13 matches are scheduled to air on Tuesday’s show including Trent Beretta vs. Tony Nese, Billie Starkz vs. Emi Sakura, and Jeff Jarrett & Satnam Singh vs. The Boys (Brandon & Brent).
Preston Vance, Julia Hart, Tony Deppen, Matt Sydal, Slim J, and The Workhorsemen will also be featured on this week’s episode.
AEW Dark on February 21, 2023, was filmed on Saturday, January 28, 2023, from Universal Studios in Orlando. The advertised lineup is as follows:
Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) vs. Chris Sandson & Terry Kid
Preston Vance w/ Jose the Assistant vs. Blanco Loco
For Tuesday’s edition of Dark, AEW will finish airing footage from their recent taping in Newark, New Jersey, with an eight-match lineup.
Brian Cage will look to rebound from his loss to Ricky Starks in the AEW World title eliminator tournament as he faces former ROH TV Champion Tony Deppen.
ChocoPro’s Hagane Shinno will make his official AEW debut as he takes on Angelico. Shinno competed against Michael Nakazawa at the company’s Fight Forever event at September’s Tokyo Game Show. This is Angelico’s first singles match and third match overall since September.
Former AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will take on Layla Luciano.
Here’s the full lineup:
Hikaru Shida (w/ Hagane Shinno) vs. Layla Luciano
Matt Hardy & Private Party vs. The Wingmen (Peter Avalon, Cezar Bononi & Ryan Nemeth)
The Factory (Lee Johnson, QT Marshall & Cole Karter) vs. Justin Corino, Ryan Mooney & Steve Josifi
Zack Clayton vs. Chris Wylde
Angelico vs. Hagane Shinno
Brian Cage (w/ Prince Nana) vs. Tony Deppen
Jericho Appreciation Society (Matt Menard, Angelo Parker & Daniel Garcia) vs. Tracy Williams, LSG and Jack Tomlinson
Four matches were taped for AEW Dark: Elevation on Wednesday from the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California.
With the show emanating from Southern California, former SCU teammates Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels were reunited. Daniels accompanied Kazarian to the ring for his match against Serpentico.
Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Miyu Yamashita made her AEW debut at the tapings as well. She teamed with Skye Blue in a losing effort to Nyla Rose and Serena Deeb.
Other matches filmed for the show include the Nightmare Factory defeating the Dark Order and Death Triangle defeated The Wingmen.
AEW Dark: Elevation airs Monday at 7 p.m Eastern on YouTube. Full spoilers for the show are listed below.
The Nightmare Factory (QT Marshall, Anthony Ogogo, Nick Comoroto & Aaron Solo) defeated Dark Order (Alan “5” Angels, John Silver & 10)
Frankie Kazarian w/ Christopher Daniels defeated Serpentico
Nyla Rose & Serena Deeb defeated Skye Blue & Miyu Yamashita
The Death Triangle (Penta Oscuro, Rey Fenix, & Pac) defeated The Wingmen (Peter Avalon, Ryan Nemeth, & Cezar Bononi)
Matt and Nick Jackson bragged about spending thousands of dollars on their Nike clothes and shoes.
The Elite —
Trick Shots with Nick Jackson saw Nick hitting some trick shots.
Kenny Omega was shooting hoops backstage as Brandon Cutler filmed.
Cutler filmed footage of some of the exhibits at the Double or Nothing fan fest.
Footage from the Double or Nothing PPV was shown, including a behind the scenes look at Omega filming a backstage segment.
The Bucks were shown paying off referee Rick Knox in an airport, so a heel referee may be part of their act going forward.
BTE Championship —
Brandon Cutler defeated Ryan Nemeth in a desktop basketball game to retain the title.
Miscellaneous bits —
Matt Hardy and Private Party cut a promo on Christian Cage. Hardy said Cage has always been a piece of sh*t and if it wasn’t for Matt and his brother, Christian and his partner never would have gotten over. Hardy, Kassidy and Quen promised to get revenge on Cage.
Matt and Nick Jackson mourned the loss of their Dior shoes, stolen by Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston on last week’s Dynamite.
The Elite —
Trick Shots with Nick Jackson saw Nick hitting some trick shots.
Footage from Young Bucks vs. Varsity Blonds was shown.
Nick hit more trick shots.
Brandon Cutler regained the BTE Championship from Charlie from Sammy Guevara’s vlog.
Matt cut a long promo on Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston.
Dark Order —
The group drew pictures as a coping mechanism following their recent struggles.
Miscellaneous bits —
Ryan Nemeth continued his Hollywood trivia bit, asking Rebel who played the hunky spokesperson for Venmo commercials. Rebel had no idea that it was Nemeth.
Peter Avalon wrote a note in a book for Leva Bates. Alex Reynolds intercepted the book and signed the note.
The Bunny and Brandon Cutler’s dormant feud continued. The Bunny acted as though she was calling for a truce, but it was a swerve. The two declared war on each other.
Rocky Romero and Best Friends all kicked John Silver below the belt.
Nemeth asked Trent a trivia question. Trent knew the answer, but only because Nemeth had bragged to him about it before.
Best Friends and Romero answered questions from fans in a BTE Mailbag segment.
Avalon, Nemeth, Cezar Bononi and JD Drake met in a hotel room to do yoga together. Bononi brought a “yoga book” that turned out to be a kama sutra book.
The show began with a strong Christopher Daniels promo.
Daniels was being cleaned up and stitched up following SCU’s loss to The Young Bucks last week. Daniels cut a promo talking about a Dusty Rhodes retirement promo that he remembered from more than 30 years ago.
Daniels said that he always knew that one day he would walk out the door of an arena and that would be the last time he would walk out as a full-time wrestler. Daniels wept and pleaded that he wanted to stay, but then walked out the door.
The Elite —
The Young Bucks and Brandon Cutler experienced travel delays as the made their way to Dynamite last week.
Nick Jackson cut a promo on a fan that stalked their hotel for free autographs for a year.
Trick Shots with Nick Jackson returned. Nick hit several trick shots in and around his home swimming pool.
Footage from The Bucks vs. SCU from Dynamite was shown.
There was a pointless segment with The Good Brothers goofing off with The Bucks.
Dark Order —
The group had a picnic but everyone forgot to bring food.
Miscellaneous bits —
Ryan Nemeth introduced Hollywood Trivia. He asked Matt Sydal to name who played Andy the sexy cowboy on this past season of Jimmy Kimmel Live. The answer was Nemeth, but Sydal didn’t get it right. One of Sydal’s guesses was Nick Cannon.
Matt Hardy and Private Party discussed their upcoming match against Dark Order. They laughed at the thought that they might lose.
Nemeth asked Ashley D’Amboise to name the actor who played a hunky drill sergeant on Nickelodeon’s Unleashed last season. D’Amboise also could not name Nemeth and guessed Nick Cannon.
Peter Avalon made another attempt to rekindle things with Leva Bates, but was interrupted by Alex Reynolds.
Ryzin, Vickie Guerrero and Nyla Rose set up a confessional backstage and listened to confessions.
The show opened with a lengthy Matt Jackson promo on this week’s match with SCU.
Matt detailed the long history and friendship between The Young Bucks and SCU. He said that none of that will matter on Wednesday when they step in the ring.
He concluded the promo by making fun of those who would suggest that promos like this should be included on Dynamite rather than part of a YouTube show.
The content of this promo was good, but Matt was reading it off a script and the delivery left something to be desired.
The Elite —
Footage was shown from The Elite beating down Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston on Dynamite.
Trick Shots with Nick Jackson continued.
Christopher Daniels cut a promo on The Young Bucks. He said that this Wednesday, he’ll either become an AEW Tag Team title holder, or he’ll break up with his tag partner of over a decade. He wanted to know which Young Bucks are showing up this week. He said he’s used to betting on himself and betting everything on one hand. Daniels said after this Wednesday, all four of them will be changed forever. This was excellent.
Dark Order —
Stu Grayson concluded that he must be losing his mind as he’s the only one who is seeing Anna Jay appear.
Evil Uno, Colt Cabana, Alex Reynolds, Ten and Five reviewed the group’s to do list. They ranked their priorities as taking care of the Hardy Family Office, finding out if Sting is their friend or foe, figuring out what BTDO stands for, then finding John Silver. As they were having this discussion, Silver walked by in the background.
Silver was looking for Dark Order backstage. He ran into Best Friends, who then bullied him.
Silver eventually found Dark Order and they were reunited.
Miscellaneous bits —
Peter Avalon was on a date. Leva Bates walked by. Avalon turned to look at Bates. When he turned back around, his date was gone.
AEW has announced the full list of participants for this Sunday’s Casino Tag Team Royale at AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view event.
The company confirmed this afternoon on social media that the following fifteen teams will be in the battle royal:
PAC and Fenix
Bear Country (Bear Boulder and Bear Bronson)
Varsity Blonds (Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison)
10 and Allan ‘5’ Angels of the Dark Order
Evil Uno and Stu Grayson of the Dark Order
Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi
Mike and Matt Sydal
Ortiz and Santana
Alex Reynolds and John Silver of the Dark Order
The Butcher and The Blade
SCU (Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels)
Private Party
Austin and Colten Gunn
Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall
Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy
Wednesday’s show ended with most of these teams coming out and brawling after The Dark Order made the save for John Silver and Hangman Page, who were being attacked by Matt Hardy.
The winner of the Casino Tag Team Royale on Sunday will get a future AEW World Tag Team title match. The Young Bucks currently hold those titles, and are scheduled to defend them against Chris Jericho and MJF on Sunday.
Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels have agreed if they lose one more match, they will split as a team.
The two discussed the current status of their career on tonight’s episode of AEW Dark. Kazarian talked about their run as a team so far, noting that they have lost more than they have won. He said despite everything in 2020, he could rely on Christopher Daniels until now, pointing out their loss to The Acclaimed on last week’s AEW Dynamite.
Kazarian talked about how he met his wife thanks to this business and put over Christopher Daniels as one of his best friends, and apologized for speaking out. Daniels told him not to apologize, he was the one that needed to apologize as he was the one who lost his passion. He let injury and adversity beat him. He said that perhaps this was a sign that he should walk away.
Kazarian stopped him, saying he knows Daniels as a fighter, and asked him to fight one more time. That was when Kazarian issued the ultimatum. Daniels started to walk away, but then told Kazarian he’d do it. They ended the interview by calling out TH2, who were in the crowd.
Daniels and Kazarian have been teaming regularly since 2011, when they were together in Impact Wrestling under the Fortune stable before eventually teaming together on their own under the team name Bad Influence. After leaving Impact in 2014, they appeared in Ring of Honor and continued to team together under the name The Addiction. When they joined forces with Scorpion Sky, they started working as a trio under the name SoCal Uncensored.
World Champion Kenny Omega will be in action in a no DQ match against Joey Janela on tonight’s AEW Dynamite.
Omega and Janela were originally scheduled to face off in the first round of the AEW World title eliminator tournament in October. Janela ended up being pulled from the tournament due to contact tracing. Omega went on to win the tournament, beating Hangman Page at Full Gear in the finals.
Should Janela win, he will be granted a future title shot against Omega.
A 12-man tag is also scheduled for tonight’s show. Last week’s battle between MJF and Orange Cassidy for the Dynamite Diamond Ring saw involvement in, or interference from, all fourteen competitors. The match will be Chris Jericho, MJF, Santana, Ortiz, Sammy Guevara & Jake Hager vs. Best Friends, Top Flight & Varsity Blondes.
As The Dark Order continues to look to add to their ranks, Hangman Page agreed to team with Alex Reynolds and John Silver on tonight’s show. They will face Matt Hardy and Private Party in trios action.
Cody Rhodes will face Angelico this evening. SCU will also take on The Acclaimed. An appearance by Sting and promos by Dustin Rhodes and Eddie Kingston have also been advertised.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Show Report —
Matt Hardy & Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) defeated “Hangman” Adam Page & Dark Order (John Silver & Alex Reynolds)
Page and Quen started off, but they wrestled to a stalemate, so Hardy tagged in. Hardy forced Page into his corner, but Page escaped a triple team and his team dispatched Hardy and Private Party. Silver celebrated by jumping on Page’s back, so Page dropped him onto Kassidy and covered for two.
Reynolds made a blind tag and he and Silver nailed Kassidy with a double team. Page followed it up with a running Shooting Star Press for two. Kassidy escaped and reached Quen for a hot tag. Quen downed all three opponents and Private Party hit a double team sequence on Silver for two.
Hardy and Private Party maintained control by isolating Silver, who eventually countered a dive and hit a brainbuster, allowing him to reach Page. Kassidy also tagged in, but Page went on a roll with clotheslines and a fallaway slam before landing a plancha on Hardy.
Back in the ring, Page flattened Kassidy with a lariat for a near fall. Hardy made a blind tag and hit the Side Effect for two. Page fought out of the Twist of Fate and reached Reynolds for yet another hot tag. Reynolds ran wild with forearms and a neckbreaker, then he, Silver, and Page hit a nice combination of power moves. Reynolds had it won, but Hardy pulled him out of the ring before the three, and hit Silver with the Twist of Fate on the floor.
Reynolds was isolated in the ring as Private Party hit him with Gin ‘n’ Juice. Before they could cover, Hardy tagged in, and he covered for three.
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The Inner Circle were interviewed about MJF’s New York Times Best Performance award for the Dinner Debonair. MJF began to speak, but Jericho emphasized that he created the Dinner Debonair and was the co-star. MJF said that the Times got one thing wrong: he couldn’t have done it without Jericho. MJF patronizingly said that he sees Jericho as a mentor, the GOAT, and his best friend. Through gritted teeth, all Jericho could say was “congratulations.”
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A video aired of Cody and Brandi Rhodes preparing for Christmas at home. A present arrived at their door, and inside the package was an ornament that read “We’re expecting a new baby, due 2021.”
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Cody was billed as a “future father” from Justin Roberts’ ring introduction.
Cody Rhodes (w/ Arn Anderson) defeated Angélico (w/ Jack Evans)
They performed technical wrestling early on, but neither man could establish any sort of advantage. Angélico was able to match Cody move for move and taunted as Cody sold frustration. Cody took control with a dropkick after a lengthy rope-running sequence as we went to a break. During the break, Evans hopped up on the ring apron, but Arn pulled him off and shoved him down. Angélico controlled the whole way.
Back from break, Cody escaped out of a suplex and downed Angélico with a kick. Cody hit clotheslines and a powerslam for two. Angélico caught the Rhodes drop-down right hand and turned it into a grounded octopus. With his arms trapped, Cody had to use his teeth to get a rope break.
Cody hit a pump kick and went for a backslide for two, but Angélico countered the Disaster Kick into a dragon screw. Angélico locked on the Navarro Death Roll, but Cody was able to reach the ropes. Cody hit the drop down right hand and went for Cross Rhodes, but Angélico fought out. Cody then hit a step-up Cody Cutter from the top rope for the pin.
After the match, Team Taz came out to “congratulate” Cody on he and Brandi’s pregnancy. Starks asked where this congratulations was when he and Cage made Cody and Darby Allin, who was watching from above, their sons. Taz said that Cage would whoop Allin’s ass. Team Taz walked to the ring to attack Cody, but the lights went out and Sting made his entrance, bat in hand. He stared down Team Taz and then the segment just ended.
They advertised Sting’s appearance tonight as “Sting Speaks,” so unless that happens later, that segment will come across as treading water from prior weeks.
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Miro was interviewed. It was revealed that Miro injured three AEW staff members and that he is being fined $75,000. Miro said that his problem with Orange Cassidy is that he doesn’t care about all the important things like subscribers and ratings. He said that he’d face Sonny Kiss on AEW Dark next week, and Kip and Penelope would announce their wedding date on next week’s Dynamite.
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Eddie Kingston came out to the ring and said he doesn’t care about anyone in attendance. He’s here to address his enemies. Kingston’s first enemy is God, because he’s still living. His second enemy is PAC, who he said went back home to nurse his injuries and that his career is done. He was about to talk about Lance Archer, but Archer immediately ran out to beat him down.
Butcher, Blade, and Bunny ran out to stop Archer’s attack, but then the Lucha Bros arrived alongside PAC. They all beat down Kingston, Butcher, and Blade. Fenix took out Butcher and Blade with a tornillo. Archer was about to chokeslam Kingston, but PAC kicked Kingston out of his grip, and they exchanged words, but they and the Lucha Bros stood tall.
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Dustin Rhodes was inteviewed by Dasha. Regarding Evil Uno’s offer from last week, Dustin said that “7” is still a bad idea. He said that every single member of Dark Order will fall, and next week, he’ll face Uno.
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Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, MJF, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana, & Ortiz) defeated Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent?), Top Flight (Darius Martin & Daunte Martin), & Varsity Blondes (Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman Jr.)
This was originally a 14-man tag with Wardlow and Brandon Cutler added, but Wardlow couldn’t make the show due to a family conflict. Orange Cassidy joined commentary for the match, but he didn’t say much.
Trent and Jericho started off, but Pillman wanted in. Pillman surprised Jericho after a strong lockup, so Jericho beat him down with strikes. Pillman fought back with chops and springboard moves. A springboard dropkick sent Jericho to the floor. Pillman dove with a rotating plancha, which nearly missed.
Garrison tagged in and landed a slingshot legdrop for two. Jericho was able to push Pillman into the Inner Circle’s corner and Guevara tagged in. Garrison tagged in Daunte as two of the best athletes in the company faced off. Guevara flipped him off and downed him with a dropkick. Daunte surprised Guevara with a leg lariat and Top Flight tried a double team which didn’t really land like they intended.
Guevara dropped Daunte with a right hand, leading to Trent and Santana tagging in. Taylor and Ortiz faced off as well as the Best Friends interacted with Santana and Ortiz for the first time since their parking lot brawl. Everyone entered the fray, but the face team sent the Inner Circle packing, and they all came together for a six-way hug.
Back in the ring, Santana hit the Three Amigos suplexes, with Ortiz joining for the third. MJF tagged in with a dive onto Trent’s arm. The Inner Circle beat Trent down on the floor as their team complained to the official, and maintained their advantage through a commercial break.
Guevara cockily went for a Shooting Star Press, but Trent rolled out of the way and hit a bicycle knee, allowing him to tag in Darius. Darius sent the Inner Circle off the apron and hit a Spanish Fly on Ortiz. He went for a dive, but was cut off, so Daunte made a blind tag and immediately dove onto the pile after.
Best Friends hit their half-and-half Soul Food combination and Garrison tagged in. Garrison cleared the ring but was cut off by a bat strike from Jericho. Hager tagged in and hit an awkward-looking F10 in a reference to Wardlow, then MJF tagged in to get the pin.
The teams brawled after the match, but Top Flight were the only ones left standing in the ring when it was all said and done.
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Thunder Rosa was interviewed about Dr. Britt Baker. Rosa said that she’s wrestled all over the world, and that it was Baker’s fault that she lost her NWA Women’s Championship match with Serena Deeb. She laughed at the idea that Baker said Rosa “doesn’t belong.” Rebel arrived and said that Rosa’s laugh is terrible, and Baker attacked from behind. They poured water on Rosa’s face, smearing her face paint, and Baker called Rosa ugly.
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The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) defeated SCU (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian)
The Acclaimed made their Dynamite debuts in this match. Caster’s schtick is that he raps about his opponents before their matches in a very similar manner to Thuganomics-era John Cena, and he did the same to SCU. Kazarian grabbed a mic and returned the favor. I’ll just say he’s a better wrester than rapper.
Kazarian and Bowens started off. A Northern Lights suplex got Kazarian a quick two count. Daniels tagged in, and a double team got another two. Bowens powered out of a move and tagged in Caster, who was met with a diving dropkick from Daniels.
Bowens tagged in but was again met with an attack from Kazarian until Caster knocked Kazarian off the apron, allowing The Acclaimed to beat him down on the floor. The Acclaimed maintained their advantage for a long time, until Kazarian hit a slingshot DDT and tagged in Daniels.
Daniels hit clotheslines and right hands on Bowens. He hit an STO on Caster and a Blue Thunder Bomb on Bowens for two. Daniels set up for the Best Moonsault Ever, but The Acclaimed cut him off. Bowens and Daniels fought on the top rope, but Daniels pushed Bowens down and landed a diving crossbody for two.
Bowens kicked out of an O’Connor roll, allowing Caster to hit Daniels with their boombox. Bowens followed it up with something similar to a Final Cut for the win, their eighth straight.
After the match, Caster took a mic and rapped about the Young Bucks, who were ringside, saying he and Bowens want the tag titles. Bowens grabbed the mic and laid down the challenge, saying that The Acclaimed have arrived.
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Top Flight were interviewed about why they made the save against MJF and Chris Jericho after the match. Darius said that MJF was the hottest young star until Top Flight arrived. They’re the coldest team in AEW, and they challenged MJF and Jericho to a match next week.
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Big Swole & Serena Deeb defeated Ivelisse & Diamante
Ivelisse & Deeb started off. Deeb downed Ivelisse with a clothesline. Swole and Diamante tagged in, and Diamante was able to hit a German suplex. Ivelisse and Diamante kept up their beatdown on Swole through the break.
Deeb got the hot tag and hit a rope-hang neckbreaker on Ivelisse. She applied a figure-four leglock, but Ivelisse rolled to tag in Diamante. Ivelisse and Diamante flattened Deeb with a combination sidewalk slam for two.
Swole tagged in and laid in chops on Diamante, but missed Dirty Dancing. Ivelisse grabbed Swole’s hair, but Swole was able to fight out of a Sliced Bread and hit a Tiger Driver. She followed it up with the Clearwater Cloverleaf, Deeb controlled Ivelisse, and Diamante tapped out.
Nyla Rose attacked after the match with Vickie Guerrero. They and Ivelisse and Diamante continued their beatdown, but Red Velvet ran out with a steel chair, sending the heels packing.
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After the commercial break that occurred during the previous match, a video aired promoting AEW’s new partnership with Rooster Teeth, headlined by Scorpio Sky.
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The Best Friends and Orange Cassidy addressed Miro outside. They said they’d make an appearance at Kip and Penelope’s wedding.
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A video aired highlighting Jurassic Express, who will face “5” and “10” of the Dark Order next week. FTR and Tully Blanchard came out to commentary to complain, calling Jurassic Express a sideshow. They’re offended that as the greatest tag team in the world, time is being sent on a gimmick like Jurassic Express.
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Lineup for next week’s Dynamite:
Young Bucks (c) vs. The Acclaimed for the AEW Tag Team Championships
Chris Jericho & MJF vs. Top Flight
Dustin Rhodes vs. Evil Uno
Jurassic Express vs. Colt Cabana, “5”, and “10
PAC vs. The Butcher
Hikaru Shida in action
Also, Chris Jericho will be on commentary. Dynamite will air either at its normal time or immediately following the end of NBA on TNT.
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No Disqualification match: Kenny Omega (w/ Don Callis) defeated Joey Janela (w/ Sonny Kiss)
Janela tossed a garbage can in Omega’s face during his entrance as Callis told Schiavone to get out of commentary so Callis could speak. Schiavone told Callis “kiss my ass.”
Janela landed a tope suicida and set up a chair, but Omega turned it into a Kotaro Crusher onto the chair. Omega hit a baseball slide and his Terminator dive as Callis called the match with a house microphone, calling it “personal commentary.” Omega attacked Janela with a cookie sheet.
Callis handed Omega a microphone and Omega used it to amplify his attack as he and Callis bantered. Omega then landed a moonsault through a trash can. He continued his attack with chops and strikes with the cookie sheet before hitting a springboard stomp through the trash can. Omega set up for the One-Winged Angel, but Janela countered out with a reverse hurricanrana.
Kiss set up a table on the outside as Janela looked for weapons. Janela set up Omega on the table and put him through it with a diving leg drop. Back in the ring, Omega rolled out of the way of a top-rope moonsault and landed two V-Triggers. The One-Winged Angel followed for the win in about six minutes.
After the match, Callis said that there are no more unanswered questions after the AEW Title eliminator tournament. The Death Triangle came out and PAC said that there was unfinished business, as Fenix never lost to Omega because he couldn’t compete due to injury.
Callis said that wrestlers don’t tell the world champion what to do, but PAC had already spoken to Tony Khan, and on December 30, Omega will defend the AEW Championship against Fenix. Callis and Omega berated them as the show closed.
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.
The AEW World Tag Team Championships will be on the line tonight on Dynamite.
Champions FTR will defend against the SCU duo of Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian in a 20-minute time limit “Brush With Greatness” match.
The Inner Circle’s Chris Jericho will be in action against Private Party’s Isiah Kassidy.
Orange Cassidy will face Preston “10” Vance of The Dark Order. Cassidy faced Dark Order leader Mr. Brodie Lee for the TNT title on last week’s Dynamite in a losing effort. A week after his return to Dynamite, Cody will respond to Lee’s challenge to a dog collar match for the TNT Championship.
Ricky Starks from Team Taz will face Darby Allin.
Dr. Britt Baker will be in action for the first time since All Out.
A week after retaining the AEW World title against Eddie Kingston, Jon Moxley is set for tonight’s show. He will be in action against an opponent of Kingston’s choosing.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Jim Ross, Excalibur and Taz were the announce team. They said that Tony Schiavone was trying to get a word with FTR backstage.
A video package aired highlighting the Allin/Starks feud.
A promo aired from Darby Allin’s compound where one of his friends promised that Allin would get revenge on Starks.
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Darby Allin defeated Ricky Starks
They worked this like a grudge match for sure. The strikes were snug and the work was good.
Allin got some shine early with strikes, a suplex on the apron and a suicide dive.
Brian Cage came out to distract Allin. Will Hobbs came out to take care of Cage and the two brawled to the back. Starks was able to use the distraction to cut off Allin and flip the momentum.
Allin made a comeback and hit a code red. They traded strikes. Allin hit a backpack stunner. He teased a Coffin Drop off the second rope but Starks caught him with a spear for a two count.
Starks went for an avalanche finisher. Allin kicked him off and hit a Coffin Drop for the pin.
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The announcers previewed the card. They announced that Moxley vs. the opponent of Kingston’s choosing would be for the AEW World title.
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Cody came to the ring for a promo. They cut to commercial before he began speaking.
After the break, Dasha Gonzalez was in the ring to interview Cody. She asked about the status of Cody’s injury.
Cody said Al Snow once told him you always wrestle hurt, but you should never wrestle injured. Cody said his injury is more than physical.
Cody said it hurt to lose his TNT title in three minutes. While he was off, he got the call from Hollywood to appear on another show.
Cody said he heard people talking while he was away, talking about being the future and the ace. He said only three people have the right to speak of themselves in that way now: Hikaru Shida, Jon Moxley and Brodie Lee.
Dasha asked Cody what his answer was to Brodie Lee. Cody said as an EVP, his answer to Lee is no. He left the ring.
Cody came back to the ring. He said no, as in no regrets, no holding back, next week, he accepts.
Brodie Lee came to the ring. The locker room emptied and tried to hold the two apart.
Brandi Rhodes ran in and hit a flip dive off the post onto Dark Order. Anna Jay attacked Brandi. Nyla Rose and KiLynn King jumped the rail and brawled.
The pull-apart in the ring re-started. Lee retreated to the stage and held the TNT title aloft.
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Schiavone was backstage with FTR and Tully Blanchard.
Cash said they did Best Friends a favor last week by refusing their challenge. He called Best Friends glorified backyard wrestlers and participation trophy guys. He said SCU are different and deserving of a shot.
Schiavone asked Dax about The Young Bucks. Dax referenced Dave Meltzer and said that if stars from Dave constitute a title match, maybe The Bucks could get a match at some point.
Matt Jackson entered and hit a superkick to Tony. Nick was not there but they acted like he was just off-camera.
Dax and Cash called Matt out for kicking Schiavone instead of them.
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Dasha was with SCU. They promised to win the titles tonight, then made their way to the curtain.
Shawn Spears was waiting for SCU at the curtain and mockingly wished them luck.
The Tag title match is next.
**********
Hangman Page joined the commentary desk.
AEW World Tag Team Championship match: FTR (w/Tully Blanchard) defeated SCU (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian w/Christopher Daniels) to retain the titles
This was excellent.
Dax and Kaz began, trading holds. Kaz hit a lariat and tagged Sky. Sky hit a dropkick for a one count. Cash blind-tagged in and faced off with Sky.
Sky and Cash did a series of drop-downs and leapfrogs. Cash feigned a trip from Daniels on the floor and the ref ejected Daniels.
Dax and Cash had some miscommunication and ended up on the outside. Kazarian missed a baseball slide but Sky hit a tope con giro to both members of FTR.
FTR cut Sky off with a lariat on the outside before throwing him back in. FTR were in control, working over Sky before an ad break.
Cash missed a charge into the corner. Dax tagged in. Cash took the ref. Sky cradled Dax but the ref was tied up and Sky only got a two count.
Kazarian tagged in and hit a series of leg lariats on Dax. He fought off an interfering Cash and sent him into Dax. Cash tagged in and ate a northern lights suplex and a fisherman’s suplex for a pair of two counts at the ten minute call.
Cash hit a dropkick on Kazarian into a sunset flip by Dax for a two count. Kazarian hit a German on Dax. Sky tagged in and used a high stack on a cover for a two count.
SCU tried a double pin on a sunset flip from Kaz and a high cross from Sky but only got two. Sky hit Dax with a cutter for a two count. Dax powerbombed Kazarian. Cash hit a dragon suplex for a near fall.
Kazarian crotched Cash on the top rope and went for a superplex. Dax interfered. Kazarian countered a doomsday device attempt with a powerslam.
Sky used a series of cradles for three near falls on Cash. Blanchard interfered by grabbing Cash’s hands to block a schoolboy.
For the finish, Sky tried to suplex Cash into the ring as Cash stood on the apron. Tully tripped Sky and held his foot. Cash covered Sky for the pin.
**********
They announced an eight-man tournament for an AEW World title shot with the finals at Full Gear. Rey Fenix, Jungle Boy and Kenny Omega were announced for the tournament.
Page left the commentary table in a huff after Omega was announced for the tournament, as I guess he is still hoping to get back with Omega as a tag team.
**********
Chris Jericho (w/The Inner Circle) defeated Isiah Kassidy (w/Marq Quen & Matt Hardy)
Jericho gave Kassidy almost the entire match.
Kassidy got the upper hand right away and Jericho bumped all over the place for him. Kassidy hit a series of strikes and used a magistral cradle for a two count.
Jericho took a slingshot over the top to the floor. Kassidy teased a dive but Jericho stepped away. Jericho got sent over the barricade where he went at it with Luther. Luther hit a right hand and clotheslined Jericho back over the barricade.
Kassidy hit a tornillo and a swanton bomb for a near fall. Jericho fired back with right hands and took control of the match before a commercial.
Kassidy came back and crotched Jericho on the second turnbuckle. Kassidy hit a cutter for a two count. Kassidy avoided a springboard dropkick and hit a springboard stunner for a near fall.
Kassidy got his knees up on a lionsault, then hit his own lionsault for two. Kassidy hit a codebreaker for another near fall.
Kassidy went for a springboard attack but jumped into a Judas Effect. Jericho then pinned Kassidy.
**********
Inner Circle jumped in to attack Kassidy after the match. Hardy saved with a chair and cleared the ring.
Jericho and Hager brawled with Luther and Serpentico after the match.
**********
Miro and Kip Sabian were at an arcade and an ax throwing place for Sabian’s bachelor party. Miro was upset because he wanted Sabian to have a Rumspringa bachelor party but he can’t because of the pandemic.
Billy Mitchell offered to help Miro throw Kip Sabian a great bachelor party. Apparently Mitchell is a legendary arcade game player.
**********
Dasha was with Best Friends backstage. FTR entered. They said there’s a spot on the card for Best Friends as a comedy relief act, but they’re top guys.
Orange Cassidy called FTR weenies.
**********
Orange Cassidy (w/Best Friends) defeated 10 (w/Colt Cabana, John Silver & Alan Angels)
10 mocked Cassidy’s pockets spot.
10 hit a spinebuster and a pump kick before sending him into the barricade. Dark Order mocked the Best Friends hug spot, but that allowed Cassidy to hit a dive off the post.
Cassidy hit Orange Punch and a Beach Break for the pin.
**********
MJF and Wardlow brought Jericho a gift in the Inner Circle’s dressing room. MJF had jackets for everyone but Sammy Guevara.
MJF swore on his mother’s life that he didn’t leave Sammy out intentionally. MJF said he was just there to congratulate Jericho on his win.
Jericho asked MJF if he wanted to join the Inner Circle. MJF asked if Jericho wanted him to join. They went back and forth on the same point for a while.
MJF and Wardlow left. Guevara called MJF a loser, but Jericho said perhaps he’s not a loser.
I like whatever this slow burn thing they’re doing with Jericho and MJF is.
**********
Dr. Britt Baker (w/Reba) defeated Red Velvet
This was a little bit more than a squash as Velvet got some early offense. Both ladies had a good showing.
Velvet hit a leg lariat and a bulldog for a two count. Baker used a hammerlock to set up a clothesline. Baker hit a butterfly suplex and some taunting kicks.
Baker used a misdirection spot to set up a slingblade. Baker hit a neckbreaker and a curb stomp for the pin.
**********
Baker used Lockjaw after the match.
**********
Jericho & Hager vs. Luther & Serpentico, Will Hobbs vs. Brian Cage for the FTW Championship, Brodie Lee vs. Cody for the TNT title in a dog collar match were announced for next week.
**********
Kingston came to the ring with Penta El Zero M, Rey Fenix and referee Bryce Remsburg before a commercial break.
Kingston cut a promo. He said he fought Moxley for the title last week. Moxley put him in a bulldog choke but Kingston never tapped out.
Kingston said Moxley went to Tony Khan, or TK as the kiss-asses call him, and got an open contract for this week.
Kingston said before he reveals Moxley’s opponent he had to ask Remsburg why he called for the bell last week. Remsburg said they go way back and are friendly but when they’re at work, it’s Remsburg’s job to protect Kingston from himself.
Penta, Fenix and Kingston began to menace Remsburg. Moxley’s music hit and he ran in for the save with a barbed wire bat.
Kingston called for Moxley’s music to be cut and introduced Mox’s opponent, The Butcher.
**********
AEW World Championship match: Jon Moxley defeated The Butcher to retain the title
These guys were in a tough spot. There’s just not a lot Butcher can do.
The Butcher dominated the first part of the match with lots of clubbing, clobbering and squeezing. He went after Moxley’s left leg.
Moxley made a comeback and got a cross armbreaker. Butcher slid to a single-leg crab, then hit some punches from Mox’s guard.
Butcher hit a powerslam for a two count before going back to the single-leg crab. Moxley blocked a powerslam. Butcher blocked a Paradigm Shift. Butcher tried for a stretch muffler but couldn’t quite figure out how to put it on.
Moxley rolled outside. Butcher missed a charge and got sent into the barricade. Back inside, they traded strikes. Butcher hit something resembling a crossbody for a two count.
Butcher hit a uranage and a legdrop for a near fall. Moxley hit a superplex but Butcher grabbed his leg on landing. Moxley fought off another crab attempt.
Moxley hit a piledriver for a two count. Butcher blocked another superplex and hit a crossbody off the second rope for a two count.
Moxley ducked a lariat and hit a Paradigm Shift. He followed up with a bulldog choke and Butcher tapped.
The Butcher & The Blade vs. SCU (Kazarian & Christopher Daniels) | 11:38
Penelope Ford (w/Kip Sabian) vs. Rachael Ellering | 5:41
Show Recap:
Rey Fenix defeated Lee Johnson
Johnson carried an 0-9 AEW record into this one while Fenix has a record of 8-5 this year. Johnson held his own early in the match, but fell for Fenix’s handshake offer which allowed the masked man to take control.
Fenix has shown how ruthless he can be in other promotions, but this was the first time he’s shown it in AEW. Between brutal head kicks, chops, and unorthodox offense, Johnson didn’t stand a chance. In the end, Fenix hit the Black Fire Driver for the win.
Shawn Spears (w/Tully Blanchard) defeated Alex Chamberlain
Chamberlain made his AEW debut tonight while Spears looked to improve his 8-2 record this year. Spears worked over Chamberlin’s arm for the majority of the match. Halfway through, the referee once again checked Spears’ glove for any foreign objects, but it was clean. After a flurry of offense, Spears hit the C4 (death valley driver) for the win. After the match, Blanchard handed Spears a metal slug to load his glove which he then used to knock out Chamberlain.
Gunn Club (Billy & Austin Gunn) defeated M’Badu & Shawn Dean
This was another debut on tonight’s show as M’Badu was making his first AEW appearance. It was interesting that Dean and Badu made separate entrances which hasn’t been normal for these jobber teams.
Austin and Dean started off with Austin taking control almost immediately. M’Badu and Dean had a bit of momentum, but in the end, the Gunn Club’s experience would prevail as Austin hit a hip toss into a neckbreaker for the win.
Kip Sabian (w/Penelope Ford) defeated Michael Stevens
Stevens is a perfect example of a character that shouldn’t be showcased to a national audience. Comparing this match to baseball, Stevens is playing A ball while Sabian is in the majors. I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t stay focused as Taz and Tony Schiavone barely called the match. Sabian finally hit a neckbreaker to end this madness.
Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) defeated Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman Jr.
Private Party really showcased all of their moves during the match and looked much more comfortable than they have in the past. It’s honestly amazing to see how far Private Party has come in these ten months since their debut on the first episode of Dynamite. Garrison and Pillman Jr. worked over Kassidy, but he made the tag to Quen which allowed the two to take control and hit a top rope leg drop and splash for the win.
Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus & Marko Stunt) defeated Corey Hollis, Pineapple Pete & Aaron Solow
Jurassic Express worked over Solow for the first part of the match which included their usual trio team moves. Hollis knocked Jungle Boy off the top rope which allowed Solow and his team of misfits to gain control. This six man tag match turned into chaos as no ten count was enforced, leading to every wrestler hitting their signature moves. Stunt finished everything with a top rope 450 for the win.
The Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall) w/Brandi Rhodes & Allie defeated The Hybrid 2 (Jack Evans & Angelico)
Rhodes and Marshall beat down Evans for the majority of the match, showcasing some new tag team maneuvers. The Hybrid 2 had minimal offense in this one and lost momentum when Evans allowed Marshall to make the hot tag to Rhodes who hit a spinning suplex for the win.
Penelope Ford (w/Kip Sabian) defeated Rachael Ellering
For the second time tonight, we got to see Ford and Sabian who have been very good of late. Ellering was making her AEW singles debut tonight after being released from WWE in May. At the time of her release, she was inactive due to a torn ACL which she suffered at an NXT live event in mid-2019. She made her tag team debut Monday in the Women’s Tag Team Cup.
This was a very competitive match. Ellering hit a spinebuster for a near fall, but after countering a leg drop, Ford hit a fisherman’s suplex for the win. This was a really fun match where Ellering looked great. I’d like to see her become a regular in the women’s division.
The Butcher & The Blade defeated SCU (Kazarian & Christopher Daniels)
Kazarian and Blade started off the match with reversing headlocks and solid technical wrestling. The ‘crowd’ tonight was very quiet which affected the show’s quality. When you can control your audience, I’m not sure why they are not forcing them to be louder.
Daniels and Kazarian’s experience as a team was on display as they executed quality tag team moves on Blade. Taz and Schiavone are still working out the wrinkles in their commentary as it feels like there’s at least five awkward moments between them per show. Daniels was going for the Best Moonsault Ever on Blade, but Butcher intercepted him and the two hit The Full Death for the win.
Two title matches headline tonight’s AEW Dynamite and every champion in the promotion will be in action.
Cody will defend the TNT Championship against independent star Warhorse. Cody has made six defenses of the title since winning it in May at Double or Nothing.
The AEW World Tag Team Championships will also be on the line tonight. Champions Kenny Omega and Hangman Page will defend against Evil Uno and Stu Grayson of The Dark Order. Omega and Page have made seven defenses of their titles since winning them from SCU on Dynamite in January.
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley will also be in action this evening. He will team with Darby Allin against Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in a tornado tag match. Moxley and Allin have each saved the other from attacks by Cage and Starks in recent weeks.
AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida will face Diamante in a non-title match. Diamante defeated Ivelisse on last week’s Dynamite, while Shida was last in action against Rache Chanel in a victory on last week’s AEW Dark.
Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy, Best Friends and Orange Cassidy will face Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Santana, Ortiz and Jake Hager in a 10-man tag.
MJF making a “state of the industry address” has also been announced for the show.
Our coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
**********
Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone and Taz welcomed us to the show.
Best Friends, Orange Cassidy, Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy defeated Santana, Ortiz, Chris Jericho, Jake Hager & Sammy Guevara
The babyfaces did some dives at the outset. Marko Stunt climbed on the back of Luchasaurus and they hit a double dive to the floor.
Hager cut Trent off with an illegal strike from the apron. Inner Circle worked on Trent for the bulk of the match.
Trent made a hot tag to Luchasaurus who ran wild with kicks. There was a Botchamania moment where Luchasaurus’s mask popped off.
The match broke down and everyone jumped in for a big move. Luchasaurus teased a chokeslam on Guevara. Jericho tried to jump in with a baseball bat. Cassidy stopped Jericho.
We got a distraction finish here. Guevara went to the top rope but got distracted by Matt Hardy’s music. Hardy appeared behind Guevara and shoved him off the top rope into a roundhouse kick from Luchasaurus for the pin.
The announcers said that Hardy and Guevara have unfinished business.
This match was not very good, plus the finished sucked. The announcing also sucked. There was no Excalibur to call moves so it was three guys playing the same role.
The only plus was that it was a heel that fell victim to the paralyzing other wrestler’s music distraction finish instead of a babyface.
**********
Jon Moxley cut a pre-taped promo backstage. He called Brian Cage and Ricky Starks “punk bitches” for attacking Darby Allin last week. He said he tries to mind his business and that he doesn’t start fights but he can finish them. This was a good promo.
Taz then said that Moxley was clearly scared of Cage.
The announcers previewed the rest of the card.
**********
TNT Championship match: Cody (w/Arn Anderson) defeated Warhorse to retain the title
This was a very good match. Warhorse is the real deal.
Both broke cleanly against the ropes after locking up. Cody turned his back and Warhorse clobbered him with a forearm. Cody tried a sunset flip out of the corner but Warhorse kicked out. Warhorse tried a jackknife cover but only got a two count.
They did a criss-cross spot which ended with Warhorse hitting a lariat. Cody took over during a commercial break. He used a superplex and a single-leg crab.
After the break, Cody used a figure four. Warhorse reversed the figure four and Cody forced a break. Warhorse hit a series of strikes. He sold the damage from Cody’s holds as he climbed to the top rope. Warhorse hit a double stomp off the apron.
Back inside, Warhorse hit a top rope elbow for a near fall. Warhorse blocked a figure four and used a small package for a two count. Warhorse blocked a sunset flip and sat down for a near fall.
Warhorse tried a double stomp off the top but missed and sold the leg on landing. Cody locked on a figure four and Warhorse submitted.
**********
Alex Reynolds and John Silver of The Dark Order ran in after the match and attacked both Warhorse and Cody. Arn climbed into the ring and acted like he was going to fight them.
Instead, an absolutley gigantic Matt Cardona, formerly known as Zack Ryder in WWE, ran in for the save.
He cleaned house and embraced Cody after.
**********
Tony Schiavone was on stage to announce the next pay-per-view on September 5.
Inner Circle interrupted. Jericho said they’re pissed off tonight. Guevara called Hardy a son of a bitch twice.
Jericho challenged Cassidy to a debate next week with a moderator who will blow our minds and challenged Cassidy to a rematch on August 12. Jericho said when he beats Cassidy, Cassidy will give him seven thousand dollars cash to replace his jacket.
Santana told Jericho the jacket smells more like cat pee than orange juice.
**********
JR threw to a pre-taped FTR contract signing. FTR were about to sign their deal when Arn Anderson entered and looked over the contract for them, teasing an alliance there.
They have it in their contract that all the rules will be strictly enforced in their matches and only they will use tag ropes.
Hangman Page entered with whiskey to share a drink with FTR. Arn was offered a drink but declined.
FTR said that they asked Tony Khan to make August 12 a tag team appreciation night with them as hosts.
**********
Mr. Brodie Lee, Anna Jay and Colt Cabana came to announce desk. JR and Schiavone were unaware that Jay had joined Dark Order many weeks ago, maybe because we haven’t seen her since.
Cabana joined the commentary team.
AEW World Tag Team Championship match: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page defeated Stu Grayson & Evil Uno to retain the titles
This was a good match that a hot crowd could have taken to another level.
Page attacked Uno and Grayson before the bell. Omega slowly made his way to the ring and made the save as Page fell victim to a 2-on-1. Dark Order regained control in the early part of the match after turning it into a brawl around ringside.
Omega got sent into the barricade and Dark Order began working Page over during a commercial break. Page came back with a slam and tagged Omega. Page and Omega hit some tandem offense. Grayson sent Page to the floor.
With Page down, Uno and Grayson worked on Omega. Uno hit a senton bomb for a near fall. Grayson and Uno hit simultaneous offense with a 450 and a cannonball in the corner for a near fall. Omega hit Uno with a snap dragon. Omega hit a v-trigger for a two count.
The finish saw Page get a tag. Page and Omega hit the Last Call for the pin on Uno.
**********
After the match, Lee escorted Cabana and Jay to the back. He then came back to the stage and laid out Uno with a stack of papers.
Lee cut a promo. He said he noticed The Young Bucks were watching from the crowd. The Bucks made their way to the ring.
Lee said Page pissed him off by not joining him last week and now he will pay. Some jobbers in Dark Order masks jumped the rail and looked ready to attack.
FTR ran in with a cooler and laid out Lee on the stage before making their way to the ring and helping The Elite fight off the geeks.
**********
Tony Schiavone introduced Britt Baker. Baker said she’s going to give Big Swole a shot at her if Swole beats an opponent of her choice.
*********
Diamante cut a pre-taped promo. She said she’s been working hard on the indies for ten years. She said she’s trying to get signed and a win over the AEW Women’s Champion would get her a contract.
She said she’s willing to give her last breath in the match.
**********
The Deadly Draw women’s tag tournament was randomly announced during the next match. It will begin Monday at 7 p.m. Eastern time on the AEW YouTube Channel. More rules will be announced later tonight, according to Schiavone.
**********
Hikaru Shida defeated Diamante
They brawled back and forth early. The match spilled to the floor where Shida hit a knee lift with Diamante draped over the barricade.
Shida teased a superplex but Diamante snapped her neck over the top rope with a neckbreaker. Diamante tried to hit machine gun chops in the corner.
Diamante hit a wheelbarrow stunner. Shida took a great bump off the stunner. Diamante covered but Shida’s shoulders weren’t down. Another Botchamania moment tonight.
Diamante tried something resembling a destroyer into a cover but Shida’s feet were on the ropes. Another botch. Shida hit a delayed vertical into a falcon arrow for a two count.
Shida then hit a shining wizard for the pin.
This was a bad match and it was not Shida’s fault.
**********
The rules for Deadly Draw were announced:
The tournament is a random draw
All competitors must draw a color
Matching colors will become a team
Selections are final and cannot be appealed.
**********
Dasha Gonzalez was backstage with Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero. Dasha asked who Nyla was looking forward to as a partner. Vicke said it doesn’t matter.
Rose drew her color, purple. Dasha said that someone had already drawn purple as well.
Ariane Andrew, the former Cameron in WWE entered and said “Girl, hi,” a take on her WWE catchphrase.
My word.
**********
MJF’s State of the Industry Address
MJF was shown backstage. He made his way to the ring, passing “MJF 2020” campaign posters along the way. During a commercial break, he walked around ringside shaking hands and acting like a politician. MJF began his address from a podium.
MJF said that wrestling fans are dumb but he has been given ample time tonight to force feed the audience like you would feed a kid macaroni and cheese.
MJF said Moxley is not his champion and repeatedly called him “Dictator Jon.” He said AEW was supposed to be about change and opportunity but with Moxley on top it’s more of the old guard.
MJF made all sorts of insider references. He talked about how he draws more ratings than Moxley. He said Moxley and his like have brainwashed fans into expecting flips and dives. He said Moxley is cosplaying as Stone Cold.
MJF challenged Moxley for his championship and said he was going to carry this company for the next 25 years.
The delivery here was excellent and the content of the promo significantly improved towards the end.
**********
Cody & Matt Cardona vs. Alex Reynolds & John Silver, an MJF update, FTR & The Young Bucks & Page & Omega vs. Brodie Lee & Cabana & Grayson & Uno & Five & Ten and the Jericho/Cassidy debate with a special guest moderator were announced for next week.
The main event is next.
**********
Darby Allin was introduced. His music played but he didn’t enter. Moxley then entered.
Taz cut a promo backstage and said Starks beat Allin so badly last week that he couldn’t show up tonight.
Taz then bragged about Cage’s deltoids, traps and biceps. Starks then cut his own promo on Moxley and Allin. It was an excellent promo. They then made their way to the ring for the match. Taz rejoined the broadcast team.
**********
Starks and Cage made their way to the stage. Allin hit a coffin drop from the top of the entrance set. Allin and Starks paired off and Moxley and Cage did as well before the bell. To my knowledge we never got an opening bell, in fact.
Tornado tag match: Jon Moxley & Darby Allin defeated Brian Cage & Ricky Starks
Allin tried a dive to Cage. Cage was supposed to catch Allin but dropped him. Cage then picked Allin up. Moxley hit Cage with a suicide dive and all three of them crashed on the floor.
Moxley pulled a trashcan from under the ring. Cage cut him off. Cage and Starks continued working on Moxley. Allin hit a missile dropkick to Cage. Starks and Allin fought on the apron. Cage hit an impressive double powerbomb.
Moxley brought a chair into the ring and hit Starks with it. Cage hit a pump kick on Moxley. Allin hit a backpack stunner on Cage. Moxley hit a cutter on Starks. Cage hit Moxley with a lariat and all four were down.
Moxley hit Cage with a piledriver for a near fall then locked on a cross armbreaker. Starks broke up the hold. Starks and Cage dropped Moxley on the trashcan. Cage tried a buckle bomb on Allin but Moxley saved.
Allin hit a Coffin Drop on Cage. Moxley hit a dive to Starks. Cage kicked out. Allin hit Cage’s bicep with the trashcan.
The finish saw Allin pull a tack-covered skateboard from under the ring. He hit a double stomp with the tack board on Starks. While Moxley held Cage in an armbar, Allin pinned Starks.
**********
Allin pointed at Moxley after the match.
Schiavone announced that Moxley vs. Allin for the AEW World title was signed for next week.
The show ended with Allin and Moxley in a staredown.
