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AEW Dynamite: Copeland and Cage, plus the Continental Classic in Montreal

Tommy "Milagro" Martinez
AEW TNT Championship: Christian Cage (c) Vs. Adam Copeland at AEW Dynamite at Centre Bell in Montreal, Quebec, on Wednesday, December 6, 2023. Photo by Minas Panagiotakis, www.photography514.com

AEW TNT Championship: Christian Cage (c) Vs. Adam Copeland at AEW Dynamite at Centre Bell in Montreal, Quebec, on Wednesday, December 6, 2023. Photo by Minas Panagiotakis, www.photography514.com

It’s Wednesday night, and you know what that means? No, it’s not your Last Christmas (unless you’re playing Whamageddon). It’s AEW Dynamite and as we move forward with the Gold League of the Continental Classic, old friends are now bitter rivals as Christian Cage will defend his TNT Championship against Adam Copeland.

From the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC, Canada, Excalibur, Taz, and Tony Schiavone have the call.

Excalibur goes over the rules again of the Continental Classic, which are:

  • 20 Minute Time Limit

  • 3 Points For A Win

  • 1 Point For A Draw

  • Everyone Is Banned From Ringside

Now we start hot with the First Match of the Classic with…

Jon Moxley vs. Rush

This is Tranquilo versus Death Jitsu.  Early on in the match, both men give no quarter, and Rush feigns the Bulls Horns but stops and slaps Mox and stays tranquilo.  Then Mox gets up and proclaims Rush is “number one.”

Montreal lets out, “F*** him up, Mox-ley! F*** him up!” chants, but Rush gains the upper hand as he throws Mox into the barricade with a belly-to-belly suplex and during Picture in Picture he preens as Mox struggles to get back in the ring.  Rush takes his time, slows the tempo down, and goes for a reverse triangle choke and Mox is looking the worse for wear.  A mistake allows Mox to hit the DDT but Rush landed funny on his ankle.  He lands a piledriver and a cocky cover gets him a count of two.  Then another superplex to Mox is not enough as he gets a two count again.  Mox throws a charging Rush out and follows with a tope and both men are down.  The ref starts the count and they both barely get back in the ring at nine.  Mox goes for the lariat connect but Rush stays up and nails him with a discuselbow.  He attempts the Bulls Horns but Mox gets up for King Kong Lariat and the Death Rider connects to cover for a two count and he quickly cinches the bulldog choke as Rush taps out.

Your Winner via Submission:  Jon Moxley.

Mox gets three points for a total of nine. 

Jay Lethal and Mark Briscoe need to get on the board, and that leads to a preview between Lethal and White tonight.

Renee Paquette is at the top of the ramp with Roderick Strong and The Kingdom. He wheels out and tells RENEEEEE! that MJF will stab his best friend by proxy Samoa Joe. Then, a “miracle” occurs as he stands up out of his wheelchair and tells us he was held back for far too long.

Backstage, Paquette waits for MJF by his dressing room and Adam Page wanders by.  He talks about the fallout from Full Gear, and there is something he wants to say to Swerve Strickland and the world. Strickland beat him in a Texas Death Match and conceded the loss, but he took something from him and this is far from over.

Enter MJF and they bicker, and Paquette’s eye-roll speaks volumes as we are SO over this.  MJF thinks Page is The Devil, and he denies the accusations. They’re about to go to blows until Samoa Joe steps in and becomes the peacemaker.

Wonder where Joe was when CM Punk and Jack Perry came to blows (oh wait…too soon)?

But back to the next match in the Continental Classic between…

Mark Briscoe vs. Swerve Strickland

Strickland’s shoulder is heavily taped up and that will provide a nice target for Briscoe.  The match shows both men playing a conservative yet technical game of one-up-manship with neither getting the advantage.  Then Strickland hits the Russian legsweep and whips Briscoe into the corner.  He whips him to the other end and Strickland reverses with a back elbow and rolls him out to the center of the ring to connect with a flying European uppercut.

Then Strickland gives a delayed neckbreaker but again gets a two count.  Then the battle goes to the outside and Briscoe is sent over the barricade into the crowd and Strickland follows with a superplex from the guardrail to the floor.  During Picture in Picture, Strickland keeps on offense and stymies Briscoe at every turn.  Briscoe gets some offense in and knocks him off the top turnbuckle to tumble to the floor and follows with a somersault senton outside.  They get back in the ring and Briscoe’s lariat connects and he covers, but Strickland kicks out.  He attempts the Jay Driller but Strickland rolls through and hits his JML Driver and then follows up with a 450 splash for another two count.  A DVD by Briscoe allows him to position Strickland in the center and nail the froggy ‘bow, but Strickland blocks and rolls him up for a near fall.  “Five minutes left,” announces Justin Roberts, and it’s gut check time, as Strickland pulls out a DVD to Briscoe on the apron edge and rolls him back in to deliver the double stomp that ends it.

Your Winner via Pinfall:  Swerve Strickland

Three more points for Strickland, and Briscoe has yet to get on the board.

Paquette is now with Mariah May and she tells us she will add glamour to AEW, and we will be able to see a “Timeless” Toni Storm in action.

Riveting, wasn’t it (he wrote, knowing that vanilla has more flavor than that promo).

Next up is Samoa Joe in the ring for his tag match.  The lights start to flicker and out come the Devils, clearly gimmick infringing The House of Black. Then the lights go out, and once they come back on Joe is alone. The Khan Tron shows an image of The Devil and then an image of MJF laid out by a broken bottle and Joe runs backstage to check on him.

Mox starts to give a promo on his journey in the Continental Classic since he’s the Ace of the World, but Strickland interrupts.  He tells the Death Jitsu master that he will win at all costs, which is funny because Mox plans to do the same when they face each other next week. “See ya in Texas,” says Strickland.

Now Ben Mankiewicz from TCM goes over the accolades of Toni Storm.

Hey, sometimes, it’s cool when you try something new.

But it’s time for your next match for the…

AEW Women’s Championship: “Timeless” Toni Storm(c)(with Luther and Mariah May) vs. Skye Blue

The Timeless one is quite a step ahead of Blue at every turn, and at one point on the apron edge, Luther helps Storm onto his shoulders and they throw Blue out of the ring onto the floor.

Then she sets up Blue in the corner of the barricade and nails a hip attack, and relaxes on the top ropes as Blue crawls back to the ring. Storm winds up her arm alllll the way and clocks her on the forehead.  The Timeless One is in control throughout the match, and she winds up again but Blue nails a drop kick and then a high knee strike.  Storm blocks a kick and then Blue counters with a kneeling spin kick, and then climbs up top and lands a diving crossbody for a two count.  She gets a waistlock and Storm switches around and nails a German suplex.  But then a thrust kick by Blue drops Storm in the corner, and she follows with a hip attack and then a face wash.  Code Blue connects but only for a two count.

Blue goes back up top and Storm cuts her off at the pass and then counters for a superplex.  Then she nails her with a hip attack and goes for Storm Zero, but Blue reverses to a roll-up, and Storm shifts and gets Blue pinned for the three count.

Your Winner via Pinfall, and Still AEW Women’s Champion:  “Timeless” Toni Storm

While Storm celebrates her victory, the music hits and Riho comes back. The original AEW Women’s champ then dropkicks her and goes for a tope Luther carries her off. How dare she!

We get the final Cage/Copeland vignette before their upcoming match.

But before that, we need to get to the last Continental Classic match of the Gold League between…

Jay Lethal vs. Jay White

This is a must-win for Lethal, who has yet to put any points on the board.  Also, I have never been a fan of heel-versus-heel matches, but let’s see where this takes us.

Both men jockey for position at the start of the match, but it ends in a stalemate.  They go hold for counterhold, and before Lethal can strut his stuff White attacks to stop that nonsense.  He finally gets the upper hand on White and now Lethal struts, Jackie Fargo-style.  The Montreal fans show how invested they are by chanting, “Let’s go Jay/Jay Sucks!” chants.

Heh.

White brings the fire as he damages Lethal’s knee and gets a reverse STF, and then he heads up the top turnbuckle where Lethal catches him and nails the Lethal Combination.

He keeps up the momentum with a lariat to White followed by tope suicida.  Back in the ring he gives White the torture rack into a reverse steam roller and tops it with an elbow drop to cover for a count of two.  White torques his knee further and suplexes Lethal into the turnbuckles and then gives a brain buster for just a two count.  There’s a sleeper suplex by White and then a series of reversals by both men vying for position. but a roll-up on Lethal gives White the pin and the win.

Your Winner via Pinfall:  Jay White

That’s three more points to White for a total of six, but none for Lethal.

But let’s cue up the Alter Bridge for your Main Event for the…

AEW TNT Championship: Christian Cage(c) vs. Adam Copeland

Cage’s new intro screen says “Father” and “Patriarchy.”  Meanwhile, Copeland’s ring gear has a motif similar to the Calgary Hitmen logo. 

After Justin Roberts delivers the boxing style intros for this title match, the former friends do a stare down and Cage begins with the jaw-jacking.  Copeland has heard enough and slaps him and goes for a sleeper hold.  Cage struggles and gets a foot on the bottom rope to break the submission.

Copeland clubs as his chest and then boots Cage into the barricades.  The Rated R Superstar follows and rams his head onto the commentary desk repeatedly.  He tosses Cage back in the ring, and he asks Copeland to hold on. Then he tries a low blow, but Copeland intercepts and stomps his hand, and then proceeds to break his fingers.

Copeland is on a rampage (his actions, not the third-tier show) as fans chant at Cage, “Who’s your Daddy?”  At one point, Cage tugs at Copeland’s arms, and his throat hits the cables.  As he is dazed, Cage sends him over the barricade and into the crowd and has the ref do a count out during Picture in Picture.  Copeland barely makes it back and Cage utilizes the Power of Douchenozzlery™to keep his former friend down.  He tries to stage a comeback, but to no avail, and then Cage mounts him and punches and Copeland bites his hand, and then connects with a top rope Russian Legsweep.

The match swings Copeland’s way as he blocks Cage’s pendulum kick and gives him a flying clothesline from the apron to the floor.  Cage counters as he throws him headfirst into the steel steps and as he rolls Copeland back in the ring he leaps from the top rope to nail a frog splash for just a two count.  He charges and Copeland reverses into the Impaler for a two count.  Now the Rated R Superstar climbs the top rope but Cage trips him up up.  He attempts the superplex and Copeland blocks so that he can give a running powerbomb on Cage, but it’s only good for a two count.  Cage goes for the Killswitch but Copeland gets the sit-out rear mat slam (since you can’t call it an Edge-o-Matic anymore, for obvious reasons) for another two count and then quickly transitions into a crossface, yet Cage gets his foot on the bottom rope again to break the submission.  He mounts him for the ground and pound, and then Copeland sets up for the spear.  Cage leapfrogs and delivers the Killswitch for one, two…no such luck.

Now Cage sets up for his spear and Copeland moves away at the last minute, and then he kicks the ref in the yam bags, to use a Taz-ism.  He grabs the TNT belt and winds up and Copeland dodges.  Both men hit their spears and are laid out in the ring  Meanwhile, Shayna Wayne walks down to the ring and grabs the belt.  She looks at both Cage and Copeland but finally chooses to clock the Rated R Superstar on the head as payback for him delivering a con-chair-to on her son’s cranium (even though he deserved it, let’s not lie).  Cage adds injury to insult with another Killswitch and then stomps his head on the belt.  The ref finally comes to as Cage makes the cover and he counts one, two, and three.

Your Winner via Pinfall, and Still AEW TNT Champion:  Christian Cage

Cage holds the belt aloft as the show fades to black.

TOP PHOTO: AEW TNT Championship: Christian Cage (c) Vs. Adam Copeland at AEW Dynamite at Centre Bell in Montreal, Quebec, on Wednesday, December 6, 2023. Photo by Minas Panagiotakis, www.photography514.com

RELATED LINK

Minas Panagiotakis’ AEW Dynamite Montreal photo gallery
AEW Dynamite - 12/6/2023
3.5

Final Thoughts:

Copeland and Cage still got it, as evidenced in the Main Event.  Also, sold work in the Continental Classic by Rush/Moxley and even White/Lethal turned me around.

So let’s do this again in seven!

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