SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
AEW DYNAMITE REPORT
AUGUST 31, 2022
CHICAGO, ILL.
AIRED LIVE ON TBS
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone
[HOUR ONE]
-After the Dynamite opening, Jim Ross introduced the show as pyro blasted in the arena.
-Jon Moxley made his ring entrance, as usual by walking through the crowd. Excalibur noted that Justin Roberts introduced Moxley as the Undisputed AEW Champion. Ross said there are no ifs, ands, or asterisks, “Mox is the top dog in AEW.” Excalibur said there are a lot of questions about Moxley regarding All Out. Ross said, “Let’s get some answers; maybe tonight will be the night.” Ross predicted All Out will be one of the better pay-per-views he’s ever witnessed. When Mox’s music stopped, boos broke out. A “C.M. Punk” chant broke out. The announcers acknowledged this is Punk country. Mox waited and then a “Moxley!” chant broke out. That drew some boos. Mox said, “Chicago, I know you love your buddy, but I think they’re still mopping him up off the mat in Cleveland.” Laughs and boos from the crowd.
Mox said if they want to talk about it, let’s talk. He said Punk was referred to years ago the “modern 60 minute man.” He said, “What a load of crap that turned out to be?” He said he had 57 minutes left in him last week. He asked if Punk did. He said when guys get in the ring with him, the heart and soul of AEW, they find out what they’re really made of. He said he pushes them and tests them. He said Punk hit him with the hardest shots he could, and he didn’t care, he kept moving forward at Punk. He said at that point, Punk began looking for a way out. “He folded,” he said. “And he curled up into a little ball to die and he folded.” More boos. A “C.M. Punk!” chant began again. “Champions never fold,” Mox said. He said he is genuinely sorry that Punk didn’t turn out to be what they wanted him to be when he was welcomed back and given a second chance in the greatest sport in the world. “It just didn’t work out,” he said. Mox said he knows he’s their boy in Chicago, but he has zero sympathy for Punk. “And that is because C.M. Punk, fragile ego, fragile body, weak mind, weak spirit.” (Wow!) He said it’s a tough business, but it’s time to move on.
Mox pulled out an open contract for a title match at All Out on Sunday. He said he signed it already and he’s going to leave it in the ring. He said he means it when he says he’ll fight anyone, anytime, anyplace. He said maybe it’ll be somebody from New Japan. He said whoever signs that contract, remember that before you step into the ring with him, he can out-marathon and out-sprint and out-brawl and out-wrestle them. He said he’s a fire-breathing, blood-spitting, living embodiment of pro wrestling and an indomitable will personified. “Wrestling Jon Moxley can be hazardous to your health,” he said. Mox’s music played. The announcers reacted and said this is unheard of. Excalibur said those were explosive allegations aimed at Punk. Ross said he meant every word.
(Keller’s Analysis: Moxley carries himself with a swagger of a top star who knows he’s on top of the business, and that’s half the battle sometimes. Of course, he can also deliver in the ring and on the mic to match that swagger. Presumably Punk shows up to give fans in Chicago what they want, as the sole focus was on Punk from Mox and also the announcers after his promo. Will they wait until All Out to have Punk come out?)
-They went to Ross, Excalibur, and Taz standing with their backs to the ring, which is a fresh look. Ace Steele, a backstage producer, walked to the ring and grabbed the contract and took it to the back. Taz said, “The plot thickens.” Excalibur hyped scheduled segments and matches on the show including Ross’s sitdown with Christian Cage and Jungle Boy.
-Schiavone interviewed Chris Jericho backstage about facing Bryan Danielson at All Out. He said it’s a dream match for most, but a nightmare match for one person – Danielson. He said Danielson asked last week if Stu Hart or Owen Hart were alive, whom would they pick to win. Jericho said they’d appreciate what he’s done in the wrestling business way more, including changing the game. He said those accolades are going to include beating him Sunday at All Out. Daniel Garcia stepped up and pledged his loyalty to Jericho and apologized for how he acted last week. He said he knows he’ll beat Danielson and it won’t even be close. He said he won’t cheat or have help, he believes in him. Jericho smiled and agreed with him. He said Garcia is the most technically gifted sports entertainer in the world today. He said all’s fair in wrestling romance, so he told Danielson to watch his back.
(Keller’s Analysis: So Garcia basically set the stage for Jericho to have to fight and win clean to live up to his stated image of him, and of course Jericho is likely not going to live up to that standard, and therefore Garcia will ultimately break from him despite showing one last attempt to be loyal.)
(1) BRYAN DANIELSON vs. JAKE HAGER
William Regal joined in on commentary. He called Excalibur “the man in a mask” and said he’d like to gobble him up. Okay then. Jericho accompanied Hager to the ramp, then also joined the announcers. The bell rang 15 minutes into the hour. Fans taunted Hager with a “We the People!” chant early. Hager got early advantage on Danielson until Danielson sidestepped a charging Hager, then dove at him through the ropes at ringside. He followed up with another dive off the ring apron, but Hager caught him and slammed him through a table. Fans chanted “Holy shit!” Hager rammed Danielson back-first into the ringpost twice then vertical suplexed him before rolling into the ring to break the count. Hager mounted Danielson and threw downward elbow strikes. Jericho said Hager won “the world championship from me and here we are years later, terrorizing AEW together, arm in arm.” They cut to a split-screen break. Hager dominated throughout. [c/ss]
Back from the break, Danielson landed a dropkick off the ropes. He got fired up and the crowd cheered. They continued to battle back and forth for several minutes. Danielson eventually hit the Psycho Knee for the win.
WINNER: Danielson in 11:00.
-Afterward, Matt Menard and Angelo Parker charged out and attacked Danielson. Cesaro and Wheeler Yuta ran out for the save. They fought to the back. Jericho grabbed a chair and ran to the ring. He asked Danielson to stand, but Garcia ran out and yanked the chair away. Fans popped. Danielson then recovered and surprised Jericho, who was arguing with Garcia, with a running dropkick. Garcia looked upset with how that played out, still seeming conflicted over doing something that caused Jericho to get hurt.
(Keller’s Analysis: I love Garcia’s babyface character. He is loyal to his mentor, but also has moral standards to expect fair play from him. And fans are cheering him all the way.)
-The Wingmen (Ryan Nemeth, Peter Avalon, Cezar Bononi, and J.D. Drake) stood in the ring and demanded more time on TV. W. Morrissey marched out looking more muscular than WWE fans will remember when he was known as Big Cass. He took out The Wingmen. Stokely Hathaway walked out to scout. Morrissey chokeslammed Avalon to close out the beating. Hathaway stood near him and smiled at the prospects of working with him. He handed Morrissey his business card.
Schiavone asked Hathaway on the ramp what he’s doing handing everyone his business card. Hathaway said it’s not his business. Schiavone said it is. Hathaway freaked out and grabbed Schiavone and said it isn’t his business. He then left.
(Keller’s Analysis: I don’t understand at all why Hathaway was defensive about what he’s doing. Isn’t it obvious and also nothing to be ashamed of? It just seems arbitrary and kind of dumb to have him freak out for no reason. I doubt there is a reason, but rather he just wanted to act like a jerk to Tony.)
-Alex Marvez (he’s alive!) stood backstage and interviewed Will Ospreay. Don Callis interrupted and said he’s been admiring Ospreay from a distance and said he’s fantastic. He said people say he’s the next Kenny Omega, but he’s his own man. He said tonight this will be an exciting match for him since the last time he and Kenny were in a tag match opposite of each other, he got Angel’s Wings. He said everybody is talking about him. He told Ospreay he’s the man.
(2) BRITT BAKER & JAMIE HAYTER (w/Rebel) vs. TONI STORM & HIKARU SHIDA
Hayter and Shida battled early, and Shida head scissored Hayter onto her head with Hayter landing awkwardly with a stiff landing. She stayed in the match and continued to take a beating. They cut to a split-screen break a couple minutes in with the heels in control. During the break, Baker yanked Storm by her arms into the ringpost. [c/ss]
Storm hot-tagged Shida when they returned to full screen after the break. Baker tagged in later, but turned her back to Shida and applied her glove. Shida dropkicked her. Storm then landed a running hip attack in the corner on Baker, then DDT’d Hayter at ringside. Shida then hit Baker with a spinning roundkick to Baker’s head for the three count.
WINNERS: Storm & Shida in 7:00.
-Soundbites aired with Kip Sabian and Pac discussing Sabian following Pac all over the globe. Sabian called it a meticulously executed master plan. He said Pac fell for the simplest of ruses. Sabian said Pac will be the last to embrace the change.
-A vignette aired with Miro talking about the House of Black attacking him, and Sting and Darby Allin coming to his aid. Darby walked in and spoke. Sting then walked in and said, “The enemy of an enemy is a friend. Showtime begins now!” Miro said they will find his power. Miro said his opponents will leave wearing a mask that delivers oxygen.
-Punk’s entrance music played. He walked out, hands in the pockets of his hoodie. Excalibur said he looked stoic. Ross said he looks like he hasn’t slept in a week. The crowd got quiet for him when his music stopped. Punk said on June 1 he broke his foot, and then he wrestled an entire match on it. He said his surgeon said he pulverized the bones in his foot. He said on June 8 he got surgery including three plates and 16 screws. He said, “That’s 16 more times than this fat guy has ever gotten screwed in his life.” (I hope that was a heckler and not just some poor random guy.) He said, “I probably shouldn’t have said that.” He said he’s made a lot of mistakes, and one of them was coming back too early from an injury. He said he got beat up in Cleveland and had to drive back with just his thoughts.
He said it’s not the first time he got beat up in Cleveland, but something about it just didn’t sit well with him. He said last week he was cleared by doctors and the X-rays looked good. He said it’s “a new 100 percent,” and he’s not sure if that 100 percent is good enough. His voice cracked and he paused. He said he came back to the business a year ago because he loves the business and he loves the fans. He said the business doesn’t always love him back, but the fans love him back. He said that’s why it hurts to feel he’s let them down. He said he couldn’t walk Larry for two months, and he felt he let him down so he could rush back to perform in front of the fans. He said he sees his little sister sitting in the front row and he feels he let her down. “Maybe that love just isn’t enough anymore.”
[HOUR TWO]
He was interrupted by Ace Steele who said that’s not what he said he was going to say when they talked in the back. Taz said those two were best friends and they came up through the indies together. Ace said they aren’t just friends, they’re family. He said he didn’t let Chicago down. He said he filled an arena on a rumor that after seven years, he’d come back to wrestling. “And I’m not letting you leave now,” he said. He grabbed Punk and shoved the contract into his hands and told him to sign the contract and fight Moxley. Taz said he’s got goosebumps. Fans chanted “C.M. Punk!” loudly.
Punk yanked off his jacket and got fired up and said before he was C.M. Punk, he was just a punk kid from Chicago. He said he was born with a cord around his neck “because they’ve been trying to kill me since the day I was born.” He said Moxley isn’t that man. He climbed into the crowd and called out Moxley. “This is Chicago where the weak are killed and eaten,” he said. The announcers talked about Ace igniting something inside of Punk. He said at All Out, Moxley can’t break his bones or drink his blood “because we are Chicago!” He signed the contract. Then his music played.
(Keller’s Analysis: I think that worked. I wouldn’t say it stands up to scrutiny in the sense that a pep talk from a longtime friend shouldn’t offset the supposed reality that Punk laid out about his injured foot or that he lost easily last week because of it, but that doesn’t matter much with all that emotion behind him in his home city. I don’t know if the journey they took was the best path, but I don’t think where they ended up will hurt the buyrate.)
-Ross interviewed Christian and Jungle Boy in a sitdown setting. Christian told JB that he’ll be a has-been at age 25. JB said he’d like to stare at Christian’s smug face, but he cared about him. He said he loves him, but he’s not sure if he ever truly cared about him. He said he’d like to think that was the real him, but the new version is probably the real him. Christian said this is the real him and he’s there to make money. JB said his real father taught him what it means to be a man, and that’s a lesson he’s going to teach him. He said on Sunday, he’s “not going to wrestle Jungle Boy, he’s going to fight Jack Perry.”
(Keller’s Analysis: That was a cool moment having Jungle Boy say his real name for the first time on TV – I think – in the context of telling Christian about what his real dad, Luke Perry, taught him.)
(3) WARDLOW & FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) vs. SILAS YOUNG & VIC DUPRI & RED JONES
They showed Sonjay Dutt watching the monitor to scout the match backstage. Wardlow won after a triple powerbomb on Dupri.
WINNERS: Wardlow & FTR in 1:00. [c]
-Mox walked out to the ring before they could get to introductions for the next match. Mox said if that’s what Chicago wants, they’ll get it. He said Punk better pull out another miracle, because he’s planning a display of brutality and pro wrestling violence that Punk has never experienced. He said he’ll show the world the difference `between a fake messiah and the real thing, “a legend being made right before your very eyes!”
(Keller’s Analysis: I like that they had Mox react to Punk’s challenge. The match feels like a big deal, and it’s hard to imagine what the finish will be with any confidence.)
-Schiavone interviewed Dark Order backstage. Evil Uno said Vance has a leg injury, but they have a plan. Andrade showed up with Alex Abrahantes and offered money to join the team. Evil Uno turned him down. Andrade beat him with Vance’s crutch.
(4) DANTE MARTIN vs. RUSH (w/Jose the Assistant) vs. REY FENIX (w/Alex Abrahantes) vs. WHEELER YUTA
Lots of action before cutting to a split-screen break. [c/ss]
Back from the break, Yuta leveraged Dante’s shoulders down for the three count.
WINNER: Yuta. in 9:00.
-Schiavone interviewed John Silver and Alex Reynolds backstage. Schiavone said Evil Uno and Vance seem to be injured. Reynolds said he and John will take on three guys themselves if they have to. Hangman Page walked in and said he wanted the tournament to be their night, so he’d be their partner. Silver said he likes that. Silver said he’s not the booker, but he’d like to see it. Hangman told Tony they’d see him on Friday night.
-Excalibur plugged Hangman & Silver & Reynolds vs. Orange Cassidy & Best Friends. They had a graphic ready to go! Also, The Acclaimed and Swerve & Keith Lee will speak, Q.T. Marshall vs. Ricky Starks. Mark Henry will interview Jade Gargill and Athena, and Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo vs. Ortiz & Ruby Soho. Next Wednesday, Yuta will defend against Danny Garcia. Then they plugged All Out: Tomohiro Iishi vs. Eddie Kingston, Pac vs. Sabian, Hook vs. Parker, Danielson vs. Jericho, Storm vs. Baker vs. Hayter vs. Shida for the vacant Women’s Title, House of Black vs. Darby & Sting & Miro, Jade vs. Athena, Jungle Boy vs. Christian, Wardlow & FTR vs. Lethal & Machine Guns, the Casino Battle Royal, Swerve & Lee vs. Acclaimed, Starks vs. Hobbs, the Trios Tournament Final, and Moxley vs. Punk. [c]
(5) KENNY OMEGA & THE YOUNG BUCKS vs. WILL OSPREAY & AUSSIE OPEN (Mark Fletcher & Mark Davis) – Trios Tournament match
Ospreay and Aussie Open came out first. Justin introduced Omega with a series of boasts about how Omega is better than Ospreay, such as selling more merchandise on two continents and having nicer hair and other zingers. Excalibur said Omega isn’t wearing the shoulder brace this week. Callis said the rehab is going better than expected. Ospreay went after Omega aggressively at the bell. Ospreay clotheslined Omega over the top rope a few minutes in. The Bucks beat up Ospreay, then dove at Aussie Open at ringside. Ospreay did a sky twister off the top rope onto a crowd at ringside. Fans chanted, “This is awesome!” They cut to a split-screen break. [c/ss]
After more fact-paced action, Omega hot-tagged in and scored a near fall. Callis said Omega might be the most explosive athlete in pro wrestling history. Ospreay caught Omega with a superkick. He flipped over the top rope toward Omega at ringside, but Omega side-stepped him and suplexed him. Omega pointed at his head. Omega climbed to the top rope. Aussie Open met him at the top. Fans chanted, “Fight forever!” as they set up a double superplex and then delivered it for a two count. Nick Jackson broke up the cover. Ospreay yanked off Omega’s black shirt and revealed his ribs and shoulder were taped up. Ospreay spun Omega around into a backbreaker for a soft two count. They cut to a final split-screen break. [c/ss]
Ospreay controlled Omega during the break. Nick hot-tagged in, but soon Ospreay took over when he lifted his knees on a top rope 450 splash. Ospreay gave Nick a snap dragon, then gloated. Omega entered and shoved Ospreay. They fought mid-ring. Ospreay landed a Liger Bomb. Jackson fired back with a cutter on Ospreay as a counter to Ospreay flying at him. The Bucks rallied with a flurry of offense against Fletcher and Davis. They set up a Meltzer Driver, but Ospreay broke it up. Fletcher held Matt upside down for an Ospreay top rope move leading to a near fall. Fans chanted “AEW!” Aussie Open held up Matt, but Nick intervened. Omega then delivered a running knee to Ospreay. The Bucks delivered a triple superkick to Fletcher. Matt was still staggered and selling the prior double-team move. Ospreay countered Omega’s V-Trigger with a high knee. He then charged at the Bucks but the Bucks threw Ospreay into Omega’s arms. They landed the Indy Taker. Ospreay rolled to the floor as Omega switched to a V-Trigger on Fletcher followed by the One-Winged Angel leading to the pin. Ospreay sulked as Omega and the Bucks celebrated. The announcers gave a final pitch for the PPV.
WINNERS: Omega & the Bucks in 19:00 to advance.
(Keller’s Analysis: This is what you’d have expected – a match largely focused on Omega and Ospreay to build anticipation for a showcase singles match between them, with a lot of athleticism and inconsistent selling that comes along with from everyone involved.)
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.