‘AEW: Dynamite’ Review (Nov 15th 2023)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dynamite, which was broadcast live from the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. We’ve just got Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Taz on commentary this week, so let’s get into the review!
Match #1: Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta) def. Orange Cassidy & Hook
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Cassidy and Hook ran into the crowd to get the jump on Mox and Yuta! The fight broke out onto the arena floor with all four men brawling! Moxley stomped on Orange. Yuta and Hook got in the ring and the match was officially underway. Yuta body slammed Hook. The FTW Champ threw Yuta with the El Camino. Moxley tagged in and ate an elbow strike from Hook. Moxley held onto Hook and Yuta dropkicked Hook after a tag. Hook t-boned Moxley and tagged out to Orange Cassidy. Orange planted Mox with a diving DDT! Orange was holding his ribs. Cassidy was looking for a DDT, but Mox held onto him, and Yuta rushed in with a lariat to Orange. The BCC were working beautifully as a team. Moxley taunted Orange with kicks and slaps. Orange fired back with a dropkick. Hook tagged in, as did Yuta. They traded strikes in the center of the ring. Hook backed Yuta into the corner with a headbutt and followed up with a Northern Lights Suplex. Yuta tossed Hook with a German Suplex. Yuta followed up with a rolling elbow strike. Moxley ran in and nailed Hook with a blindside shot. Hook leveled Yua with a lariat. Moxley ran in and stunned Hook with a cutter. Orange blasted Moxley with the Orange Punch and Moxley simply absorbed it, eating it for lunch. Hook tried to apply the Red Rum, but Yuta hit Hook from behind. Moxley impaled Hook with the Death Rider and Yuta pinned Hook with the seatbelt rollup!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #2: TBS Title Eliminator Match – Skye Blue def. Red Velvet
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
The winner moves on to the TBS Title Match at Full Gear on Saturday. Red Velvet grabbed a wrist lock on Blue but Blue escaped and countered with a hammer lock. TBS Champion Kris Statlander was watching the match from backstage. Red Velvet swept out Skye’s legs and hit her with a standing moonsault. Red Velvet boxed Blue in the corner. Skye Blue rocked Red Velvet with a DDT on the apron. Blue whipped Red Velvet into the steel guardrail. Skye Blue cracked Red Velvet with a thrust kick. They exchanged rollups and then knocked each other down with simultaneous thrust kicks. Red Velvet nailed with double knees to the back. Skye Blue hit the Skye Fall on Red Velvet for a near fall! Red Velvet countered a rising knee from Skye Blue with a powerbomb for a two-count! Skye Blue countered the Just Desserts with a thrust kick. Red Velvet returned first. Skye Blue intercepted a corkscrew and pinned Red Velvet after the Code Blue!
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #3: Samoa Joe def. Jon Cruz
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Samoa Joe jabbed at Cruz. Samoa Joe splashed him in the corner. Samoa Joe leveled Cruz with the lariat and then won via tap out!
My Score: 0 out of 5
Match #4: The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) def. Penta El Zero Miedo & Komander
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Komander and Nick Jackson traded a flurry of fiery offense. All four men entered the ring and the Bucks superkicked their opponents, while Penta and Komander had the same idea with thrust kicks. The Bucks shook the hands of their opponents and then superkicked them. Komander connected with a crossbody on Matt Jackson. The Bucks were there waiting though and hit Komander with their tandem offense. Komander took down Nick Jackson with a step up hurracanrana. Komander did the tightrope walk into a hurracanrana on Nick, and then sent Nick flying onto Matt Jackson on the arena floor. Penta flipped over the top rope and crashed onto Nick with a tope con hiro! Penta blasted the Bucks with thrust kicks. Komander nailed the Bucks with a double DDT off the shoulders of Penta. Penta rocked Matt with a Made in Japan for a near fall! Matt Jackson tossed Komander and Penta with a double Northern Lights Suplex! The Bucks were looking for a Meltzer Driver, but Komander sent Matt crashing into Nick. Penta destroyed Nick with a Fear Factor on the apron! Komander surprised Matt with a hurracanrana for a near fall! Matt Jackson and Penta El Zero Miedo traded shots in the center of the ring. Penta stunned Matt with a thrust kick, but then Matt fired off a superkick. Nick Jackson tagged in and scored with a superkick. Komander springboarded but Nick Jackson cracked him with a low blow and followed up with the Judas Effect! The Bucks bashed Komander with the BTE Trigger and scored the pin!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #5: The Gunns (Austin and Colten Gunn) def. Peter Avalon & Jacoby Watts
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
The Gunns made a statement win with the 3:10 to Yuma, quickly winning the match!
My Score: 0 out of 5
Match #6: Like A Dragon Gaiden Street Fight – Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Paul Wight def. Brian Cage, & The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher & Powerhouse Hobbs)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Don Callis joined the commentary team for this match. The teams began to brawl on the ramp! Jericho hit Fletcher with his baseball bat. Hobbs went right after Paul Wight. Paul Wight choke slammed Fletcher off the stage and through a table. Takeshita hit Ibushi with an elbow strike, but Ibushi absorbed it. Omega jumped in the ring and face planted Takeshita. Paul Wight smacked Hobbs into a car outside the arena. Jericho rattled Cage with a crate over the head. Takeshita whipped Omega headfirst into a sign! Ibushi rode a bike down the ramp, but Cage struck him with a lariat! Hobbs body slammed Paul Wight onto the hood of a car! Takeshita swung the bike around the ring and hit Jericho, Omega, and Ibushi. Takeshita nailed Ibushi with a brain buster on the bike. Omega pulled a table out from beneath the ring and set it up. Takeshita and Jericho brawled out to the VIP Club area of the arena. Cage and Fletcher isolated Omega in the ring. Cage and Fletcher suplexed Omega onto a pallet in the ring! Omega connected with a jumping knee strike and followed up with a snap dragon suplex on Cage. Omega had a bottle in his hand and smashed it on Fletcher’s head. Takeshita jumped off a refrigerator, but Jericho sprayed a fire extinguisher at him and then nailed him with the Judas Effect. Hobbs charged in the ring and nailed Omega and Ibushi with double clotheslines. Hobbs drove Omega down with the World’s Most Dangerous Slam! Brian Cage superplexed Omega out of the ring and through the tables on the arena floor! Hobbs planted Ibushi with a spinebuster. Hobbs splashed Jericho in the corner. Fletcher rocked Omega with a snap dragon suplex. Fletcher grabbed Ibushi and spiked him with a piledriver off the apron and through a sign that was propped up on steel chairs. Omega connected with a rising knee strike to Hobbs and Jericho followed up with the Judas Effect! Jericho and Omega taped Hobbs to the ropes! Omega smacked Hobbs with a glass bottle! Cage drove Jericho down into the mat and then tried for a Drill Claw on Omega. Omega escaped and spiked Cage with a reverse hurracanrana! Omega fired off the V Trigger on Cage and then on Hobbs. Omega pinned Cage after spiking him with the One Winged Angel!
My Score: 2 out of 5
Final Verdict: 2/5
What the hell happened with Dynamite this week? The show opened SO strong, with a tremendous tag match that felt epic – two “vets” teamed with young wrestlers in a hard-hitting battle… LOVED IT! But then it all went downhill from there. Well I say all, but the match between The Young Bucks and Penta/Komander was great stuff, with what looks to be an even BIGGER heel turn from Matt and Nick. If you don’t like indy wrestling (and prefer old-school stuff like FTR) you probably won’t enjoy this one. But I sure did! The women’s match was OK but it didn’t feel on par with Skye Blue’s other recent matches, unfortunately. As for the main event, good god whose idea was that? Crappy gimmick match tied to a video game was NOT my idea of a good main event. It really felt like a low point for Ibushi, riding around the ring on a push bike. AWFUL. I have to hope the rest of AEW’s week is better than this… can’t be difficult!
