By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@barnettjake)
AEW Wednesday Night Dynamite on TNT
Aired live on October 9, 2019 from Boston, Massachusetts at Agganis Arena
[Hour 1] The show began with the Dynamite video introduction and Jim Ross, Tony Shiavone, and Excalibur welcomed to the arena. The sold out crowd looked very good on camera. They plugged the matches advertised for the show, including Jon Moxley in action against Shawn Spears and the first match in the AEW Tag Tournament between Private Party and The Young Bucks. A video then aired that focused on the tag team tournament match, and gave brief introductions to Private Party and The Young Bucks. The Young Bucks then made their entrance, followed by Private Party. Angelico and Jack Evans were shown sitting ringside.
1. Private Party vs. The Young Bucks in an AEW Tag Team Tournament Match: The match was announced as one fall with a 20 minute time limit. A time limit draw will result in both teams being eliminated. Nick Jackson started the match with Isaiah Cassidy. Nick attempted a few superkicks early on, but Cassidy avoided them successfully. The Bucks went into double team offense right away with Matt tagging in and knocking Quen from the apron while Nick hit a backbreaker on Cassidy.
The Bucks then cut off Cassidy and made quick tags while focusing on Cassidy. Quen was knocked to the floor again, but Cassidy sent Matt to the floor and hit a kick on Nick. Quen tagged in and sent Nick to the floor. He then went coast to coast hitting cross bodies and a moonsault on both Bucks on either side of the ring. Quen then followed up with a 450 on Nick for a cover and got a near fall.
Private Party chants started, but the Bucks responded with Matt superkicking Quen and then both men hitting a superkick on Cassidy. Matt went for a sunset flip bomb on Cassidy out to the floor. He blocked it momentarily, but Matt eventually picked him up and landed a powerbomb on the entrance ramp. We then got a powerbomb and sliced bread combo in Quen for a near fall. Nick applied a sharpshooter, and Quen reached the ropes.
Matt tagged in and continued the assault on Quen. Cassidy was still motionless on the ramp. Matt sent Quen into a corner kick from Nick with a slingshot. Nick then tagged in and hit an elbow on Quen while he rested on Matt’s knees. Cassidy got back on the apron and Quen showed some life when he sent Nick Jackson out to the floor. Nick pulled Cassidy off the apron, and Matt hit a spear on Quen for a near fall.
The Bucks went for a double team suplex, but Quen escaped and hit a backflip kick. He then made a tag to Cassidy, who hit a double single leg missile dropkick from the top. Cassidy sold his back and hit both Young Bucks with a head scissors. 10 minutes remain in the match. Matt hit some locomotion Northern Lights Suplexes on Cassidy, and then hit one Northern Lights suplex on both Cassidy and Quen for a near fall.
Matt applied a Sharpshooter on Cassidy as Nick hit a huge kick on Quen out on the floor. Cassidy crawled across the ring, but Nick jumped into the ring and hit him with a facebuster. Matt pulled him back towards the center of the ring, but he was eventually able to escape. Quen made a blind tag and Nick got crotched on the ropes in the corner by Cassidy. They then hit Gin and Juice on Nick, and Quen hit a Shooting Star Press on Matt for a near fall.
Matt pulled in Quen for a Meltzer Driver attempt, but Cassidy pulled Nick off the apron. Quen then rolled up Matt Jackson and got the upset win.
Private Party defeated The Young Bucks at 13:42
After the match, Private Party headed into the crowd to celebrate as the crowd gave them a big ovation. The show then went into split screen commercial as they celebrated.
My Take: A big statement for Private Party, and a great match to boot. Everybody delivered in this match and they have a chance to make stars out of Quen and Cassidy if they go deep in the tournament and continue to deliver. I’m curious what they end up doing with Private Party as personalities, as developing strong on screen characters will be important to their long term success.
Chris Jericho made his entrance along with Santana, Ortiz, Sammy Guervara, and Jake Hager. JR couldn’t resist making an Oklahoma Sooners reference. Jericho grabbed a microphone and introduced himself to the crowd. He spoke about the success of AEW last week on TNT, and gave himself credit for it. The crowd chanted thank you, and he told them to shut up and sit down. Jericho then said they proved that they are next, and they are now last week when they beat down The Elite.
Jericho then said they are working together, and they have a name, and he was going to explain what they are about. Jericho put over Sammy Guevara as being a Spanish heartthrob, and said he was amazing and on his list. He called Santana and Ortiz nastier than they have ever been, and he recruited them personally to AEW. He called them street fighters, and back alley brutes, and that’s why they made his list.
Jericho said “Viva La Raza” and the crowd broke out into an Eddie chant. Jericho then introduced Jericho as a terrifying MMA fighter. The crowd chanted we the people, and Jericho said it sucks and it’s dead and buried. He said it was a bad idea from bad creative and all that’s gone. An AEW chant broke out. Jericho called Hager undefeated and feared and that’s a shoot. He called him the toughest wrestler in the business, and he’d take on any MMA fighter, former MMA fighter, boxer, or bum you can find.
He called them all the Inner Circle, and said they were in charge no matter what anybody else says. Jericho said he didn’t care about the Elite or that SOB Cody. He said Cody was born into a wrestling family with a silver spoon in his mouth. He called him entitled and said he didn’t like him or his family. He said Dusty was a jerk, and said Dustin was a moron and he would kick his ass later tonight.
Jericho said he would kick the shit out of Cody at Full Gear, and later tonight they would walk the streets of Boston and have a little bit of the bubbly. He reiterated that they were the inner circle, and said you’re welcome…[c]
My Take: A fiery promo from Jericho, who owned the crowd and got across very clearly who the group was and their identity. We already knew Jericho was one of the best talkers in wrestling, and he showed it here with one of the best live promos in recent memory. We’ll see how this faction develops over the weeks and months ahead, but this was a good start.
Jimmy Havoc made his entrance, and a PIP promo aired where he spoke about the pain and violence he’s encountered in his 15 year career. He spoke about Darby Allin feeling his pain tonight, and said when he wins tonight he would become the #1 Contender for Chris Jericho’s AEW Championship. And after that, everyone would feel his pain. Darby Allin then made his entrance, and footage was shown of the Cody vs. Darby match at Fyter Fest. The announce team said if he is able to hit the Coffin Drop on Jimmy Havoc, he can secure the win.
2. Darby Allin vs. Jimmy Havoc in a #1 Contenders Match: They worked some mat wrestling early on, and both got two counts off of quick pinning attempts. Havoc hit a back elbow in the corner, followed by a running dropkick. Havoc rolled to the apron, and Allin tried to suplex him back in. Havoc bit Allin’s fingers to escape, and then suplexed Allin out to the floor. Back in the ring, Havoc scored a near fall.
Havoc bent Allin’s fingers back in the ring and bit them, and the ref nearly disqualified him. He then continued to work on Allin’s fingers, and then applied a sleeper in the corner. Darby nearly escaped, but Havoc hit a sleeper suplex. Allin rolled out to the floor to regroup…[c]
Havoc landed a big elbow and covered for a near fall. He followed with a Death Valley Driver into the turnbuckle for another two count. Havoc then hit Tiger Driver ‘98 for another close near fall. He then looked for the Acid Rainmaker, but Allin bit his hand and broke free. Allin then hit a Michinoku Driver and a Coffin Drop for the win.
Darby Allin defeated Jimmy Havoc at 10:18 and will challenge Chris Jericho next week
After the match Allin celebrated and posed for the crowd on the ropes before walking up the ramp. Emi Sakura and Bea Priestley vs. Riho and Britt Baker is next…[c]
My Take: A solid match, but I think it relied too heavily on Jimmy Havoc being on offense, and the crowd wasn’t terribly energetic for it. Both men worked hard, and the crowd liked the outcome, but the dynamic of Havoc dominating the offense until the very end didn’t grab the crowd like the previous two segments.
Bea Priestley and Emi Sakura made their entrance, followed by Riho and Britt Baker.
[Hour 2] 3. Emi Sakura and Bea Priestley vs. Britt Baker and Riho: Sakura and Riho started the match, and Sakura grabbed and tossed Riho by her hair. Bea Priestley took a cheap shot from the corner while Britt Baker caused a ref distraction by her attempt at interference. Sakura applied a Romero Special and dragged her over to the heel corner. Priestley entered and went directly after Britt Baker, and they ended up in a brawl on the floor. Baker was tossed into the ring barricade. Baker regained the upper hand, and Sakura left the ring to give Priestley and assist with back rake.
Riho splashed both members of the heel team, and brought the action back in the ring. Riho hit another splash on Priestley and got a near fall. Baker tagged in, and ended up double teamed by both heels. Sakura choked Riho using the ropes over in the babyface corner, while Priestley hit a Northern Light Suplex on Baker. Riho broke free and broke up the pinfall. Riho and Priestley turned things around by isolating Priestley, and Baker hit a draping DDT from the second rope. Sakura had to break up the pinfall.
Baker and Sakura ended up in the match, and Sakura hit a cross body in the corner. She then hit a Vader Bomb into a Senton for a near fall. Baker fired back with a cutter, but Sakura was quickly back to her feet. Riho ran in and hit a double stomp, followed by Baker hitting a swinging neckbreaker for a close near fall. Riho kept Priestley occupied, and Baker applying what looked like Rings of Saturn with a Mandible Claw for a tap out victory.
Britt Baker and Riho defeated Emi Sakura and Bea Priestley at 9:23 by Submission
Priestley and Baker had a standoff and brawled bit after the match, but Riho and Baker sent her packing pretty quickly. The announce team hyped Jericho and Guevara vs. Page and Dustin Rhodes for later. We then got a video vignette for Best Friends, who hugged in a park. They were then shown with Jen Sturger at ringside. They were asked about the upset earlier tonight, and how they were feeling going into next week. They deferred the question to Orange Cassidy, who gave a thumbs up. The lights went out, and then we saw Shawn Spears sitting on a chair on the stage. He then made his entrance with Tully Blanchard…[c]
My Take: There was some very loose enforcement of the rules in the tag match, which was a bit jarring at times. Despite that, all the women worked very hard, and the match turned out pretty well. Baker and Priestley appear to be headed for a program, and we’ll have to see who ends up being the first challenger to Riho’s championship. I’ll be interested to see how AEW approaches the Japanese female talent with limited english speaking ability when it comes to building personality and programs.
Jon Moxley made his entrance. Pac joined on commentary.
4. Jon Moxley vs. Shawn Spears: Spears attacked immediately as Moxley got in the face of Tully Blanchard. They brawled to start, until Moxley hit a back elbow that sent Spears retreating out to the floor. Moxley gave chase and tossed Spears into the barricade. Blanchard tried to get involved, but Moxley walked him down. He then threw Spears back in the ring, but Spears quickly hung him on the top rope and sent him back to the floor. Tully then sent Moxley into the barricade with a shove. Pac spoke about being pinned only once in the last two years, and questioned by Jimmy Havoc and Darby Allin were getting opportunities before him. Spears hit a Death Valley Driver into the barricade out on the floor…[c]
Moxley eventually beat the count to get back in the ring, but Spears immediately went after him with punches and kicks. He then dug his boot into Moxley’s gut and sent him back out to the floor. Moxley fired back with some punches on the outside, and a few more in the ring. Spears fired back with a sit out powerbomb for a two count. He then applied a single leg crab. Moxley then hit a knee to the back that sent Moxley back to the floor. He then hit a suicide dive. Spears got cocky and taunted the crowd, and Moxley returned the favor with a dive of his own.
Moxley fired up and landed knees, punches and chops. Moxley then hit a Regal Running knee for a near fall. Pac continued to call his lack of opportunity a disgrace on commentary. Spears hit Moxley with an Ushigoroshi for another near fall. Spears taunted Moxley with his 10 fingers bit. He then attempted his Fireman’s Carry Facebreaker, but Moxley reversed into a Paradigm Shift for the win.
Jon Moxley defeated Shawn Spears at 12:07
After the match, Omega walked on stage with a bat and broom that were wrapped in barbed wire. Moxley threw the bat to Moxley, and they had a standoff. Pac ran up from behind and hit Omega with a chair to the back with the spine of the chair. Moxley looked upset and walked to the back, leaving Omega to recover…[c]
My Take: It was nice to see Moxley, who was super over with the crowd, but this was as electric a match as I was hoping. It definitely had its moments, but much like the earlier match with Havoc and Allin, it seemed to spend a bit too much time with the heel dominating the offense before being put away with a finisher. Still very enjoyable.
Dustin Rhodes made his entrance, followed by Hangman page. Sammy Guevara and Chris Jericho followed. Jericho was accompanied by Jake Hager.
5. Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara vs. Hangman Page and Dustin Rhodes: Dustin went after Jericho to start the match, and the action turned into a brawl on the floor. He sent Jericho into the post and over the barricade. Guevara jumped at Rhodes from the apron, but Dustin caught him with an uppercut. Page tagged in and both he and Dustin hit lariats on Guevara. He then hit a fallaway slam on Guevara, and hit a pescado onto Jericho on the floor. Page hit a bridging fallaway slam for a two count.
Rhodes tagged back in and they cut off Guevara in the babyface corner. They hit some double team offense, with Dustin hitting a back suplex, and Page hitting a running shooting star press. Jericho broke up the pinfall. Page slammed Guevara and went up top, but Jericho ran interference and pancaked Page on the top rope…[c]
Jericho worked over Page, and hit a knee to the back as he was draped over the second rope. Guevara then hit a knee to the head from the apron. Jericho choked Page on the rope and attempted a second knee to the back, but Page avoided it. Guevara tagged in and prevented a tag from Page with kicks. He covered for a two count, and then applied a rear chinlock. Page hit a back suplex to escape, but Jericho tagged in and cut him off before he could reach Dustin Rhodes.
Jericho went for a Lionsault, but Page got the knees up and reached for the tag. Guevara tagged in and stopped him, but Page hit a big discus lariat and tagged on Rhodes. Dustin hit another lariat and a manhattan drop. Jericho ran in and got a manhattan drop of his own. Dustin then climbed up top and splashed both Guevara and Jericho with a cross body. Guevara ended up on the floor, where Page hit him with a moonsault from the top rope. Hager then got involved and took Page out with a lariat.
In the ring, Rhodes setup Jericho for Shattered Dreams. Guevara tried to surprise Rhodes, but ate a powerslam. He did manage to distract the ref by grabbing him, which let Hager run in and take out Rhodes with a lariat. Jericho followed up with the Judas Effect Elbow for the win.
Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara defeated Dustin Rhodes and Adam Page at 13:38
After the match, the heels started to beat down Rhodes. Page got involved, and he and Jake Hager brawled down the ramp and towards backstage. Page threw a chair that bounced off Hager’s elbow and head. Jericho and Guevara continued the beat down on Dustin, until the lights went out and Cody Rhodes appear. He hit CrossRhodes on Guevara, but Santana and Ortiz came out to tip the odds back in Jericho’s favor.
MJF ran down and hit Ortiz and Santana with Chairs, but Jericho put him down with a Codebreaker. The Young Bucks ran out and took down Santana and Ortiz, but Jericho was able to escape to the outside. Cody and Dustin recovered in the ring, but Jericho got attacked by Darby Allin on the outside. He rolled down the ramp on a skateboard and took down Jericho. He then hit him with a Skateboard across the back, and Jericho was left angered. He grabbed a microphone and said The Inner Circle was taking control. He said he’d see Cody at Full Gear and Darby next week in Philly. He said it would be their funerals.
My Take: Another chaotic finish to the show, but this one was a bit better organized and paced than last week. There was enough time for fans to digest what as happening, and it allowed each moment to have a bit of time to breathe. The tag match that closed the show was good, but it was quite a bit more predictable and slower paced than the excellent match that started the show. The focus was clearly on establishing the premise for the final few minutes, so it accomplished what it set out to do. This was another very solid show from AEW. The first two segments were fantastic. I think they could afford to shave a few minutes off of matches to spend some more time developing characters, but that doesn’t appear to be the philosophy at the moment.
Has there ever been a wrestler who can do heel AND face promos as well as Chris Jericho?
Sting, maybe?