Welcome to a (delayed) recap of last night’s AEW Dynamite!
Garland, TX was the locale for the show this week. This would be the go-home show for All-In this Saturday.
The Curtis Culwell Center is stoked for the show as we kick off! Shout-out to the fan front-row wearing Sting’s face paint.
The night gets underway with the final face-to-face between “The CEO”, TBS Champion Mercedes Mone and AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm.
Mone enters the ring first and invites Storm to join her. Storm and Luther are backstage and appear on the screen. The mind games continue but Mone is up to any game. Storm says she’s not hiding and comes out, Luther in tow.
The ring is set up with a red carpet and director’s chairs for the two women. Storm brings out a bottle of champagne and Mone makes the toast about her. Storm reminds Mone of the way she’s treated the champion. She says her challenger has “the emotional depth of a kiddie pool”. Only one way to take that if you’re Mone. Storm says all the pomp is a cover to hide from things her opponent is scared of.
Mone says they’ve walked “similar paths” but they’re nothing alike. She says she’s been to hell and back and “made the devil my bitch”. Nobody is going to stop the Mone train, not even the AEW Women’s Champion.
Mone repeats that the championship is her legacy. Storm rebuffs this notion, says that nothing matters beyond the present moment. Storm says she believes Mone deserves all the titles in the world, but not her AEW Women’s World Championship. “You will go down as the woman who couldn’t win the big one.”
Mone says “this Sunday” and quickly corrects herself. Things threaten to get physical but Mone escapes the ring. Storm basks in the moment, as she should.
Jon Moxley cuts a promo about his Texas Death match against “Hangman” Adam Page this Saturday at All In. He says he’s been beaten before but never lost a war of attrition. “Will you hold the line under the pressure of everybody who’s counting on you?”
Moxley thinks Page is pathetic but this Saturday is Page’s one chance to prove him wrong. Moxley and Page are “all the way in.”
The Founding Fathers’ limousine shows up to the arena as the first match gets set.
1. ROH World Champion Bandido and Brody King vs. Protoshita (Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita)
Kyle Fletcher is flanked by Don Callis and Lance Archer as he joins Takeshita.
King starts against Takeshita. Callis joins commentary, as he does. King starts with forearm shots and Takeshita lands a kick to the face. King gets down to one knee and Fletcher tags in. He runs at him and gets dropped very easily by King. Bandido comes in and lands a kick to the head.
Bandido and Takeshita take turns landing shots and then King and Fletcher get involved. Everyone ends up right in front of the announce desk. culminating with a Brody King TOPE SUICIDA. Yes. Brody King. The Boeing 747 takes flight!
ProtoShita regain control in the ring, dropping Bandido.
As is seemingly always the case in tag matches, Takeshita distracts ref Aubrey Edwards and Fletcher gets some shots in behind her back on Bandido. Callis calls FLetcher a “Greek god”. Odd. I thought Fletcher was Australian.
Fletcher gets Bandido in a headlock and he’s forced to roll to get his foot on the rope. Fletcher slows the match down.
Bandido beautifully counters Fletcher and spikes his head with a textbook DDT. He makes the tag to King. King nails Fletcher with a Cannonball Senton but “The Protostar” kicks out. Bandido gets Takeshita with a great Huricanrana in the middle of the ring but another kick-out prevents the match from ending.
Bandido reverses on Takeshita with another DDT. Fletcher and King end up outside the ring. King tries the Splash but Fletcher evades. Bandido gets to the top rope with hands holding Takeshita’s. He lands onto Fletcher outside.
Raging Fire back in the ring. Down for the count.
Winners: ProtoShita via pinfall.
The Outrunners cut a promo, reminding everyone of their match last week on Collision against FTR. They lost but the feud is not over
Renee Paquette is backstage with FTR and The Patriarchy. Christian says FTR have an unmatched tag resume and implies they’re a favor away from receiving a favor. “Big Stoke” says the biggest miscarriage of justice is FTR not being involved in the tag match at All In. He’s hesitant to fully agree to the partnership just yet.
2. Ricochet vs. Blake Christian
Earlier, Christian says he’s all alone and expects the same from Ricochet. Gates of Agony took out Lee Johnson and he’s not cleared.
Christian starts off with a lot of chops and punches to the head. Ricochet regains control as he briefly steps out, catching him as he re-enters the ring.
Blake Christian lands a big overhand shot to Ricochet’s head, a staple of any match Ricochet is involved in.
As Ricochet and Christian are outside, Gates of Agony show up just to intimidate. Ricochet says Christian was kicking his ass and was doing “real good”. Key word there is WAS. I think Christian should have expected Gates of Agony to be there anyway.
Gates of Agony appearing turn the tide of this match. Christian is able to muster enough for a beautiful Spanish Fly but Ricochet kicks out at two.
Blake Christian uses a modified House Call and a Cutter, following with a 450 Splash. Odes to three great AEW talents. Ricochet kicks out again. Gates of Agony finally get involved to tilt the match even further.
Spirit Gun followed by a Vertigo.
Ricochet via pinfall.
Gates of Agony get in the ring and punish Christian a bit more after the bell.
Renee Paquette is backstage with The Hurt Syndicate. Their attention is divided as the tag belts are missing. There’s a note from JetSpeed saying that they took the belts early.
A promo package airs for the Okada/Omega Unified Championship match. Their last match was seven years ago. This match will be the culmination of one of the most heated rivalries in all of sports.
Mark Briscoe comes to the ring for his “talky-talk” with MJF.
The crowd chants “talky-talk” before the two men get started. MJF says he’ll “dogwalk” Briscoe at All In. As usual, the crowd is audibly not pleased with MJF.
Briscoe says his opponent Saturday needs a “good ol country ass-whoopin’.” He’s not going to get physical on Wednesday. He’s proud of who he is because he’s had to work hard for everything he’s ever earned.
Briscoe says MJF can’t understand true riches . The WORD OF THE DAY is “bankrupt”. MJF is “morally bankrupt” and has “no soul”. Briscoe knows MJF is going to go after his late brother next. And he does. MJF doesn’t do this, saying Jay Briscoe was one of the best humans to ever get in a ring. MJF pities Jay because he has to “look down and see” what Mark’s become, a joke… in MJF’s view.
MJF goes too far, saying that he thinks Jay would have said he wished it would have been Mark. This clearly makes Briscoe snap and The Hurt Syndicate quickly come out, only to be met by JetSpeed from behind. The Patriarchy are involved in the tag title match Saturday, a 3-way that does not need The Hurt Syndicate to be pinned for them to lose the titles.
The Patriarchy come out and pick up the scraps of the tag champs. They go after Bobby Lashley’s left knee with chairs. JetSpeed bring Shelton Benjamin into the ring and Knight splashes on top.
As the team says, this is the most vulnerable The Hurt Syndicate have looked since their arrival in AEW.
3. Four-Way Match (For the No. 2 spot in the Women’s Casino Gauntlet at All In Texas): Megan Bayne vs. Tay Melo vs. Queen Aminata vs. Thekla
Kris Statlander is the #1 entrant in the Casino Gauntlet. She’s watching the match with keen interest. As Megan Bayne is accompanied by Penelope Ford, so is Tay Melo accompanied by Anna Jay. Thekla gets hit immediately by Bayne. Aminata and Melo go after each other at the same time.
Queen Aminata throws her body onto her three opponents on the outside. She singles out Thekla. The two have developed a heated rivalry the past few weeks. Melo and Bayne go at it outside of the ring. In the opposite corner of the floor, Thekla and Aminata take their shots at each other.
Aminata gets Thekla into the ring but Thekla kicks out to prevent the victory. After getting Chocolate Kisses from Aminata, Thekla uses the same move in retaliation. Melo mistimes her interference and then Bayne gets back in the ring. She goes for a pinfall on Aminata but she kicks out at two. Thekla goes for Bayne but is dropped by a Vertical Suplex.
Melo goes after Bayne with stiff elbow shots. Aminata gets a headbutt on Bayne. Chaos is a constant in four-way matches. Bayne perches Thekla on her shoulders and tosses her outside the ring onto the other two competitors. She follows up with a Tope Suicida on all three opponents. Statlander doesn’t seem to be impressed by the intense action.
Melo goes for numerous kicks to Bayne’s legs. Melo can’t capitalize as Bayne rolls out of the ring.
Thekla goes after Melo but can’t pin her as Aminata gets involved again. Aminata has to kick out at two with a Thekla pinfall attempt. Penelope Ford tries to insert herself but Anna Jay prevents that. Bayne drops Aminata with a Running Powerbomb.
Winner: Megan Bayne via pinfall.
Renee Paquette is backstage with Thekla after her match. Queen Aminata rushes her but security is right there to separate them. Mark Briscoe jumps in and is as fired up as ever.
4. Samoa Joe vs. Wheeler Yuta
Okay. Before this one even gets started, how do we think it’s going to go? There’s really only one answer… “Joe’s gonna kill you!” This one might just be a matter of time.
Yuta’s entrance seems to be putting Joe to sleep. He seems like he’s got other concerns on his mind.
The bell rings and the two circle each other before a quick headlock. Joe is unaffected by an arm lock. Yuta goads him into an arm strength test. Not sure Samoa Joe’s the one anyone wants to try that against. Joe goes for his vintage walkoff as Yuta goes to for a Splash. Another Splash on the outside and Joe looks to the ceiling. The guy is just effortlessly hilarious.
He throws Yuta towards the barricade on the outside. Back in the ring, Joe’s jabs go to work.
Yuta is able to get some momentum but it’s very short-lived. Joe responds with a huge Backdrop in the center of the ring. Two on the count after an Elbow Drop.
Yuta tries his best but this isn’t Samoa Joe’s first rodeo. Yuta goes for the eyes, evading a Muscle Buster out of the corner. Yuta drops Joe with a Flying Elbow but he kicks out at barely one.
It’s only fair that Yuta is recognized for not caving to Joe much sooner. But Joe makes it look too easy as he makes Yuta tap instantly to the Coquina Clutch.
Winner: Samoa Joe via submission.
Gabe Kidd attacks Joe from behind but The Opps show up.
5. The Opps, Will Ospreay, and “Hangman” Adam Page vs. The Young Bucks, and the Death Riders (Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli)
Page starts against Matthew Jackson and goes right after him. Page gets distracted by Moxley on the outside and Nicholas gets a shot in.
Will Ospreay is tagged in and The Opps get in the ring, taking turns before things very quickly (and predictably) break down. Page goes for a massive moonsault on the outside onto all opponents.
Ospreay and Castagnoli go at it in the center of the ring. While referee Rick Knox’s attention is diverted, Moxley grabs the timekeeper’s table and brings it to ringside. The Death Riders and Young Bucks single out Ospreay. Moxley goes for the drop onto the table but Ospreay fights it off, sending him into the steel steps. Castagnoli throws Ospreay into the same spot right after.
Back in the ring, Ospreay reaches for a tag as Castagnoli holds him back. Ospreay regains some momentum as he evades Castagnoli.
Moxley tags himself in and the crowd roars as Hangman gets the tag. Moxley rolls out.
Castagnoli prevents a Buckshot but Page gets a Moonsault. Castagnoli tags in, unbeknownst to Page. Hobbs gets a tag and the “MEAT” chants fill the arena.
The two exchange big shots and Hobbs drops him with a Body Drop. He gets Castagnoli into the corner and lands a number of huge forearms. Moxley gets involved but Hobbs drops him with a Lariat. Shibata and Castagnoli get into it. He goes for a PK. Castagnoli grabs his leg and Nicholas Jackson joins the action.
The Young Bucks stifle Hobbs with an EVP Trigger. Moxley and Castagnoli catch him on the outside and drop him onto the table. Moxley gets back in the ring as the legal man and submits Shibata with a Neck Hold.
Winners: Death Riders and Young Bucks.
Gabe Kidd joins the post-match chaos and Wheeler Yuta is also in on the beatdown. They focus of Page and Ospreay. The Young Bucks have plastic bags.
The video screen shows Swerve Strickland in a bulldozer. He talks to the Young Bucks. Their feud has been all about control. He smashes their limousine and the Young Bucks are beside themselves as they rush out.
Samoa Joe gets back in the ring to try and even the odds. Ospreay goes for a Moonsault to the outside.
Strickland hops out of the bulldozer, flips the birds at the camera and asks “Whose House?”
Page goes for a Buckshot Lariat on Moxley but Castagnoli disrupts him. Marina Shafir holds Moxley back as Page wields a chain.
The Young Bucks are outside and can’t understand how they’re going to “financially recover from this”. They see Prince Nana but he’s the set-up man. They turn around and Strickland stomps both of them at once.
Swerve and Prince Nana come inside and are greeted by Ospreay.
Page stares down Strickland as the show cuts. Some wounds heal much slower than others.
