By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite (Episode 166)
Indianapolis, Indiana at Indiana Farmers Coliseum
Aired live November 30, 2022 on TBS
[Hour One] The Dynamite opening aired and then pyro shot off on the stage. Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Taz checked in on commentary. Justin Roberts was the ring announcer…
Jon Moxley made his entrance through the crowd. A “Moxley” chant broke out once he was inside the ring. Moxley said he grew up roughly 90 miles from Indianapolis and used to wrestle there all the time. He said that was a long time ago and it’s been a crazy ass ride. He said you never know what’s around the corner.
Moxley said there are three certainties in life – death, taxes, and Jon Moxley. He said no one would out wrestle him or out hustle him. Moxley said nothing has changed, he’s still at the top of the food chain. Moxley said he says and does what he wants, and the ring belongs to him. Moxley said there’s no a man within a hundred miles who has the balls to come out and tell him any different.
“Hangman” Adam Page made his entrance. Excalibur said Page was in Indianapolis to meet with doctors and had not been cleared to the best of his knowledge. Page entered the ring and went face to face with Moxley. “Are you sure you want to do this, man, after what happened last time,” Moxley asked. “Oh, I’m sorry, do you not remember…”
Page punched Moxley. They ended up at ringside and brawled briefly until referees and security guards intervened. Moxley broke free and dove at Page, who fired back with punches. Moxley stood on the steps and dropped down. Page broke free and traded more punches with Moxley.
The referees and security guards brought Page to the stage. Moxley broke free and went after him, but he slipped on the edge of the entrance ramp and fell. Moxley got up and went after Page, and then they were both pulled into separate entrance chutes…
Powell’s POV: Obviously, Page has been medically cleared and that’s great to see. I really like the idea of going back to Moxley vs. Page for both wrestlers. Page’s return was a nice surprise and the pull apart brawl was well done. Hopefully Moxley didn’t do any damage when he slipped on the ramp.
Excalibur hyped upcoming segments and then Dax Harwood made his entrance for the opening match. Cash Wheeler came out with his FTR partner and then headed to the back. Excalibur said they had a newsworthy edition of Rampage on Friday with FTR beating Top Flight to retain the ROH Tag Team Titles, which was followed by Harwood challenging Bryan Danielson to a singles match. Danielson made his entrance…
1. Bryan Danielson vs. Dax Harwood. A “this is awesome” chant started before the wrestlers locked up. Excalibur announced that the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal will take place on next week’s Dynamite. Danielson dumped Harwood to ringside and then performed a suicide dive heading into a picture-in-picture break. [C]
Harwood performed a nice piledriver for a near fall. A short time later, Danielson crotched Harwood on the ropes and then climbed up behind him and threw elbows at him. Danielson stood on the top rope and went for a back suplex, but Harwood turned around and landed on Danielson, who then rolled through when they hit the mat and got a near fall.
Later, Danielson connected with a kick and then covered Harwood for a two count. Harwood came back with a slingshot Liger Bomb for a near fall. Harwood applied a Sharpshooter, which Danielson broke by reaching the bottom rope. They went back and forth rolling over pin attempts and then Danielson applied the LeBell Lock and got the submission win…
Bryan Danielson defeated Dax Harwood in 14:45.
After the match, Harwood teased blowing off Danielson’s handshake offer, then turned around and shook his hand and hugged him…
Powell’s POV: This match looked great on paper and lived up to those expectations. You know what would have made this even better? An good storyline build beyond Harwood’s character simply wanting to challenge himself. I know match junkies don’t care, but I believe the masses do. That being said, the show is off to a really good start with the Moxley and Page angle followed by this match. On a side note, I like the cosmetic touch of adding AEW signs on the wall behind the fans on the main floor opposite the hard camera.
Ricky Starks was interviewed by Tony Schiavone in the background area. Starks announced that he would enter the Dynamite Diamond battle royal. Starks said he’s coming for everything that MJF has… [C]
Hangman Page was being led through a backstage area by security when Jon Moxley popped up and hit him. A bunch of security guards and referees pulled them apart. The broadcast team assumed that security would remove both men from the building…
Renee Paquette conducted an interview from a soundstage in Nashville. She sat between Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, Matt Menard, and Angelo Parker and the duo of Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta. Paquette noted that both sides agreed to no physicality. Hager tossed Castagnoli a hat like his that he can wear once he has to join the Jericho Appreciation Society. Castagnoli stood up and said he’s sick of sit-down interviews and all of it and stormed off. Garcia said he would team with Hager to face Castagnoli and Yuta. Yuta agreed to the match, but said Garcia needed to put the ROH Pure Rules Title on the line at ROH Final Battle. Garcia agreed…
Entrances for the TNT Title match took place…
2. Samoa Joe vs. AR Fox for the TNT Championship. The broadcast team noted that Fox got the title match due to Joe issuing an open challenge. Joe was in offensive control heading into a PIP break. [C] Excalibur announced that Paquette will interview Saraya on Friday’s AEW Rampage. Fox performed a 450 splash on Joe for a near fall. Joe came back with a back elbow. Joe placed Fox on the top rope and then put him away with a Muscle Buster…
Samoa Joe defeated AR Fox in 8:10 to retain the TNT Championship.
After the match, Joe took the mic and boasted that he is the one true king of television. Wardlow appeared on the big screen and mocked Joe for the slogan and said it’s almost as lame as the WarJo name that he accused him of coming up with. Wardlow said he hopes Joe is enjoying himself while playing the role, because he’s coming for what’s his. Wardlow said it’s not Joe’s world, it’s Wardlow’s world…
Powell’s POV: I liked the idea of blaming the heel for the awful WarJo name that AEW was way too proud of. But then Wardlow used the corny “Warlow’s world” line again.You know what would have made this match better? If viewers had been properly introduced to Fox’s character and given some reason to root for him.
Footage aired of Powerhouse Hobbs walking the streets of Oakland. He said he’d been bullied and beaten up, but it only made him tougher. A group of men who were gambling all showed fear when Hobbs walked by them. Hobbs entered a store and the first part of the video closed… A brief Hook video package aired…
William Regal made his entrance. Excalibur called Regal a coward for showing up after he knew Moxley had been removed from the building. Regal entered the ring where there was a podium with something covered up.
AEW World Champion MJF was introduced by Regal. MJF made his entrance and hugged Regal once he entered the ring. MJF said he knows the fans aren’t very bright and told them to keep their hillbilly mouths shut.
MJF read an email that Regal sent to him that concluded with Regal telling him not to use the diamond ring and encouraging him to use the brass knuckles. MJF said he’s come to respect The Firm. He said they sensed weakness in him and attacked, and he would have done the same thing.
MJF recalled saying out with the old and in with the new. He said the title belt made him wanted to gag. He said the belt is tacky and lacks class, and reminds him of the men who held it previously. MJF said they were all talented in their own right, but none of them are on his level. MJF removed the title belt and called it garbage, just like all the fans.
MJF had Regal remove the covered belt that was on the podium. The leather had MJF’s Burberry scarf design. MJF called it the Triple B – The Big Burberry Belt. MJF said no one one deserves to hold the title except him. He called Eddie Kingston a fake tough guy. An “Eddie” chant broke out. MJF said the fans could chant his name all they want, Kingston will never be champion.
MFJ called Ricky Starks a fake tough guy. MJF called Bryan Danielson “the middest of the mid fake wrestlers.” MJF said that compared to him, Danielson couldn’t wrestle his way out of a wet paper bag. MJF told Regal he meant no offense because he knows that Regal tried with Danielson.
MJF addressed the locker room and said they won’t know what it’s like to be on top while he’s around. He said he will be the champion all the way until the Bidding War of 2024. He said he would use the new belt as a bargaining chip to get his new deal and make more money in one day that the fans make in their lives.
MJF said he prays that the right Khan pays up. MJF said he wasn’t talking about Tony, he was talking about “my boy Jolly Old St. Nick and my other boy, ‘The Game’ Trips.” MJF said he’s tired of looking at disgusting pro wrestling fans on a weekly basis and said that maybe Hollywood would win the bidding war.
[Hour Two] MJF said he’s not deaf and he knows that some of the fans were over the moon when he became their champion. He said the fans are fickle and they will eventually say he’s boring, never wrestles, talks too much, and is a coward. MJF said those fans would tune in every week hoping to see someone take Triple B from him.
MJF said the belt will be defended very rarely and he will wrestle very rarely because he’s a special attraction. He said that the fans will need to reach into their pockets to pay to see him wrestle. He said his title reign will make Hulk Hogan, JBL’s, and Jeff Jarrett’s reigns seem short and sweet. He said his title reign would make Bruno Sammartino roll in his skinny little grave. MJF said his reign of terror has just begun.
MJF told Regal that he nearly forgot something. MJF pulled brass knuckles out of his pocket. “A shut the f— up” chant broke out. MJF told Regal that without the brass knuckles, none of this would have been possible. MJF said Regal loves the business and encouraged the fans to give it up for him.
MJF walked behind Regal and said “from the bottom of my heart” and then hit Regal from behind with the brass knuckles. MJF recalled Regal telling him he had a lot to learn and yet Regal is the one who made a deal with the devil. MJF did a play on the email that Regal sent him years ago and then left the ring while the broadcast team expressed concern for Regal due to his medical history.
Bryan Danielson ran out and joined the trainer in checking on Regal, who was still down in the ring after MJF exited through the crowd. Regal was fitted with a collar and placed on a stretcher… [C]
Powell’s POV: This wasn’t MJF’s finest promo. It’s MJF and so even his best is still very good. The introduction of the new belt went on longer than it needed to, but his speech peaked at the end and got the desired boos from the live crowd. There have been rumors of Regal potentially returning to WWE at some point despite having more time left on his deal, but only time will tell whether this was meant to write him out.
William Regal was shown being loaded into an ambulance. Bryan Danielson hopped in the ambulance and then it left the building…
Ricky Starks made his entrance for a match against Ari Daivari, whose entrance was not televised. Stokely Hathaway interrupted and walked onto the stage with Ethan Page. Matt Hardy cut in front of them an played to the crowd. Page said they own Hardy and said Hardy will be helping him win the Dynamite Diamond Ring. Hardy headed to the back while Page cut a promo on Starks…
3. Ricky Starks vs. Ari Daivari. Daivari attacked Starks while he was distracted by Page. Starks came right back and hit his Roshambo finisher and scored the pin while Hathaway and Page watched from the stage…
Ricky Starks defeated Ari Daivari in roughly 0:30.
Powell’s POV: The match was exactly what it needed to be in terms of building up momentum for Starks heading into his upcoming AEW World Championship match.
AEW Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, and Rebel were interviewed in the backstage area by Schiavone. Baker brought up the sit-down interview with Saraya. Hayter suggested that Schiavone conduct a sit-down interview with her… Entrances for the next match took place…
4. Anna Jay (w/Tay Melo) vs. Willow Nightingale. Jay took offensive control and performed a neckbreaker from the middle rope heading into a PIP break. [C] Jay went for the Queen Slayer, but Nightingale avoided it. Nightingale set up for her finisher, but she was distracted by Melo climbing onto the apron. Nightingale knocked Melo off the apron. Jay rolled Nightingale into a pin for a two count. Nightingale came right back with a lariat and a Dr. Bomb and scored the pin.
Willow Nightingale defeated Anna Jay in 7:30.
Nightingale made a quick exit. The heel duo were about to leave when Ruby Soho’s entrance music played. Jay left the ring. Soho entered behind Melo and took her down. Jay returned and was taken out by Soho. Melo tried to leave, but Soho caught her on the ramp and headbutted her. Soho’s hometown crowd chanted “welcome home” and then she hit Destination Unknown on the stage…
Powell’s POV: A nice return for Soho, who gives the women’s division some needed juice. The actual match was fine before it was overshadowed.
Footage aired of House of Black’s return on last week’s show…
Schiavone interviewed Orange Cassidy and QT Marshall in the backstage area and noted that they agreed to no physicality. Marshall started to ask for a shot at the AEW All-Atlantic Championship. Cassidy cut him off and said he has the match. Marshall added that he wanted it to be a lumberjack match on Rampage. Cassidy quickly agreed and then walked away…
TBS Champion Jade Cargill made her entrance with Leila Grey and Red Velvet. Cargill said she got rid of the trash last week (Kiera Hogan). She said it’s a blessing to stand next to her. She told Grey and Velvet to get in line or they could step. Cargill said they eat off her, just as the entire company does.
Cargill said she’s the star of the company. She said nobody has her face or her body or her aura. Cargill said she puts asses in seats. There were some cheers from the crowd. Cargill said she wrestles for bad bitches and had the cameras show additional Baddies in the crowd. Cargill said Lil Bow Wow is a joke. Bow Wow appeared on the big screen and said he has a lot of time on his hands now that he’s done touring…
Powell’s POV: I still have no clue what is happening with Cargill and Bow Wow or why I should care.
Excalibur announced the following for AEW Rampage: Orange Cassidy vs. QT Marshall for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship, Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee speak, Darby Allin vs. Cole Karter in the opening match, Renee Paquette’s sit-down interview with Saraya, and Private Party vs. Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal…
Backstage, Billy Gunn played drill instructor while asking “The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens questions. Long story short, they will speak on AEW Rampage and then scissored at the end of the brief promo…
Excalibur announced the following for AEW Dynamite: the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal, Jake Hager and Daniel Garcia vs. Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta, Tony Schiavone conducts a sit-down interview with AEW Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter. He said more matches will be announced on Rampage…
The Elite made their entrance to “Carry On Wayward Son” and then Death Triangle made their entrance. The Elite left the ring and brawled with Death Triangle. Excalibur noted that the the match had not officially started and the teams continued to brawl heading into a PIP break. [C]
5. “Death Triangle” Pac, Penta El Zero Miedo, and Rey Fenix (w/Alex Abrahantes) vs. “The Elite” Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson (w/Don Callis, Brandon Cutler, Michael Nakazawa) in the third match of the best of seven series for the AEW Trios Titles. Death Triangle entered the match leading the series 2-0. The teams brawled through the break. The Elite rolled Death Triangle members inside the ring and then referee Rick Knox called for the bell to officially start the match.
Matt went for a kick from the ring and took out Knox when Penta moved. Abrahantes passed a ring bell hammer to Penta, who returned to the ring and performed a flip dive onto The Elite trio. In the ring, Penta wanted to use the hammer, but Fenix stopped him.
Matt went for a kick from the ring and took out Knox when Penta moved. Abrahantes passed a ring bell hammer to Penta, who returned to the ring and performed a flip dive onto The Elite trio. In the ring, Penta wanted to use the hammer, but Fenix stopped him.
A short time later, Penta hit a package piledriver on Omega for a near fall. A “this is awesome” chant broke out. Matt performed a double suplex on Penta and Fenix. Pac, who was wearing his face shield, took out Matt with a kick. Pac and Omega fought on the ropes. Omega punched the face shield. Pac headbutted Omega with the shield and then performed an avalanche falcon arrow for a near fall heading into another PIP break. [C]
Pac toyed with Omega, who came back with a V-Trigger knee coming out of the break. Pac suplexed Omega, who shot right up and put Pac down with a lariat. Nick and Fenix tagged in (yes, they are tagging now) and Nick got a near fall on Fenix. The Bucks hit More Bang For Your Buck on Fenix, but Penta broke up the pin attempt.
The Bucks set up for a BTE Trigger on Fenix, but Pac and Penta broke it up. Omega ran in and ended up taking a cutter from Fenix. Penta and Fenix hit a Fear Factor on Matt. Fenix and Penta performed dives onto the Omega and Nick at ringside while Pac covered Matt for a near fall. Pac performed a brainbuster on Matt for another two count. Pac went for the Broken Arrow, but Matt put his knees up. Matt covered Pac and scored the pin…
“The Elite” Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson defeated “Death Triangle” Pac, Penta El Zero Miedo, and Rey Fenix in 12:20 and trail the best of seven series 2-1.
After the match, Omega took the mic and said it was never going to be a sweep as long as The Cleaner was in town. Omega delivered his “goodbye and goodnight, bang” closing and then had “Carry On Wayward Son” play again. Excalibur went into speed reading mode to plug upcoming matches to close the show…
Powell’s POV: The usual craziness from these teams and fortunately we didn’t have another hammer finish. Overall, the show started really strong and then fell apart to some extent. The issue of nothing getting a chance to breathe continues to be an issue three years in. I will have more to say in my weekly same night audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of Dynamite by grading it below.
MJF vs Ricky Starks should be very good.
Big miss by MJF with that promo. If they let Regal go it’s another big mistake by a company that doesn’t seem to stop making them. These shows are getting progressively worse and the only thing Tony seemed to do was bring in Jarrett to make them worse. RIP AEW
With Sayara, especially, and now Hangman, I wish AEW would just tell the audience a wrestler is medically cleared. It doesn’t add realism, it adds confusion – especially in Sayara’s case, being years retired because of spine injuries. Another misstep that took the wind out of her return.
The dissolving of Regal’s faction has been very poorly mapped out. One week, Claudio is the newest member, the next week, Regal betrays Moxley in favor of MJF. Tonight we learn it’s because of an email? Then Regal is betrayed, and…
I hope the ambulance takes Regal and Danielson back to WWE.
The MJF stuff was once again diluted by a small section of smarks cheering him, but overall he did a good job. I continue to hope Danielson will be the one who eventually beats him for the title.
Pretty good Dynamite episode way better than Raw again and again again. Glad to see Ruby Soho back as the women need tag team titles.