The John Report: AEW Dynamite 06/01/22 Review

This week’s AEW Dynamite featured a big ten-man tag team match, plus new AEW World Champion CM Punk teaming with FTR in a six-man tag, MJF delivering a very memorable promo and a whole lot more.

We are into the month of June for AEW Dynamite following an entertaining Double or Nothing pay-per-view this past Sunday. The only title change was a big one with CM Punk winning the AEW World Championship from “Hangman” Adam Page. I thought that was the best match of the show with the Anarchy in the Arena as my next favorite match. This Dynamite is AEW’s Los Angeles debut, which is a big deal since it’s the second biggest city in the US and fans in California have been clamoring for a show there for three years.

This was AEW Dynamite episode #139 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles (go Super Bowl Champion LA Rams!), California.

It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means. Jim Ross was on commentary joined by Excalibur and Tony Schiavone.

The show started with an impressive pyro display. The new AEW World Champion CM Punk was up first to a huge ovation. Punk put the belt down so that he could dive into the crowd. It would seem like he knew the guys that he jumped on just based on how he was laughing and interacting with them. Punk was joined by the Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler), who are babyfaces now. There was a long ramp on the way to the ring, but not connected to the ring. They had about 14,000+ fans in attendance for this show.

The opponents were Gunn Club and “Platinum” Max Caster, who did a pre-show rap. Caster rapped that he’s going to make y’all pay like Amber Heard (a timely reference if you follow the news), then he mocked Punk’s looks and claimed FTR had to ride Punk’s coattails to get on the show. He said “Bret Hart’s trash boys” and they’re going to get served by The Acclaimed and The Ass Boys. So he rhymed boys with boys? I don’t think it’s a rhyme when you do it that way. The Ass Boys said the wrong city (that’s their gimmick), so then Anthony Bowens could say the right city and The Acclaimed have arrived.

CM Punk, Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler vs. Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn & Max Caster (w/Billy Gunn & Anthony Bowens)

Harwood started with Austin with not much going on other than Austin doing a shove that pissed off Dax. Harwood knocked down Austin with a back elbow. Wheeler tagged in and legal man Colten sent him into the turnbuckle. Wheeler with a back body drop, dropkick and arm drag on Colten. Caster tagged in, Wheeler landed on his feet after a double team and Punk tagged in for the first time with a double axhandle on Caster’s left arm. Caster sent Punk into the turnbuckle while the fans were chanting for Punk. Caster charged into a boot by Punk followed by Punk hitting a cross body block off the top on Caster. Wheeler hit a powerslam off the middle rope, Harwood tagged in and covered for two. Caster hit a belly to back suplex on Harwood, Austin tagged in and tripped up Harwood to prevent a tag. Colten tagged in with punches, then a dropkick and Austin hit a neckbreaker on Harwood for two. Harwood was fighting against three guys in the heel corner and even Billy Gunn got in a shot. When Harwood broke free, Austin and Caster pulled Harwood’s partners off the apron. The Ass/Gunn Boys hit a double flapjack on Harwood for a two count. They went to a picture in picture break.

(Commercial)

The match came back with Punk getting a hot tag that saw Punk giving Wheeler a back body drop over the top onto two guys on the floor. Punk with a clothesline, then he went up top and hit an elbow drop on Austin. Billy distracted Punk, so Austin got a rollup for two. Punk blocked a Fameasser attempt and then tossed Austin into Billy to knock him down. Punk tagged in both partners, Punk hit the GTS and FTR hit the Big Rig for the pinfall win after 12 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: CM Punk, Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler

Analysis: *** The match was okay with the heels getting plenty of offense even though it was obvious they had no chance to win. This is the kind of match that should go about seven minutes at the most instead of 12 minutes. There’s no need to stretch it out longer when you have so many other matches on the card. Anyway, Punk hitting the GTS followed by FTR hitting the Big Rig was a great way to end it. Somebody will complain about be saying that the match went too long when it’s an obvious result, but it’s something AEW does all the time. Nobody is going to care about nearfalls when you know that one team has no chance to win, so don’t go 12 minutes. End it sooner. That’s all I’m saying.

Post match, CM Punk did a promo saying that he’s never done drugs in his life but he imagines this is what it feels like (I guess he’s on a high in terms of happiness). Punk said that he still has a lot of work to do, he has roads to travel and he knows he has to get better because that’s what this championship is all about. Punk talked about learning moments and he’s going to get better. Punk said you can call him what you want whether it’s positive or negative, but you gotta call him The Champ. Harwood said that those things that Punk hasn’t done, he has done and it feels good to do those things (meaning drugs). Harwood gave a shoutout to his wife and daughter saying they are the only thing that mean more to him than pro wrestling. Harwood said that if you’re from a different company or the same company, he said sorry David Finlay bring your ass out here and let me kick your ass.

CM Punk mentioned New Japan Pro Wrestling saying they have some of the best, but he’s in the ring with two of the best. Punk said that at Forbidden Door, he knows he is back there, so show him who he has got at Forbidden Door.

There was a video that aired showing Hiroshi Tanahashi and that led to Tanahashi making his entrance to a big ovation. Punk held up the title in the ring while Tanahashi was pointing at him, so it appears we’ll get Punk vs. Tanahashi at Forbidden on Sunday, June 26th.

Analysis: That’s a huge match to do with Punk facing Tanahashi, who is one of the best NJPW wrestlers ever. I think Punk will beat Tanahashi. I assume Okada will be on the card and he’ll probably win his match. I’m sure the rest of the card will be very interesting full of fresh matchups as well. Some fans will care about it more than others. I will certainly watch it and enjoy it. Is The Pinnacle still a group, by the way? I guess not. Let’s just ignore that it was a thing, I guess.

The announcers did a rundown of what’s coming up on this week’s Dynamite.

Let’s Hear from MJF

Maxwell Jacob Friedman made his entrance alone in a red shirt and the usual scarf around his neck. When MJF got into the ring, the fans were booing him a lot. MJF said that he was in a lot of right now after what happened on Sunday. MJF claimed that all the fans wanted was to hear him talking. He said that this is Max Friedman talking and he took his scarf. MJF said that a lot of executives are there this week. MJF said that the boss has been trying to get him to sit down to hash things out with him. The fans were chanting “shut the f**k up” at him. MJF said that everybody in this company was handed a ticket when they first started. MJF said that he created moment after moment and he still gets no respect. MJF said that nobody is on his life, everything he touches turns to gold and there is nothing he can’t do. MJF talked about how he is expected to hit grand slams and he does that shit on a weekly basis. MJF said that other boys settle for being great while he’s the 26-year-old held under a microscope because he’s the only guy that’s capable of carrying this company on his back like he has done for months. MJF wondered where the fans were when they were calling him an unprofessional piece of shit. MJF said that the boys in the back all want his spot and if you want his spot, you can have it because he doesn’t want to be there anymore. MJF called the fans “uneducated marks” that tweet their opinions like they are worth a damn. MJF told the fans that they don’t know shit. He spoke about how some fans think he’s not good in the ring, but then he talks about how he’s trained and he said that he was the best in the world. MJF said that he’s the only guy that makes you feel and he doesn’t have to do a bunch of bullshit to get there. MJF said that he’s a generational talent and you people consistently take him for granted.

MJF said it’s not just the fans, it’s the big man in the back. MJF asked who the second biggest minute for minute draw is in this company? He said it’s him. MJF said we should ask stat boy Tony (Khan). MJF said you can’t ask Tony to reach into his pockets and has been busting his ass for him since day one. MJF said that Tony wants to hoard all that money so he can give it to all the ex-WWE guys he keeps bringing in and they can’t lace his god damn boots. The fans were standing and applauding this promo! MJF wondered if he would be treated better if he was an ex-WWE guy. MJF said that the boss is in a position of power in the wrestling business, but he should be behind the guard rail with the fans. MJF looked into the camera saying he doesn’t want to wait until 2024 (when he’s a free agent). MJF: “Tony, I want you to fire me.” MJF yelled at a guy at ringside that was trying to count him down and called him a “piece of shit.” MJF said he wanted Tony to fire him, then he swore some more, it was bleeped and the microphone was turned off. MJF threw the microphone down to end it.

Analysis: This was an epic promo. It was outstanding. Wow. I don’t know how to best describe other than I want to say “wow” a few times just as my initial reaction to what MJF said. I think the issues that MJF had were real at the start and then they decided to turn it into an angle with MJF getting to say things that others don’t get to say. It works for MJF because he can pull it off in a believable way. The obvious comparison is Brian Pillman’s worked shoot promos in ECW after he left WCW. That was from the mid-1990s at a time when there were less “smart” fans, but still a lot of people knew what was going on. Anyway, I thought MJF was spectacular here. A lot of what he said are things that Dan Lambert has been saying for months and people like Jim Cornette criticizing AEW about certain things for years now. It was an excellent promo and I’m probably going to watch it again during the week. I was very impressed by MJF’s performance here. Obviously, it’s gone into “worked shoot” territory now although there might be truth to MJF wanting more money or thinking about leaving in 2024. Until then, they can play it up as a real story. This was a brilliant, masterful promo by MJF. I absolutely loved it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GicxKsfvLoI

(Commercial)

The announcers mentioned the CM Punk-Tanahashi staredown from before the break. They made no mention of what MJF said.

Analysis: It’s worth noting that what MJF said was completely ignored. That’s on purpose to tell the fans that the bosses didn’t like what MJF did, so they moved on without mentioning it.

Johnny Elite (Morrison) made his entrance with an open challenge. There was a promo from Miro saying The Redeemer was back flawless. Miro made his entrance to show he’s back in action after being out of action for several months.

Miro vs. Johnny Elite

Miro used his power advantage early with a belly to back suplex. They went to a picture in picture break about one minute into it.

(Commercial)

Johnny went for a springboard attack, but Miro caught him and hit a spinning slam. Miro went for a jumping kick, Johnny avoided it and Johnny hit a roundhouse kick to the back of the head. Johnny with punches to the body, Miro sent Johnny to the corner and Johnny got some kicks. Johnny with a springboard kick followed by a standing Shooting Star Press for just a one count. Johnny with a running knee to the face. Johnny went up, he went for a twisting dive, Miro rolled out of the way and Miro hit a pump kick. Miro shouted “Game Over” and the Game Over submission pulling back on the face was applied. Morrison tapped out to give Miro the submission win after seven minutes.

Winner by submission: Miro

Analysis: **1/4 Easy win by Miro as you would expect for his big return. I’m not sure why they even brought Johnny Elite to just have him put over other wrestlers. I’m happy to see Miro back and looking dominant again.

They showed some images/clips of the Jericho Appreciation Society getting the win in the ten-man Anarchy in the Arena tag team match.

Let’s Hear from Jericho Appreciation Society

Chris Jericho made his entrance with some of the Jericho Appreciation Society. Jericho told them to shut off the music when they got into the ring. The fans booed. Angelo Parker told the AEW Galaxy to “appreciate us.” That’s his reference to Roman Reigns doing the “acknowledge me” line. Matt Menard did his screaming promo saying they were the Princes of Pain because nobody does it better.

Jericho told the crowd that he knows they wanted to sing, but they didn’t deserve it. Jericho said that they deserved the winners of the Anarchy in the Arena – the Jericho Appreciation Society. Jericho mentioned all the things they went through in the match and when he mentioned Eddie Kingston, the fans cheered. Jericho said that Kingston put gasoline all over him and wanted to light him on fire while Jericho asked what kind of man wants to burn another man? Jericho threw fire at Kingston, so it was his way of referencing himself. Jericho said that Hager and himself choked out Bryan Danielson to cost his team the match. Jericho said that’s what Daniel Garcia is going to do to Jon Moxley in the main event of Dynamite. Jericho said that sports entertainers win.

Eddie Kingston made his entrance with William Regal also on the stage. Kingston said that he wants to fight all of them right now. Kingston wanted Regal to let them know where he wants to fight them. Regal: “Blood & Guts.” When Regal was in WWE NXT he was known for shouting “WARGAMES” but they can’t use that, so it’s Blood & Guts in AEW.

Jericho told Kingston that he’ll never get Blood & Guts. Jericho told his guys to beat up Kingston, so they beat him up a bit. Ortiz appeared behind Jericho and hit him with a sock that had a ball in it. Ortiz cut off a piece of Jericho’s hair. Ortiz left before the guys could get his hands on him. Jericho asked if they want Blood & Guts? Jericho said they’ve got it. Jericho said that if they want Bloods & Guts then he’s going to shave Ortiz’s head bald. Jericho said he wants to face Ortiz in a Hair vs. Hair match and Jericho said he’s going to shave Ortiz’s hair and burn him because Jericho is a wizard. Ortiz seemed to be fine with it as he left with Kingston.

Analysis: That was chaos that also set up Blood & Guts in the future and a Hair vs. Hair match, which is cool with me. The crowd reaction for Regal saying “Blood & Guts” was not as epic as him saying “Wargames” in NXT. It’s just not the same. Anyway, I think Kingston’s team will get the win when they do the Blood & Guts match. The hair match with Jericho and Ortiz will be interesting as well with Jericho likely to pick up the win.

(Commercial)

They showed a clip from Double or Nothing in the backstage area. Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh attacked Samoa Joe. They put a chair on Joe’s left arm and threw Joe into an object, so Joe was down injured.

The entrances took place for the ten-man tag team match. This took a few minutes. Jeff Hardy entered with brother Matt, but Jeff went to the back sine he’s dealing with some injuries.

Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus, Christian Cage & Matt Hardy vs. Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish & Hikuleo

Adam Cole was on commentary. The Young Bucks are California guys while Jungle Boy is from LA and Luchasaurus is a Cali guy too. Boy with an impressive arm drag along with a dropkick. Christian tagged in with a double hiptoss on Fish and a double hiptoss on Nick as well. Hardy tagged in with the elbow off the ropes. Fish hit a kick to the ribs, Christian tagged in and Christian worked over Matt Jackson with punches. Christian hit Matt with a tornado DDT out of the corner. Christian up top, then others got involved and Boy hit a hurricanrana on Fish. Christian with a headbutt on Matt for a two count as the ten guys got involved with a brawl. Allin hit a dive, then Luchasaurus and Boy hit dives although the director missed them. Nick dropped Christian with a superkick. Nick hit a somersault dive over the top onto a bunch of guys. They went to a picture in picture break.

(Commercial)

The match returned with Christian hitting a double reverse DDT on both Young Bucks. Luchasaurus got the tag as he dominated everybody on the other team with clotheslines, splashes and everything else. Nick avoided a Chokeslam, then hit a weak kick to the head, Luchasaurus with a back elbow and a headscissors that sent Nick on the top of his head. Boy into the ring with a Destroyer on Matt as well! That was random, but very impressive. Luchasaurus with a Chokeslam and a standing moonsault for a two count with Hikuleo broke up the pin. Hikuleo (the son of Meng/Haku) is a big boy a tall man as he faced off with Luchasaurus, who did a headbutt and then they did a double clothesline. Allin got the tag with a dropkick, Fish in illegally, so Allin beat him up and hit coffin splashes on both guys in the corners. Allin hit a flipping Stunner on Kyle, who tagged in and Allin sent Hikuleo out of the ring. Allin jumped onto Hikuleo, who caught Allin and then Kyle/Fish hit a suplex/kick combo on the floor. Hardy was alone in the ring as he rammed Matt, Nick, Kyle and Fish into the turnbuckle repeatedly. Hikuleo ran into Matt’s elbow, but Hikuleo blocked the whip into the corner. Christian in illegally with a dropkick on Hikuleo, Matt with a Twist of Fate and Christian/Matt hit a double clothesline on Hikuleo on the floor. Christian jumped off the apron with a Spear on Hikuleo on the floor. Kyle followed up with a knee onto Christian on the floor. Back in the ring, the Young Bucks hit a double superkick on Matt and a double superkick to Luchasaurus too. Boy tagged in and he ate a double superkick by the Bucks too. The Young Bucks hit another double superkick to Luchasaurus again. Hardy saved Boy from an attack, but then the Bucks shoved Boy into Hardy. Kyle and Fish hit the High/Low double team to take out Hardy. Matt held Boy in position and Nick jumped off the top with the Meltzer Driver named after “Uncle” Dave for the pinfall win after 12 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish & Hikuleo

Analysis: **** A crazy match that was a lot of fun to watch. It was tough to keep track of the legal man as usual, but it didn’t bother me as much as it does sometimes in AEW. They really set up the spots well, had some creative moments in the match and showdowns that I enjoyed like Luchasaurus with Hikuleo, who fit in well with this team. The Young Bucks were put over strong even though they lost to The Hardys at Double or Nothing, so I guess it’s a bit of 50/50 booking there. It makes sense if they are building to Young Bucks vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus in the future. Anyway, this was a great match. Chaotic? Sure, but I thought it was very enjoyable too.

Post match, the winners celebrated while Cole pointed out that The Young Bucks just pinned one of the AEW Tag Team Champions. Cole talked about how great The Undisputed Elite are and that it feels good to be the best. Christian talked to Jungle Boy after the loss. No Christian turn yet.

Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland were backstage being interviewed by Lexi Nair. Swerve had some LA friends there with him. Swerve and Lee whether it’s tag or singles, the “gold has been gained before” and when it happens again, you will all “swerve in our glory.”

Athena (former Ember Moon) made her Dynamite debut for an interview with Tony Schiavone on the stage. She said she can finally say it: “Athena is All Elite, baby!” Athena said that she’s there due to the competition in the AEW women’s division while mentioning the dominant TBS Champion Jade Cargill. Athena said that all streaks are made to be broken and she will be the one to beat Jade’s streak. Athena said she’s the Fallen Goddess and here comes Jade to say “Tony, cut the shit.” Jade was in heels, so she towered over the much shorter Athena. Stokely Hathaway spoke up saying he was Jade’s publicist saying this woman is a queen, goddess and our TBS Champion. Jade said “not today” for a title shot. Kiera Hogan stepped up in Athena’s face, Anna Jay walked out to support Athena and Kris Statlander also walked out to support Athena. Lots of staredowns going on. Referees showed up to break it up.

Analysis: A solid promo for Athena during her AEW debut. I think she’s always been a good talker. It’s just a matter of having the opportunity to talk. Anyway, this set up some future matches including tags and eventually Athena getting a shot at the TBS Title.

(Commercial)

Wardlow was shown walking backstage with JR saying that Wardlow’s future is limitless. Sorry Jim, but the word “Limitless” is for Keith Lee. When Wardlow appeared on the stage, some theme music played and he got a big pop.

Wardlow vs. JD Drake

This is Wardlow’s first match under contract to AEW in the story since he is free from his contract with MJF. Wardlow with a clothesline, Drake sent Wardlow into the corner and Wardlow came back with shoulder tackles. Wardlow with an Alabama Slam. Wardlow hit a Powerbomb and a second Powerbomb led to the pinfall win with a foot on the chest. It went just over one minute.

Winner by pinfall: Wardlow

Analysis: 1/2* Just a squash win for Wardlow as you would expect in this spot. That’s all it needs to be for him.

Wardlow was about to be interviewed in the ring by Tony Schiavone, who mentioned Wardlow was All Elite. Smart Mark Sterling walked out with a neckbrace and some security guys. A security guy gave Wardlow a document. Sterling said he’s serving Wardlow with a lawsuit on behalf of American Arena Security Professionals (AASP?), who Wardlow has been beating up for weeks. Sterling said he’ll see him in court. Wardlow threw the paper down and hit a Powerbomb on a security guy. Sterling: “Hey! He has a family!” Wardlow ripped the paper and put it in the guy’s mouth.

Analysis: I guess this means Wardlow will keep hitting Powerbombs on random “security” guys every week. The fans seem to like that. Hopefully Wardlow gets an interesting feud soon.

Scorpio Sky, the TNT Champion, was backstage with Dan Lambert and Ethan Page while Lexy Nair was there for an interview. It was mentioned that Dante Martin faces Sky for the TNT Title this Friday on Rampage. Lambert and Ethan spoke briefly about Martin’s potential. Sky was about to wrap up the promo as Martin walked in saying that he appreciates the talk about his potential, but he feels he’s better than Sky right now. Martin told Sky that on Rampage, he’ll prove it.

Analysis: It’s a live edition of Rampage this Friday from Ontario, California. That should be a very good match.

Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. & Jamie Hayter (w/Rebel) vs. Ruby Soho & Toni Storm

Baker had the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament title with her since she won the title at Double or Nothing. That title will not be defended. It’s more of a prize for winning the tournament.

Baker started with Storm, Strom got some punches and Baker bailed to the floor. Baker held up the title at ringside to taunt her opponents. Storm rolled up Baker for two and Storm hit a running dropkick to the face. Soho tagged in with a kick to Baker’s back. Baker grabbed a handful of hair and Hayter tagged in with a kick while Ruby was on the apron. Baker hit a twisting neckbreaker on Ruby on the floor. They went to a picture in picture break.

(Commercial)

Baker was in the ring with Soho, who managed to get a backslide pin attempt. Hayter knocked Storm off the apron to prevent a tag. Soho hit a Saito Suplex on Baker, then Storm got the tag and faced off against Hayter. Storm hit a German Suplex on Hayter, then a running hip attack and a Tornado DDT out of the corner. Hayter caught Storm on the floor and hit a DDT on the floor. Soho, who wasn’t legal, jumped off the top with a cross body block on Hayter on the floor. Baker hit a Slingblade on Ruby on the floor. Baker sent Storm into the ring and helped Hayter back up as Hayter hit a sliding knee on Storm for two. Storm with a spinebuster on Hayter. Soho tagged in, jumped off with a stomp attempt, Hayter moved and Baker into the ring illegally with a superkick on Soho. Storm with a German Suplex on Baker. Hayter with a high knee on Storm. Hayter with a backbreaker on Soho. Baker got the tag, the fans chanted “this is awesome” for them and Baker hit a butterfly suplex. Ruby avoided a kick and got a rollup. Ruby hit the No Future kick for two that she used as a finisher sometimes. Baker tried for the Lockjaw submission, but Ruby fought out of it and Britt got a rollup for two. Baker hit a swinging neckbreaker. Storm pulled Hayter off the apron. Ruby with a rollup on Baker. Ruby with a knee to the face on Baker and Ruby hit the Destination Unknown neckbreaker on Baker for the pinfall win. It went about 10 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Ruby Soho & Toni Storm

Analysis: ***1/4 This was a pretty good match with Ruby and Toni getting the win since Baker won at Double or Nothing, so she took the pin here. It could have gone either way. It was an entertaining tag team match with a lot of action and nearfalls for both sides. I like a match that’s unpredictable in terms of the result. It was a match that had more “illegal wrestler doing a move” than the men’s tag match did. I don’t know why it bothers me, but I think you can have an entertaining tag team match without doing some of that stuff. They did too much of it for my liking.

After the match, Hayter hit Storm with the Owen Title and Hayter also hit Ruby with the Owen Title. Baker and Hayter left happily.

Analysis: That will probably lead to a rematch between these teams in the future.

(Commercial)

Daniel Garcia made his entrance for the main event. Chris Jericho from the Jericho Appreciation Society was on commentary to support Daniel Garcia. Jon Moxley entered from the back part of the arena. William Regal was on commentary to support Moxley as well. They showed Vince Vaughn watching at ringside and Macaulay Culkin was in the crowd, but not the first year. Poor Macaulay. Regal was mocking Jericho about possibly losing his hair.

They mentioned that the Blood & Guts Match will be on Dynamite in Detroit on Wednesday, June 29. It’s only two hours from me, but I don’t plan on going at this point.

Jon Moxley vs. Daniel Garcia

Moxley worked over Garcia with forearms. Moxley and Garcia got into an exchange of palm strikes, then Garcia with a sunset flip and a kick to the back. Moxley worked over Garcia with two kicks to the back. Garcia with a headbutt. Moxley wanted a Paradigm Shift, so Garcia tackled him out of the ring. Moxley was bleeding again (like at Double or Nothing) because he had seven stitches in his head from Double or Nothing on Sunday. Garcia sent Moxley into the steel steps. Garcia dropkicked the steel steps while Moxley’s leg was trapped against the steel steps.

(Commercial)

The match returned with Garcia giving Moxley with a belly-to-back suplex off the top rope. Moxley’s face was a bloody mess. Moxley did an eye gouge. Moxley left the ring, Garcia went after him and Moxley suplexed Garcia onto the top of the steel steps. The fans chanted “holy shit” for that. Jericho was yelling at Excalibur for plugging Rampage on Friday. That was hilarious. Moxley hit a superplex off the middle rope for two. Garcia worked over Moxley with elbows to the head, Moxley rolled through and Moxley pulled on the left arm with an armbar. Garcia got out of that, he twisted up the legs and reached to the head for a choke. Garcia got an inside cradle, Moxley turned it into one of his own and Moxley hit a backdrop driver that was no sold, Garcia did a backdrop driver of his own and Garcia hit Moxley with a piledriver for a two count. Garcia applied a Sharpshooter, but he leaned too far back and Moxley grabbed a bulldog choke. They exchanged forearms again and went to the floor. They were past the top of the second hour as they battled on the floor with Moxley having Garcia on his back. Moxley tried to drive him through the table, but the table didn’t break. Oops. Back in the ring, Jericho went down to ringside and Garcia wanted a rollup, but Moxley got out of it. Eddie Kingston went down to ringside to go after Jericho. Eddie almost tripped while running, but he stumbled into Jericho. Moxley with a knee to the face followed by the Paradigm Shift. Kingston was beating up Jericho on the floor to prevent him from interfering. Moxley with a bulldog choke on Garcia for the submission win. This went 11 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Jon Moxley

Analysis: **** This was great match. Yes, it’s obvious that Moxley was going to win, but this was like an even matchup and all the blood loss that Moxley had made it look like maybe he was going to lose. I liked the physicality a lot. They went for submissions a lot and then they did a lot of cool moves throughout the match. The table not breaking sucks, but that’s what happens with an object sometimes. Garcia is so impressive for a guy in his mid-20s that is only going to get better as he gets more experience. These guys work well together in terms of their in-ring style.

Jon Moxley did a promo saying if you want Blood & Guts then sign up Jon Moxley because you’ve got Blood & Guts. That’s going to be on Wednesday, June 29 in Detroit. Moxley celebrated the win to end the show.

Three Stars of the Show

1. MJF
2. Jon Moxley
3. Young Bucks

The Scoreboard

This Week: 9 out of 10

Last Week: 7.5

Final Thoughts

This was an excellent episode. One of the better Dynamite episodes of the year. I’d call it one of the best episodes ever too. Obviously, the segment that is going to get people talking the most was MJF’s electrifying promo that was definitely a “worked shoot” style of promo. He said some things that made a lot of sense from his character’s perspective and since he was dropping in swear words throughout, it helped to carry the promo as well. I liked it a lot. It really was one of my favorite wrestling promos in a long time. I’ve seen people comparing it to all-time great promos. That’s how much it meant to them. I called it a “brilliant, masterful promo” by MJF in the review. I’ll stand by that. It’s hard to compare things to all-time promos, but this certainly was special.

The in-ring action was very good from the main event with Moxley and Garcia having a four-star level match (that means great) to the ten-man tag that was a lot of fun to watch. The women’s tag team match was solid too. CM Punk and FTR teaming up to win was cool. We also found out we get Punk vs. Tanahashi at Forbidden Door later this month, so that’s pretty damn cool too! Chris Jericho was also great in a non-wrestling role with his promo and setting up Hair vs. Hair next week as well Blood & Guts later this month. It was also cool to see Miro back in action looking dominant yet again.

I feel like this episode of Dynamite set the record for the word “shit” being spoken on a wrestling show. I’m only mentioning that in a joking manner, but it might be true. A lot of “shit” usage this week!

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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Blue Jays. You can contact me using any of the methods below.

John Canton

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter: @johnreport