By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite (Episode 50)
Taped last week in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place
Aired September 16, 2020 on TNT
[Hour One] The Dynamite opening aired… Jim Ross, Excalibur, and Tony Schiavone were on commentary…
Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus, and Marko Stunt were in the ring for the opening match. “The Young Bucks” Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson walked to the ring and superkicked referee Mike Posey.
The Bucks left the ring and cameras followed them as they went backstage. They crossed paths with AEW President Tony Khan, who was at the Gorilla position. Nick asked if Khan wanted to fine them, then Matt tossed him a stack of money. The Bucks also crossed paths with FTR and Tully Blanchard, who mocked them by asking if they were okay. FTR made their entrance…
1. AEW Tag Champions “FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler (w/Tully Blanchard) vs. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus (w/Marko Stunt) in a non-title match. Paul Turner replaced Posey as the referee for the match. Jungle Boy performed a logic defying double huracanrana on both FTR members.
Wheeler recovered quickly and tied him up in a bow and arrow stretch. FTR isolated Jungle Boy. Luchasaurus took the hot ta and worked over both opponents with chops, kicks, and a double clothesline. Luchasaurus picked up Wheeler and tossed him at Harwood. Luchasaurus followed up with a standing moonsault on Harwood for a near fall.
Luchasaurus went for a move in the corner on Wheeler, but Harwood pulled his partner out of the way. Jungle Boy made a blind tag. Luchasaurus hit both FTR members with kicks, then Jungle Boy caught Harwood with a shot to the back of the head and got a near fall. Jungle Boy picked up another near fall, then Harwood cut him off and tagged out.
Wheeler went for a powerslam, but Jungle Boy countered into a pin for another near fall. Jungle Boy delivered a big knee to the head of Wheeler, who stumbled into his corner to tag out. Jungle Boy caught Harwood in a couple of pinning situations for two more near falls. Jungle Boy performed a cross body block, but Harwood rolled through and held the tights for a two count.
Jungle Boy rolled Harwood over and went for the pin, but Wheeler broke it up. Harwood knocked Luchasaurus out of the ring and survived being rolled up by Jungle Boy for another two count. Jungle Boy caught Harwood in an inside cradle.
Luchasaurus went for a dive on Wheeler at ringside, but Wheeler moved and Luchasaurus crashed into a pile of spectator wrestlers. In the ring, Jungle Boy performed a sunset flip on Harwood and had him pinned, but Wheeler pulled his partner on top of Jungle Boy and held him there while the shielded referee made the three count…
“FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler defeated Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus in 12:10 in a non-title match.
Powell’s POV: This was the best FTR match on Dynamite thus far. It played to the strengths of both teams. FTR do a great job of isolating one opponent, Jungle Boy sells well, and Luchasaurus has the crowd pleasing hot tag fire. With all the near falls that made their opponents look good and the heel tag team tricks, this was closer to the FTR we saw in NXT, which is a good thing.
The broadcast team hyped the previously advertised matches…
Backstage, Alex Marvez stood in front of a fallen Matt Hardy, who was being tended to by Private Party and a trainer. Isaiah Kassidy told Marvez that he didn’t know what happened. Chris Jericho and Jake Hager showed up and mocked Hardy, telling him that he should put a lot of ice on his injured knee. Jericho told Private Party that they would see them later… [C]
2. “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Frankie Kazarian. Kenny Omega sat in on commentary. Omega expressed concern for Hardy, then reiterated that he’s not interested in teaming with Page to go after the tag titles again. They cut to a picture-in-picture break a few minutes into the match. [C]
Later, Page showed a bit of frustration over failing to put Kazarian away. Omega said Page was running out of offense. Kazarian performed a nice cutter for a near fall. Page caught Kazarian going for a move and turned it into a powerbomb for a near fall.
Page fought from the apron while Kazarian was inside the ring. Page avoided a leaping leg drop, then performed a Buckshot Lariat and scored the clean pin. Omega dismissed himself from the broadcast table and headed backstage without acknowledging Page…
“Hangman” Adam Page defeated Frankie Kazarian in 13:40.
Powell’s POV: A strong match. The fans who grumble about AEW being too high spot oriented should have no complaints about the first two matches. Omega was intentionally odd on commentary when it came to Page, who looked disappointed that Omega didn’t stick around afterward.
A brief video hyped the Parking Lot Fight for the main event… MJF and Wardlow made their entrance while the show cut to a PIP break… [C] An ad aired for “Late Night Dynamite” on Tuesday following TNT’s NBA playoff coverage…
3. MJF (w/Wardlow) vs. Shawn Dean. MJF shook Dean’s hand. When the referee turned to call for the bell, MJF poked Dean in the eyes, then applied the Fujiwara armbar for the submission win…
MJF defeated Shawn Dean in 0:10.
After the match, MJF took the mic and delivered a promo in the ring. He said he’s an honest man, whereas Jon Moxley cheated during their match. MJF said he should be undefeated and be the AEW Champion. MJF insisted that he be referred to as undefeated, undisputed, and uncrowned champion of AEW.
MJF ordered ring announcer Justin Roberts to deliver his new monicker. When Roberts didn’t do it to his liking, MJF threatened to send Wardlow to ringside. Roberts repeated it with gusto.
MJF said it seems like you have to be part of a stable or a faction to get ahead in AEW. He said he’s always considered himself a lone wolf, but maybe it’s time that he join a wolf pack. MJF closed by saying he’s better than you and you know it…
A video aired with Taz breaking down a couple of Ricky Starks’ signature moves. Taz said Starks will destroy and dismantle Darby Allin…
Eddie Kingston stood in the ring with Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix, and had The Butcher and The Blade at ringside. Kingston pointed out that he was not eliminated from the Casino Battle Royale. Kingston said his crew are a family.
Kingston gave Butcher and Blade a signal, then they pulled a couple of spectator wrestlers over the barricade and threw them into the ring. Butcher, Blade, Pentagon, and Fenix roughed up the spectator wrestlers while Kingston spoke on the mic. Kingston told Blade it was time for him to get his house in order… [C]
Powell’s POV: The broadcast team acted uncertain by what Kingston meant, but he asked Blade where his wife was last time. In other words, I assume his comment in the end was in reference to Allie.
Ring entrances for the next tag match took place. The broadcast team hyped Jon Moxley and Lance Archer will meet in a six-man tag match next week. Schiavone said they would choose their partners before the end of the night…
4. Chris Jericho and Jake Hager vs. “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy. Hager and Quen started the match. Ross spoke about Hager’s athletic career at Oklahoma University.
[Hour Two] Private Party got out to the quick start and performed stereo suicide dives onto their opponents on opposite sides of the ring. Excalibur assumed that Jericho was behind the attack on Matt Hardy, but Ross said he might be jumping the gun.
Kassidy had Jericho down and was setting up for a springboard move when Hager hit him from behind with the baseball bat that Jericho brings to the ring. The show cut to a PIP break. [C]
Private Party cleared Hager from the ring and then worked over Jericho with a couple of double team moves that resulted in a two count for Kassidy, who continued to sell the bat shot. Hager returned and accidentally ran into Jericho.
There was a contrived spot with Hager lifting Kassidy into the air so that he could perform a huracanrana on Jericho. Kassidy was slow to make the cover due to the back injury. Kassidy fired up and hit a cutter on Jericho, but he sold back pain again and slowly made his way to the top rope. Kassidy went for a Swanton, but Jericho rolled out of the way. Jericho hit the Judas Effect elbow and then pinned Kassidy.
Chris Jericho and Jake Hager defeated “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy in 13:00.
After the match, Jericho put Kassidy in the Walls of Jericho. Quen returned to break it up and put Jericho down with a Pele Kick. Hager pulled Jericho out of the ring…
Powell’s POV: An entertaining tag match with Jericho and Hager making Private Party look strong before getting the win. I wonder if the post match Pele Kick will lead to a Jericho vs. Quen match or if Jericho and Hager are moving on to other teams? Either way, it still seems strange to me that Jericho and Hager are after the tag titles when the Inner Circle has a tag team in Santana and Ortiz. There’s been no sign of friction yet and it’s unclear whether that’s the point of this.
The broadcast team hyped the main event, then looked ahead to next week six-man tag match with teams captained by Jon Moxley and Lance Archer. They also hyped their AEW Championship match for the October 14 edition of Dynamite…
5. Thunder Rosa vs. Ivelisse (w/Diamante) for the NWA Women’s Championship. Ivelisse and Diamante brought their AEW Deadly Draw tag tournament medals to the ring with them. AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida was shown watching intently in the spectator wrestler section. Ross put over Ivelisse as being dangerous and said she has the ability to be anyone on any given night.
Ivelisse leapt from the middle rope and performed a huracanrana. Rosa sat up, smiled, and licked her lips. Rosa stood up and dropkicked Ivelisse and then delivered a big kick in the corner. Ivelisse escaped a hold and then blasted Rosa with a knee strike. Rosa rolled to ringside. Ivelisse kicked her from the apron heading into a PIP break. [C]
Ivelisse controlled the bulk of the action during the break. Rosa caught her going for a kick and performed a dragon screw leg whip. Schiavone hyped Late Night Dynamite with Scorpio Sky vs. Ben Carter, Brandi Rhodes vs. Anna Jay, and Matt Sydal vs. Shawn Spears, and Chris Jericho on commentary for Tuesday.
Ivelisse caught Iveillise in a submission hold, but Ivelisse reached the ropes to break it. Ivelisse came back with a forearm shot, but Rosa caught her on the ropes and put her down with a Death Valley Driver that led to a two count. Ivelisse came back with a kick and got a two count of her own. Moments later, Rosa caught Ivelisse going for a move and performed a Tombstone piledriver for the win.
Thunder Rosa defeated Ivelisse in 9:35 to retain the NWA Women’s Championship.
After the match, Shida was shown applauding from the spectator wrestler section. Diamante hit the ring and attacked Rosa from behind and dumped her to the floor. Shida ran in and cleared both heels from the ring. Shida picked up the NWA Women’s Title belt and looked at it, then put it over the shoulder of Rosa before leaving the ring and heading backstage…
Powell’s POV: Given the way Shida looked at the title belt, it looks like they are building to a rematch for the NWA Women’s Championship rather than the AEW Women’s Championship this time around. It’s great that AEW and the NWA are working together enough that Rosa has been able to make multiple appearances. I’d love to see that relationship lead to NWA Champion Nick Aldis being booked for AEW appearances too.
The broadcast team recapped Miro being revealed last week as the best man for Kip Sabian’s wedding. They cut to footage of Miro working out while Sabian spoke about how much weight “we’re” lifting. Miro got fired up about entering the ring. Sabian reminded him about his best man commitments. Miro said he would provide the best bachelor party ever… [C]
Powell’s POV: That’s two weeks in a row where poor Penelope Ford has had to stand in the background without saying a word.
Lance Archer made his entrance. Archer pulled a masked wrestler over the barricade and roughed him up quickly. Jake Roberts joined Archer inside the ring. Roberts asked if you would exchange your pleasure for some pain, then said he thinks they are the same.
Roberts said that in politics you find yourself in bed with strange bedfellows. He said they find themselves in that position now. Roberts said they need two tag partners. He said that if he’s going to lay in bed with the devil, it might as well be a Tasmanian Devil. Roberts invited Taz to come out.
Taz said that he and his men were happy to do business with Archer. Taz hyped up Archer, Brian Cage, and Ricky Starks as a dangerous trio. Taz said the deal is that once Archer wins the AEW Championship, Archer has to give Brian Cage the first shot at the title.
Archer said that Taz and his boys are enemies of his enemies, which makes them friendly. Archer said AEW would have a killer new champion once he puts Moxley down on October 14. Archer said The Monster and The Machine are going to go Godzilla on AEW.
AEW Champion Jon Moxley made his entrance from the side of the venue. Moxley was about to deliver a promo when he was attacked from behind by Brian Cage and Ricky Starks. A security guard tried to help, but Cage and Starks took him out and then doubled up on Moxley.
Will Hobbs ran into the picture and chased Cage and Starks away with a chair. Moxley stood up and told Roberts that he came up with a hell of a team. Moxley introduced Hobbs as “Oakland’s Most Violent” and then noted that they need a third man. Moxley looked into the camera and told Darby Allin to get his ass to Jacksonville next week. “We are going to war,” Moxley said…
Powell’s POV: A strong segment. I like the way they incorporated new signee Hobbs into this program. The six-man tag looks really fun on paper, and I continue to enjoy the respect factor that exists between the Moxley and Allin characters.
The broadcast team hyped Moxley, Hobbs, and Allin vs. Archer, Cage, and Starks, Brodie Lee vs. Orange Cassidy for the TNT Championship, Hikaru Shida and Thunder Rosa vs. Ivelisse and Diamante, and Chris Jericho appearing for next Wednesday. Ross hyped the main event for after the break… [C]
6. “Best Friends” Chuck Taylor and Trent vs. Santana and Ortiz in a Parking Lot Fight. Justin Roberts introduced the teams in the parking lot were a bunch of cars formed a circle. Several spectator wrestlers stood between the cars. Santana and Ortiz showed up wearing face paint and the brawl began.
Trent placed Ortiz under the hood of a car and then slammed it down on him repeatedly. Taylor performed a senton from the top of the car onto the hood with Ortiz underneath. Trent followed up with a sit-out senton onto the hood. Ouch.
Later, Ortiz hit Trent with a baton to the ribs. Trent bounced back and speared Ortiz through a door board that was leaned up against one of the cars. Ortiz came up bleeding from his left shoulder.
Taylor suplexed Ortiz onto a barricade that was propped up on one of the cars. A short time later, Ortiz powerbombed Trent on top of a car. Santana and Ortiz picked up Trent and performed a double powerbomb that sent him crashing through the windshield.
Santana and Ortiz had taken control when Santana set up to hit Taylor with a baseball bat. Orange Cassidy emerged from one of the car trunks. Cassidy threw an Orange Punch (Superman Punch) with a chain wrapped around his fist to take out Santana.
Cassidy handed off Santana to Taylor, who performed a piledriver on a car hood. Trent performed a piledriver of his own on Ortiz that put him through a board in the back of a truck bed.
“Best Friends” Chuck Taylor and Trent defeated Santana and Ortiz in 12:45 in a Parking Lot Fight.
Cassidy helped a bloody Trent to his feet. Trent and Chuck hugged while Excalibur spoke about how Trent and Chuck fought for the honor of Trent’s mom Sue. The trio of babyfaces climbed into the back of Sue’s minivan. Sue held up her middle finger before they drove away…
Powell’s POV: Great, after seeing all that vehicle damage, now I have that damn “Kars For Kids” theme song stuck in my head. Anyway, this was a good fight. They didn’t get cutesy with anything during the actual brawl. They kept it gritty and fought. It was odd that Cassidy had to bail out the babyfaces, but Nord the Barbarian would still approve (see below).
Overall, this was a strong edition of Dynamite. The matches were entertaining and they did a good job of setting up next week’s big six-man tag team match. Let me know what you thought of the show by assigning it a letter grade in our weekly post Dynamite poll available on the main page. I will return shortly with my same night audio review for Dot Net Members.
I really enjoyed this show, up until the main event which would have been an enjoyable brawl at one third of the length. That Miro has been put with Kip Sabian continues to boggle my mind.
Maybe the best show, top to bottom, that AEW has put on. Fuck Taylor is still garbage that doesn’t belong on TV, much less in an angle built around someone’s mom’s SUV getting destroyed, but everything up to that point was fairly logical and well executed.