Dynamite – March 4, 2020: If This Is Their Downgrade, They’ll Be Fine
IMG Credit: AEW
Dynamite
Date: March 4, 2020
Location: 1st Bank Center, Broomfield, Colorado
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone
We’re in a new stretch for AEW as Revolution has come and gone, meaning we have a new World Champion. Jon Moxley defeated Chris Jericho to win the title on Saturday, marking the first time that the title has changed hands. It should be interesting to see where we’re going next, but WarGames is looming in three weeks. Let’s get to it.
Here’s Revolution if you need a recap.
We open with a long recap of Revolution.
Here’s Moxley for his first chat as champion but he has to wait for the YOU DESERVE IT chants to die down. Moxley says AEW represents professional wrestling and this belt never belonged to Chris Jericho. It doesn’t belong to him either, because the belt belongs to the people. Every fan out there who said they wanted something different helped bring pro wrestling back. He will defend this title with his life and there isn’t a man in this industry who has what it takes to pry it away from his cold dead hands.
Moxley knows the Inner Circle is still coming for him and seeing the title on his shoulder is like acid in Jericho’s mouth. Moxley dares them to come after him so here comes Jericho, flanked by the rest of the team. The fans keep singing the song after the music stops for….I think it was a cool moment but I’m not sure. Jericho says he doesn’t need a belt to be Le Champion and yells at the fans for not chanting in unison. The fans may like the Moxley Era but Jericho thinks it sucks. Moxley’s title reign was based on a lie and the fact that Moxley can see out of both eyes is not worthy of a champion.
Therefore, Moxley is a liar and so are all of these fans. Now the Inner Circle is a hit squad and they’re coming after the entire roster. They’re going to hurt some people, starting with Moxley. After tonight’s main event (there’s a hug for Sammy), Moxley isn’t walking out of this dump on his own. Jericho is so sure of it, that if Moxley walks out on his own tonight, he’ll take a sixty day hiatus from AEW. Moxley knows he isn’t that smart but he’s so sick of hearing Jericho talk, that he’s going to beat him again tonight in Broomfield, Colorado.
Here’s a preview for the rest of the show.
SCU/Colt Cabana vs. Dark Order
Cabana and Grayson start things off with Cabana shrugging off some chops. The Order comes in to take over on Cabana and knock SCU off the apron at the same time. SCU gets back in and takes over on Silver, including a running series of elbows in the corner. Daniels gets sent outside though and Uno posts him to take over. The beatdown has Daniels down in the corner and we take a break.
Back with Daniels still in trouble but getting away from Silver and making the hot tag to Kazarian. House is cleaned and the assisted middle rope stomp puts Grayson down. A slingshot cutter gives Kazarian two and it’s off to Cabana to deal with multiple parts of the Order at the same time time. The fans are into Cabana but are also happy for Sky’s big flip dive over the top. Cabana hits the Chicago Skyline on Silver, followed by the Superman Pin at 10:27.
Rating: C+. Well at least the important members didn’t get pinned. The match was a good way to give Cabana his first win and continue the build towards the Exalted One. I’m still curious to see who it is and that’s a good feeling to have, as long as the reveal is even somewhat good.
Post match, Uno threatens SCU with the arrival of the Exalted One, because he will not be pleased.
Highlights of the Revolution Tag Team match, featuring quotes from Alvarez, Keller and Meltzer. Now granted they don’t say who those people are so anyone who aren’t hardcore fans won’t know who they are, but they did say that Justin Barrasso writes for Sports Illustrated.
Big Swole vs. Leva Bates
Britt Baker, with coffee for Tony, is on commentary. Swole shoves Bates down to start but a Peter Avalon distraction lets Bates hit her with a book. A Backstabber rocks Swole but she’s right back with Dirty Dancing for the pin at 1:28. Well that was emphatic.
Video on MJF stealing a pin over Cody.
Here’s Cody for a chat. He doesn’t know if he wants to talk about what it means to lose to MJF because it means a lot to get on a pay per view, let alone win. Cody has gone through a lot and now he wants MJF to come out here right now, look him in the eye and say he won fair and square. Instead, here’s Jake Roberts for your random cameo of the week. Jake: “I got tired of hearing you cry and b****.”
Roberts says he’s here because the Dark Side is coming to AEW and it will be like a phoenix rising from the ashes. It’s been twenty years to get clean and now he has earned it. If you think he’s going to be a nice boy who plays nice, you have another thing coming. For years, he brought a snake to the ring to get in people’s heads and now he’s still getting in heads.
His client is coming and he’ll be on the floor getting in Cody’s head again. Cody can even bring Arn Anderson if he wants because Jake is just here to take Cody’s piece of the pie. Jake says never turn your back on someone you respect or are afraid of before turning his back on Cody and walking away. They got the point across, but it took a few seconds for Jake to start making sense.
Clips of Pac vs. Orange Cassidy.
Chuck Taylor vs. Pac
Orange Cassidy and Trent are at ringside. They run the ropes to start with neither being able to make much contact. A hurricanrana puts Taylor on the floor but Pac rolls outside to stare at Cassidy. Taylor jumps over him in the corner and chops away but Pac takes it outside. That means a hard whip into the barricade and we take a break.
Back with Pac working on the arm until Taylor fights up with a dropkick to the floor. That means a dive over the top, but he still has time to hug Trent. Back in and Pac gets caught with an Awful Waffle in the corner for a rather close two. The moonsault misses though and the Brutalizer makes Chuck tap at 10:05.
Rating: C-. This wasn’t the extended squash that it should have been, which is annoying at least Pac continues to make the fans hate him. I’m sure the feud will continue, even though Pac has dominated the entire thing and apparently has the Lucha Bros with him. Chuck wasn’t bad as usual, but the entire team feels like it’s playing over its head.
Post match Trent gets in Pac’s face but Cassidy takes his place. Cue the Lucha Bros for the beatdown, with Pac naming the trio the Death Triangle. Is there some rule that EVERYONE around here has to be in some kind of a faction??? Cassidy takes the spike Fear Factor and Pentagon bites his ear.
Tully Blanchard wants your suggestions for Shawn Spears’ partner.
QT Marshall vs. Jake Hager
Brandi Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes, Santana and Ortiz are here. Hager takes him down with straight power to start and Marshall gets dropped with a knee to the ribs. The running Vader Bomb hits raised boots and Marshall’s corkscrew Swanton gets two. Hager is right back with a heck of a clothesline, setting up the standing arm triangle choke for the win at 3:23.
Rating: D+. Just a squash here and that’s fine enough. Hager is someone who needs to pick up wins like this to show that he can be more than a heavy and they did what they should have done. This feels like they’re setting up something for the future with a six man tag, though I’m not sure how much fuel something between these people are going to have.
Post match Hager won’t let go so Dustin comes in. That draws out Cody to clean house until Santana and Ortiz take him down with a chair shot. Cue Matt Jackson for the attempted save but the numbers are too big for him. Now it’s Hangman Page, who puts the beer on the post and starts wrecking people, including the Buckshot Lariat to Hager. Matt gets in Page’s face so Page flips him off and leaves.
MJF says he’s all about pinning shoulders to mats and banging rats (MJF: “AKA women.”). He’s gone from prospect to prodigy and now it’s time for him to become #1 contender. MJF will face Jungle Jabroni or Marko Stunted growth and doesn’t care who he is. It’s hot in here though so he needs to take his jacket off, revealing an I Pinned Cody shirt. That shirt is obnoxious, regrettable and very distracting. MJF: “Kind of like a neck tattoo, don’t you think?” We’re not worthy of MJF because this was glorious.
Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara vs. Jon Moxley/Darby Allin
Hold on though as three masked men jump Moxley during his entrance. They take him into the concourse and remove the masks to reveal Santana, Ortiz and Hager as the beatdown is on. Moxley gets covered with trash and choked out as commentary says Allin was jumped in the ring, which is why he isn’t coming out for the save. Ignore being able to see Allin standing up and watching the beatdown on the monitor.
Anyway, Allin agrees to wrestle on his own so Sammy knees him down for an early two. Jericho comes in and chokes in the corner, with Hager and company out to choke as well. A sunset flip out of the corner gives Allin two but Jericho is right back with the Walls. Allin makes the save so Jericho baseball slides him to the floor as we take a break. Back with Jericho hitting a suplex and bringing Sammy back in for a double elbow. The fans chant something censored before switching to STUPID IDIOT.
Allin fights up and knocks Jericho outside for a suicide flip dive but the numbers take him down again. Sammy kicks him in the back for two but the Lionsault hits knees. Allin tags himself in and gets all fired up, meaning the comeback is on. Jericho and Sammy are sent outside for the top rope Coffin Drop onto the entire Inner Circle. Back in and the Coffin Drop gets two on Sammy with Jericho making the save. Darby sends Jericho outside but the suicide dive gets Judas Effected out of the air. Allin is done and Sammy gets the pin at 14:08.
Rating: B. This was another show stealing performance from Allin, who needs to actually win something big at some point. It was a match where I got into Allin again and that’s something that happens almost every time he’s out there. Good stuff here and the action helped boost up a solid story.
Post match here’s Moxley to throw a chair at Hager but the numbers game gets the better of him as well. The Inner Circle takes him to the stage and powerbombs him down through some tables to end the show.
Lance Archer didn’t appear and wasn’t mentioned.
Overall Rating: B. It wasn’t quite as good as some of their previous efforts but that’s a pretty high standard to reach. There were some very good parts here along with some that were a bit odd/weak, such as Roberts’ random cameo and ANOTHER group named after death/darkness/evil. Still a good show and they’ve got a lot to look forward to, which is a great sign coming out of a pay per view.
Results
SCU/Colt Cabana b. Dark Order – Superman Pin to Silver
Big Swole b. Leva Bates – Dirty Dancing
Pac b. Chuck Taylor – Brutalizer
Jake Hager b. QT Marshall – Standing arm triangle choke
Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara b. Darby Allin – Judas Effect
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:
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Man. This board is strange. It’s wrestling And Ambrose is not babyface if anything he’s more of a lone wolf.
If you don’t like something don’t watch simple as that.
What does everyone want Aew to be. ECW
They are just coming off revolution Not the greatest. Their woman’s division needs work(but to be fair so does everyone else’s
To compare Aew to Wcw is a little unfair. Jericho is not hogan but then hogan is not Jericho. Hager looks energized and Santana and Ortiz have actually opened their mouths and shown some personality.
The thought that most everyone wants everybody to either A not be a group or B get over instantly is insane.
I know there is social media, yes but except for the diehards like on this board a lot of people want to either compare this company to something that already died or want to say well I did not like it. That’s totally fine But at least give some constructive crictism like I do.
And for everyone on this board and with humble and complete respect to you KB.
Cody the Bucks omega page or tony khan are not going out of their way to read your comments. Not that they don’t matter, but they are trying to write a tv and showcase new talent.
Look I don’t have a dog in the fight(please no Roman jokes). For years we have just had new japan roh or impact. There are several others (I’m talking about the ones with tv deals). Expect for those we have had to take whatever wwe wanted to give us. Some great…some not so great. Heck they are giving us elimination chamber this weekend but in their minds it’s not special. It’s just a throwaway ppv
I can remember the first chamber. Hhh with the throat injury after rvd splash HBK winning. Why even have matches in the chamber if that can’t be used properly
Look. Wrestling is wrestling From the time I watched it has evolved Is everything great no, but at least now in 2020 we have a lot more options rather than just one company with a lot of the market share
As soon as i saw Moxley get jumped during his Entrance I was done with this Show. The Inner Circle beatdowns week after week are becoming nWo on Monday Nitro like and it’s already tiring. Not to mention almost everyone else having to be in a Group and the Heels beating down all the Babyfaces.
Totally different from when The Authority’s group was beating people down every week, right?
Yeah except that wasn’t every week. At least then the Faces got some over on them.
Um, Ambrose has gotten over on the Inner Circle several times. I guess you had already turned it off those weeks too.
When? That one time with a Baseball Bat doing his best Sting impersonation? All ive seen is him getting beaten up time and again including this week. Excuse me for wanting to see the Babyfaces getting something back here and there.
Moxley smashed a bottle over Jericho’s head, beat Sammy Guevara, stabbed Ortiz in the eye and then beat Jericho cleanly for the World Title. Literally less than a week ago. At this point you’re just trolling.
Then gets beaten up again by the Heel Group for the millionth time a few days later. Great way to get your World Champion over. But yeah I’m trolling.
Like The Authority did with Daniel Bryan?
So my question to you Jay H is what do you want wrestling to be. New day cereal where the faces drink milk and the heels run away from the excitement of a Superman punch toy at the bottom.
All kidding aside there has to be tension in the story If there is no tension in any story why should we watch why should we care. When you watch a movie do you expect the heroes to overtake the bad guys in 5 minutes and then break out and dance for 2 hours. The only movie that I saw where the heroes did that was avengers endgame but guess why. Because the bad guy Thanos kicked their butt in infinity war And the heroes wanted to make things right
And I already know what you might say well kids watched that movie well guess what it made 3 billion dollars almost That’s more than just their parents too.
I also remember when Yoko had the belt but guess what he was terrible that Yoko he squashed Hulk he squashed Duggan. Luger had to beat him with a steel plate He even had Mr Fuji as a manager. Why that should not be allowed. If crowd pleasers( I cant stand the term baby faces) had no adversity to deal with. Why even fight anyone.
I know you don’t care about what I have to say or anyone else but at least use logic when you say something
I don’t want it to be anything but enjoyable which I usually do enjoy it believe it or not. I don’t nitpick at much like some people do nowadays. I still enjoy WWE, AEW is fine enough minus a couple of things, I keep up with ROH, and if i hear about something elsewhere like a New Japan I’ll check it out. I’ve been a fan as long as you have from the sound of it.
The thing that everyone has to remember about Aew is they have only had a television show since October. I’m not a mark for any company , but if they could you know they would want an okada or ospreay but they have what they have.
I remember going to raw back in 2016 and Neville was in a tag match with sin Cara PAC seems reenergized
Does everybody need to be a stable as I previously stated no but a lot of the Personnel that Aew has outside of the ex wwe guys and gals don’t know how tv production is Minus their internet shows and pay per views they only get 2 hours a week. I know I have stated that before but people think that raw should go back to 2 hours as well. 2 hours when you are working goes by a lot quicker than people think You are not just responsible for the wrestlers but also everything else and those commercial breaks for us are excruciatingly long but when you are trying to do a show those long commercial breaks can feel like 30 seconds
I have said before that stables help people get over but I can agree that sometimes you have to cut bait and move on. The nightmare collective ran its course. The Dark Order while they have shot some cool videos and may have the exalted one but who will they fight. Inner circle and death triangle are fine
Outside of Japan this is Chris Jerichos first stable. He’s pushing 50. He does not have to do this. I know 6 million can sway the mind, but he has been wrestling for close to 30 years yet still loves this business. He even made a new finisher. He is constantly changing
Jay H and anyone else I will agree with you on inner circle if it gets nwo level, but I want to ask a question
Did the NWO as successful in the short term that it made WCW. Outside of Hogan being a heel which we had never seen before. Did it introduce us to any new stars. No. They were all made by wwe for the most part then it got silly because the nwo split in white Wolfpac and latino. We never knew who was joining or leaving what and the nwo and it’s groups felt like the walking dead characters
Inner circle is at 5. If everybody starts to join then I can see your point
What I thought was interesting and a nice little wink to the audience was mox did not just take a power Bomb through the table but a shield power Bomb through the table. The group basically saying to mox through that action that what goes around comes around because that’s how the shield got over when they first started
The different factions definitely seems inspired by NJPW booking, or even old school territory booking. There are endless combinations of tag teams and six mans you can run, and it makes proper lone wolves like Darby Allin and Jon Moxley stand out.
They could do almost all of that without having bad names and official groupings.
Imagine if AEWgot all of wwe’s movie star talent(not their own studio, but just overall. TONY. Holy smoke it’s Dwayne it’s John it’s Terry it’s Dave. Terry: we are Nxt in line for your money and avenge all this young talent that this company has to offer. You can call us the Hollywood Squares.
Of course this will never happen but I’m sure you noticed that most of all elites groups group names are based in geometry someone in the back must be helping their kids with their high school homework What’s next the radical rhombus
All kidding aside I’m glad that AEW got Jake Roberts to be a mouthpiece he looks to be in good shape and Is STILL an all time masterclass in the art of promoting an angle forward
KB with you being the encyclopedia that you are that’s how most people get over. Heck the success of Adam page (with the tag match over the weekend) would not be what it was if he was was not fighting to prove himself against the group that he thought was rooting for him).
Either you get famous in the group or you fight against the group.
Not everyone can come into a company with the success of a movie like Rocky 3 and be over. This 80s ideology of hate the heel because he’s from another country is dying(as it should) Muhammad Hassan character had heat just poor timing
Would I want to see Paul continue to be a more elite Ted dibiase a blue blood or would I remember him more for dx. Same thing with rock.
Ok Austin was never in a faction but his early success was attributed to the Hart foundation and the Corporation
Heck Ric flair would still be great but Ric flair without the horsemen
I can see your point about their being TOO MANY groups. Like for instance why is MJF even anywhere near the Blade and the Butcher That’s beneath MJF but maybe with him the audience will say ok maybe this team is legit if they are with MJF
Edge and Christian would not be where they where without the brood and the rub from taker
As I previously stated are some of the names ridiculous Absolutely I trust that Cody knows what he’s doing remember he started to get over when he turned on Bob Holly and was with Ted Jr Then Legacy and bam we have a young star folks
As frustrating as AEW is with some of their decisions at least they are reminding me why I love professional wrestling. I like wrestling but with wwe they make the stars famous in a group then when they are singles stars shove them down our throats But at least back in 97 yes not a perfect year they had talent and knew how to push them forward
But then again everyone either had to watch the show back then or miss out now people can watch whenever. That’s the frustration of being a lifelong fan. Along the way there will be bumps in the road
I’m fine with factions in general. AEW just seems to think that everyone needs to be in one and they don’t. They especially don’t need some big official launch/name all the time.
You are right and not everyone is in one Darby allin is not in one BUT he is fighting against inner circle now so he’s getting over
You have been doing this a long time and I could tell you are a wrestling fan. What separates you from every other podcaster or reviewer YOUR NAME
Picture if hogan Nash and hall at bash 96 said we are going to take over wcw but never said new world order. Yeah shirts would be printed but it would just be their faces
Or picture going into a movie without a title. At the end of the movie you would say great movie. What’s the name.
There are very few people in the business that got over just by themselves. Only two people that I know of pulled it off Bruno and Andre the Giant and I will add a third for this century. MJF.
The stables/factions thing makes sense, but we’re up to what, eight of them or so at the moment?
Also, Pac and the Lucha Bros were getting over well enough on their own. I don’t really see the need for some official alliance.
If you really think like that and count then yes that’s a lot
Wwe has 3 hours on Monday, 2 hours Wed 2 on Friday and a plethora more on the bloated network. At times sometimes it’s too much. With all that time do they use it properly all the time NO.
With Aew they get 2 hours and being the elite for a half hour and their quarterly pay per view. And an hour of Dark
In order to maximize their growing talent base they have to squeeze and match up talent together which at times we scratch our heads and say why. I don’t care if Mark Calloway ran the dark order that’s not for me
Yes are the Lucha Bro’s over. They are 50 percent. Their in ring work is excellent but (and it’s not their fault they are limited promo wise
If Asuka could speak perfect English she would be facing shayna at mania instead of becky
This way PAC can establish himself being a leader and gain even more confidence speaking. And the Bro’s can smile and say creative things too. Look as previously mentioned the more reps and opportunities you have to be out there with a microphone the better you will be
Who knew that Santana and Ortiz had great personalities. As good as their matches with the Lucha Bro’s have been. At the end of the day it’s just a match.
That’s why Kenta is happy being back in Japan because he just was not Hideo Itami not his fault but you can’t force someone to do something that a they are not comfortable doing or b they can’t stick to the guidelines of the audience they are in front of.
Brock was one of the top workers in UFC’ but he could also hype up the fight well. He knows the format of talking in wrestling is stagey so he lets someone else do the talking