AEW Dynamite: July 6, 2022
by Doc Allen
Live from the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York. Our hosts are Tony Shiavone, Excalibur, and Taz.
TNT Championship (Street Fight):
Scorpio Sky © (with American Top Team) vs. Wardlow
The arena crowd is firmly behind Wardlow at the bell. Sky uses his quickness to score some early body shots, but Wardlow retaliates with a shoulder block. Sky answers with a blatant low blow, but Wardlow shakes it off and launches the champ across the ring. Lambert slaps Wardlow on the back, which allows Sky to take control with a push into the steps. Back from commercials, Wardlow blocks a superplex and nails a SWANTON BOMB! Crowd takes a break from heckling Lambert to pop for the highspot. Wardlow prepares a powerbomb, but has to stop to fight off American Top Team. Sky clocks Wardlow with the TNT title for a dramatic nearfall. Wardlow bumps Sky into Lambert and a spinebuster leads to the Powerbomb Symphony. Wardlow gains the easy pinfall at 8:26 and claims his first championship. This was refreshingly basic babyface "overcoming the odds" booking and the fans ate it all up, **½.:Winner and new TNT Champion: Wardlow
Interim AEW World Champion Jon Moxley muses about how everyone thinks they can catch him off guard. He's been busy beating Hiroshi Tanahashi and competing in Blood & Guts "for fun" so he's not afraid of Brody King.
Mark Sterling and Tony Nese ask Keith Lee to sign a petition to remove Swerve Strickland from the roster. Lee scoffs at the notion that he'd backstab his own tag team partner like that. I'm not sure Sterling thought this one through.
Evil Christian Cage and Luchasaurus come to the ring to talk some more sh!t about Jungle Boy. He teases an explanation for why Luchasaurus turned on Jungle Boy, but they're interrupted by Matt Hardy, who calls Christian the "Michael Jordan of being an @sshole." Christian thinks Matt is starting to make his brother sound like the sober one (which gets a massive groan from the fans). Matt expresses regret that he used people in the HFO, and karma has caught up with him, so he wants to make sure that Christian can't use anyone else. Christian accuses Matt of being the biggest embarrassment to the Hardy family, and unleashes Luchasaurus onto him. Hardy fights back, but Luchasaurus kicks his head into the ring post. Matt takes a chokeslam through a table for good measure, and Christian sarcastically asks him if he's alright. This was fine, but I don't find a feud between Matt and Christian to be terribly interesting at this point in time.
Video package for Claudio Castagnoli, who's just getting started after a dominant showing at Blood and Guts. Tony Shiavone then hosts a backstage confrontation between Claudio and Jake Hager, who isn't all that impressed with Claudio's resume. They'll meet in singles action next week.
The Butcher and the Blade (with The Bunny) vs. Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee
Lee meets Blade with a headbutt. Butcher makes the quick tag but gets tossed off the top rope. Swerve tags to tangle with Blade, they unfortunately botch a leap frog spot. Swerve and Lee showcase their teamwork skills to corner Blade. Bunny shields Blade from Swerve, which allows Butcher to blindside Lee and shift momentum in their favor. Back from commercials, Swerve hits a desperation flying uppercut on Butcher. Lee gets a hot tag and mows through Blade. Swerve helps with a rolling flatliner on Butcher. Lee misfires a pounce onto Swerve, allowing Blade to hit a stunner. Butcher throws Swerve into Blade's big boot, hits a lariat, and Lee makes a great late save. Swerve hits a step up heel kick. Lee fist bumps Swerve, and the finish Blade with the Swerve in Their Glory at 9:40. This developed into a pretty interesting match after the break, with Lee and Swerve overcoming their dissension to pull out a gutsy win, ***.:Winners: Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee
Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks come out to repay Swerve and Lee for their recent disrespect. Starks becomes a raving lunatic, but they're interrupted by the AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks. The fans chant for FTR while the Bucks set up a triple threat title match for next week.
Spooky Aleister Black video promo making the case for why Jon Moxley should fear Brody King.
Tony Shiavone hosts Eddie Kingston in the ring. Eddie still has a score to settle with Chris Jericho, despite his team winning Blood & Guts last week. Eddie isn't satisfied because he didn't get to taste Jericho's blood. They cut to the Jericho Appreciation Society backstage, where Tay Conti slams a car door into Ruby Soho's hand in a hilariously bad skit.
The remaining members of The Dark Order (with Negative One) come to the ring to a sentimental pop from Brodie Lee's hometown fans. The group announces their intentions to stick around as a group. They're interrupted by QT Marshall, who is sick of the Negative One "charity case." QT wants to fight Negative One, which brings out Hangman Adam Page to help the Dark Order beat QT down like a stooge. Negative One puts QT on notice for the beating he'll get from him when he's 18.
Jim Ross joins commentary for the second hour of Dynamite.
Penta Oscuro (with Rey Fenix and Alex Abrahantes) vs. Rush (with Andrade El Idolo and Jose the Assistant)
They start with a slapfest. Penta scores a superkick, but can't hit a baseball side. Penta tries a dive, but Rush interrupts with a forearm shot. Rush pauses for some pushups, and then targets Penta's mask. This fires Penta up for a pair of Sling Blades. Penta nails a dive outside, Alex tackles Jose. Back from commercials, Rush hits a German, but Penta fires back with a backstabber. Rush rolls him over for a nearfall. Another backstabber by Penta gets 2. They trade open hand chops and then headbutts until Rush's leaping head strike leaves them both down. Rush scores a missile dropkick for 2. Rush hits a senton for another 2, and the crowd didn't bite for it. Penta no-sells to hit a cutter and package piledriver, but Andrade put Rush's boot on the bottom rope to break the cover. Rush pulls off Penta's mask to gain an easy pinfall at 13:44. Match was pretty much a senseless series of moves with a tired finish, **¼.:Winner: Rush
Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal, and their tall protege gush over Lethal's upcoming ROH match against Samoa Joe.
The Best Friends, donning matching tie dye jumpsuits, refuse to sign Mark Sterling's petition. Danhausen wanders in to suggest that Tony Nese face Orange Cassidy on Rampage and then force him to sign.
The Acclaimed and the Gunn Club come out for a rap, but the Gunns are sick of Max Caster's rhymes and cut him off. Now is as good a time as ever to turn the Acclaimed.
The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens) and The Gunn Club (Colten and Austin, with Papa Billy) vs. Bear Country, Fuego Del Sol, and Leon Ruff
The fans are mad about missing Caster's rap shtick and boo the Gunns as they start against Del Sol. Bear Bronsen tags in to wipe out the Gunn Club. Bronsen plants Austin with a spinebuster, but Caster breaks the cover. Bowens enters to put Bronsen down with a Fame-asser. Caster hits a flying elbow, but can't get the pin due to Austin's blind tag, and he steals the pinfall at 2:30. Just a squash, but a productive squash at that.:Winners: The Acclaimed and Gunn Club
The winners bicker about how it went down and start trading fists. Billy Gunn seemingly talks some sense into his sons, but then blasts Bowens in the face. Billy hits a Fame-asser just because and then stands tall with his boys.
Miro cuts a menacing video promo. He's upset with Aleister Black for costing him a win at Forbidden Door, so the Redeemer is coming for him.
Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir vs. ThunderStorm (AEW Women's Champion Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm)
The heels ambush Rosa at the bell, but Storm recovers with a rana on Shafir. Rosa and Storm take Shafir to school with quick tags in their corner. Shafir eats a double team suplex for 2. As per usual, the heels gain control just in time for the picture-in-picture break. Back from commercials, Storm slips away from Nyla to make the hot tag. Rosa soars in with a crossbody on Rose and follows with many chops. Rosa hits a pair of running dropkicks to Nyla's face, but her third attempt is reversed with a chokeslam. Shafir sneaks up on Rosa for a pump handle throw. Storm breaks the cover and hits Rose with a swinging DDT. Storm hits a running hip attack and then assists Rosa's Falcon Arrow for the win at 9:08. Solid match that had the crowd with them, **½.:Winners: Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm
Tony Shiavone tries to interview TBS Champion Jade Cargill, but she's upset with Stokely Hathaway about some recent failures. Stokely pleads his case and earns another chance from Jade.
Tony Shiavone interviews Daniel Garcia backstage. Garcia isn't scared of Wheeler Yuta and is coming for his ROH Pure Championship.
FTR talk to the camera about their upcoming ROH Tag Team Championship match against the Briscoes. They are on the run of a lifetime, but still have their naysayers.
AEW Interim World Championship::
Jon Moxley © vs. Brody King
William Regal joins commentary to keep an eye on his Blackpool Combat Club cohort, Moxley. Brody corners Moxley and cuts him down with a single chop. Moxley defiantly fires back, but is at a disadvantage in this brawl. Moxley sidesteps a head of steam to send King into the steps and then hits a Russian legsweep into the rails. Brody answers with a back body drop onto the steel ramp. Moxley dropkicks the knee and follows with a dragon screw into a Figure Four! King saves himself with a rear naked choke, so Moxley snaps back his leg. They slug it out until Brody hits a Black Hole Slam for 2. Back from commercials, Moxley fights his way off of King's shoulders and then dodges a running cannonball. Moxley rakes the back and dishes out a superplex! King breaks the Bulldog Choke, but Moxley answers with a release Dragon suplex! King hits a lariat and then a piledriver for a decent nearfall. King uses a brutal sleeper to set up a cannonball for another good nearflall. Moxley hits a Paradigm Shift out of nowhere, and repeatedly elbows the neck. King smashes out of a Bulldog Choke, but Moxley quickly reapplies the hold, turns the hips, and gets the submission at 13:15! Good match, even if there was no doubt about the outcome, ***¼.:Winner and still AEW Interim World Champion: Jon Moxley
Final Thoughts: I missed recapping Dynamite every week over these past few months, and this was a welcome return episode. There are a few tiresome angles and feuds in progress, but overall this was a breezy and productive episode. This show is a fun way to spend a summer evening.
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