The October 16th edition of AEW Dynamite aired live from the Liacouras Center on Temple University in Philadelphia. In addition to the takeaways below, Santana and Ortiz challenged the Young Bucks to a match at Full Gear. Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
SCU Overcame An Attack From The Lucha Brothers & Advanced In The Tag Team Tournament
The Lucha Brothers attacked SCU during their entrance at the beginning of the show. Fenix slammed Kazarian into the ring post as Pentagon hit Daniels with a Piledriver on the entrance ramp. Daniels was loaded onto a stretcher and Scorpio Sky took his place in the match.
SCU then battled Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent) in the Tag Team Championship Tournament. Best Friends dominated early and isolated Kazarian in the ring. Scorpio Sky got into the ring but got slammed to the canvas with a Belly to Back Suplex from Trent.
Chucky T hit Scorpio with a Double Stomp and Trent followed it up with a Spear to Kazarian. Best Friends planted Frankie with Double Superplex off the top rope and went for the cover but Kazarian kicked out at two.
Scorpio Sky tagged in and was wrestling in tennis shoes because he wasn’t expecting to compete tonight. Sky lost one of his shoes during the action and the crowd responded with a “he’s got one shoe!” chant.
Sky flipped onto Best Friends outside the ring and then launched his other shoe into the crowd. Someone threw the shoe back into the ring and the crowd erupted. Kazarian planted Trent with a DDT for a near fall.
“He’s got no shoes!” echoed throughout the arena as Sky tagged Frankie in. Kazarian planted Trent with a Body Slam and followed it up with a Springboard Leg Drop for a two count. Best Friends took control and then went for a hug but Scorpio Sky got back into the ring and attacked them.
Trent Dropkicked Scorpio Sky out of the ring and then Best Friends hugged as the crowd cheered. Best Friends hit Kazarian with the Doomsday Knee off the top rope for another near fall. Sky sent Chuck into the barricade as Kazarian connected with a Back Body Drop on the ring apron. SCU then hit Trent with a Powerbomb/Dropkick combo for the pinfall victory. SCU will face the Dark Order next week in the tournament.
Riho Retained The AEW Women’s Championship
Riho defended her AEW Women’s Championship against Britt Baker tonight on Dynamite. The crowd gave Riho a great reaction and chanted her name before the match.
Baker and Riho locked up to start things off. Britt connected with a couple of Arm Drags and then locked up once again. Baker tried to apply Lockjaw but Riho was able to get to the bottom rope to break the hold.
Riho and Baker battled on the turnbuckle and Riho knocked her to the canvas. Riho hit a Crossbody but Baker rolled through and went for the cover. Riho escaped and connected with a Dropkick. Riho followed it up with a Double Stomp and then a running knee in the corner.
Riho hit a Snap Suplex and made her way to the top rope. Riho went for a Stomp but Baker got out of the way and hit Riho with a Slingblade. Britt battled back with a Dropkick and went for the cover but Riho kicked out at two.
Baker blocked a roll-up and planted Riho with a Neckbreaker. Britt followed that up with a kick to the face and went for the cover but Riho kicked out at the last moment. Riho hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a near fall and locked in a Half Crab in the middle of the ring.
Britt battled through the pain and reached the bottom rope to break the hold. Riho quickly hit a Double Stomp off the top rope for another near fall. Riho hit Double Knees and went for the cover but Baker kicked out. Baker hit an elbow to the face and applied Lockjaw in the middle of the ring. Riho countered into a cover for the pinfall victory. Riho is still the AEW Women’s Champion.
There were a few moments where Baker and Riho didn’t seem to be on the same page during this match. The ending of the match was very well done with the camera zooming in on Riho’s face as Baker applied the Lockjaw. I was just hoping that this match was going to be better than what we got tonight.
The Lucha Brothers Advanced In The Tag Team Tournament
Lucha Brothers faced Jurassic Express tonight in the Tag Team Tournament. Luchasaurus had to miss the match due to injury and Marko Stunt took his place.
Marko Stunt and Pentagon started off the match. Marko hit a Hurricranrana and then planted Fenix with a DDT. Jungle Boy got in the ring and hit Pentagon with a DDT that sent him out of the ring. Marko hit Fenix with a Suicide Dive and Jungle Boy connected with a Moonsault onto Pentagon.
Back in the ring, Stunt went for the cover but Pentagon kicked out. Pentagon leveled Marko with a Superkick and followed it up with another one to Jungle Boy. Fenix tagged in and walked into a knee to the face from Jungle Boy. Fenix knocked Jungle Boy out of the ring as Pentagon hit a Pumphandle Slam on Marko.
Jungle Boy hit a knee strike and followed it up with a Shooting Star Press on Fenix for a two count. Stunt tagged back in as Pentagon planted Jungle Boy with a Destroyer. Pentagon swung Stunt around by his hair and then snapped back his arm. Lucha Brothers followed it up with a Stomp/Piledriver combo on Stunt for the pinfall victory.
Luchasaurus not being in this match took a lot of the energy out of the crowd. Stunt and Jungle Boy still put on an entertaining match but Luchasaurus is the star of Jurassic Express.
Omega & Hangman Picked Up A Win After Moxley Turned His Back On PAC
Jon Moxley & PAC squared off against Hangman Page & Kenny Omega on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
The crowd chanted “happy birthday!” towards Omega as Moxley and Kenny started the match off. Hangman and PAC battled outside the ring as Moxley hit Omega with some chops in the corner.
PAC tagged himself in and hit Page with an Enziguri that sent him tumbling out of the ring. Omega slammed PAC to the canvas but got distracted by Moxley. PAC brought Omega to the corner and Moxley tagged himself in.
Omega battled back with a Suplex and tagged Hangman in. Hangman took out PAC with a Crossbody and followed it up with a Clothesline off the top rope to Moxley. Hangman knocked Moxley out of the ring and then climbed back up to the top rope. PAC distracted Hangman and Moxley capitalized and shoved Page off the turnbuckle as Dynamite went to a commercial break.
When Dynamite returned, Hangman leveled Moxley with a Lariat. PAC and Omega tagged in and traded shots in the middle of the ring. Omega connected with a Moonsault off the second rope and went for the cover but PAC kicked out at two. Kenny planted PAC and then Moxley with a couple of Dragon Suplexes and fired up the crowd.
Moxley hit a Suicide Dive and then turned around into a massive Moonsault from Page. Back in the ring, Omega hit PAC with a Buckle Bomb and followed it up with a Powerbomb. Hangman hit a Shooting Star Press and went for the cover but Moxley broke it up.
Kenny leveled Moxley with the V-Trigger but PAC hit him with a Cutter. Hangman sent PAC out of the ring and hit him with a Suicide Dive that sent PAC flying into the barricade. Moxley and Omega then traded punches in the middle of the ring. Omega hit a knee to the face but Moxley bounced off the ropes and connected with a massive Clothesline.
Omega and Moxley then grabbed barbed wire weapons from under the ring. Moxley and Omega made their way into the ring and the referee rolled to the outside after Jon got in his face. PAC got into the ring and booted Omega in the chest and then ripped the barbed wire bat away from Moxley.
PAC told Moxley to use his head and not get disqualified. Moxley flipped PAC off and then planted him with the Paradigm Shift. Moxley then left the ring and made his way backstage. Hangman planted PAC with the Deadeye for the pinfall victory. It was announced that PAC will face Jon Moxley next week on Dynamite.
I thought this match was awesome. I loved how PAC tried to stop Moxley from getting disqualified because wins and losses matter in AEW. PAC feels that he deserves a title shot and doesn’t want anything to get in the way of that. Moxley giving him the double birds and turning his back on PAC completely fits his character.
Jake Hager Helped Jericho Retain The AEW Championship
Chris Jericho defended the AEW Championship against Darby Allin in a Philadelphia Street Fight the main event of Dynamite. Jericho came down to the ring dressed as the Painmaker.
Allin connected with a Dropkick and then Clotheslined Jericho the outside. Darby followed it up with a Suicide Dive before rolling Jericho in the ring. Jericho planted Allin with a Back Drop and then some chops in the corner of the ring. Jericho slammed Allin’s knee into the ring post as Dynamite went to a break.
When Dynamite returned, Allin rolled up Jericho for a two count. Darby grabbed a kendo stick and hit Jericho a couple of times. Darby locked in an Arm Bar in the middle of the ring but Jericho broke free. Chris applied the Walls of Jericho for a bit but Allin grabbed the ropes. Jericho started arguing with referee Aubrey Edwards and Allin capitalized by hitting Jericho with the kendo stick.
Allin connected with a Crossbody off the top rope and went for the cover but Jericho kicked out at two. Jericho connected with the Codebreaker and went for the pin but Allin grabbed the bottom rope to break it up. Jericho brought a steel chair into the ring and set it up in the corner.
Darby battled back and hit a Stunner for a near fall. Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho again but Allin was able to reach the bottom rope to break the hold. Jericho taped Allin’s hands behind his back and stomped on him in the corner of the ring.
Allin somehow hit a Lionsault and then Dropkicked Jericho out of the ring. Darby dove through the ropes and flipped onto Jericho as the crowd chanted “holy shit!”. Allin climbed up to the top rope and flipped onto Jericho once again for a near fall. Jericho Clotheslined Allin to the mat and then Powerbombed him on top of the skateboard for a near fall.
Darby ducked under a chair shot and Dropkicked the chair into Jericho’s face. Allin climbed to the top rope but Jake Hager rushed the ring and punched Allin in the face. Chris applied the Walls of Jericho and the referee called for the bell. Inner Circle came down to the ring and celebrated with a little bit of the bubbly as Dynamite went off the air.
Darby Allin has an incredibly bright future in AEW. The crowd is already behind him and he clearly has no fear in the ring. It was obvious who was going to win this one but it still was an entertaining match. Jericho versus Cody should be excellent at Full Gear on November 9th. Overall, this week’s episode of Dynamite was solid. I’m already looking forward to PAC versus Moxley on next week’s show.