Reviews

The John Report: AEW Dynamite 03/09/22 Review

By John Canton • Published 9th March 2022
aew dynamite march 9 sammy

This week’s AEW Dynamite was the follow up to Revolution from last Sunday with AEW announcing Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson as a tag team, plus the AEW World, TNT & Tag Team Titles on the line and more.

I enjoyed the Revolution pay-per-view on Sunday. Lots of action. No title changes, but it was fun to watch.

This is AEW Dynamite episode #127 at the Hertz Arena in Fort Myers, Florida. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. Let’s get to it.

It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means. Jim Ross welcomed us to the show with Excalibur on commentary along with Tony Schiavone.

Let’s Hear from Chris Jericho

The great Chris Jericho made his entrance for some opening show promo time to talk about his loss to Eddie Kingston at Revolution this past Sunday. Jericho said that at Revolution it was one of the greatest nights of his professional career even though his neck is sore and he tapped out to Eddie had to the Stretch Plum. Jericho said it was one of the best matches of his AEW career so far. Jericho said that Eddie awakened something inside of him. Jericho noted that he didn’t live up to his word because he refused to shake Eddie’s hand. The fans chanted “shake his hand” at Jericho with Chris saying that’s what he has been telling himself. Jericho called out Kingston saying he wanted to shake his hand.

Eddie Kingston made his entrance to cheers wearing a shirt featuring “The Pillars” of Japanese wrestling. Eddie got in the ring with Jericho saying that they are going to get real deep. Eddie said that on the Friday night before Revolution, he didn’t want to show up. Eddie wanted to go out and drink, he wanted to forget his problems and he wanted the poison to eat at him again. Eddie talked about how Jericho got in Eddie’s head while Eddie has spoken about the big matches he has lost against guys like Mox, Punk, Miro and others. Some fans were doing the “WHAT” chant so Eddie told the fans to stop and said Steve Austin wasn’t coming out here. Eddie talked about how before the match he had people going up to him saying that his article in the Players Tribune saved them. Eddie said after the match, he went to the hotel room and he cried. Eddie spoke to the people at the fan fest saying he did that for them. Eddie told Jericho that the handshake was for Chris while saying that sounds like a Chris Jericho problem. Eddie said he showed him respect because it was a man that he looked up to and respected for being in the J Cup while going in there with Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko. Eddie said that Jericho proved that he is still the man and he is still number one. Eddie wondered if that was enough for Jericho and is that why he didn’t shake Eddie’s hand?

Jericho said that everything Eddie has said was right. Jericho talked about how he couldn’t sleep. Jericho told Eddie he had his undying respect, he thanked Eddie for one of the best matches of his career and Jericho wanted Eddie to shake his hand. Jericho extended the hand, Jericho shook it and Eddie put his head down in tribute to him.

The trio of Daniel Garcia and 2.0 went out there go after Jericho and Kingston. They were attacking Kingston and Jericho, who was grabbing his neck. Santana & Ortiz from The Inner Circle ran out there with Santana beating up Garcia while Ortiz had a bat in his hands. Jericho got a hold of the bat and turned on Santana & Ortiz by hitting them with the baseball bat! Heel turn! Jericho worked with Garcia and 2.0 to attack Kingston, Santana & Ortiz. Jake Hager ran out there wondering what Jericho was doing and then Hager went after Ortiz as well. The 2.0 guys hit a double Implant DDT on Ortiz. Garcia applied a Sharpshooter variation on Santana. Jericho continued to attack with the baseball bat. Lee and Parker from 2.0 held Kingston, so Jericho hit Eddie in the head with the baseball bat. Hager got a hold of Kingston by the apron, they set up a table on the floor and Hager gave Kingston a Powerbomb through the table. Ouch. That was a rough landing.

Chris Jericho did a promo saying that this is the Jericho Appreciation Society. Jericho posed with Garcia, Lee, Parker and Hager by having all five guys doing a middle finger salute.

Analysis: This was awesome. I loved it. There’s a heel turn from Jericho leading to a new stable while The Inner Circle is no more. There was no sign of Sammy Guevara from The Inner Circle, nor was he even mentioned. It looked like Jericho was going to fight with Kingston against the three heels, but then it was the turn from Jericho and Hager joined in as well. From a logical standpoint, you can ask why did nobody like referees or security tried to help the faces? It’s because they wanted to get this new heel stable over and that’s what happened. I like heel Jericho more than the face version, so having him go heel is certainly fine with me. The company obviously sees a lot in Garcia, which should lead to Jericho mentoring him like he did with Sammy Guevara. The 2.0 team isn’t prominently featured, but they are veterans that know how to be heels. Hager is fitting as the power guy that remains loyal to Jericho. The name “Jericho Appreciation Society” is fine too.

A video aired about CM Punk beating MJF in the epic Dog Collar Match at Revolution when Wardlow refused to help MJF after MJF called on him to help. A bloody CM Punk looked into the camera to say: “Long live CM Punk.”

Analysis: No CM Punk or MJF on the show other than that. Both of them have been on TV regularly this year. A week off Dynamite to sell the brutal, bloody Dog Collar Match is understandable.

The first match was an AEW World Title match with Dante Martin entering as the challenger followed by AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page.

AEW World Championship: “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Dante Martin

They exchanged some moves early, Martin got a jumping kick to the head and then he tried a cross body block with Page catching him in his arms. Page rolled with Martin in his arms and hit a fallaway slam. Page hit a springboard clothesline to knock Martin off the apron to the floor. The show went to a picture in picture break.

(Commercial)

Page sent Martin to the apron, Martin got a kick to the head and then he went up top with a missile dropkick. Page went to the apron, Martin kicked him off the apron to the floor and then Martin hit a moonsault off the turnbuckle onto a standing Page on the floor. Back in the ring, Martin jumped off with a dropkick, Page caught him and hit a sitout Powerbomb for a two count. Good spot. They battled on the apron going for moves, but Page managed to set Martin back into the ring leading to Page hitting the Buckshot Lariat for the pinfall win after about eight minutes. Martin ran right into the lariat leading to a flip bump.

Winner by pinfall: “Hangman” Adam Page

Analysis: *** A good win for the AEW World Championship. It’s nice to them to book a match that doesn’t go too long. It was long enough to give Page a decisive victory. Martin showed off his athleticism, it’s not like anybody thought Martin was going to win, but I admire his guts and he’s a fun guy to watch. I don’t really like the way they did the Buckshot Lariat because Martin ran right into it making it look silly although I understand why he did it so that he can get more air on his flip.

Page was interviewed in the ring by Tony Schiavone. Page called for Dante to get back in the ring. Page said that for the last year, Martin did the unthinkable when his brother got hurt and he made it all the way to earn a shot at the World Championship. Page said he knows Dante’s brother back Darius is back and they’ll go after the Tag Team Titles while also letting Dante know that he would love to do it again some day.

Adam Cole appeared to tell Page that he took Page to his limit and Hangman got a fluke victory against Cole. That led to Cole saying that Page got lucky and anybody can get lucky once. Cole said next week on Dynamite, he wanted to have a six-man tag team match. Cole said he has two specific young men in mind – two guys that know Page better than he knows himself and they are Cole’s friends, not Page’s friends. Cole said that he is going to make Page’s life a living hell because Page’s days as the AEW World Champion are numbered and Cole will not stop until he gets what he wants and deserves. Cole said he will not stop until he hears “AND New AEW World Champion…Adam Cole bay bay.” Page’s music hit to end it.

Analysis: A six-man tag team match for next week is cool with me. I can see them doing Page/Cole as a singles match on TV within the next month. I think Page’s next PPV opponent at Double or Nothing in May is going to be CM Punk unless they go with multiple opponents. There’s plenty of time to get there.

(Commercial)

Bryan Danielson made his entrance being accompanied by the great William Regal, who is making his Dynamite debut after he appeared at Revolution on Sunday. Jon Moxley made his entrance in the back part of the arena with the fans singing along to “Wild Thing” as usual.

Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson (w/William Regal) vs. Anthony Henry & JD Drake

Moxley worked over Drake with kicks, a forearm and a belly to back suplex. Bryan tagged in with kicks to the chest of Drake with the fans chanting “yes” for them and a kick to the head. Henry tagged in with punches, Bryan kneed him in the ribs and kicked him in the back. Moxley pounded on Henry in the corner, then Bryan was back in with chops/kicks on Henry as well and Bryan applied the surfboard submission. Moxley tagged in to bite Henry in the forehead along with a hard chop to the chest. Moxley with a suplex into a slam. Henry broke free with a kick followed by a missile dropkick off the top. Drake tagged in with punches, Moxley with an open hand palm strike, Moxley tagged in Bryan and Moxley hit a dive onto Henry on the floor although he barely touched him. Bryan hit a running knee on Drake. Moxley with a Paradigm Shift on Henry on the floor. Bryan stomped on Drake’s head followed by the LeBell Lock submission for the tapout win. It went five minutes.

Winners by submission: Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson

Analysis: *3/4 An easy win for Moxley & Danielson beating a couple of guys who were obviously going to get their asses kicked as soon as the bell rang. It was simple as that.

The trio of Moxley, Danielson and Regal were interviewed by Tony Schiavone with Tony calling him “Your Lordship” as Regal smiled. Regal said it’s been 29 years since he came to America and they were on TBS together. Regal said that he’s 53 now, he’s lived more than a hard life and he made it that way in battles in the ring and through his life. Regal said he knows he’s not long for this world while ripping on Tony for not finding a decent tailor in this time. Regal said that this is the first time that he gets to thank Tony on camera because Tony helped him in more ways than you can ever imagine. Regal said that Tony was one of the people that really helped him. The fans cheered. Regal said that he’s no longer required in his old job while adding that in the past few months he’s checked out of the business he’s been part of for 39 years now. Regal said somebody told him Danielson mentioned Regal while adding that he’s known Danielson 21 years and he found out Danielson would face Moxley. Regal said that any time Bryan’s name was mentioned, his name was mentioned with him. Regal said if somebody wants to work hard, he will make them a better professional wrestler. Regal said the first thing he’ll do is tell him everything not to do and that will save him. Regal said that Danielson is the wrestler that he should have been and he is the “perfect wrestler.” Regal spoke about how he would train wrestlers, others would leave and Danielson would stay until the wee hours of the morning. Regal said that Danielson became what Regal didn’t become because Bryan doesn’t have the problems that Regal has.

Regal said that 11 years ago he met Moxley. Regal said that when he knew they were going to have a match at Revolution, he saw them do it the right way and he came out there. Regal said that they were the perfect wrestler in Bryan and the sadistic person like Moxley that will take things to another level. Regal delivered a warning to anybody that steps in the ring with them: “You will not like the outcome. You will either step up or get stepped on.” Moxley’s music played to end it.

Analysis: That was a great promo from Regal. It’s cool to see him in AEW in a role like this. Regal calling Danielson the perfect wrestler is something I would agree with as well and Regal also admitted that he couldn’t be that because of his personal problems. Regal had an alcohol addiction earlier in his life, so that’s what he was referring to. Anyway, I like this duo of Moxley & Danielson that are probably going to win a lot of tag team matches leading to a title match in the coming months.

The Dark Order group was about to be interviewed by Alex Marvez and “Hangman” Adam Page walked up to them saying he lost his temper at Revolution, so he said sorry. John Silver asked who is Page going to team with next week? Page let them know he saw Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus, so it’s going to be them. Silver said he had a “beard appointment” next week anyway and the whole thing was awkward. Page left.

Analysis: Poor Dark Order nerds. Page picked somebody other than them. The Dark Order is barely on the show in matches due to how deep the AEW roster is.

Wheeler Yuta made his entrance with the Best Friends group. Orange Cassidy had a sling on his arm due to a rough bump at Revolution. Pac entered with his buddies Penta and Alex.

Pac vs. Wheeler Yuta

The match started with not much going on and they went to picture in picture break in the first 30 seconds.

(Commercial)

Yuta worked over Pac with punches, Pac tried to send him out of the ring, but Yuta went back in and hit a German Suplex. Yuta with a jumping kick to the head. Yuta went up top and hit a cross body block onto a standing Pac for a two count. Pac with a kick to the gut leading to a German Suplex with a bridge for a two count. They went up top with Pac hitting a brainbuster. Pac slapped on his Brutalizer submission on Yuta, who tapped out quickly. That was it after six minutes.

Winner by submission: Pac

Analysis: *3/4 A quick match to put over Pac. Simple enough. It was a random match with no story, so I guess somebody felt like Pac needed a win. Normally they have matches with more of a purpose. If you’re only going to go six minutes, do the commercial before the match and show the whole match. How many times do I have to write that during AEW shows? It’s been over 120 episodes of it.

Adam Cole was standing backstage with the Young Bucks and Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish with Cole talking about how they didn’t win at Revolution. Cole talked about next week he has a six-man tag team match against Hangman and friends. Matt of the Young Bucks said they didn’t want to compete against Hangman, then Cole told them he was picking Kyle/Bobby anyway. Cole left with Kyle/Bobby while Young Bucks were left alone and Brandon the camera guy said he’d pick the Young Bucks to team with. They told Brandon to shut up, which is always good.

The Andrade/Hardy Family Office board meeting was up next.

(Commercial)

The FTR team of Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler and Tully Blanchard were interviewed by Alex Marvez. Harwood was fired up doing a promo about his family while Tully said that it’s about AEW winning the championships for the second time. Wheeler said that this is about family, Tully is not in it and Wheeler told Tully he was fired.

Analysis: That felt random to just take Tully out like that. I like FTR as my favorite team in AEW, so I just hope they are used better in the future. The fact that they can’t even get on a PPV with eleven matches was discouraging.

The AHFO Group Has Issues

The AHFO group was in the ring with Andrade El Idolo in the ring joined by Jose along with Matt Hardy, Private Party, The Butcher and The Blade. Hardy said that he apologized to his guys because every time he put on a suit he turned into an asshole, which Andrade and Jose know about. Fans chanted “Asshole” at Andrade. Matt said that they can take a vote to try to vote Matt out of the AHFO group. Matt noted his guys Private Party will never vote him out. Andrade and Jose voted thumbs down at Matt, then Private Party had thumbs up and then they changed their mind with thumbs down. Andrade told Matt that in this business you always need to watch your back. Andrade knocked down Matt with a punch to the back. The Butcher & The Blade also joined in the attack. Andrade bounced off the ropes leading to a running kick to Matt’s head. The fans were chanting “Jeff” for Jeff Hardy, but no sign of him yet.

Darby Allin made his entrance with uncle Sting by his side. They went into the ring to fight the six guys that were in there. Allin went after Private Party, but he was overpowered. Butcher and Blade beat up Sting. That’s when some familiar music hit as the Hardy Boys theme song hit and Jeff Hardy ran out to the clear the ring. It was Jeff’s AEW debut. The faces cleared the ring except for Matt hitting the Twist of Fate on Blade. Jeff jumped off the top and hit a Swanton Bomb on The Blade. The fans popped huge for Jeff hugging Matt in the ring. Allin and Sting stared at the Hardy Boys in the ring while the fans cheered at the Hardy Boys song playing.

Analysis: It really wasn’t a secret that Jeff Hardy was headed to AEW. His WWE no-compete clause just expired, so they used him as soon as they could. The storyline made sense since Matt was getting turned on by the guys he was working with in AEW, which is an easy way to bring Jeff back in a heroic moment. This should lead to Jeff & Matt becoming a regular tag team in AEW leading to a lot of tag team matches with the incredibly deep tag team division that already exists. Good for Jeff landing in AEW. I thought WWE was dumb to release him. The story about AEW using the song is that WWE didn’t own it, so I guess AEW bought it.

They showed Shane “Swerve” Strickland backstage being interviewed by Tony Schiavone. Tony Nese showed up to interrupt. They set up a match for Rampage on Friday.

(Commercial)

Let’s Hear from Wardlow

Tony Schiavone was in the ring and he brought out the “Face of the Revolution” Wardlow, who earned a TNT Title match at Revolution. Tony said that they were happy about what Wardlow did to MJF at Revolution. Wardlow said that he received nothing but disrespect from Max for years. Wardlow said that he found himself spending his life making sure Max was fulfilling his dreams. Wardlow knew that Max wasn’t a good person and you have to forgive him for associating with such trash, but to be honest with you guys he grew up very poor. Wardlow talk about how he had to watch his mother struggle to raise himself and two older sisters. Wardlow knew he wanted to be a professional wrestler, but he knew it would provide him, his mother and his future family with a better life. Wardlow said Max paid him a lot of money, so he thanks him for that, but it does not give you the right to respect them and their family as well as put your hands on them. Wardlow said when Max slapped him last week, that was when Max did the wrong thing. Wardlow said he’s still under contract with Max, but he is no longer watching his back while noting that he is no longer his bodyguard. Wardlow said he is no longer a member of The Pinnacle and he is finally free. There were “Wardlow” chants. Wardlow wanted Max to release him from this BS contract. Wardlow said that he can wash his hands of Max and move. Wardlow said the only thing he cares about is winning the TNT Title and obtaining a new contract. Wardlow said after years of giving, it’s his turn to take and he wants it all. Wardlow said that All Elite Wrestling is officially Wardlow’s World. End promo.

Analysis: Good job on that promo by Wardlow. I had never heard him talk that long before. I think the whole thing about Wardlow having a contract with MJF is probably going to lead to a match where MJF can say Wardlow is free if he beats MJF in a match and Wardlow will get the ring. I can also see Wardlow winning the TNT Title or maybe MJF will cost him the match. Anyway, the fans clearly like Wardlow a lot, he’s been pushed quite a bit for months now and he’s a homegrown AEW talent that is probably going to continue to dominate in 2022.

Keith Lee and QT Marshall were interviewed by Alex Marvez. Marshall claimed that he thinks they had a common enemy in Team Taz. Marshall said that he noticed Lee has an issue with Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs. Marshall let Lee know that The Factory and QT have his back. Lee mentioned he has a large back while letting Marshall know that he’s “good” on his own. Lee left. Marshall said that was a mistake by Keith.

Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy entered as the AEW Tag Team Champions with Christian Cage by their side. The Acclaimed duo of Max Caster & Anthony Bowens entered as the opponents. Max did a pre-match rap as usual.

AEW Tag Team Championships: Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus vs. The Acclaimed – Max Caster & Anthony Bowens

Boy was isolated early on, but then he cleaned house with a headscissors followed by a dropkick to Caster. Luchasaurus tagged in with a chop and punches on Caster. Luchasaurus with a body slam on Caster while Boy tagged in with a splash over Luchasaurus onto Caster. Bowens pulled Boy out of the ring, Caster knocked Boy down and Bowens hit a spinning forearm on Boy to knock him down on the floor.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Luchasaurus getting the tag leading to his flurry of offense with running splashes along with a double clothesline. The action spilled to the floor, Luchasaurus tried to fight both guys and then Boy hit a dive onto both heels. Luchasaurus used his legs to slam Bowens to the mat, Luchasaurus with a Chokeslam to Caster and then a moonsault for two with Bowens breaking up the pin. Boy tagged in, he was knocked down and Acclaimed sent Luchasaurus out of the ring. Bowens with a superkick on Boy, then a side slam and Caster hit the elbow drop off the top called the Mic Drop double team move, but Luchasaurus broke up the pin. Bowens fought with Luchasaurus, Caster kicked Luchasaurus into the barricade and The Acclaimed hit a combination double team slam for a two count. Caster tried to use a steel chain, Christian pulled him out of the ring and Luchasaurus punched Caster to knock him down. Boy with a rollup for two. Luchasaurus tagged in, Boy tagged back in and they hit a Doomsday Device double team clothesline while Luchasaurus kicked Caster off the apron to the floor. Boy covered Bowens for the pinfall win. It went about ten minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus

Analysis: ***1/4 A good match as usual from two talented tag teams. Once again it’s a match where the winner wasn’t in doubt at all. They still had that cool nearfall for The Acclaimed. Nice finish by the champs to win.

They showed TBS Champion Jade Cargill and Smart Mark Sterling doing a promo wondering who was next. Jade wondered who wanted to receive the Kiss of Death on That Bitch Show. They did not name any challenger.

It was time for the lone women’s match on the show with Leyla Hirsch out first followed by Thunder Rosa. They usually only have one women’s match.

Leyla Hirsch vs. Thunder Rosa

The winner gets an AEW Women’s Title match. Rosa lost to Baker at Revolution on Sunday, but it was a cheap loss. They did some mat wrestling with the announcers talking about how there was too much interference at Revolution in Rosa’s match. Rosa with two arm drags followed by a dropkick. Hirsch avoided a Thunder Driver slam and then wrenches on the arm. They went to a picture in picture break.

(Commercial)

Rosa was in control with a dropkick to the back against the ropes. Rosa with another dropkick and a Northern Lights Suplex for two. Rosa with a corner clothesline. Leyla hit a suplex coming out of the corner. Leyla went up top, Rosa stopped her there with punches and they tried to balance for a superplex, but then they just opted to go for it off the middle rope. Rosa with a neckbreaker into the knee followed by a running clothesline for a two count. Leyla wrenched on the arm against the ropes. Leyla went for a wrench under the ring, but Red Velvet showed up to stop that and toss Leyla back into the ring. Leyla tripped up Rosa going for an armbar, but Rosa got her foot on the bottom rope forcing the break. Rosa with a sunset flip for two. Ley went for a knee, Rosa avoided it and Rosa hit a Thunder Driver for the pinfall win after eight minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Thunder Rosa

Analysis: ** A simple match to put over Rosa. It was another very predictable match on the show. Leyla is pushed a bit, but not that much and it was not a shock that Rosa won. Having Red Velvet go out there to stop Leyla from cheating is fine because Thunder was screwed out of a win at Revolution, so at least this time she had some help.

The win by Thunder Rosa means she gets an AEW Women’s Title match. Tony Schiavone was on the stage saying that it was one year ago when Rosa had that memorable Lights Out match with Britt Baker at the St. Patrick’s Day Slam. Tony said that he heard from Tony Khan that Rosa’s match against Baker next week will be inside a Steel Cage.

Dr. Britt Baker DMD was backstage with the AEW Women’s Title with Rebel and Jamie Hayter by her said. Baker wondered why Rosa got an eliminator match after Baker already beat her and said it was conspiracy shit. Baker ripped on Rosa for being “carny riff-raff” saying that a year ago, Rosa got the win, but Baker is the one that really won.

Analysis: I think Thunder Rosa will win the title next week in her hometown of San Antonio in a Steel Cage Match. I picked Rosa to win at Revolution, she got screwed out of it and then when I realized they were in her hometown next week, it seemed obvious that they were saving the title change for Dynamite next Wednesday.

They did a rundown of what’s coming up on next week’s Dynamite and Rampage. Poor Excalibur had to talk so fast while the graphics moved very quickly as well. I find it comical that they have to rush through it so quickly every week.

(Commercial)

The TNT Title match was the main event. Scorpio Sky made his entrance with a graphic noting that he had not lost a singles match in 364 days, which is one day shy of one year. I looked it up and none of those wins were in televised matches. They were all on Youtube shows. Sky had Ethan Page and Dam Lambert with him. They showed Paige Vanzant watching at ringside. Sammy Guevara entered as the TNT Champion and Sammy still has two TNT Titles for some reason.

TNT Championship: Sammy Guevara vs. Scorpio Sky

They quickly left the ring with Sammy whipping Sky into the barricade a few times. Sammy pulled a table out from under the ring that he set up on the floor. Sammy sent Sky into the steel steps. Sammy with a superkick followed by another whip into the barricade. Sammy stared at the hard camera to tell us he was crazy as he took his time getting to the top rope, then Sammy jumped off with a 630 Splash, Sky moved and Sammy went crashing through the table. Ouch. That was brutal. The ringside doctor Dr. Sampson was there and Tay Conti ran out there to check on her boyfriend Sammy. The show went to commercial.

(Commercial)

During the picture in picture break, Sammy was selling the table bump a lot and Doc/Tay wanted him to go to the back, but Sammy pushed them aside.

Sammy told the referee Bryce Remsburg he wanted to keep fighting. There were only about five minutes left in the show Sky worked over Sammy punches and he tossed Sammy out of the ring. Sky kissed Sammy on the cheek in front of Tay and then Paige Vanzant got in Tay’s face, but Tay walked away from her. Sky hit a backbreaker while Sammy screamed in pain holding the lower back. Sky hit another backbreaker. Sky drove his knee to the back while pulling back on Sammy’s face. Sammy went off the ropes, got a rollup for two and fought back with a back elbow followed by a back heel kick. Sammy hit a double jump springboard Cutter for a two count with Sky shooting his right shoulder up. Sky went for the TKO, Sammy slipped out with a thrust kick and Sammy hit the GTH knee to the head. Sammy went up top, he jumped off with a Shooting Star Press and Sky got the knees up to block the move. Lambert was on the apron, Ethan Page was on the other side, Conti tried to stop him and Vanzant attacked Tay with a forearm to the back. Van Zant sent Tay into the steel steps. Sammy was watching all of that happen, so Sky hit the TKO on Sammy for the pinfall win after about 12 minutes.

Winner by pinfall AND NEW TNT Champion: Scorpio Sky

Analysis: ***1/4 A good match here that was heavy in story with Sammy selling the back injury for the second half of the match. Sky is a talented veteran that can work many different styles, so they matched up well. While I didn’t expect a title change going into the match, I figured after Sammy’s big bump through the table that it was possible he was going to lose. Sky took advantage of the chaos at ringside to get a hold of Sammy and hit the TKO for the win. The TNT Title has changed hands a lot while the AEW World Title has been booked with long title reigns. I guess AEW feels they should have one of the men’s titles changing hands a lot, so they go with the TNT Title. That’s fine with me.

Scorpio Sky celebrated with the two TNT Titles in his hands. Tay Conti went into the ring where Vanzant hit her from behind again. Tay landed on top of Sammy. Paige Vanzant signed her AEW contract on Tay Conti’s butt and dropped the contract in the ring. Sky celebrated with his friends. That was end of the show.

Analysis: Scorpio Sky defends the TNT Title next week against Wardlow, who earned the title shot at Revolution. I expect Wardlow to win the title there unless he gets screwed out of the win.

Three Stars of the Show

  1. Chris Jericho
  2. Scorpio Sky/Sammy Guevara
  3. William Regal – Welcome to AEW.

Also, welcome Jeff Hardy to AEW as well.

The Scoreboard

This Week: 7.5 out of 10

Last Week: 7.5

Final Thoughts

A very good show as usual from AEW. The match quality wasn’t as strong as their better episodes, but coming off a PPV with amazing matches I think that’s okay. Scorpio Sky pinning Sammy Guevara for the TNT Title wasn’t something I expected going into the match. However, I liked how it was booked in a way that was heavy in story rather than doing the cool moves without much of a story. Having a story is always better to me.

I thought the best segment of the show was the opening with Chris Jericho turning heel against Eddie Kingston as well as Santana & Ortiz to put an end to the Inner Circle group. Jericho is now leading the Jericho Appreciation Society with Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia and the 2.0 tag team. That’s fine with me because I like Jericho more as a heel.

The AEW debut of Jeff Hardy is something that will get people talking for sure. It should lead to Jeff and brother Matt having one more Hardy Boys reunion, perhaps for the last time since they are in their 40s. I also liked the William Regal promo talking about his history with Bryan Danielson as well as his role as a manager of sorts for Danielson/Moxley. Lots of talented people joining AEW. No doubt about that.

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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs. You can contact me using any of the methods below.

John Canton

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter: @johnreport