AEW Dynamite
September 23, 2020
by Samoa Rowe
"Live" from Daily's Place, officially on September 22nd, but airing well after midnight thanks to the NBA Playoffs going late. Our hosts are Jim Ross, Tony Shiavone, Excalibur, and Chris Jericho.
Ben Carter vs. Scorpio Sky
Jericho is instantly killing it on commentary, joking about Carter probably already having had 1,000 matches at age 22 due to his U.K. training. Carter holds his own exchanging holds with cagey veteran, Sky. Carter flips across the ring and catches Sky with a dropkick for a timeout. They slap hands and Carter explosively reverses a wristlock but runs into Sky's boot. Side Russian Leg Sweep by Sky gets a routine 2. Backbreaker by Sky leads to an abdominal stretch. Carter escapes and throws fire chops, but Sky knocks him over with a closed fist. Commercial! They return with Sky picking Carter apart with subtle heel offense. Carter mounts a comeback, springboarding into an elbow drop and hitting a running SSP for 2. Carter misses a moonsault off the buckles and Sky knees the face. Sky misses a guillotine leg drop and Carter makes him pay with a big time plancha. Frog splash by Carter but Sky kicks out! Hanging neckbreaker by Sky gets a frustration nearfall. Sky powers into a Fisherman Buster for a great 2 count. Carter urgently blocks a Scorpion Deathlock but Sky double stomps his back. Sky finishes with a TKO at 15:11. Strong match, Carter gets over as a great prospect no one saw coming, and Sky gets over for beating him, ***¾.Winner: Scorpio Sky
Anna Jay (with The Dark Order) vs. Brandi Rhodes
Brandi is all business and marches right up to Jay to throw a forearm. Spear by Brandi and a facebuster onto the ring frame. Thesz press by Brandi and a hard Irish whip. Jay answers with the Queenslayer Sleeper, but Brandi reverses for a nearfall. Jay places Brandi in the buckles for a nasty back rake. Jay ruthlessly picks Brandi apart but can't put her away. Brandi makes a fiery comeback and hits sling blade. Evil Uno and Stu Grayson return to distract the ref, causing Brandi to only get a nearfall on a slam. Jay kicks the back of the head and reapplies the Queenslayer with a grapevine for the win at 6:10! Color me impressed, this was easily Brandi's best in-ring outing in AEW, as this succeeded as a serious grudge match, **¾.’Winner: Anna Jay
Backstage interview with Scorpio Sky. He has his eyes set on the TNT Championship, but gets interrupted by Matt Sydal. Sky admits that Sydal looked good at All Out when he eliminated Shawn Spears, and wishes him luck tonight in the spirit of competition. It was nice of Sky to not mention Sydal's botched SSP, what a pal. I'd completely forgotten that Sydal eliminated Spears, so kudos to them for the reminder.
Matt Sydal vs. Shawn Spears (with Tully Blanchard)
Sydal, known for his high flying, shows some wrestling chops by exchanging holds with Spears. Sydal sweeps Spear's leg out on the apron, but Spears answers with a baseball slide dropkick. Sydal blocks a dive with a leg lariat. Sydal locks the arm to send us to commercial. Back from break, Sydal fends off Spears with a rana. Series of stiff kicks by Sydal and he pulls Spears by the leg for a fancy nearfall. Slicing leg drop by Sydal gets another urgent 2 count. Standing corkscrew senton by Sydal gets 2. Spears impressively blocks a rana and nails a spinebuster for a good nearfall. Sydal absorbs some chops and returns the favor, and they're really tearing into each other. Spears nails a vicious Ushigoroshi. Sydal responds with Meteora for a great 2 count! Spears retreats to a ringside seat, and Sydal capitalizes with a running shotgun dropkick. Tully hands a steel slug to Spears, and he avoids a SSP and catches Sydal with a loaded punch and DVD for the win at 12:40! Sydal looked about a thousand times better here than he did at All Out, and this was a stunning reminder that Spears is actually very talented, ***½.Winner: Shawn Spears
Scorpio Sky runs in to save Sydal from more punishment. Spears and Blanchard are satisfied as they retreat.
Final Thoughts: What a great show! Every match over delivered, what more can you ask for?
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