‘AEW: Dynamite – Blood & Guts II’ Review (June 29th 2022)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dynamite, which was broadcast live from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI! We’ve Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, and Taz on commentary and a HUGE Blood & Guts steel cage main event… Let’s get into it.
Match #1: Orange Cassidy def. Ethan Page
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Dan Lambert ordered ref Bryce Remsburg to send Best Friends to the back, and Bryce had no choice but to follow the rules of the athletic commission. Ethan Page grabbed Orange and pulled him to the mat. Orange jumped to his feet and dropkicked Page. Orange blocked a hip toss and grabbed “All Ego” with an arm drag. Orange jumped off the top rope with a diving cross body press. Ethan Page shoulder blocked Orange Cassidy, sending him careening to the mat. Ethan hoisted up Cassidy with a vertical suplex and took him down. Page kicked Orange and followed up with a brainbuster for a near fall. Page tried for the Ego’s Edge but Orange slipped out. Orange capitalized with a hurracanrana. Lambert grabbed Orange’s boot to distract him. Ethan Page squashed Cassidy with a powerslam for a two-count. Orange rallied back with the Stundog Millionaire! Orange nailed Page with a DDT for a two-count! Dan Lambert jumped on the ring apron, trying to draw Orange’s attention away from Ethan Page. Orange avoided the distraction and clocked Ethan Page with two Orange Punches and then a body slam to pin Ethan Page!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #2: Luchasaurus def. Serpentico
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Luchasaurus entered the ring to face Serpentico, while Christian Cage stood outside the ring and watched. Luchasaurus headbutted Serpentico! He sent Serpentico for a ride with a wheelbarrow suplex! Luchasaurus tied up Serpentico’s legs, locked him in a snare trap and applied a nerve hold. Serpentico was forced to tap out! After the match, Luchasaurus yanked Serpentico out of the ring. Luchasaurus choke slammed Serpentico on the arena floor!
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #3: Danhausen and FTR def. Max Caster, Austin & Colten Gunn
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Austin and Cash locked up. Austin felt good as he got the upper hand on the opposition. Austin tripped up Cash Wheeler, being sent face first into the canvas. Wheeler grabbed Austin and hit him with an atomic drop. Dax tagged in and chopped away at Austin’s chest. He followed up with a suplex to Austin for a near fall. Danhausen tagged in and dropped an elbow across Austin’s spine. Danhausen sent Colten halfway across the ring with a hurracanrana. Colten retaliated with a stiff shot to Danhausen’s head, practically knocking the face paint right off Danhausen. Colten dropkicked Danhausen. Dax Harwood tagged in and dropped Austin and Caster with hard shots. FTR suplexed the Gunn Club. Dax kept on Austin with multiple German Suplexes. Austin was looking for the Quick Draw but Dax blocked it and then tagged in Danhausen. Danhausen pump kicked Austin and attempted the GTS but Bowens jumped into the ring with his crutch and inadvertently clocked Austin in the face with it. Danhausen pinned Austin after the shot.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #4: TBS Championship Open Challenge – Jade Cargill def. Leila Grey
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Jade walloped Leila with knee strikes. Jade caught Grey and countered with a fallaway slam! Grey charged into the corner with a step-up knee strike but Jade countered a running bulldog with a pump kick! Cargill smashed Grey with Jaded and then pinned her!
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #5: BLOOD & GUTS CAGE MATCH – The Blackpool Combat Club & Eddie Kingston, Santana, & Ortiz def. The Jericho Appreciation Society
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
The Jericho Appreciation Society scored the man advantage at Forbidden Door this past Sunday on pay-per-view. William Regal joined the broadcast booth for this match. Sammy began for the Jericho Appreciation Society, while Claudio started the match for the Blackpool Combat Club. Claudio rammed Sammy into the turnbuckles and followed up with European Uppercuts! Sammy tried to chop Claudio’s chest but Claudio shrugged it off and blasted Sammy with more European Uppercuts! Sammy began to scale the cage and Claudio met him up there and yanked Sammy down onto the ring ropes. Sammy spring boarded off the ropes to create distance from Claudio. Sammy gave Claudio the middle finger. Claudio was looking for an elevator uppercut but Sammy countered with a cutter. Daniel Garcia was the next man to enter and he began to stomp a mudhole into Claudio. Sammy attacked from the other side, but Claudio wouldn’t be shut down. Finally Sammy connected with a kick that rang Claudio’s bells. Sammy and Daniel double suplexed Claudio. Wheeler Yuta was in next and he got control of Garcia with a series of German Suplexes. Yuta turned his attention to Sammy and dumped Sammy with German Suplexes. Claudio flung Garcia across the ring. Jake Hager entered for the Jericho Appreciation Society. Hager caught Wheeler off the top turnbuckle and slammed him. Hager and Claudio had a stare down.
Hager dropped hammer fists on Claudio until Moxley entered and chucked a chair at Hager. Moxley turned Garcia inside out with a suplex. Moxley followed up with cross faces on Garcia. Moxley raked Garcia’s face across the steel cage. Moxley jabbed a fork into Garcia’s forehead. Claudio lifted up Sammy and then dropped him into Moxley’s cutter. Then Wheeler splashed Sammy from the top turnbuckle. Angelo Parker came into the ring next and tried to flee from the Blackpool Combat Club! Claudio grabbed him and sent him for a ride with the gut wrench suplex! Moxley was waiting right there for an uppercut on Parker. Yuta and Claudio blasted Angelo with uppercuts. Hager nailed Claudio’s ankle with a steel chair! Garcia blasted Yuta with a shotgun dropkick! Ortiz entered the fray next! He dished out clotheslines to the Jericho Appreciation Society! Moxley spilled a bag of broken glass and spiked Angelo with a piledriver. Matt Menard entered the ring with a steel chair, waffling Jon Moxley with it. Menard drilled Moxley, opening up Moxley’s wound from Forbidden Door. Santana brought a barb wire bat and a table into the ring. Santana fired off chops on Menard! Moxley had a pocket full of skewers and spiked Menard in the forehead with them. Chris Jericho had his baseball bat and entered the ring, but Ortiz ducked and DDT’ed “The Wizard”!
Claudio turned around and ate a Code Breaker from Jericho. Eddie came in with a kendo stick and be began cracking members of the Jericho Appreciation Society with it! And the match officially began with Kingston in the ring. Tay Conti passed Jericho a bottle of rubbing alcohol through the cage. Yuta and Moxley took down Daniel Garcia with the Doomsday Device. Kingston and Ortiz powerbombed Hager through a table. Moxley and Yuta had black bags and opened them, pouring out thumb tacks. Ortiz and Claudio tore up the canvas to expose the wooden boards. Jericho put the Walls of Jericho on Moxley in the tacks. Eddie grabbed a handful of tacks and smacked Jericho in the face with them! Tay Conti took out the ref and stole the keys from him to open the cage door. Ruby Soho sprinted to the ring and grounded and pounded Tay! They brawled to the back! Jericho climbed to the top of the cage structure to get away from Eddie Kingston. Kingston walloped Jericho with the spinning back fist! Sammy climbed to the roof of the cage and tackled Eddie Kingston.
Kingston hit a low blow on Sammy. Kingston shoved Sammy off the top of the cage and Sammy came crashing down through the time keeper’s table. Jericho and Kingston duked it out on top of the cage! Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho on Kingston! Claudio climbed up to the top of the cage and smashed Jericho with a running boot! Claudio hurled Jericho around with the giant swing on top of the cage! Matt Menard clubbed Claudio from behind, saving Jericho. Claudio placed Matt in the scorpion death lock and forced “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard to tap out! Kingston was frustrated because he was trying to make Jericho tap out at the same time but Claudio got the tap first!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Final Verdict: 4/5
Essentially this week’s episode was a series of fun little matches all creating anticipation (by delaying) the main event, Blood & Guts! In terms of storytelling, Luchasurus aligning himself with Christian Cage and turning heel, and we know that because he’s wearing a black dinosaur mask now, was an interesting twist to the entire Jungle Bly/Cage feud that kicked off recently. Luchasurus even got new theme music out of it! Speaking of music… Orange Cassidy got his indie theme back this week, and it pales in comparison to the Pixies IMHO. I get it, it WAS his theme back in the day, but as a song that needs impact in an arena/stadium? I don’t think it works. Danhausen surprised everyone by getting FTR to be his tag team partners in a fun match that was more lightweight fluff from The Ass Boys but… it ended with Mr. Ass himself, Billy Gunn, siding with The Acclaimed rather than his own sons! Feud!! But what of the main event, of Wargames… er, Blood & Guts… Well it was, for me, head and shoulders above the first one. The action was more chaotic and furious, the entire thing told a great story AND we got more build to the Claudio/Kingston feud (which is based in reality fact fans!) And Sammy took a massive fall, well Eddie Kingston pushed him, off the top of the cage in a MUCH more successful spot that Jericho’s last time! All round a solid, fun and violent episode of AEW: Dynamite!