By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite (Episode 141)
St. Louis, Missouri at Chaifetz Arena
Aired live June 15, 2022 on TBS
[Hour One] The Dynamite opening aired and then Jim Ross welcomed viewers to the show. Ross was joined on commentary by Excalibur and Tony Schiavone, as well as William Regal, who sat in for the opening match. Dasha was the ring announcer…
Chris Jericho made his entrance to his “Judas” theme song while the fans sang along. Ortiz made his entrance…
1. Chris Jericho (w/Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager) vs. Ortiz (w/Eddie Kingston) in a Hair vs. Hair match. Ortiz wore white and black face paint and went right at Jericho once he entered the ring. There was a barber seated at ringside.
Ortiz performed a splash from the ropes and got a two count. Jericho rolled to the floor. Ortiz ran the ropes for a dive, but Jericho hit him from ringside. Jericho suplexed Ortiz off the apron to the floor heading into a picture in picture break. [C]
Jericho got heat during the break. Ortiz tore his own shirt and fired up before chopping Jericho. Ortiz caught Jericho on the ropes and gave him a cutter for a two count. Jericho came back and got a two count of his own. Ortiz caught him in a backslide for a two count.
Ortiz went for a huracanrana, but Jericho blocked it and put him in the Walls of Jericho. Ortiz reached the ropes. Parker tried to knock his hands off the rope. Kingston ran over and went after Parker, which led to the members of the Jericho Appreciation Society ganging up him.
Santana and Wheeler Yuta ran out to help Kingston, who entered the ring and dropped Jericho with a spinning back fist while the referee was distracted. Ortiz covered Jericho for a great near fall that the live crowd counted along with.
Fuego Del Sol ended up at ringside with Jericho’s baseball bat. The referee was distracted by the brawl at ringside. Fuego entered the ring with Jericho’s bat and hit Ortiz with it. Jericho covered Ortiz for the pin.
Chris Jericho defeated Ortiz in 11:45 in a Hair vs. Hair match.
After the match, Fuego removed his mask to reveal that himself as Sammy Guevara. Jericho, Guevara, and Hager celebrated together on the ramp. A loud “Sammy sucks” chant broke out. In the ring, Ortiz took the scissors and electric razor from the barber.
As Ortiz cut and shaved his own head, Kingston held the mic up. “Blood and Guts,” Ortiz said repeatedly to promote the double cage match that will be held in two weeks…
Powell’s POV: The match played out really well, especially considering how lackluster the build to the match was. The near falls were well done and the live crowd really bought into the one that was set up by Kingston’s spinning back fist. It was pretty obvious that Guevara was in the Fuego costume, but the live crowd reacted when he removed his mask. The hair stipulation didn’t feel like it meant much when Ortiz started removing his own hair and they moved on so quickly. By the way, I mistakenly assumed earlier that Justin Roberts was the ring announcer, but Dasha is actually playing that part tonight. I corrected my earlier listing.
The People’s Court theme played during a video package on Wardlow’s issues with the security guards. Wardlow was listed as the defendant while the guards were listed as the plaintiffs…
Wardlow was shown backstage. The crowd chanted his name Goldberg style as he made his entrance. Once Wardlow was in the ring, security guards climbed onto the apron…
2. Wardlow vs. twenty security guards (w/Mark Sterling). Wardlow cleared the guards to ringside and then powerbombed one of them onto a pile on the floor. Wardlow put one guard in a submission and pinned the other with his foot at the same time. He followed up by stacking up a pile of the guards and pinned them. Wardlow kept powerbombing and pinning the security guards and until he won the match.
Wardlow defeated twenty security guards.
Afterward, Wardlow grabbed Sterling and tossed him inside the ring. Dan Lambert and Scorpio Sky stood in a luxury box. Lambert had a mic and warned Wardlow about messing with members of his team.
Lambert pointed out UFC fighters Matt Hughes and Tyron Woodley, who were seated in the front row. Lambert barked at them to go after Wardlow. The UFC duo entered the ring. Wardlow said they are hard working guys. Wardlow said they could fight, but he assumed they were all cut from the same cloth.
Woodley shoved Sterling toward Wardlow, who powerbombed him. Wardlow played to the crowd and then shook hands with Hughes and Woodley, who raised his arms. Wardlow returned the favor by raising their arms…
Powell’s POV: There was no drama. It was just Wardlow destroying the guards. Wardlow beating up security guards was successful, but it feels like it’s time for him to move on. And with the involvement of Lambert and Sky, it looks like he will be going after the TNT Title soon. By the way, this changes nothing. The smug Matt Hughes will always be a heel in my mind!
The broadcast team set up a paid ad from their daily fantasy sports partner… [C]
3. Will Ospreay vs. Dax Harwood. Both men brought out their title belts and did not bring their tag partners or allies. Ospreay tripped Harwood off the apron. Harwood sold knee pain. Ospreay dropkicked Harwood into the ring steps. [C]
Harwood went for a top rope headbutt that Ospreay avoided. The broadcast team pointed out that Harwood’s partner Cash Wheeler was the last member of FTR to go to the top rope and when he did it cost them the AEW Tag Titles. Ospreay hit a 450 splash for a two count.
Later, Ospreay set up for his OsCutter, but Harwood grabbed the back of his tights to stop him. Harwood performed a slingshot powerbomb for a near fall. A short time later, Ospreay hit the OsCutter for a near fall. Ospreay followed up with his Hidden Blade elbow to the back of Harwood’s head and pinned him…
Will Ospreay defeated Dax Harwood in 13:40.
After the match, United Empire members Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis, Great O Khan, and Aaron Henare entered the ring. Cash Wheeler, Trent Beretta, and Rocky Romero ran out to help Harwood.
Orange Cassidy’s music played and he came out to a big pop. Cassidy entered the ring and went face to face with Ospreay. FTR, Beretta, and Romero walked up and stood behind Cassidy, causing Ospreay to leave the ring…
Powell’s POV: There are a couple of ways that AEW could approach their use of Ospreay. They could put him in spotlight matches where he showcases his moveset or they could put him in highly competitive matches. They obviously chose the latter. No complaints after getting a match of that quality, but I wish they would have given us the best of both worlds by having Ospreay work a showcase match in his AEW debut before going to this match. I’m not sure why they felt the need to have him and Aussie Open lose on Rampage. Again, though, this was a very entertaining match.
A video package aired on the Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jon Moxley match for the Interim AEW World Championship match that will headline the Forbidden Door pay-per-view. It featured comments from Moxley, NJPW voice Kevin Kelly, and Tony Schiavone… Ross hyped that Tanahashi and Moxley would meet face to face after the break… [C]
Jon Moxley made his entrance to “Wild Thing” from an area opposite the actual entrance ramp. Hiroshi Tanahashi made his entrance while Ross told viewers who haven’t seen him wrestle that they have missed out.
Tanahashi entered the ring and went face to face with Moxley. A “holy shit” chant broke out. Moxley had a mic and said he’s been chasing Tanahashi for a long time. “And now finally here you are in all your glory,” Moxley said.
Moxley said his work in New Japan has always been about Tanahashi. Moxley said there are a lot of belts, titles, and tournaments, but there’s only one man they call Ace and that’s Tanahashi. “But not for long,” Moxley said. Tanahashi reached for the mic, but Moxley pulled back. The crowd chanted for Tanahashi.
Moxley said Tanahashi deserves respect and he’s an inspiration to him and others. Moxley referred to himself as the best professional wrestler on the planet. He said a lot of people are just pretending whereas he lives it night in and night out.
Moxley said there’s a lot more on the line at Forbidden Door than just the Interim AEW Championship (the belt was shown on a podium). Moxley said everything is on the line and he plays for keeps. Moxley said that when the dust settles, Tanahashi will call him Ace. Tanahashi took the mic.
Fozzy’s “Judas” played. Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Tay Conti walked onto the stage together. Jericho threatened to burn Moxley’s face with a fireball. An unimpressed Moxley held up both middle fingers. Jericho boasted about beating Tanahashi at the Tokyo Dome. Tanahashi told him to shut up.
Jericho called for the rest of the JAS to come out. As they did, Lance Archer and El Desperado attacked Moxley and Tanahashi from behind. Excalibur started talking about Suzuki-gun. Jericho stood in the ring and introduced Guevara and Conti as the newest members of JAS.
[Hour Two] Guevara and Conti made out. Jericho introduced Archer and Desperado and said they were on loan from Minoru Suzuki. Jericho announced that he will team with Suzuki and Guevara to face Wheeler Yuta, Shota Umino, and Eddie Kingston at Forbidden Door.
Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta, Santana, and a bald Ortiz ran out and helped run off most of the heels. Tanahashi performed a sling blade clothesline on Desperado. Tanahashi removed his shirt and then spoke to Moxley in the ring while “Wild Thing” played and the broadcast team hyped the Forbidden Door event…
A video package aired on Kyle O’Reilly attacking the leg of Sting. It included comments from O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, and Darby Allin. Darby said he’s going to break O’Reilly’s leg, and he would watch him do the same thing to Fish on Friday’s AEW Rampage… [C]
Powell’s POV: Has Tony Khan thrown in the towel when it comes to selling the masses on the Forbidden Door or does he think this is the most effective way to sell the show to everyone? There was too much happening in that segment. The focus really should have been dedicated exclusively to the Forbidden Door main event, but they also felt the need to revisit Jericho’s history with Tanahashi and set up a six-man tag match. There were too many people involved to really make the main event feel special to those who weren’t already excited about it. And all of this is coming from someone who is excited about Tanahashi vs. Moxley.
Toni Storm was interviewed by Schiavone in the backstage area about her match with Britt Baker. Storm said we’ve all seen the DMD, but we want to see is Toni Storm as the world champion…
4. Miro vs. Ethan Page (w/Dan Lambert) in an All Atlantic Title qualifying match. Both entrances were televised. Excalibur ran through the four-man tournament that New Japan is holding to determine their entrant in the four-way match that will determine the first champion at the pay-per-view. Miro cleared Page from the ring heading into a PIP break. [C]
Page ran Miro into the ring steps coming out of the break. Back inside the ring, Page performed a shoulder tackle from the ropes and covered Miro, who kicked out at one. Page followed up with a springboard cutter for a two count.
Miro battled back. Lambert climbed onto the apron and was punched by Miro, who then dropped Page with a kick. Miro applied his Game Over finisher and got the submission win…
Miro defeated Ethan Page in 9:25 to qualify for the four-way match to determine the first AEW All Atlantic Champion.
Powell’s POV: Is Miro a babyface now? It’s not uncommon for tournament matches to take a break from the typical babyface vs. heel approach. As much as I enjoy Miro’s heel work, the live crowds love the guy and I think he’ll do really well no matter which side of the fence he is on.
A video package aired with Dante Martin and Matt Sydal talking about Martin facing Jon Moxley on Friday’s Rampage. Martin said a new star would be born on Friday “and that star is inhuman”…
5. Toni Storm vs. Britt Baker (w/Rebel, Jamie Hayter). Both entrances were televised. There were dueling chants early on with the Storm side seeming louder. Hayter tripped Storm and pulled her to the floor while the referee was distracted by Baker. Thunder Rosa ran out and stood guard over Storm. Sonny Kiss was featured in a Celebrate Pride video. [C]
Rosa and Hayter no longer at ringside. Storm performed a running hip attack on Baker in the corner. Baker seemed shaken up for a moment and shoved off Storm when she tried to pull her out of the corner. Storm pulled her out on the second try, but Baker remained on the mat. The referee checked on Baker while Storm held off, but then Baker caught her in an inside cradle for a near fall.
Baker pulled out her glove and set up for a Lockjaw, but Storm fought her off. Storm performed a German suplex. She followed up with the Storm Zero piledriver and scored the clean pin.
Toni Storm defeated Britt Baker in 7:35.
After the match, Thunder Rosa walked onto the stage with the AEW Women’s Championship and had a long distance staredown with Storm…
Powell’s POV: Baker did a really nice job of selling that hip attack/ass slam and acting like she was legitimately injured. She fooled the crowd and had me wondering. It’s good to see AEW use some of the equity they’ve built up in Baker to elevate Storm. I am really looking forward to Rosa vs. Storm for the title.
Stokely Hathaway was interviewed by Tony Schiavone and hyped that he will debut as a commentator on Friday’s AEW Rampage. Willow Nightingale showed up. Hathaway said she would make a great Baddie. Willow said she doesn’t want t be a Baddie. She introduced herself and said she wants to take up Jade Cargill’s open challenge for a shot at the TBS Championship. Hathaway said that was crazy as hell but added that he would see her on Friday…
“Hangman” Adam Page made his entrance and delivered an in-ring promo. He recalled challenging Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. He called himself a dumbass for not realizing that Okada could lose the title, which he did to Jay White over the weekend. Page said the sentiment remains the same.
Adam Cole came out with a mic and said Page really is a dumbass. He congratulated Jay White on winning the championship. Cole said Page would not challenge for the title and if anyone should challenge White it should be him. Page said Forbidden Door is about the Undisputed Elite and Bullet Club and the best way to showcase that is by having him face White. Cole said Okada wouldn’t even be at Forbidden Door. Cole said there was someone who wanted to come out and say hello.
Jay White’s entrance music played and Cole motioned to the entrance tunnel behind him. White entered the ring behind Page and put him down with a Blade Runner. White knelt over Page and said he is the catalyst for pro wrestling and the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
White asked Page what makes him think he calls the shots. He wondered if it’s because he couldn’t beat CM Punk. White pointed out that Page lost his AEW Championship and he’s beaten Page in two previous meetings. White said that if he’s going to put his title on the line at Forbidden Door it won’t be against Page. Cole got excited.
White informed Cole that he wouldn’t be defending the title against him either. “I hold the prize, I hold the power,” White said. He boasted that it’s the Switchblade Era. White’s entrance theme played while he stood over Page and jawed at him. White left the ring and walked up to a protesting Cole. White raised his title belt while Cole looked confused… [C]
Powell’s POV: I assume we’re getting a three-way for the championship, but that’s just a guess. And that’s also assuming that heel Cole was shooting straight when he said Okada will not be appearing at Forbidden Door. If Okada does work the show, then perhaps it will be a four-way. I’m just surprised they didn’t make an official announcement since the show is just eleven days away.
Entrances for the main event took place…
Powell’s POV: Unless I’ve missed something the broadcast team said, which has been known to happen, the company has not addressed Jeff Hardy’s arrest or that he and Matt Hardy were originally advertised for this match.
6. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus (w/Christian Cage) vs. “The Young Bucks” Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson in a ladder match for the AEW Tag Titles. Jungle Boy’s mom and sister were shown in the crowd. There were tables set up around the ring.
Jungle Boy put Matt through one of the tables with a huracanrana off the apron. He went for the same move on Nick, who ended up putting Jungle Boy through the table instead. Nick ended up putting Luchasaurus on top of a table on the floor and then put him through it with a 450 splash heading into a PIP break. [C]
Two ladders were set up in the middle of the ring and all four men ended up fighting near the top of them. Jungle Boy was knocked off a ladder, and then Luchasaurus knocked the Bucks off with headbutts. The Bucks pulled him down and slammed him onto a ladder that was leaning against the ropes.
Moments later, Luchasaurus was put through a table at ringside by a top rope elbow drop from Matt. Jungle Boy performed a wicked German suplex on Nick inside the ring. Matt climbed the ladder. Jungle Boy grabbed his foot and his shoe slipped off. Jungle Boy pulled Matt down and suplexed him. Ross said there’s only so many times you can take suplexes and land on the back of your head without it catching up with you one way or another.
Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy for the IWGP U.S. Championship, and Thunder Rosa vs. Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s Championship were announced for the Forbidden Door event.
A short time later, Luchasaurus made a play for the belts that were hanging above the ring, but the Bucks tipped the ladder over and he crashed through two tables on the floor. The Bucks hit the BTE Trigger on Jungle Boy. Nick, who had a bloody nose, and Matt climbed the ladders and pulled down the titles to become new champions.
“The Young Bucks” Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson defeated Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus in 14:50 in a ladder match to win the AEW Tag Titles.
After the match, the Bucks celebrated with the titles. They headed to the back while Christian Cage checked on Luchasaurus. Meanwhile, a trainer checked on the knee of Jungle Boy inside the ring. Cage entered the ring and helped the trainer assist Jungle Boy to the ropes.
Cage grabbed Jungle Boy and put him down with a Killswitch. Cage went to ringside and grabbed two chairs. Cage returned to the ring and hit Jungle Boy with a Conchairto. Jungle Boy’s mother and sister were shown in the crowd. Cage removed his leather jacket and draped it over the face of Jungle Boy and then he held up his arms and played to the booing crowd…
Powell’s POV: This was the crazy ladder match one would expect from these teams. I will be watching that one again just to see what I missed while trying to keep up with this report. They finally pulled the trigger on the Cage turn. A case can be made for letting the tag title change breathe and saving the turn for next week, but that’s obviously not Tony Khan’s booking style. I’m actually surprised they didn’t have Cage cost his team the titles. I guess they have another direction in mind.
Overall, this was show loaded with good in-ring action. They crammed too many things in as usual, but it was still a really enjoyable show. The hype for Forbidden Door is suffering the most from all of the chaos. By the way, I am not an Orange Cassidy hater by any means, but he wouldn’t crack my top ten list of potential AEW challengers for Ospreay.
I will be back with my weekly audio review, which is available exclusively for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of Dynamite by voting in our weekly poll below.
That 5 German suplex spot was excellent. They went quickly, but didn’t rush. Dax actually maintained his grip the entire way through and Ospreay made that easy by taking the bumps in the most efficient manner possible. Two real pros pulling off a fairly difficult sequence flawlessly.
Never mind. The moment the match was done we got the bullshit express of Tony Khan’s crack and shit addled brain. Meaningless run in and then automatically defining Ospreay down as a nobody by having Captain Dipshit do a face to face standoff with him.
And then legendary Wardlow grabbed a giant rock and bowled it at the hapless security guards before saving half-sister Aphrodite (Who was being sued by Mark Sterling and wasn’t permitted to just disappear) and carrying her off to safety.
Finally on the Cage turn; I didn’t mind the wait since it got a main-event, end of show spot for it to happen. Probably something along the lines of Jungle Boy losing the match and Christian then turning on him because he decided he is not worth the investment rather than Christian causing his failure himself by interjecting against them during the match and deciding the outcome.
Since Christian is going to be a heel for a while I’d like him to bring back his “One More Match” catchphrase.
>. The hair stipulation didn’t feel like it meant much when Ortiz started removing his own hair<<
I actually looked at it as Ortiz doesn't care what he has to do in order to get his revenge and beat Jericho……….
WAs a real good show, until The Bucks had to once again book themselves over everybody else. What was once a great promising tag division is now just The Bucks and their buddies. Thought this shit was done when they sent Rhodes packing. Sorry, but the Luchas and JE’s title runs were both horribly booked trash. They literally got no airtime, while this Super Elite Kick Party Undisputed Nobody Cares crap has been all they’ve peddled. LOLOL Funny, seeing as The Bucks love to talk about how Cornette ruined ROH, not knowing how to create new stars. Geez, AEW has been gifted on after another, and these 2 silly clowns just worry about their spot and their over rated friends. But, I’m sure they did this, because it had to be done, because ole Jeff got arrested for like the millionth time. LOL Way to go, FTR is the hottest thing going, so you book them in singles matches, as you put yourself over yet again. LOL No idea why they’ve had the very same viewership for 3 years straight with no sign of it getting any better. How long till the fans get as sick of these 2 clowns, as they did with Rhodes and his wife? Time to be done with EVP’s. Tony needs to take control and hire actual bookers and writers. Unless the longterm plan is sign every guy cut by WWE, until you become a WWE roster.
The question is should someone who is not even in AEW right now come into the company, wrestle a few matches, get injured and has to be out for a while, will Christian Cage be switched back to a face due to the “lack of high profile babyfaces”?
Well for now they are trying to get some heat on Christian. After the show ended he went over to Jumgle Boy’s family and said “He’s gonna be eating his birthday cake out of a straw tomorrow, he’s a piece of shit. You raised a piece of shit”.
I’ll watch AEW just to see Christian in this mode; I guess he is going to fill the void for MJF’s abscence for a while with the smart-ass, edgy motif.
Very suprised it hasnt got leaked but kenny omega was backstage, as he usually is, but was telling people close to him he is ready to return. So jay whites surprise will actually be Kenny Omega