By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@barnettjake)
AEW Dynamite (Episode 180)
Winnipeg, Manitoba at at Canada Life Centre
Aired live March 15, 2023 on TBS
[Hour One] Excalibur, Taz, and Tony Schiavone sat at the commentary table, and introduced Justin Roberts in the ring. He then introduced MJF, who was walked to the ring by several women in cocktail dresses. One of the women made out with him for a few seconds as they got to the ring. MJF insulted the crowd about their belief that Bret Hart was actually entertaining, and said they should all agree that Shawn was much better. He wore a yarmulke and said his religion Judaism is the only one that matters because they are the chosen people.
Max described his Bar Mitzvah as being Maxamania themes, and said he lost his V-Card and it was sick. He then said a re-Bar Mitzvah was required because he beat everyone’s boy Bryan Danielson and became a man a second time. In fact, he was Iron Man. Max then called for a celebration and a number of extras walked out to carry him around on a chair.
Jack Perry’s music interrupted and he walked to the ring to confront MJF. A chant broke out, and before Jack could speak Sammy Guevara walked out. Before Sammy could speak, Darby Allin then walked out, filling the ring with AEW’s original “Pillars”. Max said they were ruining his re-Bar MItzvah, and asked what the hell they wanted. They all replied that they wanted a title match.
Jack spoke up and recalled their only match together on the first Pandemic PPV, and then he spent the rest of the pandemic on Dark. He said Max has never been on Rampage, Dark, or Elevation, and everybody in the back has to sit there and watch him take up 20 minutes with their hokey bullshit. Max said the company does revolve around him, and that’s because he’s a real star.
Sammy Guevara spoke up said Max talked his way in the door and lied and cheated his way to the top. He recalled working at Subway and Whataburger and grinding his way through the independents to get where he is. He claimed he was only supposed to be Jericho’s bump guy and the jobber of the Inner Circle, but he overcame everything to be a champion three times over. He said he would overcome Max and become a world champion because he’s better than him and he knows it.
Max replied that it was nice of him to take time out of his busy schedule of getting into brawls with everyone in the back. Darby Allin piped up and said he dropped out of school because his art teacher told him he couldn’t succeed being himself. It was a blessing in disguise, because he found professional wrestling and decided he would succeed or fail being Darby Allin and not someone else. He’s tired of everyone complaining about their position in AEW on Twitter, including the World Champion, because of his bidding war of 2024. He said he would beat Max’s head in with his skateboard if he didn’t give him a title shot. Max took off his hat to get in Darby’s face, and Darby pointed out that he looks like shit with his double black eyes.
Max told them all to shut up and said they might all be pillars, but he was the only one who could hold up the company. He insulted Darby and called him an incel, called Jack a Jungle Jobber, and told Sammy he should propose to another woman in seven months. Guevara pointed out his fiance left him. Max told him he was sick of the jokes and told them all they were going to leave so he could eat his cake because he deserved it. He attempted to pie face Jungle Boy and leave the ring, but a brawl broke out and Guevara hit him from behind and he took a spill through the ringside table with his cake…
Excalibur showed a video of Chris Jericho getting a street named after him…
Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and Claudio Castagnoli made their entrances for the next match…[c]
My Take: There was some fun stuff in there, but the promo was way too inside and I’m not sure that anybody in the ring with Max is really in position to be a credible World Title Challenger. I’m sure they’ll get a fun match out of it.
Hangman Page made his entrance, followed by Evil Uno and Stu Grayson…
2. Hangman Page, Evil Uno, and Stu Grayson vs. “Blackpool Combat Club” Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta: Evil Uno and Wheeler Yuta started the match. They traded chops to start, and then Yuta backed Uno into the corner. Moxley tagged in and landed some heavy shots in the corner. Claudio quickly tagged in and landed a seated dropkick on Uno for a one count. The Blackpool Combat Club made some quick tags and continued to isolate Uno. Yuta knocked Hangman off the apron.
Uno escaped and made a tag to Grayson, who quickly took down Claudio and Wheeler with rapid fire offense. He then landed a spinebuster on Moxley and a springboard twisting senton on Claudio for a near fall. Claudio then fired up and dumped Grayson to the floor, where the Combat Club drilled him with a spike piledriver…[c]
Moxley dominated Grayson with heavy chops and strikes. Grayson fired back with a running knee strike and bought himself a window to tag out. Hangman got the hot tag and cleaned house on Claudio and Wheeler. He landed a fallaway slam to Wheeler and a diving forearm strike onto Claudio on the floor. Hangman then landed a lariat on Yuta and set up for a powerbomb, but Wheeler slipped out.
Page landed the powerbomb eventually and Uno landed a senton from the top. Claudio took out Uno with a lariat and sent Grayson to the floor. Moxley tagged in to face Hangman and ate a lariat for his trouble. Moxley grabbed the referee so Wheeler could blast Hangman with the ring bell on the apron. Grayson and Uno checked on Hangman and then charged back into the ring. Yuta chop blocked Uno from behind and then sent Grayson into the corner.
Grayson fired back and sent Claudio into the ring post. Uno landed a DDT on Moxley and then Grayson landed a top rope somersault senton for a near fall. Uno and Grayson landed the Fatality from the top rope on Moxley, and Wheeler had to break up the pinfall. Claudio tagged into the match and Grayson got a nearfall with a huracanrana. Wheeler snuck around and pulled Uno from the apron.
Claudio landed a huge uppercut on Grayson, and then Moxley applied a rear naked choke. Grayson was forced to tap out.
“Blackpool Combat Club” Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta defeated Hangman Page, Evil Uno, and Stu Grayson at 13:20
After the match, Moxley held onto the choke. Alex Reynolds and John Silver ran down to the ring to clear the Blackpool Combat Club into the crowd. A brief video package was shown for Juice Robinson, and asked Ricky Starks what he was going to do about him knocking him out the week prior. Jade Cargill’s open challenge is up next…[c]
My Take: There was a lot to enjoy about the performances in this match, but not enough to get me over the hump of caring about the continued pairing of Hangman Page with the Dark Order. I’m also not sure what I’m supposed to take away from Hangman Page getting knocked out with one blow from a ring bell after he outlasted Moxley in a bloody weapon filled Texas Death Match.
A recap of the opening segment aired. Jade Cargill made her way to the ring, and her challenger Nicole Matthews was already in the ring…
2. Jade Cargill (w/Leila Grey) vs. Nicole Matthews for the TBS Championship: Both women traded blows, and Jade got the better of it. She very quickly landed a pump kick, followed by Jaded for the win.
Jade Cargill defeated Nicole Matthews in 40 seconds to retain the TBS Championship
After the match, Renee Paquette entered the ring and asked Jade what kind of competition she was looking for. Jade backed up Renee and reminded her she was from Canada, and then stole her microphone. Jade asked Canada if that’s all they got, and Taya Valkyrie made her debut and entrance. They got in each other’s faces, and Jade eventually backed off. Leila Grey attempted to attack Taya from behind, and she used Jaded to put her down in the ring. She then celebrated as Jade was pulled to the back by Mark Sterling…
In the back, Ricky Starks addressed Juice Robinson and asked him what he’s done in AEW. He mentioned the Bullet Club, and said it was relevant back in 2015. Ricky told Juice and Bullet Club to bring it any time and any place…
The new AEW International Championship match is up next after a plug for Shazam…[c]
My Take: Taya should be a fun challenger for Jade. Nicole Matthews is an accomplished veteran and I was hoping they’d give her something more than 40 seconds, but it is what it is.
A QTV segment aired about Wardlow. It resembled an episode of the TMZ TV show. They showed footage of someone breaking into Wardlow’s car, which turned out to be Aaron Solo. QT Marshall made a joke about MJF stealing his momentum last year, and threw his passport off screen. Powerhouse Hobbs then popped out of his chair to say “Welcome to Will’s world bitch”. Hobbs will have an open challenge for the TNT Title on Rampage…
Jeff Jarrett made his entrance with Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh, and Jay Lethal, who had his an arm sling. Lethal hugged Jarrett on the stage and headed to the back. Orange Cassidy followed. The camera focused on a guy wearing a Shockmaster Outfit.
[Hour Two] Cassidy swapped the All Atlantic Championship for the International Championship in his backpack before the match started. Justin Roberts made introductions for the match.
3. Orange Cassidy vs. Jeff Jarrett (w/Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh) for the AEW International Championship: They tied up early and battled to a stalemate. Jarrett took a break on the top rope to play some mind games. Cassidy attempted an Orange Punch, but Jarrett ducked. His knee buckled attempting a flat footed landing, and Jarrett delivered a scoop slam. Jeff mocked Cassidy by landing some light kicks. Cassidy replied with some hard chops, and then sent him repeatedly into the turnbuckles. The action spilled to the floor and Jarrett tossed Cassidy over the timekeeper’s table…[c]
Jarrett and Cassidy brawled into the crowd during the break. As the show returned. Jarrett applied a Sharpshooter to get under the skin of Canadian Fans. Cassidy eventually reversed the hold, but Sonjay Dutt pushed the ropes to give Jarrett an assisted break. Jarrett then applied a sleeper, and Cassidy nearly went out before landing a jawbreaker to break the hold. Cassidy attempted his own Sleeper, but Satnam Singh wrenched his neck on the top rope to force a break.
After breaking free, Jarrett landed a kneebreaker and applied a figure four. Cassidy nearly got pinned several times, but was able to break free with some punches. Both men then traded punches, but Jarrett shoved Cassidy into the referee for a ref bump. Sonjay threw Jarrett’s guitar in the ring, but Aubrey Edwards ran down to break it up. Cassidy scammed his way into ejecting the seconds by handing Satnam Singh the guitar and getting the ref’s attention.
Cassidy landed a DDT on Jarrett and set up for an Orange Punch, but Jarrett distracted the referee so Lethal could blast him with the “Golden Globe”. Jarrett made a cover and only got a near fall. Lethal grabbed the Guitar, but Trent Beretta ran down to take him out. They brawled away through the crowd. Cassidy avoided a Stroke attempt and landed an Orange Punch to get the win.
Orange Cassidy defeated Jeff Jarrett at 13:41 to retain the AEW International Championship
After the match, we got a video package for the Trios Title match…[c]
My Take: Another Jeff Jarrett special with all the Memphis you could possibly fit into 14 minutes. Orange Cassidy continues to be over and the crowd erupted when he got the win. He just needs to move onto battles with heels that pose more of a threat than the Jarretts and Lethals of the world. The QTV segment didn’t do much for me. Hobbs didn’t look like he wanted to be there, and I don’t blame him.
An Acclaimed music video package aired where they declared they were going after the gold…
“The Outcasts” Saraya, Toni Storm, and Ruby Soho) made their entrance for a promo. Saraya told everyone to shut their mouths. Ruby introduced a story and said once upon a time the grass was greener in AEW until a couple of bitches that came along and pissed on the grass. Saraya called herself a miracle and said they should worship the ground they walk on because there wouldn’t be a “division” without them.
Toni Storm then piped up to say that when she became the “interim” champion nobody appreciated her at all, and that’s when she realized that none of the fat neckbeards know what they want. She said they were the Outcasts and they weren’t going anywhere, and they were enjoying taking out rookies one at a time. They brought up the names of Skye Blue, Jamie Hayter, Willow Nightingale, Britt Baker, and Jamie Hayter. Both Hayter and Baker ran down and took all three women down, but they quickly turned the tables. The heels beat down Hayter and Baker, with Storm landing Storm Zero on Hayter.
Riho ran down with Skye Blue and Willow Nightingale, and cleared the heels from the ring. Riho and Hayter exchanged pleasantries afterward…[c]
My Take: The logic for the Outcasts gimmick isn’t bad. It’s tied to what fans have perceived as legitimate grievances in the case of Storm and Soho. The spray paint needs to go, but there are some positive aspects to the direction. Hopefully they can heat up Skye Blue and Willow Nightingale so they have more than two babyfaces to oppose.
Matt Menard and Angelo Parker made a pitch for The Acclaimed to join JAS in a backstage promo…
Rey Fenix, who was with Alex Abrahantes, accepted Powerhouse Hobbs’ open challenge for Friday…
In the ring, Justin Roberts made ring introductions for the main event for the World Trios Championship. The House of Black was out first, followed by The Elite and then Jericho Appreciation Society. Ted Irvine, Chris Jericho’s father, was shown in the crowd. Don Callis joined on commentary…
4. “The House of Black” Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews (w/Julia Hart) vs. “The Elite Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and Kenny Omega (w/Brandon Cutler, Michael Nakazawa) vs. “Jericho Appreciation Society” Chris Jericho, Daniel Garcia, and Sammy Guevara in a three-way for the AEW Trios Championship: Brody King and Sammy Guevara started the match. Guevara landed a kick and did some gloating, and then got cut down with a chop by King. Garcia tagged in and tried to chop him back, but was also leveled. Garcia tried to tag literally anybody else into the match, but had no luck.
Jericho accepted the tag and got a standing ovation. Malakai Black tagged in and a Y2J chant started for Jericho. Omega then went into the match, and both of them got the crowd fired up by going face to face. The House of Black then stormed the ring and sent them both to the floor, which got a chorus of boos…[c]
The House of Black singled out Jericho. Malakai Black tagged into the ring, and Jericho fired back with chops. He attempted a Judas Effect, but Black avoided it. Jericho was able to land a double underhook backbreaker and then tag out Garcia. He dropped Black with some strikes, and then JAS struck an obnoxious pose. Guevara blasted Black with a kick to the head, and he stumbled into a tag from Nick Jackson.
He landed a facebuster on Malakai, but got caught attempting a moonsault to the floor. Buddy Matthews then threw him into a knee strike from Black. Buddy tagged into the match and prevented Nick from making a tag. After a superkick, Nick scrambled to tag in Omega. He fired up the crowd and landed a snapdragon suplex on Black. He then landed a forward roll slam and moonsault combination on Buddy for a two count.
Omega landed a head-scissors and tossed Buddy into the corner. Jericho made a tag and went face to face with Omega. This time they got into a hockey fight until the match went completely sideways with rapid fire spots. Omega and Jericho survived it, and Jericho managed to scoop up Omega for the Walls of Jericho. The Bucks gave him a double superkick to break it up, and then more rapid fire spots led to everyone in the ring being down and out…[c]
Jericho attempted a springboard attack on Omega, but ended up flying out to the floor for his trouble. Omega then dove on Jericho on the floor. The crowd busted out a holy shit chant. Black and Matthews attempted to stop Kenny from returning to the ring, but Nick Jackson dove on them from the ring. Guevara and Garcia then got back involved and landed a superplex and a Spanish Fly on Matt and Nick Jackson. Omega then mixed it up with Brody King but got stuffed. Jericho made the same attempt with the same result. Jericho and Omega both aligned temporarily to land a superplex on Brody King.
After the crowd enjoyed the temporary alliance, Jericho landed a Codebreaker on Omega for a close near fall. Dark Order and Hangman were shown brawling with the Blackpool Combat Club backstage. Omega got the knees up on a Jericho Lionsault attempt. Matt Jackson landed a double Northern Lights Suplex on Garcia and Guevara. Jericho landed another Codebreaker on Nick Jackson.
Brody King broke up a pinfall attempt on Matt Jackson after a shooting star press from Guevara. King then took out Guevara and threw him at the feet of Jericho. The House of Black stood in the ring and called out Jericho. He entered the ring and got beat down by all three men, followed by a Dante’s Inferno piledriver from King. Kenny Omega broke up the fall. Jericho managed to hit Brody King with his bat, but he kicked out after a close near fall. Black landed a back heel kick in Jericho.
Guevara took out the Elite on the floor with a splash. The House of Black took out Garcia and King delivered a Dante’s Inferno Piledriver on him to get the win.
The House of Black defeated The Elite and Jericho Appreciation Society at 18:44 to retain the AEW Trios Championship
After the match, Jake Hager ran down to the ring and got beat down by the House of Black. The brawl between Blackpool Combat Club and Dark Order spilled to ringside. Hangman Page ended up in the ring with the Blackpool Combat Club surrounding him. The Elite entered the ring and stood behind Page, which caused The Blackpool Combat Club to back away to close the show…
My Take: Another crazy spotfest with the expected ending. I figured it would be Garcia taking the loss here after Guevara had the segment earlier with MJF, and I can’t argue with the logic. The crowd was hot anytime Omega and Jericho worked together, which makes sense given the hometown angle. There’s an incredible amount of energy being poured into the Trios Division right now, and only time will tell if it pays off. The Tag Division was not featured heavily on this episode, and I think it’s been the greatest casualty.
I agree on The Outcasts gimmick, it’s going in the right direction, but they can do without the spray paint. It’s like they were trying to mimic NWO with it, but it’s not needed. I would like to see them actually do something this time with Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue it’s time to lift them up a little more. Riho is over with the crowd, so they need to make sure she’s apart of this going forward.
I would have Toni Storm face Jamie Hayter for the title at Double or Nothing and give it to Toni.
Where’s Hikaru Shida in all this??
That’s a good question Hikaru Shida should be apart of this as well and it’s weird because it looked like she was joining Saraya and Toni Storm initially then she just got wrote off TV.
Maybe she stole some of Tony’s coke?