Dynamite – January 15, 2020: Does Almost Their Best Ever Count?
IMG Credit: AEW
Dynamite
Date: January 15, 2020
Location: Watsco Center, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone
It’s the first half of Bash At The Beach, with the second half coming next week from a boat (yes a boat). The big story this week is the fallout from last week with Jon Moxley turning down Chris Jericho’s offer of a spot in the Inner Circle with a champagne bottle. That all but guarantees a title match at Revolution so it’s time to built things up. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
In Memory of Rocky Johnson, though JR makes sure to mention La Parka, Kendo Nagasaki and Pampero Firpo passing away recently as well.
The set has a beach theme, complete with a lifeguard in a swimsuit.
Kenny Omega/Hangman Page vs. Santana/Ortiz vs. Young Bucks vs. Best Friends
They don’t waste time on this show. One fall to a finish for the #1 contendership. Trent shoulders Nick down to start but Nick is back up to miss a kick to the face, giving us a standoff. Page comes in to knock Chuck down so it’s off to Matt vs. Kenny, who shake hands before we’re ready to go. Santana tags himself in and everything breaks down for a bit, with the Bucks taking over again.
It’s Trent getting caught in the Bucks’ corner with Matt hitting the rolling northern lights suplexes. Matt tries one too many though and gets caught with a tornado DDT. It’s Chuck coming in to take over, including a standing Sliced Bread and a sitout powerbomb for two on Matt. Santana breaks up the big hug though and it’s a double belly to back flip to plant Matt. The big flips have Santana and Ortiz in even more in control and it’s the passing delayed vertical suplex to Matt.
Ortiz even throws in the Eddie Guerrero dance for a nice moment. Matt hits the flip Stunner out of the corner but since Nick isn’t on the apron, he tags Omega in instead of Page. Omega cleans house with Snapdragons all around and everything breaks down again. Page moonsaults onto Ortiz and Chuck but Omega’s dive is broken up. Santana hits a springboard flip dive onto Page and Omega, followed by Chuck and Nick hitting stereo flip dives.
Trent one ups them all thoug by superplexing Matt onto the huge pile at ringside to put everyone down. We get the huge group suplex with the Bucks, Omega and Page being suplexes at the same time, with Orange Cassidy coming in for the deciding help. That means a big hug and JR is dying of laughter.
The Best Friends hit stereo piledrivers on Omega and Page and there’s Strong Zero to Omega, with the Bucks having to make the save. The Bucks clean house with superkicks and Page runs into a knee from Chuck. Santana and Ortiz get superkicked to the floor, leaving Trent to have to save Chuck from the Meltzer Driver. Page tags himself in though and low bridges Trent to the floor, leaving Chuck to take the Buckshot Lariat/V Trigger combination to give Page the pin at 16:34.
Rating: A-. This was a blast with almost all action for the better part of seventeen minutes. I know it might not be the best in terms of psychology or build but that’s not the point here. It was a crazy, fast paced match and even managed to advance Page’s issues with the rest of the Elite. Great stuff, set up a title match and had storytelling as well.
Post match the Bucks aren’t happy with Page.
Here’s Cody, looking very Miami Viceish, to address MJF’s conditions for a match. We look at the stipulations (Cody can’t touch him until Revolution, Cody has to take ten lashes on live TV and Cody has to face Wardlow in a cage match) and Cody gets it. He understands what it’s like to have someone steal your thunder so maybe MJF understands that once Wardlow debuts, people will think MJF should be carrying his bags. He’s willing to take the lashes, but the easy one is not touching MJF until Revolution.
Cody is already living rent free inside MJF’s head and everyone knows MJF is stalling. MJF has wanted to be famous his entire life and he’s living off the old school wrestling people saying he’s a real villain. Cody accepts the stipulations and is willing to take the lashes because at Revolution, he’ll give MJF his own scar. More good stuff from Cody here, who feels like a star. That’s impressive in a white suit.
Joey Janela talks about looking forward to a new year but got hit low by Penelope Ford. Now Ford is with Kip Sabian, so Sabian can bring it on. Joey is ready to face Fenix next week and get the year on track in a good way.
Mel/Brandi Rhodes vs. Hikaru Shida/Kris Stadtlander
Luther is here with Mel and Brandi, as commentary tries to explain that we should know who Luther is. Stadtlander goes after Brandi but Mel blocks her, leaving Luther to stop Shida in the aisle. Shida isn’t having that and beats him down with a kendo stick to get inside and save Stadtlander.
Mel gets sent outside to start so Stadtlander kicks her from the apron (clearly missed) and then moonsaults from the apron to the floor for….kind of a slap to the back at best. Shida grabs the chair for the step up knee to Mel’s face as Luther has the referee by mistake. We settle down to Mel choking Shida, followed by Brandi getting in some choking of her own. Stadtlander tries to come in for the save so Brandi and Mel do the switch without making a tag.
JR isn’t sure why you wouldn’t just make a tag when you’re in control and we take a break. Back with Stadtlander coming in and hitting a spinning slam for two on Brandi. Mel makes the save so Shida comes in with a missile dropkick which grazed Mel at best. Brandi spears Stadtlander down for two and Mel plants her down for the same. Shida is back up with a superplex to Mel so Stadtlander can hit a running knee for two. Brandi gets knocked off the apron and it’s a kneeling Tombstone to finish Mel at 11:15.
Rating: D. This thing dragged really badly and felt a lot longer than it actually was. There were a lot of noticeable botches as well with several shots just completely missing. Brandi and Mel didn’t work in the ring here whatsoever while Stadtlander and Shida deserve a lot better than what they got here. This didn’t work in the slightest and was just bad on a lot of levels.
A member of the Dark Order talks to the supreme leader about some cases they’re working on. They want Michael Nakazawa, Brandon Cutler and Hangman Page, all of whom have already been interested in the team or are prime targets. See, now this works, mainly because Evil Uno isn’t involved.
Jon Moxley vs. Sammy Guevara
Moxley drives the expensive car into the arena to show off. Sammy hits a running dropkick in the corner to start but Moxley sends him into another corner and hits a clothesline. A springboard cutter plants Moxley to send him outside though setting up the big running flip dive so Sammy can pose a bit. Moxley is right back up but can’t hit the Paradigm Shift on the apron. Instead Sammy hits a middle rope double stomp to the apron and then poses in the ring for a bonus.
We take a break and come back with Sammy hitting a running shooting star press for two. Moxley’s headlock driver gets two and he goes up top, only to get caught with a super Spanish Fly. A jumping knee to the head sets up a torture rack flipped into another knee to the face for two on Moxley and Sammy can’t believe the kickout. Sammy tries a moonsault press but Moxley pulls him straight into a rear naked choke for the pin at 9:25.
Rating: B. This was Sammy’s big match here as he looked awesome and put up more of a fight than he has in any match he’s had to date. He was hanging in there with Moxley until the surprise ending, which offers another direction for Moxley. I liked this one a lot more than I would have bet on and it wasn’t the glorified squash I was expecting.
Post match Chris Jericho’s music hits and the lights to out. They come back to reveal the Inner Circle so the big beatdown is on in a hurry. Everyone gets in a shot and Jericho pulls a spike off of his jacket. It goes into Moxley’s eye, which is finally enough to bring out the referees.
Post break, Jericho says that was all on Moxley because they offered him the keys to the kingdom and he smashed a champagne bottle on Jericho’s head. They’ll beat up the Jurassic Express next week when Jericho wipes the deck with Jungle Boy’s hair. Oh and they’ll see Moxley next week, even if he can’t see them. Sammy hits on the interviewer before leaving, which fits him perfectly.
Butcher and the Blade/Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Diamond Dallas Page/QT Marshall/Dustin Rhodes
MJF is wearing an “I BANGED DALLAS’ DAUGHTER” shirt, complete with the Diamond sign. Page, who is actually wrestling without a shirt, and MJF start but it’s already off to the Butcher before anything happens. Marshall comes in to face Butcher so it’s already back to MJF as we’re doing that thing. A cartwheel gets on MJF’s nerves and his offer of a handshake just earns him a middle finger.
Dustin comes in and cleans house but Wardlow slips in the diamond ring for a cheap shot. Bunny and Wardlow both get in their cheap shots and we take a break. Back with “Michael” Jacob Friedman dropping down onto Rhodes’ back and striking a few poses. He drops down onto some raised knees as well to crotch himself (an old Arn Anderson spot) and Dustin sends him outside, allowing the hot tag to Page.
House is cleaned with discus lariats all around and a Diamond Cutter drops Butcher. Another Cutter to Page is blocked so Dustin hits a middle rope Canadian Destroyer instead. Now the Cutter connects to send MJF to the floor and Dustin Cannonballs off the apron onto Butcher and Blade. Page DIVES OFF THE TOP ONTO EVERYONE and we spend so much time looking at replays that we miss MJF rolling up Marshall with trunks for the pin at 10:32.
Rating: C. Butcher and Blade look more and more useless every single week and that’s not going to help them. It doesn’t help when Bunny is getting every bit of the attention and that isn’t going to stop anytime soon. MJF getting the pin was the only logical option to pick here but Page was the star of this match and looked like he did 20 years ago (when he was in his 40s, because he’s that much of a freak).
A drunk Hangman Page interrupts SCU’s interview but Omega breaks it up. Omega shows respect and everything is cool, mainly because he gets Page out of there.
Darby Allin vs. Pac
The winner faces Moxley next week for the #1 contendership. Darby starts flipping a lot and dropkicks Pac down, only to walk into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. A shotgun dropkick puts Pac on the floor but he’s fine enough to counter a hurricanrana into a swing into the steps. Back from a break with Allin being sent into the barricade and a missile dropkick connecting back inside. Allin reverses a super Samoan drop into a super crucifix bomb and the adrenaline is flowing.
A Coffin Drop to the floor drops Pack again and a Code Red gets two on Pac back inside. Pac cuts off a baseball slide by tying Allin in the ring skirt and a hard clothesline gives Pac two. We get a quick pinfall reversal sequence and we have five minutes of TV time remaining. Pac grabs a sitout powerbomb for two, with Tony freaking out on the kickout. Allin gets headbutted off the top though and the Black Arrow to the back finishes Allin at 11:46.
Rating: B-. This was a good example of how to pick someone apart as Pac destroyed Allin’s back the entire match. Pac vs. Moxley should be a heck of a fight and the cool atmosphere should make it even better. Allin continues to wrestle very hard every single week and he has become a star by doing it. Nice match here and Pac looks like a killer.
Post match Pac declares himself #1 contender because Moxley can’t go next week. Pac is coming for Jericho and the title but Tony cuts him off. We see Moxley, with his eye bandaged, being loaded into an ambulance but he gets out and comes to the ring. Moxley says he’ll wrestle blind if he has to and promises to go on to Revolution because it’s his title shot.
Overall Rating: B+. They were this close to having a classic show but the women’s tag and the six man didn’t do them any favors. What worked here worked very well though with the great opener and some awesome angle advancement throughout. It was a heck of a show with everyone working hard and Revolution really starting to take shape. I liked this one a lot and if you fix the glaring problems, it’s their best show ever by a mile.
Results
Kenny Omega/Hangman Page b. Santana and Ortiz, Best Friends and Young Bucks – V Trigger/Buckshot Lariat combination to Taylor
Kris Stadtlander/Hikaru Shida b. Mel/Brandi Rhodes – Kneeling Tombstone to Mel
Jon Moxley b. Sammy Guevara – Rear naked choke
Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Butcher and the Blade b. QT Marshall/Diamond Dallas Page/Dustin Rhodes – Rollup with trunks to Marshall
Pac b. Darby Allin – Black Arrow
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