AEW Dynamite: August 14, 2024
by Doc Allen
Live from the Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. WrestleTix estimates attendance at 3,157. Tony Shiavone, Taz, and Excalibur are on commentary.
TBS Championship:
Mercedes Mone © (with Kamille) vs. Hikaru Shida
They lock up, Mercedes immediately annoys Shida with some taunting. They reach a stalemate after stereo dropkicks. Shida strings together some offense, hits a vertical suplex for 2. Mercedes continually dodges knee strikes and Kamille grabs her legs to block a suplex. Mercedes tries to use the ropes for a pinfall, Shida answers with a backbreaker. Kamille's distraction allows Mone to hit a Meteora from the apron. Shida survives a chinlock, so Mone hits slingshot double knees. Shida comes back with a series of strikes. Mercedes answers with a backstabber and hits another Meteora for 2. Mercedes tries the 3 Amigos, Shida counters with a Falcon Arrow, Kamille pulls Mone away. Shida smashes a kendo stick against Kamille. Mercedes grabs the kendo stick, distracting the referee while Kamille boots Shida. Moneymaker ends it at 10:28. Something wasn't quite right here, the chemistry was off and the interference was clunky, **.Winner and still TBS Champion: Mercedes Mone
Dr. Britt Baker's music hits but there's no sign of her. Kamille assumes she's disguised herself as Sting again and attacks an innocent cosplaying fan. The real Britt ambushes Mercedes and sends her scrambling.
Last week, Hangman Page attacked Jeff Jarrett. This week, Renee Paquette chats with Jarrett and his wacky group of friends. They don't get to say much before Hangman assaults them. Hangman and Lethal brawl to the ring for their scheduled match.
Hangman Adam Page vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal shakes off effects of the ambush and delivers a series of topes. Hangman answers with Deadeye on the apron. Back from commercials, Lethal fights back with knife edge chops. Considering that Hangman is the homestate hero, Lethal is doing very well swimming upstream to keep the fans with him. That doesn't mean that Hangman isn't getting supportive cheers, but the fans are not booing Lethal either. Dead Valley Driver by Hangman gets 2. Lethal comes back with quick pin attempts, and hurts himself hitting the Lethal Combination. Page survives with an eye gouge and blasts a lariat. The Buckshot finishes things at 9:31. I like the booking here, Hangman gets a dominant win, but Lethal looked strong enough to make him earn it, **¾.Winner: Hangman Adam Page
Footage from a recent RevPro event in which Will Ospreay stopped MJF from attacking his friend's girlfriend.
Pac complains to the camera about Will Ospreay leapfrogging him to challenge MJF at ALL IN. He'll face the winner at All Out.
Highlights of Darby Allin winning matches on Rampage and Collision, segwaying into a video promo. I feel like we used to get a lot of these Darby videos and they were usually chock full of creativity. This time he skateboards at night and complains about The New Elite and Jack Perry. He regrets not setting Perry on fire because no one would miss him.
Darby Allin comes out to wrestle, but Jack Perry ambushes him with a flying knee strike. He drags Darby backstage and I get flashbacks to WWF No Mercy's backstage fight scenes. Jack pins Darby under a steel door and security arrives just in time to stop him from decapitating him with a production box. Jack demands a Coffin Match for ALL IN. I like the crash TV flavor tonight.
Mariah May video promo. She hangs out by a mirror in a shadowy room. Toni's biggest mistake was being alive at the same time as Mariah. After ALL IN, people will wonder what ever happened to Toni Storm, so Mariah will have to write her a eulogy.
Renee Paquette talks to Rina Shirakawa backstage. Mina hasn't heard from either Toni or Mariah, but still loves them both. Whatever happens, she hopes neither of them get hurt.
Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O'Reilly
Winner gets the final spot in the Casino Gauntlet Match at ALL IN. Is that really a good thing? The stipulation states that the pinfall could take place before all the competitors enter, so this could massively backfire under certain circumstances. Having said that, I'll try to enjoy this for what it is. Roderick starts with a chopping spree. Kyle dumps Strong, and Cassidy helps with a comical tope. Kyle politely invites Cassidy back for some friendly grappling. Back from commercials, Strong is back in the driver's seat. Strong wraps both opponents into a double Boston Crab but loses his grip. Strong chops the life out of Cassidy, Kyle interrupts a superplex and grabs a Dragon Sleeper, and Cassidy breaks it via flying elbow! Fans chant ‘AEW!” Mark Briscoe and Tomohiro Ishii run in to stop the Undisputed Kingdom's interference. Mark does the Sabu leap off a chair. Cassidy sits on the chair to dodge Strong, but quickly takes a backbreaker onto the apron. Back from MORE commercials, Kyle breaks up Strong's cloverleaf on Cassidy. This leads to a 3-way strikefest. Cassidy busts out some sloth kicks that slowly turn into legit kicks. Cassidy hits a double rana, then spins over Strong to give Kyle a DDT. Cassidy plants Roderick for a hot nearfall! A frenzied sequence leads to Strong and Kyle hitting Total Elimination, but they both want the cover. Strong hits a Sick Kick, but O'Reilly reverses into an armbar, only to have Cassidy pull him into a Crucifix pin at 15:55! Very entertaining balls-to-the-walls spotfest, ***¾.
Winner: Orange Cassidy
Renee Paquette chats with Claudio Castagnoli and Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada, ahead of their title match in Wales. Claudio fell short in the Continental Classic tournament but is ready for the first Dynamite in Europe. Okada mocks Claudio's sincerity and wishes him luck, b*tch. Claudio hopes he gets the Rainmaker in Cardiff, not the Elite's lackey.
Renee chats with The Patriarchy backstage about their ALL IN plans. Christian Cage vows to hold every AEW title at the same time. They want to make an example out of fatherless loser, Kip Sabian. Cage doesn't like Renee's attitude and sends her away to be a bad mom.
Tony Shiavone hosts Hook in the ring. Hook has a bandaged eye but can see perfectly well anyway, and wants an FTW title shot right here, right now. FTW Champion Chris Jericho (with The Learning Tree) comes out for a rebuttal. Hook is a stupid SOB for still wanting to fight Jericho even after getting blinded by a fireball. He'll give Hook a shot at ALL IN, but Hook has to fight Big Bill next week, and it'll be his last title shot. Big Bill promises to stick Hook straight up Taz's a$$. Hook accepts, he's going to dump Big B!tch on his big head, and Jericho will neeeever, eeeeever be the same again after ALL IN. I feel like the Learning Tree stuff has become more redeemable in recent weeks, but tonight it feels like it's dragging Hook down. I hope Hook can regain the FTW title at ALL IN and move on.
AEW Tag Team Championship:
The Young Bucks © (Nicholas and Matthew Jackson) vs. The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens)
The Acclaimed blindside the Bucks on the stage. They both hit back body drops and pose with the gold. Bowens hits a dive from the stage onto both Bucks. The Bucks respond with stereo baseball slide dropkicks and slingshot planchas. Bell rings, and things settle in with Bowens vs. Matthew. Fame-asser by Bowens gets 2. Daddy A$$ arrives late for moral support. The Acclaimed hit Nicholas with a double hip toss. The Bucks' blind tag allows them to take control of Caster. Back from commercials, The Acclaimed are back in control but spend too much time showboating in order to hit Scissor Me Timbers. Gunn threatens Nicholas with a chair and gets ejected. The Bucks retake control of Caster. Matthew rips up a fan's “Dung Bucks” sign, which allows Caster an opening. Bowens gets the would-be hot tag, but eats a superkick and tandem Sliced Bread. Back from MORE commercials, the Bucks pump up their sneakers for superkicks on Caster, but Bowens counters with a double lariat. Caster gets the hot tag and is allowed to run wild. The Acclaimed block superkicks and everyone goes down for a “This is awesome!” chant. Nicholas recovers with a bulldog, but Caster blocks his Swanton Bomb! Matthew powerbombs Bowens on the ramp, preventing a tag, and allowing Nicholas to pull Caster's tights for a nearfall. Caster blocks the TK Driver, but the ref takes a bump. Low blow by Matthew, FTR run in to stop a belt shot. The referee wakes up to see FTR in the ring, and the match is called off at 18:10! They were having a good, not-great match up to that point. I don't approve of that nonfinish after extending the match through two commercials. Mild letdown, **¾.Winners via DQ: The Young Bucks
Christopher Daniels frets backstage about what just happened. He books FTR vs. The Acclaimed for Collision.
Bryan Danielson video promo. He's promised to never wrestle again if he doesn't become AEW World Champion at ALL IN. “Good Riddance” by Green Day plays while we see highlights of Danielson's AEW career. Danielson appears in the front row for the main event.
Wheeler Yuta vs. AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana)
Swerve aggressively thrashes Yuta around at the bell. He drags Yuta right over to Bryan for some trash talk. Yuta escapes an Electric Chair , but Swerve hits a package backbreaker. Another backbreaker by Swerve, he blows a kiss at Bryan. Buckle driver by Strickland, then a flying elbow to the head. Strickland puts Yuta in an unusual reverse muffler, then pretzels his legs. Yuta answers with a rana into the buckles, then a slick tope suicida. Swerve reverses a high crossbody into a LeBell lock. Yuta counters into an ankle lock, Strickland breaks free. Yuta nails hammer and anvil elbows for a nearfall. Yuta blocks the Flatliner and delivers a German suplex. Swerve no-sells some chops, so Yuta blasts a headbutt to the chin. Yuta hurt himself, so Strickland nails a House Call. Fans chant “One more time!” Swerve hits two more House Calls and smashes Yuta's face until the ref calls for the bell at 9:22! Another well booked match, Swerve gets a dominant win against a gutsy opponent, ***.Winner: Swerve Strickland
Danielson chases Swerve away from Yuta. Strickland boasts that he's proven himself to be the most dangerous man in AEW. He vows to cripple Danielson in front of his daughter at ALL IN. Bryan checks on Yuta and doesn't see Swerve return for a cheap House Call! Swerve mocks the YES chant and looks locked in as the heel at ALL IN.
Final Thoughts: This was a story-heavy show that was locked in on building to ALL IN as if the company's life depends on it. I enjoyed a lot of what I saw and am looking forward to the pay-per-view, so this Dynamite succeeded on multiple fronts. You can skip the disappointing TBS title match, which lacked the hot crowd of the remainder of the program, and have a good time.
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