The John Report: AEW Dynamite 07/19/23 Review (Blood & Guts Match)
This week’s AEW Dynamite featured the Blood & Guts Match along with the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament finals.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #198 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Check out the AEW PPV listing archive only on TJRWrestling as well. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. Let’s get to it.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means. Excalibur, Taz and Tony Schiavone were on commentary.
They started playing the Jungle Boy theme song, but then the fans booed it.
A video aired with Jack Perry digging a hole and putting a body in it. We could see the Jungle Boy boots without the actual body. A limo drove up and Jack went in it.
Analysis: I think that means Jack Perry has ended his run as Jungle Boy. He buried…shoes. Alrighty then.
Jack Perry made his entrance to a classic Beethoven song with the fans booing him. Justin Roberts announced him as just Jack Perry with no more “Jungle Boy” as part of the name. Excalibur claimed that those boots that Perry buried were the only boots he’s worn as a wrestler.
FTW Championship: Hook vs. Jack Perry
Hook started with punches, Jack went to the floor and hit a knee to the ribs. Hook sent Jack hard into the barricade leading to Jack bumping over the barricade into the crowd. Hook with another clothesline and a jumping punch off the guard rail. Back in the ring, Jack did an eye rake followed by a dropkick to the head. Jack was getting booed a lot. The referee told Jack something so then Jack tossed Hook to the floor.
(Commercial)
They were battling on the apron with Jack teasing a German Suplex on the apron that was never going to happen. Hook hit a T-Bone Suplex off the apron to the floor. Jack rolled back in the ring, then out again and Jack sent Hook back first into the ring post. Jack hit the draping DDT on the floor. Hook was back in, Jack caught him and hit a German Suplex that was no sold by Hook as if he was 1991 Undertaker. Hook hit two straight bridging German Suplexes. Jack grabbed the referee Paul Turner and hit a low blow uppercut kick that the referee didn’t see. Jack hit a running elbow to the back of the head for a two count. Jack brought the title into the ring, Hook grabbed him and they squashed the referee against the turnbuckle. Hook hit a head/arm overhead suplex across the ring. Hook checked on the referee, so Jack hit Hook with the FTW Title. The referee woke up as Jack made the cover to win the title after 12 minutes.
Winner by pinfall AND NEW FTW Title: Jack Perry
Analysis: **3/4 It was okay with a cheap ending. Jack did a lot of classic heel tactics throughout the match, so of course it’s a cheap finish too. That was longer than most Hook matches. I think he still needs to improve on some little things, but the fans like him.
Jack Perry wins his first singles title in AEW even though it’s not really a recognized AEW championship, Also, that was Hook’s first loss.
They showed Chris Jericho and Don Callis having a meal at some restaurant. Alex Marvez was on hand while a security guy was with Chris & Don, so the security guy got the camera out of there.
It was time for the weekly Adam Cole-Maxwell Jacob Friedman bonding session at a restaurant called Kowloon in Boston. Max was telling a story about bodyslamming Big Bill last week and he was lying about what happened as if he was Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant. They were eating some spicy food. The waiter gave them some 100% alcohol drink. They showed both guys drunk later in the night. Cole said that Max faced his fears by eating spicy food. Cole and MJF said there was one thing left to do: Double clothesline. They were shown looking like they would double clothesline the waiter. It ended there without seeing the clothesline.
Analysis: More comedy bonding for this tag team, which is fine. They are good on camera together. MJF doing Hogan-style lying about his bodyslam made me laugh.
(Commercial)
They showed an update from earlier today with Alex Marvez in the parking lot as Don Callis and Chris Jericho arrived together. Marvez asked if a decision has been made. Callis called Marvez an idiot and Jericho called him a fat-headed idiot. That was it.
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. vs. Kayla Sparks
Britt’s 2023 record is 8-5. That’s a light schedule this year if she’s only had 13 matches. Baker hit a Slingblade neckbreaker. Baker hit an overhead suplex and a neckbreaker. Baker applied the Lockjaw submission and Sparks tapped out. It went just over one minute.
Winner by submission: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D.
Analysis: 1/2* A squash match to put Baker over. This was the “let’s put one women’s match on the show” match and nothing more to it. I feel bad for many women’s wrestlers in this company because the guys that book the division don’t seem to care much.
The AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole were interviewed by Renee Paquette, who asked if they were surprised by their chemistry. Cole said they were not surprised. MJF said their plan was a double clothesline, then bashed Sammy for having a skank wife and trashed Garcia too. MJF had matching tights for Cole and Cole had matching jackets for them. Cole said he had another surprise that Max will have to wait to see. Cole and MJF left while Roderick Strong walked in with a neckbrace. Renee tried to talk to him, but Strong said “not right now” and that was it.
Analysis: The bonding of MJF and Cole continues.
Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia of the Jericho Appreciation Society made their entrance for the finals of the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament. Chris Jericho made his entrance to join commentary for this match.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman, the AEW World Champion, was cheered by the crowd with his 6-0-1 record in 2023. MJF was shocked as Adam Cole emerged with a MJF-Cole song remix. MJF hugged Cole because he was so excited about it. MJF slapping hands with fans at ringside is such a rare sight.
Before the referee called for the bell, Daniel Garcia did some bad dancing and MJF did it too. MJF asked if you want to see a dance off. Garcia and Sammy did a bad dance routine together. It looked like they practiced this bad routine together. Tony Schiavone said that this sucks. Jericho said it was great. MJF danced with some dance moves on the mat including a spin and doing a kip up back to his feet. Adam Cole did some bad white guy dancing and some pelvic thrusts. Sammy and Garcia knocked down the opponents, so the referee called for the bell.
Analysis: A comedy dance routine to start the match isn’t what I expected, but I guess it was entertaining to some degree.
Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament Finals: Adam Cole & Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) vs. Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia
MJF started with Garcia, tagged in Cole and wanted a double clothesline, but Sammy saved Garcia from it. MJF teased a running dive, but instead ran the ropes repeatedly. The fans cheered Max. Sammy tripped up Cole on the apron and Garcia knocked down MJF with a forearm to the back.
(Commercial)
Conclusion of Adam Cole & MJF vs. Daniel Garcia & Sammy Guevara
Cole got the hot tag and cleaned house with a superkick on Garcia. After Garcia avoided a move, he did his dance moves toward the referee. Cole hit a superkick. Sammy hit Cole in the back, then Sammy jumped off the top and Cole hit a superkick. MJF tagged in as the crowd came alive leading to the double clothesline, but Sammy avoided it and hit a double Spanish Fly on both guys. Amazing move. Sammy jumped off the top, MJF caught him and teased a move like Cross Rhodes, but Sammy got out of it and Cole tagged in with a superkick. Garcia made a blind tag leading to a chop block on Cole and Garcia applied the Dragonslayer submission, but Cole got to the ropes. Cole sent Garcia over the top to the floor. Cole wanted MJF to dive, but MJF wasn’t sure he could do. Cole kicked both opponents, so then MJF ran the ropes and hit a suicide dive on both opponents with the fans popping huge for it. Back in the ring, Cole hit Panama Sunrise on Garcia. MJF tagged in leading to the double clothesline and MJF pinned Garcia for the pinfall win. It went 11 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Adam Cole & MJF
Analysis: *** I think fun is the right word to describe these Cole & MJF matches. They are doing a lot of classic, old school wrestling stuff that is really cheesy at times and it works with this crowd. They are enjoying it while it lasts because they know it’s probably not going to last for that long. Cole and MJF are doing everything well. To win on a double clothesline is almost comical, but they had built it up so well that it did mean something when it happened. I don’t think anybody really thought Guevara and Garcia had a shot here.
The win means that MJF and Adam Cole win the Blind Tag Team Tournament, so they get and AEW World Tag Team Title match on Saturday, July 29th against FTR.
After the match, Jericho tried to talk to Sammy and Garcia, but they didn’t seem that interested in it. They walked right by Jericho as if they didn’t want to hear anything from him.
Analysis: The disrespect by the JAS guys to Jericho. It looks like that group is going to fall apart soon.
The referee handed the AEW World Title to Adam Cole, so Cole was staring at the title while MJF turned around and wondered what the hell Cole was looking at. The fans chanted “hug it out” so MJF and Cole hugged. MJF had a death stare on his face as Cole posed on the turnbuckle.
FTR’s Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler arrived with the AEW Tag Team Titles in their hands. They were wearing plain t-shirts. FTR went into the ring with MJF and Cole. The four men had a staredown while exchanging words in the ring. They started playing MJF’s music, so Harwood spoke into the camera telling Tony to play their music since they are the champions.
Analysis: I don’t expect a title change. I think MJF is going to turn on Cole and they are going to lose. That’s the most logical thing to me.
The Blood & Guts match is next.
(Commercial)
They showed some highlights of AEW Collision from last Saturday to fill some time as the steel cage was being set up.
There was a backstage interview with Darby Allin with Nick Wayne along with the Best Friends group. Allin spoke about being in the Royal Rampage match and he’s going to keep his eye on Swerve Strickland. Allin spoke about how AR Fox took him in when he was homeless, so he wants Orange Cassidy to defend the International Title against AR Fox. Orange agreed to it. That’s next week on Dynamite.
There was a Shark mascot named Chompy behind the announcers as they talked about future shows. There was a rundown of what’s coming up on Rampage including the Royal Rampage match. More matches for Collision will be announced on Rampage.
A video package aired to set up the Blood & Guts match. They showed some of the history between the Blackpool Combat Club and The Golden Elite.
Claudio Castagnoli entered for the main event first for his team. They went to a break.
(Commercial)
Kenny Omega entered for The Golden Elite team. They said that the Blackpool Combat Club had the advantage thanks to a coin toss.
Here are the rules for the Blood & Guts Match, which are essentially the classic WarGames match, but they aren’t legally allowed to call it that.
Blood & Guts Match: The Blackpool Combat Club – Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita & Pac vs. The Golden Elite – Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Page, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson & Kota Ibushi
Claudio Castagnoli from the BCC and Kenny Omega from The Golden Elite start the match for five minutes. It started at 9:10 p.m. ET so they will have plenty of time for this match. Claudio worked over Omega with uppercuts. Omega hit a back elbow. Claudio caught a leaping Omega with a backbreaker. The fans chanted “use this ring” for the second ring, but Claudio didn’t want to do it. Omega sent Claudio into the turnbuckle followed by a cross body block. I don’t know why there’s a referee in there since you can’t win the match until the ten guys are in there. Omega tossed Claudio into the far ring. Claudio delivered a body slam. Claudio worked over Omega with uppercuts. Omega came back with a hurricanrana and the dunk/head slam into the mat.
The next entrant from the BCC is Pac, who entered from the back part of the arena like Claudio did. Pac jumped off the top with a missile dropkick on Omega. Pac delivered a running kick to the side of the head. They went to a picture-in-picture break.
(Commercial – It was mostly Claudio and Pac in control. Omega tried to fight back, but he couldn’t do much.)
There’s “Hangman” Adam Page for The Golden Elite. Page delivered clotheslines for Pac and Claudio. Page with a fallaway slam on Pac followed by a clothesline on Claudio. Page with a Powerbomb on Pac. Page with a moonsault off the top on a standing Claudio. Nice combo moves by Omega and Page leading to Page hitting a German Suplex on Pac. Omega and Page each hit running kicks on their opponents. Claudio came back with a whip that sent Omega’s back into the cage. Claudio dropkicked Omega into the cage.
It’s Jon Moxley from the BCC team and he’s not bleeding yet, but you know it’s coming very soon. Moxley went into the ring with a fork and drove int into Page’s forehead. Moxley drove the fork into the head of Omega too. Moxley jabbed the fork into Page’s face. Claudio had a fork too and he put that onto Omega’s forehead. Moxley brought something in the ring that was like a bucket. Moxley poured broken glass out of the bucket so that was in one spot in the ring.
There’s Nick Jackson of The Golden Elite so it’s 3-on-3 at this point. Nick hit a missile dropkick on Moxley, who landed on the glass. Nick was on fire with multiple superkicks, a facebuster on Claudio and a Cutter on Pac. Nick gave Claudio a hurricanrana onto the broken glass. Moxley did a suplex into a slam onto the broken glass. Moxley stomped on Nick’s chest with broken glass on the chest as well. The fans chanted “you sick f**k” for that. Moxley and Claudio gave Omega double suplex onto the broken glass.
The fourth man on the BCC team was Wheeler Yuta with a steel chair and they went to a picture-in-picture break. They go to PIP break as soon as he enters the match. Poor Wheeler.
(Commercial)
It was time for the fourth guy for The Golden Elite with Matt Jackson making it 4-on-4. Matt ran into the ring to battle Pac with Matt hitting a facebuster. Matt hit Yuta with a steel chair. Matt hit a neckbreaker on Claudio and a Spear on Moxley, who was bleeding because of course he is. Nick and Matt hit the Risky Business double splash on Moxley. Nick hit Claudio with a hurricanrana. Moxley hit a double clothesline on the Young Bucks and a suplex on both each of the Bucks. Omega sent Yuta face first into the broken glass.
The final BCC guy was Konosuke Takeshita, who brought a chair down to the ring. Takeshita went into the ring with a chair to Page. Takeshita hit a double suplex on both Young Bucks. Don Callis joined commentary. Takeshita hit a running lariat on Omega, who did a flip bump onto the broken glass. Moxley brought in a bed of nails from under the ring and set it up against the turnbuckle. Omega got his foot up to stop himself from being sent into the bed of nails, but then Moxley dropkicked Omega into the bed of nails. The fans chanted “holy s**t” and Schiavone screamed about it wondering “what are we doing?” Moxley bodyslammed Omega so that his back went onto the bed of nails.
The last man for The Golden Elite was Kota Ibushi to make it 5-on-5 in the match. Yuta went after Ibushi in the aisle and Ibushi knocked him down with one punch while Yuta had to sell it like it was the strongest punch ever. Moxley was standing on Omega’s right hand on the bed of nails. Moxley was bleeding heavily on the left side of his face. Ibushi fought Moxley with a barrage of kicks and punches. Ibushi hit a jumping Pele Kick on Claudio and Pac at the same time. Matt suplexed Yuta on the ramp. Ibushi kicked Moxley onto the bed of nails and Ibushi hit a standing moonsault on Moxley on the bed of nails. Matt did some move to Yuta, but they missed it. Omega was bleeding heavy from the forehead. Claudio picked up Nick and gave him a press slam into the cage. They went to a picture-in-picture break about 30 minutes into the match.
(Commercial)
Matt Jackson and Wheeler Yuta were fighting on top of the double cage. Matt gave Yuta multiple Northern Lights suplexes on the top of the cage. Yuta countered a suplex with a DDT. Yuta had enough of that, so Yuta climbed down the cage to go back into the ring. Back in the ring, Moxley hit a piledriver on Ibushi. Matt Jackson was on top of the cage and poured thumbtacks into the cage, so Nick and Page hit back body drops onto the tacks at the perfect time. Nick delivered about ten superkicks in a row. The fans were chanting for tables as all of The Golden Elite guys were in control with punches. Nick Jackson brought a table into the ring and set it up against the turnbuckle. Ibushi hit a Powerbomb on Pac while The Young Bucks hit kicks and then there were a bunch of splashes on Pac in succession. Young Bucks tried to submit Pac, but Yuta saved his teammate. They went to picture-in-picture break about 40 minutes into the match.
(Commercial)
The match continued with four consecutive superplex spots in a row. Pac was on the top of the cage and he swung his body leading to a double foot stomp on Nick Jackson through the table. That was awesome! It looked painful too. The referee was talking to everybody rolling around the mat probably to give time cues about how much time is left. The BCC were in one ring while The Golden Elite were in the other ring. All ten men started throwing punches around the middle. Young Bucks hit superkick, Takeshita hit a running clothesline, Page hit a clothesline, Moxley with a Cutter on Page and Ibushi with a knee on Moxley. Pac kicked Ibushi and Omega hit a Snapdragon Suplex on Pac onto the broken glass. Pac applied the Brutalizer submission on Omega. There were submission holds going on all around the ring. Claudio did a giant swing to Matt followed by a Sharpshooter submission. Ibushi broke free so he broke up submission attempts. Ibushi kicked Claudio a few times in the chest to stop that Sharpshooter. A bloody Moxley kissed Omega in the head and kissed the camera. The BCC guys took turns hitting splashes on Omega, but Omega fought back. Pac and Claudio argued about something. Pac did a middle finger salute to his teammates and Pac told the referees to open the door. Pac used bolt cutters to cut the lock and Pac left the cage. Omega hit a bunch of V-Trigger knees and a Snapdragon Suplex.
It was now 5-on-4 since Pac left. Page hit a Buckshot Lariat on Claudio, who had to wait a long time for it. Page and Omega hit a Buckshot/V-Trigger combo on Yuta. Matt superkicked Yuta with a black shoe. Page handcuffed Moxley to the ropes. Yuta was busted open. Callis went to ringside and told Takeshita to leave, so Takeshita left. It was 5-on-3 now. Matt’s black shoe had thumbtacks on the bottom of it. Page and Ibushi had a chain wrapped around Yuta’s throat and Yuta was passing out, so the referee called for the bell to end it. It was only 5-on-3 for the finish. Anyway, the match went about 51 minutes. The announcers tried to tell us that Moxley surrendered to save Wheeler Yuta, which is another way of saying Tony Khan told them to say it to try to tell the audience what the finish was.
Winners: The Golden Elite – Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Page, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson & Kota Ibushi
Analysis: ****1/4 It was a great match as usual for this kind of match, but I think the finish was weak or lame if you want to call it that. It protects Moxley, Claudio and Yuta because their teammates walked out on them, but it’s certainly not a decisive finish. When two of the guys on the heel team walk away from the match it is a cheap way out. It certainly didn’t feel like the end of some epic rivalry because two guys literally quit on the heel team. I also think in a match like that when you have 20 minutes of time after all ten guys are in there, you should try to have some more submission attempts to make it look like guys are trying to win. I’m a bit surprised that more people didn’t bleed in the match. There was a lot of blood from Moxley of course, but there wasn’t that much blood overall. I think they have had bloodier B&G matches in the past. Yuta losing for the team was the obvious result. I just thought the finish was underwhelming for a match like that. It wasn’t a great ending that left me satisfied. It was flat because two guys quit on the heel team and it made it anticlimactic at the end. I did like the variety of weapons they used in the match like the board of nails, the broken glass, Matt Jackson’s shoe with tacks and other things. They deserve credit for creativity. That double foot stomp by Pac from the top of the cage onto Nick Jackson through the table was the best part of the match. I just think you need to have more near submission attempts to build the drama for the finish. I’m sure that certain wrestling observers will rate this match higher than me due to having a bias toward some of the guys in the match. I did like it a lot.
The Golden Elite celebrated the win. The show ended there about three minutes past the top of the hour.
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Three Stars of the Show
- The Golden Elite
- Blackpool Combat Club
- MJF & Adam Cole
I know that’s way more than three people. It’s okay. It’s not a strict rule.
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The Scoreboard
This Week: 8 out of 10
Last Week: 7.25
2023 Average: 7.46
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Final Thoughts
A very good show overall carried by the Blood & Guts Match. While I wouldn’t call it some epic match that’s the best match of the year, it was still an impressive performance most of the way. I didn’t like the finish with Pac & Takeshita leaving the BCC team because it’s a cheap way out of booking an actual good ending. Instead of a decisive win for The Golden Elite, they booked a cheap finish to give the BCC an out, so maybe the feud is going to keep going. I’m not surprised that Jon Moxley bled the most, but I thought more of the guys would bleed in the match. Wheeler Yuta losing for his team is what I expected just based on the names in the match. I’m sure that certain wrestling observers will rate this match higher than me due to having a bias toward some of the guys in the match. I still liked it, but certainly not an epic match. The tag team match on Collision that also went 50+ minutes was better. With that said, two great 50+ minute matches within a week is impressive for AEW.
I enjoyed a lot of the MJF & Adam Cole content throughout the show, minus the comedy dance off before the match. All of it will likely lead to MJF turning on Cole and Roderick Strong is trying to warn Cole, but Cole is having fun, so he’s ignoring it. Anyway, I liked the ending of the MJF & Cole match with the double clothesline to win over Sammy & Garcia. That will lead to MJF & Cole against FTR for the Tag Team Title match.
There wasn’t much else on the show other than Jack Perry ending his Jungle Boy running and having a cheap win over Hook to win the FTW Title. It’s fitting for a new heel like Jack, but that title doesn’t really mean much. As a story, it was booked well. I enjoyed the show overall.
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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