AEW Dynamite - August 30, 2023
by Doc Allen
Live from the NOW Arena in Chicago, Illinois. WrestleTix estimates attendance at 3,569, which is extremely light for the Chicago market, but keep in mind that they're running the United Center on Saturday and Sunday too. CM Punk is also suspended, so that's not helping matters. Our hosts are Tony Shiavone, Excalibur, and Taz.
I watched ALL IN twice this past weekend, but wasn't able to recap it. I'll get to it someday. I greatly enjoyed the show. The MJF/Cole main event was the most invested I've been in the outcome of a match in a long time. I found myself caring more of them keeping their friendship intact more so than just who left as champion. I'd probably give it the full ***** monty.
Jon Moxley vs. Komander (with Alex Abrahantes)
Fans are singing along with "Wild Thing" despite Moxley flipping the double bird. Moxley greets Komander with a big boot. Komander responds with a high crossbody to outside. Moxley repeatedly rakes the back, gets knocked down, but dodges Komander's corkscrew press. Back from commercials, Komander mounts a comeback with a facebuster. Komander hits a leaping crossbody and cuts Moxley down for a low DDT. Komander lifts Moxley over his shoulders for a brutal lungblower. Komander's tightrope walk 450 is blocked by Mox's knees. Piledriver by Moxley only gets 2, so he fires off hammer and anvil elbows. Mox uses a rear naked sleeper and then an armbreaker to get the submission at 8:47. Glorified squash, the fans were polite, but I don't get the sense that Moxley's heel push is connecting, **.Winner: Jon Moxley
Video package hyping up Orange Cassidy's International Championship reign. He's banged up after Stadium Stampede, and has to defend the title against Penta el Zero M tonight, and against Jon Moxley at All Out on Sunday.
The Young Bucks talk to the camera in London. AEW Tag Team Champions FTR come looking for an explanation for why the Bucks wouldn't shake their hands. The Bucks seem prepared to shake hands, but they're all interrupted by a very jovial Bullet Club Gold, who feel like they should be in title contention. FTR agree to team with the Bucks against them all at All Out. That sounds like a Collision main event to me, I'm not feeling too confident about All Out drawing a decent buyrate.
Video recap of Saraya claiming the Women's Championship at ALL IN. Cut to Renee Paquette and Toni Storm to discuss the dissension amongst the Outcasts. Toni pretends to be happy for Saraya but is angry that she went off-script. Toni works herself into a tizzy and throws her shoe at Renee.
Chris Jericho comes to the ring to talk. Jericho feels good about performing in front of record crowds in London, but feels bad about losing to Will Ospreay and shoving Sammy Guevara. Jericho brings out Sammy for yet another reconciliation. Jericho might have beaten Ospreay if he'd zigged instead of zagged, or maybe if Sammy hit him harder with the bat. Sammy gets rightfully offended and suggests that Chris should have hit a harder Judas Effect. Also, maybe Sammy would have wrestled on ALL IN if he wasn't busy helping Jericho. Things get ugly as they remind one another of their numerous failures. Jericho tries to make peace by propsing they chase the tag titles again as Le Sex Gods. Sammy agrees, and all is good, for now.
The Blackpool Combat Club talk to the camera about the International title situation. Moxley says the wrestler who leaves Chicago with the gold will have the biggest bite.
New Japan Strong Openweight Championship:
Eddie Kingston © vs. Wheeler Yuta
They aggressively lock up, tempers are still high from Stadium Stampede. Yuta slaps the face so Kingston chops the chest. Yuta goes to work on Eddie's injured wrist. Back from commercials, Eddie delivers a desperation tope suicida. Eddie sacrifices his bad wrist to hit a lariat and multiple slaps. They trade KO blows and Yuta hits a German suplex for 2. Kingston blocks a frog splash and nails a Saito Suplex for 2. Yuta counters into an Olympic Slam for another nearfall. They exchange shots and Yuta unloads elbow shows to the bad arm. Kingston surprises with a Half n' Half Suplex. Kingston sacrifices his injured wrist again to hit a spinning back hand to win at 8:50. Efficient, brutal, bout that puts Eddie over nicely, ***.Winner and still New Japan Strong Openweight Champion: Eddie Kingston
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli helps Yuta to the back, never missing an opportunity to mess with Kingston.
Video recap of MJF and Adam Cole winning the ROH Tag Team Championship and then going to war for the AEW World Championship. Cut to the duo in the locker room afterwards. MJF loves Cole like a brother, but he's hot that Cole nearly broke his neck six times and has made him wrestle more in the past 3 months than he has in his entire career. MJF is taking a week off, Cole thinks he's earned it and they leave on friendly terms.
Renee Paquette tries to interview Sammy Guevara, but Don Callis interrupts to stir some sh!t. Sammy is wise to Don's games and tells him to get lost.
Adam Cole comes to the ring for Story Time. Cole thanks the fans for making ALL IN the most special night of his entire life. It wasn't perfect, it hurt to lose in the main event, but he knows he'll get another shot someday. Cole promises that MJF will be ready for All Out, despite having a banged up neck. He's interrupted by Roderick Strong (still in a neckbrace) and The Kingdom. Strong is still jealous about Cole's friendship with MJF. Mike Bennett reminisces about the time that he and Cole earned jobs in ROH together and also feels betrayed. Matt Taven rips Cole for once choosing the Bullet Club over The Kingdom so he could rake in the merch money. Cole is sorry, but they all have to accept that MJF is his best friend now. Strong declares his intent to win the Eliminator Tournament and face MJF at Grand Slam, bad neck or not, because he's a WRESTLING LEGEND! Decent soap opera segment, not sure that it helps Cole to be caught up in this drama.
Penta El Zero Miedo (with Alex Abrahantes) is going to hurt Orange Cassidy, even though they've been on friendly terms recently.
TBS Champion Kris Statlander, Hikaru Shida, and Dr. Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose, Emi Sakura, and Marina Shafir
Sakura blindsides Britt and Shida before the bell, but Shida makes her pay with a head scissors takedown. Missile dropkick by Shida, Britt tags in to pummel Sakura and hit a Sling Blade. Rose cheap shots Britt, allowing her team the advantage. Back from commercials, Statlander gets an allegedly hot tag and runs wild with a KO kick on Shafir. Statlander hits a messy Electric Chair slam. Rose and Sakura plant Kris on her face. Shida tries to help, but Britt accidentally superkicks her. Rose chokeslams Baker. Statlander cleans house and hits a dive onto a pile of women. Kris hauls Shafir in for a Tombstone Piledriver for the win at 7:22. This was a strangely random and bad match, *.Winners: Kris Stratlander, Hikaru Shida, and Britt Baker
Ruby Soho attacks Statlander from behind and poses with the TBS Championship.
Video package making Shane Taylor look like a big deal ahead of his ROH TV title match against Samoa Joe. Oh hey, it's going to happen at All Out, why not?
Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita review Kenny Omega's recent x-rays, which reveal that he's in bad shape and ripe for punishment.
New AEW Trios Champions The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn come to the ring for some kind of presentation, there's a podium and table set up in the ring. Gunn declares that Daddy @ss is back, even though he was only gone for one day. They cut a pink ribbon with Gunn's comically oversized scissors and unveil new pink Trios title belts. The straps even scissor! If they aren't selling replicas by midnight tonight, what are they even doing here? They lead the fans in a scissoring party and it looks like the House of @ss era is upon us.
Video package hyping a tag team battle royal on Rampage to determine challengers for MJF and Adam Cole's ROH Tag Team Championship at All Out.
AEW International Championship:
Orange Cassidy © vs. Penta El Zero Miedo (with Alex Abrahantes)
My beer goggles are on, so I'm probably going to overrate this. Penta plays mind games with shoves and hand signals. He stops Cassidy's hands from going into pockets and they sprint to a stalemate. Cassidy finally gets his hands into pockets and obnoxiously sends Penta outside. Penta counters a tope with a press slam onto the barricade! Back from commercials, Cassidy connects with a tope suicida, but sells an elbow injury. Penta blocks the Orange Punch with a well aimed superkick. Penta hits a perhaps glancing somersault senton, but the camera angle protected him. Penta's head scissors takedown sets up a low guillotine leg drop for 2. Cassidy counters into Stundog Millionaire and follows with a tornado DDT for 2. Penta returns fire with a backstabber for 2. Back from MORE commercials, Penta hits a Sling Blade for another nearfall. Penta captures Cassidy's bad arm for a potential armbar, but Cassidy protects it with his pocket and hits an armdrag. Cassidy hits sloth shots, more so from exhaustion rather than sarcasm, and they trade Canadian Destroyers! Penta counters with Made in Japan for a great nearfall! Fans chant "This is awesome!" Cassidy reverses into a messy Beach Break, and runs into Penta's thrust kick. They trade more thrust kicks on the apron and Penta hits Fear Factor! Penta's late cover gets a rope break. Penta snaps Cassidy's arm backwards and hits another Fear Factor, but CASSIDY KICKS OUT!!!! Cassidy sneaks a backslide pin to steal it at 16:56! Terrific main event, booked as if Penta was marching to victory until Orange survived at the last second, ****.Winner and still AEW International Champion: Orange Cassidy
Cassidy sits himself on a chair with a microphone. He doesn't like to talk, but his body hurts, he's a fighting champion, the International title means everything to him, and he'll keep defending the belt for as long as he wants. He's Freshly Squeezed Orange Cassidy and he does NOT have a catchphrase, so Jon Moxley better bring more than a fork to All Out. Moxley storms in to exchange palm thrusts and stare each other down nose to nose. Looks like this is the All Out main event.
Final Thoughts: This Dynamite had the difficult job of being a post-ALL IN show and also the go-home for All Out. This means that a lot of matches were announced on the fly, which might suggest a lot of chaos and hot-shot booking, but luckily AEW has enough lingering story threads that most of the matches came together naturally. I'm not totally sold on FTR and the Young Bucks teaming up after the Bucks disrespected FTR at ALL IN, but that's not a deal breaker or anything. I'm not sure they did enough to convince people who just paid for ALL IN on Sunday to open their wallets again just seven days later, but I guess it is what it is.
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