By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@jakebarnett)
AEW Dynamite (Episode 349 – The Summer Blockbuster)
Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Andrew J. Brady Music Center
Simulcast live June 10, 2026, on TBS and HBO Max
Pyro went off in the arena as Tony Schiavone stood in the ring. Excalibur and Taz sat at the commentary desk. Schiavone kicked off the show from the ring and introduced Tommaso Ciampa. Video played from Collision of Ciampa threatening Tony Schiavone and forcing him to declare that Ciampa was better than Chris Jericho.
Ciampa attempted to force another admission from Schiavone in the ring, and he initially refused, but Ciampa ramped up the threats and he eventually started to capitulate. Jericho interrupted before Schiavone could finish his statement, which allowed Tony to exit the ring. Ciampa became irate and demanded the music be cut, to no avail. He chastised the crowd for singing along to the music and asked Jericho what he had to say for himself.
Jericho made a bald joke, but then tried to deescalate and introduced himself. Ciampa said he knew who he was, and said he was the guy who left him unconscious two weeks ago. Jericho said it was nice to meet you, Tommy, and this kicked off an argument about the marketability of Tommaso. Ciampa said not even his mother calls him that, at which point Jericho started a “Tommy’s Mommy” chant. Jericho then wanted to know why Ciampa hated him so much, and continued to use Kevin Nealon’s subliminal comedy bit.
Ciampa said everything is a joke to Jericho, which caused Jericho to settle in and get serious. He said Ciampa was jealous of not being him, and his return confirmed that Ciampa wasn’t as big of a fish as he thought he was. This escalated into a hockey fight, which was broken up by a swarm of referees. They managed to break free and scuffle again, but it didn’t last long. Excalibur revealed that Maya World would step in to face Skye Blue in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup tournament due to Sareee not being cleared to compete.
Backstage, Kevin Knight and Don Callis were confronted by Andrade. He wanted his World Championship match, and called for Knight to go to the back of the line. Knight blew him off and said he and Callis had to go to the ring and handle business. He told Andrade to watch how it’s done. Back in the arena, Jon Moxley made his way to the ring for the opening match. He was followed by Shane Taylor, who was accompanied to the stage by the rest of Shane Taylor Promotions.
My Take: That opening promo between Moxley and Ciampa could have been an e-mail. Ciampa did alright with the material he had to work with but this current iteration of Jericho has yet to capture me in any meaningful way. It feels like a mish mash of some of his other work along with some borrowed bits from established comedians.
1. Jon Moxley vs. Shane Taylor for the AEW Continental Championship: The match was a strike fest with no clear advantage for the opening couple of minutes. The action spilled outside, where Taylor took control by tossing Moxley into the timekeeper’s area, and eventually put him through the timekeeper’s table with a chokeslam…[c]
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