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Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Champions assemble. The September 23 edition of AEW Dynamite promised a pair of hard-hitting title matches as well as a tag team match featuring the AEW women’s champion, the NWA women’s champion and the AEW women’s tag team cup champions.
After weeks of declaring that he was cheated in the Casino Battle Royale, Eddie Kingston got his wish. He was given a shot at the AEW World Championship against Jon Moxley. In a war of two men with absolutely no quit, this promised to be a brutal affair unlike most had seen in All Elite Wrestling.
TNT champion Brodie Lee has not chosen to take the same approach as his predecessor Cody, but he is still ready for all comers. This week, he battled the man who upset Chris Jericho, Orange Cassidy.
After an incredible battle at All Out, Thunder Rosa and Hikaru Shida have now found a common foe in the AEW women’s tag team cup champions Diamante and Ivelisse. While the top women in their respective companies, Shida and Rosa did not have the tag team chemistry of their dangerous opponents.
Carrying a title granted to him by his friend Kip Sabian, “The Best Man” Miro was set to debut in a tag team match with his friend against the established pair of Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss. While Miro wanted to make a big statement, Janela and Kiss have a proven track record of stealing the show.
The card was set to shine as bright as any night with huge title matches and monumental moments promised.
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“Superbad” Kip Sabian introduced “The Best Man” Miro ahead of their match. In a pretaped interview, Joey Janela warned Sabian about tying the knot with Penelope Ford.
Superbad kept The Best Man out of the action early until he found himself overmatched by Janela and Sonny Kiss. Miro threw both competitors around with ease. After a bad fall, Miro hurt his ankle, allowing The Bad Boy to fire back on both heels.
However, The Best Man healed quickly and got back into the fight. He and Sabian injured Janela on the apron. That left The Concrete Rose to take a side kick and the Game Over for the tap out.
Result
Miro and Sabian def. Janela and Kiss by submission.
Grade
B-
Analysis
This was a fun opener if a bit messy. While it didn’t show much more than everyone already knows about Miro in the ring, The Best Man shined thanks to his aggression and ferocity. His energy made up for some rough moments, and he landed some memorable slams that lit up the crowd.
Janela and Kiss continue to shine as a tag team. The surprising pair have found their chemistry. It would be great to see them eventually rise through the ranks, but the tag team division is stacked. They should be beating Miro and Sabian on a normal day, but it was The Best Man’s debut.
It still remains to be seen how far Miro can climb in AEW. Right now, he is working with Sabian, who has rarely gone beyond the midcard of the brand, but The Best Man has already seemingly elevated his tag team partner.
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The Dark Order watched from the stage as Evil Uno attempted to take down Hangman Adam Page. Kenny Omega joined commentary to watch as well.
Hangman got the early lead, throwing Uno out of the ring. However, The Dark Order member found an opening to cheat, giving him the distinct advantage. He beat down Page, throwing him around the ring with ease.
Uno told Dark Order to head to the back, only to get slammed onto the apron by Hangman. The momentum turned, and Hangman did not let up until he connected on the Buckshot Lariat.
Tony Schiavone then found The Young Bucks backstage. Matt Jackson explained that he and brother Nick had been through so much and felt disrespected. When Tony mentioned FTR, Matt took the interviewer’s phone and smashed it, throwing money at him to replace it.
Result
Page def. Uno by pinfall.
Grade
C
Analysis
Page is one of the best in the business, but the pacing of this contest was far too slow until the closing stretch. Uno only got going after the commercial break, making the early portion of the contest feel unnecessary.
The surrounding events were more interesting than the match itself. Uno intentionally told The Dark Order to leave him alone, playing on his own issues recently with Brodie Lee. Omega continues to improve on commentary, but the real focus was his continued taunting of Page.
The Young Bucks have also found a new attitude as heels. Matt sold the way the Young Bucks have evolved since Hangman cost them a tag team title opportunity. It will be interesting to see what happens when The Elite try to get revenge on Page.
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Credit: All Elite Wrestling
The Dark Order distracted Orange Cassidy before the match, with John Silver stomping on his T-shirt while Anna Jay took his sunglasses.
Brodie Lee still let Cassidy make the first move, taking the devastating shin kicks before stomping on Freshly Squeezed’s feet and knocking him down. Cassidy fought back with a dropkick. However, The Dark Order got involved again with the referee distracted to wear down Cassidy.
The Exalted One dominated, but Freshly Squeezed ducked the Discus Lariat and began a furious comeback. Silver accidentally took out 10 at ringside, which gave Cassidy the opening he needed without distraction.
The Orange Punch was followed by a series of DDTs, but the TNT champion would not stay down. The Exalted One stopped him cold with a Discus Lariat to take the victory.
After the match, Cody made his dramatic return. He ran through The Dark Order, hitting 5 with a Cody Cutter then slamming his right leg into the steel post. Lee walked out on 5 as his follower tapped out to the figure-four leglock.
Backstage, The Exalted One challenged Cody to a Dog Collar match, giving him one week to decide.
Result
Lee def. Cassidy by pinfall to retain the TNT Championship.
Grade
B+
Analysis
Cassidy has been consistently excellent as a competitor since AEW has begun to take him seriously. He sold Lee’s ferocity and found the perfect moments to rile up the crowd with a comeback. The main thing holding this contest back was the frequent interference from The Dark Order. It was too much.
The right man won. Lee has been building momentum as champion with every appearance, and he comes off as utterly dominant.
It is a shame that The American Nightmare is already back, as Cody could quickly and decisively take the spotlight away from Lee. Cody could have sold the devastation of his one-sided loss for one more month.
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Matt Hardy walked out to the ring to address the man who attacked him last week. Private Party joined Matt in the ring as The Man Who Will Not Die put the blame on Chris Jericho.
The Inner Circle arrived, quickly followed by the returning Sammy Guevara to complete the group. The Demo God stated that he was not behind what happened to Hardy but would gladly do some damage in the ring.
Instead, Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy stepped in. Kassidy wanted it more and demanded his fight next week.
The Demo God explained in an interview backstage that he looked forward to Kassidy’s future but only after he humbled the young star next week. MJF spoke with Jericho, and the two agreed that they respected one another.
Grade
D+
Analysis
This did not work. Hardy seemed out of it throughout, and neither Quen or Kassidy sounded confident on the mic. Even Jericho sounded like he was going through the motions this week.
While it set up an interesting potential match, the segment fell flat. That is a shame because Guevara’s return could have been handled better. Hopefully, the ultimate reveal of who attacked Matt is more dramatic.
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Tully Blanchard took the lead after FTR stepped into the ring. He announced that the champions would compete on AEW Dynamite in the coming weeks in 20-minute time-limit contests. Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood called it a “brush with greatness.”
Their initial challengers would be the first AEW tag team champions, SCU. Best Friends arrived to demand their own title shot, but FTR backed off, telling Trent and Chuck Taylor to rest up from their big fight with Santana and Ortiz before coming back for the champions.
Grade
C+
Analysis
FTR should rely on Blanchard more than the group does. Neither man is good on the mic, and it takes away from their mystique as champions. Still, the idea of the champions regularly competing on Dynamite has undeniable appeal.
Best Friends have momentum, but Trent and Chuck have been pushed forward in the past. If AEW does not pull the trigger with them soon, the two may never reach the next level. FTR come off like long-term champions, which bodes poorly for Best Friends’ title aspirations.
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Hikaru Shida took some time to find chemistry with Thunder Rosa. However, the physicality of Ivelisse and Diamante woke up the pair. The AEW women’s champion fought back while the NWA women’s champion backed her up.
Shida hit the Falcon Arrow on Diamante, but Ivelisse made the save. Rosa took Ivelisse out of the ring, which allowed the AEW women’s champion to connect with a sliding knee on Diamante to take the win.
Result
Shida and Rosa def. Ivelisse and Diamante by pinfall.
Grade
B
Analysis
While the physicality in this match made it stand out, this contest deserved more time. The storytelling was far too condensed, and much of the contest happened during picture-in-picture. Continually, AEW has undersold the women’s division.
Shida and Rosa continue to develop chemistry that should not be ignored. A rematch between the two women has to be inevitable. It would be a great opportunity to highlight the top talent in the women’s division once again.
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Early in the night, Eddie Kingston marched to the ring and called out Jon Moxley. He labelled him a sellout and demanded he meet him in the ring. AEW cut to commercial break to gain control before the two got too physical early.
The two started slow in the main event as The Mad King taunted Moxley into bringing out his vicious side. The chops got stiffer until the AEW world champion could only find air with a clothesline.
Moxley could not connect on the Paradigm Shift early, but he managed to turn a close struggle into a piledriver for a nearfall. Kingston survived a suplex and hit a pair of backdrop drivers. Mox countered Kingston’s back fist into a sleeper hold that transitioned into a bulldog choke for the tap out.
Afterward, Pentagon and Fenix stormed the ring and tried to take out Moxley. Will Hobbs and Darby Allin made the save, but Ricky Starks attacked Allin from behind. The heels stood tall to end the show.
Result
Moxley def. Kingston by submission to retain the AEW World Championship.
Grade
B+
Analysis
As expected, Moxley and Kingston had fun beating each other up. This could have been better with more time to build, but the two men did not lose focus throughout. It was physical, leaving Moxley with the marks of battle.
Kingston has quickly established himself in AEW. It is remarkable to think he was only recently signed. He fits right in and has helped elevate The Lucha Bros to a level closer to their talent.
Moxley is still in need of a true clear challenger. Hopefully, Lance Archer can be that man when he returns to action. It is fun watching the AEW world champion fight hard, but he needs those who can push him to the limit.
