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It is Wednesday and AEW Dynamite is in the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio Texas, and this one is called the Holiday Bash. Our commentary team is Excalibur, Taz, and Tony Schiavone.
We start with Ricky Starks with a mic in the ring. He owns that he lost because he should have known MJF would cheat. He then says there will be a next time between them, and I think that is a good idea. After he gives his standard babyface promo, Jericho’s music hits and it’s time for him, Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia.
Jericho calls him a million dollar talent, and he will be a world champion one day, but he’s not ready yet. He then offers Ricky a chance to be in the Jericho Appreciation Society. Ricky then praises Jericho while throwing in an insult. He then says the JAS should stand for Jobbers and he calls them Jas-holes which the crowd starts chanting. He then challenges Jericho for the first Dynamite of 2023.
This, of course, leads to Jake Hager and his hat attacking Ricky from behind. As the JAS starts to attack, Action Andretti runs to the ring and makes the save.
AEW starting with promo and talking segments has become the norm instead of a rarity, and I much prefer the show starting with action so it doesn’t feel like RAW lite.
Death Triangle (AEW Trios Champions) vs The Elite, match 5 is their best of 7 series and it’s No DQ.
Nick was still selling the ankle injury in their twitter promo about this match and the announcers put over that Kenny is wounded as well. Pac is still wearing his protective gear as well.
These matches are spot fest car crashes, and with No DQ, it’s gonna be nuts. There’s really no way either of these teams will change anyone’s minds about them. I won’t say its gonna be a mat classic, but both teams have been going out of their way to make these matches into visual spectacles.
We’ve got Brandon Cutler as an elf, Michael Nakazawa getting involved, Penta bringing in a trash can and Taz letting us know that they will use the trash can for “Yam Bag City.” We they came back from the first commercial picture in picture, we have tables set up, a Christmas Tree in the ring and The Elite have been taking the brunt of the attacks.
Pac always seems like he doesn’t belong because he doesn’t do the “onto the next spot” stuff, but more treats his moves as if they will hurt someone, and any move he takes nearly kills him. Kenny Omega brings out a broom covered in barbed wire. The Elite turn the tide and drape Death Triangle members on the tables and hits leaps from the top.
As Death Triangle are mounting a comeback, Rey Fenix is tossed a hammer and cracks Kenny with it for a two count. Pac locks on the Brutalizer and it is finally broken up by Matt. Penta now has a hammer as well. {ac has one as well and Rey has no problem with hammers at this point. The Bucks are able to grab Rey and hit the Meltzer Driver on a chair for the pin and the win.
Winners and now with 2 wins: The Elite
Death Triangle attacks after the match and Matt is busted open. As they keep fighting, we get footage of MJF after the show last week.
MJF cuts a promo on Bryan Danielson because he ruined MJF’s moment. He gets in the night’s quota of swearing in as well.
Tony is with Action Andretti and he says it’s the biggest upset of the decade and his life hasn’t been the same. He said he knew that the JAS would take out their anger on someone, and as he talks about it, Angelo Parker and Matt Menard show up to distract him so that Jericho can throw FIRE in his face. So, he’s still a wizard.
Renee Paquette is in the ring with Bryan Danielson and she asks where the Blackpool Combat Club is without William Regal. Bryan talks about how he doesn’t expect people to forgive Regal and he puts over that he first trained here in San Antonio. He says that the man who turned him into the wrestler he is today is William Regal. He talks about how he loved having Regal in AEW.
He says that there are consequences to your actions, as Regal taught him, and he then turns it into a promo against MJF. He will be taking revenge for what MJF did to Regal, and calls him out. Instead, we get Ethan Page and Stokely Hathaway.
Page says that he was first runner up in the last two matches to find a number one contender, and he would have beat MJF. He then says that Bryan is trying to jump the line and mocks him for being a vegetarian. Bryan fires back at them, and Page starts back on Bryan. The crowd is all over Page, booing loud enough they have to turn up Page’s mic.
Bryan says that if Page wants to face him, they should do it right here, right now.
Page defers, saying his pants cost to much to wrestle in, so they will fight next week.
We then get a pre-tape from Mox about the BCC in the Trio Battle Royal on Friday and that he wants Adam Page to be there and settle their issues in the ring. He then says that when he faces Darius Martin, he’ll teach him a hard lesson tonight.
A LOT of promos on tonight’s show. More than normal, since we are an hour into the show and we have had one match. I think it is working, but I sure don’t want this to become the norm.
We get Samoa Joe wishing us a happy holiday and he wishes Wardlow has a great holiday, because he will not have a happy new year, and that next week, he will give Wardlow more than he asks for. I love Joe’s promos like this.
Hook vs the Already In The Ring Exodus Prime
Exodus doesn’t get any offense and wins with Redrum in less than two minutes
Winner: Hook
As soon as the match is over, We see Stokely Hathaway in the back showing us that Lee Moriarty and Big Bill are beating up Jungle Boy and toss him into a dumpster, and Hook heads to the back.
Mox is on his way to the ring and most of his entrance is in picture in picture.
Jon Moxley vs Darius Martin
The story of the start of the match is the Mox is working to keep Darius grounded and not letting him do the high flying stuff. He also has no problem giving Darius a slap upside the head. Mox makes it a brawl outside the ring and then opens up the barricade so that they can fight in the crowd. They brawl back to the ring and when Mox tosses Darius into the ring, he starts to jack jaws with Darius’s brother Dante, allowing Darius to hit a dive to the outside.
Mox takes over the match quickly after that and then starts working over Darius on the mat. They work to the top when Mox gets a superplex and then gets the hammer and anvil elbows. After they have chops and forearms in the middle of the ring, Mox tries to take off Darius’s knee brace. Darius is able to fight free and gets a near fall. Dairus gets a nice flurry of offense, but when he hits a flying cross body, Mox reverses it and gets the stomps. Mox then turns it into the bulldog choke. They work to their feet and Mox turns it into a Death Rider for the pin and the win.
Winner: Jon Moxley
An OK match that didn’t much change anything. Felt like a filler match, but well worked by both men.
We then get a video package for the Women’s Championship match between Jamie Hayter and Hikaru Shida later tonight.
We then get another chapter in the Book of Powerhouse Hobbs as he discusses the horrible things he has gone through as a child.
The Gunn Club vs FTR
The Gunns are wearing pink and black to troll FTR.
The story of the match is the FTR is not fully healed up from the Dog Collar match, but for a feud they have been building for a while, this doesn’t have the Big Match Feel it should. Cash has a nice sequence where he beats down both of the Gunn boys. The Gunns take control in the picture in picture segment.
When Dax gets the hot tag, he is able to clean house as well. The Gunns do a good job of flying all aroudn the ring as Dax gives them a beating. As they brawl on the outside, Dax gets tossed into the steel steps back first, and when he is tossed into the ring Austin tries for a sharp shooter. Colton and Cash fight on the outside with Cash leaping into the carricade and makes it look like his head hit the barricade first. Austin is able to get a rollup and then grabs Colton’s hand outside the ring to hold on and get the pin and the win.
Your winners: The Gunn Club
FTR has now lost three in a row, and now I see why they didn’t have the big match feel yet.
We get a rap video from Sonjay Dutt and the rest of his team for their match with The Acclaimed on Friday.
Tony Schiavone is in the ring and Rick Ross is here to mediate the debate between Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee. It’s rare that I like these types of segments, but both Lee and Swerve have the gift of gab, so…
Well, Rick Ross just used the first Mother Hubbard on AEW.
Swerve comes out after Keith and Ross are in the ring, and stays on the stage and says he is going to do things his way. He can’t put up with the accusations, and Ross says we can’t allow false accusations. Swerve says that Lee can’t keep his eye on the tag team titles, his business or his health, and he need to keep his eyes in the back of his head.
Parker Boudreaux comes from behind and attacks Lee, but Lee clotheslines him out of the ring. Someone else shows up and attacks Lee and lays him across the steel steps. A cinder block is put on Lee’s chest and Swerve leaps from the top, busting the cinderblock and leaving Lee lays as Rick Ross says it is official, he has joined with Swerve for a team with Mogul in the name.
Not gonna lie, Rick Ross giving a statement here and there while the beat down happened didn’t help at all. He had a few phrases he kept using over and over, and since he hasn’t been seen on AEW before, him siding with Swerve means nothing.
We get a bunch of quick promos from Best Friends and Dark Order for the battle royal on Friday. They were funny.
Jamie Hayter (AEW Women’s Champion) vs Hikaru Shida
Happy to see the women’s title get the main event. And both of these women are fantastic in the ring, so they have earned a main event slot.
Hard hitting start to the match with a lot of strikes and brawling. Shida takes over with the brawling, and when they go to the outside, Baker is going out of her way to avoid Shida, rather than trying to join in or team up against Shida. We also get more of Rebel on camera than normal, she’s cheering on Hayter like an old school manager, and they should really give her more of a spotlight.
Hayter keeps control through the picture in picture, and they return to the ring when they go back to full screen. They way they are working highlights Hayter’s strength With Shida playing defense. When they throw hands in the middle of the ring, Shida is able to out think Hayter and turns the tide with a drop kick and then blows on the turnbuckle. This is a good brawl of a match, not a lot fo high flyign, so when Shida does pull out a drop kick, it seems more impressive.
They are giving this match three segments!
Shida moves to bigger moves as the third segment stats with a Meteora and a Falcon Arrow into a two count. Hayter goes for a moonsault press, and misses Shida. They move to near falls and power moves, and the crowd is louder than they have been all night.
Baker comes in with the Kendo stick and Rebel distract the ref, and Shida is able to beat down Baker, but that lets Hayter take out Shida and she gets two more near falls and the crowd is going nuts. Hayter is finally able to get the ripcord clothesine for the pin and the win.
Winner and still AEW Women’s Champion: Jamie Hayter
The match was great, but the crowd was drawn into it making it seem that much better.
Britt Baker attacks Shida after the win, and Toni Storm runs in for the rescuer. Hayter nails Storm in the back of the head to stop the rescue, and as they attack Storm, Saraya runs to the ring the finally drive off Baker’s crew.
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