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AEW DYNAMITE TV REPORT
MARCH 2, 2022
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. AT DAILY’S PLACE
AIRED ON TBS
REPORT BY TYLER SAGE, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur
-Tony Schiavone was in the ring and gave Tony Khan the mic in the ring. He thanked the crowd and the audience at home for keeping AEW alive. Tony hyped the PPV and said he had a huge announcement. He said ROH started 17 years ago, and today he is the new owner of Ring of Honor. He said that Christopher Daniels was an ROH original and a AEW original, he main evened the first ROH show along with Bryan Danielson. He then introduced Bryan Danielson to the ring. Christopher Daniels then came to the ring to have that match once more.
(1) BRYAN DANIELSON vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS
Bryan took down Daniels to the mat, then both men did some counters. Bryan Danielson then posed in the ring, as the crowd cheered for Christopher Daniels. Danielson took down Daniels after he tried to flex, Daniels countered a standing hold but was checked to the mat. Danielson then worked the left arm into an a frame pin/hold. Daniels then hit a move off the top rope out onto Danielson on the floor. Daniels then tried a move off the top and received a kick for his troubles.
Danielson then worked his offense and focused on the back of Christopher Daniels. Danielson ran the ropes, but Daniels was able to hit a Blue Thunderbomb to take down Daniels. Bryan Danielson then was tripped and Daniels hit a crossbody slam off the top, leading to a near fall. Danielson followed that up with a running knee in the corner and then Daniels took many chops and slaps. After this the two traded pinning attempts and many counters.
The two then traded strong style strikes in the middle of the ring, with Daniels falling first. Danielson then hit a rolling elbow strike for a near fall. Daniels hit strikes on a seated Danielson, then tried for a top rope hurricanrana. He was pushed mid air, Daniels then tried the best moonsault ever, Danielson got his knees up and submitted Daniels with a triangle leg choke.
WINNER: Bryan Danielson
(Sage’s Analysis: Great old school and nostalgic match. The ROH new’s is interesting and feels to me more like a tape library buy to make an AEW streaming product more desirable. If Tony’s ROH has shows etc. I would find that interesting but I would put as unlikely at this point. I don’t have a strong feeling on that either way as I type this live.)
-Danielson said that 20 years ago these two shared a ring and those matches were started and ended with a handshake. He then grabbed Daniels hand and said he isn’t in ROH, he is in AEW and stomped the head of Daniels. He then called out Jon Moxley and said that he would stomp his head next. Jon Moxley’s music hit and he came to the ring. Moxley said that the American Dragon is better and more violent than ever. He said there are two paths Moxley can walk right now, he said down this path he gets his head kicked in and fades away. He said he will walk another path, through fire and through Danielson. He said the story of Jon Moxley has just started, and the first chapter will be written in blood. He then offered a free shot to Bryan. Danielson did a fake punch and ran out of the ring.
-Sting and Darby were backstage in a video. They talked about some match that Darby has on Rampage, I believe it is vs. Sammy for the TNT title, but it was not super clear. [c]
(2) CASINO TAG TEAM BATTLE ROYAL
FTR and a reunited Top Flight started the Battle Royal. Top Flight got to showcase their offense before the third team The Acclaimed entered the match. Who had a long rap battle entrance as usual and entered the ring. “5” and “10” of Dark order were the fourth team to enter. The Butcher and The Blade were the fifth team to enter the match. They dominated the precious four teams, then all members were fighting. Alan “5” Angles was the first person eliminated. The Varsity Blondes were the sixth team to enter. [c]
Durning the break the seventh team, Bear Country, entered the match. Santana and Ortiz entered at eight as the show returned. Bear Bronson and Bear Bolder were eliminated back-to-back. Max Caster was then eliminated. Trent and Chuck Taylor then entered at nine. Griff Garrison was eliminated by Anthony Bowens. Evil Uno and Stu Grayson entered at number ten. The Blade was eliminated by 10. The Butcher was then eliminated by Dark Order. The Young Bucks then came in at the 11 spot. [c]
Durning the break Nic Nemeth and Peter Avalon came in at the 12 spot. When the show returned The Gunn Club entered at 13. FTR and The Young Bucks teamed up to eliminate the Gunn boys. Lee Johnson and Brock Anderson came in at 14. Dark Order’s 10 was eliminated by Bowens, Ortiz took out Chuck Taylor. The Wingmen were taken out at the same time. Bowens then sent Grayson over the top. 2point0 came out at the 15th and final spot.
Brock Anderson was eliminated, then Lee Johnson by The Young Bucks. Bowens was taken out by Top Flight, the announcers praised Bowens for his run. Danhausen cursed Evil Uno and he was eliminated by Trent. 2point0 and Santana & Ortiz were on the apron, 2point0 was eliminated. Then FTR eliminated both Santana & Ortiz. Trent was then eliminated by The Young Bucks. It was now only FTR, Top Flight and The Young Bucks left.
Dante and Cash eliminated each other with an awesome move. Dax Harwood was eliminated by The Bucks with the help of reDRagon. The Bucks now teamed up on Darius Martin, Brandon Cutler saved Matt, then an error caused Nick to get eliminated. Then both Darius and Matt had near eliminations and then battled on the apron. Matt hit a low blow and then a super kick on Darius Martin to win the battle royal.
WINNER: The Young Bucks
(Sage’s Analysis: A very straight forward but well booked battle royal. I thought this was a big improvement on the lackluster and poorly booked version of this same match last week. I did feel like there was a real chance that Top Flight could have been slotted in the PPV, the return of the team here was well placed. The announce team also praised Anthony Bowens for a long run which was a nice sign to see.)
-The Young Bucks and reDRagon were in the ring and Jurassic Express came out and the segment ended. [c]
-Chris Jericho cut a promo on Eddie Kingston and said that he has a chance to win the big one, by beating the big one. He said again he would shake his hand if he can beat him. Santana & Ortiz then walked into the shot and they fist bumped Jericho in a show of solidarity going into the PPV.
-CM Punk came out to the ring, looking down and confused. He said that he use to wake up every morning, and look in the mirror and ask if he is the bad guy. He said that no one really thinks they are the bad guy in their own story, he though Max was the bad guy until last week. He said that he bore his soul last week, but he wonders if he is being gaslit by MJF. He said that he believes all those things happened, but he doesn’t know if he was sincere. He said that there is a picture of a young Punk with Steve Austin, but he didn’t get mad at Austin when he left.
Punk said that MJF has attacked a man with Parkinson’s, he made fun of Brian Pillman to his own son, he said horrible things about Darby’s Uncle. He said that he did not shake MJF’s hand when he first arrived. Is MJF Punks’s Frankenstein monster? He asked MJF to come out so he could say the rest. MJF came out.
Punk said that he has done horrible things. He has poured alcohol down an alcoholics throat, pored someone’s manages ashes on them, made fun of an addict until they were fired. Punk said that this is for the 11 year old kid that looks up to MJF like MJF did to him. Punk asked if he was the good guy in the mirror this morning, he said that he sure was trying to be. MJF went in for a hug as Punk was wondering if he should embrace. Punk eventually did, but MJF hit a low blow on Punk and then hit the heat seeker on Punk as he had a shirt with the picture between the two of them on underneath. Shawn Spears and Wardlow came out and watched was MJF hit Punk with the Diamond ring.
FTR joined at this point as Spears entered with a chain as Punk was bleeding from the face. MJF grabbed a mic and called Punk a dumb old man and said he was a snake. That he was the devil himself and everyone would see that Sunday. Spears then pulled up on teh collar attached to Punk’s neck trying to hang him. Sting, Darby and Sammy ran out and made the save for Punk. [c]
-Keith Lee and Tony Schiavone were backstage and it was announced that Lee would have a match on Rampage. Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs warned him not to show up at Rampage.
(3) BRITT BAKER & JAMIE HAYTER vs. THUNDER ROSA & MERCEDES MARTINEZ
The match started immediately on the stage with Baker and Rosa battling in the ring. Thunder Rosa and Mercedes Martinez then teamed up briefly, then the match started with proper tags. Baker hit a sling blade on Martinez and then tagged in Jamie Hayter. Rosa and Martinez then worked over Hayter. Rebel distracted the ref as Hayter and Baker hit moves to get the advantage. [c]
When the show returned Martinez was in control over Hayter, who tagged in Baker. Hayter and Baker then teamed up to get a near fall on Martinez. Baker hit a thrust kick and tried to get the lock jaw hold on Martinez, but Thunder Rosa was tagged in. The two traded shots in the ring. The two then traded counters until Rosa hit a death valley driver. Rosa then hit a driver and pinned Baker clean in the middle of the ring.
WINNER: Thunder Rosa & Mercedes Martinez
(Sage’s Analysis: A solid match that had Rosa and Baker involved in a lot of action going into the PPV. I don’t like the booking style in general, but AEW never really does that. So I am interested what that signals for Revolution.)
-Tay Conti was backstage and was interrupted by Jade who had choice words for her and her martial arts background. [c]
-Kris Statlander and Leyla Hirsch had promo’s about each other.
(4) WARDLOW vs. CEZAR BONONI
Wardlow hit a power bomb to start, he then conducted the start of the symphony and hit power bombs two and three for the pin.
WINNER: Wardlow
-Spears and Wardlow had a stare down after the match
-The announce team ran down this Friday’s Rampage as well as the full card for Revolution. [c]
-The House of Black had a promo.
-Wardlow and Shawn Spears were backstage with MJF. It was said that if Wardlow becomes TNT title he can keep it, MJF said he wouldn’t win. Wardlow said he is too busy making sure MJF wins. MJF ran in and slapped Wardlow and reminded him who is paying him.
(5) ADAM COLE & REDRAGON vs. ADAM PAGE & JOHN SILVER & ALEX REYNOLDS
Adam Page and Adam Cole started, Cole turned tail and tagged in Bobby Fish. Page hit a rebound knee on Fish and then stomped a mud hole in the corner on Fish. O’Reilly jumped in, but Adam Page took on both men and got a near fall after slamming Fish on Kyle. John Silver was tagged in and he and Reynolds teamed up and then took on reDRagon. Reynolds and O’Reilly were now the legal men and Reynolds was take out with a series of strikes by O’Reilly. Cole was in for one second and then tagged O’Reilly back in.
Adam Page got the hot tag and chased O’Reilly to the outside and back in. Fish attacked from behind as he was now legal and Cole and company began working over Page. Cole and Page then traded pins and almost hit big moves on each other. Cole then ran to the outside as the commercial break started. [c]
Cole had a headlock on Silver as the show returned, Silver battled out and was able to tag in Page, who took out O’Reilly as Cole ran out of the ring. Page took out Fish and then O’Reilly with a power bomb. O’Reilly followed with kicks and strikes, but Page hit a lariat as Cole entered and the two went nose to nose and then traded shots. All six men were then in the ring and all traded shots. Page hit a lariat on Cole after Silver hit a suplex.
Cole then took on Reynolds, and hit a super kick then the boom knee on Reynolds for the pinfall win.
WINNER: Adam Cole & reDRagon
(Sage’s Analysis: A good match that portrayed Page really strong. Like as strong as I can ever remember. Again, I typically don’t like matches like this leading to a PPV. But, I think this was the optimum way to tell the story going into the PPV if you don’t want to do it via promo’s. I just hope that tonight didn’t telegraph Baker and Page’s wins on Sunday with this booking tonight.)
-Cole beat down Reynolds after the match, Page made the save and took out Fish and O’Reilly. But, he was overwhelmed and Cole and company tapped Page to the ropes. As this was happening Silver and Reynolds were taken out in front of him. Cole then hit a super kick and put the belt on the shoulder of Page.
FINAL THOUGHTS: A really strong go home show for AEW. Typically these shows have felt like a bit of an afterthought, but this felt like a true final push to sell a PPV. I assume there will be people who didn’t like teh straight forward angles tonight. But, the intense MJF angle and the logical Women and Men’s title matches were done well tonight. In wrestling simple is usually better when it comes to selling a show. The news of Tony Khan buying ROH is huge news and I will wait for more details to come out to comment further. But the Tape library and a future AEW-ROH is truly a big announcement.
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