AEW Dynamite - August 17, 2022
by Doc Allen
Presented by House of the Dragon, coming soon to HBO. Live from the Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, West Virginia. Our hosts are Jim Ross, Tony Shiavone, Excalibur, and Taz.
AEW World Champion CM Punk comes out to talk, fresh from making a surprise comeback last week when he saved Jon Moxley from the Jericho Appreciation Society. His first order of business is accepting Hangman Adam Page's rematch challenge right then and there. Page no-shows, so Punk scoffs at his "coward sh!t." Punk says everyone wants to be champ until it's time to do champ sh!t. He moves on to dress Moxley down as not being a main player, in fact he's the third best guy in his own group (which is a recurring theme, ouch!). Punk mocks Moxley for not defending against his best friend, Eddie Kingston, who happens to be the third best Eddie that Punk has been in the ring with, and the second best Kingston he's shared a locker room with. Crowd is giving him all the ooh's and ahh's for these digs. Moxley isn't the first or best John that he'll have faced in Chicago either. AEW Interim World Champion Jon Moxley has heard enough and saunters out through the fans. Moxley fires back that Punk lives in a fantasy world, and the words he spits into the microphone don't mean sh!t. They exchange more personal digs and then start tearing into each other. This results in a spirited pull apart brawl.
Tony Shiavone talks to Powerhouse Hobbs backstage about his recent assault on former friend, Ricky Starks. Hobbs explains he was disgusted to hear that Starks was okay with losing, and resents the time he spent helping him remain FTW Champion. Makes sense to me.
2 / 3 Falls Match:
Daniel Garcia vs. Bryan Danielson
Ricky Steamboat is here as guest time keeper, Chris Jericho joins commentary. They tentatively lock up, Danielson scores some stiff blows. Garcia reverses a kneebar and kicks Bryan in the face. They break it up, Garcia slaps the face to send us to commercials. They return with Danielson losing his temper and pummeling Garcia into the buckles for the running dropkick. Garcia rolls through Bryan's super rana for a nearfall. Garcia suplexes Bryan into an armbar. Danielson reverses into a shoulder trap suplex for 2. Garcia answers with a back suplex on the floor. Bryan aggressively blocks a sharpshooter with boots to the head, but Garcia reverses his triangle choke into a brutal piledriver! Garcia wins the first fall with a dragon sleeper in appropriate fashion at 9:20. Bryan is almost counted out but gets to his feet only for Garcia to kick him back down. Back from commercials, we learn that Garcia managed to DDT Bryan onto exposed concrete. Bryan desperately reverses a choke into a pin predicament to win the second fall at 15:20. Garcia gets caught in a tree of woe, and Danielson serves up a dangerous German superplex! Missile dropkick by Danielson, followed by a slick tope suicida near the ringpost! They lock wrists and take turns driving one another against the post. Both guys are bloody and barely avoid the countout as we take a third break. They return with Garcia wrenching in a deep Sharpshooter (er, "Dragon Tamer"). Danielson reverses into the LeBell Lock, Garcia escapes for a palm strike to the throat. Garcia steals the running knee for 2. They lock up on their knees and throw elbows without letting go. Bryan takes over with smashing blows to the head. Garcia reverses the trapped stomps to the face. Bryan traps the arms for repeated headbutts and then stomps the face. Garcia tries another piledriver but collapses, and Danielson rakes the eyes while putting on the LeBell Lock. Garcia is out at 26:01, ending his 3 week reign as "Dragon Slayer." These guys are pretty good at this wrestling thing, ****¼.Winner: Bryan Danielson
Now that they've bleed together, Danielson offers Garcia a handshake (and possibly a home in the Blackpool Combat Club) but Chris Jericho interrupts the moment with an ambush. Garcia pulls Jericho off, which earns him a loud chant from the fans and a dark glare from his leader.
Tony Shiavone is backstage with Private Party and AEW Tag Team Champions Swerve in Our Glory. Private Party are somehow the #5 ranked team, so they want a little bit of respect. They'll meet on Rampage.
Tony Nese (with Smart Mark Sterling) is ready for action, but Jon Moxley clocks him from behind and steals some mic time. Mox is sick of waiting and wants to fight CM Punk right now. Punk arrives on cue, and we get another pull apart brawl.
Tony Shiavone talks to Chris Jericho and 2point0 backstage. Jericho thinks Daniel Garcia must have been knocked fuzzy earlier, so he wants a face to face conversation next week. Ricky Steamboat interrupts to say that Garcia doesn't need Jericho, and Danielson would make a better mentor. Jericho tells the Dragon to stay out of his business and marches off, leaving Angelo Parker behind to get slapped down by the legend.
Varsity Blonds (Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison) vs. The Gunn Club (Colten and Austin, with Papa Billy)
Both teams are on a bit of a losing streak and need a win. The Gunns get a hot start out of fear of getting chewed out by Papa Gunn. The Colt .45 finishes Garrison at 0:33.Winners: The Gunn Club
Billy Gunn takes the mic to express how proud he is of his sons. They hug it out, but Stokely Hathaway arrives. Austin and Colten then turn on their own father with a sneak attack! I would have ended the segment there, but The Acclaimed arrive to save Billy. Papa Gunn and The Acclaimed unite under the inspired battle cry of "SCISSOR ME, DADDY ASS!"
Jay Lethal and friends think FTR are scared of them. Somehow, I think they're wrong.
All-Atlantic Champion Pac is back with his Death Triangle friends, and they talk to the camera about their unfinished business with Will Ospreay of The United Empire. They are going to collide in the Six Man Championship tournament.
Jungle Boy comes to the ring to talk. He has been doing everything he can to hurt Christian over the past few weeks, Christian has been constantly ducking him, so he wants a match at All Out. Christian Cage arrives to decline the challenge and offer up a truce. JB briefly teases a reunion before unleashing a flurry of punches. Christian fights back with a throw into the barricade, but Jungle Boy turns it around and stomps Christian's arm into the steps.
TNT Champion Wardlow and ROH Tag Champs FTR talk to the camera. They are reunited as The Pinnacle and are happy to face Jay Lethal and his fellow clowns in a trios match.
KiLynn King vs. Toni Storm
King scores a quick waistlock takedown, Storm grabs a headlock. King reverses the headlock, and maneuvers into a drop toe hold. Storm hits a dropkick, but King answers with a flying knee strike. Storm goes for a guillotine choke at ringside, but King knocks her off against the rails. Back from commercials, Storm is making a timely comeback after previously reversing a superplex. King cuts her off with a strong spinebuster for 2. Storm counters into a German suplex and then pulls her tights for Sweet Cheeks Music (running hip check). Storm finishes with the Pendulum DDT at 6:49. Decent TV showcase that got devoured by commercials, **.Winner: Toni Storm
Video promo building up Trustbusters vs. Best Friends in the Trios Tournament on Rampage.
Video promo for Hook vs. Zack Clayton for the FTW title on Rampage.
Breaking news: Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk will happen next week on Dynamite instead of at All Out.
World Trios Championship Tournament:
La Facción Ingobernable (Rush, Andrade El Idolo, and Dragon Lee, with Jose the Assistant) vs. The Elite (The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, with Brandon Cutler and Don Callis)
Kenny Omega gets a babyface superstar ovation from the fans, so it actually feels like a buzzkill that he's still got Callis in his corner. Looks like Kenny is going to wrestle in a padded shirt. Lee starts against Nick and soon eats a springboard armdrag. The Bucks hit Lee with a bulldog/dropkick combo. Omega enters with an ax handle. Omega hits the Finlay Roll but slips on the follow through, so the Bucks tag in to swarm Lee. Andrade tags in and pushes Omega from behind. Jose's distraction lets Rush ambush Omega, giving LFI control heading into commercials. Back from break, Matt is rolling through a hot tag and puts Lee through rolling Northern Lights suplexes. Everyone gathers for the classic triple suplex spot, which I mark out for every time (including tonight). Nick dives onto LFI at ringside, and hauls Lee into the ring for Omega's backbreaker. Matt hits Lee with a flying elbow, but Rush breaks the cover. Rush suplexes Matt into the buckles, setting up Andrade's running knees for a great nearfall. LFI triple team Matt and stop to pose, sending us to more commercials. Back from break, Rush fakes the Bulls Horns on Matt and kicks him instead. That was a mistake, as Matt hits some timely desperation kicks and makes the hot tag to Omega. Omega serves up snap Dragons on LFI. The Bucks help out with superkicks, and combination attacks on Lee in the buckles. Lee takes a triple superkick, and the Bucks take down Andrade and Rush with dives. Lee interrupts Omega's dive, and Omega tweaks his knee blocking a backdrop. Jose trips Omega, which allows LFI to hoist him against the guard rail. Lee's dive sends them toppling into the front row! It takes LFI too long to bring Kenny back, and he kicks out of Andrade's moonsault. The Bucks break another cover, Kenny surprises Lee with a V-Trigger. Omega follows with a running V-Trigger on Lee. One Winged Angel finishes it at 20:53! This was the high-level stunt show you'd expect, with bonus emotion due to the circumstances, ****¼.Winners: The Elite
Rush turns on Dragon Lee and DDTs his mask off. Tonight is not a good night for wrestling families.
Final Thoughts: Two stellar matches and a top notch promo exchange make for a really great wrestling TV show. I can't tell if there is some sort of grand scheme behind moving up Moxley vs. Punk, or if this is TK and company frustrated that they've been losing ground in the key demos. All Out is coming up quick, and there aren't as many super obvious PPV matches being set up as usual, so I do fear that the creative process in AEW has become overly chaotic and disorganized. Still, as a standalone show, this episode rocked.
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