The 32-year-old hasn’t wrestled since January 20 when he teamed with Eddie Kingston in a loss to Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli on AEW Collision.
He revealed on Isiah Kassidy’s vlog over the weekend that he’s about to get surgery.
“I’m injured, man,” Ortiz said. “I’m about to get surgery in two weeks.”
“It was just from a clothesline. I tore my pec from a clothesline,” he continued.
“Two weeks, four months recovery time, and then I’ll be back more jacked with a mullet and a mustache.”
Ortiz and Kassidy were later shown working on commentary for Ethan Page’s Alpha-1 Wrestling promotion in Hamilton, ON, Canada. Ortiz would also work as a guest referee later in the show.
Ortiz’s longtime partner, Mike Santana, recently revealed that he departed AEW after having been with the company since 2019. Fightful Select is reporting that he could be headed back to TNA Wrestling, where he and Ortiz are four-time tag champions as LAX.
Santana & Ortiz returned to AEW, reuniting as a duo and aligning with the Blackpool Combat Club ahead of Sunday’s All In Stadium Stampede match.
Santana made his return for the first time since suffering a devastating knee injury in last year’s Blood & Guts match on the June 29, 2022 Dynamite. Ortiz has intermittently appeared for AEW since last year’s Blood & Guts, occasionally working as a single or in mixed tags, but Dynamite marked his first appearance for company since an ROH match taped on April 5.
In their return, Santana & Ortiz aligned with Blackpool Combat Club, turning on Eddie Kingston in the process in an angle that involved Jon Moxley & the BCC attacking Rey Fenix as Kingston & Penta El Zero Miedo ran in for the save. Santana, Ortiz, Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and Claudio Castagnoli took out Kingston & Penta, then Orange Cassidy & Best Friends entered to even the odds.
Fenix was taken out of the arena on a stretcher after the angle, creating a scenario where the originally announced six-on-six Stadium Stampede match for All In was changed to a five-on-five, with Moxley, Castagnoli, Yuta, Santana & Ortiz facing Kingston, Penta, Trent Beretta, Chuck Taylor & Cassidy.
The updated All In lineup:
AEW All In, Sunday, August 27, 1 p.m. Eastern time on pay-per-view —
AEW World Championship: MJF defends against Adam Cole
AEW Women’s World Championship: Hikaru Shida defends against Toni Storm, Britt Baker & Saraya
AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
Real World Championship: CM Punk defends against Samoa Joe
AEW World Trios Championship: The House of Black (Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews & Brody King) vs. The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & Billy Gunn
Stadium Stampede match: Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo, Orange Cassidy & Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta), Santana & Ortiz
Coffin match: Sting & Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland & Christian Cage
Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay
The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Hangman Page) vs. Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Juice Robinson) & Konosuke Takeshita
Zero Hour pre-show, 12 p.m. Eastern time on AEW’s YouTube & social media channels —
ROH World Tag Team Championship: Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defend against Better Than You Bay Bay (MJF & Adam Cole)
This week’s packed show started off with Taz and Excalibur running down the card.
FTR defeated The Initiative (Peter Avalon & Brandon Cutler)
Tully Blanchard was in the audience, scouting FTR once again. Could we be seeing a stable form before our eyes with FTR, Hangman Page & Shawn Spears? Cash and Dax dominated the first few minutes, but Cutler hit a flying forearm and the two hit a combo flapjack to start to get the heat on Cash. However, FTR hit a double front suplex across the top rope for a two count soon thereafter.
FTR DDT’d Cutler’s legs, slingshotting him into the middle rope for good measure. Dax cut off a tag attempt and they continued to beat on Cutler. Leva Bates distracted Dax, but he hit a back suplex anyway. Cash went for a dropkick, but Cutler dodged and made the hot tag to Avalon. Avalon hit a chop, enziguri, and a split-legged moonsault for a two count. Dax countered an Irish whip with a clothesline, leading to a combo spike piledriver for the pin and win to finish off a solid tag match.
The Young Bucks were at ringside and shook the winners’ hands after the match, impressed by their performance. Taz then threatened to sell FTR’s jackets on eBay if they forgot them at ringside.
Joey Janela & Sonny Kiss defeated Pineapple Pete & Michael Nakazawa
Nakazawa ate a dropkick from Kiss as the match started and took some Kiss offense, getting locked in the Kiss My Sass in the corner. He tried to escape with his baby oil, but Janela grabbed the oil and sprayed it on Kiss instead. Kiss slipped on the mat after Pete sprayed some oil on the mat. Pete later sprayed his partner’s back with oil and ran from one corner to the other, sliding off Nakazawa’s back into Rose in the corner. Later, after some mat wrestling, Pete tagged Janela which I think was a botch.
Excalibur kept referring to “Mike” and Taz was incredibly confused, not realizing that he was talking about Nakazawa which was hilarious. Janela hit a splash off the top rope on Pete for two. Nakazawa did his underwear spot but ate a superkick instead, and Kiss hit a legdrop on Pete for the pinfall.
Abadon defeated Skyler Moore
Abadon did a double leg and hit some ground and pound. Moore later hit a DDT, but Abadon sat up and scared her. Moore still managed to hit a front slam, but only got a two count. Abadon hit a Widow’s Peak for the win.
A good promo aired for Shawn Spears in which he talked about how the glove Tully Blanchard gave him was his protector.
The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) defeated Shawn Dean & Will Hobbs
Excalibur noted that the Dark Order of Evil Uno and Stu Grayson were in line for a tag title shot before the pandemic, slid down the rankings because of it, but are now back in line for another shot for tomorrow’s Dynamite. This was a good recap of their work in 2020 so far, and a reminder that AEW’s booking plans are largely planned well in advance.
Evil Uno hit a back suplex on Dean as they tried to isolate him in the ring because Hobbs is so big. Grayson shoved Hobbs and Uno dropkicked him off the apron. Dean hit a dropkick that knocked Grayson to the floor, and Dean hit a tope con giro and tagged out to Hobbs who hit a big spinebuster on Uno and an Oklahoma Stampede on Grayson for a two.
Grayson hit Knightfall on Hobbs and then Fatality on Dean for the pin and win.
Scorpio Sky defeated Corey Hollis
Both men exchanged hammerlocks to start the match, ending with a pinfall attempt for a quick one count. Sky hit a Manhattan Drop and then a russian leg sweep for a two count. Hollis pulled Sky’s leg, sending him crashing into the apron, and then hit a flying knee for two. Hollis hit a dropkick from behind and then stomped on Sky.
Sky reversed an Irish whip, but Hollis hit a kick off the middle rope for a two. Sky hit a big boot on Hollis for a two. Sky went for a cradle, but Hollis reversed it into a stunner. But, Sky put his feet up as Hollis went for a splash, leading to the TKO for the win in a great little squash match.
Penelope Ford (w/ Kip Sabian) defeated Kenzie Paige
Ford hit a clothesline to Paige’s back after an irish whip into the corner. Ford sent Paige to the opposite corner, but Kenzie clotheslined her and hit some mounted punches. Ford countered a corner run by directing her face into the middle turnbuckle. Excalibur and Taz had some golden commentary here as they tried to figure out a part of Ford’s gear, leading to Excalibur quoting “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” theme song.
Penelope hit a gutbuster and then a stunner. Kenzie fired back, but Ford hit a hard forearm of her own. Kenzie hit a superkick, but Ford responded with a pump kick, a handspring cutter, and a fisherman’s suplex for the win. The match was sloppy in parts, but there were moments that showed both women have the potential to be great.
Wardlow defeated Aaron Solow
Wardlow dominated this match early on, crushing Solow with power moves. Wardlow charged the corner, but Solow hit a few kicks. Wardlow caught him in midair and just threw him. Wardlow hit a lariat and put Solow on the top rope before kicking him in the face. The ref then stopped the match due to knockout.
Wardlow picked Solow up after and hit the F10 twice for good measure.
Best Friends defeated Alex Reynolds & John Silver of the Dark Order
Silver and Reynolds attacked Best Friends from behind. Trent came off the barricade and hit a spear on Reynolds and while Chuck Taylor hit a double stomp on Silver. They went for Strong Zero right away, but Silver cut them off and Dark Order hit a series of double team moves for a near fall on Trent. They got the heat on Trent for the next few minutes.
Silver hit a running slam for two and Reynolds hit a running cutter on Trent for two. They threw Taylor to the outside and continued to work over Trent. Trent ate some kicks and hit some hard forearms. Both men exchanged forearms but Trent took Silver’s head off with a clothesline. Reynolds took Taylor off the apron and hit a suplex before continuing to work over Trent.
Trent hit a backdrop driver on Silver and finally tagged out to Taylor who ran wild. Taylor avoided Reynolds and suplexed Silver into his own partner. Trent hit a release german off the top rope on Reynolds, and then Taylor hit the Awful Waffle on Silver for the win to finish a great tag match.
It’s interesting to see the development of Reynolds and Silver as they get closer and closer to a big win.
Lance Archer defeated Frankie Thomas
Archer won this match very quickly. he hit a pounce and then a suplex. Archer killed a guy at ringside and then continued to destroy Thomas. Archer then went for Blackout, but Thomas escaped. It was for naught though as Archer hit a chokeslam and the EVD Claw for the pinfall.
Orange Cassidy defeated Serpentico
Cassidy went for the superman punch early, but Serpentico went to the floor to avoid it. Serpentico hit a superkick and a quick DDT on Cassidy for two. Cassidy hit a suicide dive but got hit with a superplex. Serpentico went for a russian leg sweep, but Cassidy countered with a crucifix of sorts for the win.
Sammy Guevara defeated Fuego Del Sol
Fuego and the returning Guevara exchanged some lucha moves on the onset, but Guevara had the clear size advantage. Del Sol hit a northern lights suplex for two. Fuego went for a springboard, but Guevara hit him with a flying knee that got a two count. Guevara hit a vertical suplex for a two count and flipped Fuego over the top rope and to the floor in a pretty spectacular spot. Guevara threw him back into the ring but ate a superkick and a few other high flying moves before he dodged a top rope dive and hit the GTH for the pinfall.
Santana & Ortiz defeated SCU & Private Party (w/ Big Money Matt)
The early part of the match saw SCU and the Inner Circle members exchange most of the offense. Marq Quen tagged in and hit a hurricanrana on Daniels. Daniels later cradled Kassidy for a two count and Ortiz blind tagged in to assault Daniels. Santana & Ortiz got the heat on Daniels for the next few minutes before Kassidy broke up a pinfall attempt to save the match.
Daniels was forced to tag out to Quen as Kazarian was pulled off the apron, and he hit a tope con giro on Santana and Ortiz. Kassidy hit a moonsault on Ortiz but only got two. Private Party managed to hit the Silly String on Ortiz, but Kazarian came in and broke it up. Kaz got sent to the floor as Kassidy tagged out to Quen and they hit a combo splash and legdrop, right out of the Hardy Boys playbook.
Santana hit a rolling cutter on Quen, but ate a blue thunder bomb from Daniels. Ortiz hit Daniels wit ha stunner, but Kazarian hit a DDT on Ortiz. Kassidy landed a flatliner on Kazarian, but then Ortiz threw the slapjack at Quen and claimed they were going to us it. As the ref took it away, Ortiz punted Quen between the legs and rolled him up for a pinfall.
This was a solid tag main event to close the show, but one thing stood out to me about Dark this week: it was too long. A show that goes nearly two hours with mostly squash matches is a bit much to watch. With that being said, nothing on the show was bad and each match, in a vacuum, had a lot to offer.
A tag team number one contender’s match is the latest addition to the card for next week’s Bash at the Beach episode of Dynamite.
AEW has announced that The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega & Hangman Page, Santana & Ortiz, and Best Friends will face off in a four-way tag match on Dynamite next Wednesday. The winning team will get a title shot against champions SCU (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian).
When the title match will be taking place hasn’t been announced.
AEW has been teasing dissension between Omega & Page, but they defeated Private Party on Dynamite this week.
SCU became the inaugural AEW Tag Team Champions in October.
The Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida is hosting the Bash at the Beach episode of Dynamite. Jon Moxley vs. Sammy Guevara, PAC vs. Darby Allin, Kris Statlander & Hikaru Shida vs. Awesome Kong & Mel, and Diamond Dallas Page, Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall vs. MJF, The Butcher & The Blade have also been announced for the show.
AEW tag team champions SCU will defend against the Young Bucks on next Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite “winter finale”, their final broadcast of 2019.
It was announced on tonight’s Dynamite that the winner of the Bucks vs. Santana & Ortiz Texas street fight would earn a title shot on next week’s show. The Bucks won when the duo hit the Meltzer Driver on Ortiz for the pin.
Also announced for the Corpus Christi, TX, event:
– A bout to determine the number one contender to AEW women’s champion Riho as Britt Baker will face Kris Statlander. Statlander recently signed a deal with AEW and pinned Hikaru Shida in her singles debut while Baker goes into the match with a 3-2 record.
– The Lucha Bros vs. Hangman Page and Kenny Omega. Omega and Page teamed up to defeat Shawn Spears and Kip Sabian on this week’s show.
The matches join the previously announced AEW Champion Chris Jericho vs. Jungle Boy non-title 10-minute time limit main event.
AEW Dynamite airs live tonight from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas, a Dallas suburb.
A Texas Street Fight between The Young Bucks and Santana & Ortiz has been advertised for the event. The Bucks scored a victory in trios action against the Proud and Powerful duo and Sammy Guevara in last week’s opening match.
Guevara will be in action against Luchasaurus tonight. Chris Jericho will be on commentary for that match ahead of facing Jungle Boy next week.
Cody Rhodes & QT Marshall vs. The Butcher & The Blade is set for Dynamite as well. Cody allowed MJF to name his partner in exchange for a shot at Butcher and Blade, who attacked Cody two weeks ago.
Also scheduled for tonight’s show is MJF’s response to Cody’s challenge. MJF has said that he will never wrestle Cody after turning on him at the Full Gear event last month. Last week, Cody offered his truck, his watch, his shoes, and more than $50,000 to MJF if he would agree to a match.
In another tag match set for tonight, Kenny Omega & Hangman Page will team against Kip Sabian & Shawn Spears.
Plus, Big Swole makes her Dynamite debut against Emi Sakura. Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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JON MOXLEY DEFEATED ALEX REYNOLDS
Moxley won in seconds with a Regal knee and a Paradigm Shift. Reynolds’ partner John Silver jumped in to attack Mox after and he also got a Paradigm Shift.
Jericho and the Inner Circle came to the ring. Jericho climbed inside to confront Moxley while the others surrounded the ring.
Jericho cut a promo inviting Moxley to join the Inner Circle. He drew on some real life elements, talking about how Moxley had asked him for advice when he first broke onto the national stage. He said they became adversaries, but imagine what they could do on the same side.
Jericho gave Mox an Inner Circle shirt, then left. Moxley said nothing the entire time, and left you with the impression that he was not seriously considering the offer.
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The announcers previewed the card for the rest of the evening, then threw to a video package hyping up the main event street fight.
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THE BUTCHER & THE BLADE DEFEATED CODY & QT MARSHALL
As Butcher and Blade entered, MJF cut an inset promo mocking QT. At least I think that’s what he said. The sound mixing for this was awful.
Cody and Blade had a nice opening sequence. Cody hit a powerslam for a one count. QT and Butcher tagged in. Allie tripped QT from the floor, and Blade then nailed him with a tope con giro.
Butcher and Blade worked over Marshall through a commercial break. They built to a hot tag to Cody. QT kept getting cut off, but finally hit a sweet enziguri and made the hot tag.
Cody ran wild with a moonsault, a top rope springboard cutter and a Disaster Kick. Allie gouged Cody’s eyes, cutting him off. QT tagged himself in and hit the slowest space flying tiger drop you’ll ever see. Still a super impressive move for a man of his size.
QT hit a top rope moonsault for a near fall. He got cut off again. Butcher and Blade hit a Magic Killer into a backstabber as their tandem finisher, then Blade pinned QT.
Cody sold as though he was broken-hearted about losing and sat on the arena floor pouting. Darby Allin marched to the ring and helped Cody to his feet, so that could be an alliance going forward.
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MJF RESPONDS TO CODY
MJF cut an absolutely fire promo on Cody. He mocked his lisp. He mocked Cody for pandering to the fans. He called the fans hicks and white trash. He called a grip into the ring to chastise him for laughing as Cody mocked him last week and made him kiss his ring.
He said he knows Cody wants to get his hands on him more than he wants anything in the world. He agreed to face Cody, but said with a few stipulations. He said he wasn’t going to reveal the stips here in Honkyville USA, but on January 1 in Jacksonville.
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There was another Dark Order hype video. They were talking to Reynolds through his hotel TV, urging him to stop being a jobber and join Dark Order.
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BIG SWOLE DEFEATED EMI SAKURA
Swole oozes charisma. She got off to a good start here with some kicks. You could see Sakura really leading Big Swole through the match.
Sakura cut Swole off and used a Romero special. Sakura continued working Swole over through a commercial break.
Sakura hit a Tiger Driver over her knee for a two count. Sakura grabbed her mic stand and did a bunch of her Freddie Mercury shtick. Big Swole grabbed the mic stand and did a James Brown impression.
Sakura hit a Vader Bomb for a two count. Sakura missed a moonsault. They traded strikes. Big Swole hit a pump kick for a two count.
Big Swole missed with a ripcord headbutt attempt. She got it on her second attempt. It’s her finish, called Dirty Dancing. Big Swole then pinned Sakura.
There were good elements to this but the match went too long and started to get wobbly the longer it went.
They teased the possibility of Spears and Sabian teaming regularly.
Page and Omega controlled the early part of the match with fundamental offense. Chops, kicks and the like. Spears and Sabian used a distraction from Penelope Ford on the floor to cut Page off.
Sabian used a draping neckbreaker. They teased a hot tag through a commercial break. Omega got a hot tag and hit a double Kotaro Krusher. He teased a Terminator dive, but Ford jumped on the apron to block the dive.
Ford then hit a tijeras off the apron on Omega. Spears took the referee and Ford jumped inside and hit a handspring back elbow in the corner on Omega. Sabian then hit a fisherman’s suplex for a two count.
Omega made a comeback with V-Triggers. The lights went out. When they came back on, Joey Janela had Tully Blanchard tied up on the ramp. Shawn Spears ran up the ramp to brawl with Janela, leaving Sabian to fend for himself.
Omega hit a snap dragon suplex. Page blind-tagged himself in, then hit Sabian with a Buckshot Lariat for the pin.
I’ve been talking about Penelope Ford since 2017. She’s a star. They continued to tease a Page heel turn here.
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BRANDI RHODES VIDEO
Brandi cut a promo on the women’s division. She said what would the division be without her and Kong, a kids gymnastics meet? She said Riho has gone missing, and if you took a shot every time Britt Baker mentioned her boyfriend you’d be dead on the floor. They teased a new Nightmare Collective member, a big bald guy.
Nope. This ain’t it, fam.
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Chris Jericho and Jake Hager kicked Tony Schiavone and Excalibur out of the commentary booth, taking their places for the next match.
LUCHASAURUS DEFEATED SAMMY GUEVARA
The match was more of a backdrop for commercials and an angle for next week’s show.
They wrestled through a break. They did a picture-in-picture replay of a Guevara dive off the apron during a picture-in-picture ad break. That was some real Inception-style stuff there.
Luchasaurus won with the Extinction.
Jericho and Hager ran to the ring to brawl with Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt. Jungle Boy got a visual pinfall over Jericho ahead of their match next week.
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PPV ANNOUNCEMENT
February 29 in Chicago, AEW Revolution.
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Jericho vs. Jungle Boy in a 10-minute tie limit, non-title match is set for next week. So is Kris Statlander vs. Britt Baker for the number one contendership. Lucha Bros. will also face Page and Omega next week.
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The Texas Street Fight rules were announced. No countouts or DQs, falls count anywhere, no time limit, fully sanctioned.
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YOUNG BUCKS DEFEATED SANTANA & ORTIZ IN A TEXAS STREET FIGHT TO BECOME NUMBER ONE TAG TEAM CONTENDERS
The Bucks got jumped during their entrance by Santana, Ortiz and Guevara. Brandon Cutler ran out to make the save and got powerbombed through the stage. Matt and Nick hit an Indytaker on Guevara on the stage. Nick hit a swanton off the tunnel.
They brawled around ringside and used all sorts of plunder. Matt wore a Dallas Cowboys helmet and hit both Santana and Ortiz with a spear. Santana and Ortiz put both Bucks through tables. They used trashcans.
Matt hit a crossbody off the post. Nick hit a 450 on a trashcan on top of Ortiz. Jake Hager ran in and pulled the referee out of the ring. The Bucks hit More Bang For Your Buck for a near fall as Aubrey Edwards ran in to assume referee duties.
Nick got sent through a table. Santana and Ortiz doubled up on Matt and hit him with a low blow. Santana and Ortiz hit the Street Sweeper on Matt. Nick pulled Aubrey out of the ring before she could count to three.
Santana and Ortiz tried another Street Sweeper. Santana got sent off the top through a table on the floor. Nick hit a superkick on a chair into Ortiz’s face. The Bucks hit the Meltzer Driver on Ortiz, and Matt scored the pin.
Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian jumped in after the match and had a staredown with the Bucks over the tag team titles.
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I thought this was a better show than last week’s Dynamite. They effectively set up next week’s loaded show, did some teases for January, and introduced some new stars on the biggest stage they have. The show was timed out much better than last week’s as well.
The episode began with a “Last Week on Dynamite” video, which is a different way to format the show. This concentrated on the MJF vs. Hangman Page match and the aftermath with DDP.
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Tony Schiavone has returned from the assignment he was on last week and hosted the show with Dasha Gonzales, who was also on assignment from Dark last week. That’s a lot of assignments.
Shanna was supposed to do commentary with Excalibur, but she got laid out by Nyla Rose before the show began last week. Rose then joined Excalibur at the desk.
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Jimmy Havoc defeated Brandon Cutler
Neither wrestler came into the match with the most sterling win-loss record. Havoc has only won one singles match (and two overall), but Cutler has won nothing. Zero, zip, zilch, nada.
Havoc just got done paying a hefty fine for using an unauthorized staple gun at the last show, so he had to shake his head at the fans chanting for staples. Unless they were chanting for the office supply store.
They were having a good, solid match that the fans weren’t really getting into until Havoc went crazy and pulled out his staple gun. He did have a change of heart and gave it to the referee, but Havoc then kicked a field goal with Cutler’s groin. Unlike way too many extra points in the NFL this year, this one was good.
Cutler got over it and went for a chop outside the ring, but Havoc ducked and Cutler chopped the ring post.
Havoc continued to bite Cutler. Perhaps he didn’t get enough to eat at the pre-match buffet? Cutler broke out an over-the-top-rope leg drop while Havoc was laying on the middle rope, but he went down in defeat after Havoc hit the Acid Rainmaker.
After the match, Havoc stapled a check for $10,000 to Cutler’s head.
We cut to a post-match promo where Havoc told AEW management that he will do what he wants and will pay these checks every time, before stapling a check to the wall. If these fines were legit, why wouldn’t they just take the money out of the wrestler’s paycheck?
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The same propaganda video from last week aired, urging people to Join The Dark Order.
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A video package recapping Cody’s return from last week aired. The one thing people don’t seem to mention (or maybe notice) is before everyone came out they had already done a hashtag promoting The Butcher, The Blade, and The Bunny.
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Shawn Spears (w/ Tully Blanchard) defeated Sonny Kiss
Kiss got the biggest reaction on the show so far, just doing his normal spots. Spears mocked him by flexing his butt cheeks, which caused the fans to chant “10” at him. Spears flipped off the Sears Centre.
Moments later, Spears dropped Kiss with a backbreaker on the ring apron, which is the hardest part of the ring. Spears won with a C-4, a running Death Valley Driver, in what was essentially a squash match.
After the match, Spears and Blanchard gave Kiss a spike piledriver outside the ring.
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We got a commercial for A Little Bit of the Bubbly before we were magically whisked away to the AEW Control Center.
A recap of the Dustin Rhodes/Inner Circle angle from last week aired, which builds up tomorrow night’s six-man tag. Also last week, Pentagon Jr. and Fenix were complaining to Jenn Decker about losing to Trent, when Pentagon was attacked by Christopher Daniels. This leads to the Daniels-Pentagon match tomorrow night.
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We got a mockumentary called Jurassic Planet, looking at, shockingly, the Jurassic Express. They showed Jungle Boy getting water from a nearby brook and Luchasaurus eating leaves from a tree.
They happened to stumble across a naughty babysaurus, named Marko Stunt, who was playing with tires. The video ended with Luchasaurus holding Stunt’s hand like a father and his child while carrying Jungle Boy.
This was in lieu of a From Undesirable to Undeniable segment. Let’s face facts, Luchasaurus sitting down and talking to Cody about his career just wouldn’t be right.
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Proud & Powerful (Santana & Ortiz) defeated Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Marko Stunt)
Jurassic Express have the worst records of anyone in AEW. Jungle Boy is 0-8 going into this match, while Stunt is 0-7. I assume Luchasaurus is still getting over his injury and that’s why we’re getting Babysaurus.
Ortiz got worked over by his smaller foes, but then the heels took over with a double-team German suplex/dropkick on Stunt.
Santana lifted Stunt up in a suplex and then Proud & Powerful tagged in and out and handed Stunt off to each other while he was still in the suplex position. Stunt rolled through with a small package at one point, but he eventually was dropped at the second suplex attempt.
Stunt and Jungle Boy were set up on chairs outside the ring and Santana did a running cannonball dive off Ortiz’s back onto them.
Both members of Jurassic Express do a great job of fighting for the hot tag. This time Jungle Boy got it and got a near fall with a diving crossbody. They also used a ripcord leg drop and a flipping cutter. Stunt went up top for a 450 splash, but got distracted when Jungle Boy got pulled off the apron and was pinned after a Liger Bomb by Santana.
Sammy Guevara came out to shoot video of the three of them putting the boots to Jurassic Express. This may be footage for Being The Inner Circle. Luchasaurus did a walk-in for the save. He gave all three boots and knees and gave Ortiz a chokeslam for good measure.
Luchasaurus, who was not booked on the show, stood tall over the three men who will be in the main event of Dynamite tomorrow night. Jake Hager then walked out and traded blows with Luchasaurus. It was the Unstoppable Force vs. the Immovable Object, as neither man went down. Luchasaurus tried going for a chokeslam, but Proud & Powerful broke it up.
The Young Bucks ran down and chased Proud & Powerful and Hager off. All five babyfaces went off on Guevara, including Stunt doing an assisted Canadian Destroyer.
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Final Thoughts —
Now that AEW Dark has settled down into the B-show territory it was always meant to be, we can judge the show based on that. The episode was fine — I guess I should get used to the crowd being dead, even though they were pretty hot last week. Check out the Jurassic Planet mockumentary and skip the rest unless you’re a completist.
AEW’s return to the Sears Centre Arena last night included three matches taped for AEW Dark.
– Jimmy Havoc defeated Brandon Cutler
Havoc used a staple gun after the match.
– Shawn Spears (w/ Tully Blanchard) defeated Sonny Kiss
After the match was over, Spears gave Kiss a piledriver on the floor.
– Santana & Ortiz defeated Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Marko Stunt)
Sammy Guevara helped Santana and Ortiz attack Jungle Boy and Stunt following the match. Luchasaurus came out to make the save, then Jake Hager arrived to help the Inner Circle. The Young Bucks got involved and the babyfaces stood tall.
Nyla Rose was the guest commentator on this week’s AEW Dark tapings. The show premieres on YouTube at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesdays.
Next Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite is also taking place in Illinois, with the show being held at the State Farm Center in Champaign.
With those two words Wednesday night on AEW Dynamite, the Young Bucks accepted the challenge of Santana and Ortiz and will face the duo at AEW Full Gear.
The Bucks took on the Best Friends on the show, defeating them after hitting More Bang For Your Buck on Chuck Taylor. After the match, Matt Jackson took the mic and made the Full Gear match official.
AEW Champion Chris Jericho had thrown out the challenge on the former LAX’s behalf during a segment on last week’s Dynamite. Santana and Ortiz made their first appearance at All Out in August, doing a run-in on the Bucks and the Lucha Bros. They made their in-ring debut on the Dynamite premiere, teaming with Jericho against the Bucks and Kenny Omega, later forming The Inner Circle along with Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager.
The Saturday, November 9th, pay-per-view officially has Jericho defending his title against Cody and Kenny Omega challenging Jon Moxley.
A tag team match between The Young Bucks and Santana & Ortiz looks to be set for AEW’s Full Gear pay-per-view.
On tonight’s episode of Dynamite, Santana & Ortiz defeated John Silver & Alex Reynolds. Chris Jericho appeared on the video screen after the match and cut a promo. He challenged The Young Bucks to face Santana & Ortiz at Full Gear.
Santana & Ortiz are part of AEW’s Inner Circle stable with Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Jake Hager.
Santana & Ortiz debuted at All Out in August and attacked The Young Bucks and Pentagon Jr. & Fenix. On the Dynamite premiere, Santana & Ortiz had their first match for AEW. They teamed with Jericho to defeat The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega.
The Young Bucks lost a Tag Team title tournament first-round match to Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) on Dynamite last week. Santana & Ortiz aren’t in the tournament.
Full Gear is taking place at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday, November 9. Jericho will defend his AEW World Championship against Cody Rhodes at the PPV, and Kenny Omega will face Jon Moxley.
After The Lucha Bros and The Young Bucks’ ladder match at All Out, Santana & Ortiz — formerly known as LAX in Impact Wrestling — appeared and attacked both teams. They were wearing President masks at first, then unmasked after giving Nick Jackson their Street Sweeper finisher.
Santana put a Puerto Rican flag around his shoulders after hitting the move.
Pentagon Jr. & Fenix retained their AAA Tag Team titles against The Young Bucks before Santana & Ortiz appeared.
Chris Jericho and two mystery partners will face Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks in a six-man tag match on the AEW on TNT premiere. It’s taking place at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, October 2.
Santana & Ortiz said farewell to Impact Wrestling at the promotion’s television tapings in Mexico City earlier this month. The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) vs. Santana & Ortiz will air on next Friday’s episode of Impact. The North’s Impact Tag Team titles are on the line against Santana & Ortiz’s Impact careers.
