Pantoja’s AEW Dynamite Review 10.18.22

AEW Dynamite

October 18th, 2022 | Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio

I was actually out with friends last night and this ended up being on the TV at like two bars we hit, mostly because the Guardians/Yankees game ended and they just left TBS on. I saw a bit while there but am watching it in full this morning.

AEW Trios Championship: Death Triangle [c] (9-3) vs. Best Friends (31-12) & Orange Cassidy (69-26-2)

Their match in September to crown champions was a banger (****). Pac came out with fire, clearly pissed about losing the All-Atlantic Title. Death Triangle worked like a well-oiled machine right out of the gates, hitting dives and triple team moves that overwhelmed the challengers. Cassidy got beat up during a break before Trent got the tag and went off. I’ve always been a big Trent fan whether it was in WWE, New Japan, or anywhere else. This was pure madness after that break, with both teams hitting some absurdly good tandem moves. I’d say this is the kind of match that like, Jim Ross and Jim Cornette would hate because it wasn’t old school at all. It was a wild spotfest and I’ve mentioned before that I can really get into those when done right. The story aspects came into play when Pac went to use the bell hammer again only for Fénix to prevent him from doing so since he doesn’t need it. That nearly saw Best Friends win it but Fénix put down Trent with a Black Fire Driver in 11:45. That was a really fun way to start the show and just what I wanted from them. [***½]

A video package was shown to hype Hangman/Moxley.

Britt, Jamie, and Rebel were interviewed, with Britt promising that she or Jamie will be Women’s Title by the end of the year. Interestingly, though Hayter was there, she didn’t do the DMD taunt.

AEW Interim Women’s World Championship: Toni Storm [c] (15-2) vs. Hikaru Shida (52-9)

Really appreciate the women not being in the semi-main event slot. It’s always too predictable. I’d love to see them open the show at some point and main event again. Things were level to start here until Toni used the hip attack to send Shida outside. Upon returning, they remained at an even pace with neither woman gaining a clear upper hand. I will say that a few moves didn’t come off well and you got the sense that if they got to work this on a house show loop or something like that, they could work out the kinks and deliver something great. The closing stretch was good though and saw Toni win out with the Storm Zero after 8:44. Good but nowhere near as good as I wanted. [***]

Hayter and Rebel immediately hit the ring to jump Toni. Britt Baker then got her own entrance to join the fray, sporting a Steelers jersey. DID YOU KNOW SHE’S FROM PITTSBURGH? I HAD NO CLUE. Saraya showed up to brawl with her and I have to say, Britt/Saraya is not the hype match AEW seems to think it is. They fought into the crowd before Riho made her return to save Toni and take out Rebel and Hayter.

A video package hyped Wardlow and Samoa Joe basically telling the Kingdom to pick a title to come after because they’re ready to fight.

Renee Paquette interviewed FTR who discussed their great year and how they want the AEW Tag Titles (finally). They were interrupted by Swerve in Our Glory, setting up some bickering and a #1 contender’s match for next week. I mean, I’m not mad about the match but FTR have been the top contenders for six months.

In some weird part of the arena, Jay Lethal challenged Darby Allin to a rematch. They talked smack until a brawl began that concluded when Darby was trapped under a steel door and Jay put on a hilarious looking Figure Four. You know, I don’t think I can forgive Tony Khan for booking Jay Lethal EVERY week while Ricky Starks and Ethan Page sit on the sidelines.

William Regal was interviewed in the ring by Tony Schiavone but was quickly cut off by MJF. I love that Regal immediately took out the brass knux but MJF said he was here to tell a story and Regal owes it to him to listen. He talked about his WWE tryout in 2015 which Regal oversaw (along with Arn Anderson, Adam Pearce, and Dean Malenko). After he did well in his match, Regal had MJF sell himself in three minutes and when he impressed, Regal promised he’d get him a WWE job, only to decline it when he found out that MJF was 19. Regal put his name on Claudio, Bryan, and Moxley but said he’d add MJF to that list when he was of age. MJF sent him monthly tapes of his progress, only for Regal to send him an e-mail back in month three about how he wasn’t a high level performer or a top world class athlete, so WWE wouldn’t be interested until then. MJF still had this saved on his phone. That e-mail crushed 19-year-old MJF who wanted to quit and even kill himself. Tears fell as he cut this promo. MJF stayed around to stick it to the doubters and now Regal has latched himself onto talents better than he ever was to remain relevant in MJF’s company. He reads that email daily for a laugh because Regal is a joke and MJF is about to be World Champion. The reaction to this was amazing. Regal responded by talking about how he got beat up at 16 to become a wrestler but if an e-mail is what did MJF in, he had it easy. He noted that MJF hiring people to do villainous stuff for him and he uses the ring gimmick as a shortcut while someone like Regal used knux because he simply liked it. If he wants to be the devil, he should show the world now instead of acting like a victim and whining. Regal turned his back and gave him a free shot but Max decided against it, only disappointing Regal. Incredible storytelling and an emotional promo that felt real. One of the best, if not the absolute best, of the year. MJF can do no wrong right now.

The Acclaimed talked about the scissoring trademark issue. They’ll face The Varsity Athletes in a Titles vs. Trademark match on Friday.

Earlier today, Renee Paquette sat down with Danielson and Yuta about the ROH Title and Daniel Garcia. Bryan suggested that Garcia could possibly surpass him as a technical wrestler. Yuta wasn’t impressed with anything he said and clearly disagreed. Yuta said that he and Claudio saw that Garcia was using him. He thought the blood they spilled as the Blackpool Combat Club meant something and it does to him, Mox, and Claudio, but it clearly doesn’t mean anything to Danielson.

ROH World Championship: Chris Jericho [c] (20-4-1 on Dynamite) vs. Dalton Castle (4-1)

Castle’s entrance is wonderfully over the top. He declined the Code of Honor since Jericho hasn’t been doing it anyway and instead flipped him off. Early on, Castle brought his signature wackiness including running around the ring with the Boys. His unique style put Jericho on his heels though he turned it around during a commercial. I laughed at The Boys jumping Jake Hager, stealing his purple bucket hat and causing him to beat them all up before shouting I LIKE THIS HAT. Best thing he’s ever done. Jericho survived everything Castle threw at him before getting in Aubrey Edwards’ face. She did not back down and got a pop for it. The final minutes saw them trade stuff before Jericho won with the Judas Effect in 12:27. That was better than expected because they balanced the wacky stuff with the serious stuff well. [***¼]

Post-match, Jericho celebrated with the JAS. He then cut a promo about his continued crusade against ROH and went after Ian on commentary but Jerry Lynn cut him off. The former ROH Champion took a piledriver on the stage for his troubles. That’ll be a match.

A video package hyped Christian Cage’s influence over Luchasaurus.

RAMPAGE

· Titles vs. Trademark – The Acclaimed vs. The Varsity Athletes

· Penelope Ford vs. Willow Nightingale

· Rush vs. 10

· Hook defends the FTW Title against Ari Daivari

DYNAMITE

· FTR vs. Swerve in Our Glory in a #1 Contender’s Match

· Jamie Hayter vs. Riho

· Chris Jericho and Daniel Garcia vs. Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta

· Bryan Danielson vs. Sammy Guevara

Backstage, Jade Cargill in a Reds jersey scolded the Baddies for her TNT Title still being gone. She wants it back on Friday or she’ll hold Rampage hostage.

AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley [c] (60-5-1) vs. Hangman Page (32-9-1)

This got off to the great start I wanted as Hangman jumped Moxley during his entrance with a moonsault off the balcony. That set the tone for a war as despite there not being a No DQ stipulation, these two were fighting. That led us right into a commercial break though, so we had to wait a bit for things to really get going beyond the opening spot. Once they got to the ring, Moxley was already bleeding because he does this every week. This felt like a slugfest at times and when they went into the wrestling stuff like fighting over an armbar, it did feel a bit off. They fought through a second commercial break and upon returning, things hit the next level with Hangman nailing a big lariat, only for the second to get cut off. However, when Moxley delivered his own lariat, Page landed on his face and the doctor came over to check on him. They called the match after 12:44 as Hangman couldn’t continue. AEW revealed that he had a concussion and did get released from the hospital last night. Hard to really rate this though I guess I’ll say it was on its way to being truly great. [***¾]

With several minutes left on the show, they ran down the upcoming cards again. Moxley then got on the microphone and eventually challenged MJF to cash in his chip, which he teased. MJF instead decided he’ll cash in at Full Gear.

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

That was a really good episode. We had four matches and all were good but the thing that really worked was the non-wrestling side of things. We had some good segments and promos, with the standout being the incredible MJF/Regal exchange.