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AEW DYNAMITE TV REPORT
JANUARY 29, 2020
CLEVELAND, OHIO
AIRED LIVE ON TNT
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur
[HOUR ONE]
(Editor’s Note: This is a live report updated through the show. I immediately host a post-show live stream with callers. Then later I proofread and add analysis, which is updated that night and sometimes additional commentary is added the next day, so check back for an “Updated” version as noted in the headline for a more complete report with more opinion. Please forgive any typos and other glitches and errors in my initial frenzied attempt to detail the show live. Thanks for reading.)
-A video package on last week’s happenings played including “Hangman” Adam Page & Kenny Omega beating SCU for the AEW Tag Team Titles and Jon Moxley beating Pac to earn a title match against Chris Jericho at AEW World Title at Revolution.
-Moxley made his ring entrance. He said it was around the time he got stabbed in the eye with a metal spike that it occurred to him that the fun and games with Jericho were over. He said it was coming for a long time, and now he faces him at Revolution for the AEW World Title. He said Jericho is the final obstacle between him and the top of the mountain in AEW. He said it’s not just Jericho, whom he said is “possibly the greatest of all-time,” but also the Jericho who orchestrates five-on-one beatdowns who hides behind his boys and smashed Dustin Rhodes’s arm in a car door and maimed Cody’s face. “How far do you want to go back? He stole Rey’s mask and he punched a woman, for cryin’ out loud.”
Mox said he’s no hero or role model or saint; he’s made every mistake in the book. He said he makes sure at the end of the day he can look himself in the mirror because no accomplishments matter if you don’t live by a code. He said when he looks at Jericho, he sees an insecure egomaniac, a liar, a coward, and a bully. “And boy oh boy, do I hate bullies.” He really emphasized those words. He said he will look back at the barrel of a gun at Revolution, and he won’t blink or hesitate. He said he will take Jericho out and he will take the AEW World Championship from Jericho and “Jericho, there ain’t a damn thing you can do about it.” He then said: “Because Chris, it’s not about the kind of man you are, it’s about the kind of man you’re not.” He said he has to look around with his one eye to be sure he doesn’t get attacked from behind for the next month, but he doesn’t want do deal with that, so he called Jericho out to take a beating like a man right now.
Jericho’s music then played. The crowd sang along to his lyrics. He let his music play out for a while, then said, “Typical Cleveland idiots.” He said it makes him laugh when he hears Mox talk about what he’s done and what he’s earned. He said he earned and deserved a spike to the eye. He said all he had to do was say yes to his offer, but now he looks like a jacked up version of Captain Jack Sparrow. He imitated a pirate and said, “Yo ho ho and a bottle of dumb.” He said all he had to say was yes. Then mentioned Moxley’s mom backstage. “She was looking especially fetching. Maybe I’ll give her a call later.” They cut to a woman in the crowd with her jaw dropped. He said he told his mom that it’s her son’s fault because he turned down the keys to the kingdom and instead smashed a bottle over his head. He said if Mox wants to be a big man and if he thinks he has what it takes, he doesn’t even have what it takes to blink with both eyes. He teased accepting Mox’s challenge to fight, but then said, “Go to hell. Cleveland doesn’t deserve to see Le Champion one on one.” He said he doesn’t travel alone. He called out his boys.
Out walked Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager, Santana, and Ortiz. Mox said he sees five of them, and Jericho might think he’s going to walk into a five-on-one fight. He said it’s not five on one, though. He said he was born and raised in the great state of Ohio. He said it’s “five against me and the entire arena, and I like those odds.” He took off his jacket and made his way toward the Inner Circle on the stage. Jericho said Mox is a stupid son of a bitch. He said they brought in some South Bronx street thugs because he’s tired of kicking his ass. Out walked five more guys. Jericho said it’s now ten-on-one plus the crowd of idiots from Ohio.
Ortiz led the way down the ramp with an axe handle. Mox headbutted him and DDT’d him on the floor. He leaped into the crowd of Inner Circle wrestlers, but was overwhelmed. Referees and security tried to pull them apart. Ross said Mox is fearless. Mox was separated, but then broke through again. He DDT’d a security guy. Mox then stepped into the crowd as Jericho threw a fit at ringside. Schiavone said they’ve got a month until Revolution, so a lot will be going on between now and then.
(Keller’s Analysis: Entertaining segment with Mox and Jericho their pure selves. The idea of Mox fighting ten guys at once because the fans had his back was kinda weird, but so is Moxley, so it works. I like seeing Inner Circle together as a unit, and would like to see that more often. AEW shouldn’t do lengthy in-ring promos to start Dynamite each week, but it’s a good part of the mix compared to going straight to the ring every week without context or building up a backstory.)
-They cut to the three announcers who discussed what could happen over the next 30 days. Excalibur said it can only get worse for Moxley between now and then. Schiavone plugged the Jericho & Santana & Ortiz vs. Darby Allin & Private Party match. Excalibur plugged Big Swole vs. Nyla Rose. Schiavone plugged Kip Sabian (w/Penelope Ford) vs. Cody (w/Arn Anderson). Ross said The Butcher & The Blade vs. The Young Bucks was up next. He said it could be a main event “anywhere in AEW land.”
-They cut backstage to MJF walking into a boiler room with background music and special effect noises. He handed an envelope to The Bunny, The Butcher, and The Blade with “The Young Bucks” written on the outside. It looked like it could be loaded with cash.
-MJF walked to the ring with Wardlow, Butcher, Blade, and Bunny. They cut to a break, but stayed with the arena view on split screen as MJF harassed fans. [c]
(1) THE BUTCHER & THE BLADE (w/The Bunny, MJF, Wardlow) vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS (Matt & Nick Jackson)
MJF joined the announcers. He complained about The Young Bucks nearly taking his life by throwing him into a pool. He said it wasn’t funny because he doesn’t know how to swim. He said swimming is for poor people and fat people who wear shirts when they do so. He said Schiavone has to wear two or three layers when he goes in the pool. MJF said the only Bible verses The Bucks, who claim to be nice Catholic boys, know is “Austin 3:16.” He said they’re “going to experience death at the hands of The Butcher & The Blade.” MJF bragged up how Butcher was trained by Josh Barnett and Blade was trained by Les Thatcher, and they’re the real deal. Ross agreed they had great trainers. Bunny yanked Nick off the ring apron by his leg as the ref was distracted. Butcher gave Nick a crossbody. Blade then flip-dove onto Matt at ringside. They cut to a break. [c]
Butcher and Blade dominated during the break on split-screen. They came back live and Schiavone plugged upcoming AEW dates. Matt got the hot tag a couple minutes later and went to work on Blade with a barrage of punches and Sliced Bread. Then at ringside he superkicked Butcher. Matt landed a top rope elbow drop for a near fall. Schiavone asked if MJF fears he made a bad investment. MJF mock-laughed and told him to shut up with his five dollar suit. Nick landed a Swanton on Blade as Matt held him in the air. Butcher broke up the cover. The Bucks landed a stereo superkick on Blade. Then they gave Blade the Meltzer Driver for the three count. They cut to an irritated MJF. Schiavone asked how much money he gave them.
WINNERS: The Bucks in 8:00.
-Blade attacked then afterward. MJF yelled, “That’s what I paid for! Get ’em!” Kenny Omega ran out for the save in street clothes. He took out Butcher with a V-Trigger. Page walked out in street clothes with a two-thirds empty plastic cup of beer. He offered it to Matt to hold for him and then he hit Blade with a Buckshot Lariat. Then he finished his beer. They cut to a fan sign that said, “Cowboy Shit.” Page then left. Schiavone laughed and said Page has other business to take care of. Nick slapped hands at ringside as Matt thanked Omega.
(Keller’s Analysis: Straight forward match and post-match angle. MJF wasn’t at his best on color, but was still effective. The idea that Page seems to accidentally be getting over big time by being nonchalant about defending his friends and prioritizing beer is pretty wild.)
-A commercial aired for the AEW Revolution PPV on Feb. 29.
(2) BIG SWOLE vs. NYLA ROSE
Schiavone talked about Big Swole maybe being the “best pure athlete” in the Women’s Division. In the next sentence, he called her a “girl.” She opened with a barrage of kicks and weak-looking strikes against Rose. She dropped down and drove Rose face-first into the mat for a soft two count. Rose clotheslined her to turn momentum. She took it to Swole at ringside by throwing her against the security barricade. Swole made a comeback, but then Rose ducked her forearm and Swole hit the ringpost. Rose began removing a turnbuckle as they cut to a break without split screen. [c]
Back live, Rose was in control, but Swole suddenly fired back with a hanging front chancery. She then landed a nice looking boot to the face of Rose, who took a hard flat-back bump. Rose ducked another kick, then grabbed Swole by her throat. Swole headbutted to escape the grip and then hit a cutter off the ropes for a near fall. Swole countered a Rose move with a flatliner, but Rose came right back with a spear and then a sitout powerbomb for the win.
WINNER: Rose in 9:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: This was passable, I suppose, but still not anything close to evidence of AEW having a major league women’s division yet.)
(3) KIP SABIAN (w/Penelope Ford) vs. CODY (w/Arn Anderson)
Kip Sabian made his ring entrance with Penelope Ford first. Then Cody and Arn. After an early flurry by Cody, Kip dropped to ringside and then shoved Arn at ringside. Ross said the referee, who was demonstrably yelling at Arn, might have been overreacting a little to the Arn-Sabian exchange. Sabian yanked Cody to ringside. Cody fought back, but when he wound up, he elbowed Ford behind him by mistake. She went down. Cody bent over and picked her up, which was a strange choice. Sabian then kicked Cody in the head from the ring apron. Sabian then helped Ford onto the ring apron so they could make out. [c]
They returned from the break, which had no split-screen, with both Cody and Sabian on the mat. Ross said viewers were missing one hell of a wrestling match. Rub it in, why don’t you. Cody mounted Sabian with ten punches in the corner and then landed a powerslam. He played to the crowd and got fired up. Then he whipped off his weight lifting belt. Ford reached into the ring and snapped it away from him. Cody caught Sabian with a Disaster Kick. Ford threw her boot into the ring. The ref threw it out of the ring, which gave Sabian an extra second to recover, then he kicked out at two. Arn had enough and stood on the ring apron and yelled at the ref about the boot distraction. The ref yelled back. Arn got into the ring. He threw it to the crowd. Arn chest-bumped the smaller referee aggressively. The ref ousted Arn from ringside. (This is really cheesy slapstick overacting.)
[HOUR TWO]
Ford leaped off the ring apron and took Cody down with a flying leg scissors. Then Sabian then flip dove over the top rope onto Cody. When Sabian and Ford tried to kiss, Joel Janela showed up between them and they kissed his cheek. (More slapstick stuff, and totally implausible and orchestrated. I can see this playing well with some people, but being channel-turn-inducing for others.) Sabian took over in the ring. He yanked Cody off the top rope and then lifted him for his finisher, but Cody slipped free and landed a Cody Cutter followed by three Crossroad for the win. The announcers said Cody just gave MJF and Wardlow a little bit to think about with that performance. Cody threw his belt to the crowd as Ross called it a huge win.
WINNER: Cody in 13:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good match. The Arn-referee stuff and the Janela stuff was campy zany amateur hour “12 year old kids making home videos” level stupidity.)
-They cut to a break, but stayed with the arena on split-screen as Cody celebrated with fans. [c]
-They aired a clip from last week of Britt Baker insulting Schiavone last week.
-Schiavone interviewed Baker on the stage. He began saying something about how he hoped she wasn’t offended last week. Baker said she’s “Dr. Baker.” She said she wasn’t offended because they were the stars of the show and trending worldwide. She said she was trending, actually, not Tony, but Tony had the microphone. She called him Mr. Starbucks. Schiavone again looked hurt. She turned to look at Ross over on the announce table. She told him not to interrupt her again. She said he just talks about her being a dentist all the time. She accused him of being smug about her and her generation, yet sits there every week to collect a large paycheck while they do all the work. She said she grew up listening to him, so be the legend he once was, not “a sloppy BBQ sauce rep who can’t even get our names right.”
She said she was the first woman signed by AEW and it’s her face that was on all the billboards and posters. She said that’s more than they can say about their champion, Riho. Then she called Schiavone over and told him that judging by the appearance and stench of his gum tissue, she can diagnose him with mild to sever gingivitis and “pick up a damn tooth brush.” She told Cleveland congratulations for finally having a Baker they can trust in. Ross said, “What a ray of sunshine.”
(Keller’s Analysis: Good heel promo. The idea that she’s going to “go there” to uncomfortable places with her insults isn’t a bad schtick. The hypocrisy of accusing Ross of talking incessantly about her being a dentist while that’s all she talks about is quite rich, and appropriate for a heel act.)
-Ross threw to “Lexi” to interview the Bucks and Omega. Matt called Dark Order “creep perverts.” He said their main objective is to climb their way back up the tag team rankings and maybe get a shot at the tag titles again. Matt told Kenny it wasn’t personal. Page walked in and showed off the tag belts that had their nameplates on them. He said they made name plates for everyone, and gave Matt and Nick theirs. He said they might need them in the future. Omega said he has signed a match for next week with all four of them against Butcher & Blade and a team of their choosing.
-SCU made their ring entrance wearing Kabe Lakers jerseys. [c]
(4) THE HYBRID 2 (Jack Evans & Angelico) vs. SCU (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian)
Excalibur said Evans and Angelico have 27 years combined in-ring experience. He said normally that’s more than their opponents, but Kaz and Sky have a combined 38.5 years of in-ring experience. That’s crazy. They don’t look it. Kaz grounded Angelico with a side headlock early. They cut to a break a few minutes in. [c]
Back from the break, Evans landed a stomp on Kaz and put his feet on the middle rope for extra leverage. Sky shoved his feet off the ropes. Evans did a handspring Sasuke Special to the floor; Sky avoided him, then kicked him in the head. Sky and Kaz double-teamed Angelico for the win.
WINNERS: SCU in 12:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Some good athleticism, as you’d totally expect here, but the lack of any backstory, context, or promos made it feel like a time-filler.)
-The Dark Order appeared on the big screens after the match and addressed Christopher Daniels specifically. The spokesman said The Exalted One is very unhappy with Daniels. He said the axe will fall quickly because they are going target his fellow SCU partners. “Consider this your warning,” he said. He snapped his fingers and the screen showed the URL to join the Dark Order.
-Ross threw to a video package on Pac. He was on an old outdoor staircase and vowed to pluck out Mox’s other eyeball and then gagged and coughed when he said Kenny Omega’s name. He said he can’t stand Kenny’s arrogance and audacity to say he’ll fit him into his schedule when it’s convenient. He said that doesn’t work for him. He said what is going to happen is they’re going to do everything on his timetable starting next week. He said he’s coming for blood.
-They went to the announcers on camera who plugged AEW Dynamite in Huntsville, Ala. next week with the Cody-MJF “10 Lashes” stipulation. Also, Mox vs. Ortiz from Inner Circle, Britt Baker vs. Yuka Sakazaki, and the eight man tag match with the Lucha Bros. joining Butcher & Blade against Omega & Page & Bucks. [c]
(5) PRIVATE PARTY (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) & DARBY ALLIN vs. CHRIS JERICHO & SANTANA & ORTIZ
Private Party came out first. Then Darby. Then Jericho’s music played. Ross called him “The Reverend of Reinvention.” He was joined by Jake Hager and Sammy Guevara. Excalibur plugged the March 11 date in Salt Lake City, Utah. Darby opened against Jericho. Jericho slapped him twice. Ross called it insulting. Schiavone said Darby enjoys pain, though. Darby outmaneuvered Jericho early and took him down with a top rope springboard armdrag. Jericho scurried to his corner for a hug and then a tag. Fans chanted “Darby!” Darby tagged in Kassidy. Ortiz tagged in too. Private Party tagged in and out rapidly. Back and forth action for several minutes. Jericho tagged in right before a break, but stayed with the action on split-screen. [c]
Jericho controlled during the break against Kassidy. Darby finally got a hot-tag and went to work on all three Inner Circle members. “Darby Allin’s gone nuts!” exclaimed Ross. He scored a near fall on Ortiz. Jericho broke up a submission and tagged himself in, but Marq Quen knocked him out of the ring. Ross tried to keep track of who was legal as chaos ensued. Ortiz landed a cutter on Kassidy. Jericho tagged in and Darby nearly pinned him seconds later. He kicked Hager off the ring apron, then hit Hager at ringside with a Coffin Drop. Marq Quen dove onto Santana & Ortiz at ringside. Kassidy then landed a leaping senton from the top rope for a near fall. Fans popped for the kickout. Marq Quen checked with the ref about the pace of her count. Then he went back to Jericho, who caught him with a sudden Judas Effect back elbow for the win.
WINNERS: Jericho & Ortiz & Santana in 13:00.
-Inner Circle celebrated after the match all together. They left the ring, but then charged back in to attack Private Party and Darby. Fans chanted for Moxley. Jericho whipped Darby with the title belt. Then Marq Quen. They attacked him next with the skate board. Moxley made the save with his baseball bat to clear the ring to end the show.
Homecoming for Moxley? He’s not from Cleveland. You certainly can’t lump Cleveland and Cincinnati in with one another. They hate each other.