AEW Dynamite -June 5, 2024
by Doc Allen
Live from the Blue FCU Arena in Loveland, Colorado. WrestleTix estimates attendance at 2,527. Tony Shiavone, Excalibur, and Taz are on commentary.
MJF starts the show with an in-ring promo. The fans love him and chant "He's our scumbag!" He has a list of grievances with all the "children" making claims about him on AEW TV. He implies that Kazuchika Okada can't afford a gym membership, Swerve Strickland fails at public speaking, and Will Ospreay is lying through his disgusting British teeth about being Best in the World. Rush interrupts the rant, insults all the stinking Americans in attendance, and talks big about taking MJF's spot. MJF pretends he couldn't understand anything Rush said. He speculates that Rush is only in AEW because Tony Khan is a mark (although The New Elite are definitely worse). He insults Rush in Spanish (gets censored anyway) and they start throwing fists. Security pulls them apart, this feels like a Forbidden Door match in the making.
Training montage of Roderick Strong and The Undisputed Kingdom jogging up a mountain. He's a wrestling legend and prepared to end Swerve Strickland's title reign.
International Championship #1 Contenders Match:
Orange Cassidy vs. Kyle O'Reilly vs. Jay Lethal (with Sonjay Dutt) vs. Rey Fenix (with Alex Abrahantes)
Bell rings and they waste no time clearing the ring so everyone can take turns hitting highspots. Kyle tries to slow things down with a wristlock on Cassidy, who casually escapes. OC puts hands in pockets and dropkicks Kyle, only to get jumped by Fenix. Lethal ambushes Fenix and gloats at the hard camera. The ring fills, they all exchange KO blows and hit the canvas for some applause. Back from commercials, they're once again taking turns hitting power moves and drive-by attacks. The arena crowd is eating it all up. Kyle would really like to make someone submit. Cassidy moves past his goofy sloth kicks. Fenix mocks the sloth kicks and eats Cassidy's tornado DDT. Orange Punch on Kyle! Lethal Combination on Cassidy! Lethal Injection on Kyle! Fenix reverses Lethal's Figure Four and wins at 9:33. Crowd likes this outcome. Good scramble style match, ***.Winner: Rey Fenix
Don Callis leads Trent Berreta to the ring for a chair, but Cassidy arms himself with a chain. Kris Statlander rushes in to talk OC down, he seems to have forgotten her heel turn, and gets punched in the face. He considers retaliating, but Willow Nightingale bails him out by chasing Kris away. Cassidy clutches his face, suggesting that Kris' slap hurt his feelings more than anything.
The Learning Tree Chris Jericho arrives at the arena, flanked by Redwood Big Bill and Bad Apple Bryan Keith. He gives his chauffeur some driving advice, then decides to tell the camera man how to do his job. This is 1000x more amusing than last week's TV Time debacle.
Renee Paquette talks to Willow Nightingale about her recent setbacks. She's not surprised that Stokely Hathaway betrayed her, but she would have trusted Statlander with her life. Don't let the smiling fool you, when Willow gets stabbed in the back, she gets dangerous. Cassidy stops by to thank her and saunters away.
AEW Interim GM Christopher Daniels comes out to introduce a qualifying match for the TNT title Ladder Match at Forbidden Door. I wish AEW wasn't doing authority figure angles but this segment worked.
TNT Championship Qualifying Match:
ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe vs. Brian Cage
Cage is aggressive, but Mark outwits him in the early going. Briscoe has a business degree and operates a chicken farm, don't underestimate him. Mark gets a little caught up playing to the fans and Cage blindsides with a clothesline. Cage hits a step up suplex and poses his suspiciously large physique. Back from commercials, Mark makes the regularly scheduled comeback. The fans sure do like him. Uranage by Briscoe gets 2. Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita are seen watching from a box for about half a second. Mark delivers a Sabu-style somersault senton to ringside. Missile dropkick by Mark gets a close 2. Jack Perry is spotted watching backstage. Cage blocks a J-Driller and nails a pair of brutal power moves for quality nearfalls. Briscoe blocks the Drill Claw and hits a rolling DVD and Froggy Elbow to win at 10:15. Perfectly good TV match, very straight to the point, ***.Winner: Mark Briscoe
Jack Perry talks to the camera. He's proven that no one sacrifices quite like him, and he'll be the next TNT Champion.
Renee chats with new friends, Samoa Joe and Hook. The Premier Athletes interrupt and try to pick a fight, but Joe holds Hook back like the wise mentor he's become.
Jericho and his walking tree puns approach 2point0 and take credit for enlightening these branches. He instills some unwanted (and terrible) parenting advice on Angelo Parker and waltzes away pleased with himself. Bryan Keith steals the scene by demanding that Angelo's baby respect Jericho.
The Acclaimed and Daddy A$$ enter the arena, but The Young Bucks interrupt Max Caster's rapping on the big screen. They won't accept any disrespect, so I guess they're familiar with Caster's music. They cut the mic, so The Acclaimed have no choice but to leave.
Renee interviews AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana). He welcomes "little b!tch" MJF back to work. Swerve sends Nana on an errand to deliver the Forbidden Door contract to Will Ospreay. First, Swerve has to deal with Roderick Strong. He noticed that Team AEW lost to The New Elite at Double or Nothing, so maybe the next "Team AEW" should include the champ. Makes sense to me.
Video package framing Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer as a dream match at Forbidden Door. Mercedes cuts a very good video promo, playing to her strengths by not forcing her to stand in the ring for 20 awkward minutes.
The Blackpool Combat Club (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli, and Bryan Danielson) vs. Team CMLL (Volador Jr., Magnus, Rugido, and Esfinge)
Wild 4 on 4 brawl at the bell. They quickly spread out around ringside. Rugido and Danielson hit the ring for a chopfest. They seem to be using Lucha rules, as no tags are made and the guys take turns hitting the ring for high spots. Just as I type that, tags start being made and it settles into a normal, albeit fast-paced, tag match. The BCC gain control just in time for some commercials. They return with the BCC still picking Magnus apart. Esfinge gets a hot tag, but Claudio hits an uppercut. Esfinge recovers with a series of backbreakers and HIGH elevation monkey flips. Moxley interferes with a cutter, leading to a breakdown. Crowd pops for Claudi's giant swing. Volador ambushes Claudio with a flying rana, then a Destroyer. Danielson saves the match. Rugido gets some shine hitting Yuta with rapid attacks, earning a "This is Awesome!" chant. Match breaks down again until Yuta hits Rutigo with an Olympic Slam to win at 12:00! It's about time they do something meaningful with Yuta. Good showcase for the BCC, who have felt splintered more often than not over the past year, ***¼.Winners: The Blackpool Combat Club
Jericho visits catering and teaches how to properly scoop food.
Daniel Garcia video promo. He reminisces about his humble start in wrestling, which included getting into a bad car accident while on the road. Garcia has waited long enough and is calling his own shot against Will Ospreay.
Meanwhile, The New Elite try to hide from The Acclaimed, who are none-too-happy by getting their mic cut.
After commercials, The Young Bucks visit with The Patriarchy in their office. Christian Cage feels that he was screwed at Double or Nothing and trusts the Bucks to give him another title shot. The Bucks would give them all belts if it was up to them, and offer a working relationship. Cage accepts, looks like trouble is brewing.
Mariah May (with AEW Women's Champion Toni Storm and Luther) vs. Saraya (with The Outcasts)
Sadly, this isn't billed as a "grudge match." Come to think of it, this entire Dynamite hasn't felt like a Tony Khan-booked show. I say that without judgment, it's been different, while not "worse." Saraya attacks May before the bell, ripping her jacket off. May hits a headbutt and Samoan Drop. Toni quips that AEW is where the "breast" wrestle on commentary, hahaha. Meanwhile, May hits a spinning power slam. Saraya slips away to buy time and avoid getting squashed. May avoids Harley Cameron's sneak attack, but eats Saraya's superkick. Back from commercials, May makes her comeback right on cue. Toni hopes May can slap the t!ts off Saraya, and she gives it her best try. Avalanche head scissors takedown by May, then a missile dropkick for 2. Hip attack by May gets another nearfall. Implant DDT (no pun intended, I assure you) by Saraya gets 2. Thrust kick by Saraya sets up a brutal hanging hammerlock to win at 9:14. That finish ruled. I was expecting a sports entertainment finish, this was good stuff, ***.Winner: Saraya
Shenanigans take place after the bell, The Outcasts try to beat up May and Toni, but Mina Shirakawa makes the save. Toni has a date with Mina at Forbidden Door and tries to start some trouble, May plays peacemaker.
Jericho and Friends visit Private Party. Did you know that parties are more fun when they're open to everyone, maybe they should be "Public Party." Jericho thinks they are in desperate need of TV time, and invites them to another TV Time segment next week. Nooooooo! These vignettes have been brief and amusing, but another TV Time angle fills me with dread.
Bryan Danielson talks to the camera. He compliments Wheeler Yuta for coming back from injury and beating Team CMLL. Danielson admits that his last year as a full-time wrestler isn't going that well, he's lost every big match. He emotionally throws his name into the Owen Hart tournament and vows to get his last title shot at ALL IN.
AEW World Championship:
Swerve Strickland © (with Prince Nana) vs. Roderick Strong (with The Undisputed Kingdom)
Fans chant "Swerve's house!" before the bell. The guys start with a grappling contest. Strickland builds momentum with rapid offense, Strong needs a timeout. Hard Irish whip by Swerve, but Matt Taven distracts him long enough for Strong to hit a backbreaker onto the buckles. Swerve is feisty and catapults Strong into the ring post! Back from commercials, Swerve is stuck in a chinlock and is in need of a comeback. Whadya know, Strickland hits a reverse double stomp to the chest as if they just took a commercial break or something. Flying uppercut, rolling Flatliner, and Brainbuster by Strickland only gets 2. Powerslam by Swerve, Strong kicks out again. The Kingdom botch their interference, but Strong still manages to powerbomb Swerve onto the ring frame. Late cover gets 2. Swerve is dazed, manages some strikes, but Strong counters with a gutbuster. Olympic Slam, by Strong, then a stacking powerbomb for a good nearfall! Sick kick by Strong, but SWERVE KICKS OUT! Strickland tries to roll to safety, Strong grabs him by the hair, but the champ answers with a SWERVE STOMP over the ropes onto the apron! Swerve misses the House Call, but tries again and wins at 14:10! Terrific come-from-behind win by Strickland! There was no chance that Strong was winning the title, but he wrestled the entire match as if there was no doubt he'd win. Great main event, ****.Winner and still AEW World Champion: Swerve Strickland
Final Thoughts: This Dynamite felt like it was put together more like a TV show and less like a wrestling show, if you catch my drift. This felt like an experimental episode to address recent ratings woes, and I think it worked this time. They showcased a lot of the good things that are clicking and kept most of the iffy elements brief. I enjoyed this show a lot, check it out.
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