The main event for the Beach Break edition of AEW Dynamite on February 3 has been announced.
Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) will team up to take on Jon Moxley, PAC, and Rey Fenix. The Good Brothers started a feud with Fenix and Penta El 0 M last week when the Lucha Brothers made the save for Moxley following a 3-on-1 beatdown from Omega, Anderson, and Gallows. The feud continued this week when Omega and The Good Brothers took out Penta backstage, attacking him with a chair.
Omega and Moxley have continued their feud in the weeks since Omega defeated Moxley at Winter is Coming on December 2 to win the AEW World Championship.
A tag team battle royal was also announced for Beach Break. The winners will face AEW World Tag Team champions The Young Bucks at AEW Revolution on February 27.
Already announced for Beach Break is a singles match between Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker. The marriage between Penelope Ford and Kip Sabian will also take place.
The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) made their AEW debut last night, aligning with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks in the main event segment of New Year’s Smash night one.
Following Omega’s successful title defense against Rey Fenix, Jon Moxley attacked Omega with a barbed wire baseball bat. The Good Brothers made the save for Omega. Anderson and Gallows then fought off a parade of undercard talent who hit the ring to defend their company from the invading Impact duo.
The Young Bucks ran in, seemingly to aid the AEW side. Instead, they saved Omega from an attack by Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison, then threw up the “Too Sweet” hand signal with Omega and The Good Brothers.
Earlier in the show, Moxley cut a promo, promising to be in Omega’s blind spot after Omega took the AEW World Championship from him by nefarious means last month.
Snoop Dogg made a special appearance on the show. Snoop is a co-host of TBS’ Go-Big Show, along with Cody Rhodes. Snoop accompanied Rhodes to the ring for his match with Matt Sydal, then got involved physically in an angle with Luther and Serpentico.
Hikaru Shida retained her AEW Women’s World Championship against Abadon on the show. Wardlow also defeated his Inner Circle teammate Jake Hager, while The Young Bucks & SCU defeated The Acclaimed & TH2 in the show’s opener.
For full video highlights from last night, see below.
Kenny Omega defends the AEW World Championship against Rey Fenix on tonight’s New Year’s Smash night one episode of Dynamite.
This match was set up on the December 16 Dynamite when PAC confronted Omega. PAC said that his Death Triangle stablemate Fenix had never been eliminated from the AEW World title eliminator tournament that was held on the road to Full Gear and that Tony Khan had sanctioned Omega vs. Fenix for New Year’s Smash.
Hikaru Shida will defend the AEW Women’s World Championship tonight against Abadon.
TNT Champion Darby Allin and challenger Brian Cage will participate in a weigh-in ahead of their TNT title match on next week’s New Year’s Smash night two.
Former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley will make his first in-person appearance on an AEW show since losing the title to Omega at AEW Winter is Coming in December.
Cody Rhodes will face Matt Sydal, Jake Hager will take on Wardlow, plus The Young Bucks and SCU will team against The Acclaimed and TH2 in an eight-man tag. An appearance by Sting has also been announced.
A special appearance by Snoop Dogg has also been advertised. Snoop and Cody Rhodes are two of the hosts of TBS’s Go-Big Show, which premieres tomorrow.
Chris Jericho will be on commentary for tonight’s show.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Show Report —
Ahead of the opener, Max Caster did his usual rapping schtick, with lots of censorship from the network.
Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) & SCU (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) defeated The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & TH2 (Angélico & Jack Evans)
This was a very fun, all-action tag opener.
Daniels took a quick shot at Caster, leading to a free-for-all brawl. ¾ of the babyface team landed dives as Kazarian and Bowens were the only men left in the ring. The Bucks went through a long sequence with TH2, concluded with a flipping senton dive from Nick. Daniels went for an Arabian moonsault, but was caught, allowing The Acclaimed to gain control.
The heels maintained control for a long time, with the highlight being Angélico applying unique submission holds to break Daniels down. Daniels fought back with a Blue Thunder Bomb, allowing him to reach Kazarian for the hot tag. Kazarian ran wild on TH2, finishing the run with a German suplex bridge for two. Evans surprised him with a kick and a corkscrew moonsault for two.
Matt tagged in and landed a double suplex on Evans and Bowens. He took out all four opponents with dives and spears before feinting on a moonsault, instead diving onto Caster and Angélico on the outside. Risky Business from the Bucks on Bowens followed for two, followed by a Kazarian slingshot DDT for another two.
Kazarian and Nick hit the BTE Trigger, but Evans broke up the pinfall. TH2 hit a backbreaker combination, but Nick got the knees up on an Evans 630 attempt. The Bucks had a Superkick party on all four opponents before setting up for the Meltzer Driver. Nick stumbled on the ropes but made up for it with a dive on the outside, before Matt and Daniels worked together for the Best Meltzer Ever to finish it.
Kazarian grabbed a mic after the match and discussed his ultimatum with Daniels. SCU then challenged the Bucks for the AEW Tag Team Championships, and the Bucks appeared to accept.
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Jon Moxley Returns
Moxley said that complaining about his title loss is a waste of time, because life isn’t fair. All you can do is endure, grit your teeth, and take it on the chin, staring down the adversity and not backing down.
“What to do with Kenny Omega?” Moxley sees things in black and white and doesn’t have time for shitty people, and he’d like to beat them up. But tonight is Rey Fenix’s opportunity, scratching and clawing for thirteen years to reach this point.
Omega isn’t safe and never will be safe. Moxley will forever be in Omega’s blind spot. One day, Omega will look into the eyes of the devil and beg for mercy when he realizes that he crossed the wrong guy.
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Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy were interviewed about an update on Trent. He has a torn pec and will be out four to five months. Miro, Sabian, and Ford interrupted. Miro said that sucks for Trent, but it sucks even more for them, because Trent’s the leader of their little group. He said that Taylor can be his new Best Friend, doing chores for him.
Taylor responded by challenging Miro to a match next week. Miro accepted on the condition that if Miro wins, Taylor must be his “young boy” until after Sabian and Ford’s wedding. Taylor accepted the stipulation.
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Ahead of the match, a video played where Wardlow talked about his issues with Hager. Wardlow had been absent because of taking care of his family, but the Inner Circle is his family too, and he’s capable of taking care of both. Tonight, he’s giving Hager a war.
Wardlow defeated Jake Hager
The rest of the Inner Circle looked on from the stage.
They had a strong lockup to start, but neither man could take advantage until Wardlow achieved a takedown. Hager got one of his own and beat Wardlow down in the corner with strikes. They collided in the center of the ring with simultaneous clotheslines before leading into a shoulder tackle battle. Wardlow clotheslined Hager to the outside and they traded right hands before simultanious clotheslines downed both men leading into the break.
Wardlow used some athleticism to attack Hager in the corner before hitting a series of release suplexes for two. Hager escaped out of the F10 and hit a series of lariats. An overhead suplex followed for two. Wardlow countered the Vader Bomb but Hager was able to lock on the ankle lock. Wardlow kicked his way out and tackled Hager out of the ring, sending him into the barricade.
Back in the ring, Wardlow landed another series of suplexes, concluding with a German for two. A senton atomico followed for another two, but Hager locked on a head and arm choke. Wardlow got his foot on the rope, forcing the break. They fought on the second rope as Hager applied the head and arm choke once again, but Wardlow shoved him down. The F10 followed for the win.
Hager was extremely frustrated after the match, but the rest of the Inner Circle got them to fist bump for a show of respect.
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Private Party was about to make some gin and juice backstage, but only had gin. Snoop Dogg arrived with the juice. Matt Hardy showed up with contracts for Private Party. The implication was that Hardy would take a large cut out of their earnings in exchange for some mentorship.
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Darby Allin/Brian Cage Weigh-In
Allin came out with the new TNT Championship belt, now with a black strap, while Cage was out with the rest of Team Taz. These two will wrestle for Allin’s TNT Championship next week on Dynamite.
Taz got offended that Cage had to weigh first, but Cage went ahead and did it anyway. Cage’s official weight was 272 pounds. Allin weighed in next at 170 pounds, which seems generous.
Allin said that this feud was 27 years in the making, because he’s dealt with shit from people like Taz his whole life. He got ready for a fight, but the lights went out and Sting appeared, bat in hand. Team Taz retreated to the stage but Taz promised that next week we would see a new TNT champion.
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Backstage, Jake Hager was punching a garage door out of frustration. MJF tried to hype him up, telling him he’s a better athlete than the audience and undefeated in MMA. Hager said that he was about to lay MJF out, but instead said that MJF was cool, and appreciated the comment.
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They aired a clip of Brodie “-1” Lee Jr. cutting a promo on Marko Stunt from this week’s AEW Dark.
Alex Marvez interviewed Jurassic Express about that bit of fun, but FTR interrupted and called Stunt “useless” and a “loser.” Stunt proposed taking Luchasaurus’ spot in their upcoming tag match, but FTR was unconcerned.
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During Cody’s entrance, they played a remixed version of his song with Snoop Dogg rapping over it. Snoop is Cody’s coach from the upcoming TNT “Go Big Show.”
Cody Rhodes (w/ Snoop Dogg) defeated Matt Sydal
This was a strong match with a lighthearted post-match interaction.
Sydal landed a high kick early on but kind of whiffed on a springboard arm drag attempt. He followed it up with a diving meteora on the ramp but hurt his knee in the process. Cody took advantage with his drop-down right hand, but Sydal landed a diving dropkick on the outside. Cody tried to strike Sydal but missed and hit Serpentico at ringside instead. Cody rolled through on a diving crossbody and stepped over into a scorpion deathlock until Sydal reached the ropes.
After a commercial break, Cody landed an inverted vertical suplex from the second rope, but only got two. Sydal avoided a moonsault attempt and hit a rising knee strike. He went for the Shooting Star Press, but Cody got his knees up and hit a reverse DDT for a near fall. Cody tried to keep up the offense but Sydal reversed it into a cobra clutch attempt. They traded strikes until Cody clotheslined Sydal to the floor.
Back in the ring, Cody hit the Disaster Kick for a near fall. Sydal fought out of Din’s Fire and hit a hurricanrana cradle for a good near fall. A roundhouse kick followed by the Lightning Spiral got another close near fall for Sydal. Cody avoided another knee strike and hit two Cross Rhodes for the pin.
Luther and Serpentico, known as Chaos Project, attacked Cody after the match. Sydal made the save, dispatching Luther, and tried to go to the top rope, but Snoop waved him off. Snoop climed the ropes and landed a hilarious looking splash as Cody counted three just for fun. Very enjoyable segment, and a good use of Snoop.
Cody Rhodes, from May 2019: “I want to be the sports-centric alternative in the pro wrestling world.”
Abadon attacked Shida during her entrance, but Shida downed her with a kendo stick shot.
Once inside the ring, the match began. Shida took control with a running dropkick before removing a scarf, revealing that she still has a gash on her neck from the Abadon attack two weeks ago. Shida went for a knee lift, but Abadon caught it and bit Shida’s leg before driving her into the barricade. Abadon dragged Shida under the ring before emergin with blood dropping down her face.
A bloodied Shida emerged, having been bitten in the neck again. No idea how that’s not a disqualification. Back in the ring, an X-factor from Abadon got two. She continued the beatdown into the break.
Shida sent Abadon to the outside and landed a frog splash crossbody on the floor. She repeatedly smashed Abadon’s head into the barricade before bringing Abadon to the top rope and hitting a superplex. Abadon bridged up like Bray Wyatt and landed a clothesline for two.
A cradle allowed Shida to hit the Tamashii knee strike for the win.
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Next week’s lineup for New Year’s Smash Night 2:
TNT Championship: Darby Allin (c) Brian Cage
NWA Women’s Championship: Serena Deeb (c) vs. Tay Conti
Miro vs. Chuck Taylor
FTR vs. Jurassic Express
PAC vs. Eddie Kingston
Inner Circle’s New Years Resolution
Britt Baker’s “The Waiting Room” with guest Cody Rhodes
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Tay Conti discussed her NWA Women’s Championship match, reminding Serena Deeb that she’s experienced in judo and ju-jitsu. She will have the Dark Order in her corner for the match.
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PAC and the Lucha Bros, billed as Death Triangle, spoke earlier today. PAC introduced Rey Fénix as the next AEW world champion, saying that tonight, Kenny Omega’s belt collection is done.
AEW World Championship: Kenny Omega (c) (w/ Don Callis) def. Rey Fénix
What a match! This easily contends with the Parking Lot Brawl and Brodie Lee vs. Cody in the Dog Collar Match for the best Dynamite match since the pandemic.
Omega tried to overpower Fénix with some chain wrestling at the start. The pace quickened with a spike hurricanrana from Omega. He called for the Terminator dive, but Fénix ran back in and landed a hurricanrana of his own before feinting on a dive. Fénix kicked Omega to the floor and landed a diving hurricanrana.
Back in the ring, Omega hit a swinging DDT, but Fénix popped up and hit a dropkick. He went for a springboard, but Omega chopped him down and continued the beatdown on the floor. Fénix was sent over the barricade and hit a gamenguiri before going for his rolling cutter, but Omega countered it into a snap dragon suplex. Omega followed it up with a back suplex onto the barricade before sending Fénix back into the ring.
Omega hit the Kotaro Crusher for two. Fénix fought back with overhand chops, leading to a chop exchange, which Omega won with his superior power. Omega continued to dismantle Fénix’s midsection until Fénix flipped out of a suplex and landed a springboard headbutt.
There was an incredible spot where Fénix went to the top rope, was knocked down, and somehow recovered enough to hit the move he intended to. Fénix then followed it up with an absurd tope suicida where he almost landed in the front row. Omega went for You Can’t Escape, but Fénix fought out and flipped over into a German suplex for a close near fall. Fénix landed a diving stomp to the back of Omega’s head leading into a commercial break.
They had another chop battle, this time seated in the middle of the ring. Omega once again took control with his superior power and toyed with the idea of pulling off Fénix’s mask. Fénix fired up and hit some strikes and a thrust kick. Omega avoided a hook kick and landed a V-Trigger, but Fénix bounced back with the hook kick, leading to a double down.
Fénix went for a tornillo dive, but Omega countered it with a rising knee and hit a powerbomb stack for two. Another V-Trigger followed for a good near fall. Yet another V-Trigger landed and Omega set up for the One Winged Angel, but Fénix countered into a reverse hurricanrana. Callis distracted Fénix, allowing Omega to land another V-Trigger, but Fénix hit a gamenguiri and a diving cutter for two. The Fire Thunder Driver followed for a fantastic near fall.
Omega got his knees up on a frog splash attempt and brought Fénix up top. Fénix fought out and went for a dive, but Omega caught him in perfect Jay Driller position. A V-Trigger got two, and the One-Winged Angel followed for three.
– After the match, Callis grabbed a mic and said that he heard that something terrible was happening backstage. Eddie Kingston and his Family were attacking PAC and Penta backstage. Callis said that they weren’t coming to help Fénix, but Jon Moxley came out with a barbed wire bat, swinging it into Omega’s stomach to make the save.
The Good Brothers, IMPACT Tag Team Champions Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson, came out to make the save for Omega. They laid Moxley out with a Magic Killer before Omega repeatedly hit Moxley with the barbed wire bat.
The Varsity Blondes ran in from outside to try to save, but they were easily dispatched. The rest of the ringside wrestlers all came in, but all were sent packing by Omega, Gallows, and Anderson. Gallows powerbombed one of them through a ringside table, and Omega hit Moxley with the barbed wire bat one more time. Moxley made one last attempt at a comeback, but was overwhelmed by the numbers advantage.
Finally, the Young Bucks ran out to try to reason with Omega and the Good Brothers (all of them were in Bullet Club at one point), but when Varsity Blondes tried to attack Omega, the Bucks superkicked them away. Omega raised the Too Sweet sign and both the Good Brothers and the Young Bucks joined him, as they all posed to close the show.
Death Triangle appeared on the stage following Kenny Omega’s win over Joey Janela in the main event of last night’s AEW Dynamite.
The group’s leader, PAC, took the microphone and stated his partner Rey Fenix’s case for a World title shot. PAC said that Fenix had not been eliminated from the number one contender’s tournament that Omega ultimately won, therefore, he deserved a title shot.
Omega and manager Don Callis balked at the suggestion, but PAC said that he had already had the match sanctioned by Tony Khan. That match is set for the December 30 New Year’s Smash night one episode of Dynamite.
Elsewhere on last night’s show, Cody Rhodes defeated Angelico. Before the match, a video aired announcing that Cody & Brandi Rhodes are expecting their first child in 2021.
After the bout, Team Taz came to the stage to threaten Cody. Sting appeared with his baseball bat and chased Team Taz away without saying a word.
In the show’s opener, Matt Hardy & Private Party defeated the makeshift team of Hangman Page & The Dark Order’s John Silver & Alex Reynolds. Both on Dynamite and Being the Elite, Page has been flirting with the idea of joining Dark Order.
Tag team matches on the show saw The Inner Circle defeat Best Friends, The Varsity Blondes & Top Flight, Serena Deeb & Big Swole defeat Ivelisse & Diamante, and The Acclaimed pick up a high-profile win over SCU.
For more of what you missed, including an Eddie Kingston promo on PAC and Lance Archer, scroll down.
An AEW World title match between Kenny Omega and Rey Fenix has been announced for the final Dynamite of 2020 on December 30th, the first of their two New Year’s Smash shows.
After Omega defeated Joey Janela in Wednesday’s main event, PAC, Rey Fenix, and Penta El 0 M came out on the stage. PAC said they had unfinished business, noting that Fenix was never eliminated from the recent World title elminator tournament as he had been removed due to injury.
He suggested Fenix should be next in line for a title match and announced that was indeed happening, much to Omega and Don Callis’ dismay. Callis said PAC had no power to make a match to which PAC responded by saying that Tony Khan had already sanctioned it.
The next three weeks of Dynamite will be special edition shows as December 23rd will be their taped Holiday Bash event while the December 30th and January 6th live shows will be called New Year’s Smash. Chris Jericho will do commentary on the first night, while Snoop Dogg will appear on the second night.
A match between Kenny Omega and Laredo Kid for the AAA Mega Championship is currently planned for Triplemania in December.
AAA made the announcement in a press conference this afternoon. The company said (via luchablog) that it hopes to run Triplemania in December. However, running the event would be based on Mexico City improving its current orange COVID-19 health tracker status or permission granted by the local government. Dorian Roldan said that there are no plans to hold Triplemania in an empty arena.
Omega and Laredo Kid were originally scheduled to have their match back at Rey de Reyes in March, but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Omega has been AAA Mega champion for 371 days, defeating Fenix at Heroes Inmortales back on October 19, 2019.
Other matches announced for Triplemania in today’s press conference include Pangano vs. Chessman in a hair vs. hair match, and Arcano and Leyenda Americana vs. Terror Púrpura & Venenoide.
Due to injury, Rey Fenix is out of AEW’s World title eliminator tournament.
AEW posted a video today where Eddie Kingston announced that Fenix is forfeiting his first round win against Penta El Zero M in the tournament due to injury. Penta will face Kenny Omega in the semifinals on Dynamite next Wednesday (October 28).
Kingston told Fenix that he had to forfeit his spot because it’s not about Fenix — it’s about The Family.
Fenix defeated his brother Penta in the first round of the World title eliminator tournament on Dynamite this week but got hurt in the process. The entire first round of the tournament was held this Wednesday, with Fenix defeating Penta, Omega defeating Sonny Kiss, Hangman Page defeating Colt Cabana and Wardlow defeating Jungle Boy. Page and Wardlow’s semifinal match will also take place on Dynamite next Wednesday.
The finals of the World title eliminator tournament will be held at Full Gear on Saturday, November 7. The winner will get a future shot at the AEW World Championship.
Jon Moxley is the current AEW World Champion. He’s defending his title against Kingston in an I Quit match at Full Gear.
Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite saw both Alex Reynolds and Ray Fenix get injured during their respective matches.
Reynolds was involved in the four-way tag team main event, teaming with Dark Order partner John Silver against The Young Bucks, The Butcher & The Blade and Private Party.
The injury occured when Reynolds took a big splash/leg drop combo from Private Party and was immediately knocked out, his right arm staying in the air during a pinfall. After he just laid there, Blade eventually dragged him into a corner and tagged himself in. Reynolds continued to lay there unconscious as action happened around him.
After several minutes without any medical attention, he staggered up to his feet and he and Silver took several moves from Nick Jackson but was still clearly out of it. He was eventually pushed out of the ring and not seen again.
On Wednesday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez said he heard Reynolds was “feeling great afterward” but there was no further update on his condition.
Earlier in the night, Fenix was hurt during his AEW World title contender tourney match against Penta El Zero M.
The two were battling on the second rope when Fenix jumped up and hit a twisting headscissors on Penta. When Fenix hit the mat, he appeared to land awkwardly on his neck and left shoulder and was slow to recover, awkwardly taking a overhead throw of sorts from Penta afterward.
He could be seen talking to referee Aubrey Edwards throughout this happening and eventually recovered after a few minutes, getting back into the flow of the match and both hitting and taking several big spots.
On WOR, Dave Meltzer said he had no update other than Fenix was said to be “sore”. As of this point, he is scheduled to face Kenny Omega in the tourney’s second round for next week’s show which is expected to be taped Thursday.
This week’s MLW Anthology episode highlighted one of the best tag teams in the world today: Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix, The Lucha Bros.
Before joining AEW, the current AAA Tag Team Champions showcased their amazing talents in MLW. Here we saw a spectacularly athletic and hard-hitting bout between them that main evented the debut episode of MLW Fusion back in 2018, along with the vacant MLW Tag Team titles being up for grabs in a three-team elimination match when Pentagon & Fenix faced The Dirty Blondes and the team of Jason Cade & Jimmy Yuta.
Full Recap —
Pentagon Jr. defeated Rey Fenix (MLW Fusion debut episode, January 2018) (14:08)
The Lucha Brothers clashed in the main event of the debut episode of MLW Fusion in a must-watch, amazing match. Within the first three minutes, we had superkicks galore and a suicide cannonball dive by Fenix that knocked the first five rows of fans off their seats.
Fenix was up to his usual tricks — walking the ropes with an alternating jump between top and middle — before adding a little back bump ONTO the top rope and arm dragging his brother across the ring. Incredible balance and control.
Pentagon & Fenix ended up winning the MLW Tag Team titles together later in their MLW careers, but here in episode one they were enemies as Pentagon was part of Salina de la Renta’s heel faction Promociones Dorado. And the brothers did not let their family ties hold them back at all. They chopped each other within an inch of their lives throughout the match and showed that they can do more than flip and fly, they could hit hard too.
They also made the most of not having a guardrail at ringside as Fenix hit a hurricanrana and planted Pentagon right into the laps of the fans in the front row.
If I were to list all the amazing athleticism on display to describe how terrific this was I would be here all night. Just be reassured they left nothing in the ring. Fenix had plenty of springboards emanating from everywhere inside the ring and Pentagon certainly had his superkick boots on this evening.
Pentagon picked up the win and a future title shot at then-champion Shane Strickland after a flury of high impact moves at the end: a destroyer, a pop-up flip powerbomb, a cross armbreaker, and his Penta Driver.
The Lucha Bros defeated The Dirty Blondes and Jimmy Yuta & Jason Cade to win the MLW Tag Team titles (MLW Fusion, June 2018) (16:49)
We were told there were no rules in this “anything goes” three-team elimination match for the MLW Tag Team titles — even though the commentary team then questioned why the teams set up on the apron for tags. The action was fast and furious from the start and the tags were immediately thrown to the side and forgotten as Fenix jumped in with a superkick to start off the mayhem.
The dynamics of all three teams were set out from the early going: Leo Brien and Michael Patrick (The Dirty Blondes) were the big powerhouse hoss team, Jimmy Yuta & Jason Cade (Team TBD) were the smaller, more agile and high-flying team, while The Lucha Bros were the superkicking, high-spot artists we have grown to love in recent years.
But not everyone stuck to their guns — Patrick hit a senton off the apron onto all the other competitors at ringside.
The teams took turns displaying their offense and it was during these early exchanges that Cade pinned Patrick to quickly eliminate The Dirty Blondes after coming off the top rope. This brought it down to Team TBD vs. The Lucha Bros and here is where the tempo stepped up another notch. The superkicks were out in force again here. After a double-team catapult senton and a double pin it looked like it was all over, but TBD showed their fight with a double kick out.
Yuta and Cade came off the same turnbuckle and hit Fenix with a double dropkick as the commentary team played up their surprise at how well they were doing against The Lucha Bros. Cade had a few comedy spots with Pentagon but was not laughing when he went for a back handspring off the ropes and while upside down was met with a dropkick to the gut.
Fenix made another late save for his brother after Yuta had hit a Samoan driver on Penta. And the favor was returned moments later after Cade eventually hit his handspring facebreaker on Fenix. Fenix then kicked out of the high-flying combo that put away The Dirty Blondes as we came to the closing stages of this great match.
A miscommunication between TBD led to a superkick/Penta Driver combination on Cade, then a double foot stomp/piledriver combination on Yuta that was enough to crown The Lucha Brothers as the new MLW Tag Team Champions — the first tag champs for the promotion since CW Anderson & Simon Diamond held the gold back in 2003.
Speaking of Anderson & Diamond, we saw a preview of next week’s Anthology of Steve Corino and The Extreme Horsemen where they jumped Terry Funk before an early MLW show. The Horsemen were in a limo pulling up to the building and saw Funk meeting some fans in line. After some jaw-jacking, The Horsemen jumped Funk, busted him open, and left him lying on the street.
Today’s MLW roster then had their time in the limelight as this week’s Pulp Fusion gave everyone a chance to keep us up to date with their current goings on.
– The Von Erich brothers welcomed us to this week’s Pulp Fusion with the news that MLW has signed a deal with DAZN.
– Filthy Tom Lawlor was home schooling his kids, but it all went wrong as they repeatedly took The Von Erichs’ side saying The Von Erichs were tougher than Lawlor, had higher IQs, were the champs when he wasn’t, and were also more handsome than he was.
– Alex Hammerstone and Richard Holliday were discussing Dynastic Coffee, but Hammerstone wanted his own Exotic Latin Muscle brand featuring his favorite Mexican “supplements.”
– Mance Warner was complaining about having no one else to fight and that Uncle Moonman was running around barefoot taking forever to build him his triple cage, so he decided he was challenging a bear to fight him in his cage instead of any humans. Warner said he “was going to hit the pay window on a big ass bear.”
– Dan Lambert was warning us all about Low Ki’s psychological state and told us that American Top Team was now up 2-0 on Ki.
– Myron Reed told us about Injustice’s fight, saying they were bigger, stronger, and more determined than before. Jordan Oliver laughed at CONTRA Unit and told us he could beat up Simon Gotch if given the chance. The joking was over when the newest member of Injustice, Saieve Al Sabah, then told us that every revolution needed a spark, and his knuckle dusters were his.
– We then cut to Mexico City where we saw a door open and a blonde in high heels stepping into the shot. As the camera panned up, the women turned and it was none other than Salina de la Renta announcing her return to MLW!
Next Week —
MLW Anthology: Steve Corino and The Extreme Horsemen.
Due to injury, Fenix is out of the Casino Ladder Match at Saturday’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
AEW announced tonight that Joey Janela is replacing Fenix in the match. They noted that Fenix is not expected to miss significant time: “@ReyFenixMx is out of the #CasinoLadderMatch due to injury. Fenix isn’t expected to miss significant time. @JANELABABY is now entered in the Casino Ladder Match. 1 mystery wrestler is still TBA. DOUBLE or NOTHING is available on all major providers @brlive @FiteTV tomorrow 8/7c”
Fenix was injured on this week’s Dynamite after a match with Orange Cassidy. Fenix, Cassidy, and other participants in the ladder match were brawling outside the ring. Fenix attempted a springboard dive and landed on his back on the floor.
Janela, Darby Allin, Colt Cabana, Cassidy, Scorpio Sky, Kip Sabian, Frankie Kazarian, and Luchasaurus are the confirmed participants for the Casino Ladder Match. An additional mystery participant will be revealed on the Double or Nothing PPV.
The Casino Ladder Match will start with two wrestlers in the ring, then a new participant will be added every 90 seconds until all nine wrestlers have entered. The stipulation is that the chip hanging above the ring can be grabbed at any time, so the match could end before everyone has entered. The winner will get a future shot at the AEW World Championship.
Fenix is the second performer to be pulled from Double or Nothing due to an injury suffered on this week’s Dynamite. Britt Baker was removed from her scheduled match against Kris Statlander at the PPV and replaced by Penelope Ford.
This story was updated at 5 PM Eastern Thursday. | Image: AEW/Lee South
Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite was an injury-laden one, not something the company was looking for heading into the Double or Nothing pay-per-view Saturday.
Making their first appearance since March due to the pandemic, the Young Bucks returned at the end of the show in a brawl featuring The Elite vs. The Inner Circle. However, Matt Jackson may have injured a rib on his left side, either a break, torn cartilage, or a bad bruise, on a dive he and brother Nick did from the stands.
He was active in the brawl and was even taking chair shots and knees to his ribs, only visibily showing pain just before the show went off air. He is scheduled to be in Saturday’s Elite vs. Inner Circle Stadium Stampede match.
Britt Baker looked to have seriously injured her right knee in a tag match with Nyla Rose, Kris Statlander, and Hikaru Shida. Baker was sitting in the corner when Statlander and Shida slammed Rose on her bent right knee.
Baker immediately grabbed her knee and shin and continued to work for a few spots afterward, clearly unable to put any weight on it. Rose dragged her to the corner and tagged herself in, allowing the AEW doctor to check on Baker. She is scheduled to face Statlander in a singles match Saturday.
Finally, Fenix appeared to be injured following a big dive spot onto the competitors for Saturday’s Casino Ladder match, landing hard on his back and hip on the outside of the ring. Our Dave Meltzer confirmed Thursday afternoon that he will be working Saturday as planned.
A number of matches and one segment has been announced for next week’s episode of Dynamite.
Orange Cassidy will face Fenix in a singles match. The latter attacked Orange Cassidy tonight with a flying kick during a Best Friends vs. Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy match. Meanwhile, MJF will face Marko Stunt in a singles match. After defeating Lee Johnson on tonight’s show, MJF said Stunt had an open match contract, and he signed it. Wardlow and MJF also interfered in the Best Friends/Jurassic Express match, with Wardlow laying out Stunt and MJF attacking Jungle Boy.
Matt Hardy will face Sammy Guevara in a battle of The Elite vs. The Inner Circle. Hardy laid out Guevara, who was wearing a neckbrace, with a twist of fate on tonight’s show.
Jon Moxley will battle The Dark Order’s 10, who in recent weeks has been seen by the side of Mr. Brodie Lee.
Finally, a face-to-face confrontation will take place between Lance Archer’s manager Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Cody’s “head coach” Arn Anderson. The feud between their clients has heated up in recent weeks, with Cody and Archer coming to blows in the opening segment of tonight’s Dynamite.
AEW has revealed the fourth participant for their Casino Ladder Match at Double or Nothing.
It was announced today that Rey Fenix will be taking part in the Casino Ladder Match. Darby Allin, Colt Cabana, and Orange Cassidy are the other wrestlers who have been confirmed for the match so far.
The winner of the Casino Ladder Match will receive an upcoming shot at the AEW World Championship.
For the first time since the March 18 episode of Dynamite, Fenix was back in action on the AEW Dark episode that premiered last night. He defeated Alan Angels.
Fenix and Pentagon Jr. are part of a stable with PAC called Death Triangle.
Double or Nothing is taking place on Saturday, May 23. Three other matches have been announced for the pay-per-view thus far. Jon Moxley will defend his AEW World Championship against Brodie Lee, Cody and Lance Archer will face off in the finals of the TNT Championship tournament, and MJF will take on Jungle Boy.
This week’s AEW Dark will feature nine matches, nearly all of which include talents making their first in-ring appearances in nearly two months.
In one of the featured matches, Luther will face Jimmy Havoc for the first time ever in a match that was supposed to happen back in February and got remade on this past week’s Road to Double or Nothing YouTube show. Luther was last in action on the February 26th Dark in a win over Sonny Kiss while Havoc has been a regular on both Dark and Dynamite during the pandemic.
In other matches announced:
Orange Cassidy vs. Jason Cade: This will be Cassidy’s third solo outing (1-1) and first since a win over Jimmy Havoc on the April 22nd Dynamite. This will be Cade’s AEW debut after last being seen on the March 3rd WWE Raw in a losing effort to Aleister Black.
Fenix vs. Alan Angels: Fenix was last seen on the March 18th Dynamite as the Lucha Bros defeated Best Friends. This will be his first AEW singles match since a January 15th Dark loss to Joey Janela. This will be Angels’ third AEW match (0-2) and his first since his much-discussed loss to Kenny Omega on the April 22nd Dynamite.
Private Party vs. Lee Johnson & Musa: PP have been on the shelf since the March 11th Dynamite when they teamed with Joey Janela in a losing effort to the Death Triangle. Johnson and Musa teamed up in a losing effort to Best Friends on the April 28th Dark.
Britt Baker vs. Skyler Moore: A day before she’ll be in a four-way on Dynamite, Baker will look to start a winning streak against Moore. This will be Moore’s sophomore effort in AEW as she lost to Awesome Kong on the January 1st Dark.
Kris Statlander vs. Dani Jordyn: Statlander has been out of action since the March 18th Dynamite when she lost in a four way. This will be Jordyn’s AEW debut.
Jurassic Express vs. Mike Reed & Ryan Rembrandt: A day before they return to tag team action on Dynamite, the Express will team up for the first time since the March 18th Dynamite when they defeated The Butcher & The Blade. Reed teamed with Corey Hollis in a losing effort to Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss on the March 18th Dynamite while this will be the promotional debut for Rembrandt, a Nightmare Factory trainee.
Colt Cabana vs. Shawn Dean: Cabana will be looking to snap a two match losing streak against Dean who is 0-3 in his young AEW career.
#10 vs. Jon Cruz: The newest Dark Order member and former Preston Vance will look to go 2-0 in his new gimmick as he faces Cruz who was last seen on the March 18th Dynamite, teaming with Matt Sells in a losing effort to QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes.
The Big News: Death Triangle ran in after the main event to lay a beating on five babyfaces. It took three more, in the form of Best Friends and Orange Cassidy, to run them off.
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When looking up this episode on YouTube I couldn’t help but notice the large number of episodes (including this one) where the thumbnail is of the Jurassic Express.
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Jurassic Express (with Marko Stunt) defeated Kip Sabian & Peter Avalon (with Penelope Ford & Leva Bates)
Speaking of the Jurassic Express, they are here to kick off Dark this week. Avalon, who comes into this match at 0-10, took forever to start his promo. He got as far as saying we were in Denver before the Express’ music began. This doesn’t seem right, but the graphic indicates this is only the second time Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus are teaming together in a two-on-two tag match.
Jungle Boy ran wild on both heels and was going for some sort of slingshot maneuver, but Penelope tripped him up and Sabian took over. Sabian and Avalon worked well together. Avalon missed a beautiful moonsault, giving Jungle Boy room to crawl for a tag. However. Ford grabbed one of Leva’s books and threw it into the ring to distract the referee, so the heels kept control.
Unfortunately for Sabian and Avalon, their ladies could not get along. Bates and Ford began arguing with one another, which distracted the team long enough for Luchasaurus to get the tag. He had it almost had it won with a moonsault to Avalon, but Sabian bum-rushed into the pile, breaking up the cover. Luchasaurus gave Sabian the tail whip, allowing Jungle Boy to pin Avalon following an assisted cutter.
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Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzalez previewed the rest of the show. Dasha wanted to know why Tony was wearing a Nightmare Family shirt. Turns out 20% of the proceeds of that shirt up until March 14 will be donated to Planned Pethood.
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Jimmy Havoc defeated Severino Corrente
I believe “Severino Corrente” loosely translates to “lamb being led to slaughter.”
Corrente had his fingers yanked back. Most people would be like “I’m done”. Instead Corrente punched Havoc to no avail. Jimmy used a discus elbow to the face and went for some sort of fireman’s carry, but Corrente raked the eyes.
Corrente started to build momentum, but then he ran chest-first into Jimmy’s feet. He did duck an Acid Rainmaker and used a German suplex into the corner turnbuckles. He tried to fishhook Havoc, but instead Jimmy bit his fingers. A series of impact moves followed, including a leg hook DDT and finished off Corrente with an Acid Rainmaker for the pin.
Havoc beckoned to the back, daring Luther and Mel to come out. Unfortunately, you get what you ask for, as Luther flew down the ramp and attacked Havoc from behind, eventually laying out Havoc with a DDT on the ramp.
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Hikaru Shida defeated Abadon
Abadon is one of the most unique looking wrestlers on the roster. She has done her face paint to look like blood is seeping from her forehead into her eye and down her cheek. She is certainly a sight to behold. By comparison, Hikaru Shida does not look like she has blood coming out of her eye.
Some of the crowd chanted for Abadon to “eat her soul” despite being the heel and Shida being very well liked. Abadon tried to eat Shida’s hand, which threw off the number one ranked contender. Abadon looked really good here and I really hope she’s not one and done. Abadon had her tied in the ropes and licked Shida’s face. Shida was not happy about this, possibly for more than one reason.
Abadon didn’t sell for much, but she definitely felt it when Shida used a running knee in the corner and a missile dropkick. Shida nailed a knee to the back of the head, but Abadon almost won with the Edge-a-matic. Shida finally managed to hit a Shining Wizard for the win.
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Backstage, Dasha asked Jimmy Havoc for an update on his injuries. Havoc thanked Luther for doing it, so being the nice guy Luther is, he attacked Havoc again and had to be dragged away.
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The Librarians were telling us about the newest book of the month, which is Written In The Stars. They came upon Colt Cabana, who was listening to a podcast instead of reading a book. Avalon kept recommending authors, so Colt recommended podcasts. This led to a challenge for a match.
Leva went back and told Colt she loves his podcast.
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Private Party defeated Sonny Kiss & Brandon Cutler
A few weeks ago, Cutler almost beat Private Party by himself when his partner, Shawn Spears walked out. So how will things be when he has a loyal partner? Either way, Cutler is dueling it out with Peter Avalon for the worst record in AEW at 0-9.
Cutler did a great job countering Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen, much like he did the last time they met. This time Sonny got involved and it ended up in a standoff. Excalibur wondered if Quen and Sonny got their hair done at the same place, which led Taz to say he thinks they go to the same “Dye-ist”. While this conversation was going on, Kiss went down to a combo Rude Awakening/Double Foot Stomp, giving Private Party the advantage.
Private Party mimicked Kiss while getting the heat on him. Cutler got the hot tag and used a beautiful springboard double clothesline. Cutler looked good, laying a beating on both men. We did have a contrived spot where Kassidy was laying on the middle rope and had to stay hanging there while Cutler did moves to Quen first.
Get out the hammer and nails, because this team of Cutler and Kiss are BUILDING MOMENTUM! Kiss went for a boot on Quen, but Marq moved and Kiss ended up in the splits. Quen went for what turned into a Moonsault with double knees. Cutler got in and started doing moves without getting a tag. The referee kept telling him he’s not legal, but Cutler ignored him and hit the TPK on both members of Private Party. Kiss went to the middle rope, but Kassidy prevented him from leaping off. Quen tagged in as Private Party nailed Kiss with the Gin and Juice for the win.
Suddenly, from out of nowhere (or just off the camera), Death Triangle ran in to attack Private Party! PAC, Pentagon and Fenix ended up laying out not only them, but also Cutler and Kiss, who tried to make the save.
PAC took the mic and told all of AEW that if they continue to disrespect athletes of their caliber, they’ll get exactly what they asked for. Joey Janela tried to run in for the save, but was also laid out. Best Friends and Orange Cassidy then hit the ring to send the Death Triangle reeling as the show closed
