AEW Dynamite aired live from the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi tonight. Here are 5 takeaways from the show:
PAC Continued To Play Mind Games With Kenny Omega
Hangman Page & Kenny Omega faced Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) in the first match of the night.
The crowd loudly chanted “cowboy sh*t!” as Quen and Hangman locked up to start the match off. Page leveled Quen with a shoulder tackle and went for a big boot but Marq was able to avoid it.
Kassidy tagged in and booted Omega off the ring apron. Hangman battled back and Suplexed Quen on top of Kassidy. Kenny Omega tagged in and hit Kassidy with a series of chops.
Quen tagged in and flipped onto Omega outside the ring. Quen flipped onto Hangman Page outside the ring and then posed for the crowd. Marq hit Hangman with a 450 Splash in the ring and went for the cover but Page kicked out at two.
Omega tagged back in and hit a Splash onto Private Party in the corner. Hangman Powerbombed Kassidy as Isiah’s shriek echoed throughout the arena. Omega planted Quen with a Snap Dragon Suplex but turned around into a Dropkick from Kassidy.
Kassidy planted Omega with a Tornado DDT for a near fall as the crowd chanted “this is awesome!”. Quen tagged in and went for a Shooting Star Press but Omega got out of the way. Hangman went for the Buckshot Lariat but Quen ducked. Hangman was able to stop himself before he struck Omega.
Omega climbed to the second rope but Private Party Dropkicked Hangman onto him. Private Party planted Omega with Gin & Juice but Hangman Page broke up the cover. Kenny accidentally threw Quen into Hangman and Page rolled out of the ring. Hangman got back into the ring and hit a Buckshot Lariat and a V-Trigger combo with Kenny on Quen. Kenny followed it up with the One Winged Angel for the pinfall victory.
After the match, PAC was shown backstage with the Brutalizer locked in on Michael Nakazawa. PAC demanded that Omega give him his rematch or this will continue. Kenny rushed backstage as Hangman Page drank some beer on the entrance ramp.
The Women’s Title Match Was A Complete Disaster
Riho defened the AEW Women’s Championship against Kris Statlander tonight on Dynamite. Brandi Rhodes joined commentary for the match. Statlander started off the match in control as Dynamite went to a commercial break. When Dynamite returned, Riho connected with a Northern Lights Suplex for a near fall.
Statlander planted with Riho with a Superplex off the middle rope. Awesome Kong and Melanie Cruise of the Nightmare Collective made their way down the entrance ramp. Mel attacked Riho and threw her into the barricade. Kris took out Melanie with a Suicide Dive as Brandi left commentary.
Kris leveled Awesome Kong with a Suicide Dive as Brandi marched down the entrance ramp. Luther emerged from under the ring and distracted Statlander. Kong rolled Kris back into the ring and asked Riho to hit Statlander with a Crossbody. Riho hit Luther with a Crossbody instead.
Riho rolled up Statlander for a two count as Awesome Kong paced around the ring. Statlander slammed Riho to the canvas for a near fall. Kong tripped up Statlander and Riho landed on top of her for the pinfall victory. After the match, the Nightmare Collective beat Riho and Statlander down. Shida and Big Swole got into the ring for the save as Britt Baker remained seated in the crowd.
I thought that this was absolutely terrible and I don’t really understand how anyone thought it was going to work with the crowd. It made no sense how the referee kept missing the constant interference from the Nightmare Collective. The match should have ended in a DQ several times. I simply wanted to see a title match and not this garbage.
I got some serious final days of WCW vibes from the Nightmare Collective and this match. It was embarrassing to watch. Nightmare Collective is already on their way to making every website’s “Top 10 Worst Stables” post in a few years. I hope they can turn it around going forward, but this was bad television and sucked the energy out of the crowd. These are the types of segments that would drive people away if this was the first time they tuned into Dynamite.
Cody & Dustin Picked Up A Win, MJF Attacked DDP
Cody and Dustin squared off against Lucha Brothers (Pentagon & Ray Fenix) tonight on the show. Cody connected with a Superkick on Pentagon and tagged Dustin into the match. Fenix hit Dustin with a Suicide Dive and rolled him back into the ring.
Pentagon connected with a Double Stomp for a near fall as Dynamite went to a break. Back from the break, Lucha Brothers had Dustin isolated in the ring. Fenix grabbed a steel chair but Arn Anderson took it away.
Dustin planted Fenix with a Spinebuster as Cody fired up the crowd. Cody tagged in and hit Fenix with a Powerslam. Cody followed it up with a Suicide Dive onto Pentagon outside the ring.
Cody took off his weight belt and launched it into the crowd. Cody went for Cross Rhodes but Fenix escaped and hit a Cutter. Dustin tagged in and connected with a Destroyer. Dustin followed it up with the Final Reckoning on Fenix for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Tony Schiavone interviewed Cody about MJF’s demands. Arn interrupted and claimed that MJF doesn’t have the stroke to lay down all these demands. Anderson stated that they will get back everyone with the answer and left the ring.
MJF and Wardlow then made his way to the ring and called Cody a coward. DDP interrupted and introduced him as the founder of DDP Yoga. The crowd broke out in a “yoga!” chant and DDP cracked up. MJF pulled out his phone and tweeted while DDP was talking. DDP referred to MJF as “Motormouth Jackoff Friedman” and “Wardblow”.
Butcher, Blade, and Bunny joined the party and MJF told DDP that he had to kiss his ring or they will send him to hospice. MJF stated that he was going to bang one of DDP’s daughters and DDP flipped out. They beat DDP down until QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes broke it up.
MJF was the best part of the show up until this point. It was announced that DDP, QT Marshall, and Dustin will face MJF, Butcher, and Blade at next week’s Bash at the Beach episode of AEW.
Jungle Boy Picked Up His First Victory In AEW
Best Friends & Orange Cassidy faced Jurassic Express tonight on Dynamite. The crowd got behind Marko Stunt as he hit Trent with a Hurricanrana. Jungle Boy tagged in and connected with an Atomic Drop.
Best Friends dominated during a commercial break but Jungle Boy was able to tag in Lunchasaurus when Dynamite returned. Luchasaurus booted Trent in the face and leveled Chuck with another kick.
Orange Cassidy tagged in as the crowd chanted “holy sh*t!”. Cassidy hit a Stunner and then greeted Jungle Boy with a Dropkick. Orange Cassidy hit Luchasaurus with a Crossbody and then hugged Trent & Chuck in the ring.
Trent hit Jungle Boy with a Spear as Cassidy climbed to the top rope. Orange Cassidy hit a lazy Splash and went for the cover but Marko broke it up. Stunt spiked Trent with a Destroyer that sent him out of the ring. Jungle Boy then rolled up Chuck for the pinfall victory.
Jon Moxley Tricked Chris Jericho
AEW Champion Chris Jericho came down to the ring with Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager at the end of this week’s show. Jon Moxley made his way through the crowd as Jericho introduced him as his protege.
Moxley joined Jericho, Sammy, and Jake in the ring. Jericho stated that tonight is the night when Jon is going to give his answer on if he is joining Inner Circle. Moxley said that he has had a lot to think about this week and there was a lot that went into this decision.
Jon brought up Jericho offering a car and money but he doesn’t want any of that. Moxley said that he cannot be bought and that he came to AEW to dominate. Moxley accepted the offer and revealed that he was wearing an Inner Circle shirt under his jacket.
Moxley pointed out that there is no more dominant group in AEW and he wants to stand with Inner Circle. Jon said that Chris Jericho is the greatest of all time and claimed that Inner Circle will dominate for years to come. Moxley suggested that they pop open A Little Bit of the Bubbly.
Jericho scolded the crowd for not cheering and asked for Moxley’s music to be played. Jon asked for the car keys and Jericho presented him with them as the crowd chanted “you sold out!”. Jericho boasted about winning their matches at Wrestle Kingdom and grabbed some more champagne. Jon told Jericho that he was just kidding and that he will never join the Inner Circle.
Moxley smashed a bottle over Jericho’s head and hit him with a Paradigm Shift. Jon then escaped through the crowd as Jake Hager rushed the ring. Moxley waved the car keys around with a big smile on his face while standing in the crowd as Dynamite went off the air.
This was a well done segment to close the show. There remains a ton to like about AEW but Nightmare Collective ruining the AEW Women’s Championship match was tough for this show to recover from. Tonight’s episode of Dynamite had some entertaining moments but it certainly wasn’t a good show. Hopefully, things get back on track with the Bash at the Beach episode next week.
