AEW celebrates Negative One’s birthday on Dynamite!
AEW celebrates the birthday of Negative One, Brodie Jr, with some BIG tag team matches! And after teaming with them in an 8 Man Tag, will Hangman finally #JoinDarkOrder?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- 8 Man Tag: Hangman Page & The Dark Order VS Chaos Project & The Hybrid2; Hangman & The Dark Order win.
- Cody Rhodes w/ Arn Anderson VS “Pretty” Peter Avalon; Cody wins.
- Jon Moxley VS Nick Comoroto; Moxley wins.
- Six Man Tag: Matt Sydal & Top Flight VS #HardyParty; Hardy Party wins.
- Leyla Hirsch VS Penelope Ford w/ Kip Sabian, Miro & “Charles” Taylor; Ford wins.
- The Inner Circle Tag Team Challenge: Proud ‘n’ Powerful VS Sammy-Hager VS Y2MJF; Y2MJF wins and becomes the official tag division representatives of The Inner Circle.
PLAY BY PLAY
The Dark Order is here!
It’s a huge birthday bash for Negative One, Brodie Lee Junior! The cake is there, the candles are lit, and fans cheer on, “Happy Birthday!” John Silver says tonight is a very special night and fans cheer in agreement. Firstly, the Dark Order is going to get a new recruit in “a handsome cowboy,” Hangman Page! But second of all, it’s someone’s birthday~! Just looking t this cake is making #JohnnyHungy! But let’s all sing a Happy Birthday to Brodie Junior! A one, a two, a skiddily diddily doo! Happy Birthday to You~! But then Luther and Serpentico crash the party! They don’t care about birthdays! AEW is becoming a DAYCARE CENTER!
Luther tells “Punky Brewster,” if he wants to come out on AEW Dark and talk smack on him and how he looks stupid with the ball on his head…! Fans chant “You Look Stupid!” Well first, Luther’s face is perfectly symmetrical! And second, Negative One has all these halfwits in masks and with their jagged teeth, THEY look stupid! Chaos Project does not like kids, and does not like them! They’re going to RUIN Brodie’s birthday! The Dark Order fires back with fists! But Jack Evans and Angelico hurry out to reinforce their tag partners! Here comes Hangman! Hangman LEAPS off the stage and onto everyone! The Dark Order cheers, but is Hangman really joining up with them?
8 Man Tag: Hangman & The Dark Order VS Chaos Project & The Hybrid2!
The bell rings and Silver stalks Angelico in the ring. Alex Reynolds joins in, they double whip and flapjack EUROUPPER! Cover, but Evans breaks it in time! Silver throws forearms on Evans and hits him so hard, Evans flies out of the ring! But Angelico DECKS Silver, then tags in Luther. They mug Silver, Luther reels Silver in for a butterfly suplex! Cover, ONE! Luther tags Serpentico in, and he is the SNAKEMAN weapon, scoop slam senton! Serpentico staggers up, tags Evans, and then Luther uses Evans as a weapon for another scoop slam senton! Tag to Angelico, and Angelico holds Silver there, for Luther to BULLDOG SPLASH Angelico onto him! Cover, TWO!
Angelico drags Silver up, bumps him off buckles, then tags Serpentico in. Serpentico throws hands on Silver, snapmares and KICKS him! Fans rally as Serpentico fish hooks Silver into a chinlock. Silver endures, the ref reprimands the hooks but Silver fights up to throw body shots. Serpentico throws haymakers back and then has Silver in a corner. Serpentico whips corner to corner and Silver hits buckles. Serpentico runs in but Silver FLAPJACKS him to buckles! Serpentico fixes his head but runs into a BOOT! Tag to Hangman! Hangman rallies on Chaos Project and TH2 with forearms and BOOTS! SPINEBUSTER for Evans!
Fans fire up with Hangman as he runs at Angelico to corner clothesline! Then one for Serpentico, one for Evans, then back to Serpentico. Serpentico SUPERKICKS, but he leaps into an OVERHEAD SUPLEX! Cover, but TH2 breaks it! Now a brawl breaks out again! The Dark Order throws TH2 out, Silver whips Reynolds in at Serpentico but Serpentico tosses him out! Silver runs in, but Serpentico puts him on the apron. Colt Cabana runs in but Serpentico avoids the Flying Apple. Cabana goes up, Hangman ROLLING ELBOWS Serpentico into Cabana’s FLYING ELBOW! Cabana sees Angelico getting in, and suckers him into Hangman’s FALL AWAY SLAM!
Hangman kips up and PLANCHAS but Evans moves! Evans is on the apron, but Hangman avoids his spinning kick! Silver is on the apron now and CANNONBALLS into Evans, to then EuroUpper Angelico against railing! Silver runs at Chaos Project but they dodge, only for Reynolds to FLY in! Direct hit, and the Dark Order set things up for Hangman, SUPER MOONSAULT! Fans are thunderous as Hangman drags Serpentico up and into the ring. Hangman tags Cabana in, Cabana scoop slams Serpentico, and then the Good, the Bad and the Hungy combine in a HUGE backpack SENTON! Cover, TWO!! Serpentico survives but Cabana keeps his focus.
Tag to Reynolds, Cabana goes up and the Beaver Boys hoist Serpentico up. Luther gets in and shoves Cabana down! Serpentico shoves Reynolds into Silver, roll through, SUPERKICK and basement DDT! Evans springboards in with the 450 SPLASH! Cover but Hangman breaks it in time! Evans throws Hangman out, then slingshots after him, into a POWEBOMB onto Angelico in the crowd! Luther drags Cabana up the ramp and to the stage! Oh no, the cake is unguarded! Wait, Negative One runs over and SMACKS Luther with the kendo stick! Luther glares at him, but then Cabana FLAPJACKS Luther onto the cake!
Back in the ring, Reynolds whips Serpentico into the corner, Silver ENZIGURIS, then they unleash the Beaver Boy Blitz! Forearm, enziguri, STUNNER, and Hangman adds the BUCK SHOT to the GERMAN! Bridging and jackknife, Hangman and the Dark Order win!
Winners: Hangman Page & The Dark Order, by pinfall
Luther is furious in the frosting as the Good, the Bad, the Hungy and the BOOM BOOM take the win! And to add on, Negative One says Serpentico tried to ruin the birthday. But that’s not how it works. KENDO STICK SMACK! “My birthday was three days ago, you idiots!” And he throws papers at Chaos Project! But Silver grabs a mic to address business. Hangman is so good and amazing! But also, he’s really handsome and has nice hair. Now, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Will Hangman #JoinDarkOrder? Silver is even on bended knee! Hangman’s answer is…? “I can’t.”
Wait what? No, stop the confetti! He said no! He said no! The Dark Order didn’t hear that until it’s pointed out by Hangman. As fun as all this has been, he tried saying this before but he was put in a tough spot. Hangman’s done the faction thing before, and it didn’t really work out for him. He’s sorry, but he has to decline. The Dark Order doesn’t understand, and now the good mood has been deflated. Will the Dark Order figure out how to get Hangman to change his mind? Or will they have to move on from this rejection and find someone else?
Backstage interview with Chris Jericho and MJF!
Ahead of the Inner Circle Tag Team Challenge, Alex Marvez wants their thoughts. Please stop, your breath is worse than a rat orgy inside a running microwave. But MJF wants to be honest with Jericho. The last thing he wants to see is this match breaking up the Inner Circle. Isn’t Jericho a little worried about that? Jericho is NOT worried. Tonight will be something that brings the group together and stronger than ever before. It is a promise, a pact, a gentlemen’s agreement of sexy hooligans to decide which combination moves forward to go after the AEW World Tag Team Championships!
No matter what happens, they have a deal that they will move on as a unit. Santana & Ortiz VS Sammy & Hager VS Jericho & MJF! And guess who wins tonight, Marvez! Jericho? Exactly, you stupid idiot! MJF agrees with Jericho, this will make the Inner Circle stronger. They are Christopher and Maxwell, they are better than you and you know it, because they are the next AEW World Tag Team Champions! But will that be the case when this is their first outing as a tag team?
AEW returns to Tony Schiavone in the ring!
“It was one week ago in this ring that Darby Allin retained the TNT Championship in a sensational win over Brian Cage of Team Taz!” We also saw Sting show up to help Darby out against Team Taz, too! Sting wants to say something, perhaps congratulate Darby, so here is… STIIIIING~! The snow, the crow, and the icon! And now, the TNT Champion, Darby Allin! The Relentless Face of TNT makes his way out with belt in hand. He joins Schiavone and Sting in the ring and fans cheer. Schiavone hands the mic to Sting and Sting says, “First of all, I want to say that there’s something that reminds me about me in you, and I kinda like it.” Darby is a great wrestler, and Sting wants to be the first to publicly congratulate him as being our TNT Champion.
Second, Sting wants everyone to understand that he wasn’t here to interrupt last week. He just wanted to keep things fair as Darby defended his title. But from somewhere, Taz is on the mic and he’s telling Sting to shut up! Team Taz is on the titantron and Taz says “fair fight, my ass!” Sting had a baseball bat, he storms out during the TNT title match, and he attacks Ricky Starks! Darby, during that match, had his leather belt and tried to hogtie Cage’s legs like he’s some piece of cattle! They fight dirty! They fight street style! Team Taz are “gentlemen.” Taz grew up in the streets, do your homework! These men are street fighters!
Starks speaks and says if we’re talking about street fighters, here’s the thing! Sting and Darby couldn’t see them in the streets! The deal is, Team Taz should take this to the streets! If Darby and Sting want to get nasty, they want to get hardcore, then the ball’s in their court! What you got?! Darby looks to Sting and Sting says something to Darby. Darby takes the mic and says if Team Taz wants to take this to the streets, “be careful what you wish for, because it just might happen.” Will Taz and team regret trying to intimidate these two fearless fighters?
The Elite is having a meeting, but the Young Bucks aren’t part of it?
Alex Marvez tells Matt & Nick Jackson about it, which is weird because this is Kenny Omega’s place. First that eBay collector guy and now this? Well fine, Marvez, come with them to the meeting. The Bucks walks in through the backdoor and Michael Nakazawa is being the greeter? Nakazawa escorts the Bucks into the dining room then into the den. What in the world? Omega has an oil painting of himself and Don Callis as muscular men in denim jeans, and only denim jeans. Omega is one thing but Callis is nowhere NEAR that ripped. Yikes.
But Callis enters first, and says that is a gift for Omega’s birthday. But his birthday’s in October. Well it’s never too early or too late to shop for the God of Pro-Wrestling! Have they not gotten anything for him yet? What kind of friends are you? Just kidding. Oh right, just like how last week, he punked them out on national television with that bait ‘n’ switch! Callis says that it was a choice from production, he meant to tell them but he apologizes for that. Where is Omega? Well Omega is unavailable for today’s meeting. At his own house? Omega is very busy. Too busy to talk to his friends?
Well what number do they have in their phones? Callis had Omega change numbers a couple weeks ago, there are a lot of fans, marks, and “old friends” coming out of the woodwork, blowing up the phone. They didn’t get the memo? Well they don’t need it, they can always come by, he and Omega are always happy to see them. But it’s good that they’re all here so we can clear the air. These three are the ones who love Omega the most, after all. Callis is family, and the Bucks are… old friends. So let’s chat. Marvez, why are you here? Nakazawa, please escort Marvez to the dungeon. What? Not a real dungeon, just the training room Omega uses. And take the cameraman. Not the camera, though, Callis won’t let him shoot any more of Omega’s house. Off to the dungeon with them.
And now they have privacy! The Bucks are good, right? How long have they known Omega? 12 years. Wow, 12 years, a tremendous investment. They need to recognize that. But everyone’s very busy, no time to spend like they used to, so Callis has something he is sure they’ll like. Is he writing them a check? Callis says this will compensate them for their investment in the friendship. They’re just trying to keep contact with the “old crew” to a minimum. Wow, see, this would be a good amount, except the Bucks made that much just last week. Oh, right, the merch! Well here, Callis will add in some. Is this a bribe? No…!
THE AUDACITY to think you can buyout a 12 year FRIENDSHIP…! Callis wasn’t on those 14 hour bus rides in Tokyo! He wasn’t there for the missed birthdays and anniversaries! Where was “Uncle Creepy” Callis? Callis says he was always there. Sorry it’s gone this way, but if you want to talk facts, the Bucks were great friends to Omega, but now they just hold him back! Oh really?! Yes, the hanger-on from the old neighborhood types. Omega is too nice but Callis isn’t.
Y’know, speaking of where this money is coming from, the Bucks used to work at that company Callis is VP of. And so they know these checks are no good. They rip up the checks and Callis accuses them of being bloodsuckers! Oh THEY are the bloodsuckers?! Callis is manipulating Omega! They’re backing Callis up and scaring him a bit, and the camera gets shut off. What is going to happen to The Elite with Callis hanging around?
Cody Rhodes w/ Arn Anderson VS “Pretty” Peter Avalon!
Does the American Nightmare match up with the requirements for the Pageant Provocation? Perhaps, but will Avalon consider giving Cody a pass? Will Avalon’s young win streak be ended his first night back on Dynamite?
The bell rings and Avalon rushes at Cody, but into a dragon sleeper! CROSS RHODES!! Cody would cover, but JADE CARGILL walks out on stage! She is keeping her distance, but Cody isn’t so sure. Avalon runs in and LOW BLOWS Cody during the distraction! Jade likes that and decides to leave now. Avalon kicks at Cody’s legs, stalks Cody around the ring and chop blocks him down! Avalon trips Cody up, stomps him down, and then drags Cody up to throw haymakers! Avalon CHOPS Cody, then CHPOS him again! Cody gets made and CHOPS back! Cody shows haymaker but Avalon protects his face. So Cody drops for the Rhodes Uppercut!
Cody goes to a corner, climbs up, but Avalon hits him first! Avalon throws hands, climbs up, and clubs away. Avalon brings Cody up for a SUPERPLEX! Fans fire up as both men writhe and a standing count begins! Cody goes to the apron and Avalon pursues as fans rally behind him. Avalon hobbles after Cody and kicks a leg, but Cody throws Avalon into the railing! Cody throws haymakers, but hobbles into a throat chop! Avalon CHOPS Cody then puts him in the ring. Cody gets Avalon’s leg but Avalon clubs him. Avalon suplexes and covers, ONE! Avalon stomps Cody then clubs him more. Cody shoves Avalon and double clotheslines collide!
Another standing count begins as both men are down. Fans rally up and duel, Cody drags Avalon up but Avalon rakes the eyes! AEW goes to picture in picture as Avalon puts Cody in a corner.
Avalon CHOPS Cody again, CLUBS him, then stomps the leg. Avalon CLAWS Cody on the back, but Cody CLAWS Avalon on the front! Avalon stomps Cody down, then drops a knee! Avalon has the leg and yanks on it, then stomps and heel hooks it! Cody endures but Avalon turns him over for a Half Crab! Avalon pulls hard but Cody fights his way to the ropebreak! The ref counts, Avalon lets off at 3, and Cody trips Avalon up! Cody gets the leg now, but Avalon kicks him away! Cody staggers, Avalon CHOPS him, then wraps the leg against ropes! The ref counts, Cody elbows Avalon away, then gets to the apron. Avalon is after Cody with a stretch against the ropes!
Avalon lets Cody go to club him again, but Cody ROCKS him with forearms! Cody slingshots to sunset flip, TWO! Avalon CLOBBERS Cody with a clothesline! Avalon looms over Cody, drags him up, and scoops him for a slam! Avalon rains down rights, then scrapes his soles off Cody’s face! Avalon sits Cody up to KICK him, then drops more knees! AEW returns to single picture as Avalon climbs. Avalon MOONSAULTS but FLOPS as Cody moves! Fans fire up and Cody throws forearms. Avalon headlocks, Cody powers out and tries to hurdle but his leg can’t get him up! Cody and Avalon collide, then Avalon throws Cody out hard! Avalon runs and DIVES, and Cody ends up in the crowd!
Avalon drags Cody back into the ring, drags him up by his weight belt, and blows a kiss. Avalon runs, into a CUTTER! Cody fires up and fans fire up with him as he whips Avalon, then follows to rally with forearms and lariats! Cody whips, Avalon reverses but Cody goes up and over to SPINNING POWERSLAM! Cody slaps himself to get back in this, and off comes the weight belt! Free souvenir! Avalon staggers, Cody trips him up and steps through, FIGURE FOUR! Avalon endures, turns things over and puts the pressure onto Cody! Cody turns it back over and Avalon feels the pain, but then Avalon SLAPS Cody! That was a mistake and Cody shows slap, but Avalon taps out just to avoid it!
Winner: Cody Rhodes, by submission
Cody holds on to make Avalon pay for it, but lets him go soon enough. Cargill’s presence almost cost Cody, but the Prince of Pro-Wrestling managed to fight through the pain. Will Cody have to be more careful from now on?
FTR speaks.
Tully Blanchard knows the rankings just came out. They are NUMBER ONE and that is where they need to be. But now, they need the belts. Those are the bragging rights! But then in barges Jurassic Express! Jungle Boy says he’s sick of this. If FTR is the best- Cash Wheeler says they ARE the best. JB gets heated, but he says the FTR might be the best. Being in there taught JB something about himself. It showed him that he could beat either one of them. FTR laughs at that and Dax Harwood says he shouldn’t be fooled by the “salt ‘n’ pepper.” Dax isn’t some fly-by-night wrassler JB plays with in the ring. Dax will fight him next week, 1v1. He doesn’t need Cash and Tully to win, either.
Oh is that so? Let Dax finish. Then let them all be ringside, but Luchasaurus will make sure no one gets involved. JB and Dax shake on it, but will this really be a gentlemen’s agreement with Tully lurking?
Jon Moxley VS ???
The Maniac is back in action tonight, determined to fight his way back to the AEW World Championship and his revenge on Kenny Omega! Will Moxley show that there’s no stopping him, only delaying the inevitable?
AEW returns and Moxley’s opponent turns out to be the Freak Beast Wrecking Ball, Nick Comoroto! A big opponent for his first match back, but Moxley doesn’t back down from a fight! The bell rings, Comoroto shoves but Moxley headbutts him! Moxley fires off forearms and stomps Comoroto in the corner! Then CHOPS him, and CHOPS him again! And again! Moxley whips corner to corner, Comoroto reverses but Moxley dodges in the corner to clothesline! Moxley keeps moving, but leaps into Comoroto’s arms and a POWERSLAM! Comoroto drags Moxley up to elbow him to a corner, then stomps him in return! Comoroto digs his knee in but lets up at 4.
Comoroto whips Moxley corner to corner, then hits a big back elbow! Comoroto scoops Moxley for a BACKBREAKER! Moxley sits up but Comoroto drags him up for another BACKBREAKER, and makes it a bend across his knee! Moxley endures, pries the fingers and bends them back! Comoroto lets go to clutch his hand, and Moxley BITES Comoroto’s forehead! Comoroto knees low, scoops Moxley but Moxley slips out to throw forearms! Comoroto throws them back but Moxley knees then runs, but into an USHIGOROSHI! Cover, TWO! Fans fire up as Moxley goes to a corner. Comoroto runs corner to corner, but only gets buckles!
Moxley and Comoroto are both down but fans rally up! Moxley is up first, and KICKS away on Comoroto’s chest! Again and again, then he reels Comoroto in for a suplex. Comoroto is too big, he shoves Moxley away but Moxley gets around to waistlock, shove and GERMAN SUPLEX! Fans fire up as Moxley runs, but Comoroto withstands the lariat! Comoroto fireman’s carries but Moxley slips around to SLEEPER HOLD! Comoroto falls, he is OUT! Moxley wins!
Winner: Jon Moxley, by pinfall
The big man gave Moxley a big fight, but Moxley wouldn’t have it any other way! Moxley gets the mic and points to the fans before saying, “Now, anything can happen on Wednesdays on AEW Dynamite. And things are getting crazy~ around here, I can’t keep track of everything.” Moxley can’t tell who is in Bullet Club, The Elite, who’s from Impact or whatever, but that doesn’t matter. Omega thought he would bring his frat brothers to AEW and they’d watch his back. “Kenny, all’s you did was make it more fun. All you did was make it more interesting. More bodies, bigger brawls, more blood, more violence. More necks to break, more limbs to snap, I love this!”
The bigger the mountain, the sweeter it is at the top! Moxley will climb back up because you can bring the whole city of Nashville to Jacksonville, you can bring up whoever from Mexico or Japan, it remains the same. “All roads in professional wrestling lead through ME!!” Has Moxley just declared war not only on The Cleaner, but all the promotions willing to play ball with AEW?
Backstage interview with Eddie Kingston and The Fam.
For the first time ever, next week on Dynamite, Kingston will face Lance Archer 1v1 in the ring. How does he prepare for someone like Archer, or anyone he’s never faced before? Kingston doesn’t prepare, he just fights. And Kingston has been having a really hard time lately. PAC beat Kingston but Kingston is moving on to Archer. Kingston has to move on. But then Archer comes in, and Jake the Snake barely keeps him back! Archer says Pac beat Kingston, but Archer will end him! Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, a very simple concept. Kingston says he can go on with his poetry, but Archer says all Kingston ever does is shout. If Kingston wants to shut Archer up, do it in the ring! Kingston says it’s 1v1! Then he tells Jake to keep his boy under control.
Jake says Kingston’s one to talk, with his little baby chicken shit family. If Kingston wants to do something, do it face to face without his little butt kissers ringside! Deal! A true 1v1 match is coming, will the Mad King be able to stand after facing the Murderhawk Monster?
AEW returns as Kenny Omega arrives.
Alex Marvez is there waiting and asks Omega about his thoughts on what we saw at the beach. Omega wasn’t at the beach, so no comment. Well, AEW Media was with The Young Bucks and Don Callis at Omega’s house. They were at his house? Is nothing sacred? Get out of his way! Omega finds Callis in the locker room and shows off his new outfit. Whoa, what happened to Callis? Oh, the glasses? No, what’s under the glasses. Callis says Omega shouldn’t get upset, Callis had a “little accident” earlier. It’s not as bad as it looks. Who did that? No, it’s not about- Ow, don’t touch. Callis says this is not what he wants for Omega, Omega can’t lose focus right now.
Omega keeps asking but Callis says it’s fine. Nick & Matt- Uh oh. Omega can’t believe the Bucks did this. Marvez asks if Callis is saying the Bucks did that to him. What is he doing in here? Go away! Is there no privacy here? Omega still wants answers on what happened! We know that the camera went off, but did the Bucks really assault Callis?
Six Man Tag: Matt Sydal & Top Flight VS #HardyParty!
One of the best high flyers ever teams up with the coldest tag team in the game for an incredible combination! But manager “Big Money” Matt teams with his guys in Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy! Will Hardy and Private Party make their partnership worth their one-sided deal?
The trios sort out and Dante Martin starts against Quen. They circle, and Dante offers a handshake. Hardy doesn’t want Quen to take it but Quen says it’s fine, and they shake hands. Quen and Dante circle, tie up, and Quen arm-drags Dante but Dante arm-drags back. Quen blocks the hip toss to knee low and cartwheel, but Dante slips free to run and roll off the back, then dropkick Quen down! Darius gets in as Kassidy does and dropkicks him down! Hardy rushes in but into DOUBLE DROPKICKS! Fans fire up with Top Flight as Dante tags Sydal in. They focus on Quen with double CHOPS, and then a whip. Sydal and Top Flight pull off a TRIPLE HURDLE, then a pass to a WINDMILL KICK!
Dante gets a boost from Darius, they rebound off ropes and Dante flips Darius onto Sydal! Darius flips back but he’s not legal, Sydal has to cover. So Sydal adds a STANDING MARIPOSA! Cover, TWO! Quen hurries away and Hardy tells him to get serious here. Quen takes off his jacket and throws it at Sydal! Quen then fires off on Sydal, and tags in Kassidy. Kassidy sucker punches Top Flight then mugs Sydal with Quen! Private Party double forearm, kick and run, but Top Flight gets in and slides with Sydal to TRIPLE ROLLING TAKEDOWN, into a TRIPLE CRAB! Hardy is furious but the ref counts and Top Flight lets off their parts. Hardy gets in and DECKS Sydal!
Kassidy runs at Sydal at the ropes but Sydal pops him up! Kassidy holds ropes, tags Quen, and then headscissors Sydal into Quen’s ROUNDHOUSE! Springboard SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Quen clubs away on Sydal, then stomps him down! Quen brings Sydal up, bumps him off buckles, then tags in Kassidy. Private Party mugs Sydal as AEW goes picture in picture.
Hardy sneaks in a shot before Kassidy CHOPS Sydal, but Sydal CHOPS back Kassidy kicks low, pushes Sydal down and stomps him in the corner! Tag to Hardy, Kassidy digs his boots in, then Hardy does the same. The ref counts, Hardy lets off at 4, then RAMS into Sydal! And again! And again! Hardy brings Sydal up, scoops him, and LAWN DARTS him on the buckles! Cover, TWO! Hardy keeps on Sydal and ROCKS him with a right! Hardy whips, and catches Sydal to a sleeper! Sydal flails, reaches, but Hardy keeps him from the corner. Sydal fights up with body shots and breaks free with a jawbreaker! Hardy still grabs Sydal to drag him back to the corner.
Tag to Quen, Hardy Party mugs Sydal, and Quen bumps Sydal off buckles. Quen stomps Sydal then drags him up in a facelock. Sydal fights his way towards his corner but Quen pushes him back the other way. Tag to Kassidy and Private Party mugs Sydal more. Kassidy drags Sydal up and rams elbows into him! Tag to Quen, Kassidy CHOPS Sydal, then is the step stool for Quen to launch into a splash! Quen is the step now, Kassidy runs in, PARTY in Motion! Hardy tags in and clotheslines Sydal down! Hardy taunts Sydal and slaps him around, but Sydal KICKS back! And CHOPS! AEW returns to single picture as Sydal CHOPS Hardy more!
Hardy pokes Sydal in the eye! Then tags in Kassidy, and they mug Sydal more. Kassidy snapmares Sydal and wraps on a chinlock. Fans rally as Sydal endures, but Kassidy keeps Sydal away from ropes. Kassidy grinds Sydal down but Sydal fights up. Kassidy shifts to a facelock then tags in Quen. Private Party double suplex Sydal, but Sydal slips out! Sydal DECKS Hardy, and DOUBLE RANAS Private Party! Hot tag to Darius! Darius DECKS Kassidy, uppercuts Quen, goes up and over and sends Kassidy into Quen, then comes back to ENZIGURI Quen down! Darius waistlocks Kassidy, Kassidy standing switches but Darius elbows out!
Darius runs, gets around Kassidy and whips him into a STANDIN GSPANISH FLY! Hardy kicks low but no Twist! Dante ROCKS Hardy and dumps him out! Darius builds speed to DIVE! Direct hit sends Hardy hard into railing! Darius goes back to the ring to tag in Dante, but Kassidy kicks back. Kassidy whips Darius but Darius reverses! Quen is there for Kassidy to roll back on, Silly String catches Darius but Dante is there to dropkick Quen down! Kassidy is caught for a LEAP FROG ATTACK! O’Conner roll and bridge, TWO!! Dante keeps his cool, drags Kassidy up, and he tags in Darius.
Top Flight mugs Kassidy, back suplex but Kassidy lands on his feet. Dante has Kassidy but Kassidy turns waistlock into wheelbarrow that sends Dante into Darius! Tag to Hardy, and Hardy grabs Dante. Dante fights out of Side Effect, but Darius wings into the SIDE EFFECT! Sydal tags in and goes up, Dante walks into a SIDE EFFECT! Sydal leaps but into a SIDE EFFECT!! Hardy has all three down to triple cover, TWO!! Tag to Quen and Quen boots Sydal! Quen says he sees the third eye and does a dance to PELE Sydal right in it! Cover, TWO! Quen drags Sydal up but Sydal ROUNDHOUSES! Tag to Dante, and Top Flight blasts Hardy Party!
Top Flight whip Sydal in at Quen for a big back elbow! Darius runs in to clothesline, then they put Quen up for Dante to FLIPPING DRAGON RANA! Cover, Hardy Party breaks it in time! Darius DECKS Hardy, Sydal throws Kassidy out and Top Flight focuses on Quen. They put Quen up top, climb up together, but Hardy shoves Darius down hard! The ref and Hardy argue, Kassidy has a chair and he JAMS Dante in the ribs! Dante is down, Quen and Kassidy realize what they’ve done, and like it! Quen hits a SHOOTING STAR PRESS!! Cover, Hardy Party wins!
Winners: Hardy Party, by pinfall
Quen and Kassidy are buying into Big Money Matt’s “by any means necessary” policy! After all, they are #1 contenders to the Impact World Tag Team Championships. Darius and Sydal get in their face about it, though, and Hardy gives the nod. Private Party beats down Darius and Sydal! They hammer away on Sydal and drive knees into Darius, and then feed Darius to a TWIST OF FATE! Sydal gets a TWIST OF FATE, too! Will this new edge be what makes Private Party into champions?
MJF and Wardlow check with The Inner Circle.
MJF tells the cameraman to keep his distance before he and Wardlow walk in. “Oh, the bearer of bad news~!” Ortiz takes a guess: MJF wants the rest of them to be ringside when he and Jericho go after the tag titles, right? No, no, but MJF does get the hostility. Take it from him, if it were up to him, he isn’t so sure this match would be happening. Surely they all feel the same way. But, Chris is the leader, and as such, what he says goes. Sammy Guevara says if he had things his way, a lot of this wouldn’t be happening.
Hager and the others keep Sammy back but MJF says they’ve been doing this for months. MJF loves Hager, Santana and Ortiz, and even Sammy. They’re family, and they have to be family in order to succeed. Now, MJF respects Sammy because Sammy isn’t afraid to speak his mind. But can Sammy just understand that MJF isn’t some sociopath. MJF wants what’s best for the group, and so do they. So let’s all just go out there, have this match, and settle it. Everyone else fist bumps with MJF, but not Sammy. They’re not there yet. That’s fine. MJF says he’ll see them all out there, but is Sammy onto something?
Leyla Hirsch VS Penelope Ford w/ Kip Sabian, Miro & “Charles” Taylor!
#LEGIT is back in action, and up against the Superbad Bride-to-be! Freshly Squeezed, Orange Cassidy, can only watch from the crowd as his best friend is forced to be the BUTLER to the Best Man and the Superbad super couple. The suffering of “Charles” aside, will Ford at least be in a good mood with a win?
The bell rings, Ford and Hirsch circle, tie up, and go around. They break, and Hirsch smirks as she and Ford circle again. They tie up, Hirsch gets a waistlock but Ford switches. Hirsch hooks a leg to bring Ford down and then drags Ford around by it to get a waistlock. They roll around and Hirsch holds on tight to then float to a facelock. Ford gets up, Hirsch gets around for another takedown, lateral press, TWO! Ford facelocks but Hirsch wrenches out, only for Ford to headlock. Hirsch powers Ford to ropes, the ref calls for a break, and Hirsch honors it. But Ford kicks her leg out! Ford reels Hirsch into another headlock but Hirsch powers out, only for Ford to run her over!
But Hirsch kips up! Ford pie faces Hirsch out of annoyance, then runs, but Hirsch bypasses, drops, but Kip makes butler Charles trip Hirsch up! Ford handsprings but into an ARMBAR!! Ford scrambles, reaches, and gets a ropebreak with a foot! Hirsch lets go at 4 and then glares at Kip. Kip is making short jokes but is running away, too, and Ford BOOTS Hirsch down! Ford drags Hirsch up to throw her into railing! Kip mockingly reels in the big fish as AEW goes picture in picture.
Ford drags Hirsch up to RAM her into apron! Ford puts Hirsch in, drags her up and fisherman’s for the suplex! Ford drags Hirsch back up, whips her hard into a corner, and then fires off forearms! Ford whips Hirsch the other way, then handsprings in to back elbow! Wait, Hirsch got Ford first with forearms! Hirsch leaps over and comes back but Ford sends her into buckles! Ford runs side to side to KNEE Hirsch down! Ford rains down furious fists, drags Hirsch back up, then WRINGS her into buckles! Ford stands on Hirsch in the corner but the ref counts. Ford lets off at 4, Hirsch gets to the apron, but runs in to go up and over and drop knees on Hirsch on the apron!
Ford soaks up the heat before going back into the ring. Hirsch kicks back from the mat but Ford CLUBS her down, and AEW goes to break!
AEW returns and Ford is covering Hirsch, TWO! Fans fire up for Hirsch but Ford drags her by a leg. Hirsch kicks Ford away but Ford rolls her to her feet to CLUB her on the back! Hirsch just gets mad and ROCKS Ford with a forearm! Ford forearms back but Hirsch fires off! Hirsch runs, blocks the leg lariat and makes Ford to the splits, to then KNEE Ford down! And DEAD LIFT GERMANS! Ford flounders to a corner, Hirsch runs in corner to corner, METEORA, to a SWINGING DROPKICK! Cover, TWO!! Ford survives but Hirsch keeps her focus, and Cassidy likes(?) what he sees.
Hirsch climbs, but Ford trips her up! Ford runs and handsprings, but the ax kick misses! Hirsch CLOBBERS Ford, drags her to a drop zone, then runs in, up the corner, and LEAPS ONTO KIP AND CHUCK! Fans fire up as Hirsch eliminates the distracts, but then Ford BOOTS her on the return! Cover, and Kip keeps Hirsch’s leg down!! Ford wins!!
Winner: Penelope Ford, by pinfall
Miro tells “Charles” to get in the ring so we can all get an update. Miro tells “Charles” that he could be mean, but he’s not because he’s a nice guy. But Miro needs Charles to let go of the past so he can reach a bright future. Stand up straight. So Charles needs to look at Cassidy and tell him that MIRO is his best friend now! Chuck doesn’t want to but Miro tells him he has to. Cassidy stands up and Chuck takes the mic. Miro and Kip make sure he looks at Cassidy as he says it. “Miro is my best friend now.” Kip hugs Chuck and Miro gives a big thumbs up, and Cassidy walks away. Will Chuckie T be able to make it to Beach Break without breaking?
Something’s happening backstage!
The Good Brothers are attacking one of the Lucha Brothers! Karl Anderson stomps Penta El Zero M, then Doc Gallows drags him up to throw into the garage door! Omega comes over now, he and the Good Brothers mug Penta, and choke him using a power cord!! Omega takes off one of his fancy boots and JAMS the point into Penta’s eyes! “That’s what the Biz Clizz does!” But will they pay for going after Penta without Fenix and Pac around?
AEW has a lot planned for next week!
Not only will Eddie Kingston take on Lance Archer without any of their cohorts ringside, and not only will Dax Harwood take on Jungle Boy with all their teammates ringside, but Cody Rhodes will finally respond to comments made by Shaq! Plus, the Dark Order will try to move on from Hangman Page’s rejection in another 8 Man Tag, but against The Elite! Will the Young Bucks and Good Brothers be able to get along like back in the day? Or will the issues with Kenny Omega allow Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, Alex Reynolds and John Silver to cash in big on both the AEW AND Impact Wrestling Tag Team Champions?
Plus, some news for AEW Beach Break!
With AEW Revolution only a month away, there will be a Tag Team Battle Royal to name the Young Bucks’ challengers! Which duo will be the last ones standing to take on Matt & Nick Jackson? Will the Inner Circle’s representative be in that battle royal? And speaking of Beach Break, the main event was going to be Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers VS Death Triangle, but after what the “Biz Clizz” did to Penta, Pac and Fenix will be teaming with JON MOXLEY!! Will Moxley get a semblance of revenge on The Cleaner in just two weeks?
BREAKING NEWS!
It is still in the works, but AEW is going to put together a WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Eliminator Tournament! Talent from both America and Japan are going to compete in a SIXTEEN PARTICIPANT bracket! Who will prove themselves worthy of taking on the Full Metal Warrior, Hikaru Shida?
The Inner Circle Tag Team Challenge: Proud ‘n’ Powerful VS Sammy-Hager VS Y2MJF!
Santana and Ortiz thought they were going to be THE team in the faction from day one. The Spanish God accused Le Champion of being a #TagTeamSlut! But will all of the issues be put aside when the dust clears?
In this style of Triple Threat Tag, only two teams are active but anyone can tag off one of the opponents. They sort out and MJF starts with Sammy. Sammy gets in MJF’s face but MJF says this is just in good competition. MJF circles with Sammy, but MJF “realizes” Jericho probably wants to tie up with Sammy so he tags out. Jericho and Sammy circle as the former Le Sex Gods, and they tie up. Jericho puts Sammy in the corner, shows haymaker, but lets off with a handshake. They circle, fans rally up and the two tie up. Jericho wrenches, wristlocks, but Sammy flips through and wrenches back. Jericho SLAPS Sammy so Sammy ROCKS and CHOPS Jericho!
Sammy whips, hurdles, and flips over Jericho to dropkick Jericho down! Sammy kips up and clotheslines Jericho out! Fans fire up as Sammy aims and slingshots, just to flip back in and do a spin. Sammy poses and Jericho nods some respect for that. Jericho gets in, he and Sammy approach but Jericho kicks low and CHOPS hard! And CHOPS! Jericho whips, Sammy dodges, and Sammy catches the dropkick to catapult Jericho into Hager’s haymaker! Sammy rolls Jericho up, TWO!! Sammy keeps on Jericho with a facelock, but Jericho ROCKS him back! Jericho tags to Santana but Hager tags in.
Hager rushes Santana but Santana shove shim, only to get run over. Things speed up, Santana kicks the legs out and dropkicks Hager down! Tag to Ortiz, PNP double whip Hager but Jericho tags back in. PNP double wrench to a double back suplex, but Jericho gets in to boot Ortiz! Jericho ROCKS Ortiz, whips but Ortiz gets around to shove Jericho to ropes. Santana tags in, Ortiz holds onto Jericho and Santana slingshots up and over. O’Conner roll to a crossbody! Ortiz sentons, Santana moonsaults! MJF protests but Santana covers, TWO!! Jericho survives and Santana seethes as AEW goes picture in picture.
Santana throws hands and CHOPS on Jericho, then whips him to ropes. Jericho stops himself to tag out to Sammy! Sammy and Santana tie up, Santana headlocks but Sammy powers out. Ortiz tags in, Santana spins Sammy and gets the assisted Shiranui, PNP combine for a REVERSE DDT POWERBOMB! Cover, TWO! Ortiz drags Sammy up and whips him to ropes to then calf kick him down! Cover, TWO! Ortiz grows annoyed but he drags Sammy up to wrench and tie him up, Russian Leg Sweep to a modified half crab! Tag to Santana and Santana SLAPS Sammy on the head! Ortiz lets Sammy go, Sammy CHOPS Santana, but then Santana CHOPS Sammy off his feet!
Santana drags Sammy up, snap suplexes, then covers, TWO! Santana looms over Sammy, drags him up, and suplexes again, holding him up this time! Santana walks over and Jericho tags in to get the hand-off. Jericho keeps Sammy up for a few more counts before slamming him down! Jericho revels in the cheers and then brings Sammy back up. Jericho CHOPS Sammy to a corner, throws haymakers, and AEW returns to single picture as Jericho CHOPS again!
Jericho whips Sammy, Sammy reverses and sends Jericho to ropes, only for Jericho to snap suplex back! Jericho has the cocky cover, ONE! Fans rally and Sammy CHOPS back on Jericho! Sammy whips, Jericho reverses and sends Sammy to the corner, but Sammy sends the bulldog into PNP’s corner! Jericho flops down and MJF reaches out! That’s the first time this whole match. Hot tags to MJF and Hager! MJF gets CLOBBERED! Hager blasts PNP, dodges MJF and DECKS Jericho to then corner clothesline MJF and reel him in for a POWERSLAM! Hager fires up and fans fire up with him! Hager tags in Sammy, Sammy springboards for a SUPER CUTTER!
But Ortiz tags in off MJF, only for Sammy to CLOBBER him! Sammy clotheslines Jericho out, too! Sammy slingshots to SHOOTING STAR but Jericho dodges! Sammy SUPERKICKS Jericho down! Sammy hurries back in, builds speed, but Santana gets in to waistlock! Ortiz runs back in and ENZIGURIS Sammy into Santana’s BOOT! PNP build speed and they DOUBLE DIVE! They take out Jericho and Hager out on opposite ends! Fans are thunderous as Sammy FLIES and takes down MJF! Sammy hurries back in, Ortiz runs at him but Sammy jumps over, to then BELLY2BELLY! Sammy goes up, Santana KICKS him down!
Santana and Ortiz climb the corner, Sammy fights them both off and shoves Santana down. MJF gets in and Electric Chairs Sammy! Sammy POISON-RANAS MJF first! Sammy goes after Ortiz up top, SUPER SPANISH FLY!! Cover, TWO!! Ortiz survives and no one can believe it! Jericho hurries in with Floyd the Baseball Bat, but Hager intercepts with a BOOT! MJF gets his diamond ring from Wardlow, but Hager is there! Hager DECKS MJF!! Santana kicks but Hager blocks, Ortiz and Santana DOUBLE ENZIGURI Hager, only for Hager to come back with DOUBLE LARIATS! Sammy STANDING SHOOTING STARS onto Ortiz, but MJF breaks it!
MJF whips Ortiz to the corner, Jericho tags in off Ortiz, and then MJF whips Sammy. Sammy reverses, leaps up, but into a POWERBOMB! LIONSAULT from Jericho!! Cover, TWO!?! Sammy survives and fans are thunderous again! Y2MJF drag Sammy up, whip him but Ortiz tags back in before the DOUBLE FLAPJACK! PNP give Y2MJF double basement dropkicks! And then they bring Jericho up for TU LO SABES! Cover, TWO!?!? Jericho survives and Ortiz argues with the ref, only to turn around into a CODE BREAKER! Jericho manages the cover, TWO!!! Ortiz survives and fans are electric!
Jericho drags Ortiz up, tags MJF, and they throw hands on Ortiz. Y2MJF double whip, and double- Ortiz DOUBLE DDT’s back! Hager tags in to whip MJF hard into buckles! HAGER BOMB! Sammy tags in off it, Hager keeps on Jericho, Sammy hits the SUPER SWANTON!! Cover, Ortiz breaks it!! Hager throws Ortiz out, Jericho shoves Hager out, but Sammy KNEES Jericho! Sammy torture racks, for GO TO HOSPITAL! Sammy KNEES MJF, SUPERKICKS Santana, then torture racks MJF and RAMS him into Wardlow! But MJF uses that to roll Sammy up, WITH TRUNKS! Y2MJF win!!
Winners: Chris Jericho & MJF, by pinfall (officially becomes THE tag team in the Inner Circle)
Say it ain’t so! MJF said this would be all in good sportsmanship but that was the exact opposite! And AEW has to wrap up for the night, what will be the fallout of this frantic finish!?
My Thoughts:
What a great episode! We got a great start with the birthday celebration for Brodie Jr. and the 8 Man Tag. Hangman’s rejection being a surprise to the Dark Order was great, with the prepared celebration now being for nothing. This will be an interesting twist to their story, especially with that huge 8 Man announced for next week. Also, Negative One Brodie got to have some more fun, getting on the case of the Dark Order henchmen and smacking Serpentico with a kendo stick. We got a lot of good set up for next week, the go-home to Beach Break. Dax VS JB with everyone ringside and Kingston VS Archer with no one ringside will both be good steps in progressing story, and both could probably go either way.
Cody VS Avalon going from squash to an actually strong match was a great twist, and all while plugging the story of Jade and Shaq VS the Nightmare Family. I have a feeling that Cody’s response to Shaq will set up something for AEW Revolution as Beach Break is too soon and anything else would be just too long to wait for. Sting and Darby didn’t get much of a segment since Team Taz interrupts, but I like the idea that Sting’s first bit of action back will likely be a Street Fight/No Holds Barred situation, which perhaps helps with the fact that he hasn’t wrestled in years and being loose and freeform with it will actually hide that he’s rusty.
Hardy Party VS Top Flight & Sydal was a really good match, with a lot of great character work from Quen and Kassidy. They did become Impact Tag Team Championship contenders on the newest episode of Impact, but now they’re turning from the fun loving Faces into the dastardly Heels Hardy wants them to be. This could get them over the hump here in AEW, but who knows how it’ll turn out on Impact. They won’t win the titles, though, Gallows & Anderson are just too good, and there’s a lot for them to still do in the overall Omega story, where being the tag champions might help give a bit more weight to what happens.
Moxley VS Comoroto was very good, especially for Comoroto’s first showing on Dynamite. The story with Omega and the rest of Bullet Club/Elite was great stuff, especially Callis’ part with the Bucks. It really seems to work with how, between AEW and Impact, this new Cleaner Omega is getting a big ego and is basically going Hollywood without going to Hollywood. The 8 Man Tag next week is going to be really good just on character points as the Bucks and Good Brothers have been friends just as long, if not longer, than with Omega, but are taking sides on this issue. Then the beat down on who I’m pretty sure was fake Penta works to get Moxley into the story, and the Beach Break main event is going to be great stuff.
Ford VS Hirsch was good but mostly used as the vehicle to Miro’s story with Chuck Taylor and Best Friends. Chuck was being forced to cheat on their behalf, and obviously didn’t mean what he said about him and Miro being friends. This just furthers the idea that Trent will return at Beach Break where he and Cassidy ruin the Superbad wedding and then Chuck is free of the butler duties so he can get revenge on Miro, too. I really like the news of the AEW Women’s Championship Eliminator Tournament to not just parallel the men’s tournament from late 2020, but also to finally get AEW’s Women’s Division going. Plus, it strengthens the bond with Stardom as many of the women who went between the two promotions are already reacting on social media and will surely be part of the tournament.
Then the main event, the Triple Threat Tag, for not actually being that long of a match, was a spectacular match. The build up all night was really good, and MJF sure did make it seem like Jericho was to blame for the whole thing. Probably hints at MJF trying to usurp the role as leader in the Inner Circle from him. Commentary did a great job pointing out that MJF was letting everyone else wrestle for the first part of the match, and then he ended up not having much of a choice in the second half. It really did feel like any one of the teams could’ve taken this, but in the end it was still Y2MJF winning because of MJF’s craftiness. I’m wondering if participate in Beach Break’s tag team battle royal since MJF has history of winning the Dynamite Diamond Ring battle royals.
My Score: 9.4/10
