AEW Dynamite was set to have a shocking main event with Eddie Kingston getting a shot at the AEW World Championship against Jon Moxley, as well as the in-ring debut of Miro.
Tuesday Night Dynamite
Before we get into the main show, Tuesday hosted a special Late Night Dynamite:
- Scorpio Sky beat Ben Carter in a fantastic technical showcase
- Anna Jay put Brandi Rhodes to sleep with a sleeper hold. Brandi got way too much offence and should have made a more concerted effort to make Anna Jay look dominant.
- Matt Sydal vs. Shawn Spears w/ Tully Blanchard which was a good match, except for the fact Sydal didn’t even do his Shooting Star Press.
The show was an elevated AEW Dark episode more than anything but the matches are worth a look if you have the time.
Kip Sabian & Miro w/ Penelope Ford vs Joey Janela & Sonny Kiss
Kiss’s impressive athleticism and a flurry of tag team offence were making easy work of Sabian but he managed a deft tag to Miro. The Best Man immediately hit a swinging slam to Janela and impressively threw Kiss around like a ragdoll.
A distraction from Miro meant the referee didn’t see a hot tag to Janela and disallowed it. This left Sabian and Miro to continue their punishment on Kiss.
Back to back to back blows to @SonnyKissXO #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/zhuMBOkFtr
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) September 24, 2020
Kiss managed an impressive roll off the back of Sabian for a hot tag as Janela managed to knock both his opponents to the outside.
Miro tried to toss Janela over the barricade to Sabian for a tag team manoeuvre but Janela countered and took out Sabian. After taking out Janela again in the ring, Miro hit Kiss with a superkick and made him tap out with a camel clutch.
Miro looked devastating here and touted his new catchphrase “Game Over”, which should have been corny but came off as awesome with Miro’s intensity. I hope the tag division isn’t the direction they’re going with Miro cause he’s a born singles star.
Hangman Page vs Evil Uno w/ the Dark Order
Kenny Omega once again refused to team with Page so another singles match came his way with Omega on commentary.
Page started strong with a powerful fireman’s carry slam to Uno. Just before the break Uno used the referee as a distraction to get the upper hand and used said referee to turn a dragon screw counter into a hanging neckbreaker.
Big takedown after big takedown – who you guys got for this one?! #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/JFOTebgDxX
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) September 24, 2020
After the break, Uno tossed Page to the ramp as the Dark Order members descended onto Page. Uno stopped them and ushered them to the back. Page took advantage immediately, hitting a fall away slam and running shooting star press but only mustered a two-count.
Page’s rally was cut short by huge big boot from Uno followed by a top rope big boy senton for a close two-count of his own.
JUST A COWBOY DOING COWBOY SH*T #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/Oz8NmlYnTf
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) September 24, 2020
Page regained the momentum and hit a huge pop up powerbomb for another two-count before finishing of Uno with a Buckshot Lariat for the win.
Uno is an underrated wrestler on the AEW roster. He has fantastic fundamentals and is able to make his opponents look great while all the while making his offence look hard hitting and robust. Not much development for Page and Omega here but hopefully more is to come between the two sooner than later.
The Young Bucks are douche bags
Tony Schiavone went to interview the Bucks. He didn’t get a super kick but did get his phone smashed. The Young Bucks are coming across as douches but it’s not working as a heel turn. They need to target people the audience care about rather than Schiavone’s belongings or Alex Marvez.
TNT Championship match: Brodie Lee w/ the Dark Order vs Orange Cassidy
Jon Silver attacked Cassidy’s jacket and Anna Jay popped on Cassidy’s sunglasses to mock him.
Cassidy responded with some furious shin kicks to Lee but was met with a huge slap to the face. Cassidy responded with a hands-in-pocket rally but ended up cornered by the Dark Order on the outside that allowed Lee to hit a suicide dive through his disciples and into Cassidy.
What goes up must come down ? #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/79EmTg3PSA
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) September 24, 2020
Lee took multiple opportunities to distract the referee that allowed his cronies to pummel Cassidy before hitting a Boss Man slam. After the break, Lee was still in control, tossing Cassidy all over the ring in dominant fashion.
It seemed Cassidy was unable to stay on his feet but Cassidy was playing a game of possum as he kept falling down during each discus lariat attempt from Lee. This caused Lee to let his guard down and Cassidy nearly rolled up the TNT Champion.
Never underestimate @orangecassidy #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/9eddHU3dv8
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) September 24, 2020
Cassidy hit two suicide dives before dispatching the Dark Order members on the outside with his speedy offence. Cassidy managed a countering cutter and a top rope manoeuvre followed by two huge punt kicks. Lee rose to his feet defiantly but Cassidy hit a spinning DDT followed by an air raid crash for a very close two-count.
Jon Silver ran in to the ring to take an Orange Punch for Lee allowing enough time for the Exalted One to rally and counter an Orange Punch into a huge powerbomb and a follow up discus lariat for the win.
A great match here with a great story told. The plucky underdog using his smarts and speed to even the odds against the brutish champion but unfortunately coming up short. It’s hard to argue with Cassidy’s wrestling acumen when he’s able to tell a story in the ring in this manner and look so good doing it.
After the match, the lights went out and Cody’s music hit. He appeared at the ringside in a suit and black hair. I assume this was meant to be a new dark look but he kind of looked like Robbie Rotton from Lazy Town.
He took out the entire Dark Order and stood tall in the ring. Just for Men hairdo aside, it’s great to see Cody back and I’m interested to see what he does with a seemingly darker edge to him.
.@CodyRhodes is not the same man that we've known #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/mzirict0I5
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) September 24, 2020
Brodie Lee pulls out a dog collar
Lee gave a blazing promo as he talked about the audacity of Cody and said no man should allow his brother to be beaten and his wife to post thirst traps to Instagram. He pulled out a dog collar, which looked a little like BDSM equipment and said he would tie it around his neck so he had nowhere to run.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a dog collar match that I’ve truly enjoyed. We’ll see what Cody and Lee manage.
Matt Hardy and Private Party address Hardy’s attack
Hardy came to the ring and said he believed that Chris Jericho was a prime suspect for his mystery assailant last week. He praised Private Party for their performance in their match and said they only lost because of the Inner Circle’s cheap tactics.
Jericho and the Inner Circle crew came to the ramp as Jericho mockingly said Happy Birthday to Hardy. He denied being the assailant but said he’d be happy to assault Hardy right there and then.
Hardy was ready to fight but Private Party stopped him as he was still recovering. Isaiah Kassidy took the mic and challenged Jericho to a one on one match and promised to make him his Le Champion bitch.
It looks like Jericho is moving into the role of putting over younger AEW talent which is a great use of his skills now he’s no longer in the championship scene. Kassidy is a prime candidate for this treatment and Jericho should be able to make him look a million bucks.
FTR and Tully Blanchard change the rules
Blanchard spoke to Schiavone and said he was changing the rules about a 60-minute title match for FTR. He declared they’d now be doing 20-minute brushes with greatness and FTR would choose their opponents.
They announced SCU would be their first opponents in this format and if SCU don’t win in 20 minutes, FTR are classed as the winners.
Dax Harwood said, despite Best Friends being the No.1 contenders, they didn’t want to face comedy backyard wrestlers.
Did @DaxHarwood really just bring @trentylocks mom into this?! Did he not learn?! #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/xx7kHlObJC
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) September 24, 2020
Best Friends came down to the ring and demanded a 20-minute brush with greatness for themselves, despite being banged up from their brawl last week.
FTR said it wouldn’t be fair to them as the Best Friends weren’t at 100% and retreated as Taylor called them weenies.
The old school 20-minute time limit match is an interesting concept that should allow more tag team showings from FTR without worrying about losses affecting their credibility.
Ivelisse & Diamanté vs Thunder Rosa & Hikaru Shida
Ivelisse and Diamanté immediately blindsided the two champs before the bell rang but co operation from Rosa and Shida allowed them to get back on track and take control of the match.
Diamanté managed to escape Rosa’s grasp and tag out to Ivelisse as the pair began brawling with stiff shots going into the break.
The definition of using your partner to your advantage #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/ME5rNVud9Q
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) September 24, 2020
Shida was on the backfoot as Diamanté and Ivelisse hit a stunner and facebuster combo but Rosa broke up the pin. Ivelisse hit some keen kicks to Rosa and a hook kick to Shida to nearly get a three-count but Shida hung on.
Assisted sliced bread from Diamanté and Ivelisse gave another close two-count. Rosa saved Shida from a Code Red from Diamanté as the pair hit a Death Valley Driver and Falcon Arrow but Ivelisse broke up the pin again.
Rose took out Ivelisse and gave the opportunity for Shida to hit her running knee for the win.
A fun little tag match but it unfortunately didn’t lead to any futher development for the duelling champions or give us too much of a follow up shoot fight between Ivelisse and Rosa.
Jon Moxley vs Eddie Kingston
The pair started with tests of strength before the pair began hitting nasty slaps and chopping the piss out of each other.
The pair began brawling to the outside through the break with Kingston coming out on top. Moxley came out fighting after the break with a suicide dive to even the odds.
A lot of pride in the ring right now #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/t6VRGkOhyT
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) September 24, 2020
A piledriver from Moxley nearly gave him the win but he was too close to the ropes allowing Kingston to break the pin with his boot on the rope.
Kingston countered a ten-punch attempt into a huge powerbomb but Moxley managed to kick out. The pair began laying in brutal chops on each other once again with tenacity. A rebound boot attempt from Kingston lead to a German suplex from Moxley but Kingston’s fighting spirit allowed him to get back up and hit two back suplexes for a count close to 2.9 seconds.
.@JonMoxley is another breed #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/uvxqkwkkcN
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) September 24, 2020
Moxley countered a back fist into a sleeper hold into a bulldog choke passing out Kingston for the win.
After the match, the Lucha Brothers attacked Moxley. Will Hobbs came in to try and aid Moxley and hit an awesome spinebuster to one of the brothers but the numbers game still saw Kingston’s crew on top.
Darby Allin came out to help with his board in hand but was taken out with a nasty attack from Ricky Starks.
Kingston, his crew, Taz and Starks stood in the ring triumphant after demolishing the baby faces to close out the show.
THESE FEUDS ARE FAR FROM OVER #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/Qe5EnnOFQo
— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) September 24, 2020
Despite standing tall in the end, this match had a really disappointing finish. The proceeding match was brutal and harsh in all the right ways. Two brawlers who have taken dramatically different routes in their careers knocking ten bells out of each other. However, the ending just came far too quickly. Kingston did not struggle nearly long enough before passing out. This should have felt like Moxley putting down a rabid dog who fought to his last breath but it was far too quick and just ended up making Kingston look weak.
The worst part of this is the built-in storyline between Moxley and Kingston is there and would make a great long-term programme. Instead we have to watch Moxley face another big man which is starting to get stale after seeing it time and again with Brodie Lee and Brian Cage.
Despite this, this was an enjoyable episode of AEW Dynamite with some great matches throughout. It’s nowhere near as impressive as last week but we got to see Miro dominate, Cody return, a great TNT Championship defence and a great main event despite its flat finish.
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