AEW Dynamite aired live from the Sears Centre in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to the takeaways below, Best Friends defeated Lucha Brothers tonight.
Here are 6 takeaways from the show:
SCU Brawled With Inner Circle During Jericho’s Celebration
Soul Train Jones (Virgil) introduced Chris Jericho for his Thanksgiving celebration.
Jericho announced that his own line of champagne and brought the rest of Inner Circle down to the ring. Sammy Guevara gave him a poster of them two hugging. Santana and Ortiz gave Jericho a gift basket and Chris said that this was the greatest night of his life. Jake Hager presented a goat for Jericho named Jerigoat.
Chris’s dad Ted Irvine was in a Rangers jersey and was revealed as one of the presents. Ted boasted about beating the Blackhawks all the time and that they were all wimps. Ted then gave Inner Circle custom Rangers jerseys and the crowd loudly chanted “Rangers suck!”.
Justin Roberts read a thank you from the AEW executives and Jericho claimed that he didn’t like Justin’s tone. Jericho and Inner Circle then beat Roberts down but SCU made the save dressed as members of the marching band.
There were some funny moments during this segment but it dragged on too long. Also, AEW once again had audio issues during this segment and that is something that needs to be resolved.
Bea Priestley & Emi Sakura Picked Up A Win
Bea Priestley & Emi Sakura battled Hikaru Shida & Kris Statlander tonight on Dynamite. Statlander Moonsaulted onto Priestley to start off the match and then Dropkicked Emi to the outside.
Shida grabbed a chair from under the ring and hit Sakura with a running knee. Bea attacked Sakura from behind and beat her down as Dynamite went to a commercial break.
When Dynamite returned, Sakura connected with a Dropkick on Priestley in the corner of the ring. Bea connected with a German Suplex but Hikaru battled back with a knee to the face.
Emi and Kris tagged in and Statlander hit a boot to the face. Sakura battled back and hit a Backbreaker for a near fall. Emi went for a Moonsault but Statlander got out of the way. Shida planted Priestley with a Falcon Arrow and Kris planted Emi with a Facebuster for a two count. Statlander hit a Michinoku Driver but Priestley broke up the cover. Emi hit Kris with her mic stand while the referee wasn’t looking and rolled her up for the victory.
The Butcher & The Blade Debuted With Allie
Cody battled Matt Knicks tonight on Dynamite. Knicks targeted Cody’s ribs in the beginning of the match but Cody shrugged it off and hit a Cutter. Cody then quickly locked in the Figure Four for the quick submission victory.
After the match, Cody called out MJF but The Butcher and The Blade popped out from under the ring. Butcher and Blade attacked Cody and beat him down. Allie then popped out from under the ring and posed with Butcher and Blade.
The crowd had no idea what was going on and were completely dead for this segment. I’ve enjoyed pretty much every episode of Dynamite so far but the first hour of this show was been a mess.
Kenny Omega Defeated PAC
Kenny Omega faced PAC tonight on Dynamite. Omega dominated the match early and connected with a Snap German Suplex. Kenny followed it up with a Buckle Bomb and went for the cover but PAC kicked out at two.
PAC battled back and hit a Moonsault outside the ring as Dynamite went to a commercial break. When Dynamite returned, Omega connected with a Fisherman’s Buster for a two count.
PAC planted Kenny with a Falcon Arrow off the top rope and went for the cover but Omega kicked out at two. PAC went for the Black Arrow but Omega got out of the way at the last moment. Omega hit PAC with the V-Trigger and then was able to roll him up for the pinfall victory.
MJF Won The Dynamite Diamond
MJF faced Hangman Page for the Dynamite Diamond ring tonight on the show. Wardlow was in MJF’s corner for the match. It was announced that it will be an annual match for the Dynamite Diamond ring.
Hangman knocked MJF out of the ring and went out after him but Wardlow got in his face. Page went around him and continued to beat MJF as Dynamite went to a commercial break.
When Dynamite returned, Hangman hit MJF with a Moonsault outside the ring. Back in the ring, Page set up for the Buckshot Lariat but MJF pulled the referee in the way. MJF poked Hangman in the eye but Page was able to hit a Lariat for a near fall.
Page hit the Buckshot Lariat and went for the cover but Wardlow put MJF’s foot on the bottom rope. Wardlow then hit Hangman with a cheap shot and MJF capitalized by hitting the worst Cross Rhodes I’ve ever seen for the pinfall victory.
Diamond Dallas Page then came down to the ring to present the Dynamite Diamond. MJF put on the ring as the crowd chanted “a**hole!”. DDP told MJF that some of his actions have been very disappointing to him but tonight he is the man. DDP added that since he is the bigger man, he will congratulate MJF like a man. MJF took out his gum and put it in DDP’s hand. DDP got in MJF’s face but Wardlow got in the way. A brawl broke out for a moment but security quickly broke it up as Dynamite went to a break.
Chris Jericho Retained & Jon Moxley Appeared In The Crowd
Chris Jericho defended the AEW Championship against Scorpio Sky in the main event of this week’s show. Scorpio Sky hit Jericho with an elbow to the face to start off the match.
Sky connected with a Dropkick and then bounced Jericho’s face off the top turnbuckle. Jericho leveled Scorpio Sky with a Dropkick that sent him tumbling out of the ring as Dynamite went to a break.
Scorpio Sky hit a Cutter when Dynamite returned for a near fall. Jericho locked in the Lion Tamer but Scorpio was able to reach the bottom rope to break the hold. Jericho started arguing with referee Aubrey Edwards and Sky capitalized with another Cutter.
Jake Hager ran down to the ring and hopped on the apron. Sky knocked him to the floor and turned around into a Clothesline from Jericho. Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels rushed the ring and brawled with Hager.
Jericho tried to hit Scorpio with the title but Sky got out of the way and hit the TKO for a two count. Scorpio Sky connected with an Enziguri and went for the cover but Jericho was able to kick out at two.
Chris Jericho hit the Codebreaker for another two count. Jericho went for the Judas Effect but Scorpio countered into a backslide for a two count. Jericho once again locked in the Lion Tamer in the center of the ring and Scorpio Sky quickly tapped out.After the match, Jericho applied the Lion Tamer once again but Jon Moxley’s music hit. Jon stared at Jericho from the crowd to close the show.
The ending to tonight’s Dynamite was good. Jericho and Scorpio Sky had an entertaining match and I’m excited for a feud between Jericho and Moxley. The story line wont revolve around a potted plant and lead to a ridiculous Ambrose Asylum match this time around.
Overall, I thought this was just a subpar episode of Dynamite. The audio issues during the opening promo simply cannot happen. The Butcher and The Blade debut wasn’t done well at all. Excalibur shouted their names as if everyone should know them while the crowd sat in silence. I’ve complained about WWE having the same matches over and over again, so it would be disingenuous not to point out that we’ve seen PAC versus Omega enough by now. There is plenty to like about AEW but they still have a lot of room to improve.