Pantoja’s AEW Dynamite Review 7.14.22

AEW Fyter Fest Night 1

July 13th, 2022 | Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia

Was planning on doing a review for Dark since that had some big matches but things have been hectic for me this week. I will say that Rosa/Yamashita and PAC/Umino were both really good (***¾)

AEW TNT Championship: Wardlow [c] (54-8) vs. Orange Cassidy (62-21-2)

This is a pretty big face vs. face matchup to book, especially a week after Wardlow won the title. An insert promo revealed that Best Friends figured resorting to cheating against Wardlow was a good strategy but OC, of course, didn’t care. The TNT Title looks PERFECT on Wardlow. We got some fun antics to start like Wardlow ripping OC’s pockets out and OC calming putting Wardlow’s straps back on his shoulders. I saw a LOT of dweebs getting annoyed that Wardlow sold for OC. What a terrible take. Like, he didn’t sell for any of OC’s goofy stuff but Cassidy has always shown that he can go when the time comes and they did his offense wisely here. He worked smart and found openings. Best Friends got kicked out for trying to cheat and Wardlow even sensed Danhausen under the ring. Hilariously, Danhausen went to curse Wardlow but stopped midway and left. It did set up the Orange Punch but Wardlow caught him and LAUNCHED him. After the break, Cassidy got a flash DDT for a big move and Wardlow kicked out at one. Again, that’s Wardlow clearly being stronger than OC but the wily and slippery veteran found ways to stay alive. Cassidy kept finding ways to get in bits of offense and even some near falls. I never fully believed in them since there was no way Wardlow would drop the title here but it was fun. OC ran into a huge powerbomb to lose in 11:44. A hell of an opener that played to both guys’ strengths. Post-match, they showed each other respect. [***½]

We got footage of PAC/Umino.

Chris Jericho came out for a promo where he said that being friends with Eddie Kingston is a bigger curse than anything Danhausen could come up with. Santana is hurt, Ortiz is bald, and Ruby got her hand crushed. He talked about being in a barbed wire match when he was 22 and that he loved it. He promised to bring the Painmaker, who is undefeated, for the barbed wire match. I always laugh at the Painmaker because it’s so hilariously bad. Not much to this promo.

Eddie Kingston got to respond in the back with much less time than Jericho and he just promised to hurt him next week.

Jon Moxley (52-4-1) vs. Konosuke Takeshita (6-4)

Pretty stoked for this one because Moxley is my current Wrestler of the Year and Takeshita has been so much fun. Right off the bat, these two were beating the hell out of each other. Moxley, who has taken pride in fighting as a BCC member, was the first to relent and take Takeshita to the mat. They fought to the apron where Moxley took a German suplex just before a commercial. Returning, Takeshita was busted open, adding to the intensity of the bout. Takeshita’s leaping clothesline looks incredible by the way. They went into trading some big blows like a Brainbuster, armbar, hurricanrana, and then a Takeshita no hands dive to the outside. I bit on a bridging German from Takeshita which I shouldn’t have because it’s Moxley but they still made me do it. Bravo. Moxley hit the Death Rider and won with the Bulldog Choke in 13:07. A fantastic outing and I love when AEW randomly gives us a banger. This ruled as Moxley continues his roll and Takeshita proves himself yet again. [****]

We heard from the spooky House of Black who have Darby Allin in their sights.

Griff Garrison vs. Luchasaurus (67-26)

No record was shown for Garrison. Christian Cage cut a pre-match promo where he called Brian Pillman Sr. average and basically suggested Luchasaurus should beat up Garrison for simply looking like Jungle Boy. Luchasaurus obliged, dominating and winning with his own version of the Snare Trap (Tar Pit) in 1:34. [NR]

After the match, Pillman got into it with Christian and Luchasaurus took him out. He then chokeslammed Garrison onto Pillman on the table, breaking it on a second attempt.

The JAS was interviewed and aren’t happy about the shark cage, also wondering why the BCC aren’t in a cage either. Garcia also said Wheeler Yuta has been doing a cosplay of him and he’ll win the Pure Title at the ROH PPV.

Hangman Page, dressed in tie-dye, was interviewed but John Silver and Alex Reynolds quickly interrupted. They mentioned the Royal Rampage and vowed revenge for him against Brody King and the House of Black, issuing a six-man tag challenge. Page seemed okay with the idea. Silver calling them Spooky Perverts was great.

Claudio Castagnoli (2-0) vs. Jake Hager (19-14)

Jim Ross joined commentary at this point in the show, likely so he can fawn over Jake Hager. “We the People” chants as these two went at it, with Claudio trying the swing early to no avail. He also busted out a 619 but Hager came back with a Vader Bomb, giving him the upper hand heading into the commercial break. Upon return, Claudio fought back with the springboard uppercut and another big shot on the outside before succeeding with the giant swing right into the Sharpshooter. I like that he used the Sharpshooter to win Blood and Guts as it can help cement it as a secondary finisher for him. 2.0 hit the ring for a distraction. Claudio fought free and went for the Sharpshooter with a distraction again, which felt redundant. He hit the popup uppercut and Ricola Bomb to win after 11:45. That was solid and about as good as you’ll get from Hager. [***]

Hook was interviewed about a possible future title shot but said nothing.

After a recap of Thunder Rosa’s loss on Dark, she was interviewed with Toni Storm, saying Yamashita will get a title shot soon. Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter interrupted saying AEW was a natural disaster without them. Baker said she knows how to handle Thunderstorms, which is with sandbags. It was meant to be one of Britt’s edgy “inside” comments but it wasn’t done in a clever way as usual for her.

Anna Jay (43-12) vs. Serena Deeb (26-6)

AEW, I beg of you, put the women in a different slot. It feels so lazy to always have them on before the main event. Jay is the hometown girl. She has been improving consistently but obviously still needs a lot of work. She’s someone who would benefit greatly from a house show loop working the likes of Deeb often. This was a big case of Deeb clearly leading the way and Jay doing what she could to hit her stuff and hang on. Some of their mat work didn’t come off well as it seemed like Jay wasn’t too comfortable there just yet. I dug some of the submissions Deeb tried and how Jay got out though. It was better in theory than execution but still. Deeb won with the Serenity Lock after escaping the Queenslayer in 8:23. It was fine. [**¼]

Mercedes Martinez saved Jay after the match to build their ROH Women’s Title match that, unfortunately, not many people care about.

Tony had to cut the shit as he was with the Baddies. Jade and Keira are still not happy with Leila Grey being around but Stokely believed this was still for the best. I hate that they’re causing tension in this stable that doesn’t need that.

RAMPAGE FYTER FEST!

· Lee Moriarty vs. Jonathan Gresham for the ROH Title

· The Ass Boys and Daddy Ass explain why they turned on the Acclaimed

· Private Party vs. The Lucha Brothers

FYTER FEST NEXT WEEK

· Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston in a Barbed Wire Death Match

· Christian Cage and Luchasaurus vs. The Varsity Blonds

· Darby Allin vs. Brody King

Jay Lethal interrupted commentary to promise a TV Title win, continuing a shit feud.

Elsewhere, Tay Conti mocked her old friend Anna Jay for barely being on TV and losing. She said that she might need to consider being around better people.

AEW World Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks [c] (35-12) vs. Powerhouse Hobbs & Ricky Starks (10-3) vs. Swerve In Our Glory (8-2)

AEW is beyond driving three-way tags into the ground. I also saw a few complaints about this match because it was a spotfest but I like variety in my wrestling and can totally get behind a spotfest. I liked the early stages here with things like the Bucks acting like they were hot shit, including Matt Jackson trying and failing to suplex Hobbs and Lee. That actually played into the story of the match and wasn’t just a spot for the sake of having fun. The Bucks’ hubris got them into this situation and could end up costing them. They’re the most experienced and successful team here by a mile but these are two hungry, talented duos to face at once. The teams worked through a break and picked up the already wild pace afterward. Lee cleaned house before he got a challenge from Hobbs, capped by a sick looking Frog Splash. Seriously, he might have the second best frog splash right now behind Montez Ford. The rope walk Doomsday Cutter by Team Taz was one of my favorite spots of the year. I popped for Ricky joining the Superkick Party and even posing with the Bucks. A ref bump led to things getting even wilder and we got some more dissension between Swerve and Keith Lee, leading to some great drama. Lee and Swerve turned things around and got going, hitting the Swerve Stomp/Powerbomb combo on Matt for a ridiculously good near fall as the pin was broken up. The closing stretch saw more action and Lee hitting a wild somersault to the outside before Swerve got the surprise win on the Swerve Stomp at the 18:04 mark. Probably AEW’s most shocking title change and a welcome one that proves anything can happen in such a loaded tag division. A fantastic main event filled with close calls and tons of action. [****¼]

9.0

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

Fyter Fest delivers in a huge way, giving us one of the best Dynamite episodes in a while. The women’s match was below average and Claudio/Hager was alright but there are three really good to great matches here, everything served a purpose, and I was entertained the entire way through.