AEW (Friday Night) Dynamite- June 4, 2021
by Samoa Rowe
It's Friday Night, and you know what that means. Welcome to a special FRIDAY NIGHT EDITION of the highly acclaimed, second-longest running episodic televised wrestling program in the history of TNT. Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, and Excalibur are calling the action, unless otherwise noted. We're only days removed from the 2021 Double or Nothing, which was one of the best PPV's in the company's history. Swap out the Battle Royal to the Buy-In and put Deeb/Riho on the main show, and you probably have THE best show, but that's really getting nitpicky. We're still in Daily's Place in Jacksonville, FL, but that should be changing soon.
Pac & Penta El Zero Miedo vs. The Young Bucks (w/ Don Callis, The Good Brothers and Brandon Cutler):
Non-Title Match. The Bucks retained in a fantastic match against Mox and Eddie Kingston at Double or Nothing. We're informed that the Elite attacked Rey Fenix earlier and even stooped so low as to film it. Nick Jackson jokingly gives his headband out to Nakazawa, triggering an assault by Elite Hunter Frankie Kazarian. Penta and Pac attack with the distraction and hit the brothers with a pair of tope suicidas. Don Callis joins commentary as the action continues outside the ring. Pac and Matt Jackson finally get in the ring to get the match started officially. Penta rolls Matt into an arm-trap roll-up for a near-fall. Nick tags in and walks into a Super-Kick, as does Matt. Pac with a slingshot cutter and standing SSP for two. He goes to the top, but Matt rolls to the floor to safety. Pac follows and gets caught in the face with a boot from Nick. Matt wastes a ton of time teasing a high spot before casually jogging around the ring and hitting a soft clothesline. BOO THIS MAN FOR BEING A HEEL! Cutler makes sure to give Matt's shoes a shine, allowing Pac time to recover and hit Matt with a huge clothesline. Nick makes sure to cut off the tag, knocking Penta off the apron. Meanwhile, Matt hits Pac with a spear and unloads with a flurry of short right hands. Whip to the corner, Nick and Matt miss splashes, and Pac drops Nick on his head with a release German Suplex. Penta in with a pair of sling blades, followed by a combo lung-blower and senton. Whip to the corner and Penta with a backstabber on Nick. Pac with kicks to the body and a pop-up Liger-Bomb for two. Penta with a double stomp from the top that was questionably low, but the referee allows it. Matt fights out of the corner and tags in Nick, who jumps directly into a double Super-Kick. Nick flips out of the package piledriver but is caught with a Canadian Destroyer. Matt with the blind tag, hitting a Destroyer of his own on Penta. Pac and Matt trade blows on the apron, eventually joined by Penta and Nick, who hit their own high angle bombs on THE HARDEST PART OF THE RING. Nick throws the referee into Penta and goes for the mask, but Penta has a second mask on and kicks Nick low. Penta with the Fear Factor and Pac hits the Black Arrow, but Matt makes the save. Pac goes up again, but Cutler whacks the leg with his camera and Nick stacks Pac up for three at 9:28. Post-match, the Bucks continue the assault on Penta and Pac until being chased off by Eddie Kingston. I don't think it's a rule the champions should lose a non-title match, but the Bucks could've stood to lose this one. Good match, nonetheless. ***½The WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN, Mark Henry joins us for his first Dynamite appearance since making the surprise debut at Double or Nothing. He'll be part of the new AEW program as an analyst, AEW Rampage, making its premiere on TNT on August 13th. Jim Ross reflects on signing Mark to his first contract back in 1996 when he was dunking a basketball at the NBA All-Star Weekend. Henry says he's not here to fix AEW because AEW isn't broken. Henry doesn't answer yes or no about stepping in the ring again, but he's got a lot left in the tank. Suddenly, Vickie Guerrero interrupts to introduce a man who has won Championships around the world, and he's also a 3rd Generation STAR... ANDRADE EL IDOLO! He's here to say that he's the face of all Latinos but starting today he will be the new face of AEW. "As Bobby Heenan would say, this fellow is no ham-n-egger."
Cody Rhodes & Lee Johnson (w/ Arn Anderson) vs. Q.T. Marshall & Anthony Ogogo:
Cody, in a one-night-only decision to be introduced as the AMERICAN DREAM, defeated Ogogo in a match some believe should've been agented a little differently. I'm OK with Cody winning, but the match length was my concern with Ogogo's level of experience (and it wasn't even THAT long, just long enough to expose how green he is). I've liked Marshall's non-wrestling attire lately, dressing up like the guy who breaks thumbs at the bowling alley. Johnson and Marshall start. Lee doesn't take kindly to the unsportsmanlike strike and responds before grabbing the arm. Whip to the ropes and Lee with a dropkick for two. Marshall fights off another wristlock and tags in Ogogo, who wants nothing to do with Lee and demands Cody tag in. Cody obliges and gets distracted by Marshall, allowing Ogogo to throw him across the ring with a belly-to-belly suplex. Marshall in and Cody quickly takes him down with an inverted Russian leg sweep. Lee back in with clotheslines and a leaping neck breaker. Marshall dumps him out but Lee skins the cat and takes him to the floor with a head-scissors. Marshall avoids a plancha and Ogogo with a boot to the chest, driving Lee into the arena floor. We come back from commercial, with Lee hitting Marshall with a push-off dropkick. Cody gets the hot tag and pounds away with right hands. Cody with a release suplex, followed by mounted rights in the corner. He turns Marshall inside-out with a monkey flip and connects with the drop-down uppercut. Cody catches Ogogo napping on the apron with a Disaster Kick and hits Marshall with a snap powerslam. He locks in the Figure-Four, but Ogogo breaks it with a splash. Marshall with the Diamond Cutter and now it's Lee making the save, though Cody seemed to roll the shoulder up as well. Aaron Solow comes out for a distraction. Ogogo charges in to land a straight right on Cody, knocking him cold and allowing Marshall to fall on top for three at 7:01 (times are suspect because of fast-forwarding on the TNT app). I'm cool with that finish to stretch things out with the Nightmare Family and Factory. **½Highlights from Double or Nothing's Stadium Stampede. Cinematic matches are hit-and-miss, and not for everyone. I didn't LOVE the match, but the finish was more than enough to make up for it, with Sammy Guevara standing tall to keep the Inner Circle together after being the man who gave up the Blood and Guts Match earlier in the month on Dynamite. This leads to the Inner Circle coming out for their victory lap, and the live-crowd singing along to Judas will never get old (only the empty-arena enhancement talent version got tired). Will there be a Stadium Stampede III at Double or Nothing 2022? Jericho is so happy with the victory, there's a free Inner Circle shirt tucked away under every chair in the arena. Jericho calls Sammy the hero of Stadium Stampede. Sammy recalls doing a 630 splash off the roof of his mom's house, and now he's doing it in the Main Event on that "idiot" Shawn Spears to keep his brothers together. Santana says they won to stick together, but they still pass those goofs in the hall. FTR tried to take food off their family's tables, so this is far from over. Hager says they're going to take ass-whooping after ass-whooping until it's over. He challenges Wardlow to beat him in an MMA cage fight on Dynamite IN TWO WEEKS. Jericho doesn't forget MJF trying to end his career (and possibly his LIFE) when he was thrown off the top of the cage. He MUST settle the score. It wasn't enough to embarrass him with a Bubbly Bath or beating his ass all over the place at Stadium Stampede. Until he can ruin MJF's career and life the way MJF tried to ruin his, this will never be over. You know what we need? A Special Dynamite of nothing but Pinnacle vs Inner Circle matches... I'm only half-kidding.
We cut to a pre-tape of Orange Cassidy, The Best Friends, and Kris Statlander in the dressing room. There's no doubt that Orange Cassidy had the match won at Double or Nothing. We cut to another pre-tape, this time with Don Callis and AEW WORLD CHAMPION Kenny Omega. Callis says they have the raw footage to expose the conspiracy to try and take the title off Omega. Omega scoffs at Jungle Boy's victory, noting of the 20-Men he beat in the Battle Royal, how many were in the Top 5? Any of them? Jungle Boy is a fun guy to cheer for and has great music, but he doesn't have a chance in the ring with a man like Omega.
Jungle Boy & Christian Cage vs. Private Party (w/ Matt Hardy):
Poor Christian came in with a lot of hype, almost too much, and anything at this point feels like a failure to deliver because people can't let something breath for a while. Did I mention Jungle Boy last eliminated Christian to secure the victory for the Casino Battle Royal? Jim Ross STILL INSISTS on calling Jungle Boy "Jungle Jack Perry", because Jim Ross keeps collecting a check to half-ass his job. Private Party have traded in the tights and singlets for casual attire. Christian and Kassidy start. Christian with a go-behind takedown into a wristlock. Jungle Boy comes off the top with a double axe-handle and they take turns working the arm. Quen tags in and walks into a one-man flapjack. Whip and a double-team hip toss for a one-count. Quen cuts off Jungle Boy with a jaw breaker and now Private Party in control, making quick tags while working the arm. Jungle Boy springs off the ropes to take both men over with arm drags, sending them to the floor for a breather. Jungle Boy slides out to break up the conference but is soon met in mid-air with a dropkick from Quen for a near-fall. Jungle Boy fights out of the corner and tags in Christian. He comes off the ropes with a diving forearm on Kassidy and hangs him up across the rope. Christian with a diving back elbow from the top rope. He tries fighting out of the corner, but Quen hangs him up across the rope to cut him off. We come back from commercial with Private Party hitting a wheelbarrow slam and mocking the Edge and Christian 5-second pose. Was I really in High School when that was a thing? They do it again, but this time Christian hits them both with inverted DDT's. Jungle Boy with the tag, running through Quen with elbows. Whip is reversed and Jungle Boy turns him inside-out with a clothesline. Jungle Boy with a brain buster for two. Tornado DDT for two. Kassidy makes the save as Jungle Boy locks in the snare trap (STF). Kassidy thumbs the eyes of Jungle Boy and Quen rolls him up with a handful of tights for a near-fall. Gin and Juice is countered, and the Snare Trap finishes Quen at 8:44. Post-match, Matt Hardy cuts off the celebration, giving Christian a Twist of Fate on the ramp. Match was fine. **¼Highlights of Hangman Adam Page vs Brian Cage from Double or Nothing. Taz challenges Page to find himself a partner from the Dark Order to step in the ring with Cage and Powerhouse Hobbs. If he needs to scout them, they'll be in action on Dark Elevation on Monday Night.
Tony Schiavone is standing by for an interview with Darby Allin and Sting. Sting calls it a special night and one that stands up to anything he's done in his career (let's not go too far, Sting). The celebration is immediately interrupted as Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page pop up on the big screen. Scorpio says Sting was so good, he was able to drag Darby Allin over the finish line. Page says Sting has carried him through his AEW career and calls him a spineless co-dependent wimp. Go and find someone NOT named Sting and try to prove them wrong.
Tony Schiavone continues to be the hardest working man in the company, in the ring for the celebration of Dr. Britt Baker winning the Women's Championship. In the ring are the likes of TH2, Chaos Project, The Wing Men, Diamante, Nyla Rose, and Vickie Guerrero, as well as a table stacked with Big Macs. Good to see Rebel's (Not Reba's) crippling knee injury is healed for the celebration. The crowd gets another freebie, coupons for free Big Macs from your local McDonalds... whoops, she's lying, they're with her, where they belong, because SHE did the work, and no one was along for the ride. She promises that the letters D.M.D will carry the company to the next stratosphere. She invites Rebel (not Reba) and Tony to share sandwiches, but Nyla Rose interrupts the proceedings, tossing the platter out and smacking the burgers from their hands. Who invited her to this celebration, and shouldn't they make her sign a waiver not to outshine the Champion?
Alex Marvez is backstage with Eddie Kingston. Penta and Pac interrupt to let him know they don't need his help. Kingston says the enemy of his enemy is his friend and tells them to let that marinate in their brains. Remember, it was Eddie trying to break Penta from Fenix that led to the reformation of Death Triangle a few months ago.
Red Velvet (w/ Big Swole & KiLynn King) vs. The Bunny (w/ The Blade):
The Bunny is otherwise known as Allie, in case anyone is confused by the name changes. Heck, I'll probably refer to her as "Allie" anyway out of habit. She hasn't seen much ring work on Dynamite but posts a 16-6 record across her AEW career. Last Monday, the Bunny laid out Big Swole with brass knuckles to secure a tag team victory on Elevation. Velvet avoids a sneak attack, hitting double knees and a standing moonsault press for two. Allie bails and Velvet follows with a tope suicida, landing on her head and folding forward in a disgustingly scary spot. Back inside, Red Velvet is somehow not dead as she puts the boots to the Bunny in the corner. Blade hops on the apron to protest, but to no avail. Bunny cuts off Velvet's ascent to the top rope and kicks her down to the arena floor. Back inside, Bunny with a sliding forearm into the corner for two. We come back from commercial with Velvet making her comeback, hitting a stunner for a near-fall. Bunny nails Velvet coming off the ropes with a Super-Kick. The Blade passes the knuckles to the Bunny, but Velvet ducks the punch, boots Bunny low and nails a roundhouse kick for three at 4:25. This wasn't much to see other than a spot that could've led to serious injury. *Evil Uno is standing by with the rest of the Dark Order to celebrate John Silver's birthday. Silver was gifted a TNT Title Shot, but he's not cleared, so he's giving it to UNO! UNO FOR TNT CHAMPION! We cut to Miro, giving a special shout-out to his wife for being hot. He scoffs at the idea of Evil Uno challenging him, because he's bigger and stronger, and all Uno is getting is hurt.
START THE HYPE TRAIN! Kenny Omega defends the title against Jungle Boy on a Saturday Night Edition of Dynamite on June 26th! NEXT WEEK... Miro defends the TNT Title against Evil Uno! The Young Bucks and Brandon Cutler face Pac, Penta, and Eddie Kingston! Hangman and Dark Order's 10 meet Hobbs and Cage!
Bull Rope Match: Dustin Rhodes vs. Nick Comoroto (w/ Aaron Solow):
If you're wondering why this gets the Main Event slot, remember, we're nearing Midnight ET, so why not? More of the Nightmare Family vs. The Factory feud. Comoroto KO'd Dustin with a bull rope during the Battle Royal to set up this match. Comoroto and Rhodes start the fight on the ramp. The Bull Rope will be attached at the wrists like in a strap match. Comoroto tosses Dustin into the ring with a press slam and the match is still unofficial. They finally get the rope on Comoroto to signal the bell. Dusitn tucks the rope between the legs of Comoroto and makes him sing. Dustin gets tossed to the apron and choked with the rope until he smacks Comoroto across the head with the bell. Dustin with a clothesline, taking both men over the top rope. He continues to punish Comoroto with the cow bell and now it's Dustin using the rope for some legal choking. They fight into the crowd, with Fuego del Sol getting involved, only to get launched into a pile of the enhancement talent sitting at ringside. Solow gets involved and planted off-camera with a powerslam. The distraction allows Comoroto to recover and lay Dustin out with a spear. We see Comoroto bleeding, as if this match needs it right now. They keep going back and forth, though Comoroto's brute strength keeps him a leg up. We come back from commercial, with Dustin choking Comoroto with the rope. Solow is still at ringside, setting up a table. Rhodes avoids a slam, knocking Comoroto off the apron with another bell shot. Dustin follows and gets caught with a Powerbomb through the table. Back inside, Comoroto covers for a near-fall. Solow with more assistance, removing a turnbuckle pad. Colten Gunn shows up to even the odds as Dustin comes off the ropes with a bulldog. He hits the twisting suplex and Comoroto kicks out BEFORE the count of one. Rhodes with another bell shot, followed by a pair of clotheslines. Rhodes drops him face-first across the exposed turnbuckle and hits a flying bulldog for three at 7:44. This was an example of doing a gimmick match for the sake of doing a gimmick match. I get their FACTIONS are feuding, but these two have had very little interaction to justify a blood rivalry match like this. **Final Thoughts: The show after a PPV always feels like a reset of sorts as we try to maneuver people into their next direction, and with the NBA Playoffs taking center stage on TNT, having a late-night Friday episode throws a wrench in the works as well. For a 2-hour show, I enjoyed setting the table for what comes next, and we got a great opener. The worst match was a short 4-minutes, and everything else was fine. Your mileage may vary on the personalities, but at no point was I bored by the show.
Sound Off!
Comment about this article on Da' Wrestling Boards!