‘All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite’ Review (July 22nd 2020)

Welcome to this week’s All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and Donald Trump is having people stolen away in the night, as they say. From what I’ve heard, this all has to do with the Black Lives Matter movement and wanting to silence those people that have been actively protesting the systemic racism in the U.S.A. Well, I guess Donald Trump wants to be Big Brother, because he’s a dumb son of a bitch. Well, as Donald Trump tries to ruin peoples’ lives, let’s take a look at some wrestling from the guy who thinks 1996 WWF is the same thing as “sports-like presentation”.

Match #1: Cody Rhodes def. Eddie Kingston – TNT Championship Match

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

“The American Nightmare” Cody (along with Nightmare Family head coach, “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson), stood in the ring awaiting to see who would answer the open challenge this week. After Justin Roberts finished his introduction of TNT Champ Cody, out walked…18-year pro wrestling veteran Eddie Kingston, making his AEW Debut, to answer Cody’s open challenge! Kingston proposed that this week’s open challenge should have a No DQ stipulation, and Cody agreed! As Justin Roberts began to introduce the challenger, Kingston attacked Cody from behind. The fight quickly went to the outside of the ring, with Kingston and Cody brawling. Kingston gouged Cody’s eyes! “This is a dangerous situation that Cody has put himself in,” said Jim Ross. “And it’s a dangerous man that he is facing. Eddie Kingston, one of the toughest, one of the dirtiest fighters in the game, is now challenging for the TNT Championship,” added Excalibur. Back in the ring, Kingston went for a single leg takedown on Cody and then started clubbing Cody with fists, employing some “street” ground-and-pound into his strategy. Kingston went for a spinning back fist but Cody dodged it. Cody blasted Kingston with the Disaster Kick! Kingston, in a fog, stumbled to the outside of the ring to clear the cobwebs after Cody’s Disaster Kick. Cody wasted no time and followed up with a tope suicida onto Kingston! “Cody’s got his work cut out for him but he is focused,” said Tony Schiavone. Cody came off the top rope with a missile dropkick onto the challenger. Kingston was clutching his knee and went back outside the ring. Cody removed his weight belt and followed him. “I think Kingston may have lured Cody to the outside,” said Excalibur. Kingston booted Cody to the abdomen and snatched the weight belt from Cody. Kingston began whipping Cody’s back with the belt. There is no disqualification in this match after all, so Kingston is using that to his advantage. “Kingston is whipping Cody like a government mule here,” said Jim Ross. “Kingston still trying to get his knee back in place,” said Excalibur. Kingston removed the padding on the outside, exposing the concrete floor! Kingston approached Cody to place him in a piledriver, perhaps, but Cody powered out and backdropped Kingston onto the concrete floor! Cody was driving his fists into Kingston’s forehead. “Cody showing great aggression here. Tenacity! Toughness!” noted Jim Ross. The competitors went back into the ring and Kingston was still favoring his injured knee. He hit a backdrop driver on Cody, planting him right on the back of his head. “That’s that influence of that All Japan Pro-Wrestling style, one of the pillars that Kingston counts as a motivator for getting into the pro wrestling business,” said Excalibur. Kingston was hitting Cody with hard body shots in the corner but Cody fought back until Kingston dropped Cody to the mat with another stiff shot. Kingston drove the sole of his boot into Cody’s jaw. Kingston was yelling at Cody: “Stay down!” Cody went after Kingston’s left knee but Kingston turned Cody inside out with a brutal clothesline! Kingston applied a Stretch Plum submission onto Cody. “The American Nightmare” escaped but Kingston took him right back down with a snap mare takeover. Kingston delivered wicked kicks to Cody’s spine. Cody got back to his feet but Kingston poked him in the eyes. Kingston went for another suplex but Cody floated over the top and caved Kingston’s foundation with a chop block to his tweaked knee! Cody was fired up and sent Kingston headfirst into the turnbuckle pad! Cody tried an Irish whip on Kingston but Kingston’s leg buckled and he crumped to the mat. Cody approached Kingston to take advantage of the situation but Kingston turned and met Cody with a low blow. “A desperate man pushed to his limit will do just about anything, and we’re seeing that with Eddie Kingston,” said Excalibur. Kingston DDT’ed Cody on the crown of his skull! Tony Schiavone noted that Kingston once served as the manager for Santana and Ortiz, as Kingston went to the outside of the ring and pulled a bag out from under the apron. Kingston emptied the bag inside the ring, spilling the contents across the mat. The bag had been full of thumbtacks! Kingston headbutted Cody between the eyes, growling “Fight me!” Kingston picked up Cody on his shoulder, carrying him towards the thumbtacks, but Cody escaped and dropkicked Kingston’s knee! Cody attempted to put Kingston in a hold, but Kingston countered and powerbombed Cody right into the thumbtacks! “Cody is bleeding from the mouth, he’s got thumbtacks in his arm and lower back. Look at that! Can you imagine the pain?!” said Jim Ross. Kingston backdropped Cody again but Cody popped up, full of adrenaline, and clotheslined Kingston! Cody saw an opportunity for the figure four, but Kingston slapped him in the face. Cody answered with open palm strikes of his own, and then a straight right hand to Kingston! Cody had enough and wrapped up Kingston’s legs in the figure four! After Cody bridged up, Kingston had no choice but to tap! “Cody has been a fighting champion but this may have been his toughest test yet. That knee injury to Eddie Kingston proved to be a crucial turning point in this match,” noted Excalibur.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was a stiff brawl between Eddie and Cody that made Eddie look mean and Cody look tough. This got rough once Eddie brought the thumb-tacks into the mix, but how else is a girl supposed to get laid on a Saturday night? There’s plenty of snug holds here, mainly by way of Eddie trying to squeeze the life out of Cody…blonde b*tch that he is. The match felt very different from what has been shown on AEW lately, because Eddie has laser-focused attitude to him that is flat-out refreshing in an era where everybody seems to talk the same and act just as such. What a long and arrogant sentence that was. Graham Greene is my huckleberry (in my mind) and this match was a brutal way to open the card.

Match #2: MJF (with Wardlow) def. Griff Garrison

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

MJF taunted Griff on the microphone and then walloped him in the head with it! MJF stomped Griff Garrison, then whipped him into the corner! MJF followed up with a belly-to-belly suplex on Griff. The undefeated MJF dominated Griff. MJF grabbed the microphone mid-match and commanded Griff to tell the people watching at home that MJF is undefeated. Griff Garrison slapped the microphone away from his face, out of MJF’s hands. This angered MJF, who then stomped on Griff’s hand. “Not the answer I was looking for,” said MJF. MJF got in the mounted position and screamed at his opponent, “Griff, you’re going to tell the whole world that I’m undefeated! Do you understand me?! Say it!” A battered Griff Garrison painfully mumbled into the microphone, “You’re undefeated.” MJF laughed and replied, “See, wasn’t that easy?” Garrison popped the microphone back in MJF’s face and rolled him up! MJF kicked out at two! This only served to further outrage MJF, who took Griff down with a lariat and then pummeled him with strikes! MJF decimated Griff Garrison with the heat seeker and scored the pin for the victory! “MJF remains undefeated,” noted Jim Ross.

My Opinion: 3 out of 5 – These two meshed well here, but it was all about MJF heeling Griff to death. You’ll have to watch a lot of this in the picture-in-picture mode, but the match worked well for what it was meant to do.

Match #3: The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) def. The Butcher & The Blade – Falls Count Anywhere Match

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

The Bucks found the Butcher and the Blade in the kitchen of the arena, cutting up meat. There was a fistfight between the two teams right there in the kitchen! The Butcher caught Nick and dropped him across his knee. He tossed him to the Blade, who planted Nick onto a steel cart! The Butcher covered Nick on top of the cart for a near fall! Matt Jackson picked up the raw meat and pelted the Butcher and the Blade with it, right in the face. The Butcher and the Blade had Matt outnumbered and gave him a double-team suplex onto another metal cart. The Blade got a near fall on Matt! “They’re using everything except for the kitchen sink!” said Tony Schiavone. The Butcher rammed Matt into a pillar in the concourse of the arena. The Blade did the same to Nick! The Young Bucks were able to reverse the momentum with their agility and double-teamed the Butcher. Matt held a metal sheet pan up to the Butcher’s face and then Nick ran and smashed it with his knee, driving it into the Butcher skull! The Butcher and the Blade hoisted Matt Jackson and sent him crashing inside the trailer of one of the AEW production semi-trucks! The Blade swung open the door of the trailer and then the Butcher rammed Nick Jackson’s face into it! Matt Jackson got a running head start and soared out of the truck and onto the Butcher and the Blade! “Look at the fearlessness!” said Jim Ross. “I think Matt hurt himself badly there. Maybe reinjured those ribs. No, the elbow,” added Tony Schiavone. “Could be both! He came down hard and on the concrete as well,” said Excalibur. The Bucks placed Butcher on a table. Nick crushed him as he jumped off a bar with the steel cooking sheet under his legs and onto Butcher’s face! The Bucks superkicked the Blade onto a moving escalator! The match finally moved ringside, where Butcher was hit with a running knee strike! They tried to double team Butcher, but he outmuscled Matt, pushing him away, and then swatted Nick down! Blade began serving up chair shots to the Bucks! The Butcher and the Blade set up a table and tried to send Matt through it, but Matt escaped their clutches. Using their aerial offense, Nick neutralized the Butcher, and Matt wiped out the Blade. “The Young Bucks are back in the driver seat,” said Excalibur. The Bucks set up a table across the steel barricade on the outside of the ring. They tried to suplex Butcher, but Butcher countered with his own suplex! Butcher ran with a cross body block onto Matt, the force breaking the table in half! Matt was clutching his ribs in agony. Nick whipped a steel chair at Butcher’s head like a fastball. They worked over Butcher in the ring with their spectacular tandem offense. Matt, bleeding from the nose, applied the Sharpshooter on the Butcher. Nick joined in and put Butcher in the cross face. Blade got back to his feet and broke the hold for his partner. Blade dropped Nick across the top rope and then clotheslined Matt, taking him over the top to the rampway. “This would be a huge win for the Butcher and the Blade,” noted Jim Ross. Butcher and Blade dropped Matt on the ramp with a powerbomb/neck breaker combo! Butcher and Blade went to the entrance tunnels and pulled out more tables, but it gave an opening for Nick, who darted from the ring and rocked Butcher with a jawbreaker. The Bucks hit Butcher and Blade with a pair of superkicks! They followed up with the BTE Trigger on the Blade, knocking him for a loop! The Bucks climbed the staging area and got on top of the entrance tunnels. “This is crazy!” yelled Tony Schiavone. The Bucks came flying from high atop the entrance tunnels, at least 20 feet up, crashing down through the tables that Bucher and the Blade were strewn across, and scored the hard-fought victory! “This was most certainly a statement victory by Matt and Nick Jackson—The Young Bucks!” said Excalibur.

My Opinion: 3.6 out of 5 – This was the standard sort of backstage brawl for the first half, but it got real good once they actually got to the damn ring. The Jacksons went crazy with the kicks, but that’s their thing, so what did I expect? Everybody bumped all over the place like it was New Year’s with the Manson Family (your daughters are mine…to strike out with). As much fun as the fight eventually became, this will be remembered for the double table-splash in the finale. Overall, this was pretty damn good.

Match #4: Diamante def. Ivelisse

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Ivelisse was pummeling Diamante in the corner with strikes. Diamante reversed positioning and hit Ivelisse with rapid-fire offense of her own! Ivelisse was blasting Diamante with back elbows galore! “Those are making a dent in Diamante,” said Jim Ross. On the outside of the ring, Diamante whipped Ivelisse into the steel guardrail, and then rammed her lower back into the edge of the ring. AEW Women’s World champ Hikaru Shida was watching on from ringside. Ivelisse kicked Diamante hard against the spine! She began to grind her forearm against Diamante’s forehead. Both wrestlers got to their feet and traded knife-edged chops! Diamante got the better of it when she took down Ivelisse with a waist lock German suplex. Ivelisse fought back with a powerbomb for a two count! Ivelisse was posturing, but Diamante rolled her up with an inside cradle and pinned her!

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – I liked this. These two knocked the yankee-doodle-dandy out of each other like Circuit City in bankruptcy. This was intense and brisk, with neither woman looking weak or feeble at any point. These two were almost like mirror opposites of each other, in a good way. There’s something here that’s worth revisiting in future cards.

Match #5: Adam Page def. Alan “5” Angels

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Page ducked a kick from 5 and then smashed 5 with a forceful elbow! Page blasted 5 with a massive boot! 5 avoided a clothesline from Page and followed up with a big rising kick. The comeback was short-lived as Page booted 5, sending him crashing to the outside! “He had that foot up so high, it was almost like a Bruiser Brody kick,” said Tony Schiavone. The Dark Order came out and watched the match from the entrance ramp. Hangman was temporarily distracted by their presence and 5 took advantage of the opportunity. 5 connected with a few strikes, and then a neck breaker on Hangman. 5 missed a splash from the top rope and Page quickly got back in control. Page nearly decapitated 5 with a lariat! Page followed-up with the fallaway slam and then a rolling elbow for a near fall on 5! “Angels might be a little intimidated to lose with The Dark Order watching on,” suggested Jim Ross. Page pinned 5 after an emphatic powerbomb!

My Opinion: 3.1 out of 5 – Page and Angels worked well together to keep this sucker from getting dull. This got by on the fumes of…fumes? Page was very aggressive here, because…YOU MANIACS!!!! YOU BLEW IT UP!!!! GOD-DAMN YOU!!!! GOD-DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!!!!!!!! That’s the power of Page and that damn clothesline he fired off near the end. I wanna Yodel and this match was fun and frisky.

Match #6: (Main Event) Jake Hager and Chris Jericho (with Santana & Ortiz) def. Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy with Marko Stunt)

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Jericho stomped Jungle Boy as soon as the bell rang. Jungle Boy took down Jericho with two deep arm drags and a dropkick. Jericho tagged in Hager, and then Jungle Boy tagged in Luchasaurus. Hager threw a right hand but Luchasaurus blocked it. Luchasaurus kicked Hager right at the temple but Hager grabbed Luchasaurus’ ankle. Hager tagged in Jericho and Le Champion started to work over Luchasaurus’ leg. Hager was tagged back in and wrenched the neck of Luchasaurus. Hager grapevined Luchasaurus’ leg at an unnatural angle, applying the pressure and stretching the ligaments. Hager hit him with a low chop block! Jungle Boy got the tag and cleaned house! He hit a hurracanrana on Jericho for a near fall! Jungle Boy flew to the outside with a tope onto Santana and Ortiz! Jungle Boy hit a springboard DDT onto Jericho but Hager ran in to make the save! Jericho punched Marko off the apron for some earlier interference. Matt Hardy was seen watching from the seats in the upper bowl of the arena. After a standing vertical suplex on Jungle Boy, Jericho hammered him with closed fists. Jericho hoisted up Jungle Boy and had him perched on the top turnbuckle. Jericho attempted a superplex but after connecting with right hands, Jungle Boy pushed Jericho to the mat! Jungle Boy landed on Jericho with a crossbody block for a near fall! Hager and Jericho double-teamed Jungle Boy. Jericho brought in the baseball bat but ref Aubrey Edwards enforced the rules, insisting that Jericho drop the bat outside the ring. Jungle Boy threw everything he had into a lariat, and then a kick to the back of Jericho’s head. Jericho managed to tag Hager in. Jake Hager tested the conditioning on Jungle Boy as he applied a headlock and put all of his weight onto it. After a double Irish whip, Jungle Boy countered with a double DDT onto Jericho and Hager! Luchasaurus came in after the tag and greeted Hager with thunderous pump kicks! He took the wind out of Jericho’s sails with chops to the chest! Luchasaurus rocked Jericho with a hook kick and then sent a wobbly Hager to the mat after a roundhouse! Jungle Boy connected with a forearm off the top rope onto Hager! Marko Stunt aimed a missile dropkick at Jericho, which sent Jericho into Luchasaurus’ thrust kick! Jericho kicked out at two! While ref Aubrey Edwards was distracted, Luchasaurus grabbed Jericho by the throat for a chokeslam. Serpentico jumped onto the ring apron, ambushed Luchasaurus, and swung Jericho’s baseball bat at Luchasaurus’ lower back! Jericho followed up with the Code Breaker for the three-count victory!

My Opinion: 3.4 out of 5 – This was a fun main event that had some action and didn’t screw the pooch. I wouldn’t have made this the main event, but it served a purpose and was enough to make The Inner Circle look cohesive again.

News Of The Night:

1. The AEW Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament: The Deadly Draw, is coming this summer.
2. Lance Archer had a great brawl with several wrestlers in the locker room that he won.
3. FTR protected Adam Page from The Dark Order.
4. Sammy Guevara pretended to be Serpentico to help attack Jurassic Express.

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

This was a fun show that had a lot in it and didn’t slow down, so I can say it was worth the viewing.