By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@barnettjake)
AEW Dynamite (Episode 51)
Live from Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place
Aired September 23, 2020 on TNT
[Hour One] A graphic was shown commemorating Road Warrior Animal. Then the normal Dynamite intro was played. In the arena, JR introduced himself, and he was joined by Tony Schiavone and Excalibur. Kip Sabian made his entrance with Penelope Ford. She had a microphone, and handed it to Sabian once they got in the ring. Kip said it was the moment everyone was waiting for, it was time for the in ring debut of the most handsome man ever. Sabian said he wasn’t just his best man, or a best man, he was THE Best Man, Miro.
Miro made his ring entrance, followed by Sonny Kiss and Joey Janela. We got a picture in picture promo where Joey Janela warned Sabian about attempting to marry Ford, and said it was a mistake waiting to happen. He then said he and Sonny were on the expressway to victory.
1. Miro and Kip Sabian (w/Penelope Ford) vs. Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss: Sabian and Kiss started the match, and Sonny got the early advantage with a head scissors and a back handspring slap. Janela then tagged in, and Miro initially refused a tag. Janela and Kiss kept the offense going on Sabian briefly, but Miro put a stop to that with a side slam that forced Janel to retreat to the floor.
Sabian then started to isolate Sonny Kiss in his corner, and made a tag to Miro. He entered and landed a series of overhead throws on Kiss, which Janela reacted to by looking shocked at his power. Miro continued to land strikes, and brough Sabian in for a splash and a soccer kick for a near fall. Sonny fought his way to the corner for a tag, but Miro had the ref distracted and Aubrey didn’t see it. Miro then tagged in and choked Kiss on the ropes and then tagged in Sabian.
Kiss made a comeback and backflipped into the corner for a tag to Janela, who ran in and took a shot at Miro in the corner. Miro entered and got low bridged to the outside, and appeared to roll his ankle on the way out. Miro recovered slightly and gave Sabian an assist over the railing into Janela, but he was intercepted with a punch. Janela and Kiss tried to capitalize on Sabian in the ring, but Miro sent Kiss to the floor and landed a big kick to Janela.
Sabian landed a lung blower on Kiss, and Miro made a cover, but Janela broke it up. Miro then chucked Janela to the floor, and landed a jumping side kick to Kiss. He then applied a Camel Clutch to Kiss and got the submission victory. JR called it the Accolade, but quickly had to correct himself.
Kip Sabian and Miro defeated Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss at 11:08
After the match, Eddie Kingston walked out to the ring and passed Miro and Sabian. He asked the camera crew to leave the hard camera on him. He said it was him and Moxley tonight for the AEW title. Eddie said he was never eliminated from the Casino Battle Royal, and 18 years in the business says he deserves this shot. He said he and Moxley used to be cut from the same cloth, but Moxley decided to go to the land of Sports Entertainers, while he stayed with the fighters and the outlaws.
Kingston said before they went to war, he wanted to look in Moxley’s eyes. Moxley answered immediately and walked out to get in Kingston’s face. Referees kept a brawl from breaking out…[c]
My Take: A sloppy match at points, but they successfully got over the idea that Miro is a powerhouse. I can’t say anybody else came out of it looking particularly good. The Kingston segment was a nice primer for their match later. Short and sweet.
Brodie Lee vs. Orange Cassidy was advertised for later. Shida and Thunder Rosa will face Ivelisse and Diamante, and the main event is Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston. Up next is Hangman Page vs. Evil Uno. Kenny Omega made an entrance to join on commentary. Excalibur said this was supposed to be a tag match between Omega and Page vs. Uno and Grayson, but Omega declined the match. Evil Uno made his entrance with a number of Dark Order members, and was followed by Hangman Page.
2. Evil Uno vs. Hangman Page: Uno landed a big shoulder tackle early, but Hangman quickly shut him down with a big boot. Page pancaked Uno, and then delivered a deadlift suplex bridge for a two count. They traded chops, and then Uno got back on offense with a back suplex. Page got back into the match with a clothesline on the apron that sent Uno to the floor, and a springboard splash onto Uno on the outside. Uno used the referee get an advantage on Page, and then landed a neckbreaker…[c]
While the action was picture in picture, Hangman had the upper hand, but as the show returned Uno was backing off the Dark Order. Hangman capitalized on the momentary recovery by slamming Uno down on the ring apron. He then landed a big boot. Uno replied with a big boot of his own, and then landed a senton atomico from the top rope for a close near fall. Hangman fired back with a clothesline, and then got a running start for a second one.
Page then went for a running shooting star press, but Uno got his knees up. Page then tossed Uno off the ropes and landed a powerbomb for a near fall. He then landed a buckshot lariat for the win.
Hangman Page defeated Evil Uno at 10:46
After the match, Kenny Omega left commentary and they cut to earlier in the day where Tony Schiavone interviewed the Young Bucks. Matt Jackson said they were out of line when they superkicked Alex Marvez and the ref. He said the Young Bucks have gone through a lot lately, including opportunities for titles and friendships. Tony said FTR was responsible for all of this, and asked some questions about how Matt felt about it.
Matt tried to deflect the question, and then asked to see Tony’s phone, which he quickly smashed on a door frame. He then gave a half assed apology and threw some cash at Tony to get an upgrade before he walked away….[c]
My Take: A solid match between Page and Uno. Much more enjoyable than the opening Tag Match. Kenny Omega was all over the place on commentary, not committing to any particular character traits. Matt Jackson was far more interesting, making it clear he was hiding his anger until Tony dared ask him a question that picked at the scabs over FTR.
Orange Cassidy made his ring entrance for his TNT Title opportunity. He was followed by Brodie Lee and several Dark Order members. Justin Roberts made ring introductions.
3. Brodie Lee vs. Orange Cassidy for the TNT Championship: We got lazy kicks to start, which Brodie Lee did not sell and gave Orange a big uppercut. Cassidy landed a kick that sent Lee to the floor. Cassidy tried to splash the entire Dark Order, but Lee got out of the way and the Dark Order members caught him. Lee then splashed Cassidy while the Dark Order held onto him. Back in the ring, Lee covered Cassidy for a two count. He then landed a big chop that sent Cassidy back down to the mat. He then rolled to the outside, where he was beat down by the Dark Order while Lee distracted the ref.
Lee landed a senton and made another cover for a near fall. They then repeated the bit where Lee sent Cassidy to the floor for a beating from the Dark Order members. Cassidy went for a swinging DDT in the ring, but it was reversed into a bossman slam by Lee…[c]
Lee continued to dominate the offense during the break, and catapulted his neck into the ropes when the show returned. He followed up with two half and half suplexes. Lee setup for a discus clothesline, but Cassidy avoided it repeatedly by just sitting down. Lee tried to kick Cassidy while he was down, and got rolled up for a two count. Lee then lunged at Cassidy, but he avoided it and sent Lee to the outside. Cassidy landed suicide diving elbows to the outside. He then had to dodge the other members of the Dark Order.
Cassidy landed the Orange Punch and avoided a belt shot, and then landed a stunner and a diving DDT. Cassidy kipped out and landed a running PK, but didn’t make a cover. He landed another one, and Lee sprung to his feet. Cassidy then landed a DDT and an Air Raid Crash for a close near fall. Cassidy set up for the Orange Punch, but John Silver jumped in and took it instead of Brodie Lee.
Lee then landed a discus clothesline and got the win.
Brodie Lee defeated Orange Cassidy at 11:45 to retain the TNT Championship
[Hour Two] After the match, the lights went out, and a red glow came over the lights and screen. It ended up being a very elaborate entrance for Cody Rhodes, who returned with Dark Hair and a black suit. Cody laid out the Dark Order members with strikes and a Cody Cutter, and then wrapped the leg of Alan Angels around the post. He then applied a Figure Four and looked intensely at the crowd.
My Take: Cody Noir has returned, and the crowd was into it. The elaborate entrance is always good for a laugh from me, because it’s an order of magnitude more production value than anyone else in the company. I liked the Cassidy and Lee match, but it was dragged down by the weight of the constant interference. Hopefully we see Cassidy remain involved in major storylines, because he’s built a fanbase for himself.
After the show returned, Brodie Lee broke into the backstage area and called Cody a coward. He asked what kind of man sends other people to do his dirty work? He asked if he saw what he had done to Dustin, or what Anna had done to Brandi? Lee then asked why Cody’s wife posts instagram thirst traps and calls him Daddy? He then held up a dog collar, and said he would put it around Cody’s neck and cover up that god forsaken tattoo. He then gave Cody a week to answer his challenge and be a man.
Matt Hardy and Private Party made their entrances. Matt Hardy said he was attacked from behind last week, and said he had several conversations backstage about who had attacked him. He said it was very convenient that he was attacked by someone wearing a face covering and was hit with a piece of metal like a bat, and then Hager and Jericho walked on the scene a moment later.
Hardy the complemented Private Party on their match with Jericho last week, and insulted Jericho for putting the Walls of Jericho on Kassidy after the match. He called Jericho his prime suspect, and then fumbled over some words trying to say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The Inner Circle sans Sammy Guevara made their entrance. Jericho gave Matt a half assed Happy Birthday, and asked who gives a shit.
Jericho said that Guevara wasn’t there because of what Matt Hardy did to him, and nobody knows when he’s coming back. Jericho said he lied, and Sammy walked out into the stage. Jericho denied hitting Matt with the bat, because he’s the million viewer man. He said if he was going to take him out with a bat, he would do it to his face so he could see him enjoy it. Jericho said he could hit him with a bat right now if he wanted to. Matt got fired up and wanted to answer the challenge, but Marq Quen told him to take all the time he needs to get cleared.
Quen said he was cleared, and he took out Jericho last week for ambushing his bro. Kassidy then grabbed the mic and issued Jericho a challenge for next week. Kassidy said no one expects him to win, but what if a young 23 year old kid from Brooklyn beats Chris Jericho. In fact, next week he would make Chris Jericho his Le Champion Bitch. Jericho looked insulted.and said off mic that he was on…[c]
My Take: Private Party is very much a work in progress on the microphone. They didn’t project confidence with their speaking voice, and it will take time and experience to gain it. Hardy seemed to break through his ceiling on the microphone with his broken character, but this was not one of his best efforts. Jericho and Kassidy is a risky match for next week. I think they can deliver, but 2020 Jericho hasn’t really shown himself to be guy who can cover for the flaws of inexperienced talent like he once could.
Tully and FTR are in the ring with Tony Schiavone. Tully said you have to be creative in order to get the best Tag Team in the world time on TV every week. He proposed reducing the 60 minute time limits for their TV matches to 20 minutes, and Dax called it a 20 minute brush with greatness. They said their first opponents will be SCU, and if they don’t win in 20 minutes, then FTR are considered the winners. Dax said everyone wants to know who will challenge them after SCU, and mentioned Best Friends, but said the only thing they’ve won is a backyard match.
Best Friends came out, and said they were banged up, but they wanted to do their 20 minute challenge right now. Dax accepted, and a referee walked out to start the match. Cash grabbed a microphone and said they can’t do this right now, because it would be fair to Best Friends to fight them at less than 100%. Chuck said you can say what you want about Santana and Ortiz, but at least they didn’t run from a fight. He called FTR weenies and gave Trent a hug to show FTR how it’s done.
Video was shown of Shida making a save for Thunder Rosa last week. Ivelisse and Diamante made their ring entrances, followed by Rosa and Shida. Diamante and Ivelisse assaulted them before the bell, and sent Rosa into the barricade on the outside. They then assaulted Shida in the ring, but she shook them off. Rosa and Shida turned the tables and sent Ivelisse into the barricade on the floor, followed by double team knee strike on Diamante.
4. Thunder Rosa and Hikaru Shida vs. Ivelisse and Diamante: The bell never rang, but the ref started counting pinfalls, so I guess we’re started. Rosa worked over Diamante briefly, but was quickly overtaken and backed into the heel corner. Ivelisse tagged in and landed a series of strikes and slam into a pinfall for a two count…[c]
The heels remained in control during the break. Shida tagged in and looked to turn the tide, but Rosa hit her with an inadvertent knee strike. Rosa and Shida recovered, and Rosa sent Ivelisse to the floor. Shida landed a Falcon Arrow on Diamante, but Ivelisse managed to break up the pin. Rosa took Ivelisse to the outside again, and Shida landed a running knee strike on Diamante for the win.
Thunder Rosa and Hikaru Shida defeated Ivelisse and Diamante at 7:35
After the match, Chris Jericho said Kassidy wouldn’t be celebrating any upsets next week, and the only shots he’d feel would come from his right and left fists. MJF walked up and took turns blowing each other, until they had an argument over their parting “loser” comments. They both had excuses for it, and insisted they were talking about other people. They eventually circled back around to calling each other alright before he walked off. Jericho vs Kassidy, Starks vs. Darby Allin, and a Moxley appearance were announced for next week. Moxley vs. Kingston is next…[c]
My Take: MJF and Jericho are very entertaining together. Their promos are always sharp when they work off of each other. The women’s tag match was really lacking in chemistry. They just seemed to go from spot to spot without any real drama. FTR and Tully had a bit of swing and a miss tonight on the mic, and Chuck didn’t help matters with his weenie nonsense.
Eddie Kingston made his entrance, followed by Jon Moxley.
5. Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston for the AEW Championship: They started with a tie up, which didn’t make much sense considering all the trash talk and intensity earlier. We then got a test of strength and a hammer lock, and then the slaps started. Kingston had a large bruise on his left shoulder as the match began. They had a big chop fight, but Kingston shut it down with an enzuigiri. On the outside, the match spilled into the timekeepers area, where Kingston upended the table onto Moxley…[c]
They brawled around the ring during the break, and Eddie applied a headlock once they got back in the ring. Moxley fought to his feet, but Kingston quickly chopped him down. Kingston landed a big boot, but Moxley shook it off and cut him down with a lariat. He then landed a running knee that sent Kingston to the floor. Moxley followed with a suicide dive, and then landed a suplex on the floor.
Moxley climbed the turnbuckle, but had to bail out when Kingston got to his feet. Moxley then landed a piledriver, but Kingston got his foot on the ropes. Moxley mounted Kingston in the corner for punches, but it was reversed into a powerbomb for a near fall. Moxley sold his lower back as they had yet another chop fight. Moxley landed a German, but Kingston landed a backdrop driver in response for a near fall.
More chops in the corner from Kingston. He went for a spinning backfist, but Moxley blocked it and jumped on Kingston’s back. He took him to the ground and then locked in a bulldog choke for the pass out victory.
Jox Moxley defeated Eddie Kingston at 11:17 to retain the AEW Championship.
After the match, Penta and Fenix ran down and put a beating on Moxley. Will Hobbs and Darby Allin came down to make the save, but Ricky Starks ended up tilting the odds in favor of the heels. Starks landed a spear and the Rochambeau on Allin. Eddie Kingston talked trash and landed more punches on Moxley. The heels stood tall to close the show.
My Take: I don’t think anyone can say the outcome of this match was ever in question, but it was a good performance from both men. Kingston passed out rather quickly from the submission, but that was likely due to having a lot to do in a short period of time with the post match chaos. This was a thumbs slightly up edition of Dynamite. The performances were a bit of a mixed bag, but it had star power and moved along at a good pace even if everything didn’t click.
“A sloppy match at points, but they successfully got over the idea that Miro is a powerhouse. I can’t say anybody else came out of it looking particularly good.”
Well, Sabian, Kiss, and Janela are low level indy garbage so that’s not too surprising. Miro shouldn’t be in tag matches with three losers that take more than 10 minutes to win. They’ve already devalued him and he’s barely even started.
“FTR and Tully had a bit of swing and a miss tonight on the mic, and Chuck didn’t help matters with his weenie nonsense.”
Fuck Taylor doesn’t belong on TV unless he’s getting squashed.