‘AEW: Dynamite: Blood and Guts’ Review (Jul 19th 2023)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dynamite: Blood and Guts, which was broadcast live from the TD Garden in Boston. We’ve got Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Taz on commentary so let’s get into the review!
Match #1: FTW Title Match – “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry def. HOOK
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Jack Perry’s music began to play but he didn’t walk out. Footage aired of Jack Perry digging a hole in the desert. He buried his wrestling boots. He then got into a limousine. The music changed to symphony music and Jack Perry finally came to the ring. His entrance theme tonight was Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Jack Perry charged at Hook, but Hook dodged him and lit up Perry with body shots. Jack Perry rolled outside the ring and he and Hook began to brawl. The FTW Champ whipped Jack Perry over the barricade. Jack Perry raked Hook in the eyes. Jack dropkicked Hook on the side of the head. Perry chopped at Hook. Jack tried to German Suplex Hook off the apron! Hook countered with a T-bone suplex off the apron and onto the floor. Jack Perry played possum, lured Hook in, and drilled him with a draping DDT onto the arena floor! Jack Perry connected with a German Suplex. Hook popped right up and German Suplexed Jack Perry. Jack Perry grabbed the ref as a way to distract him while he hit Hook with a low blow. Perry followed up with a running elbow strike for a near fall on Hook. Jack Perry grabbed the FTW Championship. He swung it at Hook, but Hook avoided it. Hook pushed Perry back and inadvertently squashed the ref in the corner. The ref went down. Hook suplexed Perry but there was no ref there to make the count. Jack Perry cracked Hook with the FTW title. Ref Paul Turner regained consciousness and was able to crawl over and make the three-count. New FTW Champion… Jack Perry!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #2: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. def. Kayla Sparks
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Baker ducked a lariat attempt from Sparks and drove Sparks down with a sling blade! Baker suplex Sparks and followed up with a neck breaker. Baker applied the Lock Jaw and made Sparks tap out!
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #3: Blind Tag Team Tournament Finals – MJF & Adam Cole def. Daniel Garcia & Sammy Guevara
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
After Garcia and Guevara came to the ring, Chris Jericho’s music began to play. Jericho headed over to join the broadcast team for this match. MJF and Adam Cole came out to a theme song mash-up. MJF and Daniel Garcia had a dance-off! As Adam Cole joined in, Garcia and Guevara cut him off and double teamed him. MJF and Cole called for the double clothesline, but Sammy pulled Garcia out of the ring. Cole connected with a pump kick to Sammy, and then one to Garcia. Cole was looking for the Panama Sunrise, but Garcia escaped it. Garcia ate a superkick from Adam Cole. Sammy jumped into the ring with a springboard but Cole superkicked him! MJF tagged in. Sammy avoided the double clothesline by countering with a double Spanish fly. Cole made a blind tag and blasted Sammy with a superkick. Garcia made a blind tag and hit a double chop block on Cole and MJF. Garcia put Cole into the Dragon Tamer. Cole managed to reach the bottom rope to force the ref to break the hold.While Sammy and Garcia were outside the ring, Cole told MJF to dive on them. MJF had second thoughts, but the fans urged him on. MJF flew out of the ring with a tope suicida onto Garcia and Sammy! Cole nailed Garcia with a Panama Sunrise. MJF tagged in and MJF and Cole hit the dreaded double clothesline on Garcia. MJF pinned Garcia! Cole and MJF hugged after the match.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #4: Blood & Guts! The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, “Hangman” Adam Page & The Young Bucks; Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, Konosuke Takeshita & PAC)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Claudio and Kenny locked horns. Claudio blasted Kenny with European uppercuts. Claudio and Kenny battled for positioning. Claudio rocked Kenny with a massive back breaker. Omega came off the top rope and hit a cross body on Claudio. Omega threw Claudio into the second ring. Pac blasted Kenny with a missile dropkick. “Hangman” Adam Page was the next man to enter. Hangman caught Pac and used a fallaway slam on him. Hangman moonsaulted off the top rope and onto Claudio inside the cage! Hangman suplexed Pac after an assist from Omega. Claudio launched Omega into the steel cage. Jon Moxley was the next entrant into the ring. Moxley stabbed Omega in the ear with a fork! Moxley bit Omega’s finger! Moxley handed a fork to Claudio. Moxley stabbed Omega and Hangman in the head with his fork. Hangman and Moxley traded forearms. Moxley had a bucket full of broken glass. Moxley spilled the shards of glass onto the mat. Nick Jackson entered the cage next. Nick dropkicked Moxley and Moxley landed on the broken glass! Nick Jackson dished out superkicks and then a lariat to Pac. Nick was sensational with a flurry of offense on the BCC. Moxley grabbed a handful of broken glass, placed it on Nick’s chest and then stomped on it. Claudio and Moxley suplexed Omega onto the broken glass. Wheeler Yuta came to the ring with a steel chair. Matt Jackson was out next for the Golden Elite. Matt planted Pac into the pile of glass. Matt DDT’ed Wheeler onto the steel chair! Takeshita was out next and double German Suplexed the Young Bucks. Jon Moxley set up a bed of nails against the turnbuckles! Moxley dropkicked Omega into the bed of nails! Moxley body slammed Omega onto the bed of nails! The final participant was “The Golden Star” Kota Ibushi!
Wheeler tried to jump him, but Ibushi decked him. Ibushi cleaned house on the BCC with right hand strikes! Moxley stomped on Omega’s hand and dared Ibushi to approach him. Ibushi accepted the challenge and fired off kicks to a bloody Moxley. Matt Jackson spiked Wheeler Yuta with a brain buster on the ramp! Kota connected with a moonsault press on Moxley on the bed of nails! Claudio press slammed Nick Jackson into the steel cage! Matt Jackson grabbed Wheeler Yuta and planted him with three Northen Lights Suplexes. Yuta countered a fourth with a DDT. Moxley spiked Kota with a piledriver. Matt Jackson was on top of the cage and poured thumbtacks into the cage. Nick Jackson and Hangman Page backdropped Pac and Claudio into the thumbtacks. Nick Jackson propped up a table in the corner. Kota buckle bombed Pac into a pair of superkicks from the Bucks. Yuta superplexed Matt Jackson. Pac scaled the ring and dropped a double foot stomp onto Matt Jackson through a table. The Golden Elite and the BCC regrouped in separate rings. The two teams collided in the center, full throttle! Takeshita hit double clotheslines on the Bucks. Omega blasted Pac with a snap dragon suplex into the glass! Omega went for the One-Winged Angel, but Pac countered and transitioned into the Brutalizer. Claudio whipped Matt Jackson around with the Giant Swing! Claudio applied Matt in a sharpshooter in the tacks. Kota cracked Claudio with a massive round kick. The BCC teamed up and hit Omega with an onslaught of offense. Claudio and Pac inadvertently hit each other. Pac gave the BCC the double middle fingers. Pac grabbed bolt cutters, cut the lock off the door, and walked out of the ring. He slammed the door into Claudio’s face. Omega sent Takeshita into the glass with a snap dragon suplex. Hangman connected with the Buckshot Lariat onto Claudio. He followed up with a Buckshot V-Trigger with Omega onto Yuta! Page handcuffed Moxley to the ropes. Callis called Takeshita out of the match, realizing things were not going the way of the BCC. Matt Jackson had a different sneaker on, and the new one had thumbtacks on the bottom of it. Yuta’s face was ground into it by Nick. Hangman placed a steel chain around Yuta and choked him out!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
THis was another great episode of Dynamite, from the brilliant opening vignette from Jack Perry to the crowd-pleasing mash-up theme tune for MJF and Adma Cole, to the Blood and Guts match to close the show – everything was great. Not amazing but really great. I’d rather have more episodes like this on a regular basis, where the show is great across the board, rather than a show built around one great match and a handful of OK ones.
