Chris Jericho would host his Celebration for Le Champion from the Sears Centre in Chicago on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. However, would his celebration be spoiled by SCU as Scorpio Sky got his chance to vie for Jericho’s AEW World Championship?
Chris Jericho’s Thank You Celebration for Le Champion
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBG1ir3D2oY]
Soul Train Jones spluttered his way into introducing the AEW champion as Jericho came down for his “Thank You Celebration for Le Champion”. Jericho and the Inner Circle had pulled out all the stops with a marching band, inflatable mascots and numerous gifts.
This had so many hilarious moments. Jericho announcing an official “Little bit of the Bubbly” sparkling wine (whose linked website crashed almost instantly due to demand), Santana and Ortiz gifting Jericho “A little bit of the 40” and even Jericho’s father, hockey legend Ted Irvine, making a surprise appearance to rag on the Chicago Blackhawks.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27XM7kLn0pQ]
Hilarious from start to finish, the fun was cut short as the Inner Circle started to beat down poor Justin Roberts after he did his best to read out the official Thank You message from AEW and TNT. Thankfully, SCU came down for the save after revealing they were disguised as the marching band.
Probably too long and self-indulgent, but this was a joy from start to finish regardless.
Best Friends w/ Orange Cassidy vs The Lucha Brothers
The Lucha Brothers tried to jump the Best Friends before the start of their match as revenge for Trent defeating Pentagon Jr on AEW Dark. Best Friends were ready however as they countered and set up Orange Cassidy, in an oddly hairy Turkey costume, for a dive to outside before the bell had even rung.
"The coolest turkey in the building" – ShutUpExcalibur
Watch #AEWDynamite NOW on @TNTDrama 8e/7c #AEWonTNT @AEWonTNT pic.twitter.com/oZByvYvicL— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) November 28, 2019
After a strong opening and a big hug from the Best Friends, the Lucha Brothers regained control and held on to it throughout the break before a hot tag to Chuck Taylor saved the day with a great rally on the Lucha Brothers finished with an outside dive.
The Lucha Brothers wouldn’t be held down, planting Trent with a superkick and a destroyer, but a distraction from Cassidy allowed Taylor to take out Pentagon Jr on the outside. Rey Fénix went for the rolling cutter to put an end to the match but Trent countered it into the Crunchy for a surprise victory for the Best Friends.
A fun little match that had a surprising finish that sets up the Best Friends, and especially Trent, as bigger players than they’ve been portrayed so far.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c_I7_iG8VE]
Bea Priestley & Emi Sakura vs Hikaru Shida & Kris Statlander
Statlander looked strong from the get-go in her AEW Dynamite debut, starting things hot with a standing moonsault from the apron onto Priestley and a shotgun dropkick that blasted Sakura across the ring.
Priestley and Sakura had taken control after the break with Sakura sneaking her mic stand into the ring to give her more leverage on a stretch submission before the referee confiscated it.
.@callmekrisstat is back in tag action and she is on the warpath tonight!
Watch #AEWDynamite NOW on @TNTDrama 8e/7c #AEWonTNT @AEWonTNT pic.twitter.com/vHL2p0ohFO— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) November 28, 2019
Shida would be kept on the back foot by Priestley after eating a German suplex but managed to land a flying knee to make the break and get the hot tag to Statlander.
After nearly facing defeat from a backbreaker from Sakura, Stalander and Shida were looking to make their comeback as Shida planted Priestley with a falcon arrow and Statlander nailed Sakura with a scissor kick, but it would only muster a two count.
Priestley would distract the referee allowing Sakura to hit Statlander with a mic stand and winning via roll-up.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN7gbpRO7gI]
A very entertaining match but the finish was questionable. Shida has been showed off to be the top-ranked female star at present and Statlander really made herself known in her debut here so having Sakura and Priestley win this one seems like an odd decision. It probably would have given more momentum for both of Shida and Statlander to have been given the win.
Cody vs Matt Knicks
Cody’s first match on Dynamite after his loss to Jericho at Full Gear saw him pick up a quick victory over newcomer Matt Knicks as he secured the win with a springboard cutter followed by a Figure Four Leglock submitting his opponent.
After the match, Cody called out MJF before being attacked by the debuting Butcher and the Blade who appeared from under the ring canvas along with a much more sinister looking Allie.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKU3i7FpwhY]
The crowd didn’t really know what to make of this which is a shame because The Butcher and The Blade are a great tag team and a fantastic acquisition by AEW but setting them up against Cody muddies the water with the MJF storyline.
It probably would have been more impactful for the pair to have attacked the Best Friends post tag match seeing as the tag division is likely where they’ll be situated.
Kenny Omega vs PAC
This match felt like a condensed version of their previous bouts which works greats for the TV format and just shows how natural the chemistry is between the pair.
Omega came out of the gate with a ton of energy and planting PAC with an outside dive. PAC would take advantage of the fatigue after this burst but Omega countered with one of his patented dragon suplexes.
.@KennyOmegamanX isn't giving any room to breathe to PAC!
Watch #AEWDynamite NOW on @TNTDrama 8e/7c #AEWonTNT @AEWonTNT pic.twitter.com/i0xguQUN6o— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) November 28, 2019
PAC garnered most of his offence through the break as we came back to the pair engaging in a strike rally but a huge punt kick from Omega launched PAC into the corner to put that to a stop. Omega kept PAC on his heels lacing him with Polish hammers before PAC broke up the combo with a devastating Lariat that turned Omega inside out.
PAC thought he had the win with an avalanche Falcon Arrow but a missed Black Arrow follow up gave Omega the opportunity to hit the V Trigger and attempt the One-Winged Angel. PAC would counter this attempt but an impressive roll-up pin combination allowed Omega to take the win.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4BBLv6UZYY]
Dynamite Diamond Ring Match: MJF w/ Wardlow vs Hangman Adam Page
While Page showed a huge amount of gusto here throughout the match, he constantly was undercut by MJF and his sneaky ways. MJF utilised every dirty trick in the book including using the referee to shield himself from his opponent and some cheeky eye pokes.
As Page looked like he was going to finish off MJF with the Buckshot Lariat, Wardlow moved MJF’s foot onto the rope to break up the pin. MJF distracted the referee after this, allowing Wardlow to nail Page with a swift right hook which MJF took advantage of by hitting his own version of the Cross Rhodes to win the Diamond Ring.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekxiYxv3NrI]
DDP came down to give the prize to the winner but MJF refused to take it before he and Wardlow scuffled with DDP and had to be pulled apart by security. Suddenly a Wardlow vs DDP feud seems like a tantalising idea.
AEW World Championship Match: Chris Jericho vs Scorpio Sky
Both teams were banned from ringside as these two began their title match. Jericho attempted to ground Sky early on but Sky utilised his speed to take advantage of the Champion. However, a rebound dropkick would put Jericho in control heading into the break. Sky would give himself some breathing room planting Jericho with a cutter followed up with a Lou Thesz Press but couldn’t get enough room to set up the TKO.
Jericho would counter a missile dropkick attempt into the Walls of Jericho as Sky scrambled to make the break on the rope which he just managed. Sky wouldn’t miss a beat here, planting Jericho with a cutter before locking in a dragon sleeper. It wouldn’t be enough though as Hager came to the ring to distract Sky, breaking up the hold.
Hager would try and interfere more before SCU laid into Hager with referee Aubrey Edwards attempting to eject them from ringside. Jericho would try and use this distraction to hit Sky with the belt but Sky countered landing the TKO for a very close 2 count.
.@ScorpioSky so close to getting the upset win over @IAmJericho!
Watch #AEWDynamite NOW on @TNTDrama 8e/7c #AEWonTNT @AEWonTNT pic.twitter.com/PIE5j1HBVC— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) November 28, 2019
It was a valiant effort from Sky, with the plucky challenger kicking out of a Codebreaker and even countering the Judas Effect into a roll-up, but it was Jericho who would retain here after catching an enzuigiri attempt into the Lion Tamer for a submission win.
A fantastic main event with the two working wonderfully together. Jericho has always been good at accentuating his opponents in the ring and he made Sky look a million bucks here. After the match, Moxley’s music hit as he stared down Jericho potentially setting up a feud between the two.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvwtTYaMOGw]
While this week had some questionable booking decisions, the matches remained the high quality we’ve come to expect from AEW Dynamite and overall provided another exciting couple of hours of action. AEW will need to work on their delivery of new stars in the future and how best to utilise pushed talent in their female division to keep their momentum in the Wednesday Night Wars.
All pics and videos courtesy of AEW