William Regal kicked off AEW Dynamite 11/23 by taunting the Chicago crowd… Who happen to chant for the new AEW World Champion, MJF. However, Regal delivers the bad news MJF isn’t here, and has no plans to share anything with this disgusting city. Regal does a fantastic job of getting nuclear heat. The arrival of Jon Moxley amps the crowd, but before he can confront Regal, Bryan Danielson rushes down to stop him. He begs Mox not to do it, reinforcing they have all done “bad things” in their past. Mox really wants to bludgeon Regal to death, but Danielson implores Mox not to snap. Mox tells Regal to leave and never come back.
In an instant, Regal is booed and sung “goodbye” out of the arena. I’m not sure where this is heading, but it does seem the end of the Blackpool Combat Club is near. It did seem like a strange opening segment, however the message is clear, Regal is now persona non grata, with Danielson trying to maintain some peace.
Backstage: Keith Lee’s interview with Renee Paquette is interrupted by Swerve Strickland, and they agree to chat, but with no camera. So. Nothing. This was disappointing.
Orange Cassidy retains the All-Atlantic Championship against Jake Hager
I’m sure the internet folks will rip this to shreds, but come on, smile for once, will ya? Comedy with sunglasses and hats are pretty funny. Hager really loves his purple hat. Match wasn’t anything blockbuster or riveting, just fun to watch. Cassidy wins with some finesse and outsmarting Hager.
Post match, The Factory threatens to attack the Best Friends, but QT’s mic is cut and the lights go out. Lights on and HOUSE OF BLACK HAVE RETURNED!! They destroy everyone, Factory, Best Friends, security, everyone! They are back!
Ricky Starks defeated Ethan Page to win the AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament
Good match, nothing spectacular. Starks played the role of the underdog sporting an injury. Page dominated most of the match, with Starks getting periodic offense. Stokley eventually interfered but was caught and ejected. Starks came back with spears to get the win.
It seemed likely Starks would win, seeing how MJF is sliding back into heel persona, would make the most sense as challenger.
Showing a recent “altercation” between Jade Cargill and Rapper Bow Wow. Odd backstage segment with the baddies and apparently one of them being fired. It was all sorts of awkward.
Death Triangle defeated The Elite to go 2-0 in the Best of Seven Series
The match was exactly what we have come to expect and ENJOY from both trios teams. What a fun match. The real story goes beyond the wrestling itself. The live Chicago crowd booed The Elite so loudly, it was impossible to hear “Carry On” play. Lots of F-someting chants directed toward Omega and the Bucks, and they played right to it. Elite knew exactly what they were doing, riling up and toying with the live audience. At one point, Kenny clearly bit PAC on the arm, and then later on, successfully hit the GO TO SLEEP on PAC as well. Talk about pissing off a crowd. This was Solar Flare-level heat. Despite all the antics, underhanded tactics by Death Triangle won the match. The end was quite humorous. Matt pulled out the time keeper’s hammer to use, except Penta had his own hammer, clocking Matt in the face with it
Renee Paquette announces as of today, Thunder Rosa is no longer AEW Women’s Champion, thus making Jamie Hayter officially the undisputed champion. Thank Primus. This interim thing was going on way too long. I am very glad Hayter is now officially the champ.
AEW Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter and Dr. Britt Baker defeated Ana Jay & Tay Melo and Willow Nightingale & Skye Blue
This was a really good and enjoyable match. Willow and Skye obviously the greener of the six, but hung very well with the others. Both Conti and Jay are improving, but there’s no question Hayter and Baker were the standouts. I will say Willow and Skye have a lot of potential and could benefit greatly with more ring time.
Backstage: Top Flight challenges the “top guys” FTR to a match on Rampage. Damn, this is going to be good.
Main Event of AEW Dynamite 11/23 Chris Jericho retains the Ring of Honor World Championship against Tomohiro Ishii
Holy crap. WHAT. A. MATCH. This might have been a Ring of Honor match, but this had New Japan written all over it. I have no doubt the internet trolls will find a way to crap on it. I don’t care. This was a masterpiece from Japan. Ishii brutalized Jericho from bell to bell, and at point, an errant chop must have caused Jericho’s Ankh necklace to slice his chest wide open, because in a blink of an eye, blood was everywhere.
While knowing Jericho would somehow win, I was happily surprised he won clean. Despite a predictable outcome, there were a few moments I truly believed Ishii could win. This is how you know it was a great match.
Not a bad Dynamite coming off Full Gear. The beginning of the show took some time to get off the ground, but once it did, it was full speed ahead.
Next week looks to fill in some of the questions from Full Gear which went unanswered tonight. Hopefully with MJF appearing next week, we may yet find out the fate of the Blackpool Combat Club.
Wasn’t Mox supposed to take a vacation?
