AEW Dynamite: September 29, 2021
by Samoa Rowe
In Memory of Jon "Brodie Lee" Huber, who would have debuted in this arena had COVID-19 not postponed AEW's Dynamite debut by 18 months.
Live from the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York. Our hosts are Jim Ross, Tony Shiavone, and Excalibur.
CM Punk comes out to his routine monster pop. He resists diving into the crowd, much to security's delight, and takes a victory lap before joining commentary.
Adam Cole vs. Jungle Boy
The fans simply enjoy themselves way too much playing along with Cole's "Boom" and "BAY-BAY" callbacks, followed by singing along to Tarzan Boy. That puts them in a good mood as Cole and JB aggressively trade holds. JB gets a takedown and lets the size of the moment distract him. JB withstands Cole's sneak attack, but JB overwhelms him with his novel moveset to force a timeout. Cole tricks JB into giving up the higher ground and slows things down with a headlock. JB mounts a brave comeback, and hits a brutal lariat. They trade stiff shots until JB nails the brainbuster. JB hits a belly to belly suplex into the buckles and immediately follows with a mean German for 2. Cole blocks a Tree of Woe, but Cole tries again and hits a basement dropkick to the face. Backstabber by Cole and then a vicious neckbreaker. JB answers with a poison rana and low clothesline for a great nearfall. Samoan Drop by JB also gets 2. Fans chant "This is awesome" as Cole superkicks JB through the ropes. Cole looks for Panama Sunrise on the floor, misses, but has the wherewithal to block JB's tope attempt. JB recovers with a step up rana from the apron! Cole counters with a superkick and Panama Sunrise, but JUNGLE BOY KICKS OUT! That is a surprising, if perhaps ill-advised, false finish. JB dodges the exposed knee and locks on the Snare Trap! Cole survives, hits a blind low blow, and finishes with the Boom Drop at 13:44! Epic first encounter that sets a strong foundation for a long rivalry, ****.Winner: Adam Cole
Adam Cole is joined by his fellow Elite members for a group in-ring promo. Karl Anderson sings everyone's praises, Adam Cole brags about his undefeated record, and Matt Jackson refuses to let Brandon Cutler talk. They hand the mic to Nakazawa, who doesn't know what to say. Kenny Omega dismisses all the buzz generated by his match against Bryan Danielson, because he couldn't get the job done, he has a 0-0 record, and he'll NEVER get a rematch. Happy Bryan Danielson interrupts with mic in hand. Everyone, it seems, wants them to have a rematch, except for Kenny "no balls" Omega. Bryan challenges anyone in the Elite to a match at Rampage, but Omega dares him to fight them now. Jurassic Express, Christian Cage, and Frankie Kazarian help Bryan clear out the ring.
Tony Shiavone tries to interview AEW Tag Team Champions Lucha Bros, but they're interrupted (as always) by Andrade El Idolo and his interpreter, who cannot help but notice that the Lucha Bros. haven't defended their AAA Tag Team titles in a long while.
Dante Martin and Matt Sydal vs. The Nightmare Family (Cody Rhodes and Lee Johnson, with Arn Anderson and Brandi Rhodes)
Well, the Rochester fans hate Cody just as much as the Queens crowd did, so I guess this is a real thing. Cody starts, but Dante forces him into the ropes. Quick tags are made, and Sydal controls the action with a snapmare into a stiff kick to the back. Lee holds his own against Martin, who shows off with outrageously high leaping counters. The match breaks down as they head to picture-in-picture. Cody misses a disaster kick from the apron, seems to tweak his knee, and Martin wipes him out with a dive. They return with Johnson escaping Sydal's headlock. Cody gets booed on his hot tag, and Martin cuts him off with a rana. Cody Disaster Kicks Sydal from the apron and kills Martin with a Vertebreaker for only 2. Sydal removes Johnson with a rana, while Martin hits Cody with a soaring missile dropkick for 2. Martin's moonsault isn't enough, and Cody backdrops him to ringside. Johnson tags himself in and superkicks Sydal. Johnson finishes Martin with an Ushigoroshi at 7:45. Good action throughout, the real drama is whether or not Cody will play along with the booing, **½.Winners: Lee Johnson and Cody Rhodes
Tony Shiavone interviews the losers, and Cody just wants Malakai Black to come out. Arn Anderson angrily lectures Cody about how Black has been hurting all of them, Cody couldn't finish the fight, so why is he dragging this on? Arn uses a harsh metaphor about putting Cody out of his misery, he won't coach a loser, so he orders Johnson to leave with him. Cody doesn't know how to react, and hangs his head while the fans give him more crap.
Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, and Darby Allin (with Sting) vs. Bear Country (Bear Bronson and Bear Boulder) and Anthony Greene
The stars are hungry for a fight and clear out the ring, leaving Darby and Greene to frantically trade holds. Kingston tags in and kills Greene with a chop. Moxley tags, but Greene flees, forcing Moxley to contend with the bigger Boulder. Power slam by Boulder sets Moxley up for Bronson's senton for 2. Bear Country look for their combination splash, but Kingston interrupts with a low dropkick and German suplex. Moxley hits a snap German, but Greene made a blind tag. Allin takes down Bear Country with a Coffin Drop, Greene looks for a springboard crossbody, but Moxley and Kingston amusingy no-sell, and finish with the Violent Crown at 3:26. Highly entertaining squash match, *½.Winners: Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, and Darby Allin
Sting hits Greene with a Scorpion Death Drop because why not?
Video promo for Ruby Soho vs. Britt Baker. Ruby has conflicting emotions from having the fans embrace her, yet come up short against Britt. Britt laughs off Ruby, and tells her to hit the back of the line.
Matt Hardy and the Hardy Family Office are in the ring to talk. Matt says he was supposed to make his debut here in Rochester, but luckily that was deleted, because this town doesn't deserve a legend like him. They're cut off by Orange Cassidy's music.
The Hardy Family Office (Matt Hardy, The Butcher and the Blade, Private Party, Jora Johl, and TH2 ) vs. Orange Cassidy and The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, John Silver, Alan Angels, Alex Reynolds, Pres10 Vance, and Colt Cabana, with -1)
Alan Angels can't stop fighting with Alex Reynolds, and it nearly costs them the match as Butcher and Blade get a quick rollup. Private Party hit Angels with a tandem bulldog for 2. Cassidy nonchalantly tags in and outmaneuvers Private Party with hands in pocket. The match breaks down into a brawl to send us to commercials. During the break, the HFO manages to isolate Grayson. Reynolds gets the hot tag, but TH2 throw him into Evil Uno. OC tags himself in and hits a falling crossbody onto Evans for 2. Reynolds and Uno's argument leads to Uno taking a hike, so the other Dark Order guys flood the ring. Anna Jay, Tay Conti, and Amanda Huber arrive and order the dissenting Dark Order guys to do the right thing. This leads to a wild series of dives outside. Silver runs wild at ringside, and Jora Johl gets eaten alive and pinned at 7:57. Cool feelgood match to give the Rochester fans some catharsis, and hopefully move the Dark Order into their next chapter, **¾.Winners: The Dark Order
Lio Rush video promo. If you thought he'd retired, I guess that was a swerve, because he's acquired some international power and influence, and it seems he's coming back to AEW.
FTR and Tully Blanchard yell at the camera. They're still mad at Darby Allin and Sting, but they've revitalized themselves, so everyone better watch out.
Dan Lambert (with Men of the Year) yells at more clouds. They think they've finished Chris Jericho for good, so Tony Khan-man had better find another way to sell snake oil. Scorpio Sky complains that despite being one of the first champions, having a great win/loss record, and winning the brass ring ladder match, he was still looked over by everyone, that is, except by Lambert. Ethan Page complains about having no action figures or posters, even though he looks like a champion. In a shocking twist, no one interrupts them.
Hikaru Shida video promo. She is looking for her 50th win in AEW. Her opponent, Serena Deeb, refuses to let this happen at her expense.
The Bunny and Penelope Ford vs. Tay Conti and Anna Jay
Jay and Anna have matching gear and are on the same page. They pull Bunny and Ford through the ropes for a quick beatdown. They cut off Bunny with quick tags and tandem offense. Ford interferes, but Conti takes her down with Judo throws. Conti misses a head of steam, leaving Anna alone to suffer a 2 on 1 attack. Cue the commercials! They return with, you guessed it, Conti's hot tag. She hits a nifty springboard crossbody. Jay and Conti hit a tandem suplex, but Ford breaks the cover. Ford hits Jay with a stunner and TKO for 2. Ford misses a moonsault, while Conti hits Bunny with a phantom Tay-KO. Meanwhile, Anna finishes Ford with the Queenslayer at 6:38 Good effort, hampered by some unfortunate botches that are coming soon to Botch-a-mania, *¾.Winners: Tay Conti and Anna Jay
Video promo for Jade Cargill vs. Nyla Rose vs. Thunder Rosa on Rampage. Sounds good to me.
MJF (with Wardlow) comes out to talk. He says despite all the new talent coming into AEW, there are homegrown young guys who will be the pillars of the company for decades to come. MJF has not only beaten them all, but he's the youngest PPV main eventer, and he should be the AEW World Champion. If he doesn't get what he wants, MJF has a friend from MLW named Bruce Pritchard, and has him on speed dial. Darby Allin interrupts, and MJF isn't amused by his school shooter mime on a skateboard routine. MJF thinks Darby is a good #2 guy, but that's it. Darby says he's AEW 4 Life, and questions how MJF can consider himself the top pillar when he's never won a championship. MJF makes fun of Darby for being straight edge, and says it's all because of a car crash caused by his drunken uncle, in which the wrong man died. Okay, Max, dial it back a bit. Darby refuses to take the bait and challenges MJF to keep talking. MJF can't handle this and takes off.
Video promo for Sammy Guevara vs. Miro. Sammy is fighting not just for the title, but for Fuego Del Sol's honor. Miro doesn't feel like he's responsible for Fuego's gambling problem, and that's totally fair.
TNT Championship:
Miro © vs. Sammy Guevara
Sammy misses a running knee strike, tries again, but Miro knocks him down. Sammy fights back to his feet, but Miro knocks him down again with a spinning elbow. Sammy clotheslines them both over the ropes. Miro misses a head of steam into the steps. Sammy tries a standing SSP, but Miro blocks and hits an overhead suplex, which means it's time for some commercials. They return with Guevara escaping a chinlock. Miro cuts him off with a release German. Miro runs into Sammy's standing Spanish Fly! Superkick by Guevara, and then a drive by knee strike. Miro blocks a pump kick, Sammy blocks another German, and nails a dive over the ring post! Miro comes back with a uranage for only 2! Miro misses a thrust kick, Sammy delivers knee lifts, and the flying cutter! Miro pops up, so Guevara tries GTH, but Miro's thrust kick gets a 2 count instead. Sammy rolls out to avoid Game Over, so Miro strips off some turnbuckle pads. Fuego Del Sol runs in and gets knocked down. Guevara knocks Miro into an exposed buckle and hits a tornado DDT! Guevara nails GTH, and then a 630 senton FOR THE WIN at 13:37! Super fun and lively main event. If Sammy Guevara is truly one of the homegrown pillars of AEW, having him end Miro's undefeated streak is a good call, ***½.Winner and new TNT Champion: Sammy Guevara
Final Thoughts: This was a refreshingly normal episode of Dynamite after a wild couple of months, and they still gave us a hot title change and a great opening match. I'm left feeling overwhelmingly and looking forward to Full Gear.
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