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It is Wednesday and it’s time for AEW Dynamite from Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, New York, the city so nice, they named it twice. . Our commentary team is Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone, and Ian Riccaboni.
Claudio Castagnoli (Ring of Honor World Champion) vs Chris Jericho
The stadium show looks massive, and the production team has done a good job of showing up the size of the venue.
Cary Silken is shown at ringside.
Jericho refuses to go by the Code of Honor at first and then shakes hands. Claudio fires the crowd up with uppercuts and then drops Jericho right on the ring ropes. The crowd is loud, and at one point it was hard to hear Claudio’s music over them. Jericho goes for white hot heel heat by hiding behind Cary Silken and then tosses Silkin to the floor.
When they go to commercial, both Jericho and Claudio take a lot of time to recover after Jericho hits a suplex from the apron to the floor. When they return to full screen, we get a HUrricanrana off the top by Jericho and for the first time in the match, Jericho really has the upper hand. Jericho goes for a Code breaker and Claudio grabs him and shows incredible strength by just grabbing him in the middle of the move.
Claudio is in control with Jericho trying to hold on, and Jericho hasn’t really used any heelish tactics in the match, despite the commentary team talking about it early on. Jericho gets cut off from hitting a low blow right after I typed that. Claudio gives an extra long Big Swing, and almost gets the pin.
Jericho goes to grab his bat and Claudio is able to stop him, and as the Referee gets rid of it, Jericho hits a low blow and then the Judas Effect for the pin and the win.
Winner and new Ring Of Honor World Champion: Chris Jericho
Jericho wins via cheating as was foreshadowed by the commentary team.
The Jericho Appreciation Society comes out to celebrate, and Dan Garcia does so reluctantly.
Not the biggest fan of Jericho winning the ROH title as I thought Claudio did a great job of making it feel important in AEW, but putting it on the most well known star in AEW may be a tactic to try to get the spin off show some interest. And they did it in a great match.
Swerve in Our Glory (AEW Tag Team Champion) vs The Acclaimed
Swerve comes out to MASSIVE boos, So his heel turn last week resonated with the fans, as well as The Acclaimed’s popularity has exploded since their feud with The Ass Boys.
I also have to wonder about the reactions to “Scissor Me Daddy Ass” t-shirts outside the Wrestling bubble. The Acclaimed’s pop is massive. They are the biggest act int he company right now and tonight should be when they pay it all off.
Bowens and Keith Lee start off and when Bowens goes for a single leg, Lee just tosses him away. Max Caster tags in and he gets an arm drag on Lee that Lee sold well. When Swerve tags in the crowd boos him out of the building.
The commercial break starts with an anti-suicide ad with AEW stars that was well done. AEW’s focus on mental health has always impressed me.
We get back to full screen, and Caster gets a suplex on Lee which gives another huge crowd pop. Bowens tags in and takes down Lee, and he just gets better every month. Every time Swerve gets in the ring, the crowd turns on Swerve in Our Glory. Lee starts tossing the Acclaimed around and the crowd is booing him as well.
Swerve tries to hit Caster with the Acclaimed’s boom box and hits Lee instead, and the crowd cheers, knowing this is probably what turns the tide. Lee is able to recover and kick out of the next pin. The commentary team brings up the issues Swerve and Lee had when they started teaming. Swerve tags in and he and Lee go to the toss into the power bomb for a two count.
This crowd wants The Acclaimed more than any crowd has wanted a win by a team in a while. They let Billy Gunn get a famouser on Swerve, Swerve is tossed into the ring and he takes a mic drop from Caster and takes the pin.
Winners and new AEW Tag Team Champions: The Acclaimed
If you would have told me two years ago that The Acclaimed would be this over and get a huge reception as new champions, I would have been shocked. They have done a hell of a job in making a connection with the crowd and getting over.
FTR is in the back and they say since they are the number one contenders, they want a title shot. The Ass Boys show up and mock them.
The show feels like a Pay Per View. LOng, well worked matches and a super hot crowd.
Tony is on the stage with Wheeler Yuta, and as always, he asks a single question before and interruption, and it’s MJF to a hero’s welcome.
MJF cuts down Yuta while saying that the crowd here sees him as a god. Yuta gets in his insults and does a decent enough job. MJF says that the other members of the Blackpool Combat Club are fighting to see who loses the title to him.
MJF mocks the other members of the BCC and Yuta slaps him. MJF head butts Yuta and then shoves Tony Schiavone down and berates. Him. Yuta attacks MJF and W. Morrisey pulls him off and allows MJF to nail Yuta with the Dynamite Diamond.
Security forces them off the stage as Jade Cargill who yells at Tony, and TBS cuts her saying Cut the Shit, but not that she’s the baddest bitch. Diamonte shows and says her friend is Trina.
Who, I guess, we are supposed to know.
But I don’t.
Which should have been something they fixed by now.
Pac (AEW All Atlantic Champion) vs Orange Cassidy
Cassidy’s first serious AEW match was with Pac, and I look forward to them having another banger.
I love that Pac doesn’t put up with Cassidy’s shenanigans and just beats the tar out of him when Cassidy taunts him with the soft kicks and other gimmicks. Pac is also showing off his drop kicks, which are the strongest looking in the company.
Cassidy is selling that he’s dazed, and while he is great and flinging himself around the ring, he also uses his gimmick to irritate Pac and make him start to make mistakes. It’s been a hard hitting match as as Cassidy fires up, he hits a pair of DDT and Pac makes it look as if they were DDTs from 1989 when they actually hurt people.
Cassidy reverses the Brutalizer and gets a two count, he then hits an Orange Punch for a two count and Pac breaks it up by grabbing the rope.
The fight goes to the outside, and Pac is able to shield that he nails Cassidy with the ring bell’s hammer. He rolls Cassidy into the ring and covers for the three count.
Winner and still AEW Atlantic Champion: Pac
I don’t know if Pac needed to cheat to win, since he dominated the majority of the match and looked strong even when Cassidy had his comeback. Really good match marred by a bad ending.
I know they put the title on Pac for him to work in Europe for, but there is a big part of me that wishes he would have dropped the belt to go for the world title.
Toni Storm (AEW Women’s Champion) vs Britt Baker vs Serena Deeb vs Athena
If you’ve read my blogs before, I am not a fan of four way matches (or three way matches). Takes about ten seconds for Baker and Deeb to be hustled out of the ring for a one on one match. Deeb is able to come in and use some innovative stuff where she is able to take on Storm and Athena.
Deeb is just amazing.
Athena gets the multi woman avalanche off the top as we go picture in picture. We come back to Storm and Deeb holding someone in a single leg crab across from each other. IT turns into chops between the two of them, and I keep wanting to see Storm and Deeb one and one against each other.
Deeb has a sequence where she takes out each other woman in the match and gets a near fall and the Serenity Lock on Storm. Athena then sets up and gets a fall away slam with both Deeb and Baker in her grasp. Not a move where either woman could help either, it was all strength. Storm is then able to pin Baker with a crucifix.
Winner and still AEW Women’s Champion: Toni Storm.
Baker took a strike to the nose at the end of the match and is busted open and tries to attack Storm. Jamie Hayter rushes the ring and it looks as if she will attack Baker but instead attacks Storm. Deeb joins in to help take out Athena.
Music hits and Saraya (the former Paige in WWE) co9mes out and the heels go to the outside as she drinks in the crowd reaction. The way Taz is talking, she’s going to be wrestling.
We then get a video of Darby Allin dragging a body bag around New York where he says he is headed to a funeral.
Jon Moxley vs Bryan Danielson for the AEW World Championship
William Regal joins commentary. The announcers let us know this is where Bryan started his in ring career at AEW.
They start hot with takedowns, chops and Bryan doing mat work. They keep showing MJF with the chip allowing him to challenge the champion. Bryan starts slapping Mox int he corner and Mox fires up and turns the table on Bryan. Thai is going to be a stiff match and we aren’t even three minutes in and their chests are beet red.
These two fought in WWE and had a traditional WWE match, but here in AEW, it’s just a stiff fight. Mox is taking most of the attack from Bryan, and Bryan looks like a brutal conqueror. They aren’t doing a lot of fancy stuff, just meat and potatoes fighting, with Bryan getting leaps and attacks as Mox just tries to survive.
In the ad break I see a second ad for “Lyle Lyle Crocodile” and the ads says it’s the comedy event of the season. In other words, this season will not be funny in any way, shape, or form.
They keep cutting to MJF, so they know he’s a monster draw.
Mox is able to turn one of Bryan’s leaps into a powerbomb into a single leg crab for the first real offense Mox has shown. Even with Mox taking tons of hits, it still feels like a match where anyone can win because they have build Mox to be a guy who can take all kinds of beating because he’s tough as old leather.
Mox is able to get the Labell lock and Bryan is able to reverse it and they keep attacking each other. Their legs are locked and they bridge up to be on their head and smack each other. Bryan is able to turn it into Cattle Mutilation, but Mox is able to escape. They keep holding onto each other and fight until Mox gets a King Kong lariat.
Bryan gets to his feet and Mox calls him to stay with the yes kicks. Mox is able to pick the ankle, gets a stomp and a death rider for a two count. Crowd thought it was over. Bryan is able to work into the stomps and Mox picks the ankle again and starts in with kicks.
Bryan is able to get to the stomps again, and Bryan puts mox in a triangle sleeper, and then rolls into the Labell lock. These two guys and pulling every bit of drama out of this part of the match. Mox gets to the ropes for a break and the fight goes to the ramp where Mox gets a death rider. Mox gets a two count and then locks in a sleeper.
Bryan tries to climb up the ropes and gets the flip but Mox holds on. Bryan fades out and Mox wins via knock out.
Winner and new AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley
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