The John Report: AEW Dynamite 10/18/23 Review

This week’s AEW Dynamite featured Jay White against Penta, a big announcement from Sting, an Adam Copeland interview, the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale and more.

This was AEW Dynamite episode #211 at the Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, Texas near Houston. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.

It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means. Excalibur was on commentary with Tony Schiavone and Taz.

Jay White (w/Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) vs. Penta El Zero Miedo (w/Alex Abrahantes)

White is challenging MJF for the AEW World Title at Full Gear, so that should tell us who is winning this match. White entered with the AEW World Title that he stole from MJF. Penta went after Jay and friends on the floor leading to Penta hitting a Slingblade on the floor.

They went into the ring to start the match with Penta hitting a double foot stomp off the top. Penta hit a Backstabber double knees to the back. Penta ran the ropes, Colten swiped the feet and Penta got a rollup for two. White hit a DDT for two along with a neckbreaker for two. White with a suplex. Penta came back with a superkick. Penta was on the turnbuckle, so White chopped him down to the apron and floor. White did a front suplex onto Penta on the apron for a two count. White tied up Penta’s mask to the middle rope, but the referee untied it quickly. White did a double underhook suplex to send Penta into the turnbuckle.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Penta hitting the Slingblade neckbreaker two times in a row. Penta ran the ropes leading to a somersault dive over the top onto White on the floor. Penta and White did the “stand and throw chops” spot that happens in AEW too often. White stood there for ten seconds for Penta to take off his glove. Penta took his shirt off, so White could chop Penta hard. They kept on throwing chops. White ended that with a dropkick to the knee, but Penta came back with a spinning slam off the shoulders for two. White countered a move leading to a uranage slam. White hit a brainbuster that was very safe for a two count. White did a dragon screw leg whip and a sleeper suplex. Penta countered a move leading to the Made in Japan sitout slam for two. Good nearfall. The Gunns distracted the referee so Juice went onto the apron and punched Penta with a left hand to the face. White hit the Bladerunner neckbreaker for the pinfall win after 14 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Jay White

Analysis: ***1/2 I thought it was a great match. Penta has a lot of moves that work as believable nearfalls. The finish was rather sudden after Penta hit the Made in Japan slam, Juice got the cheap punch to the face and White capitalized with his finisher for the win. They matched up really well together with a lot of good moves by both guys. White winning was obvious since he’s challenging for the AEW World Title at Full Gear.

Jay White did a promo in the ring saying that MJF is not there, but JAY is there. White said that he is a truly elite World Champion. White wanted an answer to the generous offer he made to MJF to find three partners to take on the Bullet Club Gold in an eight-man tag team match.

Juice Robinson said spoiler alert in the main event, he’s going to win the Dynamite Dozen (Douchebag) Battle Royal. Juice said that he’s going to beat MJF for his diamond ring next week in Philadelphia and Juice said his ring is better because he got it for $24.99 from TJ Maxx. Juice said they would pawn MJF’s ring. The fans were chanting “TJ Maxx” after Juice mentioned it. Austin Gunn said they had two words for us: “Gunn’s Up.” That was it.

Analysis: A decent promo post match. I don’t really like the “heel steals a title” storyline in general, but I’m cool with White as a title challenger for MJF.

MJF was interviewed backstage by Renee Paquette. MJF said that he was a scumbag, not a dumb babyface that could get his ass kicked by four guys. MJF said he’ll be on commentary for the main event. MJF trashed Jay White for stealing his AEW World Title and also wanted Juice Robinson to win the battle royal. Renee asked MJF about Adam Cole, but there was an interruption. The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn walked up to MJF saying they could team with MJF. MJF said no to that. Caster said maybe he could enter the battle royal, win it, then beat MJF and MJF could put a ring on it. MJF left angrily. Anthony Bowens told Max he should have kept it simple, Gunn said MJF is a scumbag and Caster said “Yeah, but he’s my scumbag.” Caster smiled.

Analysis: It seems logical for MJF to team with The Acclaimed, but MJF is playing hard to get for now.

(Commercial)

A video aired about Hikaru Shida and Emi Sakura. Excalibur spoke very quickly to narrate the video. Sakura trained Shida 15 years ago, so they know eachother well.

Hikaru Shida vs. Emi Sakura

This is not for Shida’s AEW Women’s Title. Emi attacked before the bell. Shida came back with a shoulder tackle. They did the “stand and throw chops” spot that the previous match had. Emi charged for a cross body attack, but Shida kicked her in the stomach. They did a roll around the ring spot for a Shida two count. Emi avoided a dropkick and hit a dropkick of her own. Emi hit a cross body block against the turnbuckle.

(Commercial)

Emi was in control with some choking against the rope. Emi hit a cross body block to knock Shida off the apron to the floor. Shida came back with a hurricanrana into the apron. Back in the ring, Shida hit a missile dropkick off the top for two. They each got pinfall attempts. Emi hit a Tiger Driver for a two count. Emi went for a moonsault off the top, but Shida avoided it. Shida with a knee, but Emi kicked out at one. Emi got a cradle for two. Shida hit a backbreaker. Shida hit a Falcon Arrow. Shida hit a spinning knee strike called the katana for the pinfall win after eight minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Hikaru Shida

Analysis: *** A clean win for Shida over Sakura, who isn’t featured on AEW TV that often, so it was another match with a predictable finish. I thought Sakura got plenty of offense and looked competitive, so that’s good at least. Give them credit for working a fast-paced style match. Please AEW, come up with some interesting storylines for the women’s division. It’s sorely lacking all the time in terms of storylines.

Adam Copeland was featured for a sitdown interview from earlier with Renee Paquette. That led to Renee asking what has gone on with him in AEW. Adam said he’s still confused and he doesn’t understand what’s happened. Adam wanted to end his career to team with Christian Cage and he sounded on board with that until it became real. Adam said he started replaying their relationship over the years while noting that they met in sixth grade so it’s nearly 40 years. Adam recalled Christian being new at the school, then they both talked about wrestling and they did high school/college. Adam spoke about their wrestling training saying he was helping Christian get going in his wrestling career. Adam said that he got the dream gig and he told everybody to hire Christian. Adam said Christian was the most underrated (I would say underappreciated) wrestler ever. Adam said that he never wanted to be Adam & Jay or E & C and it was never what he wanted. Adam mentioned that Christian said that Adam had a rocket strapped to his back, but it’s not like that. Renee mentioned that there is still this jealousy and competition with him. Adam wondered why this kept repeating. Adam said he is Godfather to his daughter and Jay his godfather to Adam’s daughters. Adam spoke about how he didn’t want the TNT Title that Christian has. Adam said “I’m not going to fight him.” Adam said that eventually Nick Wayne and Luchasaurus would leave him high and dry, so when he hit the ground, Adam would be the one to pick him up.

Analysis: There was a lot there so I did my best to cover it as best I could. I think the key thing was toward the end of the interview when Adam was adamant that he didn’t want to fight Christian. I get the feeling that something big will happen to

Wardlow vs. Ryan Nemeth

Ryan went after Wardlow with punches. That didn’t do much damage. Wardlow picked up Nemeth and hit a Last Ride Powerbomb pulling onto the tights. The referee checked on Nemeth and called for the bell for the knockout finish. It went about 20 seconds.

Winner by knockout: Wardlow

Analysis: That was easy. Wardlow looks dominant again.

After the match, Tony Schiavone went into the ring asking Wardlow what he was back for. Wardlow showed off his wrist tape saying “MJF.” Wardlow walked into Tony Schiavone and knocked him down. Wardlow left without saying a word.

Analysis: If Wardlow wants to face MJF then why isn’t he in the Dynamite Diamond Ring battle royal or segments involving MJF? We know there’s a lot of history, but it’s not like they are having Wardlow go after MJF like a guy that wants to kick MJF’s ass. I know we should let it play out. I’m just saying logically, what’s keeping Wardlow from going after him? Nothing. Just the booking.

Kenny Omega was interviewed by Renee Paquette talking about how he doesn’t have a great win-loss record, but he is the measuring stick in AEW. Omega said that he’s going to take out Kyle Fletcher, then he’s going to take out the Don Callis Family and maybe go after the AEW World Championship. MJF walked in saying he was a massive fan of Omega. MJF extended his hand for a shake and shook his hand. MJF spoke in Omega’s ear: “13 days, bitch.” Omega said “13 days, we’ll see about that.” Omega’s match was coming up.

Analysis: I think the 13 days is when MJF will pass Kenny Omega for the longest AEW World Title reign in company history. Omega has the record at 346 days.

(Commercial)

There was a video from Roderick Strong’s house as Roddy was in his hospital gown and a neckbrace. Matt Taven and Mike Bennett were there too. Adam Cole gave Strong some hot coffee, so Strong spit it out and said he hated hot coffee. Roddy put in a request for some of Cole’s peanut butter & jam sandwiches, so they showed some slow-motion sandwich-making from Cole. Strong bit the sandwich and complained about how he hated the crust. Cole left saying he needed to get surgery on his ankle. Strong shouted “ADAM” repeatedly. Strong said the way to get his best friend back is to be nice to that scumbag…MJF. Taven & Bennett weren’t happy about it.

Analysis: It was the usual comedy vignette. I didn’t expect to see slow motion peanut butter & jam sandwich making on AEW TV this week, but that’s what we got.

Let’s Hear from the Don Callis Family

Don Callis was interviewed in the ring with Powerhouse Hobbs and Konosuke Takeshita by his side with Tony Schiavone doing the interview. Callis said that last week, Will Hobbs broke Chris Jericho in half.

Hobbs said that February 22nd, 1998 was supposed to be the greatest day of his life when he got to meet his hero Chris Jericho. Hobbs said his grandma got him tickets to a show, so Jericho told his grandma and Hobbs to shut up. Hobbs said that he swore that day that would hurt Jericho over and over. Hobbs said he looked at Jericho and he was lifeless, so he kept on hitting him with spinebusters. Hobbs said he loved it.

Callis said that Hobbs has been told to bottle up the hate and violence, but now Will Hobbs has a new family. Callis said he told Hobbs to be what he is. Callis said that Hobbs is a 6’3” 275 pound killing machine. Callis said he’s not done with Jericho. Callis said they’ll unleash Hobbs on AEW. Callis said they are undefeated in four months except for one match. The fans chanted “shut the f**k up” at Callis. Don said he had to get a scab worker to come in and that was Kyle Fletcher letting them down. Callis said that Kyle screwed the Don Callis Family.

Kyle Fletcher walked out to the ring to get in Don’s face. Kyle said that he did that match for Callis as a favor. Kyle said that Will Ospreay called him about it. Kyle said that maybe he was the weakest link in that match, but tonight he faces Kenny Omega one on one. Kyle said he’ll prove to everybody and especially Don that he can beat Omega. Callis said that if Kyle beats Omega tonight then they may have an opportunity to discuss next week.

Analysis: It was the usual strong heel promo Don Callis. I like how Don kept on calling him Will Hobbs because I think that’s a better name to use instead of Powerhouse Hobbs. Let Powerhouse be a nickname, but not the first name of the wrestler. Anyway, I’m all for a Hobbs push. He deserves it.

Kenny Omega vs. Kyle Fletcher

Don Callis was on commentary with his buddies standing with him. Fletcher hit an elbow smash to knock Omega down. Omega came back with a suplex. Fletcher left the ring, so Omega did a slingshot dive over the top onto Fletcher on the floor. When Omega was on the apron, Fletcher dropkicked Omega to the floor. Fletcher tossed Omega over the barricade at ringside. Back in the ring, Omega came back with a hurricanrana that sent Fletcher out of the ring. Fletcher tripped up Omega, pulled him out of the ring and then they exchanged chops on the floor. While Fletcher was seated on a chair, Omega charged and then Fletcher tripped Omega into the chair on the floor. They went to a picture-in-picture break.

(Commercial)

The match continued with Omega sending Fletcher on the floor and Omega hit a moonsault off the turnbuckle onto Fletcher on the floor. Back in the ring, Omega hit a missile dropkick to the back. Omega hit a suplex into the knee. Fletcher caught Omega with a half-n-half suplex followed by a running kick. Fletcher hit a brainbuster for two. Omega tried a move, but Fletcher countered it and did a lawn dart sending Omega into the middle turnbuckle. Fletcher hit a sitout slam for a two count. Fletcher hit a jumping kick to the back of the head while Omega was against the ropes. Omega escaped a move, knee to the back and a reverse rana. Omega hit a Powerbomb followed by a V-Trigger knee for a two count. Great sequence of moves. Omega hit the V-Trigger knee again. Fletcher countered a One Winged Angel attempt by turning into a sleeper with a body lock. Omega countered a pin attempt. Omega caught Fletcher leading to a Snapdragon Suplex, then Omega ran the ropes and hit a jumping knee. Omega hit the One Winged Angel for the pinfall win after 12 minutes. Callis: “This kid is a miserable disappointment.” He was speaking about Fletcher.

Winner by pinfall: Kenny Omega

Analysis: ***3/4 It was an excellent match that reminds us how great Kenny Omega is when it comes to singles match. Fletcher is an awesome athlete who does a lot of cool moves, bumps really well and he’s a taller guy too. I like watching Fletcher matches whether in singles or in the Aussie Open tag team. This was another match that was predictable because you know Omega isn’t going to lose to a guy at Fletcher’s level. I’m all for Omega getting a singles push again, but I don’t know if they are going to push him into the World Title picture any time soon.

A video aired about Danhausen coming back soon. It will be very nice and very evil.

(Commercial)

Lance Archer vs. Barrett Brown

Archer brought his opponent out and kicked him down the aisle. At ringside, Brown hit a suicide dive that didn’t have any effect. Archer gave Brown a Chokeslam on the apron. The bell rang.

Archer suplexed Brown across the ring. Archer hit three consecutive running corner smashes against the turnbuckle. Archer hit a step up knee strike. Archer lifted up Brown leading to a Blackout slam for the pinfall win. It was under two minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Lance Archer

Analysis: Squash city. It’s nice to see AEW remembered that Archer was on their roster. I guess he might have had an injury, but they barely use him when healthy.

Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana were shown outside somewhere at some graffiti park in Houston. A Swerve music video will debut on YouTube. Swerve talked about Hangman Adam Page saying he thought it was done at WrestleDream, but Page wants to keep it going. Swerve issued a threat toward Page.

Let’s Hear from Sting

Sting was introduced by Tony Schiavone, who mentioned it was in 1987 when he first introduced this man on this television station. Sting took the microphone and Tony left.

Sting said he remembered shouting a “WOO” back and the crowd shouted it back. He thought it was amazing. Sting teased saying a word. Sting wanted to reflect on his career talking about traveling the road with Lex Luger, Rick & Scott Steiner, Buff Bagwell and they looked at the generation ahead of them. Sting mentioned Dusty Rhodes being the most charismatic human being he’s ever seen in his life and Sting credited Hulk Hogan for transcending wrestling while saying he learned a lot from him. The fans booed Hogan’s name. Sting mentioned Ric Flair and a shoutout to Clash at the Champions 1988 and Great American Bash 1990 it was Sting as the victor. Sting thanked Ric for it. The fans chanted “Thank You Sting” at the Stinger.

Sting said they used to wonder what made these guys come back decade after decade and what more do they have to prove? Sting said he understood why they held on. Sting said it was the camaraderie with the boys, performing in arenas and it was because of the fans. Sting asked if his body does what it used to do 20 years and if should he be jumping off balconies? He said we’ll get there meaning he’ll get to it.

Sting teased talking about “that word” so the fans chanted “you still got it” at The Stinger. Sting said that you are thinking that he retired once already, but Sting said that retirement in 2015 didn’t sit right with him. Sting said that there was one key moment in that “speech” was that the only thing for sure is that nothing is for sure.

Sting said that brings him to the word “retirement” which led to boos from the fans. Sting mentioned Houston, Texas and some fans chanted “Rosenberg” so Sting said Rosenberg, Texas. Sting said that he started his first match with AEW was Revolution 2021. Sting said that his very last match will be at Revolution 2024.

Sting said that the only thing for sure about Sting is that his retirement at Revolution 2024 is for sure. Sting’s music played to it. The fans applauded Sting as his music played.

Analysis: It makes sense for Sting to retire early next year because he has slowed down a lot and it’s nice of him to tell the fans what show will be the retirement show. Revolution usually takes place in early March, so we’ll see when the actual date is. I thought his speech was great. I’m glad there wasn’t an interruption during the promo.

RJ City was seated backstage to introduce Toni Storm’s next masterpiece film. Toni walked in: “Sit up, relax, chin up, tits out and play the picture.” The Toni Storm silent film aired during the picture-in-picture break.

(Commercial)

Nick Wayne and his mother were interviewed by Jim Ross. Nick’s mom complained about how Wayne was listening to Christian Cage and turned his back on Darby Allin, who was like a brother to him. Wayne told his mom to shut up and JR told him to be nice to his mother. Wayne said he was always in Allin’s shadow while saying people congratulated Darby for getting Wayne there. Wayne said he had a new father figure: Christian Cage. Wayne said that Christian was a better father to him than his own father was. Christian showed up. Nick’s mom slapped him in the face and she said she was sorry. Christian and Nick left.

When Christian and Nick left, they were beaten up by Darby Allin. Darby threw them into a barricade.

The fight went out to the arena with Darby beating up Nick Wayne some more. Nick had a bloody mouth. Luchasaurus fought with Allin. Sting went out there for the save. Sting tried to put Christian in the Scorpion Deathlock, but Luchasaurus made the save. Christian and friends left.

Analysis: It was a bit rushed, but it was an effective segment in terms of getting heat on the heels. Having Sting save Allin makes sense due to their connection as friends.

There was a plug for matches on Rampage and Collision. There’s also AEW Battle of the Belts after Collision.

There were interviews by Renee Paquette with TBS Champion Kris Statlander saying she wanted to give a shot to somebody who deserves it – Willow Nightingale. Orange Cassidy the International Champion spoke about how he knew he cared about the title and he said he’ll defend the title. Orange will prove he’s a fighting champion. That was it.

They plugged the Battle of the Belts show with Kris Statlander, Orange Cassidy and The Acclaimed/Billy Gunn defending their titles.

Next week on AEW Dynamite:

* Tony Khan has a gift for Sting

* Rob Van Dam & Hook in tag team action

* MJF vs. Winner of Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal

The Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale was next with Dustin Rhodes making his entrance.

(Commercial)

Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale

They showed the entrances of Juice Robinson and Max Caster after the break. Maxwell Jacob Friedman, the AEW World Champion, joined commentary for the match.

There were 12 men in the match including a lot of veteran wrestlers. Johnny TV used his legs to send Matt Sydal over the top to the floor. Dustin Rhodes hit a clothesline on Johnny. Matt & Jeff Hardy got some offense. Dustin & Matt Hardy tossed Johnny TV out. Jeff Hardy hit a running splash on Matt Menard. Matt Hardy jumped over Jake Hager, who caught Matt Hardy and tossed him over the top to the floor. MJF went down to ringside where he offered Dustin some cash and Dustin put the cash in his outfit so Dustin focused on Juice Robinson. Dustin hit the Shattered Dreams kick to Juice, which is Dustin kicking the middle turnbuckle, but the guy selling it like it’s a low blow kick. That led to a break.

(Commercial)

Komander had a flurry of offense, but then Menard & Garcia caught him. Menard & Garcia tossed Komander over the top to the floor. Trent Beretta hit a suplex on Garcia and Dustin hit a Destroyer on Garcia. Dustin and Trent hugged, so Jake Hager broke that up. Dustin sent Hager over the top to the apron and Trent eliminated Hager by knocking him to the floor. Trent and Menard exchanged strikes on the apron. Garcia saved Menard from Trent leading to Menard clotheslining Trent off the apron to the floor. Garcia eliminated Jeff Hardy rather easily. Menard stopped Garcia’s dancing, so the fans booed. Dustin eliminated Menard and then Garcia eliminated Dustin.

The final three were Caster, Juice and Garcia. Juice was nearly eliminated, but then Caster eliminated Garcia.

Caster and Juice were the final two men in the match. Caster kicked Juice in the ribs to nearly eliminate him. Juice came back with a shoulder tackle. Juice tried a tight headlock to bring Caster over the top to the floor. They were battling on the apron with Juice gouging Caster’s eyes. Juice went to the top rope while holding Caster and Caster knocked Juice down. Caster jumped off the top with a Mic Drop elbow off the top. Jay White attacked MJF on commentary, so MJF left commentary to fight with White. MJF punched White repeatedly and MJF got his AEW World Title back. White hit a low blow on MJF, so White got the AEW World Title back. Caster was watching that action while Juice put his ring on the middle finger. When Caster turned around, Juice punched Caster with the ring on Juice’s hand. Juice dumped Caster over the top to the floor.

Winner: Juice Robinson

Analysis: **1/2 It felt like an average battle royal. AEW has done a lot of battle royals that have been great, but this one didn’t feel like that. It was pretty obvious that Juice & Caster would be the final two because they were the only ones allowed to do promos about winning the match. The other guys were midcarders, veterans and people that are rarely on AEW TV. The finish was very cheap, which is fitting for a heel group by Bullet Club Gold that usually cheats to win matches. I just think they could have made this more interesting with some different guys in the match instead of using people who are barely on TV.

The win by Juice Robinson means he’ll face MJF for the Dynamite Diamond Ring next week on AEW Dynamite.

Juice Robinson celebrated with Bullet Club Gold in the ring while MJF shouted from the ramp saying that Juice isn’t going to get this ring. The show ended about five minutes after the top of the hour.

Analysis: I doubt MJF loses to Juice, but it wouldn’t be a bad thing if somebody else has the Dynamite Diamond Ring for a change. I just don’t think they would book MJF to lose a match when he’s the AEW World Champion, which is certainly understandable.

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Three Stars of the Show

1. Kenny Omega
2. Jay White/Juice Robinson
3. Sting

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The Scoreboard

This Week: 7 out of 10

Last Week: 8

2023 Average: 7.35

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Final Thoughts

It was a solid show for the most part with a couple of good matches and plenty of talking. The Kenny Omega-Kyle Fletcher match was great. Obviously, Kenny was going to win, but I still liked it a lot. I like Kenny in singles more than tags. Jay White beating Penta was also very good. White won thanks to his Bullet Club Gold buddies, which is fitting for a heel like him. There were a couple of other decent matches and two squashes as well.

Sting announced he will retire at Revolution 2024, which is sometime in March most likely. Considering he’s in his 60s it makes sense. I think it’s smart to announce when it is to build up anticipation for it and hopefully tell a story leading into it. Awesome performer and tremendous career. I’m glad he’s had this AEW run over the last three years.

The Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale main event wasn’t that interesting. AEW sometimes has great battle royales. This was not it. They basically told you that Juice Robinson & Max Caster would be the final two while the others, many of whom are in their 40s or older, barely get TV time. Juice won due to a distraction finish and using a ring on his fist. That sets up Juice against MJF for the Dynamite Diamond Ring. It just doesn’t feel like a big deal although I am fine with the MJF/Jay White feud for the AEW World Title. Plenty of big names not on the show, but I guess they can go on Collision too.

The next AEW pay-per-view is Full Gear from Los Angeles on November 18th. Here’s the lineup so far:

* AEW World Championship: Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) (c) vs. Jay White

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Thanks for reading. Go Los Angeles Rams, Toronto Raptors & Toronto Maple Leafs. You can contact me using any of the methods below.

John Canton

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @johnreport