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AEW DYNAMITE TV REPORT
MAY 12, 2021
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. AT DAILY’S PLACE
LIVE ON TNT
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
[HOUR ONE]
(Note: I edit and add analysis and details and attempt to fix any errors/typos to this report by Thursday mornings after hosting the live Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show immediately after Dynamite ends.)
-They showed Jon Moxley and Yuji Nagata on split-screen warming up as Jim Ross said New Japan was “invading” AEW.
-The AEW Dynamite opening montage aired.
-They went live to Daily’s Place as pyro blasted.
(1) JON MOXLEY (w/Eddie Kingston) vs. YUJI NAGATA – IWPG U.S. Title match
As Nagata made his entrance, Excalibur ran down his history and reminded Schiavone he called his rivalry with Ultimo Dragon. Schiavone said he hasn’t seen Nagata since then. Moxley then made his entrance with Eddie Kingston to his new entrance theme “Wild Thing” by The Troggs (an iconic timeless song first released in 1966). Excalibur noted this will be Moxley’s forth U.S. Title defense. They exchanged elbows to the head mid-ring. Nagata took Mox down with a big boot. Moxley rolled to the floor. Nagata pursued him. Moxley raked his eyes and threw him into the ringpost. They showed New Japan’s Rocky Romero applauding at ringside. Excalibur said Cody Rhodes and Lance Archer have also held that title. Schiavone plugged AEW going back on tour. Ross told people to “jump on those tickets Friday.”
Back in the ring, Nagata threw some roundkicks at Moxley and then gave him a (super-weak) whip into the opposite corner and then a running boot followed by an exploder suplex for a two count. Mox landed a lariat for a near fall at 5:00. Nagata gave Mox an exploder suplex off the top rope. Moxley sat up and gave Nagata two middle-finger and Nagata gave him a running knee and scored a two count. Ross said Nagata has said he wants to wrestle until he’s 70. They exchanged more big moves and two counts. Moxley settled into a chinlock as he began to bleed from a cut below his eye. Nagata broke free. They exchanged more strikes. Mox drove some knees to Nagata’s head and landed a Paradigm Shift to get the win.
Mox looked emotional after his win and called in Nagata’s trainer to check on him. Then he bowed to him. Nagata sat up and returned the gesture of respect. Mox’s “Wild Thing” played throughout. Mox raised Nagata’s arms as Ross sang their praises.
WINNER: Mox in 9:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Yeah, that was fun. Love the “Wild Thing” theme for Moxley, too. More licensed music is great use of AEW’s budget to set them apart and give wrestlers identities a boost.)
-The announcers shifted to hyping The Coronation of The Pinnacle, Kenny Omega addressing his challenger, a Cody Rhodes announcement, and the three scheduled high-stakes matches.
-Alex Marvez interviewed Ortiz, Jake Hager, and Sammy Guevara. Ortiz said MJF showed the kind of man he is by shoving Chris Jericho off the top of the cage. He said it was a bitch move to have Santana arrested and detained for using a fork against him. He said he was lucky he didn’t gouge his eye out and eat it. Hager said they want another match. He was fuming mad and intense. Guevara said they will never stop coming for them. He said they want a rematch “or we will put you in the grave.” Schiavone said Jericho has a dislocated elbow “from the tumble he took.” Excalibur said, “It wasn’t a tumble, it was a shove.”
-Cody Rhodes made his ring entrance wearing a suit. [c]
-Cody stood mid-ring as the audience chanted “Cody!” He said he gets that it’s out of style to be proud of being an American. (Huh?) A “USA!” chant started. He said there are plenty of things to poke fun at like “our antiquated two-party system” or the last election or sheer confusion over what to do during the National Anthem. (He’s walking in polarizing territory.) He said he has never not been proud to be an American. He then said Anthony Ogogo has run down America. He said the irony is Ogogo has a Visa courtesy of this country and is earning American dollars. “That’s freedom, that’s America,” he said. “The argument is what makes us who we are. Our empathy outweighs our anger.” He told Anthony he didn’t come here to live the “England Dream.” He said they know how to make great wrestlers in the U.K. including Doug William and Pac. He quoted some of Willie Nelson’s “Living in the Promised Land.”
He said Ogogo likes to pontificate on what the U.S. is, but there’s so much to love and behold. “The dream lives here,” he said. He touted Shahid Khan, Tony Khan’s father, as a Pakistani immigrant and “enriches and cultivates the lives of literally everyone in the city I am standing in.” He said prior to 1961 in Atlanta, Ga. there was segregation – blacks and whites couldn’t attend the same schools. He said in 2021, the same city, his wife will give birth to “a beautiful white, a beautiful black American princess who will have both identities, shun neither, and I want her to know I didn’t just lay down under another man’s flag, I didn’t just have this defeatist attitude when somebody ran down the United States. I got up off my ass and fought back.” He was tearing up as he talked about his daughter.
He said they will battle at Double or Nothing. He said they will be back at full capacity that night. He said Ogogo will not be wrestling “the American Nightmare.” He said for one night, he’s going to pick up a sword that is all too heavy, but it is either him or his brother that has the right to pick it up, and he will be introduced as “the American Dream.” He pointed out Justin Roberts and said it’s his job to take note of that. His music played and he got emotional again.
(Keller’s Analysis: Cody walked right up to the line and walked it with finesse. It was a good build up, although it would have been good to be reminded and shown what exactly Ogogo said first to set up the rebuttal by Cody. His emotions were clearly authentic as he talked about his daughter and his father. He held court well and spoke with credibility. As always, he presents himself as a bit more grandiose than his colleagues typically do, and it can be a bit corny or cringy at times, but here it worked pretty well. One trait of Cody’s promos that is a little worn out is how often he starts by saying something is fashionable and he’s going to go against it, whether it’s patriotism here or hyping a match to sell tickets or whatever. I wish he’d just say what he’s going to say and not set himself as always going against something or drawing attention to it being cliche in a meta-way first.)
-A video package aired on SCU’s Christopher Daniels and Kaz, with them speaking about their “break up if they lose” stip and their history with The Young Bucks.
(2) THE YOUNG BUCKS vs. SCU (Christopher Daniels & Kaz) – AEW Tag Team Title match
Daniels & Kaz made their ring entrance. Excalibur said SCU feel so betrayed by what the Bucks have become. Ross said they have been no. 1 contenders for ten straight weeks. The Bucks then came out. The Bucks came out looking much higher-end with their ring gear now than before. And they’re convincingly obnoxious and full of themselves. The gum chomping works now. They were accompanied by Don Callis, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows. Callis joined the announcers commentary. He said he looked forward to the Bucks retiring SCU tonight. SCU got in early offense against both Bucks. An SCU chant broke out. They showed Callis at the announce table. He questioned whether SCU can keep up this pace since he knows the Bucks can. Excalibur said these two have paired off 12 times before and are 6-6, so this is a rubber match. The Bucks took over, including a flip by Nick onto Daniels as Matt held him out from the ring apron. They cut to a break, but stayed with the action on split-screen. [c/ss]
Kaz got the hot tag during the break and rallied against both Bucks. Daniels tagged back in as they returned from the break. When Nick hit some moves, he kept posturing for the hard camera. Ross called him on it: “The Young Bucks are not going to retain the tag titles by finding the hard camera and staring at it.” Nick superkicked Daniels against the ringpost. Daniels went down and then began bleeding heavily from the face. Kaz, though, caught Nick with a slingshot cutter for a near fall. They showed Daniels looking near passing out from loss of blood at ringside. Matt gave Kaz a running powerbomb into a Nick kick in the corner. Kaz came back and bridge-suplexed Matt onto Nick for a stereo near fall. Gallows distracted the ref as Kaz had Matt rolled up. Back in the ring, Kaz gave Matt a Styles Clash mid-ring. Nick dove through the ropes and broke up the cover.
Matt gave Kaz a tombstone piledriver. Daniels broke up the cover. Callis said Daniels should be at a hospital, not in this match. Daniels hit Angel’s Wings. Matt speared Daniels as he staggered around the ring. He pummeled his bloodied face. Then he threw a superkick, but Daniels side-stepped it and set up another Angel’s Wings. Matt was upset that Daniels was dripping blood onto his thousand dollar shoes. He mockingly said, “Sorry, I love you!” Then he superkicked Daniels for a two count. Daniels landed a uranage and went for a BME (Best Moonsault Ever). He slipped on the first try, but landed a second try for a near fall, broken up by Nick. Daniels clotheslined Nick over the top rope to the floor, then took Karl Anderson down too. Brandon Cutler shot cold spray at Daniels’s face. Callis claimed they were trying to stop the bleeding. Matt then hit Daniels with the spray can for a convincing near fall. Matt angrily tagged in Nick. They landed the BTE Trigger for the win.
WINNERS: The Young Bucks in 14:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Really good match. AEW continues to lean hard into the blood as part of their brand. Some will love it, other will think it’s too much. I’d guess it’s a solid net positive for them in terms of viewership.)
-Backstage, Mox and Kingston entered the Elite’s dressing room and tossed a lot of stuff around. Schiavone said he doesn’t normally like seeing personal property destroyed, but he’ll make an exception this time. [c]
-They showed Kaz and Daniels embracing after the match. Excalibur wondered what is next for these two.
-Dasha Gonzales interviewed Christian Cage backstage. He said last week Taz critiqued his wrestling ability, and that has as much credibility as him critiquing him at a buffet table. Christian said he was once a bad man. He said next week he has an open contract and Taz can send anyone from Team Taz his way. Christian said at Double or Nothing, he’s going to enter and win the Casino Battle Royal. Matt Sydal entered and said he’s going to redeem himself this year. Christian made fun of him for what happened last year. Sydal said he signed the open contract for the match on Dynamite next week.
(Keller’s Analysis: That’ll be a good match, and with Ricky Starks’ neck injury, it’s a bummer that it is messing up the Christian-Team Taz plans.)
(3) ORANGE CASSIDY vs. PAC – Winner Gets AEW World Title match at Double or Nothing
Kris Statlander, Chuck Taylor, and Trent accompanied Cassidy to the ring. Excalibur said they wrestled at Revolution in February of 2020, which Pac won “by the skin of his teeth.” Lucha Bros. accompanied Pac to the ring. Cassidy put his sunglasses on Pac. Pac took them off and broke them. Cassidy hit a quick Beach Break for a near fall. Pac rolled out of the ring as Cassidy and the ref kicked the sunglasses pieces out of the ring. Cassidy hit a hands-in-pockets dive onto Pac at ringside. He put a second pair of sunglasses on. Schiavone said there’s never been anybody like him. They cut to an early split-screen break as Cassidy whipped Pac into the ringside barricade. [c/ss]
Pac took control during the break and sustained offense for several minutes. Ross compared Pac to Dynamite Kid.
[HOUR TWO]
Cassidy rolled under the bottom turnbuckle to avoid the Black Arrow from Pac and posed and gave him a casual thumbs up. Cassidy rallied including a victory roll for a near fall. Pac fired back with a quick superkick and then a sitout Ligerbomb into a stacked cover for a near fall. Cassidy landed hard on the back of his head and neck there. They cut to another sudden split-screen break at 10:00 as Cassidy might have indicated to the ref that he wasn’t okay. He rolled to ringside and grabbed his head in pain. [c/ss]
During the break, Pac applied a headlock. Back from the break, Pac was in control and showboating to the audience. The ringside physician was checking on Cassidy. Callis walked out and said Kenny is a busy man, so he wants a winner and he wants to know who they’re wrestling. Kenny then hit Pac from behind with the AEW Title belt as the ref was preoccupied by Callis at ringside. Omega played innocent at ringside, then smiled and left with Callis. Both Pac and Cassidy were down as the ref began to count. She got to ten and called for the bell.
WINNER: Double countdown in 14:00.
-Callis said they don’t have winner, which means the champ doesn’t have an opponent for the PPV, which means they have the night off. Callis asked Omega what they should do instead. Omega said they should take a road trip. He said nobody would pay money to see him against either of those losers. Schiavone interrupted from the stage and said he has just been informed that there will be an AEW World Title match at Double or Nothing, a three-way against both Cassidy and Pac. Omega and Callis threw a fit. Schiavone said that’s what he’s been told, he’s not there to argue. Omega said he’s going back to Winnipeg.
(Keller’s Analysis: Well, neither Omega-Pac or Omega-Cassidy felt like PPV headline worthy, but making it a three-way is sort of admitting they didn’t build up a proper hot single challenger.)
-Anderson, Gallows, and the Bucks were enraged by their locker room being destroyed by Mox and Kingston. Matt said next week they’re going to fight The Varsity Blondes because they’re now top contenders. He said they’d like to settle a personal grudge at Double or Nothing against Mox & Kingston.
(Keller’s Analysis: I liked that the Bucks said they’re going to defend against the top contenders next week, but they wanted a match just for them at the PPV against Mox & Kingston even though they aren’t top contenders.)
-Marvez interviewed Hangman Page and Dark Order. Hangman talked about Brian Cage and Taz. He doesn’t think Cage should be satisfied with how he won. He told him to leave Starks, Taz, and the Junior High School Band Camp friend in the back and meet him in the ring and earn his spot. He said if he loses, he’s okay with it. He said for Cage, it’s Double or Nothing.
-The Pinnacle made their ring entrance. MJF came out with a woman on each of his arms. Clips aired of the Blood & Guts match last week on split-screen. They strategically edited the camera angles of Jericho’s fall from the cage and a less-revealing close-up of the landing pad. They also showed a graphic of Dynamite landing no. 1 on cable that night in the 18-49 demo. MJF, with the rest of Pinnacle behind him, said now he’s the Demo God. He said he told everyone he was going to take Jericho’s spot. He told people not to boo, bow to him and the greatest group of men who ever existed. He said they were no. 1 on cable last week and broke a record on TSN in Canada. He gave credit to Shawn Spears for being the Canadian God who helped that happen. He said Inner Circle are down two men. He said he’s perplexed that they want a rematch. He said he’s a young, benevolent king and he wanted to know if the fans want a rematch. Cheers and then a “Rematch!” chant. He then said, “My answer is no.” Then he laughed.
Tully Blanchard said he’s been at the top many times in the past, and the Pinnacle took everything the Inner Circle could dish out last week and still won. He mocked them begging MJF not to toss Jericho off the roof. He said when you quit, you stinkin’ quit.. He said the Pinnacle are at the top of the world. He touted the five women as the best the city has to offer behind them. Tully said he spent thousands of dollars on gifts for The Pinnacle. He presented them with expensive watches. They all put on the watches. He said they are on top of the world looking down at everybody else.
A horn honked. MJF yelled that this is supposed to be about them tonight. They cut to Ortiz driving a golf cart with Sammy Guevara and Hager. MJF said they’re not interested in them anymore. He said Inner Circle is dead and they’re never going to see Chris Jericho again. Jericho popped up out of the back. He had his arm wrapped in a cast. He asked for a rematch. MJF said his answer is still no. Jericho asked him to repeat it. MJF said no again. Sammy then sprayed them with a hose sending a cascade of bubbly at them. Schiavone laughed and said it might be the greatest thing he’s ever seen. The Pinnacle were soaked and slipped everywhere. MJF lost his composure. Ross said he’s humiliated and embarrassed. MJF said he’s got his rematch, and it’ll be a Stadium Stampede match. MJF said nothing funny will happen, because if they lose, the Inner Circle has to break up forever. “Take it or leave it,” he said. Jericho and Guevara looked distressed over that stipulation offer. Excalibur wondered if they would accept the challenge. [c]
-A sitdown interview that Ross conducted with Dr. Brit Baker aired. She talked about the nose injury she suffered against Hikaru Shida last year. She said she came back and has been the baddest woman on the planet since. She said the monster she created is going to dethrone her unless Shida kills her. She said she’s hard to kill. Ross noted that Tony Khan was having a photo shoot with Forbes magazine, but Baker couldn’t stay calm and started a scuffle with Shida. Ross asked if she cares what she did ruined a photo shoot. Baker said the photo shoot should have been only with the people who will be champions when the magazine drops in three weeks, and she’ll be champion by then. Ross said Shida feels cornered and her time might have come. He said it’ll be a physical match with a lot of urgency. Baker said she kept the division alive during the pandemic in the midst of travel restrictions. Baker said she’s the heart, soul, and pulse of the division now. She said the Women’s Division is going to live on its own without life support when she becomes champion. She guaranteed victory.
(4) THUNDER ROSA vs. JAZMIN ALLURE
WINNER: Rosa in 2:00.
-Excalibur announced Serena Deeb vs. Red Velvet for the NWA Women’s Championship, The Young Bucks vs. The Varsity Blonds for the AEW Tag Team Titles, Christian Cage vs. Matt Sydal, and Anthony Ogogo vs. Austin Gunn would take place next week. Schiavone then hyped the Double or Nothing line-up so far.
-Schiavone interviewed Jade Cargill backstage. They aired a clip of Mark Sterling offering to manage Jade on AEW Dark Elevation. He said he represented MJF and made sure he was the highest paid athlete in AEW, and he could do the same thing for her. Jade told Schiavone she is going to handle her own business, nobody else. She said she’s listening, but she’s her own boss “and I’m that bitch.” [c]
-A video feature aired on Darby talking about being tossed down the steps. He said he returned to Seattle to the skate warehouse which reminds him of who he is and where he came from. He said as trashy as it is, he loves everything about it. He told Miro that he talked about glass ceilings when he first arrived in AEW, but all he’s done is play video games and be someone’s best man. He said he isn’t buying what he’s selling. He said he (Darby) knows who he is, but does Miro know who he is. He called Miro “a generic son of a bitch.” He said Miro will find out he’s one of the toughest men he’s ever stepped in the ring with.
(5) DARBY ALLIN (w/Sting) vs. MIRO – TNT Title match
Miro beat up Darby at the start. They cut to an early split-screen break. [c/ss]
Darby eventually came back with a sleeper, and he also pinched Miro’s nose to hinder his breathing. Miro bashed Darby into the ringside barricade to break the hold. Back in the ring, Miro slammed Darby around as Sting watched. Darby stood and slapped Miro. Miro brushed it off. Darby came back with a stunner and an inside cradle for a near fall. Miro lifted Darby for a powerslam, but Darby turned it into another stunner. Then he hit the Coffin Drop. Miro caught Darby as he landed and overhead tossed him into the corner. Darby rolled up Miro for a near fall at 14:00. Darby gave Miro a Code Red for near fall. Darby applied an armbar, but Miro reversed Darby into a Game Over submission. The ref quickly called off the match.
WINNER: Miro to capture the TNT Title in 15:00.
-After the match, Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page attacked Sting. Dark Order made a quick save. Miro then gloated over Darby’s body with his newly won TNT Title belt. Archer walked out. Jake Roberts held him back. Looks like another match at Double or Nothing.
(Note: I edit and add analysis and details and attempt to fix any errors/typos to this report by Thursday mornings after hosting the live Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show immediately after Dynamite ends.)
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