Chris Jericho’s 30th anniversary celebration has been announced for the October 7 edition of Dynamite.
There weren’t many details regarding the celebration other than a logo and that it would be held on October 7, in two weeks.
On tonight’s show, Jericho confronted Matt Hardy after Hardy accused him of being behind an attack that took place on a recent episode of Dynamite. Jericho denied this and brought back Sammy Guevara, who had been out of action since the events of All Out last month.
Private Party, who accompanied Hardy to ringside, also confronted Jericho. It eventually led to Isiah Cassidy challenging Jericho to a match for next week’s show. In an interview that took place later in the show, Jericho said that Cassidy would someday be a big star, but it wouldn’t happen next week.
Jericho made his wrestling debut in 1990, wrestling on independent wrestling shows in Canada. He later went on to wrestle for several major companies, including FMW, CMLL, SMW, WAR, ECW, WCW, and WWE.
A rivalry that has been building for weeks will hit its boiling point next Wednesday on AEW Dynamite as Darby Allin and Ricky Starks will finally go one-on-one.
While they have clashed in a tornado tag team match and the recent Casino Battle Royal, next week will be their first singles meeting. The two were supposed to be part of a six-man tag on this week’s Dynamite but the match was canceled due to Lance Archer’s positive COVID-19 test.
In another featured match, former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho will face Private Party’s Isiah Kassidy in singles action. The two had a verbal exchange following a Matt Hardy promo when Kassidy stepped up and called out Jericho for a match. This will be his first singles match in AEW and a rare one in general for his young career.
The rest of what was announced:
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley will make an appearance.
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR will face SCU in a 20 minute challenge where SCU must defeat the champions within the time limit in order to win.
Dr. Britt Baker will be action for the first time since the Tooth and Nail match at All Out.
After a six week absence, Cody is back in AEW with a new look and a challenge he has to determine whether to accept.
Following TNT Champion Brodie Lee’s win over Orange Cassidy on Wednesday’s Dynamite, Cody’s music hit and out he walked, now with black hair. He came to the ring and laid out both John Silver and Alan “5” Angels, putting the figure four on Angels. He did no promo afterward.
The announce team played up that Cody, clad in nearly all black, seemed different and more sadistic in his approach.
Lee did a backstage promo on Cody afterward, criticizing him for staying away while Dustin Rhodes did the work for him and while his wife, Brandi, was posting “thirst trap” photos on Instagram. He then challenged Cody to a dog collar match, saying he has one week to answer his challenge.
This was Cody’s first appearance since Lee ran through him on the August 13th Dynamite for the TNT title, adding insult to injury by laying him out on the stage afterward, dumping pieces of the first TNT title all over him as members of the Nightmare Family were laid out all around him.
A positive COVID-19 test result has resulted in a major change to tonight’s AEW Dynamite.
Mr. Brodie Lee vs. Orange Cassidy for the TNT Championship was set to headline the show, while Jon Moxley, Will Hobbs & Darby Allin were going to face Lance Archer, Brian Cage & Ricky Starks in a six-man tag. Archer revealed a positive COVID-19 test, so now Moxley will defend his AEW World title against Eddie Kingston.
Kingston was technically never eliminated from the Casino Battle Royale at All Out and has been mentioning that fact in his promos ever since. So tonight, he gets the World title shot he’s been clamoring for.
Lee will be making his second defense of the title since winning it from Cody on August 22. Lee brings an AEW career singles mark of 7-1 into the contest. Cassidy is 8-4 in AEW singles matches in 2020 and is coming off wins over Chris Jericho and Angelico.
Miro and Kip Sabian will team against Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss in Miro’s AEW in-ring debut.
AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida and NWA World Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa will team against Ivelisse and Diamante. Rosa defeated Ivelisse on last week’s Dynamite. Diamante and Ivelisse attacked Rosa after her win and Shida made the save.
An appearance by Chris Jericho and an appearance by Matt Hardy and Private Party have also been advertised.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Jim Ross, Excalibur and Tony Schiavone were the broadcast team.
This was a mixed bag. I thought they used Miro smartly and he played to his strengths, mostly tagging in for a few power spots.
I thought that any talk of Miro having a new physique was overblown last week but I was wrong. He’s gigantic.
Janela and Kiss got some shine on Sabian early. Sabian and Miro cut Kiss off and worked him over. This was formulaic but the work was very good at this stage.
Janela got a hot tag and things got sloppy. Miro, Janela and Sabian brawled to the floor. Miro sold his ankle and was limping for a bit.
Miro tried to launch Sabian over the barricade to Janela. Janela was supposed to hit something mid-air but the camera crew didn’t get a good shot of it and it looked like they botched it anyway.
Miro used the former Accolade, now possibly called Game Over, for the submission win on Kiss.
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Eddie Kingston entered and demanded the hard camera be focused on him. He said he and Mox used to be cut from the same cloth but then Mox sold out and became a sports entertainer, selling his soul to the devil.
He demanded that Moxley face him. Moxley entered and faced off with Kingston. A security team kept them apart.
This was an excellent segment. Give me a Kingston promo every week.
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The announcers previewed the card. Kenny Omega joined the commentary desk for the next match.
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Hangman Page defeated Evil Uno (w/Dark Order)
This was exactly the same thing they did last week, there was no storyline advancement with Omega and Page. Omega was better on commentary this week than last week but still managed to talk under Page’s ring introduction.
JR tried to help Omega get over the storyline here and asked if he was going to help Page out. Omega said he was staying put because he’s a singles guy now.
Page is still getting his legs under him as a singles guy and his matches aren’t clicking on all cylinders yet.
They had a back and forth brawl before an ad break. Uno worked Page over in a picture-in-picture ad break.
Page made a comeback. Uno tossed him to the stage. Uno asked Dark Order to go to the back rather than interfere.
Page made another comeback and hit a standing shooting star for a two count. Uno hit a senton atomico for a two count.
Page hit a powerbomb with a stack cover for a near fall, then followed with a Buckshot Lariat for the pin.
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Schiavone interviewed Matt Jackson backstage. Matt said fans may have noticed that he and Nick have been acting out of character lately.
He broke Tony’s phone and continued to act like a jerk.
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TNT Championship match: Mr. Brodie Lee defeated Orange Cassidy to retain the title
Not much to the match here but it was more a backdrop for the post-match angle.
Cassidy did his comedy kicks and pockets spot.
Cassidy tried a suicide dive but the Dark Order lackies caught him and allowed Lee to take over. Lee beat on Cassidy through an ad break.
Cassidy made a comeback and ran wild with suicide dives. JR went on his weekly crusade to undermine talent by ripping on dives. Cassidy hit a pair of tornado DDTs for near falls.
John Silver jumped in. Cassidy hit him with an Orange Punch. Lee used the distraction to hit a powerbomb and a discus lariat for the pin.
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After the match, Cody’s music hit.
Cody entered. He has dark hair now.
Cody beat up some Dark Order lackies while Lee escaped.
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After a commercial, Lee cut a promo. He asked what kind of man Cody was for sending Dustin and Brandi to do his work for him while he was in a bubble somewhere.
Lee asked what kind of man Cody was that his wife was posting thirst traps and calling Lee “Daddy.”
Lee pulled out a dog collar and challenged Cody to a dog collar match. He gave Cody a week to respond.
This was another strong promo. The high point of this show tonight is the promos by a wide margin.
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Matt Hardy and Private Party made their way to the ring. Hardy said it was his birthday.
Hardy said he was attacked from behind last week. He used a lot of words to say that someone with a mask attacked him with a pipe or bat and noted that right after he was laid out, Jericho and Hager entered with a bat.
Hardy said he has a lot of enemies but was pointing the finger at Jericho.
Jericho and The Inner Circle entered. Sammy Guevara is back. Jericho said he didn’t attack Hardy. Jericho was carrying a baseball bat.
Hardy wanted to fight the whole Inner Circle. Quen and Kassidy talked sense to him and reminded him he’s not cleared yet.
Quen said he is cleared and laid out Jericho last week. Kassidy said he’s ready to make Le Champion his bitch next week.
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FTR and Tully Blanchard came to the ring for a promo. Tully said that Tag title matches on TV will now have a 20 minute time limit and he and FTR get to pick the opponents.
FTR are branding this as a weekly “brush with greatness.” They mentioned Best Friends as potential opponents.
Best Friends entered. FTR acted like they were ready to defend the titles right away. A referee came out and was about to ring the bell when Dax stopped him.
Cash said it wouldn’t be fair to Best Friends if they wrestled tonight and advised them to take a couple weeks to heal up and then maybe call Tully and they’ll set something up.
This was an effective segment.
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Thunder Rosa & Hikaru Shida defeated Ivelisse & Diamante
Rosa is great, Shida is great, this match was laid out really well, there’s just only so much Ivelisse and Diamante are capable of.
Rosa’s facepaint was a tribute to Road Warrior Animal.
Shida and Rosa were attacked during Shida’s intro.
Diamante and Ivelisse cut Rosa off. It’s kind of like when Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss are in together when Rosa and Ivelisse are in there at the same time in that it feels like a fight could break out at any time.
Shida got a hot tag during a commercial break. The match broke down.
Shida pinned Diamante after a falcon arrow and a shining wizard.
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Dasha Gonzalez was backstage with Chris Jericho.
Jericho said Isiah Kassidy is going to be a big star one day but not next week. He said next week he’s going down when he faces Le Champion.
MJF entered. Jericho and MJF continued to do their mutual appreciation society gimmick. It was very good.
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Jericho vs. Kassidy, Britt Baker in action, Ricky Starks vs. Darby Allin, FTR vs. SCU and a Jon Moxley appearance were advertised for next week’s Dynamite.
A 30 years of Jericho celebration was announced for the October 7 Dynamite.
The main event is next.
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AEW World Championship match: Jon Moxley defeated Eddie Kingston to retain the title
Kingston is 38 and has worked a hard style for a long time. He’s at the top of his game as a promo and a character and that makes up for whatever physical limitations he has.
They had a brawl. It was intense and very good.
They traded a couple of cursory holds right awy but things quickly became the brawl that you would expect. They lit each other up with chops and strikes.
Kingston was in control before a commercial break and beat Moxley around ringside.
Moxley made a comeback with a tope and a piledriver for a near fall. Kingston hit a powerbomb for a two count. Kingston sold like he might have a stinger.
Moxley avoided two backfists and used a bulldog choke for the submission win.
A key point in the finish here is that Kingston never tapped, the referee called for the bell after Kingston appeared to be out.
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After the bell, Penta El Zero M and Rey Fenix ran in to attack Moxley.
Will Hobbs ran in for the save. Penta and Fenix recovered and laid out Hobbs.
Darby Allin ran in to join the brawl. Allin sent Fenix and Penta outside wth skateboard shots.
Ricky Starks ran in and attacked Allin. Starks hit a big spear and hit Allin with the skateboard.
AEW’s one-hour Late Night Dynamite special, which aired on TNT following game three of the NBA Western Conference Finals last night, averaged 585,000 viewers.
The special began at 12:38 a.m. on the East Coast. It finished ninth overall in the 18-49 demo with a 0.26 rating. That matches the rating NXT did on Sept 1 when it aired unopposed on a Tuesday night in prime time and beat the 0.22 rating that NXT did the following Tuesday, but those NXT shows obviously didn’t have the benefit of an NBA lead-in.
Last night’s Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets NBA playoff game averaged 4.828 million viewers, topping all of cable and finishing third overall on television for the night. The post-game show that immediately followed the game averaged 1.743 million viewers on TNT, with Dynamite starting about 55 minutes after the game ended.
The strongest demo for AEW was men 18-49, where Late Night Dynamite did a 0.35 rating and was tied for seventh overall on cable.
Late Night Dynamite featured Shawn Spears vs. Matt Sydal, Brandi Rhodes vs. Anna Jay, and Scorpio Sky vs. Ben Carter.
A regular episode of Dynamite will air on TNT tonight opposite NXT on USA.
After Lance Archer’s posiitive COVID-19 test took him out of a Wednesday six-man tag team match involving rival and AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, the company quickly pivoted and followed up on a leftover storyline from All Out.
Moxley will now defend his title against Eddie Kingston on tonight’s Dynamite instead.
For several weeks, Kingston has said in promos that he was never officially eliminated from the Casino Battle Royale at All Out, the same match that Archer won to earn his title opportunity.
Archer said he will be gone for two weeks, but is still planning on being at the company’s anniversary edition of Dynamite in mid-October where he will face the world champion.
AEW has not yet announced alternate matches for Will Hobbs, Darby Allin, Brian Cage and Ricky Starks, but it’s assumed they will simply face each other in a tag team match instead.
AEW did announce that Miro (the former Rusev) will make his promotional debut tonight, teaming with Kip Sabian to take on Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss and that Matt Hardy and Private Party will make an appearance together as well.
The no. 1 contender to the AEW World Title will be off TV for two weeks due to a self-admitted positive COVID-19 test.
On Wednesday, Lance Archer took to Twitter to reveal his positive diagnosis and how it came to be:
“When I returned from our last show, a family member was ill when I got home. I found out later a friend who had taken my family member to the Vet for our Dachshund was COVID positive. While at home, now I’ve also gotten sick tested positive. I feel ok, expect to see me in 2 wk”
Archer was scheduled to be in a six-man tag on tonight’s AEW Dynamite, teaming with Ricky Starks and Brian Cage against AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, Will Hobbs, and Darby Allin. Moxley tweeted that he will now defend the title on Dynamite instead but didn’t reveal the opponent.
For now, Archer is scheduled to face Moxley for the title at the company’s anniversary edition of Dynamite on Wednesday, October 14th.
Miro will be competing in his first match on AEW on Dynamite.
Tony Khan made the announcement prior to Tuesday’s special one hour edition of Dynamite. He noted that a full announcement would be coming on Wednesday.
“Our Late Night Dynamite 1 hour special next on TNT will be great wrestling, + tomorrow’s Live show will be packed with great wrestling too, including The Best Man @ToBeMiro making his in-ring debut Live tomorrow on Dynamite! Check @AEWrestling for the full announcement tomorrow!” Khan wrote
Miro, formerly Rusev in WWE, was introduced as Kip Sabian’s best man for his upcoming wedding to Penelope Ford on the episode of Dynamite following All Out.
Also announced for this week’s Dynamite:
Mr. Brodie Lee vs. Orange Cassidy for the TNT title
Jon Moxley, Darby Allin, and Will Hobbs vs. Lance Archer, Brian Cage, and Ricky Starks
Hikaru Shida and Thunder Rosa vs. Diamante and Ivelisse
Three matches have been advertised for the AEW special.
Brandi Rhodes will be in action against The Dark Order’s Anna Jay. The Dark Order took Rhodes’s husband out of action on the August 22 edition of Dynamite. Mr. Brodie Lee defeated Cody for the TNT Championship that night. Cody was assaulted by Dark Order after and did a stretcher job.
Shawn Spears will face Matt Sydal. Both were participants in the Casino Battle Royale at All Out on September 5. Sydal eliminated Spears from the match before being tossed himself by Eddie Kingston.
Scorpio Sky, the fifth-ranked singles competitor in AEW, is also scheduled for tonight’s show. Sky will face Ben Carter. Carter made his AEW debut on the September 8 episode of AEW Dark in a losing effort against Ricky Starks. According to AEW’s website, Carter is a former Black and Brave Wrestling Academy student.
Our live coverage begins following the conclusion of tonight’s NBA playoff coverage on TNT.
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Jim Ross, Excalibur and Tony Schiavone were the broadcast team.
Chris Jericho entered and joined the commentary desk. Jericho milked the Judas reaction.
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Scorpio Sky defeated Ben Carter
This was a quality opener.
Carter is fundamentally sound and looks to be a pretty good athlete. They worked a slow pace and kept things simple.
They traded basic holds, including hammerlocks. Both appeared to be going after the other’s left arm. Sky used a leg sweep. Carter hit a deep arm drag. Sky rolled outside to collect himself. They traded dropkicks and chops before a commercial break.
Sky was working a chinlock after the break. Carter rolled to the apron and blocked a suplex back in. Carter hit a moonsault press into a reverse DDT for a two count. He followed with a standing shooting star for another two count.
Carter missed a moonsault off the post but connected with a tope con giro. Carter hit a frog splash for another two count.
Sky avoided a phoenix splash and hit a neckbreaker for a two count. Sky tried a fisherman buster but Carter blocked. Sky got the fisherman buster on a second attempt for a near fall.
Carter used a schoolboy for a near fall. Sky hit a double stomp, a big boot and a TKO for the pin.
Sky and Carter shook hands after the bout.
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They aired a hype video for Moxley, Hobbs & Allin vs. Archer, Cage & Starks on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
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Anna Jay defeated Brandi Rhodes
This was much better than it had any right to be given their combined in-ring experience level. The announcers put this over as a grudge match and they definitely worked it that way.
Brandi came out firing forearms and elbow strikes. Brandi hit a DDT on the apron.
Brandi hit a Thesz press and worked on Jay’s abdomen with strikes. Jay did a nice job selling.
Jay used her Queen Slayer rear naked choke but Brandi flipped it over into a cradle for a two count.
Jay cut Brandi off and hit some strikes before using a chinlock. Brandi came back with a slingblade.
Stu Grayson and Evil Uno ran in and took the ref. Brandi hit A Shot of Brandi but there was no ref to count the pin.
Jay used the Queen Slayer and Brandi passed out in the hold for the finish.
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Alex Marvez interviewed Scorpio Sky. Sky said he’s going after the TNT title.
Matt Sydal entered. Sydal and Sky buddied up to each other and put each other over. Sky invited Sydal out for drinks later and said Marvez could come with.
Sky was the best promo of this bunch and that’s not saying a lot.
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A video package for the TNT title match between Orange Cassidy and Brodie Lee aired. JR put Cassidy over strongly.
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Shawn Spears (w/Tully Blanchard) defeated Matt Sydal
They opened with some chain wrestling. Spears hit some chops. Spears teased a plancha but Sydal took him out with a leg sweep on the apron.
Sydal hit a leg lariat for a two count. Sydal worked an armbar before a break.
Sydal hit a top rope rana after the commercial break. Sydal hit some kicks and used a wacky cradle for a two count. Sydal hit a slice for a two count. Sydal hit a tornillo for another near fall.
Sydal teased the shooting star press but Spears cut him off. Spears hit a spinebuster for a two count.
They traded strikes. Sydal hit a jumping knee strike. Spears hit an ushigoroshi into a double down.
Spears went for a DVD but Sydal blocked. Sydal hit a hot shot and a meteora for a near fall.
Spears sat on a chair on the floor. Sydal hit a running knee and celebrated in the ring while Blanchard loaded Spears’ glove.
They did a couple of teases with the loaded glove before Spears finally connected with a punch and a C4 for the pin.
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Spears went after Sydal after the match but Sky ran in for the save.
Veda Scott returned to commentary as she joined Excalibur and Taz for this week’s eleven match edition of AEW Dark.
Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) defeated Fuego del Sol & Rembrandt Lewis
Uno and Grayson were joined by Anna Jay and the two other Dark Order tag teams for their entrance. Del Sol looked good in the limited offense he got. He came out firing with a cazadora into a knee strike, but when Lewis tagged in, Grayson planted him with a uranage. Grayson and Uno beat Lewis down before he eventually reached del Sol for what looked to be a hot tag, but Grayson immediately cut him off with a pump kick. Uno then hit an inside-out flatliner for the win.
Ricky Starks defeated Christopher Daniels
As a member of Team Taz, Starks was put over strong on commentary. The veteran outwrestled Starks at the beginning with some arm drags and after taking Starks down, he hit a moonsault for an early two count. Starks escaped a series of punches in the corner with an eye poke and sent Daniels outside.
Starks kept up his advantage with a neckbreaker and a slam, but Daniels moved out of the way of an elbow drop. Daniels made a comeback with strikes, concluding the series with an STO and a power bomb for two. Daniels attempted a jackknife cover but he somewhat slipped on the attempt, leading to an awkward series of cradles. Starks then hit a spear out of nowhere for the win.
This should have been better than it was; it was mostly lifeless and nobody expected a spear to pin an established member of the roster like Daniels.
Post-match, Starks joined the commentary team just as he did the previous week. Overall, he was very entertaining. He has this unique aloof nature and conversational style that perfectly matches his gimmick. Also, lots of guest commentators frequently dominate the conversation, but Starks was content to sit back and offer his input only when necessary.
The Butcher and The Blade (w/ Eddie Kingston) defeated Puf and Calvin Stewart
Puf appeared on Dynamite a couple weeks ago during Miro’s debut segment as the guy that first came out thinking he was Kip Sabian’s best man. Butcher and Blade attacked before the bell. Stewart was sent outside toward the beginning and was beaten down by Kingston while the ref was distracted. Blade appeared to bust open Stewart’s nose on a knee lift that connected.
Puf tagged in and was too heavy for Blade to hit a suplex. Butcher tagged in and dispatched Puf with a diving crossbody before allowing him to tag in Stewart, followed by the Full Death for three.
Will Hobbs defeated Serpentico (w/ Luther)
Serpentico got very little offense early on as Hobbs dominated with power moves. Hobbs attempted a corner splash, but Luther pulled Serpentico out of the way and Hobbs fell outside. Serpentico distracted the ref as Luther beat him down. Luther would get involved every time Hobbs attempted a comeback, so eventually Hobbs dropped him with a right hand. Hobbs then hit a simple spinebuster for the quick win.
He moves on to team with Jon Moxley and Darby Allin as they facer Lance Archer and Team Taz on this week’s Dynamite.
Lucha Bros (Penta El Zero M & Rey Fénix) (w/ Eddie Kingston) defeated Dontae Smiley & Maxx Stardom
Stardom nearly pinned Fénix at the start with a Gedo Clutch. Lucha Bros tied Stardom into a Paradise Lock and broke it with stereo kicks. They continued to hit some innovative double teams, including an assisted top rope double stomp to Stardom’s backside. Lucha Bros played up their ruthlessness by lifting their opponents’ shoulders during covers.
Smiley eventually got the hot tag and hit a dropkick and a suplex, followed by a running pescado to Fénix on the outside. With Stardom back in, Penta hit a pumphandle slam, but Smiley broke up the pin. Penta then finished Stardom off with an assisted Penta Driver.
Dark Order (5 & 10) defeated Ryzin & Xander Gold
As always, the rest of the Dark Order (sans Mr. Brodie Lee) appeared for the entrance. 5 is Alan Angels and 10 is Preston Vance. 5 and Gold wrestled around at the bell before 5 took control with a clothesline. Dark Order hit a double team move before throwing Gold into his own corner, forcing a tag.
5 and 10 maintained control on Ryzin with frequent tags. Ryzin tried to fight back but missed a moonsault. He eventually reached Gold for the hot tag, who performed some cool athletic feats including a standing jump to the top rope. A Northern Lights suplex got two, but 10 tagged in without Gold realizing it.
Ryzin tried to get involved, but was easily dispatched with kicks and an assisted DDT. Dark Order then hit a double stomp/powerslam combination for the win.
Joey Janela & Sonny Kiss defeated Kevin Blackwood & Daniel Garcia
Garcia and Blackwood debuted on Dark last week and they are a good team, two of the better Dark-exclusive competitors. Garcia and Janela wrestled back and forth to start before Janela tagged in Kiss. They hit double team moves and Kiss hit his signature offense. Garcia took advantage when he made a blind tag and surprised Kiss with a forearm.
Garcia and Blackwood kept up the offense on Kiss with power moves and submission attempts. Kiss eventually fought back with kicks and made the hot tag to Janela, who ran wild, concluding the sequence with a crossbody to his opponents on the outside. Back inside, a brainbuster from Janela garnered a near fall, followed by Kiss hitting the split-leg drop for three.
There was no explanation of who he is or why he was here, but I guess Colten is Billy’s son, too. Austin is still extremely green and Billy is just here to hit his signature spots. This was horrendous with only a couple athletic showcase spots for M’Badu really standing out. After some lifeless wrestling, Austin eventually reached Billy for the hot tag who immediately hit the Fameasser for the mercifully quick win.
Serena Deeb defeated KiLynn King
AEW announced Deeb’s signing on Monday. She looked really crisp here as she clearly has some of the most refined fundamental skills on the AEW roster, but King remains sloppy at times. These two wasted no time as they quickly worked into a cradle exchange into trading submissions. King made a comeback with kicks, but Deeb hit a snapmare driver. She then locked on her submission finisher (the Serenity Lock) which is an arm trap, single-leg Boston crab.
Ben Carter defeated Lee Johnson
Carter had a very good AEW debut against Ricky Starks two weeks ago, and he also had a fantastic breakout match against Brian Cage for Warrior Wrestling that same week, worth seeking out if you get a chance. Johnson has been a Dark mainstay, but he’s 0-12 in AEW thus far. These two should be at the top of the list for Dark competitors that AEW should sign.
The two performed some back-and-forth acrobatic wrestling at the bell, which got the crowd invested for the first time all show. Johnson attempted a lariat in the corner, but Carter countered into a turnbuckle flatliner. Carter locked on a side headlock and turned a leapfrog into an STF.
After Johnson escaped, Carter set Johnson up on the top rope. Johnson tried to fight out, but Carter made it back up for the superplex which Johnson immediately turned into an inside cradle for two. They then each hit a double clothesline, a kip up, and identical pump kicks on each other for a double down.
They traded strikes as the match built to a head, but Johnson hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a great near fall. An enziguri sent Johnson to the outside where he avoided a moonsault. Johnson immediately ran in and hit a tope con hilo, but Carter came right back with a tope con hilo of his own in a ridiculous sequence. Carter missed a phoenix splash and Johnson hit a Death Valley Driver and a heel kick for a couple two counts.
Johnson headed to the top rope, but Carter popped up and hit a Spanish Fly and a thrust kick for two. Carter finally put Johnson away with a frog splash.
This was one of the best matches in Dark’s history. I get that the show is mostly used to establish main roster wrestlers with dominant victories, but this was by far the most entertaining and compelling part of the show. I remember exciting matches like Angelico/Kazarian and Avalon/Cutler, whereas most of the squashes are forgotten by the time I submit my review. More of this, please.
Johnson will face Scorpio Sky on Tuesday’s Late Night Dynamite on TNT.
Eddie Kingston defeated Brian Pillman Jr.
This match made it evident why Kingston is moving into more of a manager role. He’s one of the most interesting talkers in the business, but his work is just a bit too slow and methodical, especially compared to the rest of the AEW roster. Kingston’s strikes did look particularly brutal, however, and the match ended up pretty solid. Pillman took Kingston down early on with a shoulder tackle, but that just made Kingston mad.
Kingston beat Pillman down with stiff strikes in a long heat segment. Pillman attempted to fight back, but Kingston silenced him with hard slaps. A sunset flip gave Pillman an opportunity, but Kingston countered a crucifix bomb into a Samoan drop and a lariat to the back of his head.
Pillman eventually made his comeback with a thrust kick and a tope suicida. A springboard clothesline got two, but Kingston hit a jawbreaker and a head-and-arm suplex. Kingston attempted a cover but Pillman reached the ropes. Pillman hit a Kiwi Crusher for two, but Kingston hit the Kitchen Sink and the spinning backfist for the pinfall.
Final Thoughts:
AEW Dark continues to be a lifeless and mostly skippable program. The squashes are fine in keeping main card wrestlers strong, but they just aren’t that entertaining. Everything up until the final two matches felt entirely inessential.
However, once we got to those final two matches, the show hit its stride because competitive, back and forth matches are what people look for in a wrestling show. I knew Johnson vs. Carter would be good, but they went above and beyond expectations and tore the house down. The main event was very different but interesting in its own right as it was a more traditionally paced, hard-hitting style. Those are the two matches you should seek out from this show.
BTE opened with Matt and Nick Jackson giving Brandon Cutler the silent treatment. He asked them if they had a match or a promo this week. Nick flipped Cutler off.
Other highlights included:
Alex Reynolds and John Silver tried to recruit Britt Baker to Dark Order. Silver did a Robert DeNiro impression. Silver and Reynolds thought Britt was a baker for a living.
Cutler went to Tony Khan’s office to try to recover the money that Matt and Nick paid for their first fine.
Stu Grayson was livid that Silver tried to frame him last week and wanted to kill Silver. Evil Uno tried to talk him out of it because of all the paperwork Uno would have to do. Grayson said that he’s not afraid of anyone. Anna Jay entered. Grayson is afraid of Anna.
Colt Cabana is still looking for someone to fix his face.
Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy were chatting up someone at the bar when a dragon walked in.
Silver and Reynolds impersonated Brodie Lee doing the classic two guys in a trench coat bit. Brodie entered and was about to rip them apart when Sue entered and gave Dark Order some food. Brodie threw it on the ground but blamed Silver for it. Sue hit Silver with papers.
We saw Cutler Cam footage from the parking lot fight on Dynamite.
Cabana had an athletic trainer fix his face but it was botched and he looks like Michael Nakazawa now.
We saw a faceless figure playing with Santana and Ortiz voodoo dolls. They cut to the real Santana and Ortiz who were feeling the pain of the dolls. The big reveal was that Sue is into voodoo.
The show closed with a montage of Matt and Nick’s recent heelish actions. Matt got a text from Nick reminding him of how they once said that one day they would face The Revival and everyone would rejoice.
After making her return to the ring earlier this month, Serena Deeb is now officially part of AEW as the company announced her signing Monday.
Per usual, no terms were disclosed. It’s unknown whether her role will be that of just wrestler or as a trainer as well.
As part of the pandemic related financial cuts, the 34-year-old was released by WWE after more than two years as a coach at the Performance Center.
In her AEW debut, she faced NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa on Dynamite in a well-recieved match and will face KiLynn King on Tuesday’s Dark. Before that, she was last seen in the WWE Mae Young Classic in 2017 in a second round loss to Piper Niven. Trained in OVW, Deeb spent time in Shimmer, the indies, and WWE as part of CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society.
The signing is the latest for AEW who also added Miro (Rusev) and Will Hobbs this month.
Best Friends defeated Santana & Ortiz in a brutal parking lot fight in the main event of last night’s AEW Dynamite.
After the win, Trent’s mom Sue showed up in her van to take Trent, Chuck Taylor, and Orange Cassidy home.
FTR defeated Jurassic Express in the show opener. FTR relied on an assist from manager Tully Blanchard to score the pinfall win over Jungle Boy.
Hangman Page defeated Frankie Kazarian in singles action. Kenny Omega joined the commentary desk for the match. Omega teased a singles run rather than teaming with Page again.
Dynamite featured a bunch of promos from some of the best talkers in the game as MJF, Eddie Kingston, Jake Roberts, Taz, and Jon Moxley all worked the microphone.
Taz’s clients, Brian Cage and Ricky Starks, attacked Moxley before Will Hobbs made the save.
For more of what you missed, including Private Party vs. Chris Jericho & Jake Hager, scroll down.
Next Wednesday’s Dynamite will feature one of the company’s most popular wrestlers getting his first AEW title opportunity.
Mr. Brodie Lee of the Dark Order will look for the second defense of his TNT Championship when he faces Orange Cassidy. Cassidy is riding a four match winning streak into his first opportunity at an AEW title.
The show will also feature a six man tag team match where AEW World Champion Jon Moxley will team with Darby Allin and Will Hobbs against Lance Archer, FTW Champion Brian Cage and Ricky Starks.
Moxley selected Hobbs and Allin after a brawl erupted following an Archer promo Wednesday night. Hobbs, who just signed a contract, jumped in to fend off Cage and Starks while Moxley asked Allin to come down to Jacksonville next week to join them.
Moxley and Archer will face each other in the main event of AEW’s anniversary show on October 14th.
Also announced for the show:
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida and NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa vs. Diamante/Ivelisse: After Rosa’s title defense over Ivelisse Wednesday, she was jumped by Diamante when Shida ran in to make the save.
Matt Sydal vs. Shawn Spears will headline next Tuesday’s “Late Night Dynamite” on TNT.
The one hour special edition was originally slated to air tonight as an NBA playoff game was expected to preempt Dynamite. Due to a series ending early, that wasn’t the case and thus, the regularly scheduled two hour edition aired instead.
The Tuesday special will air after that night’s NBA playoff game and post-game coverage on TNT, likely around midnight Eastern.
This will be Sydal’s first match since he made his promotional debut at All Out in the Casino Battle Royale while Spears (with Tully Blanchard) has won eight straight singles matches dating back to mid-June.
The card will feature two other matches as well as Chris Jericho on commentary
Scorpio Sky vs. Ben Carter: Sky had his recent win streak snapped in a loss to then-TNT Champion Cody in mid-August while Carter impressed in his AEW debut against Ricky Starks on a recent episode of Dark.
Brandi Rhodes vs. Anna Jay: Jay locked on a rear naked choke on Rhodes as she attempted to save her husband, Cody, following his TNT title loss to Brodie Lee.
