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AEW Dynamite opened this week with Christian Cage and “Hangman” Adam Page versus Juice Robinson and “Switchblade” Jay White in a tag team match. During the match, Hook and Nick Wayne began brawling on the outside, eventually disappearing from sight. The match continued, and Jay White showcased his impressive ring IQ and moveset, leading to an exciting false finish when Hangman kicked out. It appeared that Juice would secure the victory until Mother Wayne distracted the referee, allowing Kip Sabian to interfere. Hangman capitalized on the situation and secured the pinfall for his team’s victory. Page and White will face off at Full Gear.
The next segment will be an interview-turned-brawl between Mercedes Mone and Kris Statlander. A relatively short brawl will ensue, resulting in the two crashing through a wall. The two will also face off at Full Gear.
Next, Will Ospreay would be interviewed by Tony Schiavone in the ring. Will would kindly suggest that Schiavone leave the ring before he calls out Kyle Fletcher. Fletcher would warn Ospreay not to touch him, or the Don Callis Family would be on him lightning-quick. These two are A+ wrestlers but average on the mic. These two will, you guessed it, face off at Full Gear.
The last segment led straight into a Falls Count Anywhere match between Roderick Strong and Lance Archer. I rewound the tape to confirm this—after the commercial, Adam Cole would be in a match with Konosuke Takeshita, with only a statement from the announce team that Roderick Strong had won. This match was pretty good, particularly the strikes and reversals. Takeshita rolled out of the ring when Cole went for his finisher and grabbed the Dynamite Diamond Ring when he was down there. He struck Adam Cole when he came through the ropes to get him and went on to victory. This loss cost Adam Cole a shot at MJF. After the match, Ricochet blindsided Takeshita with a superkick, alluding to a future championship storyline.
Next, we would see the newly renamed Blackpool Combat Club, now Deathriders, beating up JD Drake on their way to an advertised station takeover. Jon Moxley would take to the mic to address Orange Cassidy, his opponent for Full Gear. Orange would eventually come to the top of the entrance ramp, and he was joined by The Conglomeration. It would appear to be a pretty weak promo in which Orange challenged Wheeler Yuta next week on Dynamite. Just when you thought the segment was over and the Deathriders were leaving, Darby Allin would jump from the stands, attacking the Deathriders. Claudio would give Darby some stiff punishment for his troubles before the Deathriders escaped in their truck.
The next match would be Britt Baker versus Penelope Ford. Baker would win via submission before Serena Deeb came out to let Baker know that she’s coming for her.
Swerve Strickland versus Lio Rush was next. It may have been a work, but it really looked like Swerve was outsmarting Rush early on. They went on to have a decent match with great reversals. The match picked up to a quick pace and had some nice high spots. To no one’s surprise, Swerve won the match, but it was a great one. After the match, Swerve grabbed a mic to call out Bobby Lashley, claiming he didn’t want to wait for Full Gear. MVP and Bobby Lashley came to the top of the ramp. It was the most obvious distraction of all time, with Shelton Benjamin eventually attacking Swerve from behind. Lashley and Benjamin went on to lay the smackdown on Swerve, while MVP forced Prince Nana to watch.
The main event would be Kings of the Black Throne versus FTR, with the winner advancing to the championship match at Full Gear. The wrestlers were laying it in stiff and early, with great strikes from the jump. Both teams would go for amazing false finishers; I fell for it going both ways. How Dax Harwood kicked out of Brody King’s pins near the end blew my mind. In a bit of a surprise, Brody King would go on to choke him out to win the match via submission.
That wraps up AEW Dynamite for this week. Stay tuned to Greenville Sports Media for more of my regular wrestling articles.
Howe Fresh
for Greenville Sports Media
and check out my weekly opinionated podcast “The Wrasslin Corner”
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