AEW Dynamite in Chicago kicks off with Le Champion, Chris Jericho and his Inner Circle, celebrating the ultimate “Thank you” from AEW and TNT executives. The one-liners and the intro by Soul Train Jones (formerly known as Virgil) was brilliant. While it may have felt a bit long, the moment where Jericho’s father was revealed under a gift box was hysterical. They made fun of Chicago, the ol’ bashing the local sports team. Funny gifts from members of the stable include a life-size cut out of Sammy G. and Jericho hugging, Ortiz and Santana presenting a Boricua Basket, and the way they described the items, from the flip-flop as “mama’s weapon” to a “little bit of the 40” had the live crowd rolling. Jake Hager with “Chris Jerigoat. Hager plays the dumb brute really well. Things took a turn when they beat up Justin Roberts who read the “thank you” letter, but Jericho did not like the tone.
The best part, which needs its own little paragraph, the debut and on-line presale of Jericho’s very own wine… You guessed it, “A Little Bit of the Bubbly.” I was about to buy my pair, but nearly $70 after shipping, I balked. Also, probably not Kosher. If you want to buy it, click here.
SCU made the save for Justin Roberts. Scorpio is over HUGE.
Best Friends defeated The Lucha Brothers
Lucha Brothers can lose for the next six months, they would never look weak. Putting over Best Friends, brilliant. I’m sure many feel the Best Friends with Orange Cassidy fall under the comedy-never-champs category, but AEW is giving them their time in the light. Cassidy, dressed in turkey garb flew to begin the match, but was then taken out by the Brothers. A very good match, a credit to both teams where it is due, seeing Trent hit the Crunchie for the win popped the crowd and I imagine everyone at home.
Emi Sakura & Bea Priestley defeated Hikaru Shida & Kris Statlander
Clearly I need to research more. Statlander is going to be a big star in AEW. This was my first time seeing her, and I’ve got the confidence she’s got “it” to be a women’s champ in the future. This match seemed to focus more on the feud brewing between Shida and Sakura. It may seem Sakura might be groomed to take the Women’s Championship from Riho in the near future. I did question the booking of having the debuting Statlander lose in her first match.
AEW Women’s wrestling, I feel needs a bit of polishing. The women on NXT seem to far surpass AEW in terms of quality and cohesiveness in the ring.
Also, my twins, girls, watched this one and they were not happy watching Shida and Statlander lose due to dirty tactics with the mic stand.
Cody defeated Matt Knicks
Hey, kudos to the Chicago crowd for giving Knicks a pop during his in-ring entrance. This was short and to the point. Cody wins via figure-four.
After the match, the ring appeared to open up, revealing The Blade and The Butcher with a new Allie. I found the commentary between Jim Ross and Excalibur to be interesting. Excalibur immediately identified the newcomers, while JR, like I’m sure many of us watching, myself included, had NO idea who they were. Viewers at home had the benefit of the commentary, while the audience did not. Although, I’m sure a quick wiki/google search would have given some bit of information. I liked The Butcher. He’s got the monocle and the evil curly stache!
[Editor’s Note: The Blade is former TNA/Impact star Braxton Sutter, also known on the independents as Pepper Parks. The Blade is Andy Williams of Every Time I Die.]
Kenny Omega Defeated PAC
The Cleaner finally got one over The Bastard. Great match. There’s never a doubt they will put on a PPV quality match. Match was a bit quicker in pace, and maybe I’m wrong, but it did seem as though this time around Omega was the aggressor. Eh, I’m not going process too much into it, I enjoyed the image, the live crowd was hot for it, and that’s what counts.
The only word of caution I have, and this will lead into the next match, we’re seeing some of the same people a little too often, which may skew the rankings if being held tightly, and also, may wear away at the novelty AEW has created. PAC, Hangman, MJF, and a few others seem to be weekly staples while others are rotated every-other-week. If they get a formula down, I’m confident it will work. As a big fan from the get-go, I hope they can do it well.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman defeated Hangman Page for the Dynamite Dozen Diamond Ring
My wife, a former Long Island resident cheered on MJF. Likely because he’s from the town next over to hers, and he’s a good Jewish boy embracing his rebellious nature. Hmph. I was rebellious once… In any case, even though the finish came thanks to Wardlow’s interference, it really was MJF spiking Hangman with the Cross-Roads, and doing it in a slow, methodical, roll the corpse over for the pin which oozed MJF’s brash attitude.
Post-match, Diamond Dallas Page, who looks like he could take Wardlow in a fight, came to present the ring, and of course trying to incite MJF a bit. He did offer a handshake, to which MJF spit out his gum and slapped it in DDP’s hand. Brilliant bit right there. DDP and Wardlow would inevitably clash, and please-oh-please let DDP have one more match. Even if he loses to either, just to see he’s still got it would be worth it.
Noticing there is a lot surrounding Cody at the moment. Perhaps Allie’s assault on Cody with Blade & Butcher might be a message to Brandi and Awesome Kong? Clearly MJF was sending a message.
Promo by the Dark Order. Really enjoying this cult-like setup. We clearly don’t see the face of the ringleader, likely Evil Uno, but we see the same poor soul seeking some fulfilment in lift. Joining a “church” with other attendees, you can see the really researched how cults are constructed to make this work. For a time I felt Dark Order were going to be laughed off at some point, but this is changing my opinion. Keep it going, I want to see the next chapter.
Dustin Rhodes calls out the Inner Circle. Well, this segment was just odd, it was clear this would go into an all-out brawl. The Young Bucks made the save. This wasn’t necessary as it’s fairly obvious an Elite vs. Inner Circle is inevitable. It also took time away from the final match which, while good, appeared to have ben expedited for the sake of TV time. As my buddy Bill pointed out, they could have made like WCW and gone until five after 10.
Chris Jericho defeated Scorpio Sky to retain the AEW World Championship.
Side note: I like they don’t call it the World Heavyweight. At this era in wrestling, big buys don’t hold belts anymore. This was a good match, I’ll admit some parts didn’t seem to flow well, but this match did accomplish two important things. Establish Jericho as the pinnacle of heel. Despite the stipulation of no “seconds” at ringside, Jake Hager still chose to interfere which brought out SCU to intervene. This appeared to be the path to Scorpio’s moment, but alas, it was not to be. Sky dominated the match and Jericho sold everything to a T. But, being caught into the Walls of Jericho was the segue to the end, as Scorpio was forced to tap out. A bit of a buzzkill to end the match this way, but any outcome with Sky losing would have been disappointing. I wish the match was longer, might have help add to the story told in the ring.
This is one thing AEW succeeds where I feel WWE (not NXT) seems to struggle. The in-ring story. WWE, the story is always on the mic or a promo. AEW, it’s in the wrestling.
Tonight’s episode may not have fit under the “best episodes” category, but it was still very good and worthwhile wrestling to watch. Very happy they did not resort to some lame t-day themed battle royal food-fight garbage we’ve seen elsewhere. Gimme the wrestling!
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