A match between Hikaru Shida and Rebel has been announced for AEW Dynamite.
The match was made after Britt Baker interrupted a Kris Statlander interview during AEW Dark: Elevation, dismissing Statlander by saying she was number one contender and Statlander wasn’t. Shida then came in to confront Baker, but Rebel came in with her crutch. Shida knocked away the crutch. Baker then said they would see her on Dynamite.
AEW social media later confirmed the match, saying that Tony Khan had made the bout for Wednesday. The graphic reads that it will be a title eliminator match.
Hikaru Shida is set to defend the AEW World Women’s title against Baker at AEW Double or Nothing, which takes place on May 30.
Also announced for Dynamite this Wednesday:
Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston vs. The Acclaimed
The Young Bucks vs. The Varsity Blonds (Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison) for the AEW World Tag Team titles
Serena Deeb vs. Red Velvet for the NWA Women’s title
A match for the AEW Women’s World title has been announced for Double or Nothing.
AEW confirmed tonight on Dynamite that Hikaru Shida will defend the title against Britt Baker at Double or Nothing on May 30 . The two have been feuding in recent weeks, with the storyline being that Baker has racked up victories on Dark and Dark: Elevation, putting her at the top of the women’s division rankings.
In recent months, Shida has defended the AEW Women’s title against Ryo Mizunami, Abadon, and most recently Tay Conti on the April 21 edition of Dynamite. After Shida successfully retained the title, Baker came out and showed a graphic of her officially becoming the number one contender.
The AEW Women’s Championship match is the first match to be announced for Double or Nothing, which is expected to be the first AEW event with a full capacity crowd since March of 2020. A number one contender’s match between PAC and Orange Cassidy will determine Kenny Omega’s opponent for the show on next week’s Dynamite, and Cody Rhodes will make a major announcement regarding Double or Nothing on the same show.
Two titles will be on the line on tonight’s AEW Dynamite.
Coming off a successful TNT title defense against Matt Hardy on last week’s episode, Darby Allin will defend the TNT Championship against Jungle Boy tonight.
AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida will defend her title against Tay Conti.
A week after turning down an offer to join Team Taz, Christian Cage will take on that faction’s Powerhouse Hobbs.
Hangman Page will take on another Team Taz charge, Ricky Starks. Starks is on a 10-match AEW win streak in singles competition.
The recently returned Trent will face Penta El Zero Miedo in singles competition.
The Factory’s QT Marshall will face The Nightmare Family’s Billy Gunn.
Tony Schiavone will conduct an interview with The Inner Circle, while Jim Ross will do the same with The Pinnacle ahead of their Blood & Guts match on the May 5 episode of Dynamite.
Plus, Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston will return tonight. Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Ricky Starks cut a promo ahead of the opener, saying he’d show why people call him “Absolute” Ricky Starks.
Taz joined commentary for the match.
Hangman Page defeated Ricky Starks (w/ HOOK)
This was a well-worked opener that could’ve gone even longer if they wanted.
Top-ranked Page plucked Starks out of midair on a leapfrog for the first offensive maneuver of the match. Starks avoided a springboard clothesline, but Page immediately hit it on the second attempt before following it up with a pescado. A pumphandle fallaway slam from Page got two.
Page tried to follow up the offense, but Starks took control by sending Page windpipe-first into the middle rope. Starks flipped out of a German suplex but springboarded into a lariat. Page landed repeated forearms and another fallaway slam before a brainbuster got a two count.
Starks avoided a sliding lariat and used the ropes to escape the Deadeye, forcing Page up into a powerbomb for a near fall. They fought up top where Page landed a third fallaway slam, this time from an avalanche position. He followed it up with a lariat for a close near fall. Page then went for the Buckshot Lariat, but Starks avoided it and hit a spear for another near fall.
It looked like Starks went for Roshambo, but Page escaped into a reversal sequence. Page then turned it into almost a seated sleeper while wrenching on the ankle, forcing Starks to tap.
– After the match, Taz grabbed a mic and said Page got lucky. He then told Page to watch his back as HOOK came in and took Page out with a chop block. Brian Cage came out and set up for a powerbomb, but Dark Order ran out to make the save.
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The Elite was shown arriving at the taping into their own personal trailer.
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Abrahantes translated Penta’s pre-match promo, which said that if Orange Cassidy got in Death Triangle’s way, they’d turn him into orange juice.
Penta El Zero Miedo (w/ Alex Abrahantes) defeated Trent? (w/ Orange Cassidy)
This was a fun back-and-forth match until the convoluted finish.
Penta did his glove gimmick early on. They exchanged strikes until a set of high knees from Trent took down Penta. Penta pulled Trent out of the ring and tossed him into the barricade, but Trent popped up and landed a hard lariat and then a wild tope con giro.
Back in the ring, a springboard crossbody and Sling Blade from Penta got two. Trent fought out of the package piledriver and hit a tornado DDT, but Penta popped off the ropes into a destroyer ahead of the commercial break. Once back, Trent countered a backstabber into a half-and-half suplex.
Trent landed a running knee for two. He tried to follow it up in the corner, but Penta kicked his leg out and hit a backstabber for two of his own. Penta then hit a pumphandle driver for a good near fall.
They exchanged chops on the apron until Trent landed a piledriver on the apron. Abrahantes grabbed a mic and distracted Trent, telling him he sicks, his friend sucks, and his momma sucks. Trent grabbed a chair and went after Abrahantes. It looked like Orange Cassidy and Trent had him trapped, but Penta surprised Cassidy with a superkick and then Abrahantes whacked Trent with the microphone, allowing Penta to pick up the win.
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The Pinnacle sit-down interview with Jim Ross
This was sensational.
JR asked MJF about Jericho’s famous promo from a couple weeks ago. He talked about how his scarf was old and ragged, but then Wardlow opened a new scarf, a gift from Tully Blanchard.
Wardlow said that Jericho cut one of the best promos of his career, but he stumbled over his words when he got to Wardlow. MJF said Jericho wouldn’t elevate the talent around him, mocking the “Jericho rub.” He said Jericho’s outsmarted everyone in his career except himself.
MJF then exploded, saying he’s not just “great for his age,” he’s great — period. He’s undefeated, and he’s already beaten Jericho. He’s better than Jericho, and Jericho knows it. MJF wants Jericho’s spot, because the Pinnacle is always on top.
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A really nice pre-match video played hyping this match. Conti came across extremely likable.
Dark Order joined Conti for her entrance.
AEW Women’s World Championship: Hikaru Shida (c) defeated Tay Conti
This was the best match of Conti’s career.
They went into a forearm exchange right away. Conti went for judo throws, but Shida continuously blocked until Conti used the ropes as leverage for a takedown. Conti then hit two soccer kicks for two. She went for a Fujiwara armbar before transitioning into a waistlock chickenwing. Shida reached the ropes to force the break.
Shida avoided a soccer kick on the apron and sent Conti crashing down. She followed it up with the draped running knee. Still on the floor, Shida hit an enziguiri and then a brainbuster before rolling her opponent back into the ring. She applied a bow-and-arrow submission before transitioning into a forearm facelock into a commercial break.
Once back, Shida still maintained control of the match. She broght Conti into the ring the hardway with a suplex over the ropes, but Conti popped up with a pump kick for a double down. Conti landed repeated judo throws and a German suplex. She then placed Shida over the ropes and landed a senton for two.
Conti went for the DD-Tay, but Shida countered with a knee and the Falcon Arrow for two. Conti stopped Shida from hitting the Tamashii before they fought up top. Shida hit a headbutt before dropping Conti over the top turnbuckle with the Witch’s Shot.
Shida went for the Katana but ran into a pump kick. Conti followed it up with the Tay-KO for a close near fall. Shida fought out of the DD-Tay and hit a back-to-belly piledriver for two. Conti landed repeated elbow strikes but was just slapped for her trouble. Shida then hit a backbreaker and the Katana to win and retain the title.
– After the match, Britt Baker’s music played as she pointed out that she’s the top contender, setting up a future title match.
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Miro cut a video promo saying it didn’t matter who he fights. The only question is who he beats first.
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The Inner Circle are interviewed by Tony Schiavone
Jericho didn’t want to talk about the Pinnacle’s comments from earlier in the evening. Instead, he thanked the crowd and promoted the upcoming Blood and Guts match. Jake Hager pulled out straws and said everyone in the Pinnacle would be sucking food through a straw after Blood and Guts.
Santana pointed out The Pinnacle waits to have backup before they fight, saying that’s a “bitch move.” On May 5, we’ll see if the Pinnacle has heart.
Jericho said MJF has a lot of words but no conviction. Even though MJF can sing showtunes, Jericho can sing showtunes too. He sang a song, which prompted a “swirlie” chant. He said he washed his ass with MJF’s new scarf.
Even though it’s fun to make jokes, Jericho said Blood and Guts would be a show of violence we’d never forget. Next week the Inner Circle and the Pinnacle will meet face to face, and at Blood and Guts, the Inner Circle owns MJF’s ass.
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Before the match, Anthony Ogogo called America a dump before Marshall said he’d take care of business.
QT Marshall (w/ The Factory) defeated Billy Gunn
Billy attacked Marshall and co. before the bell before sending Marshall to the floor. Back in the ring, Billy maintained control with power moves and body slams. Out on the floor, Billy continued the attack, but a distraction from the official allowed Comoroto to take Billy down. The Gunn Club attacked from the crowd, leaving Marshall and Billy one-on-one at the ring.
Marshall tried to continue the beatdown, but Billy started to fire up. Marshall just hit a straight piledriver for a close near fall. He mocked DX, so Billy popped up and downed Marshall with clotheslines and a Blue Thunder bomb. Marshall fought out of the Fameasser but Billy fought off the Diamond Cutter.
With the official distracted, Anthony Ogogo ran out and crushed Billy with a gut punch, allowing Marshall to hit a Diamond Cutter and win.
– After the match, Marshall was about to continue the attack on Billy with a chair, but Dustin Rhodes ran out and attacked with a bull rope. Dustin and Ogogo faced off, with Dustin picking up the wooden chair that Marshall was about to use. Comoroto ran out, so Dustin smashed the wooden chair over Comoroto’s head as the segment ended.
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The Elite were filmed from their personal trailer. Don Callis introduced everyone before saying Kenny Omega was soon to be the new IMPACT champion. Matt Jackson said the Elite was the reason that business went up in Japan and pointed out that it’s called “All ELITE Wrestling.”
Omega was about to speak, but was interrupted by some honking from outside the trailer. It was Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston in a pickup truck. Moxley floored it and rammed the truck into the Elite’s trailer before walking out with a pipe. The two walked into the trailer, but the Elite were nowhere to be found.
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Taz joined commentary for the match, where he revealed that the rest of Team Taz had been banned from ringside.
Christian Cage defeated Powerhouse Hobbs
This was a strong match, better than Christian’s first match against Kazarian.
Hobbs overpowered Christian early on, sending him to the ramp. Christian baited Hobbs to the floor with some slaps, allowing him to hit a diving dropkick, but Hobbs popped up and just leveled him with a lariat. He sent Christian over the barricade and exposed the steel guardrail, grinding Christian’s face into it ahead of the break.
Back from commercial, Christian fought back and immediately went for the Killswitch, but Hobbs muscled his way out of it. He whipped Christian across the ring and went for a Vader bomb, but Christian got his legs up. Christian landed right hands and a pendulum kick before a diving uppercut for two.
Christian followed up the attack with some improvised offense, but Hobbs turned a running attack into a hard spinebuster for a near fall. Christian went for the swinging DDT but transitioned into a powerbomb and a frog splash for two. Hobbs shrugged off a spear attempt with a body block before a corner hip attack got two.
A sleeper attempt caught Hobbs by surprise, but he was able to turn it into perfect position for Town Business. However, Hobbs took time to taunt, and Christian hit the Killswitch to win.
– After the match, Ricky Starks limped out to check on Hobbs as he and Christian stared each other down.
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Next week on Dynamite:
Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Orange Cassidy
Kris Statlander vs. Penelope Ford
The Young Bucks vs. Matt Sydal & Mike Sydal in an AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator match
Nightmare Family (Dustin Rhodes, Billy Gunn, & Lee Johnson) vs. The Factory (QT Marshall, Nick Comoroto, & Aaron Solow)
The Inner Circle and Pinnacle Parley
Hangman Page vs. Brian Cage
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A Jade Cargill video played. She said every manager in AEW wanted to sign her, but she doesn’t need a boss.
They performed technical wrestling early on, with a couple cradle attempts getting near falls. After a Snare Trap attempt, Allin took Jungle Boy down with a Thesz press and repeated right hands. They fought on the floor, where Jungle Boy tackled Allin over the barricade into the ringside seating area.
After the commercial break, Jungle Boy landed a strike combination before tossing Allin into the corner. He then hit a couple suplex bridges for near falls. Allin avoided the rebound lariat and hit a stunner for two. Jungle Boy fought out of a corner attack and hit a crazy move, like a body scissors where Allin bumped like it was a reverse hurricanrana.
Jungle Boy hit repeated topes, landing a tope con giro on the third. He tried to suplex Allin back into the ring, but Allin turned it into a guillotine. Allin then landed a Coffin Drop on the apron. As the referee made his count, Luchasaurus assisted Jungle Boy getting back into the ring, which prompted Sting to pick a fight. They fought all the way up through the tunnel.
Back in the ring, Jungle Boy hit his rebound lariat, a brainbuster, and a running elbow for two. He then applied the Snare Trap. Allin reached the ropes, but Jungle Boy pulled him back out with a rolling Romero special before re-applying the Snare Trap. Allin gouged at Jungle Boy’s eyes to escape the hold.
Jungle Boy battered Allin with ground and pound and hit a sunset flip, but Allin locked on the Last Supper cradle for the sudden win.
– After the match, Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page ran out and beat down both competitors. Page killed Allin with the Ego’s Edge, but Lance Archer ran out to make the save. Page and Sky beat down Archer after a low blow, but Sting ran out with a baseball bat and chased them off.
There has been a change to the six-woman tag team match set for AEW Dynamite.
A video posted this afternoon on social media showed Britt Baker telling Tony Schiavone that Rebel would be unable to be cleared by both herself and the Jaguars team doctor for their match on Dynamite. She then introduced her new partner, Nyla Rose. It will now be Rose, Baker, and Maki Itoh against Hikaru Shida, Ryo Mizunami, and Thunder Rosa.
Itoh appeared on last night’s Revolution Buy-In pre-show, replacing Rebel in a match where she and Baker defeated Thunder Rosa and Riho. Later on pay-per-view, Rose, Rebel, Itoh, and Baker attacked Shida and Mizunami after Shida successfully defened the AEW Women’s title against Mizunami. Rosa then came for the save.
Also announced for this Wednesday is TNT Champion Darby Allin vs. Scorpio Sky for the title, Matt Jackson vs. Rey Fenix, and a Inner Circle war council meeting following MJF and Jericho’s loss at Revolution.
An AEW Women’s title eliminator tournament has been announced.
Revealed tonight on AEW Dynamite, the tournament will feature sixteen women in a single elimination tournament. The winner of the tournament will become the number one contender for the championship, facing champion Hikaru Shida. No start date for the tournament was set, other than it was “coming soon”.
The graphic for the tournament also featured the flags of both the United States and Japan, though the significance of that was not explained.
Shida has held the championship for 243 days, defeating Nyla Rose at Double or Nothing back on May 23 of last year. She has defended the title in the past against the likes of Penelope Ford, Nyla Rose, Anna Jay, and Big Swole.
She most recently defended the title against Abadon on the first night of New Year’s Smash on January 6. She successfully defended the title despite Abadon biting Shida in the neck.
Number three-ranked contender Abadon made her case for an AEW Women’s Championship match last night, attacking champ Hikaru Shida and biting her neck on the Holiday Bash edition of Dynamite.
Abadon appeared at ringside during Shida’s match against Alex Gracia. Shida pulled Abadon over the barricade and Abadon appeared to be unconscious. Shida went on to defeat Gracia.
Shida then approached the fallen Abadon and poked her with a stick. Playing into her undead persona, Abadon jumped to her feet and the two brawled. Abadon then bit Shida’s neck, leaving the AEW Women’s Champion bloody.
In a more traditional wrestling story, The Young Bucks retained their AEW Tag Team titles in the main event of Dynamite. Other tag matches on the show saw Chris Jericho & MJF defeat Top Flight and Jurassic Express take down The Dark Order in a six-man. After Jericho & MJF’s win, Jake Hager challenged Wardlow to a match for next week.
The tease for an angle involving Sting and Darby Allin also continued on last night’s show. Sting was about to address Allin when Team Taz interrupted and cornered Sting in the ring. After the lights went out and came back on, Allin appeared in the ring, forcing Team Taz to stand down.
Penelope Ford and Kip Sabian announced the date for their wedding — February 3 at Beach Break. Best Friends’ music interrupted the announcement, but it turned out to be a swerve from Sabian and Miro. Trent was seen being placed into an ambulance, presumably after an attack from Miro and Sabian.
For more of what you missed, including PAC vs. The Butcher and a Kenny Omega promo, see below.
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida now has an opponent for tomorrow’s Holiday Bash edition of AEW Dynamite: Alex Gracia.
Gracia defeated KiLynn King on Tuesday’s edition of Dark to earn the non-title opportunity, picking up her first-ever AEW win with a neckbreaker. She made her promotional debut in September and has lost to Penelope Ford, Ivelisse, Leva Bates, and Nyla Rose thus far.
Shida is preparing to face top challenger Abadon at some point in the future. The champion has won 22 straight singles or four-way matches dating back to January 1st of this year with five successful title defenses.
Wednesday’s show will air after the Boston Celtics/Milwaukee Bucks NBA game and is expected to start around 10 PM Eastern.
The rest of the announced lineup of matches and segments:
AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. The Acclaimed
Chris Jericho and MJF vs. Top Flight
Sting interview with Tony Schiavone
PAC vs. The Butcher
Jurassic Express vs. Dark Order’s Colt Cabana, 5 and 10 in a six man tag
Dustin Rhodes vs. Evil Uno
Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford’s wedding date will be announced
Fourteen matches have been announced for Tuesday’s AEW Dark.
AEW Women’s champion Hikaru Shida will face KiLynn King in one of the more high-profile bouts. Chaos Project will also face Best Friends in a tag team match.
Women’s division matches taking place on the show include the likes of Ivelisse, Leva Bates, Tay Conti, and Anna Jay. Others slated for action include Brian Cage, Matt Sydal, Jurassic Express, and the team of Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela.
Here are the full list of matches that will take place on Dark this Tuesday, streaming at 7 pm ET:
Jon Moxley made his World title defense against Kenny Omega official on last night’s AEW Dynamite.
After Omega signed the contract last week for their match at December 2nd’s Winter is Coming, Moxley put pen to paper on this week’s Dynamite. Before signing, Moxley laid Omega out with a Paradigm Shift.
Hikaru Shida defeated Anna Jay to retain the AEW Women’s World Championship on Dynamite. After the match, Abadon entered and left a blood stain on Shida’s title belt.
In the Dynamite opener, Hangman Page defeated The Dark Order’s John Silver. Dark Order’s Evil Uno made a recruiting pitch to Page after the match.
A week before Cody Rhodes and Darby Allin face Team Taz’s Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks, Taz choked out Rhodes with a Tazmission.
Chris Jericho and Jake Hager of The Inner Circle defeated SCU’s Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian after MJF hit Daniels with his Dynamite Diamond ring. Scorpio Sky saved Kazarian and Daniels from a post-match attack from the entire Inner Circle.
In the show’s final match, Butcher and Blade beat Death Triangle members PAC and Rey Fenix after an assist from Eddie Kingston. Kingston and his family assaulted Death Triangle after the match, but Lance Archer ran in to make the save and attacked Kingston.
For more of what you missed, including TH2 vs. Top Flight and Powerhouse Hobbs in action, scroll down.
Abadon made her return to AEW tonight on Dynamite, making clear she was next in line for the AEW Women’s title.
After Hikaru Shida had successfully defended the title against Anna Jay, Shida posed with the title on the ramp. However, Abadon’s music hit and she came out of the entranceway crawling towards Shida. Shida dropped to the floor and retreated. Abadon took the title and spit what apparently was blood all over the championship.
Abadon had not been on AEW television since October. She was injured in a match last month against Tay Conti that was taped for Dark. She took an elbow to the throat, and was unable to breathe. The injury was serious enough that the match was stopped immediately. Abadon was sent to the hospital for evaluation, and the match never aired.
Prior to her injury, Abadon had wrestled primarily on Dark. She last appeared on Dynamite beating Anna Jay on the June 11th edition of the program.
The Thanksgiving Eve edition of AEW Dynamite airs tonight.
The build to Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega’s AEW World Championship match on next week’s “Winter is Coming” edition of Dynamite will continue. It was announced earlier today that Moxley will sign the contract for the bout on tonight’s show.
After reuniting their Death Triangle group with Penta El Zero M, PAC & Rey Fenix will team against The Butcher & The Blade from Eddie Kingston’s family. PAC made his in-ring return on last week’s episode and defeated Blade in a singles match.
Chris Jericho & Jake Hager of The Inner Circle will face the SCU unit of Frankie Kazarian & Christopher Daniels in a tag match.
Hikaru Shida will defend the AEW Women’s World title against Anna Jay of The Dark Order. The storyline setup for this contest was that Dark Order leader Mr. Brodie Lee demanded a title shot for Jay.
A week after turning against Cody Rhodes and joining Team Taz, Will Hobbs will be in action against an unnamed opponent.
Newly signed tag team Top Flight will face the TH2 duo of Angelico and Jack Evans.
Hangman Page will also be in action for the first time since his Full Gear loss to Kenny Omega when he takes on Dark Order’s John Silver.
Plus, FTR will make their first appearance since losing the AEW World Tag Team titles at Full Gear on November 7th.
Our coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Show Recap —
Hangman Page defeated John “4” Silver
Before the match, a video played where it was revealed that Evil Uno personally requested the match because the Dark Order likes Page. Silver predicted that he’d win.
This was Page’s first match since Full Gear. The Dark Order joined Silver for his entrance, but he had no second for the match.
Page took control at the start with a shoulder block and a slam. Silver fought back with an armdrag and a dropkick before flexing in Page’s face. Page flattened him with a forearm smash. They traded chops in the corner before Page tossed Silver with a massive back body drop.
Silver continued the mind games with a spank. Page went for a springboard kick, but Silver cut him off and landed a diving crossbody for two. Silver laid in kicks and stopped Page’s comeback with a back elbow. They traded strikes yet again before Silver transitioned into a German suplex bridge for two.
Page avoided a corner attack and hit a springboard clothesline. Both men avoided dives, but the second pescado attempt from Page landed on the outside. Back in, Page hit a sliding lariat for two. Silver fought out and went for another crossbody, but Page turned it into a Samoan drop and hit a running shooting star press for a near fall.
Silver countered the Buckshot Lariat into a hurricanrana before hitting a cool flurry of offense, concluding with a brainbuster, for a good near fall. He laid in more kicks, but Page absorbed the punishment and fired up with forearms. Silver hit another kick combination but was met with a crushing lariat. Page followed it up with a Liger Bomb for two, before nailing the Buckshot Lariat for three.
That was an excellent opener. It came across like a combination of their respective Full Gear matches.
After the match, the Dark Order came out. Page was ready for a fight, but Uno said that they weren’t here to jump him. Uno compared the Elite to a cult and said that the Dark Order was here for Page, essentially offering him a spot in the group.
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Kenny Omega was interviewed by Alex Marvez. Asked about his thoughts on Moxley’s beatdown during the contract signing, Omega recalled that one year ago, he was nursing injuries from the Moxley match. The difference now is that Moxley is being called the “best in the world.” The common thread that binds Moxley and Omega is the AEW World Championship, and until Omega gets the belt, people won’t consider him to be the best.
Omega implored Moxley to leave the garbage wrestling at home, challenging him to beat him based on his wrestling ability. He brought up Moxley’s promo about his father last week, and said that his own father would “beat the sh*t” out of Moxley’s.
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A Darby Allin video aired. He set fire to a car and posed with the TNT championship.
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Before the match, Taz joined commentary.
Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Lee Johnson
Will Hobbs is now Powerhouse Hobbs. He also has new gear, a singlet that is very similar to what Taz wore as a wrestler. Hobbs easily dispatched Johnson to the floor and taunted the ringside wrestlers. Back in the ring, Hobbs hit a falling powerslam for the squash victory.
Taz grabbed a microphone and told Hobbs to go celebrate. He complained that the FTW championship is not officially recognized by AEW and said that he wouldn’t leave until the title meant something. Taz continued to complain until his microphone was cut off before demanding that Justin Roberts give him his microphone.
Cody Rhodes, with his producer’s headset on, walked out. He said that Taz was wasting time and announced that next week Hobbs and Ricky Starks would face Cody and Darby Allin. Taz said that wasn’t enough. Cody agreed to talk to his superiors about it, but Taz goaded him with references to WWE corporate speak. That pissed off Cody, who asked Taz why Taz’s son was training with Cody.
Taz dropped the microphone and told Cody that he had gone too far. He looked like he was walking off, but turned back around and choked Cody out with the Taz-mission. The Nightmare Family made the save, then Taz’s son appeared and walked off with his father.
I have no idea where it leads, but that was an incredibly entertaining segment. Everyone played their part, but Taz in particular was fantastic.
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Eddie Kingston was interviewed by Marvez. He was asked about the reformation of the Death Triangle. Kingston said he’s not mad, just really disappointed. He expected this from Fénix and PAC, but not Penta.
Jon Moxley interrupted and stared him down. Kingston said that the backstage attack wasn’t him, and Moxley walked off.
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The Hybrid2 (Jack Evans & Angélico) defeated Top Flight (Darius Martin & Daunte Martin)
They played clips from TH2’s appearance on Britt Baker’s Waiting Room show from Dark, which set up this match. Top Flight’s signing was announced earlier this week. This was a good showcase match with a couple sloppy moments.
Angélico and Darius started off. Angélico tried for some grappling, but Darius cartwheeled out of it, continuing to match Angélico’s chain wrestling. Daunte tagged in and Top Flight hit a double team. Angélico cut off Daunte’s leapfrogs with a kick, allowing TH2 to take control throughout the commercial break.
Daunte hit a roundhouse kick, buying him enough time to reach Darius for the hot tag. Darius ran wild on both opponents, concluding with a missile dropkick for two. They got a bit lost on a Daunte hot tag, but they eventually hit an assisted spinebuster before Angélico broke up the cover.
Evans looked for a German suplex on the apron, but Darius sent him to the floor. Darius hit a tope suicida immediately followed by a Daunte tope con hilo on both of the TH2. Back in the ring, Daunte hit a top-rope splash for a close near fall. Angélico made a blind tag as Evans sort of missed a springboard moonsault for two.
Angélico set up for a Razor’s Edge onto the turnbuckle, but Daunte turned it into a Code Red. Evans took out Darius on the floor as Angélico locked on the Navarro Death Roll, forcing Daunte to submit.
TH2 kept up the beatdown after the match, but the Young Bucks ran out and sent them packing.
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Vickie Guerrero spoke with Nyla Rose behind her. Guerrero said that she would tell a lesson in nepotism, referring to Brandi Rhodes. She said that she wasn’t the one who told Jade Cargill to attack Brandi last week.
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An FTR video package aired. Flanked by Tully Blanchard, they said that even though their Full Gear match won a ton of accolades, that doesn’t mean anything, because they lost. They maintain that they are the best tag team in the world. Tully said that the championships remain FTR’s destiny, and told the Young Bucks to fear the revelation.
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Chris Jericho & Jake Hager (w/ the Inner Circle) defeated SCU (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian)
The entire Inner Circle (Santana, Ortiz, Sammy Guevara, MJF, and Wardlow) was out with Jericho and Hager. The main story behind the match is that Jericho and Daniels have wrestled a combined 58 years and yet have never faced off, so they started off.
Daniels got the advantage and tagged in Kazarian, but Jericho escaped to Hager, who beat down Kazarian in the corner. The Inner Circle kept up their beatdown with frequent tags. Kazarian used a series of strikes to escape for the hot tag.
After Daniels ran wild, Ortiz tripped him when the official wasn’t looking. Kazarian argued with the official while the rest of the Inner Circle beat down Daniels on the outside. They kept up the attack during the commercial break. A Complete Shot on Jericho allowed Daniels to reach Kazarian for another hot tag.
Kazarian took down both opponents and landed a springboard moonsault on Jericho for two. Ortiz hopped up on the apron, so Kazarian knocked him off and sort of hit a slingshot hurricanrana. The distraction looked to provide an opening for Jericho, but Daniels tagged in and hit a stomp. There was a visible video cut after Daniels’ stomp.
Hager tagged in and leveled Daniels with a lariat, but Daniels hit a diving flatliner. He nailed the Best Moonsault Ever, but Jericho broke up the pin. With the official distracted, MJF punched Daniels with the Dynamite diamond ring, allowing Jericho to hit the Judas Effect for the pin.
Kazarian laid out MJF after the match, but the Inner Circle was too much for SCU. Jericho grabbed Kazarian, looking for MJF to hit him with the ring, but Scorpio Sky ran out with a chair for the save.
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Miro and Kip Sabian were with Penelope Ford to debut their new video game segment. Orange Cassidy walked up and Miro snapped, but the Best Friends were outside. Both teams brawled, and the Best Friends powerbombed Sabian into a port-a-john. Miro knocked down the camera to end the segment.
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The Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal was announced for next week.
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AEW World Championship contract signing: Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega
Omega posed behind the backlit screen as usual for his entrance, but Moxley attacked, which was a cool visual. In the ring, Moxley hit a Paradigm Shift onto the championship.
Moxley took a microphone and said that whoever Omega hired to attack him last week did a bad job, because he’s still here. He said that the only way that Omega could become champion would be through digging down deep and being the Omega that everyone thinks he can be. Moxley actively started promoting the match and said that “winter is coming” for Omega. He told Omega to steady his aim and take his shot, because he’s only going to get one. Moxley thanked Tony and signed the contract.
Moxley was great here as usual but the lack of a true face-to-face ahead of “the biggest match in Dynamite history” is puzzling.
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Jericho was supposed to be interviewed, but MJF immediately took the microphone, calling Kazarian a coward for sucker punching him. Jericho said that the Inner Circle’s fun and games are done and announced that he would face Kazarian next week.
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A really good video package aired ahead of the women’s championship match, helping it come across like a big deal. Jay discussed her lack of experience and how she’s being trained in judo by Tay Conti. Shida said that her knee is fine and challenged Jay to find more heart.
AEW Women’s Championship: Hikaru Shida (c) defeated Anna Jay (w/ Tay Conti)
Jay’s Dark Order compatriots John Silver, Alan “5” Angels, and Preston “10” Vance came out on the ramp before the match. The match was good but they used a lot of smoke and mirrors to make it seem like Jay had a chance.
They had a shoving match right away. Jay immediately went for the Queenslayer sleeper, but Shida escaped and hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a dropkick. Jay evaded a knee on the floor and drove Shida into the barricade. She targeted Shida’s injured right knee during the break.
Jay kicked Shida off the turnbuckle with the Dangerous Jay kick before demanding a chair from Conti. The official took the chair but Silver gave Jay a kendo stick. Jay domed Shida with it for a great near fall.
Shida escaped out of the Queenslayer and hit a stratjacket German and a forearm smash for a near fall. She then hit the Tamashii for the win.
After the match, Abadon made her return and took the championship.
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A delusional Matt Hardy called himself the most influential trailblazer in wrestling. Now that he’s overcome his insurmountable odds, us at home can overcome our pedestrian challenges.
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Team Taz (without Taz) spoke. Starks said that Cody crossed the line tonight. They all respect Taz, but Cody’s paper-thin ego keeps getting in the way. Before today, it was all business, but now, it’s personal.
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The Butcher & The Blade (w/ The Bunny) defeated PAC & Fénix (w/ Penta El Zero Miedo)
Eddie Kingston was on commentary for this match. This was a fun brawl, but the match layout was a bit odd, with the heels, Butcher and Blade, working from underneath through the commercial break.
PAC and Fénix dominated right away and hit dives. PAC went for the Black Arrow too quickly and Butcher popped up as he and Blade took control. They tried to isolate PAC, who fought out and tagged in Fénix. Death Triangle took turns attacking Blade, but PAC got cocky and allowed him to fight back. They had a strike exchange which Blade won with a lariat.
Fénix and Butcher, neither of whom were the legal man, had a battle in the ring. Butcher took out Fénix but was met with a big move from PAC, leading to all four men being down. During the break, PAC distracted the official as Penta beat down Butcher on the floor.
Butcher cut off Fénix and landed a knee drop for two. He and Blade isolated Fénix until Fénix hit a handspring cutter, buying him enough time to reach PAC.
PAC tagged in and hit kicks on both opponents. He nailed a Northern Lights suplex bridge on Blade for a near fall. Blade avoided a shooting star press and tagged in Butcher, who leveled PAC with a lariat for a near fall. Butcher and Blade hit more double teams, concluding with a doctor bomb, but Fénix broke up the pin attempt with a dropkick.
Fénix made a blind tag and they took out Blade. Kingston ran down to the ring and distracted the official, allowing Butcher and Blade to hit a powerbomb neckbreaker combination for the win.
The Family continued their attack after the match. Kingston DDTed PAC onto a chair twice. Lance Archer ran out with Jake Roberts trailing and took out the entire Family. He tried for a chokeslam on Kingston, but Butcher broke it up. Fénix popped up and The Family was sent packing.
Archer posed on the turnbuckle and jawed with Kingston to close the show.
Four matches, including an AEW Women’s title match, were announced for next week’s Dynamite.
Hikaru Shida will defend the championship against Anna Jay of The Dark Order. It was revealed that Mr. Brodie Lee (off-screen) demanded a title match for next week. Jay, along with John Silver, cut a promo tonight saying she was no longer a rookie, that she was in the Dark Order, and that she would win the championship.
Chris Jericho will also be in action next week, teaming with Jake Hager to take on SCU (Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels). Jericho appeared briefly on commentary Wednesday and promised The Inner Circle would be back in action next week following their trip to Las Vegas.
In other matches:
Death Triangle members PAC and Rey Fenix will face The Butcher and The Blade. This comes after Penta El Zero M made the save for Fenix who had ran out to help PAC fend off a three-on-one attack from Eddie Kingston, Butcher and Blade after PAC’s win over Blade Wednesday.
Will Hobbs will be in action against an opponent to be named. It will be a follow-up to his heel turn to close out Dynamite as he aligned himself with Team Taz.
Fifteen matches have been announced for this week’s AEW Dynamite.
Brandon Cutler and Peter Avalon will have a no DQ, no count out match where there must be a winner The two have had previous matches on Dark where the bouts ended by double disqualification and double count out.
Leyla Hirsch, who most recently appeared on GCW’s Bloodsport event earlier this month, will face AEW Women’s champion Hikaru Shida.
SCU (Frankie Kazarian & Christopher Daniels) will also be in action, facing Hybrid2 (Angelico & Jack Evans). Matt Sydal, who will face Eddie Kingston this Wednesday on Dynamite, will face Lee Johnson.
Here is the full card for Tuesday’s show:
Ivelisse & Diamante vs. Kilynn King & Savannah Evans
Brandon Cutler vs. Peter Avalon
Evil Uno & Stu Grayson vs. Top Flight
Anna Jay vs. Katalina Perez
Ricky Starks vs. VSK
Aaron Solow vs. Sonny Kiss
Jersey Muscle & Danny Limelight vs. Jurassic Express
Darby Allin vs. Alex Chamberlain
The Hybrid 2 vs. SCU
10 vs. Sean Maluta
Brian Cage vs. Fuego del Sol
Matt Sydal vs. Lee Johnson
Best Friends vs. Anthony Bowens & Max Caster
Will Hobbs vs. Nick Comoroto
Hikaru Shida vs. Leyla Hirsch
AEW Dark airs on YouTube every Tuesday at 7 pm ET.
Another title match has been added to the card for AEW Dynamite’s one-year anniversary.
It was announced today that Hikaru Shida will defend her AEW Women’s Championship against Big Swole on Dynamite next Wednesday (October 14). The AEW World Championship, Tag Team titles, and TNT Championship will also be on the line on the anniversary episode. Jon Moxley is defending the AEW World Championship against Lance Archer, FTR are defending their AEW Tag Team titles against Best Friends, and Cody is defending the TNT Championship against Orange Cassidy.
Swole was in action on Dynamite this week, defeating Serena Deeb. Swole also defeated Skyler Moore on AEW Dark this week.
Shida has been AEW Women’s Champion since winning the title from Nyla Rose at Double or Nothing this May. Her most recent title defense was against Thunder Rosa at All Out last month. Swole defeated Britt Baker in a Tooth and Nail match at All Out.
Kip Sabian & Miro teaming together in tag team action is also set for next Wednesday’s Dynamite anniversary episode. Plus, MJF is promising that he will make “a career-defining announcement.”
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.
