The John Report: AEW Dynamite 06/30/21 Review
Welcome to the AEW Dynamite review here on TJRWrestling. It’s nice to have AEW back on Wednesdays moving forward. Happy Canada Day (Canada became a country on July 1, 1867 so it’s our country’s birthday) to my fellow Canadians. I don’t like doing a lot of work on a big holiday in my country, but I wrote most of this on Wednesday night.
This is AEW Dynamite from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. Here’s my AEW Dynamite TV review archive. Let’s get to it.
The announce team was Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone and Excalibur as usual. JR greeted us with the classic line: “It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means.” It was a live show this week and it will continue to be live moving forward. Next week is when AEW goes on the road.
Chris Jericho made his entrance to a big pop as the fans in Jacksonville sang the “Judas” song for him. Jericho joined the commentary for the show. Jericho has a new book out chronicling his 30 years as a pro wrestler that you can get at Jericho30.com now. I’ll be getting that soon.
The team of Eddie Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo with Alex Abrahantes entered first. The Young Bucks entered with Brandon Cutler. Matt Jackson had a mustache while Nick Jackson had a fu-manchu look. They both looked ridiculous.
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (w/Brandon Cutler) vs. Eddie Kingston & Penta El Zero Miedo (w/Alex Abrahantes)
If Kingston/Penta win then they earn a Tag Team Title match.
Kingston got a backslide pin on Matt for a two count and then Kingston held Matt while Penta hit a kick to the face. Kingston with a body slam and then they did a Dudley Boyz style spot with Penta hit a dropkick to Matt’s groin that the referee didn’t see. Matt drove Penta to the corner, Nick with a cheap kick to the back and the Bucks did another double team move that the referee didn’t see. Bucks did a double team fist drop. Penta slid out of the ring to avoid a double team move and hit a backbreaker on Matt. Penta back in the ring with a kick and a cross body block on Nick. Kingston tagged in with punches, corner splashes and a Fisherman’s Suplex for two. Kingston with a knee to Nick’s ribs, then Matt grabbed Kingston and Kingston hit an Exploder Suplex on the floor. Nick capitalized with a kick on Nick to knock him down. The Bucks hit a double team splash on Kingston on the floor. Nick did some Macho Man mannerisms with Tony saying we have seen enough of that. Matt with a chinlock on Kingston, then a takedown and a stomp to the head. Both Bucks kicked Kingston in the back, but Eddie got back up with chops and Nick with a running knee stopped that. Matt was back in with punches. Nick tagged in, Matt shoved Matt into Nick and Nick was crotched on the top rope. Eddie with headbutts to his own hand that are supposed to look like they are hitting Nick and Eddie hit a superplex for two. Penta got the hot tag with kicks to the legs, a kick to Matt’s gut and a leaping DDT followed by a Slingblade on Nick. Penta with a corkscrew Code Red (sunset flip Powerbomb) for a two count. It was so close and the fans chanted “that was three” at the referee. Nick was back up with a kick to the head. Nick jumped off the top with a springboard headscissors followed by more Macho Man mannerisms. Nick with knees to the face, Penta came back with a kick and Eddie hit a German Suplex. Penta hit a Backstabber to Nick for two with Matt breaking up the pin. Matt hit a cross body block on Eddie on the ramp. Penta with a superkick, then off the ropes and Nick hit a low blow while blocking the view of the referees. Matt was back in and the Bucks did a package piledriver with a double foot stomp for two as Kingston made the save. The Good Brothers duo of Anderson & Gallows showed up at ringside. Kingston with a suplex on Nick and then the Bucks hit multiple superkicks on Kingston. Nick was sent over the top to the floor. Cutler was on the apron and he sprayed the aerosol in Matt’s eyes by accident. Frankie Kazarian took out Cutler on the floor. Penta hit a dive onto three guys on the floor. Penta with a package piledriver on Matt and Kingston hit a spinning back fist on Kingston for the pinfall win after 15 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Eddie Kingston & Penta El Zero Miedo
The win means Kingston & Penta will get a future AEW Tag Team Title match.
Analysis: ***3/4 This was a great tag team match that got a lot of time with a chaotic finish. The Young Bucks have won a lot of matches by cheating as heels, so seeing it fail towards the end of the match is a nice twist on what we usually see from them. The crowd bought into a lot of the nearfalls on both sides because you just didn’t know when it might end. As it went on, the crowd got more into it. I think Cutler screwing up was a bit too comical with how long he kept spraying the aerosol, but that’s part of the Young Bucks schtick where they are over the top heels. Penta/Kingston are very likable as a team. I enjoyed this one a lot.
Christian Cage and Jungle Boy were shown having a conversation backstage. Cage said that Boy took Omega to the brink and he believes Jungle Boy can be the champion some day. Christian said that Boy can be the first AEW wrestler to 50 wins. Luchasaurus showed up to thank Christian for having Jungle Boy’s back while Luchasaurus was gone. Luchasaurus said now he has Christian’s back and Christian said that was good because he’s dealing with the Hardy Family Office. Christian joked that he had some dinosaur family on his mom’s side.
Ethan Page is up next.
(Commercial)
Let’s Hear from Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky
Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky were in the ring being interviewed by Tony Schiavone. Page said that what he’s been doing is not enough. Page said his goal is not to beat Darby Allin, his goal is to exterminate Darby. Page threw Darby down the steps, he came back, he threw Darby into the crowd and Darby came back. Page said even in the independents, he hurt him, and Darby showed up in AEW. Page said that the Coffin Match will cripple Darby Allin mentally. Page looked into the camera saying he’ll beat Darby in this match and every time Darby thinks about a Coffin Drop, he’ll think of Page closing the coffin and shutting his confidence forever.
Sting arrived wheeling out a coffin. A video aired of Darby Allin wearing an Ethan Page mask. Allin lit a coffin on fire. Sting took the cover off the coffin and Allin emerged. Allin went after Page and Sky. Sting gave Sky a Scorpion Death Drop while Allin gouged the eyes of Page (Allin has long nails). Security went into the ring to pull Allin off Page, who stumbled on the floor. Page said that Darby knows he can’t beat Page at 100% and he knows it. Page said that next week’s match is off. Page said he wants it written in a contract that Allin can’t touch him for a week and maybe they’ll do it at Fyter Fest. Page left.
Analysis: It was a good segment to build up the Page/Allin rivalry even more. I don’t know about changing when the match happens, but it’s probably a case of AEW figuring out that it might be better on another show just based on what else they have. Part of it is likely due to the tragedy in Miami with the building collapsing last week and looking for survivors for over a week now. Probably not a good idea to have a Coffin Match there.
They showed highlights of Kenny Omega beating Jungle Boy on Saturday Night Dynamite to retain the AEW World Title.
Jack Evans made his entrance to lose another match. Jungle Boy got a big pop with the fans singing along with his song. Jericho said he didn’t like the crowd singing along with a song, which is funny.
Jungle Boy vs. Jack Evans
Boy and Evans did some chain wrestling early on and Evans got to the ropes to avoid a submission. Boy went for a dropkick, Evans held onto the ropes and hit a leaping kick to the chest. Boy hit an armdrag followed by a dropkick.
(Commercial)
Boy blocked a kick from Evans, but then Evans broke free with a kick to the head. They went up to the top rope, Evans went for a German Suplex, Boy landed on his feet and hit a dropkick against the turnbuckle. Boy slapped on the Snare Trap submission and Evans tapped out to give Jungle Boy the win. It went about six minutes. Jungle Boy is the first wrestler in AEW to 50 wins.
Winner by submission: Jungle Boy
Analysis: ** Easy win for Jungle Boy. There was a comment during the match by JR about how great it was for Jungle Boy to add a submission move and Jericho agreed about how much it has helped him in his career. It was a smart comment from both men. The Snare Trap is a believable finisher already. It looks like an STF variation anyway, so it works. Evans losing is no surprise. He rarely wins on this show.
Matt Hardy went out to the ring along with his Private Party guys. Jungle Boy’s buddies attacked Private Party and Christian took it to Mat with an Unprettier. Evans attacked Christian, so Hardy left and Christian punched Evans out of the ring. Christian stood tall.
Analysis: The Hardy/Christian feud has gone back and forth. Matt got the advantage in the past, so Christian got the advantage this time. Basic stuff here.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman did a backstage promo talking about how you would think that Chris Jericho would know when to throw in the towel when you have been bested by somebody that is better than you. MJF said that Jericho has attacked them with bubby, ruined his limousine and attacked during interviews. MJF said that Jericho is the joke. MJF said that this is now the best stuff you can come up with? MJF wondered how low is Jericho willing to stoop? MJF said that he’ll announce stipulations for one last match with MJF. MJF said that if Jericho survives the stipulations, then he will leave MJF alone for good. MJF did a promo about Sammy Guevara saying that people have wanted this matchup for a long time to find out who is the future of professional wrestling. MJF said that Sammy is the future because MJF is the now. MJF said he wants Sammy to tell his fans that MJF is better than him and he knows it.
Analysis: A strong promo from MJF as usual. He is one of the most talented talkers in AEW or any wrestling company. I liked it a lot.
Chris Jericho said that he is going to accept whatever stipulations that MJF has and that Sammy is ready for MJF tonight.
(Commercial)
Andrade El Idolo was interviewed by Alex Abrahantes. Andrade said that he had an announcement, but Matt Sydal interrupted him, so next week Andrade will wrestle Matt Sydal in Miami. That will be Andrade’s AEW debut.
Let’s Hear from Kenny Omega
Tony Schiavone was in the ring to conduct an interview with the AEW World Champion. Kenny Omega made his entrance carrying the AEW World Title. Omega has some sideburns along with a mustache. Omega said that he was asked earlier about his next goal and Kenny claimed he woke up feeling great. Kenny did a rundown of all of the guys he has beaten in AEW. Kenny said that it pains him to say that unfortunately with no one left among the ranks in AEW, he’ll take some time off. Kenny said he still has belts in other promotions, so he’ll still be wrestling in other companies.
The Dark Order group made their entrance. Evil Uno said he heard Kenny saying he has no other challengers and Evil Uno said he thinks differently. Omega said that a guy like Five wouldn’t last two minutes in the ring with him. Omega told Evil Uno that they are not even close to being ranked to challenge for the belt. Evil said that none of them have enough singles wins to go after the AEW Championship, but Kenny knows somebody who does. Evil Uno brought up a man that Kenny used to be a tag team with and the fans bought into it chanting “Hangman” for Adam Page. Omega said if you are talking about the same person he thinks you are talking about, Omega doesn’t think that person wants them talking for him. Omega said that person doesn’t have the guts to take the World Title from Kenny. That led to Kenny doing his signature “adieu” to end it.
Analysis: There’s the slow tease to begin the build to Omega vs. Adam Page, which should probably be at the All Out PPV in two months. Why was there no sign of Page here? I have no idea, but they have a lot of time to build it up. It’s just a tease for now.
(Commercial)
Brian Pillman JR. did a promo sitting in a locker room talking about his TNT Title match against Miro. Pillman said that he will prove that Miro is not God’s favorite champion and he will show that Miro is a bully that’s a “Big Bulgarian Bitch.” Nice nickname.
Brian Pillman Jr. entered with Griff Garrison and Julia Hart, both of whom left for the back. Miro was up next as the reigning TNT Champion with a singles record of 10-0.
TNT Championship: Miro vs. Brian Pillman Jr.
Pillman avoided a jumping kick, Miro sent Pillman into the turnbuckle and hit a Samoan Drop. Miro with punches followed by a jump onto the back. Miro with another kick to the chest and a suplex. Miro with a running body attack and a fallaway slam that sent Pillman out of the ring under the bottom rope.
(Commercial)
Miro worked over Pillman with repeated forearms to the chest by the ropes like his buddy Sheamus. Pillman with a neckbreaker against the top rope. Pillman with a springboard dropkick with Jericho saying “I know that move” because that’s a Jericho move. Pillman hit a running dropkick on the floor. Pillman whipped Miro into the barricade. Back in the ring, Pillman hit a springboard dropkick for one. Pillman avoided a superkick, Pillman with two superkicks and the crowd was hot for Pillman, but Miro caught the foot. Miro with a roundhouse kick to the side of the head. Miro with a jumping superkick. Miro applied the Game Over submission with Pillman passing out to give Miro the win. It went about nine minutes.
Winner by submission: Miro
Analysis: **3/4 A solid match with Pillman getting more offense than I expected before Miro put him away. The key thing is that the fans bought into it with Pillman on offense. One of my favorite things in AEW right now is that Miro is finally booked the right way as a dominant champion that is fun to watch. Whenever somebody beats Miro it will be a big deal, but it won’t be any time soon.
There was a backstage scene with “Hangman” Adam Page going up to the Dark Order guys in their dressing room. Page wasn’t happy that they mentioned him to Kenny Omega. They reassured Adam that they did it because they believed in him. The guys left the room one by one with Alex Reynolds telling Page that his time has come and that he’s waited long enough. Page was left to think about it.
Analysis: The slow build to Page going after Omega continues. I assume they do it at All Out in two months, so there’s no rush to announce anything now. The slow build to that match is a great idea.
(Commercial)
There was a backstage promo from Taz talking with Powerhouse Hobbs and Hook standing by. No sign of Ricky Starks or Brian Cage. Taz said that on July 14th, Brian Cage will defend the FTW Championship against a medically cleared Ricky Starks to clear things up between them. I’m glad Ricky will be wrestling again.
Nyla Rose entered with Vickie Guerrero. Vickie was wearing the same kind of mask that Nyla was wearing. Big pop for Britt Baker as the AEW Women’s Champion and she was joined by Rebel.
Dr. Britt Baker & Rebel vs. Nyla Rose & Vickie Guerrero
Baker decked Vickie with a cheap shot punch when Vickie was looking at Rebel. Baker was scared of Rose as Rebel jumped on Rose’s back. Rose with a body slam and leg drop on Rebel. Baker refused to tag in. Rose with another body slam and Vickie tagged in for the first time. Vickie did some Eddie Guerrero-style shaking and Rose went for a table, but then they went to picture in picture break. We do get the picture in picture action here in Canada, but I don’t review it.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Baker tagging in and hitting a Slingblade on Rose. Baker with multiple kicks, Baker got the glove from Rebel and Rose hit a Chokeslam. Rose put Baker on the top rope so that Baker had to hold herself on the ropes to keep balance and Rose hit a running elbow smash onto the back of Baker for two as Rebel made the save. Vickie tagged in, Baker kicked Vickie into the turnbuckle and Rose bumped to the floor. Rebel was hurt after making the save with what looked like a knee injury. Baker applied the Lockjaw submission on Vickie and Vickie tapped out quickly. This went about seven minutes.
Winner by submission: Dr. Britt Baker
Analysis: *1/4 They got through it, but it really wasn’t that good at all. I don’t know who the face or heel is here. Based on the crowd reaction, Baker is the face and yet she acts like a heel all the time. Rose is a more natural heel as a bigger wrestler. Anyway, the presence of Vickie and Rebel didn’t help the match at all, but it’s a way to give Baker a win while Rose is protected by having Vickie take the loss.
After the match, Vickie got up and was yelling. That is not good selling. Rose went back in with a forearm to the back of Baker. Rose delivered a Beast Bomb in the ring. Post match, Rose gave Baker a Powerbomb through the table at ringside. Baker was getting checked on through the table while AEW’s doctors were looking at Rebel’s knee in the distance.
Analysis: A dominant showing for Rose after her team lost the match. That makes Rose more of the heel. Vickie did not sell Baker’s finisher, which is bad. You have to sell better than what Vickie did here. The announcers didn’t even mention Rebel’s injury. (The early word on Rebel’s injury is that it’s a dislocated kneecap. That’s rough.)
Next week on AEW Dynamite Road Rager in Miami:
* AEW Tag Team Championships: The Young Bucks (c) vs.
* Strap Match: Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall
* Andrade El Idolo vs. Matt Sydal
* Inner Circle (Jake Hager, Santana & Ortiz) w/Konnan vs. The Pinnacle (MJF and FTR) w/Tully Blanchard – There was a promo from the Inner Circle guys.
* Chris Jericho and MJF will have a Face to Face Standoff
* Orange Cassidy & Kris Statlander vs. The Blade & The Bunny
Analysis: That’s a strong lineup next week. The Miami crowd should be hot for it.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman made his entrance for the main event.
(Commercial)
Sammy Guevara got a pretty good pop from the crowd. I noted on Twitter before the match that it was MJF’s first singles match on Dynamite since December 9 and Sammy’s first singles match on Dynamite since August 27. I’m happy to see both in action in the main event. They are talented young guys.
Sammy Guevara vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman
There were about 25 minutes left in the show when the match started. MJF bailed to the floor for some taunting, then some Ric Flair strutting and Sammy did a strut too. Sammy went for a dropkick, MJF held onto the ropes and they exchanged moves while not connecting with them. MJF with a shot to the throat. Sammy bounced off the ropes with a jumping knee. They did some more mat wrestling with counters leading to MJF getting a backslide pin. Sammy got a backslide pin and they each got repeated inside cradles. The fans gave them a big ovation after they got back up to their feet. Sammy attacked against the turnbuckle, the referee tried to keep Sammy back and MJF with an eye poke. Sammy sent MJF into the turnbuckle. Sammy went up top, but MJF rolled out of the ring. Sammy ran after MJF, then back into the ring with Sammy hitting a double springboard Cutter for a two count. MJF tripped up Sammy by the legs. They were on the floor with MJF doing an armdrag that sent Sammy into the barricade. That led to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
The match returned with MJF in control with a chinlock, Sammy fought back and Sammy tossed MJF out of the ring. MJF pulled the apron with Jericho saying it was like Dave Finlay (Fit Finlay), who did that move many times. Sammy gave MJF a back body drop on the floor. Back in the ring, Sammy went for a springboard attack, but MJF hit a sitout Powerbomb. They battled by the turnbuckle and Sammy hit a Spanish Fly off the middle rope. That drew a pop as both guys were down selling. Sammy hit two clotheslines, then a shoulder to the ribs and a jumping kick to the head. Sammy with a kick to the face followed by a clothesline to the floor. Sammy hit a twisting dive over the top onto MJF. Sammy hit a springboard Destroyer for only a two count. It’s a huge move that should probably be a finisher, but AEW guys kick out of stuff like that. MJF with a double foot stomp onto the left arm and Sammy got a rollup for the two. Sammy draped Sammy’s throat across the top rope. MJF grabbed a chair, which allowed Sammy to come back with a dropkick into the chair on MJF to knock MJF over the barricade. Sammy went up top and jumped off with a somersault over the barricade onto a standing MJF! That was awesome. The referee wasn’t counting with any speed or it would be a ten count, and then the wrestlers got back in the ring before the slowest count ever. Sammy went up top, but MJF hit the top rope to crotch Sammy. MJF hit a Tombstone Piledriver from the middle rope…for just two. What? That should be a finish. MJF was selling a left knee injury, so after MJF collapsed selling the injury, Sammy got an inside cradle for a two count. MJF went for the Heatseeker off the ropes, Sammy countered and they each battled over a two count. Sammy with two superkicks and a GTH with the knee to the head for two because MJF’s foot was on the ropes to break. Sammy went up top, MJF was begging Sammy not to do it and Sammy hit a 630 Senton off the top for two with MJF kicking out at the last moment. Shawn Spears showed up at ringside, Wardlow went up to Chris Jericho and attacked him from behind. Wardlow threw Jericho off the stage to the floor, which is not a big fall at all. The referee was looking at Jericho, so Spears hit Sammy with a chair to the head with Sammy getting his hands up to block. MJF continued to favor his left leg and MJF got his left arm on top of Sammy for the win after 20 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: MJF
Analysis: **** This was an awesome match between two of AEW’s most talented young guys. MJF really sold that knee injury well in the conclusion of the match and the only reason MJF won is because of the distraction from Wardlow and Spears hitting Sammy with a steel chair. What I don’t like are these guys kicking out moves like a springboard Destroyer and a second rope Tombstone Piledriver is a bit silly, but in AEW everybody seems to be able to kick out of a lot of big moves. MJF also kicked out of Sammy’s 630 Splash, so that hurt that 630 Splash as a finisher. With that said, they worked really together, Sammy got in a lot of offensive moves that popped the crowd and MJF did his usual job of annoying the fans. It made sense for MJF to win since he’s likely going to have a big match with Chris Jericho. I think Sammy could use some wins too, but at this point MJF winning was the right call.
There was a video package showing highlights of all of the AEW shows over the last 15 months at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. We miss you, Brodie Lee. That’s for sure. Anyway, the video was really cool.
There were crowd shots with the announcers thanking the fans for their support. To end the show, Jim Ross signed off with this line: “There’s nothing in your life that will top seeing a live WWE Dynamite.” Oops. Sadly, a lot of people on Twitter ran with it and laughed about it instead of talking about the end of the show. JR apologized in a tweet here.
https://twitter.com/SkullsMedia/status/1410419994635083783
Yep I apparently made an untimely error tonight at shows end.
No excuses.
And I’m not quitting. 🤠
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) July 1, 2021
Three Stars of the Show
- Sammy Guevara
- MJF
- Eddie Kingston/Penta and Young Bucks.
The Scoreboard
This Week: 7.75 out of 10
Last Week: 7.5
2021 Average: 7.31
Final Thoughts
This was a really good episode of Dynamite. The main event between MJF and Sammy Guevara was a tremendous match between two young guys in their mid-20s with very bright futures in their business. They kicked out of a lot of big moves and in the end, a chairshot from Shawn Spears was enough to give MJF the win. I liked the opener a lot with Eddie Kingston/Penta beating Young Bucks non-title to set up the title match next week. It was a hot opener with a chaotic finish, but I thought it worked perfectly. Some of the other matches were less interesting with obvious outcomes.
There were some strong promo segments as well with a tease of Adam Page going after Kenny Omega although it was the Dark Order speaking on behalf of Page. The other Page, Ethan, has a hot feud with Darby Allin and I like how intense it has been.
Next week is the first live Dynamite away from Daily’s Place in over a year. While they were signing off and encouraging fans to go to AEW shows, Jim Ross said: “There’s nothing in your life that will top seeing a live WWE Dynamite.” Ouch. It’s exactly what he said and I’m sure people will laugh about it. I’m glad JR apologized on Twitter. It’s just a small mistake. JR is still passionate about his job and doing the best he can.
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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