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It’s Friday night in Daily's Place in Jacksonville Florida for another Friday Night Dynamite. OUr announcers are Jim Ross, Excalibur, and Tony Schiavone. Taz is with the announcer’s team for the first match. We also don’t get shots of the crowd since it’s a taped show and the stands are not filled, just the Dark wrestlers at the barricades.
We go right to the MMA fight in a cage between Wardlow and Jake Hager. They are each allowed one member of their team at their side. Wardlow has Shawn Spears, and Jake Hager has Chris Jericho. I don’t watch a lot of MMA fights, but they are using the more subdued MMA entrances instead of the Big Wrestling entrances. The ref checks each of them for foreign objects. It is in a 6 sided MMA cage, so maybe they got it on sale from Impact.
There will be 3 five minutes rounds and no judges, so to win you have to knock out, submit or TKO. Aubrey Edwards is the ref.
No crowd for this one, so the piped in crowd noise is incredibly evident. They refuse to touch gloves and we’re off.
Jake Hager vs Wardlow MMA fight
Round 1
The dance around each other as the announcers go over the card for the night. Hager finally tags Wardlow with a punch at 3:39 left in the first round. They finally hook up at 2:30 left in the match and it’s set up that Hager gets in a strike here and there until Wardlow goes in for the attack at around a minute left. For the last 30 seconds, Hager is getting pounded by Wardlow and he is saved by the bell.
Round 2
This match starts much quicker and Wardlow takes Hager down and the announcers say that Hager seems like he’s fighting injured. They then grapple on the mat and Hager is able to get control for some of the grappling. Wardlow gets in a few wrestling moves (including a hurrancanrana) before Hager goes back to MMA type grappling. Hager locks on the Arm and Head triangle and Wardlow passes out at less than a minute left in the second round.
Your Winner: Jake Hager
It looks like Hager and Wardlow are going to bump fists after the fight, but Spears comes in and attacks Hager, which brings in Jericho. All four men are brawling in the cage when MJF runs in. He attacks Jericho’s injured elbow and Jericho taps out, but it’s not a match so…
Dean Malenko runs in to break it up, and MJF drops him with a punch. The announcers let us know that Malenko has Parkinson’s (which I did not know) making him EVEN MORE of a hell as he smiles as he stands tall in the middle of the ring. Sammy Guevara comes out to run him off, and we get the rest of the rundown of tonight’s card.
If you like MMA you may or may not have liked this. I am not a fan of MMA, so I thought the first round was dull, but the second round was more interesting as they showed Hager winning because he knows this type of fight better than Wardlow. It was something different, and keeps the feud between the Pinnacle and the Inner Circle going, but shouldn’t the Inner Circle be revenge of some kind for their limo being destroyed last week?
Penta, Eddie Kingston, and Kazarian are backstage for their promo time for tonight’s main event. Kaz gives a fire and brimstone promo complete with Bible verses. IT reminded me why I was so upset that he and Christopher Daniels were allowed mic time during their run as SCU. Then, we get Eddie Kingston, who could talk anyone into any building anywhere, simply says that God will need to take their souls because their asses are theirs. Penta no longer has his translators. All in all a nice set up for the main event later.
The announcers go down the rest of the card and then throw us to the commercial.
Taz is in the back with Team Taz and asks his people to work out their issues. Brain Cage isn’t with them, and Hobbs says that Cage and Ricky Starks left him hanging. Taz then challenges Adam Page vs Hobbs on Saturday Night Dynamite.
Darby Allin vs Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page Handicap Match
At the start of the match, Darby got in much more offense than I thought he would, but by the time we get the commercial break, Darby is taking a beat down from Page and Sky, who work like a smooth tag team. They dominate through the commercial and afterward as they use quick tags and power moves on Darby.
Page does a bit where he taunts Darby, by holding Darby’s hand out for a tag but there is no one in his corner, and this is when Darby starts his comeback with a Scorpion Death Drop. Darby tags himself in and hits his comeback. Darby zip ties Page’s feet together when Page is in the ring illegally and dumps him out of the ring far from his corner.
Page is able to free himself and toss Darby into the ring post, so the advantage doesn’t last long. Page is able to hit Eagle’s Edge and cover Darby for the win after Sky pulled Darby’s foot off the top rope.
Your winners: Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky
For heels, Page and Sky didn’t cheat as much as Darby did with his zip tie and biting in the match. Have got admit, the match didn’t make anyone look good with Darby getting beat up with next to no comeback and his underhanded tactics being dealt with quickly. Sky and Page just basically won a handicap match. No twist, no story out of it, and while the outcome was kind of a “No kidding”.
They are running bottom screen bugs for the live shows every match so far tonight, which I think is a great idea. Push those live shows, especially since only the hardcore fans will be watching on a Friday Night after 10 pm ET.
Orange Cassidy comes out with the Best Friends and we get a promo from The Wingmen who mock his style of dress. Yep. That’s the reason for the match. Cesar Bonboni is already in the ring with Peter Avalon, Nick Nemeth and JD Drake. They say they are going to make Orange Cassidy pretty in the inset.
Orange Cassidy vs Cesar Bononi
Bononi is HUGE, the announcers say he is six foot six, and he towers over Cassidy. Whenever Cassidy is tossed out of the ring, the Wingmen give him spray tan and hair gel. The Best Friends are just...um...watching? After Cassidy does a tope that does nothing, the Best Friends start helping him and we get shenanigans to end the match and Cassidy hits the Orange Punch on Bononi and covers for the win.
Your winner: Orange Cassidy
I expected something silly and got it, and it was short, so it keeps them in people’s minds.
Alex starts to interview Jungle Boy and they are interrupted by Kenny Omega and Don Callis show up on a golf cart. Omega is in a t-shirt and jeans and explains that because Jungle Boy attacked him, Kenny challenges him to a fight in the back. JB says that he would rather face him in the ring next week.
Omega says he is allowing JB to take the first shot. As JB is getting ready, MIchael Nakazawa hits him in the back with a laptop and Omega gets in a series of shots before they all take off on their golf cart.
As I said last week, I like the idea of Kenny THINKING he’s a genius and a great fighter, ignoring that everyone around him is holding him up. It’s a different kind of heel champion than we are used to.
Alex then gets to spend time with Matt Hardy, where Matt gets to cut a promo on Christian Ceal. Matt says that they had a handshake deal with the battle royal and when he turned on Matt, it was breaking the contract. Christian attacks Matt, and the Hardy Family is able to lock him in the cage they were being interviewed in front of.
Matt shoves a check into the cage saying it is his contribution to Christian’s retirement fund. Christian says he will take Matt Hardy out and we go back to the arena.
Cody Rhodes and Brock Anderson vs QT Marshall and Aaron Solow
They show the pull apart from last week before the match and Brock is the one who starts the match with Solow, but Cody has to step in and remind Brock not to go deep into the opposite corner. Brock’s in simple baby blue trunks and kneepads, so his look is generic.
The story of the match is to introduce us to Brock, and he gets a few spots to shine where he gets to lay in some offense, and is the one to take the beat down during the picture in picture. Watching him work, he has the basics down, and looked good for a rookie. They also had him stay in the ring after his hot tag because the ref didn’t see it, and knew where to be for that to work.
For the end of the match, Cody works over QT outside the ring. Brock is watching that and Solow takes advantage of it to try to set up Brock for a butterfly underhook, but Brock flips him over and rolls him up for the cover.
Your winners: Cody Rhodes and Brock Anderson
The good thing out of this is that Brock did OK in a paint by numbers tag team match, even having a few times where he showed his inexperience storywise, while his work looked solid for a rookie. The bad is that The Factory are another bunch of losers who can’t get one over on the people they are feuding with.
After the match, Arn comes in for a hug after his son’s first match.
In the back Lance Archer and Jake Roberts cut a promo about how they had to fight their way back and Lance runs out of patience and tells them they have to go.
We then go to JR’s sit down with Andrade El Idolo. Andrade gives his part of the interview in Spanish and English with subtitles and explains what he sees the world title and TNT as his next step. He says that he teamed up with Vickie Guerrero because she knows business and he is a third generation wrestler like Eddie Guerrrero was. He then says he and Vickie have a big surprise.
When someone sits down with JR, I expect there to be a full dive into their character to really put someone in our minds as to who they are and why they do what they do. This was more superficial than I am used to, and wished they would have given the segment more time.
Alex is back with Adam Page and the Dark Order. Page accepts the match and says he’s in a good mood. When Alex asks about the match with Jungle Boy and Kenny Omega, Page instead puts over the Dark Order one by one and congratulates Evil Uno for doing so well in last week’s match for the TNT title.
Penelope Ford vs Julia Hart
Ford comes to the ring by herself and Hart comes with the Varsity Blondes. Oddly enough, this is the first match for the night that doesn’t have stipulations or shenanigans. JR lets us know that Hart is only 19 years old, and all of the announcers talk about how cheerleading is more athletic than she used to be. Hart is really good at being a smiling, happy baby face.
Hart takes the beat down on the small screen during the commercials. And when they come back to the big screen, we see some tentativeness from both of them as they go with the fast moves in the corner. The mat wrestling and other work looked good, and Ford was good at keeping the pace of the match quick. Ford locks on her Indian Death Lock and forces Hart to tap out.
Your winner: Penelope Ford
A decent match that gave everyone involved some solid experience.
Miro comes out and asks where Kip is. He says that her being outnumbered three to one isn’t fair. He says Ford has been through so much and then attacks the Blondes. The refs pull them apart.
In the back, Tony is with Britt Baker and Reba, Vickie Guerrero interrupts and says the only thing she smells is raw onions and stale cheese sauce. She then says she wants the title around Nyla Rose’s waist. Britt dismisses her by saying they aren’t playing games and they aren’t playing Old Maid and wants to get back to her interview.
Vickie says that because she brought in Andrade, Tony Khan owes her a favor, so there will be a match with Britt Baker and Rebel vs Nyla Rose and Vickie. After she leaves, all three laugh at her and leave. They will meet on 6/30/2021 and we get the rest of the card for that night. Reba is the star of this segment in the background with her facials and reactions.
They then go down the card for next Saturday.
We then get a video package of FTR vs Santana and Ortiz. They both talk about how tough their upbringings were. They both go down how they see each other and why they need to beat the other team. This is the best package of the night and made me understand why the fight between them matters.
We then get a package for the Dynamite coming to the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
Mark Sterling and Jade Cargill get another segment where he announces a partnership with a hotel. Other than that, this segment was no different from last week. Or the week before. Or the week before.
Back at the ring it’s time for the main event.
Penta El Miro Zero, Frankie Kazarian, and Eddie Kingston vs The Good Brothers and Matt Jackson
Don Callis joins the announce team and he’s always fun with a mic in his hand.
Frankie’s new identity as the Elite Hunter works for me, and the match starts off fast. NOne of the stuff from last week that Eddie isn't being accepted, and if he’s going to work with these guys while Mox is out of action, it’s a good mix. Eddie’s style works well with the Good Brothers as well, with brawling all around the ring.
As we go into the commercial, it’s all six men brawling around outside the ring with the Good Brothers and Matt in control. Once it calms down, Eddie gets to take the beatdown on the small screen. When Eddie powers up against Matt after the commercial, he’s so good at bringing the match along to want to see him beat Matt. When Kaz is tagged in, he tears it up against the Elite. His work is SO quick and everything snaps when he hits a move. I really liked their rally sequences. Then when Penta comes in and hits his high flying style a team so different shouldn't work but does.
By the way, since Rick Knox is the referee, if you are expecting people to get the five count to get out of the ring, you will be disappointed.
When it’s the Elite’s turn to take control, it’s a Good Brothers match, and Matt pops in now and then to hit a high spot. Nick Jackson shows up to hit Penta with the cold spray and Anderson uses Penta getting hit to get the quick cover and the win.
Your winners: The Good Brothers and Matt Jackson
I HATED that ending. It came out of nowhere, they didn’t do enough to show why Eddie and Kaz couldn't stop Nick, and it came out of nowhere, as if they said “Crap, we ran out of time.”
The match itself was a fast paced match, no story being told, just a broad “babyfaces run things, then the heels beat them down, then as the babyfaces mount a comeback, the heels cheat to win. The problem was that they didn’t set ANYTHING up, so it just felt like a bunch of stuff happened. I liked how Penta, Kaz and Eddie worked together, but in the end, it was a lot like the rest fo the show:
Nothing moved forward. Once again, this was a running in place show, and came off as skippable. The FTR vs Santana and Ortiz package was great, the MMA fight might be interesting for people who liked it, and the main event was fast paced with a lot of action, but ultimately was like eating chips, empty filler.
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