AEW Dynamite: August 9, 2023
by Doc Allen
Live from NationWide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. WrestleTix estimates attendance at 3,559. Our hosts are Tony Shiavone, Excalibur, and Taz.
The Jericho Appreciation Society are already in the ring for their Mandatory Meeting. Chris Jericho tries to portray himself as the group's friend, not leader. Daniel Garcia interrupts to complain about all the sacrifices he's made and quits the group with some dancing. Good for him. Jake Hager misses his purple bucket hat, no longer appreciates Jericho, and also quits. Jericho pleads with Anna Jay and Tay Melo to stay, but they tell him off and leave. Angelo Parker loves sports entertainment, but he's gone too. Jericho was Matt Menard's childhood hero and helped bring him to AEW. He never understood why his peers, like Eddie Kingston and Kevin Steen, hated Jericho's guts, but now he understands. This leaves Jericho alone with Sammy Guevara, who knocks the mic from his hand. Sammy resents abandoning title hunts to fight Jericho's battles. If Jericho can get it together, maybe he'll be there for him. Jericho is all alone, so I guess he might as well join Don Callis.
Renee Paquette tries to talk to Jericho, but Don Callis interrupts to apologize for costing him the JAS. Jericho says it's fine and his answer is coming soon.
The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson, with Brandon Cutler) vs. The Hardys (Matt and Jeff Hardy, with Brother Zay and Ethan Page)
Jeff and Matt start trading wrist locks. Atomic drop by Jeff, then a flipping neckbreaker. The Hardys slam Nick onto Matt. Double wheelbarrow suplex by the Hardys gets 2. Matt Hardy hits a sitout powerbomb for 2. The Hardys continue their assault until Nick interrupts Poetry in Motion. Nick hits a flying facebuster straight into a moonsault off from the apron. Risky Business by the Bucks, who are in control heading into commercials. They return with the Matts duking it out. Side Effect by M. Hardy, and Jeff runs wild on a cold tag. Wisp of the WInd gets a nearfall. Nick blocks the Twist of Fate and starts a SUPERKICK PARTAY! 3D by the Bucks gets 2. The Hardys answer with not-quite stereo Twists of Fate. Swanton Bomb by Jeff, but the M. Jackson breaks the cover. Two more Twists of Fate on Nick, but Matt Jackson saves the day, super kicking Jeff off of the top rope! BTE Trigger on Matt Hardy finishes at 11:18! Another rough performance by the Hardys, who are looking really long in the tooth. This is probably the best we're going to get from them. Good win for the Bucks, who did look to be in danger before pulling off the win, **¾.Winners: The Young Bucks
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR confront the Bucks afterwards and their match for ALL IN is confirmed.
Speaking of ALL IN, the Women's title will be up for grabs in a 4-way match. Toni Storm gets a bye.
AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole are still friends, even though they're fighting each other at ALL IN. They go to a trampoline park at Cole's request. Cole is having a blast, but MJF is mad that they're here instead of partying with hot chicks. MJF takes out his anger by heckling kids while destroying them at dodgeball. Cole tries to reason with MJF, when a young girl questions why two grown men are at a trampoline park, they must be nerds. Cole allows MJF to pummel her with a dodgeball. Some might argue that this is too silly for a World title program heading into a stadium show, but I LOLed.
Video recap of The Blackpool Combat Club defeating Best Friends in a very entertaining looking Parking Lot Brawl on Rampage. The BCC don't fear death, death fears them, so Lucha Bros. better watch out.
FTW Championship:
Jack Perry © vs. Rob Van Dam
Perry assaults RVD during ring introductions. Rob leg scissors Perry into a pin predicament, more so as a warning shot. RVD slaps away Perry's handshake and nails a roundhouse kick;. Perry slips to ringside and gains an advantage by raking the eyes. Rob slams Perry onto the guard rail and nails a flying twisting leg drop! Back from commercials, they trade counters until RVD hits a monkey flip. Rob hits a chair-assisted dropkick into the buckles. Rob follows with Rolling Thunder onto a chair. Perry dodges a butt-ugly split legged moonsault and inadvertently throws a chair into the referee's skull. Rob perches the top rope, Perry tries to counter but gets thrown through a ringside table. Five Star Frog Splash! A second ref is too late for the 3 count. RVD complains to the ref and suffers a low blow. Perry drives RVD through a propped chair and pulls the tights for the pinfall at 9:35. This was a fun stunt show until RVD made some poor rookie mistakes, ***.Winner and still FTW Champion: Jack Perry
Renee Paquette chats with Lucha Bros. (with Alex Abrahantes). Alex says the symbol of Death Triangle stands for competition, while the BCC just try to maim and hurt people. I dunno, I've definitely seen Death Triangle try to hurt people in the past, I guess they think we have amnesia.
AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole come to the ring for a conversation. MJF is trying to be a good person and puts the midwest over as his favorite part of the country, even though it clearly disgusts him to say it. MJF thinks Cole wants a promo battle, so he says he's so skinny and white that Hulk Hogan would have snorted him in the 80's. Cole pleads for Max to stop and suggests they challenge for the ROH Tag Team Championship. MJF is on board. They're interrupted by Roderick Strong, who is amusingly still sporting a neckbrace. Max is sick of Roddy's jealous ex-girlfriend vibes and orders him to do the white person thing and go home and cry about it while listening to Taylor Swift. Fans chant "Shake it off! Strong whines that Cole was never really his friend and leaves with The Kingdom. This upsets Cole, who angrily shoves MJF. After a tense few moments, they hug it out, and Max suggests that Adam go check on his boy. This angle continues to be awesome episodic television.
Video recap of Ricky Starks whipping Ricky Steamboat on Collision. CM Punk vows revenge.
The Blackpool Combat Club (ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley, with Wheeler Yuta) vs. Lucha Bros. (Penta El Zero Mieldo and Rey Fenix, with Alex Abrahantes)
Lucha Bros. ambush with superkicks and stereo dives. They swarm Claudio and nearly finish him with an early flying double stomp. Fenix dives onto Moxley again, Penta hits Claudio with Made in Japan for 2. Mox is busted open, which is becoming a meme at this point. Claudio ducks stereo superkicks and buys time with rapid uppercuts. Hot tag to Mox, who takes over with bruising offense. Double DDT by Moxley, Sling Blade by Penta. Yuta interferes, allowing Claudio to press slam Fenix into Moxley's cutter for 2. Claudio finally slows things down on Fenix ahead of commercials. They return with Fenix stuck in the BCC's corner. Spike piledriver by The BCC gets 2. Fenix dodges a Doomsday Device by leaning over Claudio's back. Allegedly hot tag to Penta, who unloads his favorite spots in front of a crowd that favors the BCC. Fenix misses a frog splash, and the match breaks down. Everyone hits the canvas for an ovation from the fans. Claudio and Fenix fight to their feet. Penta flies into Claudio's uppercut. Mox fails to pin Penta, so they exchange chops. Lucha Bros. hit a messy spike piledriver for 2. Alex neutralizes Yuta for interfering, and Fenix helps with a moonsault. Meanwhile, Moxley pulls Penta's tights to pin him at 13:22. Booking two super popular guys like Moxley and Claudio as heels is so very weird and counter productive. This was a total banger at times, but had bass ackwards face/heel alignments and some pretty ugly botches, **¾.Winners: The Blackpool Combat Club
The BCC continue assaulting Lucha Bros. afterwards. Moxley steals Penta's mask and wears it while flipping off the fans. I'll say it again, I DO NOT WANT TO BOO MOXLEY AND CLAUDIO. STOP TRYING TO MAKE THEM VILLAINS.
Kenny Omega is just now arriving at the arena and has to talk to Alex Marvez. Kenny is going to sit down with Jim Ross to talk about his future and his plans for ALL IN.
The Mogul Embassy come to the ring for a chat. Prince Nana tells the stupid fools in the crowd to shut up. Swerve Strickland gloats about traveling to Nick Wayne's home to put the fear of GAWD into him. AR Fox calls out Darby Allin on behalf of the group. Darby arrives on cue and argues that Fox is to blame for their fallout. Darby brought backup, IT'S STIIIIIIIIIING! The Stinger clears the ring with his baseball bat and manages to land a hit on Swerve. Sting points his bat to the ALL IN sign as if it's Wrestlemania season, so I guess we have a tag team match to look forward to, playa.
AEW Women's Championship:
Hikaru Shida © vs. Anna Jay (with 2point0)
The winner gets to be champion and also be a part of the 4-way match at ALL IN. They exchange slaps, Jay looks for a quick pinfall. Shida whips Jay into a knee lift. Anna misses a corner kick and eats another jumping knee to the face. Shida hiits a flurry of punches, but Jay ax kicks her to outside. Back from commercials, Shida beats Jay like she caught her breaking into her house. Jay answers with a spin kick. Shida sets up a chair leap, but 2point0 step in to shield Jay. Anna applies the Queenslayer, but Shida carries her up the ropes and collapses back onto her. Falcon Arrow by Shida gets 2. Spin kick by Shida, 2point0 try pulling Jay under the ropes, but Shida gets the pinfall anyway at 8:50. Ice cold "main event" with an awkward and confusing finish, **.Winner and still AEW Women's Champion: Hikaru Shida
The show ends with Shida celebrating and no sign of Chris Jericho giving Don Callis his answer.
Final Thoughts: Overall, a good setup episode that did a lot to increase my excitement for ALL IN. Unfortunately, the main event was very flat, and I'm still baffled by how boring everything involving the BCC is right now. The MJF/Cole saga is carrying Dynamite most weeks, but you can probably find the segment on Youtube by tomorrow morning. You can give this week a pass.
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