The John Report: AEW Dynamite 09/18/24 Review
This week’s AEW Dynamite featured The Elite’s Kazuchika Okada & The Young Bucks facing Will Ospreay, Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher, and more.
Next week’s AEW Dynamite Grand Slam episode is one of the biggest shows of the year, so they will build that up a lot.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #259 from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.
It’s Wednesday and you know what that means. It’s Excalibur on commentary with Tony Schiavone and Taz. It looked like a small crowd again since they turned a lot of the lights off in the crowd to hide how small it was. It was about 3,000 fans according to WrestleTix, so it’s not a big number.
They showed some arrivals including Jon Moxley with Claudio Castagnoli with Marina Shafir. Darby Allin was also shown on his skateboard in the backstage area.
Chris Jericho (w/Big Bill & Bryan Keith) vs. Orange Cassidy (w/Mark Briscoe & Kyle O’Reilly)
The six guys started fighting in the ring and then the ring cleared quickly so that they could start the match. Orange sent Jericho head first into the turnbuckle followed by Orange diving onto the heels on the floor. Briscoe dove onto the guys on the floor. Jericho teased a dive, but instead, he waved at the fans. Orange hit an Orange Punch on Jericho for two. They fought on the floor for a bit with Orange hitting a forearm smash. Back in the ring, Orange jumped off the top, Jericho caught him and applied the Walls of Jericho submission. Orange got out of that, Jericho caught him and Jericho hit a running powerslam for two. Orange went to the apron to counter a move, so Jericho ran him over to knock Orange off the apron to the floor. Jericho took the camera from a camera guy and stomped on Orange. The referee Aubrey Edwards was on the floor instead of in the ring, which is the wrong way to referee. Back in the ring, Jericho hit an elbow smash off the top on Orange. Tony said it was about 2800 matches in Jericho’s 30+ year career. Jericho hit a Lionsault off the ropes. Orange hit a Stundog Millionaire and a Michinoku Driver for a two count. Orange jumped off the top with an elbow drop that Jericho easily blocked with his knees up. Orange sent a charging Jericho over the top to the floor. Orange went for a DDT on the floor, Jericho caught him and Jericho catapulted Orange into the barricade. There was no threat of a countout because it’s AEW. The referee Aubrey Edwards was out on the floor again as Jericho and Orange were on an equipment case. Jericho gave Orange a back body drop through the timekeeper’s table. They went to break.
(Commercial)
They did the “stand and throw strikes” spot, which led to both guys collapsing to the mat. Tony said that the crowd loved what they were seeing even though the crowd was quiet. Orange kicked Jericho into the turnbuckle followed by some kicks to the body. Jericho came back with a running clothesline for two. Jericho wanted a superplex, Orange knocked him down, Orange hit a cross body block off the top and Jericho blocked a DDT attempt leading to the Walls of Jericho submission again. Orange crawled to the bottom rope to break the hold. Big Bill was back at ringside with a boot to Orange’s head. Kyle O’Reilly went after Bill with punches and kicks, so they went fighting to the back. Orange got a cradle for two. Orange was selling a back injury. Jericho hit an Attitude Adjustment for his pal John Cena for a two count. Excalibur called it a Death Valley Driver, but it looked like an AEW to me. Jericho bounced off the ropes leading to Orange hitting a DDT. Orange followed up with a Tornado DDT. Orange jumped off the top with a diving DDT for two. That’s three DDT variations in a row. Orange charged right into a Codebreaker by Jericho for a two count because that is not Jericho’s finish. The fans were chanting “this is awesome” at about 20 minutes into this match. Orange hit a Beach Break slam for two. Bryan Keith showed up, so Mark Briscoe fought with Keith on the apron. The referee was looking at Briscoe fighting Keith, so Jericho had a roll of quarters, but Orange avoided the punch, Orange got the roll of quarters and Orange hit the Orange Punch on Jericho for the pinfall win. It went 21 minutes. Orange put the roll of quarters in his pocket after the win.
Winner by pinfall: Orange Cassidy
Analysis: ***1/2 It was a very good match that went longer than I thought it was going to go. The table spot before the break felt completely unnecessary and had no factor in the match overall, but it’s a cheap way to pop the crowd. It was a creative finish with the dreaded rolls of quarters coming into play. Orange beating Jericho is fine with me although I don’t think it means that much.
There was a promo from Pac and Claudio Castagnoli from Dynamite last Wednesday. Pac spoke to Yuta Wheeler saying they had a Trios Tag Team Title match next week. Claudio Castagnoli spoke about how they need Wheeler Yuta to show up and defend the titles with Claudio & Pac. Jon Moxley said that Wheeler wasn’t forced to be with them and he should look in the mirror so he’ll know what to do.
Wheeler Yuta was shown leaving the arena while Alex Marvez interviewed Yuta, who was asked about the possible AEW Trios Tag Team Title match. Yuta said he’s conflicted. Yuta said WrestleDream instead of Grand Slam and a guy from AEW handed Yuta his Trios Tag Team Title. Yuta said that he’s a fighting champion who has pride in carrying the AEW Trios Tag Team Titles. Yuta said if they want to defend the titles then he’ll whoop whoever’s ass that he has to.
Hook vs. JD Ink
Roderick Strong was on commentary joined by Matt Taven & Mike Bennett. This JD Ink guy has his whole body covered in tattoos, so the “Ink” name is fitting.
The FTW Champion Hook decked Ink with a clothesline along with two overhead suplexes. Hook hit a head-arm overhead suplex. Hook hit elbow smashes along with a Red Rum submission for the easy win. It went about one minute.
Winner by submission: Hook
Analysis: 1/2* A squash win to put over Hook. That’s it. Is Hook in a better place on the card now after feuding with Chris Jericho for six months? No. The same spot he was in before.
Private Party’s Isiah Kassidy & Marq Queen were interviewed by Alex Marvez. They said they were ready to fight Claudio Castagnoli. Pac & Wheeler Yuta. Kassidy said if Jon Moxley wants a war, expect the unexpected because they will own their asses.
(Commercial)
Christian Cage and The Patriarchy were interviewed by Renee Paquette backstage. Christian said that his son Nick Wayne and Christian have plans to hold two singles at once. Christian made Renee call him the future World Champion. They showed Christian and Nick Wayne looking at Kip Sabian, who was off in the distance. Christian told Sabian he wasn’t sure why he kept hanging around them while saying he didn’t care that Sabian’s dad was dead. Christian said he’d put him in the dirt with him. Sabian reacted as if he understood.
Mariah May & Serena Deeb vs. Queen Aminata & Yuka Sakazaki
Deeb and Yuka exchanged some holds leading to multiple pin attempts for two. Yuka kicked Deeb leading to Queen tagging in for a running kick and a dropkick. May was on the floor by the steel steps rather than standing on the apron. Deep did a dragon screw leg whip on Queen’s leg against the ropes. May tagged herself in leading to a dropkick on Queen. May knocked Yuka off the apron and celebrated that.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Yuka hitting a missile dropkick off the top. Yuka slammed Deeb and Yuka suplexed May onto Deeb. Yuka hit a superkick for two because May made the save leading to a German Suplex. Queen hit a German Suplex on May. Deeb hit a German Suplex on Queen. Yuka hit a spinning slam off the shoulders. Yuka jumped off the top onto the three women, including her own partner. Yuka jumped off the top with a Magical Girl Splash, but May broke up the pin by using the AEW Women’s Title to hit Yuka in the head. There’s a DQ finish. It went about nine minutes.
Winners by disqualification: Queen Aminata & Yuka Sakazaki
Analysis: **1/2 A cheap finish to an average match. Yuka dominated most of the match since she was in for much longer than her partner. The DQ finish is lame but also fits May’s persona as a champion who didn’t seem to care about anything other than herself.
After the match, May used the belt to hit Yuka repeatedly. Nobody tried to help Yuka. May left with a smile on her face.
Mina Shirakawa was featured in a video saying that Mariah May wants to see Mina, but Mina said she’s not sure she likes what May has become. Mina said if you really want Mina then get ready because Mina is coming.
Analysis: My guess is that May will pretend like she wants to be friends with Mina again, but May isn’t genuine about it so it will lead to a rivalry between them.
Jon Moxley was up next.
(Commercial)
A video aired about the Nigel McGuinness-Bryan Danielson history. There were some talking heads speaking about how great the rivalry was. The story is that Nigel felt slighted that Danielson was praised as the best in the world while Nigel always thought he was better. They face off next week on AEW Dynamite if Danielson is cleared to compete.
Analysis: I liked the video. It should be a great match between Danielson and McGuinness next week. However, I would have liked Danielson to do a promo to set it up a bit. Danielson was off last week and this week.
Let’s Hear from Jon Moxley with Friends
Jox Moxley made his entrance joined by allies Claudio Castagnoli & Marina Shafir. Private Party attacked Moxley & Claudio with a cheap attack. Claudio hit multiple backbreakers on Quen. Moxley threw Kassidy into the steel steps and also choked him. The trio of Moxley, Claudio & Shafir beat up Kassidy more. Komander tried an attack, but he was beaten up easily. Marina tackled Alex Abrahantes and took the microphone from him. Claudio sent Komander into the crowd.
Jon Moxley said that he can end Private Party’s careers, but he’s not going to do it. Moxley told Kassidy that Private Party has been in AEW for five years and they are in the same spot they were in five years ago. Moxley said consider this a gift as he used a hammer to hit Kassidy’s hand. Moxley actually hit whatever staging device surface that was.
Analysis: There’s no way Moxley came close to hitting Kassidy’s hand with the hammer. It was shot from a far angle on the side and there wasn’t good lighting there, which was intentional from a production standpoint.
Moxley and Claudio wanted to get back in the ring, but Darby Allin jumped Claudio from behind using the skateboard as a weapon. Allin faced off with Moxley. Allin tried using the skateboard as a weapon, but Moxley avoided it. Moxley left the ring.
Allin did a promo saying that he’s not the same man that Moxley knew from five years ago. Allin said he’s going to run through Moxley next week at Grand Slam and then he’s going WrestleDream in his home state of Washington and he’s going to become the AEW World Champion.
Analysis: There wasn’t much of a promo from Jon Moxley other than his trash talk toward Private Party. Allin showed a lot of confidence ahead of his match with Moxley next week. I think Moxley will probably win and might be the next AEW World Champion as well.
A video aired about “Scapegoat” Jack Perry, who is the TNT Championship. Perry claimed that the people who don’t like him are the people who can’t handle the truth.
Ricochet vs. “The Beast” Mortos
Ricochet connected with some punches early on and then Mortos tackled Ricochet into the turnbuckle. Mortos hit a jumping kick. Mortos charged, Ricochet got a boot up and Mortos missed a running knee attack by going over the top to the floor. Ricochet hit a suicide dive onto Mortos on the floor. Back in the ring, Ricochet hit a springboard clothesline and a running Shooting Star Press for two. They each did hurricanranas and landed on their feet. Ricochet did a backflip to avoid a move as the two men had a staredown. Ricochet kicked Mortos out of the ring. Ricochet went over the top with a dive, but Mortos caught him and Mortos gave Ricochet a Powerbomb into the ring apron.
(Commercial)
Mortos was in control with a chinlock. Ricochet sent Mortos against the ropes followed by a 619 kick. Ricochet charged, Mortos tossed him up and Mortos hit a Samoan Drop for two. That was a great popup Samoan Drop. Ricochet hit a spin kick that hit the hand, but Ricochet’s leg slap was loud so it sounded good. Mortos with a headbutt. Mortos charged and Ricochet sent Mortos over the top to the floor. Ricochet jumped over the top with a somersault, Mortos was supposed to catch him, failed to do so and Ricochet countered a move with a sunset flip Powerbomb on the floor. They went back into the ring where Ricochet hit a springboard 450 Splash for a two count. They went up top where Mortos hit a press body slam for a two count. The small crowd chanted “AEW” although it didn’t last that long. Ricochet hit a Crucifix Bomb. Ricochet did an ax kick that didn’t even tough Mortos, who still sold it. Ricochet hit the Vertigo sitout reverse suplex for the pinfall win after 12 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Ricochet
Analysis: ***1/2 I liked the match. It was hard-hitting at times and Ricochet showed a lot of heart in overcoming the more powerful opponent to get the win. I don’t think Ricochet is doing the flying moves that much more in AEW. Mortos is one of those guys who picks up the wins against the lower card guys, but he loses to the bigger names. I think Mortos is a guy who could thrive if he got a push. Since Mortos is a masked wrestler who doesn’t do promos, they should get him a manager. Anyway, Ricochet getting the win was the obvious result for this match. Ricochet is 3-0 in singles matches in AEW now.
There was a video about “Hangman” Adam Page covering his recent actions. Hangman made it clear that he will have what he wants.
(Commercial)
This Saturday on AEW Collision will be a 10-Man All-Star Tag Team Match. It’s FTR, The Outrunners & Hook vs. The Beast Mortos, Grizzled Young Veterans, Rush & Roderick Strong.
Analysis: I think the “All-Star” term is used loosely there, but it’s AEW.
“Hangman” Adam Page Interview
“Hangman” Adam Page was interviewed in the ring by Tony Schiavone. I think Page has been one of the best characters and overall performers in AEW for most of this year. I know he had a lengthy absence at one point, but I’m just saying as a character he’s done a great job.
Tony mentioned that at All Out, Page beat Swerve Strickland in a violent match. Tony went on to say that Page claimed it wasn’t over because Page wanted revenge against anybody who supported Swerve. Page said he has watched and listened for a long while because he knew the day would come when Swerve Strickland was dealt with and he would be gone. Page said that he knew that it wasn’t just Swerve who needed to pay for what happened to Page. Page said that people who protected Swerve from Page and people who supported Swerve will need to pay. Page shouted about the fans supporting Swerve and cheered Swerve for every title defense. Page shouted about the people who supported Swerve when he was locked in a cage. Page spoke about how when he was home for four months suspended, he would hear the voices cheering Swerve on. Page claimed he heard another voice loud and clear above them, a voice coming clear from the commentary desk, so that led to Swerve staying at Tony. That led to Tony mentioning Jeff Jarrett and Page said that Jeff Jarrett wasn’t here, but Tony was here.
Jeff Jarrett made his way down to the ring with a sense of purpose wearing his “Last Outlaw” shirt. Jarrett and Hangman got into a fight around ringside. Page threw Jarrett over the barricade and Jeff tried to fight back. Page tossed Jarrett into the ring. Page wanted a Buckshot Lariat, but security and officials broke it up. Jarrett’s allies Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh and wife Karen Jarrett tried to calm Jeff down. Hangman was at the top of the stage while Jeff was in the ring.
Jarrett said that he’ll be damned if he let Hangman put a finger on Tony Schiavone. Jarrett said that there’s an entire dressing room that wants to beat up Hangman, but the “Last Outlaw” Jarrett is at the front of the line. Jarrett promised that if it’s the last thing he does in his career, somehow, some way, some place, the Last Outlaw is going to kick Hangman’s ass. The crowd liked that.
Analysis: This is obviously going to lead to some big match between Hangman Page and Jeff Jarrett that could be like a Bunkhouse Brawl or something like that. I’m sure it will be an old school, bloody fight where Jarrett will do his best to win, but it should be a win for Hangman when it happens. I don’t mind Jeff Jarrett in this role as the grizzled veteran who has earned the respect of the fans even though Jarrett has been a heel for most of his career. They have slowly developed this story, so I think it’s time to announce a match between them, which is probably coming over the next couple of weeks. It could be saved for the WrestleDream PPV, but it might be a Dynamite match too.
Ricochet was backstage about to be interviewed by Renee Paquette, but the AEW International Champion Will Ospreay interrupted. Ricochet recalled Will Ospreay telling Ricochet to get his wins up so that Ricochet could see Ospreay in the ring. Ricochet said he knows Will Ospreay is teaming with Kyle Fletcher against The Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Team Titles next week and he wishes Will all the best. Ricochet informed Will that he talked to Tony Khan, so on October 2nd on the 5th anniversary of Dynamite, it’s Ricochet facing Ospreay for the AEW International Title. Ricochet said that they had matches that changed professional wrestling and in the past couple of years, Will has been on another level, but he is still Ricochet and he’s out of this world. Ricochet told Will he would be seeing him soon.
Analysis: That’s a big match that a lot of people wanted to see since Ricochet joined AEW. I originally thought that it should be a PPV match, but I don’t mind it on the 5th Anniversary of Dynamite because that should be a big episode as well.
(Commercial)
It was main event time featuring the big trios tag team match. The AEW International Champion Will Ospreay was up first for his team. He was joined by Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita of the Don Callis Family, so Callis was on commentary. Ospreay and Fletcher will team up on Dynamite Grand Slam next week against The Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Team Titles.
The Elite trio of AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks made their entrance first for their team followed by the AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada.
Will Ospreay, Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher (w/Don Callis) vs. Kazuchika & The Young Bucks – Matthew & Nicholas Jackson
I think Ospreay is the only babyface in this match. I guess Fletcher counts as a babyface when he teams with his best friend Ospreay.
It was Nick and Kyle to start the match. Will tagged in leading to a double team hiptoss on Nick and a double kick. Okada tagged in against Will in a matchup between former IWGP World Champions. Takeshita wanted a tag against Okada, but Will told him to back off. Okada did a shoulder tackle, so Will did a kip up to get back up to his feet. Will hit a running hurricanrana along with a forearm. Takeshita tagged himself in by slapping Will in the back. All six guys went into the ring to exchange strikes. The Elite trio all hit body slams followed by senton splashes at the same time. The Elite trio posed on the floor, so the opponents kicked them into the barricade. The trio of Will, Takeshita & Kyle all hit slingshot dives over the top onto their opponents on the floor.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Will sending Nick into the turnbuckle and Kyle got the tag. Matt was in the ring illegally so that Kyle could hit a double clothesline on the Bucks. Kyle hit a running forearm and suplexes for each of the Bucks. Why is Matt still in the ring? Because it’s AEW. Kyle hit a running kick on Matt and a running kick on Nick, so Matt finally left the ring. Kyle hit a brainbuster for a two count. Nick countered a move leading to a superkick. Okada tagged in with three uppercuts, but Kyle came back with a Michinoku Driver. Takeshita tagged in against Okada with forearms to the head along with a leaping lariat. Takeshita hit a running elbow along with a brainbuster. Takeshita hit a senton splash off the middle turnbuckle for two. Okada landed on his feet to counter a move leading to Okada with a DDT. Both Bucks are in the ring illegally (again), so that Takeshita could avoid them and the Bucks accidentally kicked Okada. The three guys from the other team were in the ring leading to Takeshita hitting a spinning slam on Okada leading to a triple dropkick because the Bucks made the save for the two count. Nick hit a hurricanrana on Will and a double superkick by the Bucks on Kyle. Double superkick by the Bucks (they are still in the ring illegally) on Takeshita, who hit a double clothesline. Okada hit a running dropkick on Takeshita. Okada had Takeshita on his back leading to a neckbreaker on the knee. They went to a picture-in-picture break for the final time.
(Commercial)
The Bucks were in control of Takeshita with a flipping neckbreaker and a kick, but Kyle broke up Matt’s pin attempt. Nick tagged in with a splash/moonsault combo. Okada wasn’t legal, but he jumped off the top with an elbow drop on Takeshita. The Elite did their middle finger salute to the hard camera side. Takeshita avoided the Bucks (why are they both in the ring still?) doing an EVP Trigger and Takeshita hit a German Suplex on both Bucks. Will got the hot tag with a springboard forearm that some people might say is phenomenal. Will hit an incredible backflip kick followed by a standing sky twister press. Okada was in illegally, both Bucks hit a double superkick on Will and Nick hit a double foot stomp to Will’s back leading to Matt hitting a Powerbomb for two because Will’s partners made the save. Both Bucks were in the ring going for superkicks, but Will avoided them briefly. Matt and Nick each hit superkicks followed by a double superkick for two. Why are two guys on the same team allowed to be in the ring for such a long time? Kyle went in illegally to suplex Nick down. Kyle hit a running kick on Matt and Kyle/Will hit a spinebuster combo move for two because Okada made the save. Kyle got the tag against Matt while Nick was in the ring illegally with a kick again. Will was in illegally, Kyle jumped off the top and hit a Cutter. Okada hit a flatliner on Kyle and a dropkick on Takeshita. Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on Okada followed by Takeshita hitting a somersault dive over the top onto Okada on the floor. Nick hit a jumping facebuster on Kyle and a moonsault onto Takeshita on the floor. Kyle avoided the TK Driver, shoved Matt into Nick and Kyle hit a Tombstone on Matt, but Nick made the save. Will nailed Nick with the Hidden Blade. That led to Ospreay & Fletcher hitting the Coriolis double team slam on Matt and Fletcher covered Matt for the win. This match went 21 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Will Ospreay, Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher
Analysis: ***3/4 A very good match featuring six talented guys and the hardcore AEW fans love this kind of stuff. I think Fletcher winning for his team makes sense since Fletcher & Ospreay against the Young Bucks next week on Dynamite. I did like most of it, but it’s also a flawed match for me. Certain wrestling observers will go over four stars for a match like this due to the bias towards certain wrestlers while also ignoring traditional wrestling rules. I’m different because I call out things like when half the match has more than two guys in the ring or even three guys on one team in the ring just so they can do combination moves. To me, tag team wrestling is better when they are building to hot tags, you do legal combination moves after a tag and tell a story that way. Having random people going into the ring for half of the match is silly.
After the match, Ospreay wanted to shake hands with Takeshita, but Takeshita shoved Ospreay in the face instead. The show ended there with Ospreay’s team celebrating the win while the announcers pushed the big matches at Dynamite Grand Slam next week.
Here’s the lineup for AEW Dynamite Grand Slam in New York City.
* AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (Non-title match)
* Winner Receives AEW World Title Match: Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley
* AEW Tag Team Championships: The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) (c) vs. Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher
* FTW Championship: Hook (c) vs. Roderick Strong
* AEW Women’s World Championship: Mariah May (c) vs. Yuka Sakazaki
* AEW Trios Tag Team Championships: PAC, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta vs. opponents to be named.
Analysis: It’s a great lineup. I think Danielson, Moxley, The Young Bucks, Hook, May and Pac/Claudio/Yuta will win those matches.
===
Three Stars of the Show
- Will Ospreay, Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher
- Ricochet/Mortos
- Kazuchika & The Young Bucks – Matthew & Nicholas Jackson
===
The Scoreboard
This Week: 7.5 out of 10
Last Week: 7.25
2024 Average: 7.49
===
Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
It was a strong wrestling show. There were three matches that had plenty of time and delivered above average matches. The six-man tag team match was a lot of fun if you’re into the typical AEW tag team matches. My problem with it is that half the match had wrestlers in the ring illegally just so they could do double team and triple team moves. It’s just a spotfest tag as usual in AEW while lacking in terms of trying to tell a story. The Cassidy/Jericho match was solid although I didn’t expect it to go that long. Ricochet beating Mortos was also very good.
The talking segments were well done. I like “Hangman” Adam Page as much as anybody on the show because he’s actually a unique character who has gone from a popular babyface to a crazed madman. Jeff Jarrett confronting Page should lead to a brawling type of match between them. The Jon Moxley stuff with Darby Allin was okay. I think longer promos from them would have been better than what was done on this show. There was no Bryan Danielson-Nigel McGuinness on the show to build their match next week, but the video package that aired about them was awesome.
It is depressing to watch some of these shows where they turn the lights off to hide the small crowd size. It looks so dark on television. I hope things get better for AEW, but I don’t know if they will grow their crowds any time soon. Next week’s AEW Dynamite Grand Slam show will be wrestling-heavy with great matches.
===
Thanks for reading. Go Los Angeles Rams. You can contact me using any of the methods below.
John Canton
Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X: @johnreport