a second C4 and grabbed his Kevlar insert gimmick from Blanchard. Sky ran in for the save and Blanchard convinced Spears to back off. Spears attacked a stagehand on his way out.
Brandi Rhodes (w/ Dustin Rhodes) defeated KiLynn King
Brandi wrestles on Dark almost every week and I still can’t perceive any real improvement from her as a wrestler. The announcers discussed her ongoing feud with Anna Jay.
They performed some choreographed wrestling at the start. John Silver came out with a “Johnny Hungee” sign, apparently a BTE reference which went over my head. Alex Reynolds came out and admonished Silver for being an idiot before they returned backstage.
Brandi hit the Shot of Brandi (a pump kick) for the win.
Ricky Starks defeated David Ali
Starks acted like he was better than Ali at the start, so Ali fired out of the gate with forearms. Unfortunately, he was met with a tilt-a-whirl powerbomb and stiff strikes. After a beatdown, Ali came back with a springboard dropkick, but Starks knocked him off the top rope on a second attempt. Starks then hit the Roshambo for the win.
Post-match, Starks joined commentary. He and Taz really have incredible chemistry and their interplay is genuinely the highlight of Dark every week.
Scorpio Sky defeated Fuego Del Sol
This match was really back-and-forth and not the squash you might expect. They performed some lucha libre at the start. There was a bit of miscommunication for a moment when Del Sol appeared to get tripped up in the ropes, but they recovered nicely.
Sky held an advantage with holds and power moves until Del Sol hit a pop-up dropkick and a Fosbury Flop. Back in the ring, Del Sol hit a diving crossbody and a sunset flip for a couple near falls. He attempted a missile dropkick, but Sky turned it into a scorpion deathlock for the submission win.
Post-match, Spears’ music hit. Sky readied himself for a fight, but Spears never showed.
Luchasaurus (w/ Jungle Boy) defeated Aaron Solow
Luchasaurus beat down his opponent early on. Solow eventually hit a hurricanrana and a swinging DDT on the floor. In the ring, Solow hit a double stomp and a thrust kick before Luchasaurus downed him with a lariat. The Tail Whip, a chokeslam, and a standing moonsault gave Luchasaurus the three count.
The Butcher & The Blade defeated Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison
Eddie Kingston joined Butcher and Blade for their entrance. Blade fought with Garrison before both tagged in their partners. Butcher hit a running crossbody on Pillman to take advantage, and he and Blade then took turns beating down Pillman.
Butcher whipped Pillman into the corner, but Pillman turned around into a crossbody before reaching Garrison for the hot tag. Garrison ran wild on Blade, but Butcher and Blade countered some double team offense. They then hit a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination for the win.
Penta El Zero M defeated QT Marshall (w/ Dustin Rhodes)
This was the show’s best match.
Penta did his glove toss schtick at the start, screaming “cero miedo” in Marshall’s face, but Marshall caught his hand. They traded some running offense, but Penta laid Marshall out with a kick. Marshall hit a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, but his dive attempt was met with a kick.
Penta hit a loud chop on the outside. Marshall rolled out of the way of the double foot stomp and hit a diving uppercut. They went to the top rope and Penta hit a diving stomp on a hanging Marshall. Marshall escaped a package piledriver, but Marshall fought out and hit a handspring enziguri before the two traded kicks. Penta hit a sling blade for two.
Eddie Kingston came out on the ramp to watch. Penta attempted the driver again, but Marshall fought out and they hit simultaneous pump kicks. Kingston pulled out a microphone and distracted Marshall by bringing out Allie. Penta took advantage with a diving crossbody.
Marshall countered into a series of cradles, but Penta hit a pumphandle leg drop slam for two. Marshall hit a Michinoku driver before Penta fought out of a cutter and hit a jumping destroyer. Penta then hit the package piledriver for the win.
Jungle Boy (w/ Luchasaurus) defeated KTB
Marko Stunt did not join his Jurassic Express partners. This was KTB’s AEW debut. He’s a solidly built powerhouse type who frequently competes for GCW. KTB came out hot, but Jungle Boy hit a shotgun dropkick and a hurricanrana. He went to the top rope, but KTB knocked him down and hit a series of running power moves.
KTB hit a fireman’s carry slam for two, followed by an inverted atomic drop and a jumping splash for another two. Jungle Boy fought out of a power bomb and laid in strikes, concluding with a rebound lariat. A dragon screw sent KTB to the outside where he was met with a tope suicida from Jungle Boy. Jungle Boy then hit a springboard DDT for a near fall.
Jungle Boy attempted another springboard move, but KTB caught him and hit an iconoclasm into a knee for another near fall. KTB missed a top rope moonsault and Jungle Boy hit a back elbow and a diving knee drop for the win.
Ivelisse & Diamanté defeated Kenzie Paige & Skyler Moore
Ivelisse and Diamanté attacked before the bell. Diamanté hit a deadlift suplex that Moore almost didn’t get all the way over on. Moore tried to fight out with a cradle, but Ivelisse and Diamanté beat her down with frequent tags. Moore and Diamanté hit simultaneous clotheslines and both were able to reach their partners for tags.
Paige ran wild with clotheslines, but Diamanté broke up a pin attempt. They hit a double backdrop driver followed by a Diamanté cazadora stunner and a short kick from Ivelisse for the quick victory.
Colt Cabana defeated BSHP King
There was no Dark Order out with Cabana but a minute into the match, Silver and Reynolds came out for “backup”. However, they ended up distracting Cabana. The story is that Cabana isn’t wrestling aggressively enough. He told them to back off, so they left.
Cabana beat King down with elbows and holds. They fought on the top rope and King sent Cabana to the mat. Cabana got the knees up on King’s senton atomico, and he followed up with the Superman pin for the three count.
Alan “5” Angels defeated Adam Priest
Silver, Reynolds, Anna Jay, and Preston Vance joined Angels for his entrance. Angels dominated most of the match, hitting a springboard moonsault and beating Priest down with ground and pound. Priest hit a series of lariats and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, but Angels hit kicks and a twisting fisherman’s buster followed by his finisher, the Wing Snapper, for the quick and decisive victory.
Frankie Kazarian defeated Jack Evans (w/ Angélico)
Before the match, Kazarian cut a really good promo backstage addressing Evans. He considers Evans to be overlooked and underrated. Kazarian knows how that feels and that bothers him, because he’s worked too hard to not be at the top of this industry. After he beats Evans, he’s going after AEW gold –– all of it.
They performed chain wrestling early on and hit matching armdrags. Angélico hit a right hand while the official was distracted and Evans took advantage with a spinning kick for the heat.
Evans continued to beat down Kazarian and would occasionally distract the official to let Angélico get involved. Kazarian came back with cradles before dispatching Angélico with a guillotine leg drop. He decked Evans with a lariat and hit a springboard leg drop for two.
Angélico distracted Kazarian, leading to Evans hitting a leg lariat for two. Evans hit a standing twisting moonsault and a handspring elbow, but Kazarian caught another moonsault attempt and hit a reverse DDT for the win.
Hybrid2 attacked Kazarian after the bell, but Daniels ran out for the save which appeared to set up a future tag match.
Dark Order (Alex “3” Reynolds, John “4” Silver & Preston “10” Vance) defeated Louie Valle, Baron Black and D3
Jay and Angels were out with the three Dark Order competitors. It appears that Reynolds and Silver are no longer wearing masks to wrestle, but Vance still is. Valle made his AEW debut here; he’s somehow shorter than Silver. Reynolds pretended to recruit him at the bell, but it was a ruse. Every competitor in the match got a chance to tag in early on, but Vance was the one who gave his team an advantage with power moves on D3.
Valle attempted a comeback after the hot tag, but Dark Order easily dispatched each of their opponents. He attempted a diving move, but Dark Order caught him and hit an assisted double team iconoclasm for the win.
Wardlow defeated Vinny Pacifico
Pacifico attempted a dropkick at the bell, but Wardlow no sold it and killed him with a gutwrench power bomb. He followed it up with a rope hang knee strike for the knockout victory. Post-match, he continued the attack with a ridiculous F5.
– Eddie Kingston, Lucha Bros, and Butcher & Blade cut a promo backstage. They were joined by Allie, who is back to being the Bunny and who appears to have joined the “family.”
Matt Sydal defeated Shawn Dean
They performed technical wrestling to start before transitioning into strikes. Sydal hit a jumping back kick and started to target Dean’s knee. During the beatdown, he hit a cool twisting moonsault and a lifting brainbuster for near falls. Dean fought back with elbows, but Sydal nailed a sunset flip and turned it into a submission hold.
Dean fought out with a roll-up and hit a running dropkick followed by a tiger driver for two. He went for a back suplex, but Sydal countered with a tijeras and a rising knee strike before applying a cobra clutch. Dean fought out, but Sydal hit a high kick and re-applied the cobra clutch, forcing Dean to submit.
Rey Fenix defeated Sonny Kiss (w/ Joey Janela)
Kiss surprised Fenix early on with a hurricanrana, but he missed a dropkick and Fenix took advantage with a dropkick of his own. Fenix feinted on his escalera attempt and instead wrenched Kiss’s arm through the ropes. Fenix continued his attack on the arm.
Fenix missed a clothesline when Kiss moved into a back bridge, but his arm gave out and Fenix re-applied a submission. Kiss went for a diving leg drop, but Fenix pulled him down and hit strong thrust kicks to the head. Kiss hit a tornillo elbow and an enziguri followed by his cartwheel kick: the Xs and Os. The split leg drop followed for a near fall.
Kiss missed a tackle and Fenix turned it into a cazadora, but Kiss rolled through into a cradle. He then hit a pump kick and a flatliner and headed up top, but Fenix hit a rising uppercut and a black fire driver for three.
Final Thoughts:
Last week, I said that AEW Dark continues to be way too long. This week’s episode was longer. Additionally, I am beginning to question some of the booking. There’s no reason why Scorpio Sky, Luchasaurus, and Jungle Boy should have evenly matched contests against David Ali, Aaron Solow, and KTB, respectively. Just let them get their decisive victory and move on.
More than a year after he last fought, Jake Hager will be returning to the Bellator MMA cage in ten days.
MMA Junkie first reported Monday night that Hager (2-0-0-1) will return at Bellator 250 on Thursday, October 29th against fellow undefeated heavyweight Brandon Calton (2-0). Despite Hager’s notoriety as part of the AEW roster, the fight will be on the prelim portion of the empty arena show at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun.
The 38-year-old hasn’t been in the cage since a no contest against Anthony Garrett last October when he low blowed Garrett several times in the first round, something he later used in AEW.
Hager, who signed with Bellator in November 2017, has yet to see a fight go past the first round with submission wins in his first two outings. He has wrestled sparingly over the last few months in AEW, teaming with Chris Jericho.
Bellator 250 will be headlined by Gegard Mousasi vs. Douglas Lima for the vacant Bellator middleweight championship.
Matt and Nick Jackson were called into a meeting with Tony Khan over their recent superkick rampage. As a result, they missed Brandon Cutler’s match on Dark that they had promised to be ringside for. Cutler and The Bucks had a blow-up over this.
Matt Hardy brought his kids to the AEW hotel to meet Matt and Nick Jackson. Matt and Nick were rude to Hardy’s kids. Hardy told The Bucks that getting sympathy on his kids to further their conflicted tweener characters was “such good sh*t.”
Christopher Daniels confronted Matt and Nick over their recent behavior. He offered to listen if Matt and Nick ever wanted to talk.
Kenny Omega told Cutler to expect a new attitude from him on Dynamite and less funny stuff on BTE.
Gator Golf tournament for the BTE Championship —
Matt Hardy defeated Luchasaurus
Fuego del Sol defeated Sammy Guevara
Colt Cabana/Michael Nakazwa defeated Matt Sydal after Peter Avalon and Brandon Cutler were disqualified
Dark Order —
Kris Statlander made an appearance and continued her feud with Alex Reynolds and John Silver.
Dean Malenko was using Dark Order’s clubhouse as an office, so they had to meet elsewhere.
Reynolds and Silver made Five and Ten paper each other.
Miscellaneous bits —
Tony Khan officiated a press conference for the upcoming Peter Avalon vs. Brandon Cutler match on Dark. Jim Ross was parodied in this segment.
Private Party threw a private party backstage. Cody was invited. Frankie Kazarian, Reynolds and Silver did not make the guest list.
While they didn’t announce it on TV this past week, all four first round matches in the AEW World title no. 1 contender tournament will be on this week’s Dynamite.
On last week’s show, they only announced “the first match” as taking place in addition to some non-tourney bouts, but a Sunday tweet indicated the entire first round would play out this week, later confirmed with the company.
The first round will feature Penta El Zero M vs. Rey Fenix, Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela, Colt Cabana vs. Hangman Page, and Wardlow vs. Jungle Boy. The finals will be at November’s Full Gear with the winner earning an AEW World Championship shot in the future.
Wednesday’s Dynamite will also feature:
Young Bucks vs. Private Party vs. Butcher & The Blade vs. John Silver and Alex Reynolds where the winner earns an AEW Tag Team Title shot at Full Gear.
AEW continues to be aggressive with the amount of matches on Dark, rolling out a 16-match lineup for this week that will feature five competitors in the upcoming World title no. 1 contender tourney.
In one tourney preview, Penta El Zero M will face QT Marshall (w/Dustin Rhodes) while Rey Fenix takes on Sonny Kiss (w/Joey Janela). The Lucha Bros will face each other in the opening round Wednesday.
Looking at the other end of the bracket, Jungle Boy (w/Luchasaurus) will face the debuting KTB, a GCW mainstay who was last seen at the Spring Break 4 show last weekend. Jungle Boy’s tournament opponent, Wardlow, will look to extend a seven-match winning streak against the debuting Vinny Pacifico.
Finally, Colt Cabana, who goes against Hangman Page in the tourney, will face BSHP King.
In another featured match, Shawn Spears (w/Tully Blanchard) will take on Christopher Daniels of SCU. Spears has been stalking SCU teammate Scorpio Sky as of late and Daniels is looking to put Spears in his place on behalf of his partner who is in also in Dark action against Fuego Del Sol.
Other announced matches:
Frankie Kazarian vs. Jack Evans (w/Angelico)
Brandi Rhodes (w/Dustin Rhodes) vs. KiLynn King
Aaron Solow vs. Luchasaurus
Matt Sydal vs. Shawn Dean
Ivelisse & Diamante vs. Kenzie Paige and Skyler Moore
Butcher & Blade vs. Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison
Alan “5” Angels vs. Adam Priest
Ricky Starks vs. David Ali
Dark Order’s 3/4/10 vs. Louie Vallee, Baron Black and D3
Jon Moxley retained the AEW World Championship in the main event of last night’s first anniversary episode of Dynamite.
Moxley defeated Lance Archer with a crucifix after eating Archer’s Blackout finishing move. After the match, Archer attacked Moxley. Eddie Kingston, who was at the commentary desk with The Lucha Bros, sent Penta El Zero M and Rey Fenix to the ring to chase Archer away.
Kingston then came to the ring and cut a promo, praising Moxley for carrying AEW for its first year.
After raising Moxley’s arm in victory, Kingston hit the champ with a spinning backfist. Kingston then applied a rear naked choke. Dynamite went off the air with Kingston vowing to “get” Moxley.
Three other title matches took place on the anniversary show.
Cody retained the TNT Championship by the skin of his teeth in a time limit draw. Orange Cassidy had Cody in a mousetrap cradle as the time limit neared. Before the referee could complete his three count, the 20-minute time limit expired.
Hikaru Shida retained her AEW Women’s World Championship with a win over Big Swole.
FTR retained their AEW World Tag Team titles with a win against Best Friends in the show opener. Miro and Kip Sabian attacked Best Friends after the match.
For more of what you missed, including a Chris Jericho/MJF promo segment and a Britt Baker/Tony Schiavone spa day vignette, scroll below.
Darby Allin will get a shot at the TNT title next month.
Allin was shown in the crowd during tonight’s AEW Dynamite, watching the match between Cody and Orange Cassidy for Cody’s TNT title. It was here that the announcers mentioned that Allin would challenge for the title at Full Gear, which takes place on November 7.
The match ended up going to a 20 minute time limit draw. It was later announced that the two would wrestle again for the title in a rematch that will take place on the October 28th Dynamite.
Already announced for Full Gear are the finals of a tournament that will determine the next challenger for the AEW World title. FTR will also defend their AEW Tag Team titles against the winners of a fatal four way match between Private Party, The Butcher & The Blade, Alex Reynolds & John Silver, and The Young Bucks that will take place on next week’s Dynamite.
