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COMPLETE AEW DYNAMITE BLOG

It is Wednesday and AEW Dynamite is in Cleveland OH at the Wolstein Center and our commentary team is Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz, and Tony Schiavone.  

I am going to be moving to blogging more of my thoughts than the details since Anthony has that covered so well, and I want to give something different that what he does.  Let me know what you think!!

Hey, can we just get Will Ospreay vs Pac for an hour instead of the rest of the card?

This week, we start with Chris Jericho going to confront Daniel Garcia, and it’s the second week in a row where we start with a non-wrestling segment.  When Daniel Garcia comes out, thye fans are chanting “You’re a wrestler” and Jericho does a decent job of filling us in on the situation from last week and asks for an apology.  The crowd does NOT want Garcia do it. Garcia talks about how much the match last week meant to him and says Jericho ruined it for him.

This is the first time Garcia has shown any actual personality.  He’s been good in the ring, but this is a time for him to be a person we actually care about and understand.  It just took letting him talk for a bit in the ring.

Jericho frames it by saying that Garcia is a Sports Entertainer, which the crowd is against.

Daniel Bryan comes out and plays the angel on Garcia’s shoulder to talk about who he is a great Wrestler.  

Garcia says he can’t make the decision and Garica shoves him when Jericho puts a hand on his shoulder.

The idea of “sports entertainer vs wrestler” is something that can be a bit silly, but they are selling it and the crowd is really into it. The idea of Jericho vs Bryan for Garcia’s soul is a good one.

Garcia leaves the ring and Bryan and Jericho have words. They agree to have a match at All Out and Jake Hager takes out Bryan from behind.  I liked this segment.  

Dax Harwood vs Jay Lethal

This match starts fast and hard, and these two guys are experts at making it look like a fight.  Lots of chops, takedowns, and strikes.  The story of the match is just that these two are tops in the field and are fighting to see who is the best, with Dax having asked for the match.  From the commentary, this is the kind of match JR likes, as he is engaged and praising both guys. 

When Lethal does his series of jabs, it always looks good, and Dax does a solid job of selling it to make Lethal look strong. When they move to finishing moves and attempts at submissions, we get a lot of reversals that I haven’t seen before.  One other thing they both do is try again immediately when a fall gets broken up.  Makes the near falls seem bigger.

Lethal finally gets a win by rolling up Lethal with a handful of trunks, and he does it in such a way that the ref doesn’t have to work hard to not see it.

Winner: Jay Lethal

After the match Dutt says in their trios match at All Out, his partners will be the Motor City Machine Guns.

We got to Tony in the back with Thunder Rosa has to step down from being AEW Women’s champion due to injury. She says that Toni Storm will be wrestling at All Out for the interim championship.  The announcers say it will be a four way match at the PPV, but don’t say who it will be.  That sucks, not just that Rosa is injured but yet another interim championship.

Colton Gunn vs Billy Gunn

The Acclaimed come out with Billy and Max gets to rap. When Anthony Bowens gives hsi tag line, I can’t help but wonder what people not i9n the wrestling bubble will think when they see “Scissor Me, Daddy Ass” on a t-shirt.

Also, someone needs to cut JR’s mic when he starts to rap along with Max Caster.  

The announce team rags on Taz through the start of this match about being in the ring with Hook.  The match is short, and the picture in picture segment is Billy beating the crap out of Colton.  Stokley attacks the Acclaimed with the boom box and Austin joins in.  The ref is distracted and Colton wins with a low blow and a pin.

Winner: Colton Gunn

Stokely hands them his business card after the in ring beat down. Swerve and Keith Lee run down to make the save. Odd thing to add to this feud. 

In the back, Tony is with Death Triangle and United Empire and they have a short confrontation.  We also find out this is going to be the main event, which makes me think the World Title Match will have shenanigans. 

KiLynn KIng vs Britt Baker

Crowd is all over Baker, telling her she sucks.  ABOUT DAMN TIME SHE GETS A HEEL REACTION.

KiLynn is just impressive at six feet, and this being her second major match to put over a bigger star, it feels like they are testing her out for the main roster.  It helps that she’s a local for the crowd to be on her side. Baker wins quickly with the lock jaw.

Winner: Britt Baker

They do announce the four women in the match at All Out. Storm, Baker, Hayter, and Hikaru Shida.  I have missed Shida on Dynamite.

Baker cuts a promo, and Storm charges to the ring to be hit from behind by Hayter, second time a babyface is attacked from behind.  Shida comes to the ring to chase off Baker’s team to remind us she’s still here.

In the back Swerve in Our Glory are with The Acclaimed and they challenge them for the title at All Out. Odd match for the PPV and next to no build.  Doesn’t help either team.

And at the one hour mark, Jon Moxley is on his way to the ring. The announcers put over that they will go as long as it takes since the Championship Match has a one hour time limit, and the Trios Match is important enough to be the main event.  

CM Punk vs Jon Moxley AEW World Championship Unification Match

They take their time to lock up and let the crowd get in their dueling chants. They each get a chance to beat the other down, and Punk hits a roundhouse kick and Punk starts screaming that he’s reinjured his foot.  Mox then goes after the foot and Mox hits the Death Rider and pins Punk.

Winner and AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley

Holy Cats!

The doctor is in the ring and is looking in on Punk, and the camera stays on Punk as Mox is celebrating.

Tony is in the back with The Derestible Christian Cage, as he’s called by Excalibur. Cage gives a great promo blaming everything on Jungle Boy and minimizing all of the stuff he’s done. Heel Christian Cage is the best Christian Cage

Ricky Starks comes to the ring for a promo. He rants about Hobbs, and the angry facial expression he has when he’s not talking is too cartoonish.  He challenges Hobbs to a match at All Out.

In the back, Mox cuts a promo about how he dominates the business, that it’s his time right now.  We are also a week from a pay per view and we don’t know who is taking on the World Champion. And, knowing Mox, I’m kind of surprised he didn’t steal Jesse Ventura’s line “I ain’t got time to bleed.”

Lots of fire and emotion in that promo, but without someone he is about to go after, I am confused as to where they are going, not in a “What’s next” way, but in a “What the hell?” way.

Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis vs Death Triangle

Don Callis joins commentary and we’ve got a half hour for this match.

We start with a fast sequence with Osperay and Fenix that is just pure speed and action. That 90 seconds may be my favorite wrestling so far this year.  DAMN that was well worked.

Good luck to Anthony Pires as the tag siren goes off and everyone is in the ring and we are going to get a ton of flipping, flopping, and flying. After they finish up with that sequence, it's Ospreay in the ring on his own with Death Triangle beating him down as the announcers explain what Ospreay has been up to with his run of matches in the US and Japan over the lost two weeks. 

Ospreay gets a spotlight when they get back to full screen, and his spinning leap off the top of the floor was impressive.  Aussie Open needs to get some time to shine, since they feel like supporting characters in their team. Each member of Death Triangle has a style and personality that comes through their work in the ring, but they haven’t stood out yet. 

After the next commercial break, we have Pac and Ospreay for about 30 seconds and I want more of that. We get Aussie Open and the Lucha Bros but they get interrupted by Pac and Ospreay.  Hard hitting, stiff stuff that just looks fantastic. I also am drawn in by all the little stuff Pac does.  Checking to see if Ospreay’s team is coming into the ring before setting up for a big spot. Anchoring himself before a suplex or other big move.  

Twenty minutes in and it feels like the match has been going five minutes.  

Fenix and Ospreay come out of the last commercial break with some incredible stuff. Pac hits a DDR that looks more brutal than any DDT I have ever seen.

Pac confronts the guy in the box, who is NOT Kip Sabian, and Kip attacks Pac from behind.  That interference sucks ALL the wind out of the crowd. United Empire is able to take out Rey Fenix in the ring and pin him to move on in the tournament.

Winners:  United Empire.

The Elite come out after the win and face off before their match next week.

 

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