home | wrestling | flashback_reviews | aew

AEW Dynamite
October 14, 2020

by Samoa Rowe

From Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Our hosts are Jim Ross, Tony Shiavone, and Excalibur.

AEW Tag Team Championship:
FTR © (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler, with Tully Blanchard) vs. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent)

J.R. does well bringing up both teams' strong winning records. Hot start for Best Friends and they hit a double shoulder block. Trent and Harwood trade strong shots. Wheeler's tag interrupts a sunset flip, and FTR swarm Trent to take control. Trent takes a prolonged beating, including a tandem flapjack into the ropes. Some fans chant “You're a weenie” as Harwood delivers a super back suplex. Trent blocks Wheeler's overly telegraphed Vader bomb and Chuck storms in on a hot tag. Taylor hits FTR with a running somersault senton. Falcon Arrow by Chuck gets 2 on Harwood. Tully interferes but Taylor escapes a double team situation. Best Friends hit Wheeler with the Sole Food/Exploder combo and Trent's running knee gets a good nearfall. FTR hit Trent with a tandem powerbomb for 2. Back suplex by Harwood, but Trent blocks a superplex. Trent reverses another superplex attempt into a cutter. Wheeler helps with a tornado DDT, but Trent returns the favor. Harwood's spike DDT gets 2 on Trent. Best Friends hit their double stomp/piledriver combo but Wheeler saves the match. Wheeler puts Chuck down with a brainbuster on the floor. Trent dropkicks Wheeler into the stands, but misses a head of steam and crashes into Kip Sabian's arcade machine! Sabian is inconsolable and Ford rushes to the back. Meanwhile, Best Friends block the Good Night Express. Wheeler clocks Chuck with a title belt and Harwood rolls him up to win at 16:32. This was a mighty fine match that really needed a hot crowd for the false finishes and stunts down the stretch, ***.
Winners and still AEW Tag Team Champions: FTR

As expected, Miro and Sabian run in to beat up Best Friends as payback for the wrecked arcade machine. It's amusing that Best Friends are entering yet another feud based around property damage.

Miro and Kip Sabian (with Penelope Ford) vs. Sean Maluta and Lee Johnson

Miro aggressively pummels Maluta and throws him into the barricade. Miro cheap shots Johnson off the apron and throws him into the stage. Sabian tags and hits a flying body press. Miro returns and finishes Maluta with Game Over at 1:55. This squash was exactly what it needed to be.
Winners: Miro and Kip Sabian

Sabian clutches the control pad from his wrecked arcade and shouts that Best Friends have gone too far. Miro says that the Good Friends broke his sh!t, so now it's game over for them.

Backstage, Lance Archer is beating the crap out of Jon Moxley.
reluctantly gets his man to back off.

MJF (with Wardlow) comes to the ring to make his groundbreaking announcement. He takes some time to brag that he's accomplished more in the past year than all the fans have in their meaningless lives. MJF invites Chris Jericho to the ring to hear his announcement, and Le Champion arrives with the Inner Circle in tow. MJF mocks Sammy Guevara for refusing to wear his gift jacket, and Jericho orders him to put it on. Sammy complies and the punchline is that the jacket is way too big for him. MJF gushes over Jericho's physique and hair, and Jericho lets him touch the hair. Jericho wants MJF to “cut the sh!t” and get to his announcement already. MJF tries to make an Animal Planet analogy, to which Jericho angrily states “I hate Animal Planet.” MJF says that's odd and specific, but at least it's outside the Turner umbrella. MJF has a hard time bringing himself to say that he wants to join the Inner Circle. Santana grabs the mic and says MJF is jerking Jericho's chain and is not wanted in the group. Jericho proposes that next week, he and MJF go ONE ON ONE... in a steak dinner! MJF accepts, and their dinner date is on. This was pretty weird, but it did make me chuckle.

Dr. Britt Baker and Tony Shiavone are at the spa together, and Shiavone hilariously holds a mic over from his table to interview her. Reba runs in with the Role Model chart so she can declare herself to be the baddest b!tch on the block. She then realizes that Tony is naked under his towel and flips out. This leads to Britt waxing Tony's chest. Later, they get their feet treated together, and Britt reveals that she fixed Tony's teeth after the Young Bucks superkicked him, and demands some gratitude. This entire segment was amazing.

TNT Championship:
Cody © (with Brandi Rhodes and Arn Anderson) vs. Orange Cassidy

Cody's hair is once again bleached blond, so we can all rest easy at night. I guess the logic of OC getting another title shot after losing to Brodie Lee is that Cody is willing to take on all challengers. Bell rings and Cody intensely circles the ring while Cassidy seems to go into a trance. OC lazily ducks under a clothesline. Cody looks for a Greco-Roman knuckle lock, but OC puts hands in pockets. The sunglasses are removed and NOW Cassidy is willing to lock up. OC mockingly pats Cody's chest in a clean break. OC puts hands in pockets to slip out of Cody's waistlock. Side headlock takedown by Cody, who appears visibly annoyed by OC's antics. OC uses some technical wrestling skills to break free but Cody hits a front face slam, just in time for a commercial break. They return with Cassidy superkicking Cody to ringside and hitting a tope suicida. The Dark Order are lurking in the crowd, and John Silver steals the TNT title and considers attacking Brandi, but Cassidy stops him. The ref ejects Dark Order, and OC forcefully hands the TNT title to Arn. Back to the ring, Cassidy blocks Cross Rhodes and hits his Sliced Bread, but Cody fires back with the springboard cutter. Cassidy throws rapid palm strikes but Cody cuts him down with a dropkick to the legs. Cody wraps OC's knee around the ring post while Darby Allin watches on from the stands. Disaster Kick gets 2. Cody smells blood and briefly applies a half crab to OC's bad leg. Cody prepares a double underhook move, but OC nonchalantly crawls away. Cody hits a reverse superplex onto the bad knee but Cassidy kicks out! Desperation leaping DDT by Cassidy gets 2. Cody kicks out of a Michinoku Driver. Cody applies the Figure Four and rolls through OC's reversal attempts. Cassidy gets the ropes and hits the Beach Break onto the ring frame. With a minute remaining, they block finishers and Cassidy hits a swinging DDT and Beach Break, but CODY KICKS OUT! OC's knee gives out on a Superman Punch, but he pulls Cody into a pinning predicament as the time expires at 20:00! Really strong stuff here, as Cody remained a babyface while still showing frustration and annoyance at Cassidy, and OC continues to evolve into a dangerous competitor when motivated, ***½.
No Contest

Alex Marvez interviews Lance Archer and Jake Roberts about their attack on Moxley, but the champion busts in for some payback. Referees restore order.

Tony Shiavone interviews Matt Hardy, accompanied by his wife and kids, in the crowd. Matt announces that he's 100% cleared to return to the ring. They're interrupted by footage on the video wall of Sammy Guevara burning photos of Matt. Sammy reveals that he was the one who attacked Hardy, ("It was me all along") and he vows to send Hardy to the hospital for good.

Tony Shiavone hosts the entire tag team division for a random drawing. They are pulling names to set up a 4-way match next week, and I have to admit I'm pretty confused about what's going on. Private Party, Silver and Reynolds, Butcher and Blade, and Young Bucks are chosen. I don't know why AEW has to do segments like this when they usually let their ranking system sort things out. Young Bucks come to the ring and tease another superkick on Tony before attacking the competition. FTR retreat to the stage to watch the Young Bucks take everyone else down.

AEW Women's Championship:
Hikaru Shida © vs. Big Swole

J.R. notes that Shida hasn't lost a match in 238 days. AEW awesomely protects their champions. Swole traps the arm, but Shida hits a shoulder block. Swole's headlock is countered so she rolls into a Sunset Flip. They butt heads and attempt stereo kip ups, but Shida slips. Shida fires herself up and hits a running knee, but Swole kicks her into the camera to send us to commercial. Back from break, Swole hits a tight headbutt, but then slips when attempting a sunset flip bomb. Swole saves face with a cutter on the stage and a second cutter in the ring gets 2. Shida answers with a straightjacket German suplex. Running knee by Shida and Falcon Arrow also gets 2. Dirty Dancing by Swole but Shida gets a rope break. Pair of running knees by Shida finishes it at 8:55. Rough outing with momentum-halting botches before and after the commercial, *¾.
Winner and still AEW Women's Champion: Hikaru Shida

Nyla Rose gives Shida a death stare from the front row.

Eddie Kingston and Lucha Bros. crash commentary for the main event.

Shawn Spears video package. He denies that he's stalking Scorpio Sky, but admits that he's angry at Sky for stealing a moment from him, apparently when he helped out Matt Sydal on Late Night Dynamite. Spears is still struggling to find himself in AEW.

AEW World Championship (No DQ's):
Jon Moxley © vs. Lance Archer (with Jake Roberts)

Moxley storms in and hits the Paradigm Shift for a nearfall at the 5 second mark. Moxley follows with a tope suicida. Archer takes control of a ringside brawl. Moxley fires back but Archer hits a POUNCE! Cannonball senton off the apron by Archer! Back from commercial, Archer prepares to chokeslam Moxley through some tables, but gets blocked. Moxley avoids another chokeslam and hits a German suplex while Eddie buries him on commentary. Moxley throws a chair into Archer's face like it's 1999. Archer counters with a chokeslam onto a pair of standing chairs for a great nearfall. Moxley avoids getting Pillman-ized and applies an ankle lock, but Jake pulls his man to safety. Archer counters a dive with a trash can. Moxley desperately hits a low blow and puts himself and Archer through the tables with a Paradigm Shift! Back to the ring, Moxley hits a vertical suplex and locks on the Bulldog Choke. Archer escapes and hits the Blackout, but Moxley reverses the pin to win at 12:50! Good garbage brawl, Moxley looks lucky to get out alive, ***¼.
Winner and still AEW World Champion: Jon Moxley

Archer attempts a beatdown, but the Lucha Bros. clear them out, as they seem to want to hurt Mox themselves. Eddie calls them off, and helps Moxley to his feet. Eddie says he's so proud of Moxley and leads a disingenuous celebration, which of course leads to him knocking him down for a Rear Naked Choke. Eddie rants about Moxley taking opportunities from him to close the show. If my eyes don't deceive me, it looks like we're getting Moxley vs. Kingston at Full Gear!

Final Thoughts: This was the first Dynamite I can ever remember where I felt like they gave away matches that would have been better served for the next PPV. As it stands, they only have a few weeks left to establish a card for Full Gear, which looks like it's going to be carried by Moxley/Kingston, likely tournament finals of Omega/Page, and Cody/Allin. It's hard to say at this point if Full Gear is the destination for Jericho/MJF or FTR/Young Bucks. There are enough simmering story threads up and down the roster that I'm sure they can pull it together, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about the booking losing some focus lately.

back to AEW Index