AEW Dynamite 8/9 opens with the gradual implosion of the Jericho Appreciation Society. Each member aired their grievances and one by one, with a common theme of being unappreciated by the guy who demands appreciation. Jericho claims their careers have meaning because of hi and they would be nowhere without him. Many members disagree with this, Minard specifically mentioning Eddie Kingston and Kevin Steen (Owens) who both initially looked up to him, but now despise him for his pompous arrogance. Ouch. Jake Hager’s promo was baffling, until the cheap pop for “I really liked that hat.” Angelo parker cut a surprisingly good promo. Sammy Guevara is the final one, who seems to hint he may not be completely out, and may come back to side with Jericho if he gets his head back on straight.
Backstage: Jericho tells Don Callis he has his answer, but Callis wants to wait until next week. I predict Callis winds up turning on Jericho, unveiling his own stable. This could cue some members of the JAS to assist and save Jericho. Or, Jericho turns on Callis and forms some sort of new stable. If Jericho does align with Callis, I would be shocked.
Young Bucks defeated The Hardy Boys. I want to say something nice, so I’ll say it was nice of the Bucks to carry the match and no one got seriously hurt. I wish the best for The Hardys, but perhaps it is time, specifically for Jeff, to call the in-ring career over and transition to a trainer role.
Post-match, The Bucks call out FTR and accept their challenge for a third and final match at All In.
Adam Cole / MJF Buddy Segment – They go party at… A TRAMPOLINE PARK!!! Cole goes goony while MJF is fuming, until Cole mentions they have… DODGEBALL!!
Please keep these two together. PLEASE. Just so we continue to have segments like this! PLEASE!!
Jack Perry retains the FTW Championship against Rob Van Dam
Heel Jack Perry is the wrestler we didn’t know we needed. Coming out wearing trunks styled like Jerry Lynn. Insta-boos. Great match, and RVD still has it! Very enjoyable bout, lots of near falls which gave the belief RVD could win, but of course, a ref bump thanks to a tossed chair (which got stuck in the ropes!), Bryce Remsberg goes down, which delays the pinfall long enough for Perry to kick out. One low blow later, and Perry retains.
Taz is seething on commentary, and says it might be soon for him to do something about Perry’s disrespect for the FTW Championship.
I’ll say it again, Jack Perry as the dastardly, cowardly villain was likely never on our bingo cards, but boy is he killing it with the evil persona. I’m sold.
MJF and Cole in the ring, start cutting promos on each other, which lands into comedy territory. Fantastic stuff, and really skyrockets as MJF and Cole announce they will challenge Aussie Open for the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championships. This segment is fire, until Roderick Strong arrives and spoils the fun, riling MJF to a point where he cuts a Taylor Swift-laced promo, causing Roddy to cry into the awaiting arms of Mike Bennet and Matt Taven, The Kingdom. This causes Adam Cole to snap on MJF, frustrated at this boiling over. As tensions rise, Cole and MJF cool down and Hug It Out to the delight of the live audience. However, it seems all is not well in paradise.
Someone is turning. We don’t know when, we don’t know how. But when it does, it will be a gut-punch of a tragedy, but will also lead to an explosive feud-ender of a match.
BCC defeated Lucha Brothers
Mox, Claudio, and their opponents in Fenix and Penda, willed this match into awesomeness. I was a bit disappointed with the finish. Maybe it’s just me, but the whole “rip off the guy’s mask” cheap pinfall doesn’t feel right. I also have this strange recall that this has been done to both Penta and Fenix so often in the past, so it’s lost the novelty but also seems unnecessary. The BCC is already over as heel, this didn’t add to it at all.
Swerve and The Embassy
Swerve and AR Fox talk business of putting down Nick Wayne and will soon put down Darby Allin. This prompts Darby to arrive with some epic verbal retaliation, putting Fox in his place and kiboshing the whole “you didn’t call me” bit as an excuse to turn on his protege. Swerve threatens Darby, who reminds the group he’s got friends…
… It’s STIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
Thank you Tony Schiavone for that. Sting arrives, the two chase away everyone while Strickland is held at bat-point (Is this a word? It is now!), while AR Fox watches from the stands in horror.
AEW Dynamite 8/9 Main Event: Hikaru Shida defeated Anna Jay to retain the AEW Women’s Championship
Two weeks in a row the women main event Dynamite. Two weeks in a row, it is a championship match, and both feature Hikaru Shida. If this isn’t evidence enough Shida is one of the best, if not the best of AEW, I don’t know what more to say. Toni Storm is a good wrestler, but her recent run as champ was lackluster. Didn’t have the presence of champ, which is hard when you’ve got a grungy stable with a cowardly gimmick.
Good match from bell to bell. We do have to acknowledge the finish was a bit off-kilter with Parker and Minard attempting… something, but the ref hit three and that was it. Anna Jay, let’s not forget has been with AEW since the start as well, initially with the magician gimmick, moving up into the Dark Order where she absolutely shined. The JAS felt like a step back, hopefully her solo career will once again take center stage, and I wouldn’t mind 2-point-0 as her backup.
Setting up for Wembley Stadium, All In, is the theme. Dynamite produced a solid show to begin the build with a number of matches already booked. The next few weeks of programming will round it all out, and we will certainly have one epic PPV event come Sunday, August 27.
