AEW Dynamite: Show’s sole highlight involves a ladder; everything else feels way flatter

Bob Kapur

AEW Dynamite: Show’s sole highlight involves a ladder; everything else feels way flatter

On Wednesday night’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Chris Jericho became the new ROH World Champion, beating Mark Briscoe in a Ladder War with help from his Learning Tree students Bryan Keith and Big Bill. And that was about all that was worth watching this week.

The rest of the show saw a lot of talking, a couple of squashes, a counterproductive diminishing of one of the few women on the roster who actually had a chance of being a big star, and a self-indulgent gymnastics routine posing as a match.

Oh, and a show-closing injury angle that felt completely flat given that the victim is already retired due to injury, wasn’t anything special when he was wrestling, and the whole thing seems to be leading to Orange Cassidy being put back in the main event scene which is one of the only ways this show could have been worse.

At least Briscoe was great.

The show started off with a video package of Jon Moxley hanging out in the Utah desert, interspersed with clips of the carnage he and BCC have done to this show’s ratings. I mean to this company’s roster. The rest of the BCC were in a pick-up truck and he joined them for the ride to the arena.

Where, in the parking lot, Mark Briscoe and a bunch of mid-carders were waiting, preparing to confront the BCC when they roll in.

“Hangman” Adam Page interview

Before Page moseyed his way to the ring to be interviewed by Tony Schiavone, they showed clips from last week’s main event where Page’s interference resulted in Jay White losing to Christian Cage. Schiavone asked Page about Page’s actions, and Page grabbed the mic and intimidated Schiavone.

Page boasted about his actions over the past few weeks, including costing White the match, beating up Juice Robinson, and knocking Austin Gunn out, saying that Gunn was so rattled that he probably doesn’t even remember his brother’s name. Cue to his brother Colton running into the ring and attacking Page. Colton took the attack to the floor but Page dodged a flying attack and Gunn crashed hard into the timekeeper’s table. Page then rolled Gunn back into the ring and was about to choke out Gunn with his belt, but White and Robinson ran down to the ring. They used their numbers advantage, as babyfaces do, and Page left the ring.

White grabbed the mic and said that he has Page’s number and that Page will never measure up to White. He promised that this wasn’t over. Well, he certainly isn’t.

Page was limping his way up the ring, though it wasn’t clear when he got hurt.

A video package aired to promote the next match between Sammy Guevara and Shelton Benjamin. In the video, Guevara said that his goal in every match is to show people something they’ve never seen before. Benjamin and MVP did everything they could to reference the Hurt Business without saying that name.

Match 1: Sammy Guevara vs. Shelton Benjamin (w/ MVP)

In the opening seconds, Benjamin impressed by heaving Sammy up in the air with a Suplex, which looked great. He then threw Sammy around and beat him up all over the ring. Sammy came back with some quickness, and hit a Springboard Moonsault to the floor, but he had to abort his follow-up Dive attempt when MVP blocked his path. When he regrouped and tried again, he got caught and Shelton hurled him overhead and onto the entrance ramp. Benjamin continued to dominate, throwing Sammy around like he was a little kid. Which is not to say that you should throw around little kids. Or do it. What do I care, it’s not my kid.

Sammy finally mounted a comeback, hitting some knee strikes and then sending Benjamin to the floor, where Sammy hit him with a Flying Twisting Dive. After a couple of move attempts and reversals, Sammy hit a Springboard Cutter – but Shelton kicked out at only one! Sammy went up top and looked for another aerial attack, but ate a Superkick mid-flight. Shelton nailed him with a Thrust Kick and then a Running Knee Strike in the corner before hitting an Exploder Powerslam for the dominant and definitive win.

This was not quite a squash, but it was pretty close. The ending sequence that saw Benjamin hit a series of big moves to put Sammy away made it seem like Sammy simply wasn’t on Shelton’s level. Which is true in many ways. But it’s a bit surprising that Sammy was made to look so weak. Great showcase for Benjamin, though.

Winner: Shelton Benjamin

In the back, Renee Paquette looked to get a word from Mariah May, who had Anna Jay’s suitcase, which she pitched down the hall. She told Renee that Anna didn’t deserve to be in the same locker room as May. Jay ran in and started to attack May, but Christopher Daniels ran in and broke it up, reminding Jay that she had a title shot against May and that she should be focused on that.

Kyle Fletcher explains his betrayal of Will Ospreay.

A video package aired, running down the history of Kyle Fletcher and the man he betrayed, Will Ospreay. Then, Fletcher and Don Callis made their way to the ring where Tony Schiavone awaited. Once again, the interviewees intimidated Schiavone, relegating him into a corner.

Fletcher took the mic and soaked in the boos from the crowd. He celebrated costing Ospreay the International Championship and injuring Ospreay. Fletcher said that the fans and Ospreay were at fault for what happened. Because it was the fans who thought Fletcher was the next big thing, until Ospreay arrived on the scene. But Fletcher is better than Ospreay in every way, so shouldn’t feel like the lesser of the two when compared against each other.

Fletcher talked about their history in New Japan, going on about things that most people don’t know anything about. Then mentioned how Ospreay turned on Kenny Omega. And all of that prompted Fletcher to get out of Ospreay’s shadow. And that Callis convinced Fletcher that Ospreay wanted to keep Fletcher perceived as a second-string version of Ospreay.

Fletcher then challenged Ospreay to a match on Dynamite next week, basically daring him to do accept, saying that Ospreay will do so, but then will pay the price when Fletcher destroys his injured neck. Fletcher said that he will never be like Ospreay, and to avoid any further comparisons, he would make the distinction more clear. Then Don handed him an electric razor, and Fletcher shaved his own head.

The crowd really hated Fletcher, and tried to out-volume him with their chants. He had a good moment at one point to shut that noise down and regain control. Not a bad segment overall for what it was.

They showed a clip from this past weekend’s Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling event that saw Ricochet confront Konosuke Takeshita after Takeshita’s successful International Championship title defence against TNA star Josh Alexander.

Cut to the back where Ricochet was with Renee Paquette. Ricochet said he showed at Maple Leaf Pro that he would go wherever he needed to in order to get his hands on Takeshita. He challenged Takeshita to face off with him this Friday on Rampage.

MVP and Shelton Benjamin walked in and offered his card to Ricochet, who looked contemplative.

Match 2: Brian Cage and Lance Archer vs. Unknown Jobbers

Don Callis, the new manager of Cage and Archer, started off on commentary for this one, but then left to go to ringside to support his newest acquisitions. The two opponents looked like if you shrunk the Powers of Pain down to normal size and took away all their talent. Cage and Archer won in less than a minute with a Double Powerbomb combo. This was a complete squash.

Winners: Lance Archer and Brian Cage

In the parking lot, the mid-carders were still waiting around. Chuck Taylor came out and let the Conglomeration know that Mark Briscoe’s match was up next. Kyle O’Reilly headed in, and as Orange Cassidy made his way inside, Chuck asked for a few words. He told Cassidy that the mid-carders probably can’t beat the BCC, but Cassidy has and could again, so he should step up.

If this leads to the BCC beating up Cassidy to the point that they have to take him off of TV forever, I’m all for it.

Match 3: Mark Briscoe (c) vs. Chris Jericho – Ladder War for the ROH World Championship

The ladder came into play even before the match started, and within a minute, Briscoe blasted Jericho off the apron and sent him crashing through a couple of tables set up on the floor. The fight continued on the floor and the apron, with more ladders and tables set up for carnage. Briscoe went for a Flying Somersault to the floor, but Jericho moved and Briscoe crashed through a ladder that had been set up like a bridge between the apron and the ringside barrier. That allowed Jericho to take over, and he cracked Briscoe in the head with a ladder, busting him open and taking us to Picture in Picture (PIP).

Back from the break, and Jericho was halfway up the ladder until Briscoe stopped him, putting Jericho through a ladder that was propped up in the corner with a Death Valley Driver – that looked great. After a brief exchange, Mark then hit a Somersault Splash off the top.

They both scaled the ladder and slugged it out, with Briscoe the one crashing to the floor. As Jericho had his hand on the title, Briscoe tipped over the ladder to bring Jericho down. They traded shots in the ring, and Briscoe once again used the ladder to hurt Jericho.

But rather than climb the ladder, Briscoe set up some tables in the ring. He set Jericho on top of them, then climbed the ladder with intent to dive onto Jericho and put him through the tables. This brought out Bryan Keith who shielded Jericho. But that brought in Rocky Romero, who cracked Keith with a Singapore cane and chased him away.

This allowed Briscoe to go back to his plan, and hit hit a Froggy-bow onto Jericho through the tables. He then hit a Jay Driller for good measure before heading up the ladder. But before he could reach the belt. Big Bill ran in, plucked Briscoe off the ladder, and Chokeslammed him over the top rope and through some tables on the floor.

Big Bill then put Jericho on his shoulders and fireman-carried him up the ladder, high enough that Jericho could reach the belt, unhook it, and take it down to become new champion.

This was a fun one with more than a couple of holy s— moments. Jericho as ROH champion isn’t really meaningful, but then again, neither is ROH really. Hopefully this will lead to Mark Briscoe doing more in AEW – perhaps getting a title program with Moxley and an overdue title run?

After the match, Tomohiro Ishii made his way to the entrance stage and looked confused, as Jericho looked comically-scared for a second or two before seemingly forgetting to do so and posing with his new title.

Winner, and new ROH Champion: Chris Jericho

A video package aired to hype the feud between Kamille and Kris Statlander, who meet on Fight Night Dynamite next week.

Adam Cole (bay-bay) speaks

Before he could even ask who was ready for Storytime, Cole was interrupted by Roderick Strong and the Kingdom. They talked about how they were all aligned in the secret plan against MJF, back when Cole was a secret heel. They said they were all proud of Cole for making his comeback after injury. And they said they were aligned with Cole once again and would help Cole take out MJF. Strong volunteered to be the one to take out MJF.

Cole challenged MJF to come to the ring where they could beat him up four-on-one, you know, like how babyfaces do that. But instead of appearing there in person, MJF appeared on a video screen, getting a massage. MJF said that Cole will never get his hands on him.

He then offered Cole and Strong a challenge. He said that whichever of those two won three matches first would get a match against MJF at Full Gear. MJF said that he won’t appear in person until Full Gear. Roddy and Cole shook hands and agreed to the challenge, and then all of them hugged. Kyle O’Reilly was shown watching this in the back. Somewhere, Bobby Fish is thanking the Lord that he is not part of this lousy booking. Of course, he’s probably not happy about missing out on the paycheck, but you can’t have it both ways.

A video package aired highlighting Penelope Ford’s anger at Jamie Hayter. Cut to Hayter in the back with Renee Paquette. Hayter disputed all of Ford’s ramblings, and then talked about the hardships she went through in the UK. Hayter challenged her to a match in two weeks.

Match 4: The House of Black (Buddy Matthews, Brody King, and Malakai Black) vs. Kevin Koa, Jaden Monroe, and Pirata De La Muerte

I don’t know why they bothered showing a graphic with the names of the House of Black’s opponents. They could have just given them the same jobber treatment as the Puny Powers of Pain from earlier on. Because they had pretty much the same showing as those guys.

The first one ate a Spin Kick in a second and rolled to the floor. The other two got hit with multiple strikes from all three HoB members. Until finally they pinned one of them. Which one wasn’t important. But the guy’s odd yellow skin tone made it look like he had the jaundice. Seriously, he should go get checked.

This was like a match they used to show on Dark, the old YouTube show.

Winners: The House of Black

After the match, Buddy Matthews grabbed a mic and challenged Adam Cole to a match next week.

In the back, Renee Paquette was with Cole and his cohort, and asked Cole if he would accept Buddy’s challenge. Cole walked up to Buddy who was making his way to the back after his match. Cole questioned Buddy on why he called him out. Buddy said he did it to show that Cole is fragile.

Match 5: Kamille (w/ Mercedes Mone) vs. Queen Aminata

If the point of Kamille being here is to look like a killer badass – and it should be – then this is not how to do it. Aminata got more offence in this one than anyone to date on Kamille, even coming close to a three-count, despite her offence not looking all that great, and in some cases, kind of sloppy. Aminata even locked on some submissions that had Kamille looking like she was in a lot of trouble.

Aminata even kicked out after Kamille hit a huge Twisting Backbreaker Bomb that actually looked even more devastating than the Spinning Reverse DDT that she actually pinned Aminata with.

This was a disservice to Kamille, despite the win, as it really diluted the image they’d been building for her (they made note to say she went into this match with a perfect record and no match going more than 4 minutes). This one made her seem lucky to get the win and basically positioned her as just another member of the roster instead of something special. And made her look vulnerable, which defeats the purpose of having her as Mercedes’ muscle for hire.

Winner: Kamille

After the match, Kris Statlander made her way to the ring and got into Kamille’s face for a staredown. Mone smacked Kris in the back of the head with one of her title belts, but Statlander no-sold it, and then she and Kamille exchanged strikes. Mone distracted Kris, and that allowed Kamille to drop Statlander with her finisher.

A truck pulled up to the mid-card brigade in the parking lot, but it wasn’t the BCC. Rather, it was Christian Cage and the Waynes (Nick and Mama). They saw Kip Sabian, who panicked at the sight of them, and they started chasing him. He eventually ran into the building and into the ring where they surrounded him.

Before they could do anything, they saw HOOK on the Khan-Tron, and he was making a bee-line to the arena. Renee Paquette asked him about the footage he apparently got to see that showed who attacked his father, Taz. HOOK said it was one of the scumbags in the ring and he was going to make them pay. Excalibur then speculated as to which one it was. And so when Sabian low-blowed HOOK (who had beaten up Nick Wayne and then was going after Christian), Excalibur’s comment became reminiscent of Bobby Heenan spoiling the Hulk Hogan turn, except for the fact that Bobby Heenan was the greatest and Excalibur sucks.

Christian then talked with Sabian, saying he knew why Sabian did what he did in costing Cage the title shot the other week. He told Sabian that he’d deal with him later, and to go stand in the corner in the meantime, which Sabian complied with. As HOOK went after Nick again, Cage blasted HOOK in the back with his giant clipboard case. Nick then put HOOK down with a Springboard Cutter, before Cage dropped HOOK with the Killswitch on the case, headfirst. Cage then told HOOK – who he called Tyler – that things were not as they looked. Cage, the Waynes, and Sabian all left together as HOOK struggled to get to his feet.

Match 6: Private Party (Zay and Quen) and Daniel Garcia vs. The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) and Jack Perry

The fight started before the bell rang with bodies flying all over in and out of the ring. Then it became the usual Young Bucks clown show with no rules being enforced and little to no psychology employed.

During the match, they showed shots of the parking lot where the mid-carders were now joined by Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal, who elevated the average skill level of this group immensely, and Satnam Singh, who elevated the average height level immensely, but pretty much neutralized the increase in skill level that Jarrett and Lethal brought.

The nonsensical match continued with indyriffic nonsense. Including one spot right before a PIP break that saw Perry drop Garcia with an elevated DDT on the floor, so you know that Garcia will be jumping around and as good as new by the time the commercial is done, because why bother selling what could be a hospitalization angle when there are hundreds of Superkicks to be thrown.

Oh, and yes, Garcia was standing on the apron and exuberantly calling to be tagged in when the show returned from break. But soon Perry Powerbombed him through a table in the timekeeper’s area. He actually sold that spot for nearly three minutes, which allowed the others to do some gymnastics in the ring in the meantime. After a tumbling routine that would have made Simon Biles jealous, one of the Private Party members won with a rollup on one of the Bucks.

If you like the Young Bucks and their style, you’d need to change your pants after this one. For people who know better, you’d need to change the channel.

Winners: Private Party and Daniel Garcia

After the match, Private Party said that the Bucks know Private Party have their number. They said they want another shot at the Bucks’ Tag Team Championship and they want it next week. When the Bucks walked away, Private Party upped the ante, saying that if Private Party loses, they will disband as a team. The Bucks agreed to the match with that stipulation.

Cut to the Khan-Tron and the BCC truck pulled into the parking lot. But only Marina Shafir emerged, which begs for a joke about women drivers, but I don’t want to get cancelled.

As the mid-carders stood there confused, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta of the BCC slid into the ring and walloped Private Party and Garcia with chairs. And Jon Moxley was shown dragging Chuck Taylor down the entrance ramp, and he threw him into the ring. Yuta set up Chuck’s ankle to be Pillmanized, and Excalibur mentioned how it was an ankle injury that forced Chuck to retire. But then Claudio pulled the chair from around Chuck’s ankle and put it around his neck instead and Pillmanized his neck.

Orange Cassidy ran into the ring just a split second too late to save Chuck. As the BCC left through the crowd, Cassidy looked on in shock at what had happened to Chuck, and the rest of the mid-carders joined him in the ring, sharing his concern, as the show came to a close.

I repeat: If this leads to the BCC beating up Cassidy to the point that they have to take him off of TV forever, I’m all for it. Otherwise, none of this was worth it.

More Reports