By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@barnettjake)
AEW Dynamite (Episode 66)
Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place
Aired live December 30, 2020 on TNT
[Hour One] The AEW Roster was on the stage as Jim Ross said “It’s Wednesday, you know what that means.” Ross was joined on commentary by Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Chris Jericho. There was then a 10 bell salute as a Brodie Lee graphic was displayed on the screen. Jon Huber/Brodie Lee’s wife and young children were front and center.
Jon Moxley was shown in a pre-recorded video. He spoke of the incredible outpouring of support and memories of Brodie Lee. He spoke about how Brodie liked to rile people up, but also loved to laugh and have a great time. Jon spoke about having the privilege traveling with Brodie from bingo halls to packed stadiums, and how much he enjoyed his time and learned from him along the way. He said he was always wild, and that’s what Brodie said he loved about him. Jon spoke about 2020 taking a heavy toll on everyone, and some more than others. He said tonight would be a celebration, and a reminder to never take anything for granted.
He said he was grateful for the people in his life, and that he would be especially grateful for all the years he got to spend with Brodie. He closed by saying that he loved Brodie, and that he would never forget him.
In the arena, Matt Hardy and Private Party made their entrance. They were followed by The Young Bucks. Chris Jericho joined on commentary. The Bucks wore Brodie Lee shirts. The Dark Order then entered, with Colt Cabana joining The Young Bucks. There were lots of red eyes in the ring, as you’d expect.
1. Matt Hardy and “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy vs. Colt Cabana and “The Young Bucks” Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson: Isaiah Kassidy and Colt Cabana began the match. They traded some reversals and dodges before Colt landed a big right hand. Mark Quen entered the match, and the Young Bucks entered for some trios offense. They landed a triple dropkick on Hardy, and an assisted gutbuster on Quen. Nick Jackson dove on Hardy and Private Party on the outside. That was followed by a springboard moonsault from Colt Cabana.
Hardy and Nick Jackson ended up the legal men. Hardy picked up Nick for a crucifix bomb, but Matt broke it up with a superkick. The Bucks landed a double kick on Hardy, and then chaos broke out in the ring. Kassidy and Quen entered the match and helped Matt Hardy take back control of the match, and they isolated Matt Jackson in their corner. Hardy landed some shoulder charges and a big right hand in the corner. Quen tagged in and landed a kick to the ribs.
Kassidy tagged in and landed some kicks of his own, and a back suplex for a two count. Hardy then landed an elbow from the second rope for a two count of his own. Hardy and Private Party took turns charing at Matt Jackson in the corner. Matt Jackson got a few strikes in, but Hardy landed a twist of fate. Jackson got to his feet and managed to land a twist of fate of his own, and tagged in Colt Cabana.
Cabana took out both members of Private Party with a moonsault, and landed a Flying Apple on Kassidy for a near fall. Kassidy managed to pull Cabana into a crucifix pin for a near fall of his own. Matt Hardy prevented a tag to Nick Jackson, and Private Party set up for their double team finisher on Cabana. Nick Jackson made the save with superkicks, and then tagged himself into the match. Nick had to fight off interference from Hardy on the apron, and he landed a springboard facebuster on Mark Quen.
Private Party used the numbers advantage to hit Gin and Juice on Nick. Kassidy then landed a senton atomico, and Mark Quen landed a shooting star press. Colt and Nick broke up the pin. Matt Hardy wanted to use a chair, but Quen didn’t want to win that way. Cabana hit a Chicago Skyline on Kassidy. The Bucks landed an Indie Taker on Quen, and Cabana followed up with a Superman Pin for the win.
Colt Cabana and The Young Bucks defeated Matt Hardy and Private Party at 15:31
After the match, The Acclaimed made their entrance. Max Caster was about to speak, but SCU ran out and dumped them into the ring. The Bucks and Cabana sent The Acclaimed packing up the ramp. The Announce Team announced Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy and 10 vs. Team Taz, as well as MJF, Santana, and Ortiz vs. Silver, Reynolds, and Hangman Page. Anna Jay and Tay Conto vs. Britt Baker and Penelope Ford, as next is Evil Uno, Grayson, and Archer vs. Eddie Kingston, Butcher, and Blade.
My Take: In keeping with the spirit of this show, I won’t be evaluating matches on the fly as I typically do. The Jon Moxley video was touching, and you could see the anguish he and everyone else has been going through since Brodie Lee’s death. The 10 bell salute was emotional for everyone, and seeing Brodie’s family out there made the weight of the entire proceeding evident.
Darby Allin’s tribute video played, and he expressed that Brodie was the guy he wished he could have wrestled the most. He talked about Brodie’s selfless nature and lack of ego, and how much his wisdom and mentorship meant to him. Uno and Grayson made their entrance. Lance Archer walked out with them in jeans and a dirty undershirt in tribute to Brodie’s work as Luke Harper.
Eddie Kingston walked out and addressed Brodie. He said he loved him and missed him. He then said now that the niceties are out of the way, the Dark Order is nothing without him, and they would prove it.
2. Stu Grayson, Evil Uno, and Lance Archer (w/Jake Roberts) vs. Eddie Kingston, The Butcher and The Blade (w/The Bunny): Uno kicked Eddie Kingston while the ref was checking on him at the start of the match. Archer and Grayson then suplexed Uno onto Kingston as he lay on the map. Grayson tagged in, and some interference from Allie, Butcher was able to clothesline Grayson and turn the tide of the match. Blade tagged in and landed a big powerslam. Jake Roberts got involved, which led to Grayson picking up Blade for a Brodie Lee tribute spinning side slam…[c]
Eddie Kingston and Uno got into a All Japan slap fight. Uno then landed a Half and Half suplex, and both men were down. Uno made a tag to Archer, and Blade tagged in for his team. Archer knocked Butcher off the apron, and landed a huge chokeslam on Blade. He then went for a second one, but Blade evaded him. Archer landed a big charge in the corner, followed by a rope walk moonsault. That was some incredible agility from the big man. Uno and Grayson landed an assisted STO on Blade, and Archer landed a second rope frog splash. Kingston and Butcher broke up the tag.
Kingston and Butcher sent Archer and Uno out of the ring. Kingston then landed a DDT in front of Jake Roberts, but only got two. Archer tagged back in and landed a running cross body on Blade. He then went for his finisher, but Kingston broke it up. Archer took Kingston out of the ring, and Grayson landed a DDT on the apron on Butcher. Grayson and Uno then landed the Fatality on Blade for the win.
Lance Archer, Evil Uno, and Stu Grayson defeated Eddie Kingston, The Butcher and The Blade at 9:40
After the match, Grayson, Uso and Grayson beat up Eddie Kingston. Jake Roberts then hit a short arm clothesline, a move he invented.
We got video package that involved Bryce Remsburg, Arn Anderson, and Dax Harwood speaking about how much of an amazing father and family man Brodie Lee was, and shared stories of how much he talked about his family, and didn’t let them take a backseat to wrestling in his priorities in life…[c]
My Take: The touching moments and tributes continue for Brodie Lee. It’s been an overwhelming amount of love and support online from everyone in wrestling, and that outpouring of emotion has been very evident on this show.
Hangman Page made his entrance, followed by the Dark Order. Alex Reynolds and Jon Silver will be competing with him in the next match. Page looked up and offered some words to the heavens for Brodie Lee. John Silver wore a version of Brodie Lee’s outfit that was made for him by Brodie for BTE. MJF walked out with Puerto Rican themed trunks, along with the rest of The Inner Circle. Silver and Reynolds grabbed papers out of the inside of their coats and tossed them at Santana and MJF.
3. MJF, Santana, and Ortiz (w/Wardlow) vs. Hangman Page, Alex Reynolds, and John Silver: MJF and Hangman started the match. He also threw papers at MJF. At ringside, MJF decided to talk trash at -1 (Brodie Jr). Silver looked like a farmhand in his Brodie Lee outfit, but it was just a downsized version of that gear. Reynolds tagged and landed an Ortiz pounced on him quickly, landing kicks and a jumping neckbreaker in the corner.
Santana tagged in and landed three amigos, the third of which was assisted by Ortiz. We got some quick tags by the Inner Circle team, and they cut off the ring on Reynolds. Ortiz knocked John Silver off the apron, and traded blows with Page. Reynolds used that as a way to get a tag to Page, who cleaned house on the Inner Circle. He landed a fallaway slam and a knee strike on MJF. He set up for a Buckshot Lariat, but MJF rolled to the outside. Santana and Ortiz assisted MJF in taking down Page and regaining control of the match…[c]
Hangman Page landed a boot that took down MJF. Silver tagged in and landed some lariats on all three members of The Inner Circle team, and then tossed Santana into Ortiz in the corner. He then bounced from inside to outside the ring with some impressive agility, continuing to attack each member of the inner circle team. Santana stopped the run with a cutter, but Alex Reynolds landed a double stomp on Santana a few seconds later.
[Hour Two] Silver bounced back and hit a wild Canadian Destroyer on MJF. The Inner Circle fired back with a heavy combination of a Heat Seeker from MJF, and Powerbomb from Ortiz, and a big kick from Santana. Alex Reynolds broke up the tag. Wardlow got involved and started beating down Silver, but Erick Redbeard (FKA Rowan) ran down and cleared him from the ring.
Hangman Page landed a Buckshot Lariat on Ortiz, but MJF broke up the pin. MJF then grabbed the mask off of Brodie Jr, and spit on it. Brodie Jr then hit MJF with a Kendo Stick, and Hangman splashed him on the floor. Silver then landed a discus clothesline and got the pin on Ortiz in the ring.
Hangman Page, Alex Reynolds, and John Silver defeated MJF, Santana and Ortiz at 12:42
After the match, John Silver was very emotional. Erick Redbeard walked back out with a sign that said “Goodbye for now brother, see you down the road”. He and Silver were both crying.
An Eddie Kingston video tribute was shown, where he spoke about how much he will miss Brodie Lee busting his balls, and then spoke directly to Brodie’s kids and told them how much they were loved by their father. Anna Jay and Tay Conti made their ring entrances…[c]
My Take: It was nice to see Erick Redbeard on the show, and see him get a televised opportunity to pay tribute to his longtime tag team partner. That was clearly a very emotional match for everyone involved. It was heartwarming to see how much Brodie Jr seemed to enjoy his part in the proceedings.
Penelope Ford made her entrance with Kip Sabian and Miro. Britt Baker then made her entrance with Rebel.
4. Anna Jay and Tay Conti vs. Britt Baker and Penelope Ford (w/Kip Sabian, Miro, Rebel): Anna Jay and Baker started the match. They traded some headlocks and strikes early on. Jay went for the Queenslayer sleeper, but Baker escaped and tagged out to Ford. Conti tagged in and landed a clothesline on Ford, and a splash in the corner. Conti landed some strikes and landed some Judo Throws for a two count.
Baker offered a distraction, and Ford landed a release German Suplex on Conti. Baker then tagged in and landed some knee strikes, followed by a suplex. We saw some quick tags from Baker and Ford, with the latter landing a slick facebuster out on the apron…[c]
Conti and Ford traded strikes and ended up down in the ring. Tags were made to Jay and Baker. Jay had an emotional moment in the ring in tribute to Brodie Lee. Ford tagged in and traded blows with Jay, but got caught in the Queenslayer. Eventually she tapped out, while Conti held off Baker.
Tay Conti and Anna Jay defeated Britt Baker and Penelope Ford at 10:04
After the match, Baker was interviewed by Tony Schiavone, and tried to blame all of her back luck on conspiracies. Thunder Rosa attacked her and they brawled until referees separated them.
We saw a video package from Chris Jericho where he gave his thoughts and memories about Brodie Lee’s contributions to wrestling, and his family, and his legacy. Team Taz made their ring entrances back in the building…[c]
My Take: Another emotional proceeding, especially from Anna Jay.
Orange Cassidy made his ring entrance. X from the Dark Order followed, and then Cody Rhodes.
5. “Team Taz” Brian Cage, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Ricky Starks (w/Taz, Hook) vs Cody Rhodes (w/Arn Anderson), X, and Orange Cassidy: There was some early back and forth between Cody Rhodes and Ricky Starks. Orange Cassidy tagged in and quickly got shut down by Powerhouse Hobbes…[c]
Hobbs landed a vertical suplex on Cassidy and covered for two. Starks tagged in for his team, Cassidy landed a suplex on him and made a break for a tag. X tagged in and landed Brodie Bomb on Starks. He picked him up and sent him into the ropes, but Starks rebounded with a spear. Cassidy entered the match to break up the pin, and Starks picked him up over his shoulder, but Cassidy reversed into a DDT.
Chaos reigned as Brian Cage and Cody got involved. Cage setup for the Drill Claw on Rhodes, but X broke it up. Taz and Arn Anderson had chairs in their hands. The ref went to break everything up, and Cody Rhodes fed Rick Starks into X for a big spinebuster and the win.
Cody Rhodes, X, and Orange Cassidy defeated “Team Taz” Brian Cage, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Ricky Starks at 11:35
After the match, Team Taz destroyed the babyface Trio in the ring, and the lights went out. Darby Allin’s music hit and he headed from the stage area with a Skateboard. The Lights went out again, and Sting followed from the same door Darby emerged from. Team Taz cleared out to the ramp as Darby and Sting entered the ring. The announcers teases the final tribute to Brodie Lee is next…[c]
My Take: A clean sweep for the Dark Order affiliated Teams was a fitting way for this show to go down. It’s been very evident how much everyone in AEW has been affected by Brodie’s death, and they’ve done a really excellent job of getting across Brodie’s love for wrestling and his family throughout this show.
Cody stood in the ring alone with a microphone. He fought back tears. He said he had to write a memo the other day, and he looked for a quote. He said he found one that said you can judge a man’s character by how he treats someone who can do him no good. Cody then described that we’ve all heard the stories from people all over the wrestling world of how they were positively affected by Brodie. He called Brody a beautiful man, and said he had left behind a beautiful legacy. He then introduced Negative One, Brodie Lee Jr, who walked out with his Mother Amanda and placed Brodie’s ring boots in the middle of the ring.
Tony Khan walked out and presented Brodie Lee Jr with the TNT Championship. He called Brodie Lee the greatest TNT Champion ever, and said Brodie Jr would be TNT Champion for Life. Everyone in the ring was in tears, and Tony then introduced a video AEW had put together that honored the life of Brodie Lee.
It was set to Ol’ 55 by Tom Waits. It showed video and photos from Brodie’s life in and out of wrestling. It focused heavily on his time in AEW, but also included photos from his time in WWE, independent wrestling, and family photos.
My Take: That was a wonderful tribute video to close the show, as well as a very emotional gesture in the ring from the company to Brodie Jr and the Lee family. Everyone in the company should feel proud of how they honored their friend and his loved ones.
Just brilliant – well done AEW for a fitting tribute.
Critics can say what they want about AEW and y’know, to each their own – nothing wrong with that. But this is what full-on class in this industry looks like. When tributes and outpourings of love like this really give you a sense that you wish you knew this person yourself, because oh my god how THIS just touched you – man… beautiful.