If you’re a Sammy Guevara fan, better get your fill of him while you can. Because if he keeps taking crazy bumps like some of the ones he took during his ladder match against Scorpio Sky on Wednesday night for the TNT Championship, he may injure himself – or worse. Sammy lost the match – and hopefully that is all. It was a wild match to cap off a night that saw one of the better matches you’ll see on any company’s TV this week. And a lot of other stuff, too.
Match 1: Dax Harwood vs. Cash Wheeler – Owen Hart Tournament qualifier match
This match-the first ever singles match between the members of FTR – was the aforementioned really good match. They started off with some classic technical wrestling, culminating in a handshake after an even-steven standoff. Things got less technical after Cash suffered an errant thumb to the eye – whether this was inadvertent by Dax or not was unclear.
Oooooooo it's getting heated 👀 #AEWDynamitepic.twitter.com/S1VVUmAq4G
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) April 28, 2022
After that, they both got a bit aggressive, hitting bigger moves, including a big Superplex by Dax, and a mid-air collision when they both attempted Flying Body Presses. Dax got a near fall after a Rebound Sit-out Powerbomb, and later Cash hit a Piledriver for a 2-count. Another mid-ring collision led to both of them tumbling through the ropes to the floor, where Dash clutched at his knee. They both made it back in the ring at the count of 9, and Dax noticed that Cash’s knee was apparently injured. He hesitated in putting on the Sharpshooter, so as to not injure his partner, so Dash rolled him up for a pin attempt. But Dax was able to shift his weight and reverse the rollup, leading to Dash getting pinned. After the match, they embraced in a show of mutual respect.
This was excellent. In many ways, this was reminiscent of an Owen vs. Bret match, which is one of the higher compliments I can give. Great way to start the show.
Winner: Dax Harwood
They announced that CM Punk will challenge Hangman Page for the World Championship at Double or Nothing on May 29th.
CM Punk then hit the ring to address the crowd. He said that when he first came to AEW, he wondered if he still had what it takes, but he knows now that he does. And while he can’t always promise a win, he will promise to always give 100%. And he credits the fans for being a big part of his return success. He says that win, lose, or draw, Page will know he’s been in a fight at Double or Nothing.
Scorpio Sky and Dan Lambert cut a promo backstage. It was pretty unmemorable.
Match 2: The Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Wheeler Yuta, and Jon Moxley) vs. QT Marshall, Nick Comoroto, and Aaron Solow (w/ Anthony Ogogo)
The jobbers were already in the ring for this one, so we were only forced to watch three introductions, as each member of the BCC made separate entrances. William Regal joined the commentary team for this one, since apparently three commentators aren’t enough. A big brawl started this one off, and then BCC took over for a bit, before the jobbers isolated Yuta in their corner. Yuta eventually got the tag to Danielson who took over, including nailing the other jobbers on the floor with a Flying Dive. Moxley and Danielson double-teamed a couple of the jobbers, but then Comoroto out-muscled Yuta and threw him around. Yuta reversed it, and as Danielson and Moxley beat down the other jobbers, Yuta chopped down Comoroto, tied up his arms, and cradled him for the pin.
This was all right. It’s a shame that Danielson is being squandered in this team competing against nobodies when he really should be competing for – or, better yet, holding – the World Championship. Regal on commentary was fun, though. This crowd was really into Yuta, who is apparently from Philadelphia.
Winners: The Blackpool Combat Club
Backstage, Tony Schiavone was with Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, and Toni Storm, who have all qualified for the Owen Cup Tournament. They promised there would be no physicality during the interview. Ruby Soho, another qualifier, joined them. Soho insulted them and suggested they all fight the and there, but Hayter and Baker left.
Tony Schiavone was with Christian and Jurassic Express. Jungle Boy said that he was disappointed in his loss last week. Christian gave him some tough love and told them that he could redeem himself if he and Luchasaurus took on an open challenge for any Top 5 rated team. Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbes walked in and threw down the gauntlet.
Match 3: Lance Archer (w/ Jake “the Snake” Roberts) vs. Wardlow
MJF and Shawn Spears were in the luxury box, and before Wardlow’s entrance, they insulted the crowd. MJF was wrong: Philly girls don’t use their personalities as birth control: it’s their looks. Other than Francine, of course. She’s a goddess.
As the one Security guy sloooowly took off Wardlow’s handcuffs, the rest moved into position around him so that Archer could take them all out with a Flying Somersault Dive off the apron, knocking them over like bowling pins. In the ring, Wardlow came back with a crazy impressive Running Hurancarana. After a double Clothesline that put them both down, they exchanged forearms and strikes. Archer hit an Old School Moonsault that looked neat, and then a Chokeslam for a two-count. Archer hit the Blackout, but Wardlow escaped the pinfall attempt. Wardlow escaped a top rope move attempt, and then hit a Swanton Dive for a two-count. Wardlow then pulled down his singlet straps, which is never a good sign for his opponent. He hit a four movement Powerbomb Symphony and that was all she wrote for Archer.
Stunned…….there are no words to describe @RealWardlow 🤯 #AEWDynamitepic.twitter.com/iVbXPTZbsr
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) April 28, 2022
This was a fun slobberknocker of a fight. The crowd is huge into Wardlow and hopefully they don’t blow the eventual moment when he gets his hands on MJF.
Winner: Wardlow
Jericho Appreciation Society / Kingston & LAX Confrontation
There was a table with chairs on either side set up in the ring. Jericho came to the ring along with his flunkies, Daniel Garcia, 2point0, and Jake Hager. They said that it had been agreed upon that there would be no physicality during this segment. Kingston and LAX stormed into the ring and immediately threw out the chairs on their side of the table. Jericho demanded an apology from Kingston et al for having the JAS kicked out of the arena this past Friday on Rampage. LAX responded with a couple of birds. Garcia and 2point0 tried to provoke a fight. Eddie suggested they go at it right then, even if the odds were 5-on-3. Jericho said that the JAS were putting a hit on all three of them and would take them out one by one. Kingston said that he would put all of the JAS in the ground, and intimidated Jericho into silence.
Kingston was tremendous here, and he and Jericho had a fantastic exchange. LAX are good on the mic as well, but this was all Eddie and Chris. Daniel Garcia and 2point0 look and sound like indie talents, especially compared to the others. Hager, of course, might as well not even been here for all he did.
Match 4: Serena Deeb vs. Hikaru Shida – Philly Street Fight
The two started off with some Singapore cane exchanges, and then Deeb used a chair to great advantage, blocking a Shida flying knee attempt. Deeb continued to attack Shida’s knee with submission leglocks and additional chair shots. Shida fought back, but Serena countered by throwing a handful of mysterious white powder in Shida’s face (has she been going through Tony Khan’s desk?), and then blasting her with the Singapore cane. A blinded Shida found a cane and took wild swings with the cane, until she was able to get a bottle of water and wash out her eyes – and give us a wet t-shirt party in the process – what is this, the Attitude Era? They kicked out of finishers, with Deeb hitting a Detox on a chair, but Shida kicked out. Deeb then clamped on Detox and again bashed Shida’s knee with the chair. She locked on a Texas Cloverleaf, and with her knee in so much pain, Shida had no choice but to tap out. After the match, they showed that Thunder Rosa had been watching the match in the back with interest.
This was good, and they employed decent psychology with the punishment to Shida’s knee paying off in the end. Deeb is a great wrestler and against some better competition overall could be a major star.
Winner: Serena Deeb
In the back, MJF and Shawn Spears said that he wasn’t worried about Wardlow, as he had a plan. He called up someone on the phone and offered him six figures for a match against Wardlow. He teased that it would be W. Morrissey (formerly, WWE’s Big Cass).
House of Black segment
The lights went out, and unfortunately when they turned back on, Sabu wasn’t in the ring. Instead, Fuego del Sol was shown laid out on the entrance ramp. The House of Black members came out and were going to remove his mask, but they stopped when someone in the ring, with a shroud over him, called out to them. They went to confront the shrouded figure, when Penta’s music hit. He came out to the entrance ramp and was joined by Pac and Penta’s announcer. They stared menacingly at the House of Black who turned around to see that the now-unshrouded figure was Rey Fenix.
A fight ensued in and out of the ring, ending with Death Triangle hitting stereo Flying Dives on the House of Black on the floor.
The #DeathTriangle hasn't lost a step🔺 #AEWDynamitepic.twitter.com/jIrEEwUw7z
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) April 28, 2022
If you care about these teams, you’d probably like this. Otherwise? Meh.
In the back, Tony Schiavone was with Swerve Strickland and Darby Allin, who will be competing on Friday in an Owen Hart Tournament qualifier match. They argued over whose house AEW is. They’re both lucky Reverend Run isn’t All Elite.
Match 5: Adam Cole, reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish), and the Young Bucks (w/ Brandon Cutler) vs. Brian Pillman Jr., Griff Garrison, “Shoddy” Lee Johnson, Dante Martin, Brock Anderson, (w/ Arn Anderson and Julia Hart)
I make it a rule to not watch Young Bucks matches – they’re on my list of unwatchable performers along with Randy Orton. But for the sake of you, faithful readers, I swallowed the bile and gritted through this mess. The refereeing was terrible, and I don’t think that he even started a count while the Bucks et al were standing on the floor regrouping after getting hit with a bunch of moves by the babyfaces.
ReDRagon and Anderson had a decent exchange, but unfortunately the good stuff was in the Picture-in-Picture. After the break, four heels stood beat up one babyface while the ref stood there like an idiot. Then Cole joined them and the ref allowed a 5-on-1 attack and eventually one of the babyfaces got pinned.
After the match, Cole, Fish, and KO presented the Bucks with Undisputed Elite t-shirts.
If you like Young Bucks nonsense, you’d probably like this. And I probably don’t want to be your friend.
Winners: the Young Bucks, Adam Cole, and reDRagon
The cameras cut to backstage where the JAS had laid out LAX and then swarmed Eddie Kingston. As the rest of JAS held him, Jericho threw a fireball into Kingston’s face. That looked great.
The no violence stopped inside the ring #AEWDynamitepic.twitter.com/2bTqg6KBnE
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) April 28, 2022
They did a video package for this coming Friday’s ROH Television Title against Trent Beretta.
They also announced that Deonna Purrazzo will be defending her ROH Women’s Championship against Interim ROH Women’s Champion Mercedes Martinez on next week’s Dynamite. This will be Purrazzo’s first time on AEW programming, and if you’ve not seen her work (despite all the times I’ve said during an Impact report that you should go out of your way to see her match, in which case, shame on you), then you should definitely watch this one.
Match 6: Sammy Guevara (c) (w/ Tay Conti) vs. Scorpio Sky (w/ Dan Lambert and Ethan Page) – Ladder match for the TNT Championship
This was a wild one from the get-go, with both of them exchanging hard moves on the floor – Sky whipping Sammy into the ringside barrier, and Sammy coming back with a German Suplex on the ramp.
They set up a ladder, and then came a scary-looking move: Sammy was on the top of a ladder, and hit a Jumping Twisting Suicide Senton off of it, landing hard on his neck and shoulders, barely grazing Sky. He hit the mat hard, landing hard and high on his shoulders and neck. Either he was selling, or he really got his bell rung, because Sammy was barely able to move for a couple of minutes while the refs checked on him. Sky tried to cover for him, slowly climbing the ladder, so Sammy could crawl over and kind of push it over. Then, Conti grabbed Sky’s leg from outside the ring and Sky sold it like he’d been shot.
After the break, Sammy looked like he was finally lucid, and things ramped up. Sky climbed the ladder again, and Sammy went for a Springboard from the second ladder, but Sky caught him and dropped him with a Cutter off the ladder – that looked great.
Does @sammyguevara think he can defy gravity or just have a death wish? 😦 #AEWDynamitepic.twitter.com/Kbo6TQ26do
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) April 28, 2022
Then, Sky went under the ring and got a third ladder – this one wrapped in barbed wire. Which he felt the sting of, when Sammy dropped him on the wire with a Standing Spanish Fly.
Then the whole thing devolved into a fustercluck. Dan Lambert got dragged in and Tay kicked him in the little Lamberts. Tay Conti and Paige Van Zandt got involved, at one point jumping on their man’s opponent’s back, and fighting each other as their men climbed either side of the ladder. After dropping the women down, Sammy and Sky jockeyed for position until Sammy pushed Sky down to the mat. Sammy thought he had an easy win, but Sky tilted the ladder over and Sammy fell onto the barbed wire ladder that was leaning against the ropes.
Someone make it stop 😳 😳 😳 #AEWDynamitepic.twitter.com/kHmhUJOdhi
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) April 28, 2022
Sky went up top, but Sammy Springboarded off the ropes and Spider-Manned himself onto the ladder. Sky dropped him again, and then reached up and grabbed the belt to become the new TNT Championship.
After the match, Frankie Kazarian came to the ring to congratulate his friend Sky, who celebrated with Page, Paige, and Lambert.
This was a confusing match, simply because of the heel-face dynamic. Sammy and Tay have seemingly become heels due to their gross PDA. But Lambert is supposed to be a heel, too, and presumably the intent is for that to extend to his stable – for example, people hate Ethan Page. But the crowd seemed incredibly pleased by Sky’s win. So maybe he’s just misplaced by putting him with Lambert? Also, Sammy’s recklessness continues, and that’s troubling. Third, how many times are they going to flip this title between these two? Sky beat Sammy in March, Sammy regained it less than two weeks ago, and now Sky has it again. Why the hot potato? Lastly, why give this match away for free? This gimmick could easily have been a PPV match, given more time to be a potential epic, and they could have even resolved some of the storyline confusion.
That all said, it was fun and had some nifty spots.
Winner, and new TNT Champion: Scorpio Sky
TOP PHOTO: Scorpio Sky and Sammy Guevara mid-air. Photo by George Tahinos, georgetahinos.smugmug.com
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