The first-ever AEW World Tag Team Champions were crowned on Wednesday night as AEW Dynamite aired from Charleston, South Carolina in a night that got into the seasonal spirit with Halloween treats and appearances from Rick and Morty to boot. Who won the gold and what Halloween surprises did Dynamite provide? Let’s find out.
Recap/Recon of last week
The night opened with a recap of last weeks events that took place off-air when PAC blindsided Jon Moxley with a chair. Kenny Omega came for the save and had the chance to take advantage of the incapacitated Moxley but didn’t bite and instead stared down his Full Gear opponent. Before PAC could escape, he was confronted by Hangman Page who announced a match has been booked for the pair at Full Gear and he promised to buckshot PAC’s head off.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AzF34n9pGM]
After this, we saw some additional footage of Moxley storming into Tony Khan’s office seething after the time limit finish. Khan informed Moxley that his match would be an unsanctioned lights-out match due to his violent streak and therefore not included in the win/loss records. An enraged Moxley told Khan that whatever happens to Omega now is on his head.
Hangman Adam Page vs Sammy Guevara
Page and Guevara had a high-octane opener that was perfect for an opening match. Both of these guys are tremendous athletes and got to show it off in dividends here. On top of that, Guevara’s heelwork is excellent even going as far as to muster a parade of boos out of a kip-up, which is pretty impressive. The pair were back and forth throughout but every time Page managed a flurry of offence, Guevara would undercut him with underhanded tactics whilst showboating all the way.
Just a good ol slap to the face by @sammyguevara
Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on @TNTDrama 8e/7c pic.twitter.com/cYHIv16HYU— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) October 31, 2019
After a kick out from an awesome looking pop-up powerbomb from Page, Page would try to finish with the Buckshot but Guevara coiled away to protect himself. A running strike attempt from Guevara was quickly countered from Page on the apron swinging into a Buckshot out of nowhere giving Page the opportunity to take the win.
Shanna vs Hikaru Shida
Interesting matchup here between two performers that may not be as familiar to general audiences but certainly deserve to be. Shanna took control early but on the outside Shida managed to block Shanna’s momentum and used a setup chair to perform a flying knee strike.
.@shidahikaru with the flying knee!
Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on @TNTDrama 8e/7c pic.twitter.com/2cQCIsnA5B— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) October 31, 2019
Shida kept the knees coming but after the break, a counter on the top rope saw Shanna take back some control with a double stomp to Shida as she was hung in the turnbuckle leading to a kick out from Shida that was so close to three it would make even the most savvy fan flinch.
A series of close call roll-ups between the two lead into the final 5 minutes on the clock with Shida entering overdrive landing a Falcon Arrow followed up with a vicious running knee strike for the win. While Shanna looked good here, Shida looked like an absolute star and showed here she’d be a perfect opponent for Riho’s AEW Women’s World Champion.
The Rock and Roll Express get jumped
Chris Van Vliet introduced Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson who came out to show off the new AEW World Tag Team Titles and celebrate their legacy in South Carolina.
The fun didn’t last long however as Santana and Ortiz beat down the elderly pair with Santana wielding a loaded sock. Santana and Ortiz finished their assault by driving Morton through the stage area before being chased off by the Young Bucks. What troopers the Rock and Roll Express were here to do this. It was absolutely great.
The Rock and Roll Express brutally attacked by Santana and Ortiz! Those bastards! #AEWDynamite #AEW pic.twitter.com/G1dYhdSOkB
— NoDQ.com: WWE Wrestlemania 36 news #Wrestlemania (@nodqdotcom) October 31, 2019
Best Friends & Orange Cassidy vs QT Marshall, John Silver & Alex Reynolds
As a change of pace, the Best Friends and Orange Cassidy came out in full Rick and Morty garb with Rick and Morty themselves even announcing the group for their match, getting the crowd in the Halloween spirit.
The Best Friends dominated the match for the most part and went for a hug for good measure but the dastardly QT Marshall broke it up. Enter Orange Cassidy who dizzied QT Marshall with a wild flurry of kicks to the shins.
QT Marshall went for a strike to counter but Cassidy dodge rolled through and landed a dropkick and a kip-up to set up a big hug from the Best Friends.
Orange. Cassidy. Legend.#AEWDynamite
(via @AEWonTNT)pic.twitter.com/XazAAxqve4
— B/R Wrestling (@BRWrestling) October 31, 2019
The match finished with Cassidy performing a hands-in-pocket dive to the outside leaving John Silver isolated for the Best Friends to hit the Strong Zero to secure the victory.
You can claim Orange Cassidy is the death of wrestling but you can’t deny he’s over with AEW crowds and they are absolutely eating him up.
Contract Signing for the AEW World Championship Match
Le Champion, Chris Jericho, came out in a David Pumpkin-Esque Halloween jacket followed by his scheduled opponent Cody as they sat at either side of a table for their contract signing.
Jericho tried to psyche out Cody, teasing a table flip and brawl that never came. Jericho taunted Cody and the crowd saying this match maybe Cody’s only chance to become the World Champion he’s always wanted to be.
As the pair shook hands, Guevara appeared on the screen behind the pair revealing him and his Inner Circle comrade, Jake Hager, were putting the boots to Cody’s brother Dustin Rhodes at Cody’s limousine, crushing his arm in the car door before MJF and Cody came for the save.
.@realjakehager attacking @dustinrhodes here in Charleston, WV – Fear the Inner Circle! Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on @TNTDrama 8e/7c pic.twitter.com/0rmtnwvnjT
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) October 31, 2019
Jericho and his crew drove off as Jericho smoked a cigar and wished them a Happy Halloween. This was going to be an exciting match up regardless but this had added another level of personal stakes to the proceedings. AEW sure know how to build an effective feud for a PPV.
The Hybrid 2 & Kip Sabian vs The Elite
The match review will come but allow this reviewer to indulge in his excitement that Kenny Omega came to the ring with an Undertale video that referenced New Japan, Ibushi and he came down to the ring as Sans from Undertale to the Megalovania theme. I geeked out so hard my heart almost exploded.
sans officially join #AEW
Kenny Omega Halloween entrance#Undertale #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/FJX0CHWJIb
— AEW Fan Page ? (@AEW_Dynamite) October 31, 2019
Back to the match, Hybrid 2 and Sabian tried to beat down the Elite as they posed in their cosplay but the Elite would come back with a flurry of tag team offence to please the crowd. The match was a huge spot fest that is better left experienced than giving a move by move breakdown but needless to say, this match was stacked with absolutely remarkable athletes that deserved the “this is awesome chant” garnered from the crowd. A triple superkick from the Elite, followed by a One-Winged Angel from Omega on Evans put him away to give them the win. Definitely check this match out.
Jon Moxley cuts a promo to cut off the Librarians
During the break, Peter Avalon and Leva Bates came out to berate the crowd but were quickly cut off my Moxley who planet Avalon with the Paradigm Shift.
Jon Moxley wastes no time ?#AEWDynamite
(via @AEWrestling)pic.twitter.com/jquK3dEZzP
— B/R Wrestling (@BRWrestling) October 31, 2019
Moxley cut a promo about his frustration that the match won’t be counted on the win/loss record and how he’s been put in a box for years telling him the person he’s supposed to be.
It was an honest and passionate promo that reflected his frustration in WWE without directly referencing them and the passion was used to put over the match against Omega. He made it sound violent, exciting and unmissable. It’s mad that it’s taken this long to give Moxley a mic.
AEW World Tag Team Championship match: SCU vs The Lucha Brothers
The rivalry between these two boiled over as SCU sought to take their revenge on the Lucha Brothers after their devious attack on Christopher Daniels at the tournament start. Lucha Brothers put on the pressure early but an inventive monkey flip and double lariat counter from SCU gave them momentum to take control.
After the break, the Lucha Brothers had isolated Kazarian but he broke out with his Christopher Daniel’s Angel’s Wings finisher to make the hot tag to Scorpio Sky. Sky cleaned house taking his chance to exact some justice on the Lucha Brothers for Daniels but couldn’t put the pair away with Pentagon Jr breaking up an SCU Later and planting Kazarian with a springboard Canadian Destroyer.
Kaz being laid out! Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on @TNTDrama 8e/7c pic.twitter.com/og58LnTnbg
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) October 31, 2019
Pentagon Jr would take Kazarian out of the equation by planting him through the timekeeper’s table leaving Sky to fend off the two.
As the Lucha Brothers set up the Package Piledriver/Foot Stomp combination, Sky rolled Pentagon Jr into a small package as Kazarian used his second wind to stop Rey Fénix from breaking it up and making SCU the first-ever AEW World Tag Team Champions.
#ANDNEW #AEW World Tag Team Champions. @ScorpioSky & @FrankieKazarian #SCU! pic.twitter.com/g7Z97Spygk
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) October 31, 2019
It’s hard to fault AEW who have been consistently knocking every episode out of the park and this was no exception. The wrestling quality can not be faulted and the Halloween spins here were a nice addition that felt far less tacky than the shenanigans you see on WWE TV. On top of all that, it served to get you excited for Full Gear and added stakes to the main feuds that were lacking. A real must-see show this week.
AEW Full Gear card (as of today):
- AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Cody – Three judges will be available as a tiebreaker if the match goes beyond the 60-minute time limit.
- Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega
- The Young Bucks vs. Santana & Ortiz
- “Hangman” Adam Page vs. PAC
All pics courtesy of Lee South/AEW, AEW and Les Gaulois du Catch, video courtesy of AEW and TNT