AEW Championship: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Rush
Our first match of the night was the AEW Interim title match between amazing champion Jon Moxley and AEW newbie, Rush. I’m a huge fan of Moxley’s Interim title run so far because constant defenses are good for everyone. Moxley raises the prestige of the belt, more eyes see different talent, and we fans get banger matches like this one! Moxley and Rush started Dynamite in an awesome way this week.
The match started quickly as Rush attacked Moxley directly after the bell rang. This match was stiff as Moxley started bleeding almost immediately, which helped add intensity. Rush shined here as he took it to Moxley for a good portion of the match. The whole match was back and forth with both guys hitting monster moves. Moxley nailed his King Kong Lariat a couple of times and Rush blasted Moxley with a cool Snap German Suplex. The one move Rush couldn’t hit, however, was his double knees into the corner.
Towards the end of the match, Andrade came out to distract Moxley. This triggered the Lucha Bros to make the save, but Rush couldn’t take advantage of the distraction. Big fan of the teamwork of Rush and Andrade. I have high hopes for La Faccion Ingobernable to have some interaction with Tetsuya Naito at some point. Perhaps that’s false hope, but a man can dream!
The match escalated to a conclusion with big move after big move. Rush couldn’t hit the knees, which allowed Moxley to hit the Death Rider and finish Rush with the Bulldog Choke. Great opening match on Dynamite! Moxley is amazing, but I’m happy with how Rush has been booked in AEW and ROH. I wasn’t familiar with him before, but I am now. He feels like a big deal.
3.75/5
Segments:
- Our time with the AEW Champion was not over, however, as Jericho came out to congratulate Moxley on his win. Jericho quickly transitioned into how great he is and how his society of buttheads keeps growing. Newly crowned member Anna Jay was out as well. Was that her first actual promo in AEW? I’m getting SO tired of the Jericho Appreciation Society, to be honest, and so is Jon Moxley. We’re getting Jon Moxley vs. “LionHeart” Chris Jericho in two weeks.
- Dante Martin was backstage up next, talking about his upcoming match with Sammy Guevara: “Sammy has Tay in his corner because he knows he can’t hack it on this roster anymore.” He said it, not me.
FTW Championship: Ricky Starks (c) vs. Danhausen
Up next was quite possibly my favorite part of the whole evening. Everything from Ricky’s entrance to the ring until he left it was perfect. I love it when AEW makes different entrance videos. This one was great! His match with Danhausen was short, but everything it needed to be in hindsight. Danhausen almost stole the win by focusing on Ricky’s neck, but this match was over quickly as Starks sawed Danhausen in half with a spear for the victory.
Chapter two of this story was amazing as Ricky Starks wanted another challenger after having an easy match. He issued another open challenge for the FTW Championship, which was answered by…HOOK!!!! Ricky Starks was bewildered that the Handsome Devil would challenge a fellow Team Taz member. This match was longer than the previous one, but still quick. Starks did not come out on top, as HOOK reversed the Rochambeau into the RedRum for the victory. HOOK is the new FTW Champion! This was brilliant. Danhausen weakening Ricky’s neck, only for HOOK to finish the match with his Dad’s old submission. Incredible stuff here.
And we weren’t done!! Starks and Hobbs were back in the ring after a quick commercial break. Ricky Starks wanted some microphone time to cut an amazing promo. He took the FTW Championship, a belt nobody cared about, and turned it into something good. Give this man all the gold! Instead of all the gold, Ricky received a hellacious Lariat to the back of the head from Powerhouse Hobbs. I cannot even explain the scream that came out of my mouth. THIS CAME OUT OF NOWHERE!
4/5
This was perfect from start to finish. I liked this so much, I’m creating a new award to give this because “Match of the Night” isn’t exactly applicable. Both matches and segment are receiving Story of the Night.
Story of the Night
Dante Martin vs. Sammy Guevara
Up next was a match between Sammy Guevara and Dante Martin. Before we get into the nitty gritty here, we have to talk about Sammy Guevara. He’s an AEW original that has been dubbed a ‘pillar’ of AEW’s future, but it feels like he’s the same guy that popped up in Jericho’s Inner Circle two and a half years ago. His character is “Crazy” and does high spots with the best of them, but that’s not any different than when he started. Nothing about him has evolved since the beginnings of Dynamite. The ring work has improved, I’ll give him that, but those improvements have felt like escalations on crazy moves.
Now onto the match itself. Dante Martin and Sammy Guevara had a good match, but also a display of Dante’s abilities. Dante showed the personality and confidence that he belonged in the ring. The Top Flight member has been a perfect example of someone growing before our very eyes.
This match was exactly as expected. Both guys flew around and hit big moves. Skye Blue came out with Dante Martin to ‘neutralize’ Tay Conti, even though she did nothing. There was an awesome spot where Sammy hit Dante with a flying knee strike onto the floor. It looked brutal! They traded moves back and forth, but Sammy was able to get the upper hand after Dante missed his finisher. Sammy proceeded to hit the GTH for the victory.
3.5/5
Anna Jay joined Sammy and Tay in bullying Dante and Skye Blue, but Eddie Kingston, Ruby Soho, and Ortiz came down for the save. Ruby will take on Anna Jay on Rampage.
Jungle Boy promo
Speaking of ‘Pillars’ that have improved, Jungle Boy came down to the ring for an interview looking like a badass. His black outfit matches how cool Luchasaurus looks. Still dislike how quickly the Dinosaur switched…
Jungle Boy promos are few and far between, but this Jungle Boy needs to speak more. He was intense, vulgar, and oozed personality. I loved every minute of it. He was trying to fight Christian at his own game by challenging Christian’s masculinity and divorce, which felt a little weird, in all honesty. The kid owned it though! He spoke with conviction.
Only a matter of time before Christian interrupted, who was obviously pissed off about everything going on here. He plans on “preying on Jungle Boy’s weakness.” What could that possibly be, now that Anna Jay has turned to the dark side?
- The Young Bucks were backstage on the Cutler Cam up next. This segment was a small snippet packed full of gold. We got an official announcement of the Trios titles and a Tournament, but that wasn’t the big story here. The Bucks ran into Hangman and were trying to talk to him, but the Dark Order interrupted to wish the Birthday Boy a Happy Birthday. AEW and Dynamite are on another level when The Elite are on the screen. What’s going to happen when Kenny comes back?!?!
Tony Nese & Mark Sterling vs. Swerve Strickland
Up next was a weird handicap match with Swerve Strickland taking on both Tony Nese and ‘Smart’ Mark Sterling. Keith Lee was banned from ringside for some reason. Maybe Keith was offended by the outfit Mark Sterling was wearing. The handicap element added a little extra fun to this match, but it went as expected. Mark Sterling was inadvertently tagged into the match, Tony Nese was taken out, and Swerve hit his head kick for the victory.
3/5
The after-match angle is what intrigued me. Keith Lee was taken out backstage by Josh Woods, which then caused Swerve to be distracted, and allowed Tony Nese to take out Swerve in the ring. Josh Woods and Tony Nese seem to be a team now, which is exciting.
- Malakai Black and Brody King had a little video package. Malakai wants Miro. Brody wants Darby Allin in a coffin match. Cool!
AEW Women’s Championship: Thunder Rosa (c) vs. Miyu Yamashita
A rematch for the AEW Women’s Championship was up next. Miyu Yamashita defeated Thunder Rosa a couple of weeks ago at the TJPW Summer Sun Princess show in Japan, which gave her this opportunity on Dynamite. This was a good match, albeit not as good as the previous one!
Right away this one felt different because Yamashita wasn’t kicking Rosa. It felt much more like a standard wrestling match as both ladies grappled and struck each other. Both ladies traded moves without any advantage either way. This match felt out of sync at times as well. I’m not exactly sure why.
It wasn’t until Yamashita kicked Rosa directly in the head while Rosa was sitting on the top rope that Yamashita built momentum. The challenger started focusing on her Karate, which was a lot more successful. One wonders why she waited! Thunder Rosa barely survived as she hit the Fire Thunder Driver out of nowhere for the victory. Good match that I enjoyed more on a second viewing.
3.5/5
Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia
And that brings us to the main event. I felt it odd that this match started with over twenty minutes left of the show, but in hindsight was the right call! This main event was fantastic. The entirety of Dynamite was great this week, but they closed it on a SHOCKER as Daniel Garcia, the Red Death, upset Bryan Danielson on national television. The Sports Entertainer defeated one of the best Professional Wrestlers ever.
Talk about a star-making performance!
The match started hot as Danielson attacked Garcia with all the rage of a rabid dog. They traded blows back and forth for a while, but it wasn’t until Danielson landed poorly after a missile dropkick that the whole match changed. The story of the match was all about Danielson being out with a major concussion and coming back too soon. Danielson wasn’t right after his poor landing. Being a work be damned. I believed that Danielson came back too soon and aggravated his concussion. The American Dragon is too good at selling us a bill of goods.
Daniel Garcia pounced like a Hyena on Danielson’s weakened carcass. Danielson was busted open after a DDT on the exposed concrete floor. Garcia was in complete control. He was fantastic at controlling Danielson. But still, it was only a matter of time before Danielson gained some momentum. This is where I assumed the match was going to go. Danielson is hurt, makes a comeback, and gets the victory. Au contraire!
Both guys were trading moves back and forth. I thought it was over after Danielson hit the Knee Strike, but Garcia had other plans. An arm from underneath the ring held Danielson, which allowed Garcia to hit a piledriver and lock in the Sharpshooter. Bryan Danielson passed out and Garcia wins. Danielson passing out was a great touch. It showed that his body couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t give up, but his body did.
4.5/5
They told a phenomenal story here! Twenty minutes of wrestling goodness!!! I loved it. If I didn’t love everything about Ricky Starks story, this would be getting MOTN
Oh yeah, the arm ended up being Jake Hager. AEW finally found a quality role for him!
OVERALL
And that was Dynamite for this week! AEW never puts lackluster shows back to back. I was off last week because of my birthday, but I wouldn’t have rated Fyter Fest week 2 very well! AEW came back with a strong showing this week in a huge showcase of younger talent. Daniel Garcia, Jungle Boy, Dante Martin, Hook, and Ricky Starks all showed everyone why the future is bright for AEW. Their stories are unlike any other wrestling company I’ve seen. They simultaneously honor past legends, push current stars, and create future champions.
I have zero issues with tonight’s Dynamite, outside of wishing Rosa and Yamashita had more time, but everything else was great. This was an awesome Dynamite that makes me excited for the future.
Verdict: 4.5/5