wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s AEW Dynamite Review 11.3.21
Image Credit: AEW/Twitter
Loading...AEW Dynamite
November 3rd, 2021 | Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, Missouri
The World Title Eliminator Tournament has been thrown off by the news that Jon Moxley has entered a rehab facility for issues with alcohol. I just want to wish him well and am very happy that he is seeking help when he needs it.
Alan Angels (14-19) vs. Kenny Omega (21-3-1)
Obviously, this is non-title. Though Angels is under .500, he has won four straight matches. These two met back on Dynamite on 4/22/20 (**), with Kenny winning. For the most part, this match was booked just how it needed to be. Angels had no chance of winning but he was always going to give a spirited effort. He came out with fire and overwhelmed Omega at a few points but then Kenny would just hit something and stop his momentum. Kenny got a near fall on a powerbomb and became frustrated with Angels. His reaction was a bit over the top because that wasn’t a close call that really called for it. It worked much better for the V-Trigger near fall afterward. Of course, Kenny got mad and hit a few more to win in 7:59. Likely a bit too much offense for Angels but this was good. Kenny doesn’t really feel like he has a lot going for him right now and Hangman HAS to beat him at the PPV. [***]
Post-match, Kenny said that Angels embarrassed him last year and that sparked him on his road to becoming champion. He wanted the One Winged Angel on a chair but Hangman Page made the save to a huge pop. He took out Nakazawa and then Kenny bailed hard on a Buckshot Lariat. We get a great shot of Hangman holding the World Title too.
We heard from Malakai Black next, who said it’s okay that he’s barred from ringside for Cody/Andrade because it won’t change the outcome. He also ominously said that when Julius Caesar was betrayed, it wasn’t just by one man.
It’s time for our weekly CM Punk appearance. He made sure to send love to Jon Moxley during a serious promo where he wasn’t in a great mood. Punk also said that supporting Moxley is important to him and how good it was for him to have the courage to ask for help. Once that was discussed, he mentioned another guy who isn’t here tonight, Eddie Kingston. They had a confrontation on Rampage. He wants an apology for the interruption and said he’ll see Kingston on Friday. Punk mentioned he’d fill Moxley’s spot in the World Title Eliminator Tournament after he was done with Eddie but since Eddie isn’t here, he somehow can’t do that and blames him. Good promo and Punk was right about the Moxley stuff but he shouldn’t have mentioned the tournament if that was the reasoning given.
Miro cut a promo in the back as he’s the replacement for Moxley. God has given him a path back to his wife and now it’s clear that his God needs to prove himself, not the other way around.
The SuperKliq got interviewed and said last week’s loss was a fluke. Christian Cage interrupted and got help from Luchasaurus. They beat up the heels but the numbers game was too much until Jungle Boy surprisingly showed up with a somersault dive off the stage. It looked awesome. The fight continued on the stage with Jurassic Express taking out the Bucks. As Cole was held in the STF, Christian brought out steel chairs and laid out Cole with the con-chair-to. I’m down for Bucks/JE and Cole/Cage being added to Full Gear.
Ruby Soho and Kris Statlander both got to speak in a vignette to hype their upcoming TBS Title Tournament match. Good little hype video.
AAA Tag Team Championship: FTR [c] (26-3) vs. Aerostar and Samuray del Sol (0-0)
Aerostar is someone I know from Lucha Underground, while Samuray is the former Kalisto. In terms of styles clashes, this was fun. The lucha boys are all about flipping all over the place and that plays well against a team who is so anti-flips. Samuray was basically the guy he always was in WWE, hitting some cool looking spots and not much more, though that worked in this environment. Aerostar also did a lot of his flipping stuff. He nearly landed on his head once and I’m pretty sure he almost dies in every match I’ve seen of his. They wrestled through a commercial break and in the end, FTR retained by countering a victory roll and using the ropes for leverage after 8:45. Good, fun match that made quality use of the styles. [***¼]
A clip aired from last week when Hikaru Shida had a 50th win interview cut off by Nyla Rose who said she went from a speed bump to a full-on roadblock because she’ll face her in the tournament. Nyla oddly dissed Shida for taking so long to get to 50 wins but like, you don’t have 50.
It’s time for the Inner Circle to get promo time as they find out which five members of Dan Lambert’s team they’ll face at Full Gear. I’ve admitted that I don’t care for this feud but Paige VanZant was out there, so I was invested. Lambert said that Men of the Year would obviously be on the team. Inner Circle picked Junior Dos Santos, with Hager promising to drop him quicker than his last fight of 71 seconds. Santana picked Andre Arlovski. Lambert mentioned PVZ getting dissed by Jericho and she invited herself to the team, saying she could take on all five at once, prompting a Jericho joke about her OnlyFans account. PVZ was pretty natural on the mic and could likely do really well in wrestling. This dragged on a bit but the final selection made it worth it as Dan Lambert was picked and he freaked out.
Backstage, Matt Sydal spoke with Dante Martin and Lio Rush. He said that he doesn’t take Martin leaving personally because others would like to train with him. That includes Lee Moriarty and Rush accepted a tag team challenge between them. Fun.
AEW TBS Title Tournament First Round: Anna Jay (6-3 in 2021) vs. Jamie Hayter (3-2)
Anna Jay is coming off of a great showing against Britt Baker, while Hayter is her team’s muscle. Two of my favorites in the division actually. Hayter used her size advantage to take control in the early stages and she got some help from Britt Baker during the commercial break. Returning, Anna Jay started rallying and utilized a sleeper hold several times. Baker and Rebel got involved again, which makes you wonder why Tay Conti wasn’t out there. Hayter used that help to hit a lariat and win in 5:52. I wanted to like that more but it didn’t really get time to develop and had shenanigans. [**]
Tay Conti hit the ring to save Anna from a beating since she’ll be facing Britt Baker at the PPV. When she was overwhelmed by the numbers, Thunder Rosa (Hayter’s tourney opponent) showed up and cleaned house. She dropkicked Hayter and Baker bailed with Rebel.
Jade Cargill spoke quickly in the back, saying it doesn’t matter who wins between The Bunny and Red Velvet because she’ll run through them.
Here’s MJF to give us one of his long-winded promos. Darby Allin watched from somewhere in the rafters. MJF said he’d beat Allin at Full Gear with a headlock takeover because he’s that much better than him. Allin said they’ll have a wrestling match at the PPV since he’ll take his anger out now. MJF bailed but was sent back to the ring by Sting and some dorks in masks. That set up a brawl through the crowd. On paper, I should like this feud but things have been overdrawn. Less is more here.
Andrade El Idolo (2-2) vs. Cody Rhodes (34-7-2)
Cody’s entrance has to be a rib, right? It’s obnoxiously long. Although I’d say that Andrade is one of the best wrestlers on the planet, this wans’t a great match. They had some solid back and forth but it never really engaged me and they kind of seemed to be taking it easy until the finish. The big spot involved a figure four. That led to Jose getting involved and then seemingly random interference from FTR to hit Cody with the AAA Tag Title. Andrade then finished him with the Hammerlock DDT in 10:33. It happened. [**½]
The heels beat on Cody which gave us the tease of Arn and Tully fighting but then the Lucha Bros made the save and cleaned house.
We got an in-ring interview with John Silver to promote his upcoming match with Adam Cole on Rampage. He calls Cole BUDGE and said he’ll beat him, maybe cut his hair, and make him a Dark Order manager. Silver’s BUDGE stuff is probably way funnier if you watch the internet shows.
RAMPAGE!
· Eddie Kingston comes face to face with CM Punk
· The Bunny vs. Red Velvet in the TBS Title Tournament!
· Adam Cole vs. John Silver
We got a video package for Bunny/Velvet.
World Title Eliminator Tournament Semi-Finals: Miro (15-1) vs. Orange Cassidy (20-2-1)
Bryan Danielson joined commentary since he meets the winner at Full Gear. OC rocked the DDP rib tape, while Miro had some on his thigh. Matt Hardy was watching from the crowd. OC played mind games early, buying time outside and frustrating his larger opponent. However, once he tried a dive, Miro caught him and threw him around. A lot of this match happened during the commercial break and Miro dominated during those stages. OC fired up and tried using his quickness to his advantage but his kip-up was hurt due to his bad ribs. I liked the tornado DDT being a near fall because that move has crushed Miro in the past. OC hit his biggest move with a dive that put Miro through a table. Miro ran him over soon after inside and won with Game Over in 7:32. It did the job it needed to. [**½]
Danielson walked down to the ring for a face off with his Full Gear opponent. He offered a handshake but Miro backed away.
