home | wrestling | flashback_reviews | aew

AEW Dynamite
November 13, 2019

by Samoa Rowe

From the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Our hosts are Jim Ross, Excalibur, and Tony Shiavone. The building looks full on television, but I'm sure Twitter trolls will be sure to let us know if there are any empty sections behind the hard camera.

Video package of Kenny Omega arriving with a black eye and checking in with medical, spliced with footage of the barbaric Lights Out match with Jon Moxley at Full Gear. The doctor tells Omega to take the week off. Omega wants to know how Moxley did, and the doctor claims that Moxley is cleared to compete. You can bet that won't sit well with Omega.

Jon Moxley vs. Michael Nakazawa

Nakazawa taunts with baby oil, which inspires Moxley to simply kick his ass. Moxley nails the Paradigm Shift for the win at 1:08. Rare AEW squash match. I was expecting something more competitive, with Nakazawa taking advantage of Moxley's Full Gear wounds, but Moxley winning quickly should fire up Kenny Omega.
Winner: Jon Moxley

Moxley takes the microphone and sarcastically asks "That one counts, right?" He says he delivered exactly what was promised at Full Gear and now Kenny Omega will never be the same again. He calls Kenny a "radical son of a bitch" but admits that he respects him for having the balls to step into the ring with him. Moxley declares that he will scorch the earth of AEW until he is the last man standing. He issues an open challenge to anyone who wants to expose themselves to real danger. I'm glad we're getting to hear more from Moxley now.

The Dark Order (Stu Grayson and Evil Uno, with the creepers) vs. Jurassic Express (Marko Stunt and Jungle Boy)

Supposedly, Dynamite lost 150,000 viewers the last time the Dark Order were featured. This act still needs some tinkering. On the other hand, Stunt's last match drew good numbers, so here he is to "kill the industry" some more. Crowd is hot for Stunt at the opening bell, as he catches Evil Uno with an armdrag. Grayson charges into Stunt's crucifix pin attempt. Jurassic Express control the action with quick tags, and Stunt hits a cannonball senton off Jungle Boy's back. Evil Uno distracts and blind tags himself in for a kick to Stunt's face. Uno's swanton bomb is good. Dark Order work Stunt over through a commercial break. They're back and Stunt hits a Flatliner and Jungle Boy overcomes interference to make the hot tag! Jungle Boy quickly hits a dive and hits a running kick on Uno for a quick cover. Uno reverses a double whip, but Jurassic Express catch him with tandem offense. Stunt's 450 Dragon Rana should have ended it, but Uno viciously breaks the cover. Jungle Boy's dive goes nowhere, and Dark Order knock him down at ringside. Grason elevates Stunt for a nasty backbreaker. Dark Order hit Fatality on Stunt for the win at 9:30. Routinely good match from the Dark Order, who are flailing despite their strong in-ring work, ***.
Winners: The Dark Order

Evil Uno grabs a microphone and gives Stunt credit for showing promise despite his small stature. Uno invites Stunt to take a creeper mask and join the Dark Order! Jungle Boy doesn't give Stunt the chance to answer and throw's Uno's mic down. Uno says he respects the decision, but unleashes the creepers on the Jurassic Express. Crowd chants for Luchasaurus as the Dark Order forces Stunt to wear the creeper mask. The crowd pops huge as Luchasaurus arrives on the scene to make the one man save. He wipes out 3 creepers at once with one round house kick. Luchasaurus clears the ring of creepers and chokeslams the life out of Grayson and then hitting a standing moonsault. Luchasaurus embraces Stunt and Jungle Boy, and the Jurassic Express enjoy a moral victory. It's hard not to love this crowd pleasing moment.

Shawn Spears (with Tully Blanchard) vs. Peter Avalon (with Leva Bates) vs. Darby Allin

Bates does his cheap heat shtick on the microphone, this time insulting country music. Crowd is hot for Allin, who has been conspicuously missing from Dynamite since his awesome World title match with Jericho many weeks ago. All three of these guys could really use a win here, so keeping track of wins and losses is paying off to an extent here. Avalon attempts a crossbody ambush but misses both guys. Spears and Allin duke it out, and Allin hits a nifty high elevation springboard armdrag. Allin dropkicks Avalon to the floor but Leva blocks a dive, allowing Spears to shove Allin off the top rope for a facebuster for 2. Spears is distracted when Joey Janela runs down the aisle for a brawl. That leaves Allin alone with Avalon, and he hits a leaping stunner! The Coffin Drop finishes Avalon at 3:46! Crowd is pleased with the outcome! Felt like an Attitude Era match, and I mean that in a good way, **¼.
Winner: Darby Allin

Allin takes a microphone and simply states "Jon Moxley, I accept." Ah man, those two are going to kill each other.

Nyla Rose vs. Dani Jordan

Good to see Rose on Dynamite again after a long exile on Dark. Jordan is spry early on, but Rose knocks her down with a big boot. Jordan slaps the face, but that just makes Rose angry, and she hits a clothesline. Samoan Drop by Rose and a sitout powerbomb finishes at 1:38. Good squash for Rose.
Winner: Nyla Rose

Tony Shiavone is standing by with Allie, who is up to #4 in the women's rankings. Allie gets a cheap pop for being happy to being in Nashville, and she's ready to make a name for herself on Dynamite. The lights go out, which is becoming something of a trope in AEW, and come back to reveal Brandi Rhodes and Awesome Kong. Allie tries to cut off Kong, but she gets knocked off her feet. Kong throws Allie onto the ramp, and Brandi cuts off some of her hair to add to their trophy collection (alongside Bea Priestley's hair). This angle continues to make me nervous, but this particular segment was fine.

AEW World Champion, er Le Champion, Chris Jericho makes his entrance and receives a hero's welcome from the Nashville fans. Jericho gloats about still being the champion, having proven once again to be the greatest of all time. Jericho demands another thank you from every member of the AEW roster and office. Some fans chant "thank you" but Jericho dismisses them, saying he only wants a "thank you" from people who matter, not jackasses from Nashville. Jericho continues to just kill any unwanted fan chant or reaction dead in it's tracks. Jericho is interrupted by Cody's music and pyro, but it's really Maxwell Jacob Friedman, the man who screwed Cody at Full Gear! The crowd HATES MJF, as he orders the music off. The fans give MJF the loudest "a-hole" chant since 2000. MJF says if he didn't throw the towel in at Full Gear, their favorite wrestler's career would be over. MJF argues that the real villain is Cody, because he couldn't give a single sh!t about any of the fans, he only cares about himself. MJF says he is the only person on Earth who knows the real Cody and declares him to be a user and abuser. Fans react with a "bullsh!t" chant. MJF says the real bullsh!t is that Cody ever pretended to give a damn about him and put him under his thumb. MJF puts himself over as the new face of AEW because he is better than Cody Rhodes, and he knows it. I'm not sure I would call this promo a homerun, as it was a little cheap heaty, but it got over big time with the live crowd. MJF turns his attention to Jericho, addressing rumors that he would be recruited for the Inner Circle. Jericho puts it back on MJF, saying he heard that he wanted to be in the group. MJF says he heard he was wanted for the "Inner Circle Jerk" but thinks that like the redneck hicks in the audience, Jericho has had too much of the bubbly, if he thinks he needs the group. Jericho thinks this is funny, because they both love scarves and drinking, and thinks MJF's parents must have gotten horny watching him beat up Juventud Guerrera on WCW and gotten it on. MJF: "Who the hell is Juvie?" They can't seem to agree on whether or not MJF should join the Inner Circle and bicker about it. They agree that Cody is the biggest jackass in AEW and hug it out. Cody finally arrives on the scene and charges past producers to the ring. Cody can't hit the powerslam on MJF, but hits one on Jericho. Wardlow ambushes Cody, knocking him down with a clothesline and hitting a Death Valley Driver (that was more of an Attitude Adjustment). Wardlow chokes Cody with a tie, because this definitely isn't PG, and hangs him over the ropes. My takewaway here is that MJF is NOT joining the Inner Circle, but has recruited Wardlow to be his hired muscle. This was highly entertaining stuff from beginning to end, with these guys having a blast going into business for themselves.

"The Bastard" Pac vs. Hangman Page

I hate that AEW is having a PPV rematch on the next show, but I'll try not to let it distract me. Pac cuts Page off early on and hits a back handspring dive to the floor. Pac's top rope moonsault to the floor is good. Pac can't hit the Black Arrow, and Page hits a running dropkick and torpe suicida. Pop-up powerbomb by Page gets 2. They are not pacing themselves for a long match. Crowd chants "cowboy sh!t" as they trade strikes. Pac springboards into Page's big boot counter for 2. Pac counters with a missile dropkick. Pac hits a second missile dropkick to the back of Hangman for a 2 count. Page counters with a slam on the ring frame. Page's top rope moonsault to ringside is good! CUE THE COMMERCIAL! Back from break, and Page begins to mount a comeback, but Pac cuts him off with a snap German. Page answers with a hard lariat! Crowd LOVES this. The stand and switch almost results in a ref bump and Pac counters with an enziguri for 2. Loud "this is awesome" chant. Pac lures Page in for a brainbuster on the floor. Page no sells and hits a Buckshot lariat for a red hot nearfall. Pac hides in the corner in order to hit some opportunistic big boots. Pac relentlessly kicks the head until the ref pulls him off. The Black Arrow leads to the Brutalizer and the ref calls off the match at 12:13. This was so much better than their Full Gear match, with a blistering pace, a sense of urgency, and a crowd that gave a rat's ass, ***¾.
Winner: Pac

Backstage, the Young Bucks are brawling with Santana and Ortiz. Matt power slams Ortiz through a table. Santana climbs a forklift and splashes the Bucks and some security guards. They brawl through a door, and Orange Cassidy is just chilling on the other side. Bucks use the distraction for a SUPERKICK PARTY and the brawl continues through a commercial break. The fight heads into the ringside area, with Matt Jackson taking an ill advised backdrop over the barricade onto the floor. Security swarms them and order seems to be restored as I enjoy a Rick and Morty commercial. Back from break, and the Young Bucks take down security with SUPERKICKS, but Ortiz and Santana retake control of the brawl on the stage. They wrap Nick's leg into the set for repeated shots from a weighted sock. Santana spray paints a target on the stage and they powerbomb Matt right through it! Brandon Cutler makes a late save, but Ortiz and Santana continue the assault. Private Party gets involved, and the fans give them a hero's welcome as Santana and Ortiz finally back off. My inner teenager loved all of this chaos.

AEW Tag Team Championship:
SCU © (Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian, with Christopher Daniels) vs. The Inner Circle (AEW World Champion Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara, with Jake Hager)

SCU get a chance to do their "This is the worst town I've ever been in" schtick, but put over how much they love the bad-ass fans. They need to be allowed to do this mic work every week. My PM medicine is starting to kick in, so hopefully my PBP isn't total garbage. Kazarian starts against Jericho, and this would be my idea of a dream match circa 2004. Kazarian dominates, so Guevara makes a quick tag, but Sky also tags in and runs wild through the "Spanish God." Guevara finds himself taking a sick German suplex. Jericho tags, but soon needs a timeout, which conveniently sends us to commercial. They're back, and Guevara counters Kazarian with a dropkick into the corner. Jericho and Guevara pose together in mocking fashion. Guevara locks on a CHINLOCK on Kazarian. Guevara follows with a standing Spanish Fly, but crashes and burns on a Shooting Star Press. Sky gets the hot tag and runs wild through Guevara. Sky's cutters can't finish it, so he applies a Dragon Sleeper, but Jericho breaks it up. Kazarian stops Jericho with a guillotine leg drop. SCU attempt a double team on Guevara, but Hager pulls Kazarian to ringside. Daniels attempts a save, but Hager knocks him down. Meanwhile, Jericho chops the chest of Sky, but Sky answers with a Thesz press and double stomp. Sky's TKO only gets 2 on Jericho! Sky avoids a dropkick but totally misses a flying elbow. Sky blocks the Lionsault, but Jericho maneuvers into the Codebreaker, but SKY KICKS OUT! Sky counters with an inside cradle and becomes the first man to pin Chris Jericho in AEW at 10:45! Great action in this one, and a totally unexpected and cool result, ***½.
Winners and still AEW Tag Team Champions: SCU

Chris Jericho is pissed and takes it out on the guard rail to send us off the air.

Final Thoughts: Another delightful 2 hours of wrestling. I appreciated the change in format tonight with more mic work, squash matches, and extra character development. They got down to business with two good longer matches in the second hour. I think there was a little bit of everything for everyone tonight. Check this out.

Final Thoughts: This flew by and was awesome all the way through. Excuse me while I mark out. Thumbs Up.

back to AEW Index