AEW Dynamite aired live from the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. Here are 6 takeaways from the show:
Fenix Defeated Nick Jackson In A Great Match
Nick Jackson squared off against Ray Fenix to kickoff of the show. Nick applied a Headlock and then leveled Fenix with a shoulder tackle. Fenix hit a Dropkick and then both wrestlers went for a Dropkick at the same time as the crowd chanted “AEW!”.
Fenix hit a diving headbutt and followed it up with an Arm Drag that sent Nick to the outside. Back in the ring, Nick hit a kick to the head but Fenix battled back with a Cutter on the floor outside the ring.
Ray Fenix connected with a Senton off the top rope and went for the cover but Nick kicked out at two. Nick hit an awesome springboard Hurricanrana for a near fall. Jackson and Fenix traded Superkicks and both men fell to the canvas.
Fenix returned the favor and connected with a Hurricanrana that sent Nick to the floor outside the ring. Back in the ring, Fenix hit another Cutter for a two count. Jackson planted Fenix with a German Suplex on the apron as the crowd chanted “holy sh*t!”.
Back in the ring, Jackson connected with a Destroyer and then locked in the Sharpshooter in the middle of the ring. Fenix was able to reach the bottom rope to break the hold. Fenix hit a Superkick and followed it up with a Muscle Buster for the pinfall victory. After the match, Nick tried to shake Fenix’s hand but Ray declined.
AEW Dynamite started out great this week with a very good match that lasted 15-minutes. The crowd was electric and added a ton to this match.
Hikaru Shida Picked Up A Big Win
Britt Baker faced Hikaru Shida traded Arm Drags to start off the match. Baker went for the Lockjaw but Hikaru was able to block it as Dynamite went to a commercial break.
When Dynamite returned, Shida hit a running knee strike after leaping off a chair. Back in the ring, Baker slammed Shida to the canvas and followed it up with a Slingblade.
Baker connected with a Facebuster and went for the cover but Hikaru kicked out at two. Britt planted Shida with a DDT for another two count. Shida hit a Hip Toss and followed it up with a Backbreaker. Hikaru hit another running knee but Baker battled back with a Neckbreaker for a near fall.
Shida poked Baker in the eye and rolled her up for a two count. Hikaru followed it up with the Falcon Arrow for a near fall. Shida then hit another running knee to the face for the victory. Shida is now currently ranked #1 and wil
MJF & Hangman Page Will Battle Next Week
12 wrestlers competed in a Diamond Dozen Battle Royal. The final two wrestlers will compete next week for the diamond ring. Chuck Taylor threw Pentagon out first after Christopher Daniels provided a distraction.
Sunny Kiss twerked in front of Billy Gunn but was quickly thrown out by MJF. Billy Clotheslined Jimmy Havoc to the outside and then launched Marko Stunt to the outside. Jimmy Havoc hopped back into the ring with a staple gun and started attacking everyone in sight until referees escorted him out of the ring.
Shawn Spears rushed the ring and hit Janela while he was on the top rope and Joey fell to the floor and was eliminated. Orange Cassidy hit Billy Gunn with a couple of kicks but MJF broke it up and launched him out of the ring.
Billy Gunn told MJF to suck it and hit the Fameasser. Wardlow was shown making his way through the crowd and Billie Gunn was eliminated during the distraction. Penelope Ford tripped up Chuck Taylor and Kip Sabian capitalized with an Enziguri that eliminated Chuck.
Jungle Boy eliminated Sabian with a Hurricanrana and then MJF eliminated him to end the Battle Royal. Hangman will battle MJF next week on Dynamite.
This Battle Royal was entertaining but I have no idea why I should care about a diamond ring. I didn’t hear an explanation of why it was significant other than it is an expensive ring. This is equivalent to the Best in the World trophies given out WWE’s Saudi Arabia shows. They are meaningless. Hopefully AEW explains why we should care before the match between Hangman and MJF next week.
Jericho Will Defend The AEW Championship Against Scorpio Sky Next Week
AEW Champion Chris Jericho came down to the ring with Jake Hager to make an announcement. Jericho stated that his actions last week after losing wasn’t conduct that a champion should show. Chris tried to apologize but couldn’t bring himself to say the word. Hager then said sorry for him for the rest of the promo.
Jericho announced that he will finally get the thank you that he deserves next week on Dynamite. Chris added that he is glad that the celebration is next week in Chicago instead of tonight in Indianapolis.
AEW Tag Champions SCU interrupted and made their way down to the ring. Scorpio Sky told Jericho that it takes a paragon of virtue to admit that they are wrong and apologize. Sky pointed out that Jericho didn’t mention that he pinned him and handed Chris his first loss in AEW.
The crowd loudly chanted “you got pinned!” as Scorpio Sky stated that it was the biggest moment of his life. Sky added that his high school crush, Melanie Parsons, reached out to him after the win and they are going out next week.
Scorpio Sky told Jericho that he never meant to embarrass him. Chris told Sky that he has seen Melania Parsons and she has gained a lot of weight since high school. Sky then joked that he likes big butts and he cannot lie and the crowd popped.
Jericho vowed to wipe the floor with him in a singles match. Scorpio Sky played mind games with Jericho and said that he didn’t want a title match next week. Jericho made it official and Sky told Chris that he was going to turn Le Champion into Le Bitch next week on Dynamite.
Inner Circle rushed the ring and beat SCU down. Jericho hit Sky with the Judas Effect and raised the AEW Championship in the corner. Luchasaurus got in the ring and got in a stare down with Jake Hager. Jake retreated along with Inner Circle as Dynamite went to a commercial break. Luchasuarus then quickly defeated Peter Avalon in a singles match.
I thought this promo was great and the match next week should be entertaining. Scorpio Sky had some very good lines during this segment and Jericho’s inability to say the word “sorry” was also hilarious.
Private Party Picked Up A Win & Dustin Rhodes Returned
Santana & Ortiz battled Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) tonight on Dynamite. The two teams paid tribute to Matt Travis before the match.
Proud & Powerful dominated the match early and isolated Quen in the ring. Santana hit a German Suplex and went for the cover but Kassidy broke it up. Ortiz tagged in held up Quen for a Suplex for ages. Santana tagged in and continued to hold him up before tagging Ortiz back in and he finally hit a the Suplex for a near fall.
When Dynamite returned from the break, Marq Quen was finally able to tag in Kassidy. Isiah hit a Moonsault onto Santana outside the ring and posed for the crowd. Kassidy planted Ortiz with the Code Red and went for the cover but Ortiz was not the legal man.
Santana tagged in and hit Kassidy with a kick to the face and followed it up with a Cutter for a near fall. Santana brought in the sock full of coins but Nick Jackson ran down to the ring and ripped it away from him. Private Party then hit Gin & Juice for the pinfall victory. Sammy Guevara attacked Nick Jackson but Dustin Rhodes made the save.
Jon Moxley Outlasted Darby Allin
Jon Moxley squared off against Darby Allin in the main event of this week’s show. Allin absolutely leveled Moxley with a Suicide Dive as he made his way to the ring. Allin and Moxley battled through the crowd before the match as the crowd chanted “AEW!”.
Allin unloaded a flurry of shots to Jon’s face but Moxley battled back and threw Darby to the floor. Moxley launched Allin into the ring post and followed it up with a Belly to Belly Suplex. Jon rolled Darby into the ring and the match officially started.
Allin went for a Crossbody but Jon blocked it and hit a massive Dropkick that sent Darby flying into the turnbuckle. Allin sent Moxley out of the ring with a Dropkick as dueling “lets go Moxley!” and “lets go Darby!” chants broke out. Moxley connected with a Suplex and Darby rolled to the apron.
Jon hit a knee to the face and knocked Allin to the floor outside the ring. Moxley grabbed the body bag that Allin brought to the ring but Darby leaped the ropes and flipped onto him. Allin brought the body bag into the ring but Moxley turned him inside out with a Clothesline.
Moxley put Allin in the body bag and zipped it up. Moxley stomped the hell out of Darby before the referee got in the way. The referee unzipped the body bag and Darby hit a Stunner. Moxley battled back with a slam and went for the Paradigm Shift but Allin escaped into a roll-up for a two count.
Darby climbed to the top rope and went for the Coffin Drop but Moxley countered into a Sleeper Hold. Darby escaped and both wrestlers battled on the top turnbuckle. Moxley bit Allin’s face and hit him with a ridiculous Paradigm Shift off the ropes for the pinfall victory.
Another week, another great episode of Dynamite for AEW. These shows absolutely fly by and I look forward to them every week. Darby Allin has already become one of the more popular wrestlers in AEW and delivered an awesome match with Moxley tonight. One of my favorite things about AEW is how well they build up the following week’s show throughout each episode.
