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It is Wednesday and Dynamite is in the Utilita Arena Cardiff in Cardiff Wales, the first Dynamite outside North America.
Our commentary team is Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Taz.
We start the show with a contract singing between Britt Baker and Mercedes Mone, hosted by Tony Schiavone. Kamille comes to the ring with Mone. Baker and Mone sign the contract, they have verbal barbs with Baker saying a year ago, Mone was on crutches. Mone mocks Baker for getting a medical degree as a fallback. Mone also mocks the fans.
Baker says she didn’t have a plan B, she had two Plan As. She then says that Mone isn’t the person she admired anymore, she is a smug ass who only cares about the money. Baker says she won’t attack Mone, but Kamille is getting on her nerves and attacks Kamille. Kamille lands on Mone in the chair and Baker hits a crossbody on Kamille and stands tall in the middle of the ring with the title.
In the back, Renee Paquette is with Chris Jericho and Bryan Keith and Large William. He says he is bothered that Tommy Billington calls himself the Dynamite Kid and says that he hasn’t earned it. He then tells Hook to watch because he will do to him what he does to Billington.
Chris Jericho (FTW Champion) w/Large William and Bryan Keith vs Tommy Billington
Billington starts off strong and has the crowd on his side as he bounces Jericho all around the ring and on the floor until William attacks Billington on the floor as we go into picture in picture. Billington’s stuff looks hard hitting and fast paced as the match continues. Jericho is able to win when Billington leaps into a Codebreaker, and then covers for the pin and the win.
Winner: Chris Jericho
Jericho calls for a mic and cuts a promo about how he hopes Hook was watching because he will do the same to him at All In. And if Hook were here, he’d rip him apart. Jericho, who knows how to get heat better than most anyone, keeps saying Cardiff England, which really pisses off the crowd. For those who don’t understand, it’s like telling people in Green Bay that it is Green Bay, Illinois.
This brings Hook to the ring. Hook goes face to face with Jook and William nails Hook from behind and choke slams him in the middle of the ring.
Toni Storm (AEW Women’s World Champion) vs Saraya w/Harley Cameron
Storm does a lot of comedy/character bits when the match starts, which infuriates Saraya. The crowd is firmly in Storm’s corner despite Saraya being the “hometown hero”. Storm dominates strongly after the commercial break, but Saraya is able to get a couple of near falls as the announcers question if Saraya will get her Wembley moment. Harley gets on the apron to interfere, but Storm hits her with a lip lock. She does the same to Saraya and follows with Storm Zero for the pin and the win.
Winner and still AEW Women’s Champion: Toni Storm
After the match, Mariah May attacks Storm with a shoe and leaves her laying in the middle of the ring.
So far, the matches on tonight’s show have been OK TV matches. No surprises, not big craziness. Just solid work that comes off as if it is a house show. A lot of the time when WWE comes to England, they focus on the in ring stuff and less on the Promos and backstage work, and AEW is doing the same to give the crowd a solid show.
Renee is with the Conglomeration and Mark Briscoe says the word of the day is Deliberation as he cuts a promo about how they will and they challenge the Undisputed Kingdom to a match on Collision.
Will Ospreay heads to the ring with a mic, and he gets a massive pop as he does so. MJF then comes to the ring with a mic. MJF is pretty much wearing an American Flag as a suit. Ospreay cuts a hometown promo with a LOT of local references. MJF gets tons of heat no matter what he says.
MJF says he came back early from injury and says he did so because top brass in AEW and Warners begged him to do so. Ospreay puts over that he’s a wrestler and MJF is an entertainer. MJF does a foreign heel from the US and then puts over that he’s the best wrestler in the world, and the fans thinking he’s the best is just sad. The fans know nothing.
MJF says the only move Ospreay has that can beat him is the Tiger Driver, and he’s not enough of a man to use it. Ospreay says MJF has never inspired anyone to be a wrestler, but if you go anywhere Ospreay has wrestled, the people will say Ospreay is the best. He says that is why he will not lose. He then says it took MJF to get fans to love him, but it took four beats of his music for people to love him.
MJF says they loved him until Ospreay showed up. MJF says that while Ospreay is a great father and role model. MJF then talks about Ospreay’s family, and after he talked to Ospreay’s wife, and the next kid she has won’t be Ospreay’s either. The announcers let us know that if they come to blows, there will be fines. Ospreay asks how much the fine is if he hits MJF. Tony Schiavone says it is 100,000 pounds.
Ospreay says it’s worth it and nails MJF. We then get a pull apart brawl with security holding Ospreay back. MJF uses the Dynamite Diamond on Ospready and beats him down in the middle of the ring. MJF hits a stalling vertical brain buster and then covers Ospreay and counts three. MJF then sets to hit a Tiger Driver, but security rushes the ring to pull him off. Ospreay is busted open.
In the back, Renee says that Hangman Adam Page has been asked to leave the building. He says if is in the Gauntlet Battle Royale and if you are in his way, he will run you over. He pulls Evil Uno over and asks if he is in the match. When Uno says yes, he drops him and says the only thing he wants is to win that match and ruin Swerve Strickland’s life.
Kazuchika Okada (AEW Continental Champion) vs Claudio Castagnoli
Let’s hope Okada shows some fire in this match, as his last few outings have shown he is putting in about 10% in the last few TV outings.
They start with back and forth attacks, neither gaining an advantage. Each of them gets a chance to get a big move and have the crowd cheer them before the picture in picture. When they come back to full screen, the match has taken on a New Japan style, as they go at each other with big moves and big sequences and then trying to use the recovery time to get an advantage. As they use this style, they get more time to have the crowd react, and to play to that crowd.
This is where both men get to show their charisma, using their facial reactions and move set ups to get the crowd reaction they want. After the second commercial break, Okada is going out of his way to piss off the crowd and mock Claudio, and Claudio is able to get the giant swing to massive cheers. After this, they bring out attempts at their big finishers. We are told there is one minute remaining in the 20 minute time limit.
Claudio tries big moves and Okada hangs on the ropes until the time limit is hit.
No winner: Time limit draw
The Young Bucks and Jack Perry come to the ring and they ask if fans want them to go five more minutes. Once they get in the ring they say, that’s not going to happen. They tell Claudio to get out of the ring because they have a match.
The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) and Jack Perry vs Darby Allin and FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood)
All six men start brawling as Claudiuo and Okada brawl at ringside as well.
Once Dax gets Parry into the ring the match starts. Darby dives into Parry on the floor and then we start getting dives and brawling all around the ring. After we come back from a picture in picture, it’s clear they are going for an early style AEW match, with lots of action and no concern for tagging people in and out unless they are having a babyface in peril or a hot tag. This match is all about giving the crowd a car crash.
The thing about it is, it’s been so long since the Bucks did a match like this, it felt fresh. They have been doing slower paced matches to get over their heel personas by not giving the fans what they want. When you don’t do it every week, it feels much more exciting when you do pull it out for a new crowd. It also primes the pump for their match at All In this weekend.
In the end, FTR gets a Shatter Machine on Perry, Power and Glory on Matt, and then Darby hits the coffin drop for the pin and the win.
Winners: FTR and Darby Allin
The Acclaimed come out after the match and they cut a promo on both the Bucks and FTR. No rap and just a fiery promo about how they will win at All In.
In the back, Renee talks to Ospreay who is being checked out by the doctor. Bryan Danielson interrupts and tells Ospreay to do it, meaning to use the Tiger Driver.
In the ring, Nigel McGuinness is in the ring to moderate the last in-ring confrontation between Swerve Strickland and Bryan Danielson before their match at All In. He puts over Swerve big time as he introduces him. Nigel shakes Swerve’s hand and goes on with the nicknames he’s given Bryan about his injuries. He asks Swerve about going into the match as an overwhelming favorite.
Swerve goes down the people he has beaten to keep the title and then says he will beat down Bryan deliberately. He says he still feels disrespected by Bryan, and Bryan saying he is ready to retire is him trying to take the moment from him. Swerve will retire Bryan and he will not be capable of getting in the ring after All In. He says if Bryan ever thinks about getting in the ring again, he will be three.
Bryan rushes the ring and hits Swerve with a Psycho knee. He says people are confused because he doesn’t come to the ring and talk about hismelf every week for 20 minutes. He is the best wrestler in the world and has been for the last 20 years. HUGE pop for this. He then says there’s only one question left, can Bryan Danielson beat Swerve Strickland for the World Championship. The crowd chants Yes and he does the Yes gestures.
And we are out of time!
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