AEW Dynamite took to the high seas as this week’s show took place on Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea Part Deux: Second Wave with the main event determining the No.1 contender for the AEW World Championship. Who sank and who swam in their fight for the opportunity to face Le Champion? Let’s find out.
AEW World Tag Team Championship Match: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page vs SCU
A huge match to open the show as Omega and Page looked to cap off their meteoric rise in the tag division by taking home the gold.
Page lost the opening exchange and ended up getting isolated and pushed around by SCU but a double clothesline collision with him and Frankie Kazarian gave him the room to escape and get the hot tag back to Omega.
SCU seemed prepared and ready for Omega’s usual tactics but he surprised Scorpio Sky with a surprising hurricanrana and following up with a snap Dragon suplex to Kazarian. Omega and Page tried to secure the win with their double moonsault combo but Sky kicked out.
Omega went for the One-Winged Angel but was countered and an ill-advised follow up on the top rope led to a Frankensteiner counter from Sky. A buckshot attempt from Page to capitalise on the distraction was also thwarted as he blasted his own partner by mistake.
A pin attempt after a TKO from Sky was broken up at the last second by Page with the pair making a comeback after the break and getting a close two count of their own after a Tiger Driver ’98 to Kazarian.
Sky came to his rescue blocking a V-Trigger with a high knee and setting up the SCU. Later but still could only muster a two count as Page wrestled his opponent into the pin to break it up.
Page dragged Omega’s lifeless body to his corner to get the tag and took on both of SCU single-handedly, tossing Sky to the ramp outside to give room for a Buckshot to him before coming back into the ring with another Buckshot to Kazarian in the ring for a surprise victory.
An unexpected finish capped off a great match that focused on pure wrestling storytelling and excitement. It was not only a great start to this show but also left it wide open for the next chapter of the Page and Elite split.
After the match, the Young Bucks came to the ring to celebrate with their Elite brethren but Page seemed openly agitated about this and even refused to celebrate with them, instead opting to imbibe with the crowd.
Britt Baker vs Priscilla Kelly
As excited as I was to see the return of Kelly, who we haven’t seen in AEW since the Women’s Casino Battle Royale, this was not the triumphant return I hoped for.
Things started out badly when the match went to break before the match had barely run two minutes and Kelly’s offence didn’t last long before Baker put her into the Lockjaw. As Kelly was about to get to the ropes, Baker used a kick onto the rope to roll back and hold onto the submission. Really this should have broken the hold, but instead, Kelly tapped in quick fashion.
After the match, Tony Schiavone spoke to Baker in the ring about the controversial finish and Baker responded with possibly the worst heel promo I’ve ever heard. In an absolute monotone drone, Baker said that Schiavone was working at Starbucks before AEW, which makes zero sense, before claiming the crowd saw her as a role model and then changing lanes by saying she was “the hottest girl on this boat” and “not to hate her cause she was beautiful”. It was so bad that before she could critique specific teeth in Schiavone’s mouth they cut to break.
Baker just doesn’t have it and is not the right person to be in a position to be leading the women’s division. She’s lacking charisma, her ring work does nothing to stand out and her promo work here was abysmal. I hope this heel turn proves me wrong but as it stands, there’s a lot of talented women on the roster that are more deserving of a spotlight.
Jurassic Express vs The Inner Circle w/ Jake Hager
The crowd sang along to Judas as Le Captain waltzed to the ring after his cronies Santana and Ortiz, ready to teach Jungle Boy and his friends a lesson.
Jungle Boy and Chris Jericho squared off with some trash talking before Jungle Boy started knocking Jericho around who then ran away scared to the corner.
Jungle Boy looked strong from the get-go and gave the crowd some fun with some entertaining spots with him and Luchasaurus tossing Marko Stunt at their opponents.
After the break, Santana had managed to wrestle control of the match into the Inner Circle’s favour and had Jungle Boy isolated with Ortiz even hitting his flopping headbutt for a cocky pin attempt.
Jungle Boy managed to break free after spiking Ortiz with a nasty reverse-rana as Luchasaurus tore his way through the Inner Circle. As Luchasaurus looked to finish off his prey, Hager struck Luchasaurus and the pair brawled up the ramp.
Stunt had become the legal man in the confusion and hit a 450 splash for a very close pin attempt onto Jericho which angered Jericho to the point that he nailed the little competitor with a Judas Effect to secure the win.
A fun little match that was a real crowd-pleaser with fun spots and good action throughout.
MJF vs Joey Janela
Janela and MJF had a classic heel vs face bout as MJF tried every trick in the book to get an advantage like using referee Aubrey Edwards as a human shield and thwarting any attempt Janela made for a big move.
The Bad Boy finally managed to get a break with a superplex after the break but as he looked to finish off MJF with an elbow drop, Kip Sabian and Janela’s ex-girlfriend Penelope Ford began making out on the entrance stage. The distraction gave MJF enough time to dodge the elbow and follow up with the Double Cross for the win.
A short match but did the job of giving MJF another win and following up the Janela/Ford-Sabian rivalry.
After the match, MJF got on the mic and promised to be Cody’s final chapter. Not to take it lying down, Cody came down to the ring to confront him but as MJF pointed out, he couldn’t lay a finger on him as per their match stipulation.
Cody informed MJF that he may not be able to, but the Bucks could as he ate a superkick from the brothers. Cody and the Bucks capped off the Superkick Party by tossing MJF into the pool onboard the boat to humiliate him further.
No.1 Contender Match for the AEW World Championship: PAC vs Jon Moxley
Chris Jericho joined the commentary team as he looked to see who would be his next challenger.
Moxley still has his eye taped up from the spike attack from Jericho last week but didn’t miss a step as he took the fight to PAC and landed an explosive release German suplex early on.
PAC stopped Moxley in his tracks with a cheap shot to the injured eye as he focused on Moxley’s injury. Moxley fought back as he chased PAC through the crowd across the ship decks and kept control in the ring even as PAC tried to take advantage of the injured eye, planting him with a heavy lariat.
An ill-advised top rope elbow drop from Moxley caused him to come crashing down onto PAC’s knees before the Bastard attempted a Brutaliser he couldn’t lock in. Keeping up the attacks on the eye gave PAC the room to ascend the top rope but a 450 splash nearly lead to a three-count as Moxley got the knees up.
Moxley tried to make a come back despite his bandages starting to bleed but PAC caught Moxley on the top rope with a Superplex followed by the Brutalizer. The hold was locked in for an agonising amount of time but Moxley managed to get to the ropes.
A frustrated PAC tore off the bandage from Moxley’s eye exposing the eye patch underneath but Moxley managed to get his second win nailing PAC with a DDT and following it up with a Paradigm Shift for the win. Jon Moxley is your No.1 contender for the AEW World Championship as Jericho closed the show by stating he would finish what he started when they face off at AEW Revolution.
Not the explosive clash expected from these pair but a solid match none the less that capped off a very enjoyable two-parter for AEW’s inaugural Bash at the Beach. The storylines are going in engaging directions that make me want to see what happens next with only the Britt Baker segment being a major lowlight.
All pictures and videos courtesy of AEW and Will Byington for AEW