Because AEW has had relatively few pay-per-views so far, we don’t have too many examples of what to expect on the next Dynamite after one of them. So let’s see: Jon Moxley is going to be on hand to show off his new gold. Chris Jericho will be mad about it. Other things are likely to happen. Let’s stop speculating and find out what they are, live from somewhere near Denver on TNT.
It’s the first time ever for Jon Moxley to head to the ring on Dynamite with his new championship belt. He takes his time getting there, making my job easier. Moxley says his belt is beautiful because it represents the sport he loves, professional wrestling, and that it belongs not to himself but the fans. “We brought pro wrestling back,” Moxley exclaims, and the fans cheer him on even more for saying it. Though he vows to go through any hell to defend the championship, Mox also knows the Inner Circle is going to be coming for him, and he dares them to do it. That brings out Chris Jericho and the entire Inner Circle (including, for some reason, Jake Hager wearing a polo shirt and his wrestling trunks). Though the crowd is enjoying the beginning of the Moxley Era, Jericho thinks it “sucks ass” and that Moxley cheated and lied to win because he could see out of both eyes. Yes, he actually said that. Because they’re upset, the members of the Inner Circle are going to start taking out whoever they want, starting with Moxley. To back up his assertion, Jericho says he will take a 60-day leave of absence from AEW if Moxley leaves the ring under his own power tonight.
Match 1 – SCU and Colt Cabana vs. Dark Order
Cabana is making his AEW debut here, but everyone is waiting to see if someone else will come out during this match. I won’t say who, but it rhymes with “Bat Tardy.” It’s pretty sweet that Cabana gets the pin, but Uno says the Exalted One will be furious and that heads will roll when he arrives.
The highlight package for the tag team title match from Revolution has some awesome pull quotes from some of the heavyweights of wrestling journalism. Also, very cool highlights.
Match 2 – Big Swole vs. Leva Bates (w/ Peter Avalon)
Dr. Britt Baker brings Tony Schiavone some Starbucks, which is humorous if you’ve been following her heel turn. It’s possibly to foreshadow a feud with Swole, who wins easily over the closest thing AEW has to an enhancement talent in its women’s division.
In case you missed it, MJF beat Cody on Saturday night, and the highlight video reveals something shocking: He cheated to win. Wait, that’s the opposite of shocking.
Cody comes out to discuss what just happened to him but all anyone on Twitter wants to talk about is his new neck tattoo. Seriously, you can’t unsee it. He wants MJF to come out and tell him to his face he won fair and square, but instead, it’s wrestling legend Jake “The Snake” Roberts who comes to the ring. Roberts mixes quite a few metaphors while explaining why he’s in AEW, but it sounds like he’s going to be the manager for someone who wants a shot at Cody.
Match 3 – Chuck Taylor (w/ Trent and Orange Cassidy) vs. “The Bastard” PAC
PAC went from a feud with Kenny Omega to apparently working with all the Best Friends, but as over as Cassidy is right now, that’s not as big a step back as it might first appear. PAC wins by submission, and when Cassidy and PAC go for a post-fight staredown, the Lucha Brothers quickly enter the fray and leave the Best Friends a mess. PAC announces that the three of them are now known as Death Triangle, or Triángulo de la Muerte. I dig it. Might need some face factions, though, to combat the growing number of heel stables.
Here’s a guy no one was really missing: Shawn Spears. He and Tully Blanchard are still looking for the perfect partner for Spears, and they seem to be asking for submissions.
Match 4 – QT Marshall (w/ Brandi Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes) vs. Jake Hager (w/ Santana and Ortiz)
Poor QT. Why you bully him, AEW, by sacrificing him to Hager? Marshall loses by submission, everyone else hits the ring, and Cody ends up running down to get into it too. Ortiz uses a steel chair to stop Cody’s assault, but Matt Jackson dishes out superkicks and then goes right after Hager. That ends badly for Matt, so the question now is whether Adam Page is there to assist or just drink. After he makes sure his beer is somewhere safe, he does indeed help the faces, getting a huge pop by hitting Hager with a Buckshot lariat. He proceeds to give Jackson the bird. Page is either the simplest or most complicated dude in the locker room. Take your pick.
MJF says he went from protege to prodigy by pinning Cody and aims to make his legacy as the greatest world champion ever. He appears to have his sights set on Moxley and calls out most of the top faces and heels, saying he’ll go through any of them. Revealing his “I pinned Cody” shirt, MJF calls it “distracting … kind of like a neck tattoo.” Ouch.
Main Event – Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara vs. Jon Moxley and Darby Allin
During Moxley’s entrance, the champ gets jumped by three men in luchador masks and AEW sweatshirts and dragged out to the concourse. No surprises here: It’s just Hager, Santana and Ortiz. Those guys are busy tonight. Hager chokes out Mox, leaving Allin to go it alone, not that he minds. The crowd eventually resorts to some swears forcing the person on the delay to cut the audio a number of times. The fans get recharged by Allin’s Coffin Drop onto the entire Inner Circle, and he nearly wins the match with another on only Guevara. Alas, the odds get to him eventually, and he’s pinned despite a valiant effort. What’s left of Moxley hobbles to the ring with a chair, driving off the Inner Circle in short order, but it’s only temporary: Hager hits him with a cheap shot from behind, and the Inner Circle takes him all the way up to the stage where they powerbomb him through a table. Looks like Jericho won’t have to take any time off as he and his henchmen pose in triumph. It’s good to be the bad guys, at least for tonight. See you in seven!
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.