Hall’s AEW Dynamite Review 10.16.24

Dynamite
Date: October 16, 2024
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re done with WrestleDream and the big story is Jon Moxley is the new World Champion, having kind of retired Bryan Danielson. It seems we are going to need some saviors to fight for the company and maybe we find that out tonight. Other than that, Adam Cole and MJF are both back and don’t like each other. Let’s get to it.

The opening video features Jon Moxley and friends in the back of a truck with Moxley talking about how there are so many wrestlers on the roster who get paid and then do nothing. He hates what AEW has become because there is no need for all of the dancing and partying. He’ll burn down the forest and do what has to be done because they can see a better future.

If you want to come with them you can, but otherwise, run while you can. The new paradigm is you work for him now. Wheeler Yuta looks off into the darkness. This included shots of wrestlers being upset at what happened to Bryan Danielson, meaning we probably have some people ready to fight back. That being said, “Wah, they’re making too much money and are too soft but we’re all tough” isn’t exactly a thrilling story.

Here is Adam Cole for a chat. He loves his friends but he has to do this on his own. Cole wants to talk about the worst person in this company, MJF. After years of seeing him be this way, the only thing that Cole can say is that MJF is fake. Just look at his hair: it took two surgeries but that fake hair is on his head. MJF will act all tough and stoic on social media when fans insult him but then he’ll cry in his hotel room.

This place has the best talent roster in the world and there are a lot of hungry people who are ready to go around someone like MJF. He’ll act like he’s something special but the reality is everyone, including Cole, hates him. Cole hates everything about him, including his stupid face, so get out here for the fight they’re going to have right now.

MJF’s music plays but he pops up on screen to say he’s a multi millionaire at 28, but he knows what it’s like to be alone. Cole tried to be his friend but then MJF took it away, but now Cole is never going to get his revenge. MJF will always dangle the carrot of revenge and Cole can thank him for everything later. Cole swears vengeance anyway. This only worked to an extent, as the feud felt like it was over and Cole didn’t have much to say other than “I really hate you”.

Chris Jericho feels vindicated after his loss to Mark Briscoe because Briscoe cheated. Jericho wants a rematch to become the two time Ring Of Honor World Champion, just like Jay Briscoe.

Mark Briscoe doesn’t like Jericho bringing up his brother’s name again, so of course they can have a rematch. Next week. In a ladder war. Tonight though, FTR is going to take out Jericho’s Learning Tree. I appreciate the logic of Briscoe wanting to avenge his brother’s memory being tarnished, but if this is continuing, Briscoe shouldn’t have beaten Jericho clean on Saturday.

FTR vs. Learning Tree

Harwood takes over on Keith to start and hammers away before handing it off to Wheeler. Keith gets in a slam and a knee drop but Wheeler fights up. Bill comes in off a surprise though and it’s a Boss Man Slam to send us to a break. Back with Harwood hitting a clothesline on Keith but getting dropped by the same thing from Bill. The Shatter Machine is broken up and Wheeler takes Bill to the floor for a tornado DDT. Back in and Keith walks into the Shatter Machine for the pin at 8:20.

Rating: C+. As usual, there is only so much that can be done with a match that only gets eight minutes and includes a commercial break. Bill continues to look like a monster and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him do something better in the future. For now though, he’s part of a tag team where Keith is taking the fall, so at least Bill is being protected. At the same time, dang FTR feels like they’ve fallen a very, very long way in the last few months.

Post match the Outrunners come out to post with FTR.

Acclaimed and Billy Gunn are ready to head to the gym, with Billy going to get the car ready. They’re ready for more, but MVP and Shelton Benjamin come in. MVP offers a business card, with Bowens saying they don’t need anything from them. Caster slips the card into his pocket.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Queen Aminata

Mone, with Kamille, is defending. Mone tries to take her down but gets some swiveling hips to the face for her efforts. A victory roll gives Mone two but Aminata gives her a fall away slam to the floor. Kamille offers a quick distraction and Mone gets in a whip to the steps as we take a break. Back with Aminata hitting an Air Raid Crash for two and they both need a breather. A sunset flip gives Aminata one and a neckbreaker gets two, followed by a snap suplex to send Mone into the corner. Mone fights her way out of said corner and hits the Statement Maker for the pin at 8:41.

Rating: C+. Same problem with the match being cut off by the break as the previous one, which is quite the recurring issue in modern wrestling. Mone continues to be good in the ring but other than Britt Baker, she hasn’t had much in the way of competition. Aminata and Emi Sakura haven’t exactly done much in AEW but have gotten recent title shots. Find someone a bit more elevated to get the shot at her.

Private Party talks to the Young Bucks and wants another title shot. The Bucks admit that Private Party took them to the limit but that was their last shot. The Bucks are gone so Stokely Hathaway comes in to say the team has been here since the Obama administration and never gotten anywhere. If they lose next time, they should split up, because Kassidy is the singles star anyway. Not that that’s any of Hathaway’s business of course. I would certainly hope that’s it for the Bucks vs. Private Party, as it wasn’t exactly a big match in the first place.

The Elite talk about how important today is to the history of AEW. Today is Kenny Omega’s birthday and even though he’s had a bunch of his intestines taken out, they have a cake for him. Then they pour a bunch of fake intestines on it. Jack Perry: “Get well soon Kenny. Or die.” Kazuchika Okada throws in a b****. Teasing Omega’s return, even if it’s a bit off in the distance, is a good thing.

Elite vs. Conglomeration

Nick gets taken own by Cassidy to start and O’Reilly strikes away before they do the same to Matt. Romero comes in for a running hurricanrana to Okada and we take a break. Back with O’Reilly making Nick clothesline Matt but Okada comes back in for the save. The Rainmaker is broken up but Matt hits an elbow to give Okada two. Romero is back up with the Forever Clotheslines, only for Okada to break it up with the tombstone. The Bucks spend their time pumping up their shoes and Cassidy starts cleaning house….but Wheeler Yuta runs in to jump O’Reilly for the DQ at 9:21.

Rating: B-. Well at least they had a way to avoid either team losing here. The Conglomeration would be fine enough as the first people to stand up to the Club and some of that was already started at WrestleDream. There’s a good chance the Elite are the real ones to fight the villains of though and….egads that is going to take some incredible efforts. Or they’ll just make the Elite good again and forget everything about what has happened in the last six months with no major repercussions.

Post match the rest of Moxley’s friends, including Moxley, come in for the beatdown, with commentary calling Cassidy “the leader of AEW” which….no. Top Flight comes in for the failed save so the Dark Order runs in, passing by the Elite on the way and asking them to help. The Order is beaten down as well (including Pac beating people up with a briefcase, which may contain the World Title) and the violence continues as Moxley says this is just the cost of doing business. Excalibur: “There’s no rhyme or reason to what these people are doing here.”

Commentary is aghast.

The Elite, minus Okada, says that wasn’t their business but Daniel Garcia and Private Party come in. Perry and Garcia….kind of nuzzle a bit before the Elite leave.

We look at Swerve Strickland picking Prince Nana at WrestleDream.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Lio Rush

MVP and Leila Grey are here too. Rush dodges around to start and can’t get anywhere, so Benjamin drops him with a hard shot. Back up and Benjamin is sent outside, where he jumps up to the apron for a knee (MVP approves) and we take a break. We come back with Benjamin knocking him down again but Rush hits his springboard Stunner.

A cutter catches Benjamin again, followed by a rather spinning tornado DDT for two. Rush goes up top so Benjamin runs the corner for a belly to belly superplex. A release German suplex sends Rush flying and another one does it again. Benjamin superkicks the heck out of him and hits the exploder for the pin at 11:01.

Rating: C+. Benjamin looked great in his first feature match in a long time, but there was no reason or this to be eleven minutes. People know who Benjamin is and he has a long resume. There was no reason for Rush to get in this much offense, as Rush on his best day is nowhere near what Benjamin has done. This should have been WAY shorter, but that’s not how AEW works.

Post match MVP says he wants to keep this going with Swerve Strickland (MVP: “HOW CAN THIS BE SWERVE’s HOUSE WHEN SWERVE’S HOUSE WAS BURNED TO THE GROUND???”) because this is Strickland’s future.

Darby Allin isn’t here tonight, but we do see him talking about Tony Hawk….who isn’t with him. They are however selling signed photos of the two of them together for charity. Sure.

Swerve Strickland is ready for Shelton Benjamin and is ready for him anytime. Benjamin set a lot of records, which have been broken, but Strickland breaks bones.

Here is Don Callis, flanked by Lance Archer and Brian Cage, for a press conference. Since there is no press in wrestling though, he’ll answer the questions himself. First up, he wants the Tag Team Titles back, so these two are going to get them. With that out of the way, Callis brings out Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher.

Callis says Takeshita is defending the title all around the world, with Takeshita saying come take it. Fletcher is given the chance to explain why he turned on Will Ospreay….but he’s not going to say anything because the fans keep chanting for Ospreay. This could have been summed up as “Brian Cage is now on the team”.

Mariah May wants competition so here is Anna Jay to charge at her. Christopher Daniels tries to break it up and Jay hits him in the face. Nigel McGuinness is thrilled.

Ricochet is ready to show that he is the best in the world and doesn’t need the lackeys to do it for him like Konosuke Takeshita. The open challenge is on for Collision.

Jon Moxley and company are still beating up the Dark Order and Top Flight. The villains leave and Evil Uno rants about how Moxley and company are taking food off their plates. Darius Martin issues the challenge for Collision. If I’m supposed to care about the Dark Order and Top Flight as AEW’s saviors, AEW has a lot more work today.

Christian Cage vs. Jay White

A bunch of their friends are here too. They start slowly until White sends him into the corner a few times. White grabs something like an Indian deathlock as commentary does their inside jokes. Nick Wayne makes the referee believe the Bang Bang Gang used a chair so they’re ejected, but Wayne gets beaten up first. We take a break and come back with White fighting out of a chinlock.

White pulls the turtleneck over Cage’s face and hammering away in the corner, followed by the chops to the exposed chest (Nigel: “You sadist!”). Cage fights back and hits a reverse DDT onto the apron but cue Kip Sabian (because of course) for a distraction. White gets a rollup for two as Hangman Page is hiding on the floor (he might have shown up too early). Cage’s Killswitch gets two but Sabian offers another distraction, allowing Page to come in with the Buckshot Lariat so Cage can get the pin at 16:03.

Rating: B-. Oh someone botched the heck out of that interference, as Sabian and Page did the exact same thing twice about five minutes apart. That feels like it’s something the producer screwed up as the wrestlers were probably given the cue early. Other than that, it was a long main event with a bit of a story behind it (Cage put White out earlier this year) and it keeps White vs. Page going, which does fit after they had a quick one off match.

 

Results
FTR b. Learning Tree – Shatter Machine to Keith
Mercedes Mone b. Queen Aminata – Statement Maker
Conglomeration b. Elite via DQ when the Blackpool Combat Club interfered
Shelton Benjamin b. Lio Rush – Exploder
Christian Cage b. Jay White – Buckshot Lariat

 

 

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7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

I’m not sure what to make of this show. While it wasn’t bad, it absolutely did not feel like something coming off of what was supposedly a huge ending to a pay per view. Moxley and company are still all violent and beating people up, but now they’re beating up some of the lowest of the low around here. After everyone was so devastated by Bryan Danielson being taken out, you would think there would be bigger names than Dante Marin and Evil Uno ready to fight back. Other than that, there was a lot of stuff that seems like it will be continuing from WrestleDream, which only felt so important coming in. That’s the theme of this show: stuff happened, but it didn’t feel like it matters that much. The big story is what people will focus on though and that’s….well it’s going to be a bit before we get to the meat of the matter. Until then, we have Battle Of The Belts, which had its first (and so far only) match announced with ten seconds left on the show: a non-title match between Anna Jay and Mariah May. That show, much like a lot of other things around here, is going to need some work.