We’ve got championships, grudges, and brawls, oh my! AEW continues its residency in Chicago with a hot Dynamite and hotter live crowd. Kicking off the crazy are The Outrunners who come to the ring to face off with their opponents, already in the ring, Matt and Nick Jackson.
No entrance, no hype, just a bland ol’ announcement and not even their names on the TV graphics. Brilliant. I love it.
However, this feels like a positive reset on the Young Bucks, as they appear to be working harder and portraying more of a “Hey, we’re still valuable” personas. It works. The Outrunners actually looked more like the dominant team until the Bucks’ speed and veteran prowess got the upper hand for the win.
Following their brief feud with FTR, it appears The Outrunners are definitely at the top of the game. They’ve been showing up and showing out recently, looking more like a top contending team rather than the underdogs from earlier in the year.
Christian Cage in the ring with a promo. The bullet points feature his rebound after being betrayed by Shayna, Nick, and Kip Sabian, and questioning the moral high ground of Copeland who has a sordid history himself. The segment felt as though it went long, it seemed either Cage lost track or verbally stumbled, or possibly was thrown off guard by the live crowd. Not sure. His crude innuendos toward Shayna hit in an awkward way, seemed to feel like a forced cheap heat draw. The segment closed with “The Matriarchy” standing over a beaten and possibly broken Christian.
We’re definitely getting Cope and Cage.. but when?
Backstage: FTR and Stokley announced they got Cope banned from Dynamite but not Collision. Then they turned their attention to their Collision opponents, The Bang Bang Gang.
The Young Bucks approach FTR and seem to be burying past animosities.
Backstage: MJF tries to clear things up with The Hurt Syndicate, unfortunately both MVP and Lashley are not present, leaving Shelton Benjamin to verbally destroy Mr. Friedman, calling out his phony gifts as representative of his phony intentions. MJF remains on their you-know-what list.
It seems MJF being on the outs will likely lead to some sort of future feud. Should MJF win the World Championship in the future, he will not have a shortage of contenders. Shelton vs. MJF? Yes please.
“Hangman” Adam Page retains the AEW World Championship against Jon Moxley
Absolutely fantastic championship match. Big surprise this opened hour two of the show, but we see why later on. I get worried when Mox is in a non-brawling match, but it worked splendidly. Extremely hard-hitting with lariats and a shockingly large number of piledrivers throughout the match, mixed with submission holds and a variety of suplexes. Fluid with each having short durations of offense and defense, no clear dominator during the match which showed how tough they wanted to make it look.
Even though the match had rules with everyone banned, Marina Shafir did interfere while Claudio and Yuta baited the security into the crowd. Unfortunately her attempts failed, and was then ejected by the ref. This could be the opening, Shafir gets “fired” and the Death Riders replace her with Kris Statlander.
Darby Allin also shows up to dive off a balcony because Darby is going to be Darby and do Darby things.
Hangman wins with consecutive Buckshot Lariats.
I hope this finally means Mox and the Death Riders are out of the title picture. The question remains, besides feuding with Darby Allin, what is next for them?
ROH Women’s Champion Athena and Billie Starkz defeated AEW Women’s Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm and Alex Windsor
Kudos to Storm for opting to take the pin. Made Athena and Starkz look like super-credible threats, and Athena looks like a pretty clear contender to possibly dethrone Toni Storm. Windsor looks great. She’s got charisma, in-ring persona, and smooth maneuvers throughout the match. Storm and Windsor make a solid team. Athena and Starkz’s tag team skills seemed to consistently outpace their opponents, which shows how their long-term union is a strong benefit. It helped show that while Storm and Windsor can effectively communicate as a team, Athena and Starks surpass it with a natural skill.
Backstage: MJF and Hangman get into it verbally, with Page calling MJF a coward and fears Mark Briscoe.
Good, that feud is not quite over yet.
Main Event: Mark Briscoe defeated Ricochet
Great main event. Ricochet’s selling never ceases to amaze. Ricochet constantly tried to keep Briscoe off-guard with fast-paced moves, but Briscoe would often show to be ready and they delivered some unexpected high flying offense of his own. Loads of interference with the Gates of Agony and then Brodido (yes… you read it right, Brody King and Bandido), adding more brawling and distraction. However, this did not benefit Ricochet after numerous reversals, Mark spikes him hard with the Jay Driller for the win.
After the match MJF showed up on the big screen to threaten Briscoe, however this was a pre-taped ploy as MJF ran into the ring to attack him. However, Hangman returned to the ring to confront MJF, however he winds up ducking and running away.
Hangman vs. MJF feels like a lock. However it seems Mark Briscoe may soon find his way into this championship story arc.
I’ll take Briscoe for #1 contender please.
