wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s AEW Dynamite Review 8.17.22
Image Credit: AEW
Loading...AEW Dynamite
August 17th, 2022 | Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, West Virginia
I have extra work stuff going on today and only have time for one review. I know there are more reviews of Dynamite on 411mania than of the G1 Finals but this is the show I’m more interested in, especially since I’m going to Dynamite live next week. I’ll give my G1 Finals thoughts when I do my list ranking the last 10 G1s.
We got a House of the Dragon themed intro that was cool but ended abruptly.
The recently returned CM Punk kicked things off for some promo time. Rare for AEW to start this way. He started by unexpectedly calling out Hangman Page for a rematch. I guess Hangman wasn’t there because he didn’t answer and Punk called him a coward for not apologizing to him. He then turned his attention to Jon Moxley being the interim champion. Punk said Moxley is never #1 and then said he’s the third best guy in his own group which is a recurring theme in his career. OH GOD DAMN. He mentioned Eddie Kingston, calling him the third best Eddie he’s faced and the second best Kingston he’s shared a locker room with. His last dig was about facing Moxley in Chicago at All Out, calling him the second Jon he’ll beat for the title in his hometown. Moxley came out to interrupt as Punk did snow angels in the ring. Moxley said Punk was writing checks his foot couldn’t cash and that he’s not the best in the world, he’s barely the best in catering. He said he’s the heart and soul of AEW and Punk’s response of “I’m the dollars and cents” was gold. Moxley was ready for a fight and Punk said that he’s afraid if he touches him, he’ll just bleed. They got into each other’s faces with Moxley seemingly kissing Punk and then the fight was on. Security broke it up and took forever to actually calm it down as they kept running and going after each other. A hell of a segment that built to a match that already had a lot of hype behind it.
Powerhouse Hobbs was interviewed about what he did to Ricky Starks. He didn’t like that Ricky was okay with losing and he was only brought in to protect Ricky as FTW Champion. That time is over and he has something planned for Ricky and The Factory.
Two Out of Three Falls Match: Bryan Danielson (27-5-2) vs. Daniel Garcia (26-18)
Chris Jericho was on commentary. Meanwhile, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat was the timekeeper for this bout between the American Dragon and the Dragon Slayer. I have their first match at **** and the one from three weeks ago at ****½. Right off the bat they looked to trade submission attempts and we headed to an early commercial break. Upon returning, the pace picked up as they started in with aggressive strikes, beating the hell out of each other. A piledriver spike the hell out of Danielson and he got choked out with the Dragon Tamer to take the first fall. Danielson barely got up before the count of 10 and Garcia immediately pounced, keeping up the pace. That led us into our second commercial break. During that break, Garcia hit a DDT on the concrete that busted Danielson open. Garcia kicked at his head and went for the Dragon Tamer again but Danielson turned it over into a pin that tied the score after about 15 minutes. That gave Danielson a second wind as he laid into Garcia with elbows and the missile dropkick. I loved that they paid homage to the iconic Danielson/McGuinness Unified spot where they pulled Nigel’s head into the ring post but did it to the shoulder because we aren’t trying to give dudes concussions. A third break saw the two trade chops and strikes in the center of the ring. Returning, they were simply beating the shit out of each other. Danielson started kicking Garcia’s head in and added some headbutts for good measure. A series of submissions led to the Lebelle Lock for the win in 25:52. Spectacular pro wrestling. I said it three weeks ago but this is SO MY SHIT. Danielson constantly leaves for a time and then comes back to remind everyone that he’s the GOAT. Garcia looked like a star and this was masterful storytelling between these two. [****½]
Post-match, Danielson showed respect to Garcia, who was out of it. He offered Garcia a handshake but got knocked out by Jericho. Garcia stopped Jericho from attacking and they had a staredown. As Jericho left, the crowd chanted “You’re a wrestler” at Garcia.
Swerve in Our Glory and Private Party were interviewed ahead of their Tag Title match on Friday. Nothing of real note was said here other than Keith Lee suggesting their breath stunk.
Tony Nese came out for an unannounced match but Jon Moxley showed up to take him and Mark Sterling out. He hit the ring and said he doesn’t want to wait for the PPV and wanted to unify the titles right now. Punk came out but security broke up another fight and even the BCC showed up, with Claudio manhandling Moxley.
In the back, Jericho and 2.0 were interviewed and Jericho said he wanted to talk with Garcia face to face next week to see whose side he’s on. Ricky Steamboat interrupted, rehashed his past with Jericho, and said Danielson is likely a better choice to mentor Garcia. Angelo Parker got in his face and Steamboat took him down.
The Gunn Club (11-4) vs. The Varsity Club (29-16)
The Varsity Clubs are such dweebs that the Gunn Club squashed them in like 30 seconds. [NR]
After the bell, Billy Gunn said he was proud of them and that he’s hard on them because he wants them to be great. He said of everything he’s done in wrestling, being by their side is the best. They hugged and Stokely Hathaway came out only for the Ass Boys to jump their dad from behind. The Acclaimed made the save, running the Ass Boys out of the ring. Then, to a huge pop, The Acclaimed reunited with Daddy Ass, who scissored them.
Backstage, Jay Lethal and his boys bored me by challenging Wardlow and FTR to a Trios match at All Out. Remember when we thought the TNT Title would be saved by Wardlow? That’s a thing of the past. Like, why is Jay Lethal getting PPV time? Hard pass.
Death Triangle cut a promo about facing the United Empire next week. For those wondering, this is the superior team and I think Aussie Open is very good.
Jungle Boy hit the ring to cut a promo. He ran down Christian and challenged him for a match at the PPV. Christian walked out to respond and while dissing the crowd, said no. He added that he was proud of JB for being able to cut a promo. They ended up brawling, with JB winning out and stomping on his arm while it was on the steel steps. Fine segment though I wisht they swapped it with the next match just because the weekly format of women in the second to last match is tired.
Wardlow and FTR accepted for All Out while Dax challenged Lethal for next week. This doesn’t feel like a PPV match at all.
KiLynn King (14-12 in 2021) vs. Toni Storm (14-3)
I believe this is King’s first AEW match of 2022. Thunder Rosa watched on a monitor in the back. The women of AEW continue to get treated like second class citizens with the placement of this match and the fact that most of it ran during the commercial break. They had some decent back and forth before Toni won with a pendulumn DDT in 6:42. PICK A FINISHER TONI! Also, she has dubbed her corner ass attack “Sweet Cheeks Music” which is tremendous. [**]
The Trustbusters and Best Friends got short vignette promos to plug their upcoming match.
RAMPAGE!
· Trustbusters vs. Best Friends in a Trios Tournament match
· Athena vs. Penelope Ford
· Claudio Castagnoli will speak
· Hook defends the FTW Title against Zach Clayton (seriously?)
· Swerve in our Glory defned the Tag Ttiles against Private Party
ALL OUT
· Thunder Rosa vs. Toni Storm for the Women’s Title
DYNAMITE (I’ll be there live for all of this)
· Death Triangle vs. The United Empire in a Trios Tournament match
· Dax Harwood vs. Jay Lethal
· Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk in the AEW Title Unification match! WHAT THE FUCK
AEW Trios Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Kenny Omega (52-16-1) and The Young Bucks (35-13) vs. La Faccion Ingobernable (0-0)
Shoutout to AEW bringing in Dragon Lee for the show based on House of the Dragon. In the worst kept secret in wrestling, Kenny Omega was the Bucks’ partner, complete with an over the top introduction. The reaction for him was fantastic though. Kenny sported a compression shirt and had a pad over his shoulder. That gave this match some added intrigue. Is he still legitimately banged up or is this part of the story? Did the Bucks push him to come back sooner than he’s ready? Also, Don Callis was with Kenny and joined commentary here. As you’d expect, this was a wild match with some absurd spots wrestled at a fast pace. I won’t go into detail about everything they did but I will discuss the main story of the match. That was Kenny Omega. Things weren’t quite working for him. He did the YOU CAN’T ESCAPE gimmick and fell, laughing off what happened. He took a bit of a beating as well. When he tried the Terminator Dive, it was cut off twice, including once by Jose the Assistant. LFI looked great out there with some high octane offensive moves and Dragon Lee really seemed out to prove himself. His dive into the crowd was nuts. Omega hit the One Winged Angel to ultimately win but even that looked rough as he’s clearly not ready, even if it’s just from a storyline perspective. The whole thing 20:49 and was pretty great. Layered storytelling here. [***¾]
Post-match, LFI jumped Dragon Lee as the show ended. Weird call as I’d have waited a bit for the turn on Dragon Lee to establish him and it took away from the focus on Kenny and the Bucks.
