The Young Bucks defend the AEW Tag Team titles, plus Mercedes Mone defends the TBS Championship as the road to All In continues on tonight’s Dynamite.
The Jackson brothers will put their titles on the line against The Acclaimed after they defeated the Bucks in a recent eliminator match. A three-way program seems to be building for All In as The Acclaimed and FTR have been feuding on Collision.
Mone defends her title against Hikaru Shida with the winner defending against Britt Baker at All In.\
AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland will face Wheeler Yuta in a non-title match while Hangman Page will face Jay Lethal after a backstage brawl last week.
Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O’Reilly will decide which competitor earns the top spot in the casino gauntlet match set for All In.
Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada and Claudio Castagnoli will have a face-to-face segment, Hook will also speak on tonight’s episode, plus Mariah May will present a new film.
A Bryan Danielson career retrospective video set to Green Day’s “Good Riddance” (Time of Your Life)” is also scheduled.
AEW Dynamite comes on the air with Excalibur welcoming us alongside Tony Schiavone & Taz before throwing it to Justin Roberts for the intros for the opening title match of the evening.
Mercedes Mone (w/Kamille) defeated Hikaru Shida to retain the TBS Title
(I thought these two worked well with each other and kept a good pace throughout. While the Kamille interference wasn’t surprising, they kept her involvement in the match to a minimum and it allowed Shida & Mone to have a good opener. Baker got a huge reaction for her return in the post-match and this should be a great one come Wembley.)
While Mone got some CEO chants to start, it was the Shida chants that were much louder as both ladies traded early takedowns. Mone dodged a charge into a leaping arm drag and traded a series of pin attempts before both tried a dropkick that led to a stalemate. Shida connected on a snap hurricanrana, keeping Mone grounded before another exchange of near falls before Mone bailed as Shida tried a knee lift. Shida tried suplexing Mone in from the apron, but Kamille held onto Mone’s legs, allowing Mone to get a roll-up for two. Shida battled back with a tilt a whirl back breaker, but as she tried for her running knee while Mone was draped on the apron, Kamille stood in front of her. This allowed Mone to hit a Meteora off the apron and another low version back inside for two. Shida answered with an enzugiri, but Mone was there to answer with forearms. Reversals of whips led to a missile dropkick by Shida, who fired off forearms of her own and pump knee for two.
Mone floated over a suplex into a backstabber, but tried one too many Meteoras, as Shida dodged, took the fight into the corner, but Mone flew off the ropes with another Meteora for two. Mone got two out of Three Amigos, as Shida countered the final with a Falcon Arrow, as Shida did the deal for a close two. Kamille pulled Mone to safety outside, but ate a dropkick by Shida, who waffled her with the kendo stick. Shida went for another shot, but Mone took it away and argued with the ref, leading to Kamille hitting a big boot. Back inside, Mone connected on the Mone Maker for the victory.
Britt Baker’s music hit and Kamille was ready to fight at the ramp before sprinting over to a masked fan in the front row and beat them up, thinking it was Baker as was the case a few weeks ago. Baker appeared through the crowd, put on her glove and beat the hell out of Mone, but before the Lockjaw could be applied, Kamille pulled Mone to safety, dodging a Baker kendo stick shot.
We see the footage of the chaos that unfolded backstage after Dynamite went off the air last week and it led to Renee Paquette in the back with Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, Jeff & Karen Jarrett. Paquette said Hangman Adam Page has been a thorn in their side since returning and just as Jeff started to get riled up, Page ran in and beat Jarrett & Dutt up before brawling with Lethal to the ring to start their match.
Hangman Adam Page defeated Jay Lethal
(Hard hitting statement win for Page here, who controlled a majority of this one, with Lethal getting a few hope spots. After having lost his previous two singles matches since returning, this was a needed win for Page.)
Right as the bell sounded, Lethal hit five consecutive suicide dives that had the crowd going wild. Lethal brought Page to the apron, where Page immediately hit a Dead Eye on the edge of the ring before chucking Lethal over the timekeepers table as things went to commercial.
Lethal tried stringing together some offense when things returned, but Page was there to put a stop to the momentum with a Magnum T.A. belly to belly. A Death Valley Driver spiked Lethal for a near fall, as Page noticed he’s bleeding from the mouth and only became more pissed off. Page took too long to follow up, as Lethal got a series of close two counts before hitting the Lethal Combination. Page kicked free from a Figure Four and applied a Crossface, but Lethal countered into a roll-up for two. Lethal again went for the Figure Four, but Page raked the eyes and hit a wild discus lariat. The ref checked on Lethal, who slowly got to his feet and ate a Buckshot Lariat for the Page victory.
Footage of MJF defending the American Title against Michael Oku at the RevPro show, where Will Ospreay made an appearance, chasing MJF away before he could deliver a Tiger Driver to Amira, Oku’s manager. This led to a video package highlighting Ospreay’s rise over his career before coming to AEW. Ospreay said ever since he’s showed up, everyone has had to level up as a result. MJF said the best in the world isn’t Ospreay, it’s MJF, who is a generational talent. This was an excellent highlight reel leading up to a major match at All In 11 days from now.
PAC was backstage and asked the cameraman to tell him who the #1 contender was for the American Title, it’s not Will Ospreay, it’s him. PAC is sick of being constantly overlooked and treated like a bum. That was his ticket to his Wembley moment, but it’s ok, as PAC said he’ll face whoever walks out American Champion two weeks later at All Out in the same arena he beat Kenny Omega five years ago. He’ll show everyone what The Bastard is capable of.
Footage of Darby Allin defeating The Butcher on Rampage last week and also teaming with Hologram on Collision to defeat The Premier Athletes. We then get a video of Allin saying years ago he was killing himself on the independent circuit for nothing, until he heard of All Elite Wrestling starting up. Allin was living in his car when he heard AEW signed Jungle Boy Jack Perry and wondered “who the F is Jack Perry?” No one believed in his Tarzan BS, which is cool, he can be himself now, which is a child, who doesn’t deserve respect. Every week Allin goes out and kills himself and with all the stuff Perry has pulled recently, he wishes he would’ve gotten fired. At Wembley, they put this to an end.
Allin had his entrance in the arena, but was wiped out with a running knee by Jack Perry, who dragged him to the backstage area. Perry chucked Allin into loading boxes before Allin fought back briefly, only for Perry to rake the eyes and throw a trash can at him. Perry lowered a door onto Allin’s chest and was going to smash a crate into him, but security put a stop to it. Perry looked at the camera and said he wanted their match at Wembley to be a Coffin Match.
A black and white color scheme started the video, but Mariah May cut off asked if it’s better to be remembered or forgotten? To be put in the ground or go down in flames? May said she could be Toni Storm’s successes, but not her mistakes. This year, it’s All About Mariah, as Storm’s biggest mistake was being around the same time as May. The tears, the taste of Storm’s blood, May has better things to do. One day she’ll wonder, what ever happened to Toni Storm? Don’t worry, they’re both going to die, it’s just May who will write Storm’s eulogy. This was a real good vignette for May.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Mina Shirakawa, who said she has not heard from either May or Storm, but was left heartbroken after what happened. Shirakawa has never seen May be so vicious, nor Storm be so vengeful. She hopes neither woman winds up too hurt after All In.
Orange Cassidy defeated Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly to earn the #1 entry in the Casino Gauntlet at All In
(This was an action-packed triple threat, as these three beat the living crap out of each other and the crowd was hot throughout. The win gives Cassidy the first spot in the Casino Gauntlet for a future shot at the AEW World Title, a match that commentary stressed that this match can end at any time, so being first is a huge advantage. Credit to whomever the number 2 entrant is, as they didn’t have to go through such a hard hitting match like Cassidy did.)
Chops, kicks and counters aplenty out the gate before a three-way stalemate led to O’Reilly being sent outside. Strong lit up Cassidy with chops before O’Reilly ran in for a kitchen sink and a double team sent Strong outside. Cassidy connected on a suicide dive, but caught O’Reilly teasing a dive off the apron before he could leap, as The Conglomeration members politely held the ropes open for each other and grappled during picture in picture.
Back from break, Strong was controlling the action, hitting a Uranage on Cassidy on top of O’Reilly for a near fall. Strong lived up to his Messiah of the Backbreaker name by dishing out multiple ones before O’Reilly sent him outside. Fast sequence from O’Reilly & Cassidy, but as Cassidy was trapped in a rear naked choke, Strong tried to do a double Strong Hold, but couldn’t turn them over. Super loud chop from Strong on Cassidy in the corner, where O’Reilly cut them off. Cassidy was crotched on the top, as O’Reilly & Strong had a solid striking sequence as O’Reilly locked in the guillotine, but was in position for Cassidy to fall off the top with an elbow drop for a triple down. Matt Taven & Mike Bennett came to ringside, running distraction, but Mark Briscoe & Tomohiro Ishii put a stop to that, with Briscoe catapulted off a chair and a dive onto the pile before fighting The Kingdom to the back. All three competitors brawled on the floor before another commercial break.
Strong had Cassidy trapped in a cloverleaf, but O’Reilly cut it off and it led to a three-way strike exchange. Actually, it was an exchange between O’Reilly & Strong, with Cassidy just getting decked each revolution before the little kicks ramped up and Cassidy ran wild with a double hurricanrana with the fans going crazy. Tilt a whirl on Strong, who tossed Cassidy into a DDT on O’Reilly, which was a great visual. Everyone traded thrust kicks, before O’Reilly hit the Nigel lariat on Strong, locking in a leg lock, as Strong ate multiple PKs. O’Reilly & Strong hit a High Low on Cassidy, but both tried a cover and referee Bryce put a stop to it. O’Reilly & Strong slugged it out, as Cassidy ran into a Strong pump knee, while O’Reilly ate a Sick Kick. O’Reilly countered End of Heartache into a submission, but Cassidy was there to get a crucifix for the flash pin.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Claudio Castagnoli & Kazuchika Okada ahead of their Continental Title match next week. Castagnoli said he’s always felt like the Continental Title was his to lose, so when he lost the Continental Classic, it was tough. Castagnoli promises this time, he’ll make the title shot count. Okada mockingly applauded and said Castagnoli is very passionate. 12 guys fought for the Continental Title, but Okada is the champion, he’s a 4-time G1 Climax winner and Castagnoli will respect him. Okada said good luck, bitch, before walking away. Castagnoli said he hopes he doesn’t get The Elite lackey next week, he wants the true Rainmaker, the Tokyo Dome main eventer, as he’s bringing everything he’s got next week. Okada will have 99 problems and this bitch, will be number 1. Even though this happened backstage, the crowd reacted great throughout the segment.
Footage of the Trios Titles #1 Contenders match on Collision was shown between the House of Black & Bang Bang Gang with The Patriarchy laying them all out. Renee Paquette was backstage with The Patriarchy and asked how these titles will be defended at Wembley? Christian Cage said he called that match right down the middle and that’s on those teams for not winning that match. Cage is using the Trios Title as a vehicle to get back to the AEW World Title and will hold every title leading up to that happening. Cage said he won’t be there for his son Nick Wayne wrestling on Rampage against Kip Sabian, as he hates Norfolk, but Paquette questioned if that’s due to not wanting to be around teams wanting revenge for Collision? Cage told Paquette to get lost and go be a mother, hoping she’s a better mother than interviewer.
Tony Schiavone was in the ring and pointed to the rafters for the HOOK signal, as HOOK made his way to the ring, with his eye still bandaged after being blinded by Chris Jericho a month ago. Schiavone asked how the eye is doing and HOOK said he can’t see out of his eye, but he can see just fine out of the other one. HOOK said he wants to fight Jericho for his FTW Title right here and now in Norfolk.
Jericho & The Learning Tree came out to the stage and they called HOOK a stupid son of a bitch. Jericho acted like he was going to give HOOK what he wanted, but ultimately said no, as it’s not worth his time tonight, but it will be at Wembley. There are a few caveats, as this will be HOOK’s final FTW Title match and when he loses, he’ll walk away from the Jericho Vortex forever. The second stip being HOOK faces Big Bill next week. Bill said he’ll beat HOOK down and shove him up Taz’s ass, which got a chuckle from Taz on commentary. HOOK accepted and said he looks forward to dumping Big Bitch on his head and tearing Jericho limb from limb. After Wembley, Jericho will never, ever, be the same again.
The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) defeated The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens w/Daddy Ass) via disqualification to retain the AEW World Tag Team Titles
(While commentary did mention it, to say this match has been long overdue is an understatement, as this is the first title defense of The Bucks since regaining them at Dynasty back in April. The Acclaimed also earned this shot 2 months ago, their last standard tag match together. Regardless of The Bucks being heel champs and having “limited dates”, not having a tag title match/program for the last 4 months is pretty ridiculous, especially with the number of talented teams AEW have on their roster, After all this wait, the match itself was just an ok TV match, with The Bucks controlling a majority of it. The finish wasn’t surprising, as FTR has been back in this picture since feuding with The Acclaimed the last few weeks.)
Caster & Bowens attacked The Bucks on the stage before the match officially began, as Bowens dove off the stage onto both men. As the match spilled to the ring, The Bucks gained control, as Nicholas held up the Tag Titles to the crowd as the bell sounded. Bowens hit an over-the-top bulldog on Matthew for a quick two, as Daddy Ass walked to the ring to a huge ovation. Double team by The Acclaimed, before a blind tag by Nicholas led to a pop-up dropkick on Caster. The Bucks controlled the action during commercial.
Back from break, Matthew escaped Scissor Me Timbers, but rolled to the floor and found himself trapped between Caster & Billy Gunn. Nicholas took out Caster with a kick, as Gunn chased him around ringside with a chair, but referee Rick Knox caught and ejected Gunn. Caster was isolated, but Nicholas ripped up a Dung Bucks sign ringside, which allowed Caster to battle back, avoiding attacks as The Bucks ran into each other for the 15%. Bowens made the tag, but was immediately hit with an assisted Sliced Bread and PK for two. Bowens was now the one isolated going into a second break.
Caster finally made the hot tag and ran wild with Sling Blades as a shout out to their buddy Hiroshi Tanahashi before pressing Matthew over his head face first in the corner and wiping out Nicholas with a slingshot dive. Top rope cross body pin attempt was cut off, as all four men dodged double clotheslines before everyone collided for the reset. Caster missed a corner splash, allowing Nicholas to try a Swanton, but Caster got the knees up. As Caster reached for Bowens, Matthew was there to hit a powerbomb off the apron onto the stage on Bowens. Caster kept reaching for the tag, despite seeing his partner just taken out, as The Bucks went for the TK Driver, but Rick Knox got smashed and bumped long enough for Matthew to hit a low kick.
Matthew threw a tag title into the ring, but FTR appeared to stop it from happening. Dax Harwood took the belt away and Matthew spat in his face, causing Harwood to shoot a double leg and Knox saw it happen, calling the match, giving The Bucks a DQ win. Billy Gunn came to the ring with security and The Acclaimed & FTR had to be separated. Renee Paquette was backstage with a furious Christopher Daniels, who said the Tag Team Title picture might be complicated, but he has a simple solution. The Acclaimed vs. FTR with the winners facing The Young Bucks at All In for the Tag Titles.
A phenomenal video package for Bryan Danielson is shown ahead of the Title vs. Career match at All In against Swerve Strickland. Green Day’s Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) was the backing track to the highlights of Danielson’s career in AEW and around the world, including Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and the Wrestling Road Diaries documentary as well. It ended with Danielson saying “if you fight for your dreams, your dreams will fight for you.” I can’t stress how great this was.
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