By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite (Episode 29)
Taped in Norcross, Georgia at One Fall Power Factory
Aired April 22, 2020 on TNT
[Hour One] Cody sat down on a seat with his logo on the back and was in front of several monitors. He spoke briefly about the TNT Title tournament entrants Sammy Guevara and Lance Archer, Kip Sabian, Darby Allin, and Dustin Rhodes. He questioned who he is. Arn Anderson chimed in and spoke about how Cody needs to be a champion.
Cody questioned where he fits in, whether he’s mid-card for life, and if he smashed the throne because he was afraid to sit in it. He spoke about the network commissioning a new title belt and said AEW critics will move the goal posts because they created another new title. He said that’s okay. Cody spoke about complacency, and also spoke about how the other entrants and will, and said now we find out who has enough of it…
Tony Schiavone and Chris Jericho checked in on commentary. They hyped Matt Hardy commenting on the Inner Circle. Jericho said Hardy is a moron. Schiavone hyped Kenny Omega returning to action, and Scorpio Sky talking about his return and his love of pro wrestling. They also hyped Orange Cassidy vs. Jimmy Havoc. Jericho complained that Cassidy has a bad attitude. Schiavone said there would be an update on MJF, who has been tweeting about an injury. Jericho praised MJF and hyped another installment of The Bubbly Bunch. Schiavone hyped Brodie Lee in action, and Jericho hyped the two TNT Title tournament matches…
Footage aired of Sammy Guevara talking about becoming the TNT Champion. He said the other seven entrants will all fall to the Spanish God… Schiavone and Jericho ran through the tale of the tape for the opening match… A brief Darby Allin video aired…
Powell’s POV: The Cody opening was slick and well done. I also liked the Guevara feature. The circumstances suck, but I like that AEW is doing more character profile pieces than they were doing before the lockdown. By the way, Jake Barnett and I swapped roles this week. I’m covering Dynamite tonight, and Jake will be covering Smackdown on Friday night.
Ring entrances for the Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara match. Jericho questioned if there’s been a bigger breakout star than Allin over the last six months. Guevara came out first. As Allin was making his entrance, Guevara performed a flip dive onto him at ringside and ran him into the barricade. Jericho said that Guevara’s attack was an Inner Circle plan that Santana and Ortiz came up with while at home. Guevara pulled a ladder out from underneath the ring and placed it over the ring and the guardrail. Guevara placed Allin onto the ladder, then went up top and splashed Allin, but the ladder didn’t break. Both men were down going into the break… [C]
1. Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara in a TNT Title tournament quarterfinal match. Coming out of the break, Guevara rolled Allin back inside the ring. Referee Aubrey Edwards called for the bell to start the match. Guevara made a quick cover, but Allin kicked out. Schiavone noted that the winner of the match would move on face Cody in the semifinals of the tournament.
Guevara set up for a superplex, but Allin blocked it and then ripped his left boot off. Allin went to work on the exposed foot briefly. Guevara rallied and performed a springboard cutter for a near fall. Jericho noted that Allin was bleeding, but he couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from. Allin caught Guevara in an ankle lock on the bare foot. Schiavone noted that Allin’s nose was bleeding. Guevara kicked and punched his way out of the hold.
Allin and Guevara got to their feet and traded forearms. Guevara threw a spinning back fist, then caught a charging Allin with a kick and covered him for a two count. Allin rolled to ringside while Guevara checked his teeth while bleeding a bit from the mouth. [C] Allin went for a suicide dive coming out of the break, but Guevara moved, causing Allin to crash hard into the barricade.
Guevara dragged Allin and then threw him back inside the ring. Guevara performed a 630 splash for a near fall. Allin came back with a cutter and then went for a springboard move, but Guevara caught him on his back and went for a GTS. Allin stuffed the GTS and applied his Last Supper hold into a pin for the win…
Darby Allin defeated Sammy Guevara in 10:50 to advance to the semifinals of the TNT Title tournament.
Powell’s POV: A highly entertaining match between two of AEW’s brightest young stars. The inadvertent blood and the spot with Allin pulling the boot off Guevara’s foot gave the match a bit of grittiness. They filled the time nicely, which isn’t easy to accomplish in the (nearly) empty venue era.
The broadcast team discussed the updated brackets showing Cody vs. Allin in a semifinal match, while Lance Archer will meet the winner of Dustin Rhodes vs. Kip Sabian…
Broken Matt Hardy checked in from the Hardy Compound in Cameron, North Carolina. Hardy recalled challenging the Inner Circle to an Elite Deletion. He said Chris Jericho didn’t say a word in response. Hardy said Jericho doesn’t know how to handle is Broken Brilliance. Hardy said some feel Broken Matt is too over the top and said maybe that’s the case for “you, the hole of the ass.”
The footage cut to regular Matt Hardy. He spoke of being great friends with the Young Bucks and Cody, and said he respects the hell out of Kenny Omega. He said it made Jericho mad when he showed up, and he figured out that if Jericho knocks out all of the pillars of the company then he can be the champion. Hardy said AEW isn’t a platform for Jericho or him. He said they are trying to do something right for the generations that will follow. Hardy said he will keep kicking every ass in the Inner Circle until he gets to Jericho…
Jericho said Hardy better shut his fat mouth or he’ll show up at the compound and shut it for him. Schiavone and Jericho hyped upcoming segments heading into a break… [C]
Powell’s POV: I liked the mix of Broken Matt and regular Matt Hardy in that promo. I guess we’re still waiting to find out whether there will be an Elite Deletion filmed at the Hardy Compound.
Taz did a voiceover in which he broke down some of Kenny Omega’s key moves…
Powell’s POV: I loved this. It was very sports-like in terms of explaining what the moves accomplish, and Taz is perfect this.
2. Kenny Omega vs. Alan Angels. An onscreen graphic noted that Angels was 0-1 in AEW and lost his first match to Lance Archer. Jericho spoke about facing Omega in Japan, then mentioned that Omega spent some time in Georgia for (WWE developmental territory) Deep South Wrestling. “And of course they didn’t use him properly and now here he is one of the greatest in the world today,” Jericho said.
Angels got some offensive and got a two count on Omega. Angels performed a nice spinning kick, then went up top for a move, but Omega moved. Angels avoided a V-Trigger and hit a series of strikes. Omega came back with a snap dragon suplex. Omega caught Angels with a V-Trigger and then made a cocky cover and counted, which only resulted in a two count. Omega powerbombed Angels and blasted him with a V-Trigger and scored the pin…
Kenny Omega defeated Alan Angels in 6:20.
Powell’s POV: While it’s admirable that Omega gave as much of the match to Angels as he did, it didn’t help his own cause in terms of coming off like a star to fans are late to the party and don’t view him as a mega star based on his New Japan work. Granted, one match isn’t going to make or break him in that regard, but it’s hard not to be underwhelmed by how Omega has come off in AEW thus far.
A Scorpio Sky feature aired. He spoke about pro wrestling always being there. He spoke briefly about his late mother and then shifted to talking about a serious back injury. Sky said a doctor told him he probably wouldn’t work anymore. Sky spoke about how his back just got better and better. Sky said he still couldn’t catch a break. He said he went to his mother’s gravesite and asked to be shown whatever direction he was supposed to go in. He said he decided that night or the next day that he was going to give it all in pro wrestling. He said he might fail, but at least he would know. He said they formed SCU in December 2017. A “to be continued” graphic appeared…
Schiavone set up footage from this week’s “Road To” episode with Dustin Rhodes telling Cody that he would retire if he couldn’t defeat Kip Sabian… An ad aired for the Being The Elite 200th episode that featured Matt Jackson vs. Nick Jackson… [C] An ad aired for AEW Double Or Nothing airing May 23 on pay-per-view (no venue was listed)…
3. Orange Cassidy (w/Chuck Taylor, Trent) vs. Jimmy Havoc. Before the match, footage was shown of the issue between the two on last week’s show that set up this match. Havoc attacked Cassidy from behind. Aubrey Edwards remained consistent in rewarding the heels for pre-match cheating by calling for the bell to start the match.
[Hour Two] Havoc took Cassidy to ringside and crotched him on the barricade in front of the heel side of wrestlers. Havoc suplexed Cassidy onto the mat, then stood him up and chopped him by the post. Havoc went for the same spot. Cassidy tried to duck the chop, but Havoc stopped and hit his back instead.
Back inside the ring, Havoc picked up a near fall. Havoc applied an armbar and pulled Cassidy’s fingers apart until Cassidy reached the ropes with his foot to break the hold. Havoc bit the hand of Cassidy and then put Cassidy’s hands in his pockets to mock him before punching him.
Cassidy kept his hands in his pockets as he came back to a dropkick. Cassidy performed a cross body block from the ropes and a DDT for a near fall. Cassidy knocked Havoc down. Penelope Ford climbed onto the apron. Taylor tried to pull Ford down, but she did the splits and laughed at him. Kip Sabian performed a flip dive onto Taylor and Trent. Ford went for a move from the top that Cassidy avoided. Cassidy rolled Havoc into a pin for the win.
Orange Cassidy defeated Jimmy Havoc in 9:05.
After the match, Havoc immediately DDT’d Cassidy. Sabian joined in on a quick beatdown before they were run off by the Best Friends duo…
Schiavone hyped an MJF injury update and Wardlow being in action after a break… [C]
Powell’s POV: I wasn’t sure what to expect from this match because Cassidy is so comedic and Havoc’s character is dark and sinister. They played this right by going light on the comedy and giving Havoc most of the offense before Cassidy beat him.
MJF checked in from outside “Max’s Rat’s House in Cape Cod.” MJF said mankind has never been through such depressing and debilitating times… because MJF hasn’t wrestled on TV. MJF said fans are craving seeing him in person and he was there to explain why he wasn’t there for them. MJF acted like he was getting choked up. He said that while gambling early in the evening, he suffered a vary serious injury – a hangnail. He said he kept gambling and the injury became life threatening. He said he will be back and he will become the world champion…
4. “Mr. Mayhem” Wardlow vs. Lee Johnson. The broadcast team gave a shoutout to everyone in the New York and New Jersey area and said they know what they’ve been going through. Jericho said that’s why they are doing this, they are trying to bring fans a little entertainment. Wardlow pressed Johnson above his head and then performed a big slam. Jericho raved about the move and said he was speechless. Wardlow continued to toss Johnson around. Johnson slipped out of a suplex attempt, but Wardlow quickly shut him down and placed him on the top rope. Wardlow pulled Johnson off the ropes and into his knee. Wardlow tossed Johnson into the air in a spinning motion and then pinned him…
Wardlow defeated Lee Johnson in 2:40.
Schiavone hyped Brodie Lee for after the break, and Jericho hyped The Bubbly Bunch and Sabian vs. Rhodes for later in the show… [C]
Powell’s POV: A dominating showcase win for Wardlow. Simple and effective.
A man was shown drinking beer and listening to a voicemail from Samantha, who dumped him. The man was watching football highlights that noted that Heisman candidate Preston Vance’s football career ended due to injury. The man, presumably Vance, looked up the Dark Order website and wrote that he had the whole world in his hands and asked for help. They cut to Brodie Lee talking to the man and thanking him for coming. Lee said Evil Uno told him a lot about the man and understood his frustration.
Lee asked Vance his height and weight. Lee said a lot of people in AEW were handed their success. Lee said a lot of people are afraid of success and questioned if he looked like he was afraid of success. Lee said he wanted to offer Vance strength in numbers. “We are the lions who feed on the prey,” Lee said before sliding a mask to Vance. Lee told the man that he is one of them, he is Dark Order…
5. Brodie Lee vs. Justin Law. Marko Stunt was shown watching the match from the babyface side of the cheering section behind the guardrail. Lee stared at Law until the bell rang and then he went to work on him. Jericho said Law’s name should be “Justin Trouble.” Lee superkicked Law. Jericho said Law was out and Lee could pin him at any point. Schiavone said Lee was making a statement. Lee performed a couple of suplexes on Law. Lee performed a discus clothesline and scored the pin.
Brodie Lee defeated Justin Law in 2:00.
After the match, Lee approached Stunt at ringside and smiled at him. Jericho said Stunt wasn’t backing down and he’s not afraid of anything, but there’s a fine line between courage and stupidity… The broadcast team hyped the remaining segments… [C]
Powell’s POV: I’m surprised they didn’t put a little distance between the Lee and Wardlow squash matches. I liked Lee’s video because he finally came off like a cult leader who can charm people or tell them what they want to hear rather than just abusing them while he does his Vince McMahon impersonation.
Schiavone narrated footage of the closing moments and post match bit from the Cassidy vs. Havoc match… An interviewer spoke with Chuck Taylor, Trent, and Orange Cassidy in the weight room. Trent said he’d like to fight Penelope Ford, but the rules don’t allow it so he will fight her boyfriend Sabian instead…
The broadcast team hyped Brodie Lee vs. Marko Stunt for next week. They also hyped Cody vs. Allin, and Archer vs. the winner of tonight’s Kip Sabian vs. Dustin Rhodes match in semifinal tournament matches…
The new Bubbly Bunch video aired with the various members checking in from their homes. Sammy Guevara was down about losing to Darby Allin. Ortiz sang the praises of the Inner Circle. Jake Hager spoke about what he would do to Jon Moxley. Jericho told Guevara that he didn’t want him to be sad. Santana suggested they do a Flim Flam video. Everyone other than Guevara was excited about it. Jericho said whoever did the best Flim Flam would win a bottle of hand sanitizer, which got Guevara excited. Music played as footage of each man doing a dance was shown. Guevara did a flip and other moves, which Santana and Ortiz enjoyed. Jericho got upset and said Guevara was trying to be a showoff. “Enjoy the hand sanitizer, Sammy,” Jericho barked. One of Jericho’s dogs was shown briefly…
A video package focused on AEW Champion Jon Moxley. A graphic questioned what Moxley would say next week on Dynamite… [C] A video package set up the main event. Sabian noted that Penelope Ford would be with him and said that he might have a trump card in his back pocket…
6. Dustin Rhodes (w/Brandi Rhodes) vs. Kip Sabian (w/Penelope Ford) in a TNT Title tournament quarterfinal match. Dasha Gonzalez was the ring announcer. Jericho said this was the biggest match of Sabian’s career. Schiavone questioned why Sabian would get involved in Jimmy Havoc’s match before the biggest match of his career. Jericho mentioned Rhodes claiming he would retire if he lost. Jericho said that the fact that Dustin even mentioned that possibility means he has doubt in his mind. Dustin offered Sabian a handshake, but Sabian blew him off. They cut to a break a few minutes into the match. [C]
Sabian went on the offensive until Dustin came back with a spinebuster. Dustin performed his kneeling uppercut and followed up with a bulldog moments later. Sabin rallied. Jericho spoke about Dustin missing the fan support in “the pandemic era.” Sabian performed a DDT from the ropes and got a near fall. Later, Ford shoved Brandi and then entered the ring. Rhodes followed and speared her and then rolled her to ringside. Dustin performed a Code Red and scored the pin…
Dustin Rhodes defeated Kip Sabian in 14:10 to advance to the semifinals of the TNT Title tournament.
Schiavone hyped the tournament semifinals and then added that Tony Khan just told him Kip Sabian and Jimmy Havoc will face Best Friends in a No DQ, no count-out match on next week’s show…
Powell’s POV: Meh. Dustin is a star and while Sabian is talented, he just hasn’t been positioned strongly enough to feel like he belongs in a Dynamite main event. So the main event needed a hook, and the Dustin retirement stipulation provided it. It was hard to believe that Dustin would actually lose and retire so I wasn’t buying into the near falls, but I still like the idea of trying to give the match a little more juice. But the spot with Ford and Brandi at the end was awkward to say the least, as Ford just entered the ring and ran the ropes, so it felt like she was only there to take the spear rather than to actually interfere while in the ring. That clunkiness was followed by Dustin just slapping the back of Sabian’s head and hitting his finisher for the win.
This was a decent show that peaked with the opening match. They had more spotlight matches than they presumably would gone with under normal circumstances, but it’s understandable given that they were working with a skeleton crew at these tapings. I will be back shortly with my same night audio review for Dot Net Members. Let me know what you thought of the show by assigning it a letter grade in our weekly post show poll available on the main page. Thanks for watching along with me and stay safe.
Once again, Chris Jericho was fantastic on commentary. I don’t know why him saying “look at him with his curly hair, there” about Kenny Omega was so funny, but it was.
The big problem with the video package of Taz analyzing Omega’s V-Trigger and Snapdragon Suplex as showing the move over and over like they do, it exposes how each move is landed and kills the suspension of disbelief.