By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@barnettjake)
AEW Dynamite (Episode 264)
Salt Lake City, Utah at Maverik Center
Aired live October 23, 2024 on TBS
A video package opened the show that recapped the activities of Jon Moxley and his crew from WrestleDream, Dynamite last week, and Collision. Moxley was shown comparing AEW to a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, and how much sacrifice it will take for AEW to reach its potential. He said what he was doing was all for the greater good. Tony Schiavone referred to this group as The Death Riders on Collision, which would be an upgrade from Blackpool Combat Club.
Outside the arena, Top Flight, The Dark Order, the Conglomeration, and Jeff Jarrett’s crew were shown waiting for Moxley to arrive. Excalibur plugged Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Jericho in a ladder war, and Daniel Garcia and Private Party challenging Jack Perry and the Young Bucks in a trios match. We then got some footage of Hangman Page costing Switchblade Jay White the match in the main event last week. Tony Schiavone was shown in the ring, and he introduced Hangman Adam Page to give an interview.
Schiavone asked about Hangman’s motivation for attacking Jay White and Bullet Club Gold over recent weeks. Hangman spoke about those attacks, and said he beat down Austin Gunn so bad he doesn’t even think he remembers his brother’s name. On cue, Colten Gunn jumped Page from behind. He landed a few shots, but Hangman quickly turned the tables and got ready to choke him with a belt.
Jay White and Juice Robinson ran down to the ring to intervene. Jay White was able to land some shots, but Hangman escaped outside the ring and headed towards the back with a visible limp. White told Hangman he can hobble to the back, but he must do so knowing that Jay White has his number. He mentioned he has faced him in the ring 5 times and won 4 of them, and his only loss came from Christian getting in the way. He told Page he hasn’t seen the last of him, and then performed his catchphrase before leaving the ring.
A Sammy Guevara video package aired where he spoke about his destiny, and how it requires him to take on the best. He then pointed to Shelton Benjamin’s debut from last week. Benjamin and MVP responded that when you’re good at something, you never do it for free. MVP said they’ve taken over before, and they’ll do it again.
Guevara made his ring entrance in the arena. He was followed by Shelton Benjamin, who was accompanied by MVP.
1. Shelton Benjamin (w/MVP) vs. Sammy Guevara: Shelton landed a knee to the gut and then tossed Guevara into the air over his shoulder for a hard landing. Guevara landed some chops in return, but got put down quickly by some knees and a snap suplex. Shelton hit the ropes, and Guevara showed his speed by avoiding him and landing a dropkick. Guevara rolled to the apron, and Shelton charged in. Guevara ducked and Benjamin landed on the floor. Guevara then responded with a springboard moonsault. He attempted to follow up, but MVP got in the way. Guevara reloaded, but Shelton caught him and delivered a suplex on the floor…[c]
My Take: A bit of a rapid fire car crash opening to the show. I’m still not sold on the weakest AEW factions being the only ones interested in standing up to Moxley and his Death Riders, but hopefully they can make it work.
Benjamin launched Guevara into the air, and he pancaked down onto the mat. He then delivered a release German Suplex, and Sami sold it like he was out of it. Benjamin followed up with a second suplex, and Guevara played dead. Shelton picked him up, but Guevara surprised him with a roll up for a two count. Guevara landed a kick and sent Benjamin to the floor. He then landed a flip dive to the outside. Guevara attempted a springboard back into the ring, but got caught by Benjamin.
He attempted a suplex, but Guevara escaped and landed a cutter a moment later for a one count. Sami connected with an enziguri and headed to the top rope. He dove at Benjamin, who cut him down with a superkick. Benjamin then followed up with another superkick, and a running knee strike in the corner. He then landed his Exploder Powerslam and got the win.
Shelton Benjamin defeated Sammy Guevara at 10:01
Benjamin celebrated after the match. He will face Swerve Strickland next week. Backstage, Mariah May was shown walking out of the locker room. Renee Paquette asked her why she was leaving, since she had a briefcase, but she said it wasn’t hers. She tossed it down the hallway, and the clothes spilled out everywhere. May said Anna Jay doesn’t belong in the same ring with her. Jay the approached from behind and they tussled until they were separated by officials.
We then got a video package that focused on Ricochet, Will Ospreay, and Kyle Fletcher. In the ring, Tony Schiavone said Kyle Fletcher had something to say, and brought him out to the ring with Don Callis. Fletcher got on the microphone and said he wanted to address Will Ospreay, He said it had been 11 days since he cost him his title, and 11 days since he’s been in the hospital with a herniated disc he doesn’t like to tell anyone about.
Fletcher said the crowd wanted to know why he did it, and he said they were just as responsible as Ospready was. He recalled being called the next big thing in professional wrestling, until Ospreay got there and they started calling him the next Will Ospreay. Fletcher said Ospreay looked, wrestled, and sounded like him, and he took all of that as an insult. He said he was better than Ospreay in every single way. Fletcher recalled a time when he would have been flattered by the comparison. He said when he first joined the United Empire Ospreay had a killer instinct.
Fletcher taunted the crowd, and then brought up Okada and Kenny Omega. He said Okada brought him into New Japan and he stabbed him in the back. Fletcher said Omega left NJPW and Ospreay was supposed to be the guy to step up in his place, but he wasn’t ready. He continued and said that Ospreay now refused to get out of the way, because he was too selfish to let others succeed. Fletcher challenged Ospreay to a match next week, and told him to ignore the Doctors and his family and come back to face him.
He then said that he would defeat him with Tiger Driver after Tiger Driver until his brittle neck crumbled to dust. When he was done, there would be only one star left, and that’s Kyle Fletcher. Callis handed Fletcher a hair clipper and said he wanted to be nothing like Ospreay. He then began to shave his head while he repeated that he was nothing like Ospreay…[c]
My Take: This was a much better promo from Fletcher this week, even if it was a bit long. I don’t know that he has a ton of heat yet, but the effort was there. He’ll need to establish an identity at some point other than being the anti-Ospreay, but this will work in the short term. Shelton vs. Guevara was a decent match with a very predictable outcome.
Footage of Konosuke Takeshita successfully defending his International Title against Josh Alexander, as well as Ricochet making the save for Alexander after the match. Backstage, Ricochet was interviewed and recalled Takeshita screwed him out of the title twice, and told him to show up to face him on Collision. MVP then walked up and handed Ricochet a business card, and complimented him on his suit. Back in the arena, Brian Cage and Lance Archer made their ring entrances. Their opponents went unnamed.
2. Brian Cage and Lance Archer vs. Local Talent: This one was a powerfest from the start. Archer and Cage sent one of the opponents to the floor, and delivered a Powerbomb and Chokeslam combo to the other to win a very quick match.
Brian Cage and Lance Archer defeated Local Talent at 0:44
The jobber team looked like a combination of The Highlanders and The Ascension.
My Take: I don’t mind a squash match occasionally. Archer and Cage look like your typical monster tag team. It’ll be interesting to see how far they go in the tag division with this style of power wrestling.
Chuckie T spoke with Orange Cassidy outside the building. Chuck said that he’s known Orange for 20 years. He doesn’t know if these guys can beat Moxley, none of them ever have. But Orange has, and it was time for him to step up.
Back in the arena, Justin Roberts made ring introductions for the Ladder War Match for the ROH Title. Out first was Chris Jericho, followed by Mark Briscoe.
3. Chris Jericho vs. Mark Briscoe in a Ladder War for the ROH Championship: Briscoe quickly attacked Jericho with a ladder and then some punches. He then knocked Jericho off the apron onto a pair of tables at ringside. Briscoe then followed to the floor and pulled Jericho to his feet. He delivered chops and punches, and gouged at Jericho’s eyes. Briscoe then placed a ladder against the barricade on the floor. He attempted to suplex Jericho onto it, but got reversed.
Jericho then tossed Briscoe into the steps and hit him with a piece of the broken tables. He then retrieved another ladder from under the ring and tried to pull it into the ring. Briscoe sent the top of the ladder into Jericho’s face. Both men battled on the apron near another pair of tables on the floor. Briscoe landed some punches and sent Jericho to the floor. He tried to follow up with a dive, but Jericho moved and Briscoe crashed through the ladder that was placed against the steps.
In the ring, Jericho attempted to climb a ladder, but Briscoe quickly prevented him from reaching the top of the ladder. After some back and forth, Jericho was able to collapse the ladder and hit Briscoe in the face with it, at which point he started bleeding….[c]
Jericho climbed the ladder in the ring as Briscoe scrambled to recover. Briscoe managed to pull Jericho off the ladder and deliver a death valley driver onto another ladder that was setup near the turnbuckle. He then retrieved another ladder from outside the ring and placed it on top of Jericho. Briscoe climbed to the top turnbuckle, but Jericho got up and smashed him with the ladder a few times. Jericho set up the ladder and climbed it against the ropes. Briscoe managed to tip it over and send Jericho into the ring.
He then jumped off with a senton. Jericho pushed the ladder off of himself, but still got hit by the senton. I’m not sure if that was the intended result. Both guys climbed a taller ladder in the middle of the ring. Jericho managed to knock Briscoe down to the floor, and Mark was able to recover fast enough to tip over the ladder and send Jericho into the ropes. Jericho charged at Briscoe into the corner, but ate a ladder instead.
Briscoe set up a table in the ring and placed the tall ladder near the ropes. He then placed Jericho on the table and climbed the ladder. Bryan Keith ran down to interfere, but was chased off by Rocky Romero with a Kendo Stick. Briscoe then climbed to the very top rung of the ladder and dove off with a Froggy Bow. Jericho tipped off the table and his head hit the ladder on the ground. Briscoe followed up with a Jay Driller, and set up the tall ladder.
As he was near the title belt, Big Bill ran down and grabbed Briscoe and chokeslammed him off the ladder onto two tables at ringside. He then placed Jericho on his back and climbed the ladder to deliver the win to Chris Jericho.
Chris Jericho defeated Mark Briscoe at 15:59 to win the ROH Title
After the match, Tomohiro Ishii appeared on the stage, and appeared to be eyeing revenge on Chris Jericho for their previous encounter. A video package was then introduced that showcased Kris Statlander and Kamille preparing for their match. In the arena, Adam Cole made his entrance in street clothes ostensibly for an interview.
Cole asked the crowd if they were ready for story time, but he was interrupted immediately by Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and MIke Bennett. Strong called MJF an egomaniac and a user, and claimed he used the Adam Cole brand to get the fans to care about him. He then said MJF never checked on Cole when he was hurt, but they did. Bennett piped up and said their friendship was bigger than MJF, and they needed to finish what they started together.
Taven then said the best times of his career were when they were together. Strong then complimented Cole on his hard work to come back from his ankle injury, and said they need to take Max out together. He then said he wanted Max first. Cole said said Roddy was absolutely right, and maybe they should do it tonight. He then invited MJF to the ring to get an ass whooping.
MJF appeared on screen getting a massage. He mocked Cole and said he told him he’d never get his hands on him. MJF then laid out a challenge and said that the first one of them, Cole or Strong, that gets three consecutive wins will earn a shot at MJF at Full Gear. He then mocked himself for making people jump through hoops for a match with him again. Max then said he wouldn’t be showing up until Full Gear so they couldn’t get their hands on him. House of Black is up next…[c]
My Take: At least MJF was honest about the trope of him continually doing the same hurdle jumping exercise every time someone wants to kick his ass. I can’t say I’m all that invested in the idea of Cole eventually splitting up and feuding with the former Undisputed Kingdom members. AEW never made me care much about them in the first place. Jericho and Briscoe had a fun ladder match. Big Bill handing Jericho the title was a bit predictable, but that’s most of Jericho’s storytelling these days.
A video package aired from Penelope Ford talking about her personal issues with Jamie Hayter. She complained about Hayter being handed everything while she was at home injured for two years. Hayter was interviewed by Renee Paquette afterwards. She responded that she had worked for everything she had, including working in front of 20 drunk men for 20 quid. Hayter challenged Ford to a match two weeks from now on Dynamite.
Back in the arena, The House of Black made their entrance for a trios match.
4. The House of Black (Malakai Black, Buddy Murphy, and Brody King) vs. Kevin Koa, Jaden Monroe, and Pirata De La Muerte: Malakai Black delivered a roundhouse kick to Kevin Koa and sent him to the floor. Pirata was next in the ring. Buddy Murphy tagged in, and Pirata managed to land a punch. He then tagged in Monroe, who paid for Pirata’s sins with some big time strikes. Pirata then entered the ring again, and ate the Three Heads of Cerberus in the corner. Buddy Murphy put away Jaden Monroe with a Stomp.
The House of Black defeated Jaden Monroe, Kevin Koa, and Pirata De La Muerte at 2:13
After the match, Buddy Murphy challenged Adam Cole to a match next week. Swerve Strickland vs. Shelton Benjamin, and Kamille vs. Kris Statlander was also confirmed for next week. Backstage, Cole approached Buddy Murphy and asked him if he had a problem with him. Murphy replied that he wanted to prove the point that Cole was fragile.
Kamille made her ring entrance and was accompanied by Mercedes Mone. She was followed by Queen Aminata.
5. Queen Aminata vs. Kamille (w/Mercedes Mone): Kamille splashed Aminata in the corner and delivered a short arm clothesline, but Aminata kicked out of the cover attempt at one. There was an awkward sequence on a head scissors where Kamille lost her balance. There was more awkwardness on another rollup from Aminata as Kamille struggled with body coordination. Kamille recovered and landed a backbreaker…[c]
My Take: They threw a lot at you in 15 minutes. Hayter vs. Penelope Ford has a lot of work ahead of it to get heat in two weeks. House of Black defeating Jobbers seemed to exist purely for the Adam Cole challenge, which is fine but seemed unnecessary. Kamille is a brick house but that may be more literal than I imagined based on her struggles with movement early on in this match.
Aminata ducked a leg lariat and landed some big strikes. She then landed a running elbow, followed by a snap neckbreaker. Aminata covered for a close near fall. Aminata applied a submission, but Kamille rolled back into a cover attempt for a two count. Aminata picked up Kamille, but got stuffed. Kamille then went for a powerbomb, but got reversed into a hurracarrana for a two count. Kamille then replied with a torture rack into a sit out Powerbomb for a close near fall.
Kamille then picked up Aminata and delivered a reverse DDT and covered for the win.
Kamille defeated Queen Aminata at 8:23
After the match, Kris Statlander walked out to confront Kamille and Mone. Mercedes tried to keep them apart, and Statlander glared at her. Mercedes tried to ambush Stalander, but she didn’t flinch and knocked her down. Statlander and Kamille brawled, but Mercedes grabbed Statlander’s leg, and forced her to turn around. Kamille then ambushed Statlander and stood over her with Mercedes and taunted her.
Outside the building, a truck pulled up with Christian, Nick Wayne, and Shayna Wayne. Kip Sabian was shown sneaking around and was pursued by Christian. They followed Sabian to the ring, where he tried to get Christian to back down. Hook was then shown on the screen, and said he knew who attacked his father and it was those scumbags in the ring. Hook quickly tossed aside Nick Wayne, but got low blowed by Kip Sabian before he could get a hold of him.
Christian said he knew what Sabian was trying to do, and he would deal with him, but told him to back up into a corner and mind his business. Nick Wayne landed a Wayne’s World, and Christian delivered a Killswitch onto his steel contract clipboard. Sabian left with Christian and the Waynes. The Main Event is next…[c]
My Take: Kamille and Aminata was a bit rough all the way through. Christian being Taz’s attacker gives him something to do other than cash in the World Championship contract right away, so that works short term.
Private Party made their entrance in the ring, followed by Daniel Garcia. The Elite followed, with Jack Perry joining the Young Bucks in this Trios Main Event. The brawl started before the bell. Zay and Quen took out the Young Bucks, and Daniel Garcia put the boots to Jack Perry. The ref rang the bell with a brawl in progress.
6. Daniel Garcia and Private Party (Zay and Quen) vs. The Elite (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and Jack Perry): Garcia continued to beat down Perry, until he could make a tag to Matt Jackson. Zay then tagged in and both tag teams were quickly in the ring simultaneously. Soon everyone was back in the ring brawling. Zay and Quen then jumped off the back of Garcia into the Young Bucks in the corner. The cameras went outside the building to show the AEW crew waiting for Moxley to show up. Jack Perry landed a DDT on Garcia from the apron to the floor. Matt Jackson then performed a 450 splash onto Zay…[c]
Zay tossed Matt Jackson into the ring steps on the outside. Nick Jackson tried to intervene but ended up kicking his brother in the face. Zay attempted to make a tag to Garcia, but Matt pulled him from the apron at the last possible second. Jack Perry then delivered a powerbomb that put Garcia through the timekeeper’s table on the floor. Nick and Matt then landed Risky Business on Zay for a close near fall in the ring. Quen got back on the apron and signaled for a tag.
After a headscissors and arm drag combo on Matt and Nick, Zay was able to make a hot tag to Quen. He landed a powerslam on Jack Perry and landed a double hurracarrana on the Bucks. They replied with double superkick and a poison rana. Zay then entered the match again and continued to take a beating. The Bucks landed a double stomp into a sit out powerbomb for a close near fall. Garcia appeared from nowhere and pulled Perry from the apron. He then booted Perry over the barricade into the crowd.
The Bucks set up for a TK Driver, but Private Party reversed into a Silly String roll up on Matt Jackson for a surprise victory.
Daniel Garcia and Private Party defeated The Elite at 13:36
After the match, Private Party said they had The Young Bucks number and demanded a rematch for the Tag Team Titles. Zay made the offer to The Bucks that if they lose the match with the Bucks, they split up. The Bucks accepted the match and Quen looked like he wasn’t thrilled with that idea. Outside the building, a car pulled up and Marina Shafir got out.
In the arena, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta appeared and assaulted Private Party and Daniel Garcia with chairs. Jon Moxley then appeared in all black dragging Chuck Taylor to the ring. They wrapped a chair around the neck of Chuck Taylor, and Claudio stomped on it before the AEW crew was able to get back into the building to intervene. The camera focused on Orange Cassidy looking at Chuck Taylor’s motionless body while AEW medical attended to him.
My Take: A solid main event, and a logical finish to set up the title rematch. The comment Stokely Hathaway made last week about Zay being a singles star now looms over the match. I guess we’ll have to see what they have in mind. Moxley and company destroying Chuck Taylor was good, but I think it would have been more effective if they had taken a bit more time to set it up. We heard about 10 words from Chuck Taylor trying to motivate Orange Cassidy earlier in the show when his character hadn’t been active on TV for quite some time. He was put into a difficult spot of carrying the emotional load in the closing segment without much of a runway.
I’ll predict 620k this week.
It’s 2024 and Chris Jehrico won the ROH title in this show. 620 would seem like a gift
So Sammy is a jobber now? Settle in there Rick O’Shea
They’re bringing the big guns out Chucklefuck Taylor and Ishiiiiiiii! And giving Jericho another title run. No wonder this company is in the toilet. All they have to do to combat Moxley is to bring in the guy that works at Home Depot who beat him in the grappling tournament Moxley enters to try to prove what a tough guy he is
How long does it take you to transcribe all of Jim Cornette’s podcast every week?
So what? Cornette is right and has been right all along about AEW. No one wants to see Jericho in a top spot in 2024. No one wants to see this old Japanese guy who can’t move. Moxley is just horrible. A fake tough guy who no sells everything
If anyone wants to know what a crowd groaning sounds like, listen to the crowd’s reaction for Strong’s entrance tonight.
Could they take the time to show us why the jobbers care so much about defending Aew from Mox’ takeover?
And why they don’t seem to care about it enough to consider coming out as one group so they have the numbers advantage.