Dynamite kicks off a night full of action with Penta El Zero M up against the self-proclaimed AEW Champion, Jay White. The live crowd wastes no time ridiculing the “Ass Boys.” Fantastic match, and while it did seem predictable White would win in order to give himself and Bullet Club Gold momentum towards Full Gear, there were some convincing moments Penta could have cleanly won. White, did not cleanly win, as it was with an assist with Juice Robinson and his T.J. Maxx brand CZ ring. Post match, Robinson promises to win the battle royal tonight and then face MJF next week.
Backstage: MJF responds to the Bullet Club Gold, however is interrupted by The Acclaimed who again offer their support for the eight-man tag challenge issued, and Max… Well, may have overplayed his hand a bit.
Hikaru Shida defeated Emi Sakura
Such an enjoyable match. Sakura somehow is always over, no matter where or who she faces. Sakura has incredible energy which gels perfectly with Shida. Hopefully Shida get a fantastic third run as AEW Women’s Champion.
Renee Paquette sits down with Adam Copeland
Copeland runs down a brief history, hinting towards how he met more fame and success, but wanted Christian Cage by his side the whole time. He is still convinced Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne will abandon him and he will be forced to confront Copeland. He stresses he does not want a fight, he does not want the TNT title, but wants to end his career as a tag team.
I wonder how long this will be drawn out. Copeland and Cage had their face-to-face, but will there be some opponents in-between?
Wardlow destroys Nick Nemeth
With. One. Powerbomb. Post match Tony Schiavone tries to get a word, Wardlow raises a taped fist revealing three letters… MJF. He then knocks Tony down as he leaves. Geezuz.
Adam Cole has enough of Neck Strong
We get a goofy segment featuring Cole making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for Roddy, only to have forgotten to remove the crust. Matt Taven doesn’t mind. However, Cole has enough of Roddy’s stall tactics, and storms out. Roddy then decides he has to befriend “The Scumbag.”
This has worked as useful filler until Cole returns from surgery.
Backstage, Renee is with Kenny Omega who hypes up his upcoming match with Kyle Fletcher, however MJF strolls up and whispers a number, a magic number which one can deduce as the number of days until MJF beats Kenny’s record as longest reign as World Champion. It is almost a year after all since the last Full Gear PPV.
In the ring, The Callis Family celebrates the addition of Powerhouse Hobbs and the decimation of Chris Jericho. They turn their attention to Kenny Omega and the failure of Kyle Fletcher. This brings out the Aussie Open member to confront Callis and promise his loss was a mistake. Callus tells Fletcher if he wins, perhaps there will be a discussion of some future deals.
Kenny Omega defeated Kyle Fletcher
Damn, what a fantastic match. Many moments where it could have cleanly gone either way. Fletcher scoring with a huge half-and-half suplex, scoring a brainbuster as well which looked crushing. Omega later one smashed Kyle with a huge running V Trigger, followed by the One Winged Angel for the win.
“Murderhawk” Lance Archer returns to kick his opponent, Barrett Brown down to the ring where he manhandles him for a victory.
Two squashes on one show? Hm, that’s a rarity for AEW.
Swerve’s new remix music video debuts on Friday, on YouTube.
In a pre-tape promo, Swerve throws threats towards Hangman Adam Page for his interference last week. My guess is this feud is not over yet.
Tony Schiavone does a big intro, welcoming STIIIIIIIING to the ring. Sting talks about “the word” and then reflects on his career, such as Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, The Steiner Brothers, Dusty Rhodes, but drops Hulk Hogan’s name to a crowd full of boos. He then offers praise to “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. He discusses retirement, and makes it official, his last match will take place at the 2024 Revolution pay-per-view.
Toni Storm’s silent film is freakin’ great. If anyone can pull this is off, it’s Toni Storm.
Jim Ross sits down with Nick Wayne and “Nick Wayne’s Mom.” I guess she doesn’t have a name. She is in tears and just cannot understand why Nick has turned on everyone who helped him and supported him. Nick channels his inner 18-year-old… wait… uh, 16-year-old, and throws a tantrum, stating he found a new father figure in Christian Cage.
Sorry, but “Nick Wayne’s Mom” isn’t a great actress here.
Darby Allin then attacks both Wayne and Christian, and as the brawl heads to the ring, Sting then joins the fray. Wayne is busted open. He might have actually lost a tooth there. Sting and Darby once again stand tall.
Backstage: Best Friends together, with Renee who hypes up Battle of the Belts. Kris Statlander announces she will defend the TBS Championship against Willow Nightingale, Orange Cassidy will face the winner of the triple threat match between John Silver, Kip Sabian, and Brother Zay.
AEW Dynamite 10/18 Main Event: Juice Robinson wins the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal and will face MJF for the ring next week on Dynamite. Fun battle royal, but despite the runs of Dustin Rhodes and Daniel Garcia, and the brief hype with Max Caster, the result seemed pretty clear based on the past few weeks of Bullet Club Gold hijinx. Jay White inevitably came out and attacked MJF at the announce table while Juice clocked Caster with the TJ Maxx ring.
Just to make sure I am keeping score, it appears MJF has multiple potential contenders. We’ve got a pending feud with Roderick Strong, unfinished business per Samoa Joe, the antics of Bullet Club Gold, and quite possibly Kenny Omega.
A fine episode of Dynamite tonight. I approve.
AEW Dynamite 10/18 is now streaming on the TBS app and is on demand via your local cable operator.
