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AEW DYNAMITE REPORT
JUNE 12, 2024
DES MOINES, IOWA AT WELLS FARGO ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON TBS
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
Attendance: WrestleTix reported earlier today that 2,686 tickets had been distributed so far; arena is set up for 3,317.
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PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by wrestling reporter and interviewer Stephanie Chase to review AEW Dynamite LIVE tonight right after Dynamite. Join us and let us know your thoughts on Dynamite during the show.
Email our post-show at wadekellerpodcast@gmail.com with your comments and questions about Dynamite. We’ll read your emails live during the post-show.
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[HOUR ONE]
-They opened cold with Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana making their ring entrance as Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Taz chatted about Swerve defending against Will Ospreay at Forbidden Door on June 30. They said that both were on fire and red hot lately with momentum. Swerve entered the ring as fans chanted “Swerve’s house!” He asked if Des Moines, Iowa was ready for Dynamite and Forbidden Door. (The small crowd of fewer than 3,000 fans weren’t able to project a massive audible response, unfortunately, but those there seemed enthusiastic.) He said he and Ospreay are the two biggest stars of this generation colliding,
Swerve talked about Ospreay lacking killer instinct. He talked about his past matches. He said he’s not a target he wants to hesitate on. He said he got the nickname Killshot because he won’t hesitate to pull the trigger. He said he respects that he’s a fighting champion with his AEW International Title, whereas certain EVPs have failed to defend their titles since they won them. Kazuchika Okada, Jack Perry, and The Young Bucks walked out and said, “Stop stop stop!” Okada said, “It’s my house, bitch.” (Reset the Bitch-o-Meter.)
Nick said he wanted to talk about how dominant The Elite have been. He said they took out Kenny Omega, broke Eddie Kingston’s leg, and broke Team AEW in Anarchy in the Arena. “Half the roster is gone because of us,” he said. He said the trolls and the bots still doubt them. He spit his gum at the camera and said he’s challenging AEW’s best for a Blood & Guts match.
The Elite foursome entered the ring. Matt Jackson said they don’t love everything Swerve has said about them, but they dig him and think he’s cool. “You’re a champion just like us,” he said. He asked if he want to stand side-by-side with winners and champions like them and does he want to change the world. He said Blood & Guts is traditionally five-on-five. He asked Swerve to be their fifth man. Excalibur called it an “unexpected and compelling” offer.
Matt handed him sneakers. Swerve said he doesn’t wear size nine and then pointed at Matt’s necklace. He said people don’t wear pearl necklaces anymore. He said he does his own stuff as a businessman. Nana then tossed the shoes over his head into the crowd. Matt pretended a bug was flying around his head. Matt said it’s an injury bug and it just landed on him. The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn came out to the Acclaimed music. The Elite bailed out.
Interim EVP Christopher Daniels walked out onto the stage and told everyone to stop. He said he’s usually let a brawl go all night long, but they’ve got a lot of matches to get to. He said the first match is a qualifying match for the ladder match for the TNT Title.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good promo from Swerve. I’m not buying The Elite sincerely wanting Swerve to join them or believing he’d put up with them or thinking there was a chance he’d say yes.)
(1) DUSTIN RHODES vs. JACK PERRY – Qualifying match for the TNT Title ladder match at Forbidden Door
Dustin Rhodes made his ring entrance. Perry complained about the suddenness of the scheduled match. The bell rang 11 minutes into the hour. They exchanged chops at the start. Dustin towered over Perry, who wrestled in his jeans. Excalibur ran down the rest of the scheduled line-up. They brawled at ringside early. Perry threw Dustin into the ringpost and then the ringside steps. Dustin bladed his forehead and came up bleeding heavily. (Really, for this match? I guess that’s for the sickos!) Perry peeled up the ringside mat and then set up a piledriver. Dustin backdropped out of it. They cut to a double-box break at 2:00. [c/db]
Back from the break, Perry choked Dustin over the middle rope. He signaled for a V-Trigger, but when he charged, Dustin snap-powerslammed him. Dustin landed a running bulldog and then spread Perry’s legs in the corner and charged with a kick. He followed with jabs, a self-crotch grab Dusty-style, and then landed a Bionic Elbow. He delivered Crossroads for a two count next at 7:00.
A “Let’s Go Dustin!” chant rang out. Perry made a comeback and threw Dustin face-first into the exposed turnbuckle. Perry then DDT’d Dustin on the exposed cement floor, which was splattered with Dustin’s blood. Perry rolled into the ring and celebrated a countout win prematurely. Dustin rolled into the ring. Excalibur said Darby Allin was injured in that Anarchy match, plus Dax Harwood announced a lower back injury will take him out of action indefinitely.
The ref checked on Dustin whose blond hair was drenched in blood. Perry gave Dustin a quick kick to the crotch (which would feel more heelish if not for Dustin doing it to Perry in front of the ref earlier). Perry landed a running knee for the three count.
WINNER: Perry in 10:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Aspects of this match were good. However, I just don’t get booking the heel to win with a low blow in the same match where the babyface spread the heel’s legs in the corner and kicked him in the crotch in a “routine” spot earlier. Plus, the bleeding here was just pointless. Save gory blood for when it matters in a true grudge match with more build. Dustin doesn’t need to be doing that with his overall skillset.)
-Highlights aired from Collison on Saturday of Orange Cassidy defeating Kyle O’Reilly followed by Don Callis sending Trent and Kyle O’Reilly to attack them afterward. When Kris Statlander shook Trent’s hand, Willow Nightingale ran out, so Statlander fled.
-Renee Paquette interviewed Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, and Kyle O’Reilly backstage about their six-man tag later. Cassidy said his partners have his back, and so does Willow. Willow walked up behind him. Briscoe said you can’t get where you’re going by looking in the rear view mirror. He talked up O’Reilly who watched with a smile and wide eyes. He then said the man with his hands in his pocket is going to rock it. Renee smiled as Willow nodded along. The crowd got riled up by the end.
(2) RUSH vs. DEONN RUSMAN
Rusman was already in the ring and was billed from Des Moines. The bell rang 26 minutes into the hour. Rush attacked Rusman at the bell with a flying elbow to the face. He landed a barrage of chops at ringside and back in the ring and then landed his running dropkick for the win. Schiavone said Rush is one of the hottest wrestlers in AEW right now.
WINNER: Rush in 1:00.
-Afterward, he yanked the mic out of ring announcer Justin Roberts’ hands. He told fans to shut up. (They actually did.) He stepped on Rusman’s head and said he’s a typical American like all the fans. “Weak!” he said. He dropped the mic and stomped away at him. Fans chanted, “MJF!” MJF’s music played and he charged into the ring. He brawled with Rush. When security ran out, Rush and MJF both knocked them out of the ring. They faced off again and then went back to brawling. Daniels ran out to try to restore order. Rush threw MJF around ringside. MJF reverse-whipped Rush into the crowd. They brawled among the fans. They brawled to the back where they were pulled apart by a bunch of security guys and other wrestlers.
-At ringside, Excalibur announced that next week, the first match will be MJF vs. Rush one-on-one. (He didn’t say Tony Khan by name.) He then hyped other matches scheduled for this episode.
-They showed the angle with Hook and Samoa Joe scaring “Smart” Mark Sterling in a locker room attack on his men. [c]
(3) ORANGE CASSIDY & MARK BRISCOE & KYLE O’REILLY vs. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & KYLE FLETCHER & RODERICK STRONG
Don Callis joined the announcers on commentary and asked about the alliance with Undisputed Era. He said it takes a village to accomplish what they want. The bell rang 42 minutes into the hour. After some brawling and dives at ringside, Cassidy confronted Trent. Takeshita then punched Cassidy. They cut to a break with Trent yelling at Cassidy. Excalibur said Callis “might have peed just a little.” [c/db]
O’Reilly hot-tagged in after the break and went on a flurry of offense. Fletcher and Takeshita ran into each other. O’Reilly leg-whipped Takeshita onto Fletcher. He then tagged in Briscoe who got a pop. Cassidy leaped off the top rope with a DDT on Fletcher, who conveniently rolled into the ring, stood, and ran into perfect position for it. Takeshita grabbed Cassidy’s leg and then a completely refreshed Fletcher gave Cassidy a suplex. A bunch of spots happened next with a string of wrestlers. Cassidy went for a tornado DDT, but Fletcher blocked it. Cassidy instead hit a Stun Dog Millionaire. Cassidy and O’Reilly hit a high/low on Fletcher. Strong stopped Cassidy from leaping off the top rope. Fletcher then stood and knocked Cassidy off balance and delivered a brainbuster onto the top turnbuckle. Briscoe landed a top rope elbow drop, but Strong broke up the cover. Fans chanted, “This is awesome!” Fletcher came out of the chaos with a piledriver on Briscoe for the win.
WINNERS: Fletcher & Takeshita & Strong in 12:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: The crowd ate it up, especially when the pace picked up leading to the finish. There was quite a bit that looked overly orchestrated and some sudden 100 percent recoveries that looked overly phony, though.)
-After the match, the heels attacked the babyfaces. Willow’s music played. The announcers noted she promised to watch Orange’s back. Statlander jumped Willow on the stage, though. Stokely Hathaway then told her to stay out of their business or they’ll drag her to the E.R. (It’s sorta nice if you beat someone up to actually bring them to the E.R. afterward for help.)
[HOUR TWO]
-Renee Paquette spoke about her conversation earlier as Fenix warmed up behind her. Then a vignette aired on Fenix.
-Daniels announced that Tony Khan has booked The Elite in Eliminator matches. He explained what Eliminator matches are. He said no seconds will be allowed at ringside, so they’ll find out how Elite they really are.
-Samoa Joe and Hook talked backstage before making their way to the entrance stage, but the sound mix made it tough to hear everything, but the color orange seemed to be a topic. Then they jumped their opponents on the stage and threw them into the ring.
(4) SAMOA JOE & HOOK vs. TONY NESE & ARIYA DAIVARI (w/”Smart” Mark Sterling)
Late in the match, Sterling distracted Hook. Shibata attacked Sterling for that at ringside. Joe put Nese in a sleeper as Hook applied the Red Rum on Daivari for the win. Excalibur wondered if Joe, Hook, and Shibata are a new Trios Team.
WINNERS: Joe & Hook in 3:00.
-A soundbite aired with Stephanie Vaquer saying she’ll add the TBS Title to her waist in addition to her New Japan Strong title.
(5) MERCEDES MONE vs. ZEUXIS – TBS Title match
As Zeuxis made her entrance, Excalibur talked about her history in CMLL. The bell rang 10 minutes into the hour. Excalibur plugged Collision early in the match. Zeuxis basement-dropkicked Mercedes to the floor at 3:00 and then dove through the ropes and tackled her at ringside. Zeuxis tore up a fan sign at ringside as they cut to a double-box break. [c/db]
Zeuxis landed a sitout powerbomb for a near fall at 7:00. Mercedes scored a near fall with a Meteora at 9:00. Zeuxis landed a lung blower for a near fall a minute later. Mercedes avoided a Zuexis splash and then landed the Moné Maker for the win.
WINNER: Mercedes in 10:00.
-A vignette aired on Mina Shirakawa with Mariah May touting her.
(Keller’s Analysis: That was really good at getting over her personality.)
-Renee interviewed Toni Storm and Mariah May with Luther. Storm was caressing May against her chest. May thanked Storm for entering her into the Owen Hart Tournament. She said Mina is back next week and wants to do a contract signing. She said she’ll host it. Mariah said Storm has a match on Rampage. Storm said everyone wants to take a shot at “this wide load that holds that gold.” She said she was ready for her personal wax.
-Big Bill introduced “TV Time with the Learning Tree.” He said Chris Jericho has taught him that it’s never too late to start learning and never too early to start winning. He introduced Jericho with a string of superlatives. Jericho waved to everyone and said hello in a phony syrupy way. He hyped his new t-shirt that says “The Learning Tree” and “Hi Guys!” in a huge font with Jericho waving. He teased throwing the shirt to the crowd, but then kept it. (That cracks me up.) He talked about how to best grow corn and said the corn he ate backstage was subpar. “It didn’t work for me, brother,” he said (a riff on Hulk Hogan rejecting booking ideas). Jericho said he respects all of the branches in his vortex. He said two youngsters need a little advice to get to the next level. He introduced Private Party. They came out.
Jericho told them that they are great at high-flying, but they haven’t been winning matches. He said their basics aren’t up to snuff. He said whoever trained them wasn’t very good. He said they don’t climb to the top rope properly. Marc Quen said he should teach them. He said everyone wants to see it. “Some may even call you the Caitlin Clark of AEW,” he said. Jericho said Owen Hart taught him to climb. He did it step by step and made it to the top rope. “See?” he said. “Then you stand up and do your move.” He asked if they learned from the Learning Tree. They knocked him off balance and then backdropped Big Bill over the top rope. They dove onto both of them. They landed top rope moves onto Jericho in the ring, overshooting the first one.
-A video package aired on Jon Moxley vs. Tetsuya Naito. [c]
-A promo aired in the locker room with Colten & Austin Gunn and Juice Robinson with a cardboard cutout of Jay White. They challenged House of Black to a match on Collision. “Your asses are getting kicked!” Juice said.
(6) DANIEL GARCIA vs. NICK COMOROTO
Matt Menard joined in commentary. They showed Will Ospreay watching backstage. Garcia dominated and won quickly.
WINNER: Garcia in 1:00.
-Renee approached Ospreay backstage. She asked how his body is holding up. He said he’s got to focus on tonight and then look at what’s next with Garcia. [c]
-A promo aired with Pac.
(7) WILL OSPREAY vs. REY FENIX – AEW International Title match
Fans chanted “AEW!” as the bell rang 47 minutes into the hour. Swerve was seated at ringside to watch up close. After an early flurry, they cut to a break at 2:00. [c/db]
When Fenix set up a top rope huracanrana, Ospreay landed on his feet, which popped the crowd. “What did we just see?” asked Schiavone. They cut to another break at 9:00 after a near fall by Ospreay after an Air Raid Crash. [c/db]
[OVERRUN]
They continued to exchange big moves and near falls including a leaping cutter by Ospreay. Ospreay stood on the top rope and looked at Swerve and said, “My house.” He landed a double stomp and then hit Hidden Blade for the win.
WINNER: Ospreay in 16:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Fantastic athleticism.)
-Afterward, Swerve cut a promo on Ospreay to his face saying he can’t hold the weight of the world. Ospreay yanked the belt from Swerve and put it over one shoulder and his International Title over the other. Swerve watched, then snatched his belt back. Swerve said, sternly, “You’re lucky we’re still friends; if anybody else did that, I’d put them in their grave.” He turned to leave, but then pointed at Ospreay and had some final words off mic. Ospreay smiled and nodded. Excalibur hyped Collision and said it’s the one-year anniversary.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
JOIN US LIVE ON YOUTUBE TONIGHT FOR THE VIDEO-FORMAT OF OUR LIVE POST-SHOWS…
PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by wrestling reporter and interviewer Stephanie Chase to review AEW Dynamite LIVE tonight right after Dynamite. Join us and let us know your thoughts on Dynamite during the show.
Email our post-show at wadekellerpodcast@gmail.com with your comments and questions about Dynamite. We’ll read your emails live during the post-show.
Subscribe to all of our free podcasts by searching “wade keller” and “pwtorch” in your podcast app of choice including Spotify and Apple Podcasts and most other iOS and Android apps.
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