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COMPLETE AEW DYNAMITE BLOG

It's Friday, and that means it's time for AEW Dynamite during the NBA playoffs.  We're at Daily's Place in Jacksonville Florida, our announcers are Jim Ross, Excalibur, and Tony Schiavone.  It's two days until the Double or Nothing Pay Per View, and this episode is setting up that pay per view.

Darby Allin and Sting are on their way to the ring, and Darby still has his ribs bandaged from being tossed down the stairs.  We also see that Daily's Place is full.  

Darby Allin vs Cezar Bononi

Cezar is a full head taller than Darby, and while he starts on Cezar's arm to weaken him for the arm bar finisher, and Cezar goes after Darby's ribs. Like most of Darby's matches, Darby is fighting from underneath, and literally is tossed around inside and outside the ring.  Darby gets full of offense after bringing Cezar down with a sleeper, and he wins with a coffin drop and a pin in a quick match.  

Darby cuts a promo after the match and yells he's ready to fight with Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky tonight.  Then come out in street clothes and say they won't fight for free.  Sky says that at the PPV, they will end one legend and start two more. As they leave Cesar and his wingmen attack, and Scorpio and Page run to join in until the Dark Order run out to chase them off.  

So the Dark Order has become the ring policemen.

After a rundown of tonight's card, Paul Wight comes to the ring for the weigh-in of Cody Rhodes and Anthony Ogogo.

Paul says there will be No Shenanigans because he's there, and announces Ogogo.  QT has a mic and asks why people are booing Paul Wight, and the whole Factory comes out with Ogogo. Next out is The American Drea, Cody Rhodes. Cody comes out with family and students from The Nightmare Factory.

Cory strips down to briefs and comes in at 218, and Fireworks are going off through the entire weigh in, but we don't get to see them, so they must be for some other event. Ogogo strips down to Union Jack boxers. Ogogo weighs in at 219. 

QT declares that Ogogo has a victory on Sunday because he weighed more than Cody. Cody and Ogogo each climb to the turnbuckle for cheers, and Cody wins that contest easily. Cody grabs a mic and calls for a cheer for Wight. He thanks the crowd and we go to commercials and I wonder why this segment existed. 

We get a video package of what led to the Stadium Stampede coming at the PPV Sunday between The Pinnacle and the Inner Circle.  As soon as it's over, Christian Cage and Powerhouse Hobbs are fighting in the back. Cage goes after Hobbs with a velvet rope holder before referees show up to pull them apart.

Taz joins the commentary team even  though there is no Team Taz member in the upcoming match, because Taz is scouting Adam Page.  Page is followed by Joey Janela with Sunny Kiss, even though he left Sunny to get beat down on Dark this week.

Adam Page vs Joey Janela

They point out that at All In  back in 2019, they faced each other in a Chicago street fight, and hwo things have changed since then. Page has control of the match other than during the picture in picture, because this match is a showcase for Page going into his match at the PPV.  Page has some blood in his mouth after we come back from the picture in picture.  We also see that he got busted open as he hits the buckshot lariat to win the match.  It was a decent enough TV match, and after the match, Taz says that Brian Cage is coming out to attack Page.

Page says that he knows how it works, and all of Team Taz will come to the ring, and Taz says to attack.  Page then asks Care if he is the kind of guy who needs help to kick his ass.  Page tells him to leave them  out of him and face him like a man.  Cage sends them to the back, and Cage says he doesn't need them to kick his ass.

If Page wasn't busted open hardway, it was utterly unnessesary for the promo.

We go to a promo with Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston in a backyard when they have put the shoes they stole from the Young Bucks last week in a fire pit and...commercials start showing...?

When we get back, the promo starts again, and Mox calls the Young Bucks Rod and Todd Flanders. Mox talks about how he wants the belts.  They are like T-Bone Steaks and they are hungry dogs. Kingston talks about how they work and the other guys just sit around and collect checks.  After they beat the Bucks, they may be able to run things and become EVPs.  Good promo, as expected.

Back in the ring, Tony is there to ask a question and get ignored afterwards. He calls out Orange Cassidy to see if he will defer his chance at the championship/  Pac comes out instead and chases off Tony. He says that Sunday, Cassidy is irrelevant, and he is the only person who is relevant because he will become Champion. He says that all of Kenny's tricks are pathetic and he calls out Kenny to face him. 

Don Callis shows on the big screen and says that Pac is a violent sociopath, and Kenny tries to attack him from behind, but Pac was ready for him. The Good Brothers then come out and start attacking until Penta and Rey Fenix run them off. Kenny is left in the ring with Pac and as he starts to set up for the One Winged Angel, Orange Cassidy comes to the ring. 

Cassidy hands Kenny an envelope and it's full of shredded paper.  Kenny is shown that Cassidy tore up the contract again, and Cassidy nails Kenny with a Orange punch.  Cassidy goes to grab Kenny's belt, and Pac stands on it and stops him.  Pac goes to attack and Cassidy is able to nail Pac with the Orange punch as well. 

We are halfway through the show and it feels like a time filler.  The two matches haven't done much, and the promo segments, other than Mox and Edwards, haven't had anything new.  You'd think with being in front of a full crowd and being in a different time slot, they'd try to make this more of a Must See than a Watch If You Have Nothing Better To Do.

We come back to a pre taped interview with Tony and Jade Cargill. As she starts talking about her match tonight, Matt Hardy interrupts, and then he is interrupted by Mark Sterling who says he is now her agent, and he only gets paid when she wins. He hands Matt one of his business cards, and Matt throws it down and storms off. 

Jade comes to the ring to face KiLynn King.

Jade Cargill vs KiLynn King

King is as tall as Cargill, and they start with a greco-roman knuckle lock where Jade is able to show off her strength. They fight through the break, and Cargill has dominated through most of the break on the small screen.  Sterling gives his card to King when she is tossed out of the ring, so that's going to be his gimmick. Jade wins with the Jaded finishing move.  Every match tonight has been a glorified squash.

We then go to Jake Robert and Lance Archer. Jake starts to talk about the match coming up tonight between Miro and Dante Martin from the Top Flight team, but Archer cuts him off and talks about how he wants to fight Miro. 

Dante is out first and Miro comes to the ring, no more silliness, no more goofiness.  He comes to the ring with an intensity he used to have in WWE,

Miro (TNT Champion) vs Dante Martin

Other than a few high flying moves from Martin, Miro crushes Martin and wins with a Game Over.

Jake and Archer come out and Jake cuts a promo on Miro that he has gotten Archer ready for the fight.  Miro fires back that Archer is always held back by Jake.  Jake then yells Sic 'Em, and Archer comes to the ring and takes down Miro and tosses him out of the ring.  The refs show up and hold Miro back as Lance stands tall.

Tony is back in the ring when we come back, and it's time to honor Hikaru Shida for holding the women's title for a year. They give her a new title belt, gold encrusted with Diamonds. She talks about how when she won the title, there weren't any fans, but now we've got a crowd. She's proud to share the moment with the audience because the title is for them.  

This brings out Britt Baker and no Reba. Baker says she came to congratulate her. She says Shida was the champion during the most difficult time in wrestling and it was her time. She says she wants to take back when she said she was the face of the women's division and instead, she will be the face of a whole new era.  She actually got a pop with that.

PLEASE DON'T MAKE HER A BABYFACE!!

She says the old era was about 3:16, and the new era will be about DMD.

Sammy Guevara is in the crowd with his cards and stays on the small screen hyping the Stadium Stampede match.

We come back to Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page coming to the ring to face Evil Uno and Stu Grayson. So yet another match who knows who will win before things even start.  The whole Dark Order comes to the ring. 

Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page vs Evil Uno and Stu Grayson

Scorpio asks for silence from the crowd. Which is a bit that I like, and the crowd does grow quiet.  Sky starts with Un o and tries to make him look like a fool, but Uno is able to hold his own until Grayson tags in and hits some impressive stuff.  Sadly, he has to take the beat down on the small screen during the ads. Page has some good reactions to Grayson as well, surprised by what he does.  Some nice work to show they are taking the Dark Order for losers and are shocked when they are able to keep up. 

It really fits the promos they have had where they think they are the best two men in the company and can take out Sting with little effort.  Uno gets to clean house when we are back full screen. Uno and Grayson do a nice two man move during their comeback where Grayson uses “Get Over Here” as Uno kicks Page into him that was an impressive move 

The match ends with Sky locks Grayson in a heel hook and Page hits a Razor's Edge on Uno and then covers for the pin.

Best match of the night as both teams told a fun story.

Page starts to cut a promo and it's time for The Man Called Sting! To come to the ring with a whole bunch of people with Sting matches.  Darby attacks Page, and Sky starts tossing Fake Stings until the real Sting takes off his mask.  Sky and Page bail to let Darby and Sting have the ring.

Eric Bischoff comes to the ring to be the MC for the Celebration of the Inner Circle.

Eric says that 25 years ago tonight, he introduced the greatest faction of all time. He then introduces the Inner Circle saying they are a bunch of bad asses who could surpass that group.  

And it's time for Sing Along With Jericho, and this time the fireworks are for AEW.

Jericho thanks Eric and that he called to make amends with him when they changed their attitude. They show a Greatest Hits of the Inner Circle. The crowd chants Inner Circle and Santana has the mic and reminds them when they formed the Inner Circle and now they are stronger than ever. If this is the end, he wouldn't have it any other way. 

Jake is next and he says if this is the end, he wants the hard times, the times when they had to fight back because hard times make hard men.  Sammy Guevara is next, and he says they have been through everything together. He reminds us that he came into AEW wearing a panda hat. He talks about how he didn't like it when he left the Inner Circle, and if this is the end, he thanks them for everything.

Jericho is next. He says he doesn't play well with others, but this team is a bunch of bad ass mother...

Ortiz cuts him off.

He talks about how the fight will be tough and if they do lose, they will go down in a blaze of glory and he loves the other members of the Inner Circle. 

They flip the camera the bird, and we see MJF on the big screen out on the football field.  He shows that he and Wardlow have beat up Dean Melenko and they had better get down there.

The Inner Circle runs to the stadium and they get jumped by the Pinnacle.  All of the Inner Circle are taken out with pile drivers, with Santana and Ortiz being pile driven through tables. They gather and MJF reminds us that when you are in the Pinnale, you are always on top.

And we're out of time!

Elite subscribers, our audio Post Show Party will be tomorrow afternoon, and then on to Double or Nothing Sunday night!

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