It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but that still leaves a few hours for wrestling. The final AEW Dynamite of 2019 comes to us from Corpus Christi, Texas, and promises Jungle Boy vs. Chris Jericho and a tag team title match. Let’s do this, then, live on TNT.
Match 1 – Lucha Brothers vs. “Hangman” Adam Page and Kenny Omega
Oh wow, we’re not wasting any time tonight. Some big names in the opener mean that Jim Ross isn’t exaggerating when he says it’s a PPV feel, and the dueling chants from the crowd prove both teams have big support. Page looks really good as he gets the spotlight all to himself in the middle of the match, and you get the feeling the fans are starting to react to him the way AEW hoped they would from the start. Better late than never, though, when it comes to getting over. Alas, it doesn’t end well for Hangman, who accidentally smashes Omega with a Buckshot lariat and leaves him easy prey for the Lucha Brothers to finish off. Welp. As they are about to start shoving each other, PAC appears on the screen to remind him that he wants a rematch. Doing so means finding Kenny’s buddy Michael Nakazawa in the Male Talent locker room, who is blissfully unaware while listening to his headphones. Omega gets there too late, blunders into an ambush by the Lucha Brother, and has to be bailed out by Page. A lot going on in this segment. Maybe too much.
Match 2 – The Butcher and The Blade (w/ The Bunny) vs. Darby Allin and Cody
The announce team reminds us that MJF is funding BBB, making them kind of mercenary heels. J.R. can’t keep Butcher and Blade straight, to which Tony Schiavone tells him to “just read the rear end” since they have their names on the backs of their trunks. Heh. Bunny plays her part too, distracting the ref several times in the finest classic heel manager tradition. The fan favorites win in the end, with Cody pinning Blade while Allin is hitting the Coffin Drop on the apron on Butcher.
Jungle Boy training montage! Get psyched to see him get ripped ahead of his showdown with Chris Jericho tonight.
Match 3 – Awesome Kong (w/ Brandi Rhodes) vs. Local Talent
Kong wins in a squash and collects another lock of hair. Brandi thinks Kris Statlander is going to join her Nightmare Collective, but that seems rather unlikely.
Jungle Boy sits down with a pre-taped interview with J.R., where he discusses his respect for Jericho the legend and how proud his late father Luke Perry would be if he were around to see him face Le Champion.
Match 4 – Chris Jericho (w/ Jake Hager) vs. Jungle Boy (w/ Luchasaurus and Marko Stunt)
The gimmick here is that there’s only a 10-minute time limit to go with Jericho’s boast from last week that Jungle Boy couldn’t last 10 minutes with him. Of course, Hager and Luchasaurus get into it on the outside, with Stunt taking a huge shot as well, and referee Aubrey Edwards kicks them all out of the ringside area. The tension becomes whether Jungle Boy will get a pinfall or just make it the distance, and it really ratchets up as he ends up in the Walls of Jericho and makes it to the time limit without tapping out. An undaunted Jericho yells at the timekeeper to give him five more minutes. That ends with Jericho walking out on the match after barely surviving two near falls.
After a commercial break, Jericho takes exception to Schiavone reminding him that Jungle Boy did indeed last 10 minutes. But Le Champion would rather address the big question, which is whether Jon Moxley will join the Inner Circle, upping the ante by promising Mox a big surprise on January 1 if Jon says yes. Funny stuff.
SCU is due for a backstage interview before they defend their belts, but the very busy Lucha Brothers show up and crash the party. Pentagon Jr. says he doesn’t think Christopher Daniels still has “it” any more, and instead of proving him wrong, Daniels just walks out. Lot of that going around tonight.
Match 5 – Kris Statlander vs. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.
The winner gets a title shot on the New Year’s Day show, and if it seems strange for Statlander to be in this spot already while Baker has been putting in work, maybe that will give Britt fuel for a heel turn if she loses. Clearly feeling her oats, Statlander wins the match and refuses Brandi’s offer to join the Nightmare Collective, for which she receives a cheap shot from Rhodes.
For some reason, AEW feels we need to hear from Shawn Spears. He wants a tag team partner and charges Tulli Blanchard with finding him one.
Main Event – Young Bucks (challengers) vs. SCU (champions) – AEW World Tag Team Championship Match
It’s interesting that the Bucks have had to go through quite a bit just to get to this point, almost like they are overcompensating for being some of the people in charge of AEW by not giving themselves the belts. That thinking still applies afterward, because SCU manages to retain their titles in a hard-fought encounter. Almost immediately after the bell rings, the Dark Order appears, with Evil Uno announcing that this is an initiation night. Recruitment must be going pretty well, because there are tons of Creepers, including Alex Reynolds and Jon Silver. Omega, Cody and Dustin Rhodes try to run to the rescue but are hopelessly outnumbered. Looks like Reynolds and Silver are officially Creepers now, and Evil Uno says no one will ever doubt the Dark Order again. Not exactly a fairy tale ending to the last show of the year, but hey, you’ll have this sometime. Have a great holiday season, and we’ll see you in two weeks!
Nick Tylwalk has been with SLAM! Wrestling since the dawn of time, or at least since before the turn of the century. He spends his days doing PR things, but he’ll always make time to sneak away for some wrestling.