Dynamite – July 22, 2020: Here We Go Again
IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Dynamite
Date: July 22, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross
We’re finally ready for a normal show after three weeks of specials and that means…well I have no idea actually. The big draw this week is the fallout from last week as Taz threw in the towel to cost Brian Cage his World Title shot against Jon Moxley, which might not have been the best career move. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
TNT Title: Cody vs. ???
Cody, with Arn Anderson, is defending against a mystery opponent. That would be…..Eddie Kingston, who comes out and cuts a promo about Cody growing up around wrestlers and legends while Kingston grew up around violence and on the streets. Tony Khan brought Cody in and now it’s time for Kingston to beat him up in a No DQ match, if Cody accepts. Cody says ring the bell. Cody gets knocked to the floor to start and chopped a lot but Kingston fights back up and they head back inside.
The spinning backfist misses and Cody hits the Disaster Kick to put him on the floor again. There’s the suicide dive and Kingston seems to have banged up his knee. Kingston is fine enough to whip him with the weightlifting belt and peel back the ring mats. The piledriver on the floor is countered with a backdrop onto the concrete and Cody hammers away with shots to the face. Back in and Kingston manages a belly to back suplex for a breather but the knee is still banged up.
A kick to Cody’s head lets Kingston shout STAY DOWN and grabbing a Stretch Plum. That’s switched into a dragon sleeper but Cody fights up and sends him into the buckle. The knee gives out so Kingston goes with a low blow. With Cody down, Kingston busts out the bag of thumbtacks but Cody dropkicks him in the knee again. The Vertebreaker is broken up though and Kingston powerbombs him onto the tacks. Back up and Cody no sells a belly to back suplex and blasts Kingston with a clothesline. The Figure Four is blocked with some slaps to the face but Cody punches him down and gets the hold for the tap at 11:22.
Rating: B. If Kingston doesn’t get a contract out of this, I’m not sure what to tell you. Kingston had an awesome promo before the match and then looked great in the ring, but that shouldn’t have been how the match ended. I’m fine with Cody retaining, but after “Eddie Kingston gave everything to get here! He’ll never quit!”, it’s a little off to see him tap. But anyway, he better get signed after that because I have no idea what AEW is thinking if they don’t.
The announcers run down the rest of the show.
Jon Moxley talks about having Brian cage just a second away from going back to the operating room with another horrible arm injury but Taz threw in the towel. That makes Taz the manager of the year, but next time, Moxley isn’t letting go.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Griff Garrison
Before the match, MJF thinks Garrison is Jungle Boy and doesn’t like being corrected. MJF makes fun of his Ivy League MVP nickname and brags about being undefeated, so Griff brings up the loss in a tag match at Fyter Fest. The left hand takes Griff down and we’re off in a hurry. MJF chokes in the corner and hits an overhead belly to belly as we take a break.
Back with MJF holding the microphone and standing over Garrison, who he demands say he’s undefeated. Garrison eventually does, but knocks the microphone into MJF’s face. That sets up a rollup for two, but MJF explodes with left hands to the head. The Heatseeker finishes Garrison at 6:03. Not enough shown to rate, but it was more about MJF being himself than anything else.
Tony is with Rebel to get an update on Britt Baker, who has undergone nose surgery. Before Rebel can confirm her name, Baker shouts at her to get in. They join Baker who explains her nose issue and gives us Rule #4 of being a role model: never count out a role model. It’s not unlike Tiger Woods in the 2019 Masters, Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV or Michael Jordan with the Washington Wizards. Tony mentions the Wizards not being very good but Rebel confirms that Jordan won in Space Jam. Baker tells them both to shut up and promises to be back at All Out.
Here are Taz and Brian Cage for a chat. Taz talks about how rough of a week the two of them had, with Cage being ready to fire him. He even has to give Moxley credit for getting the armbar on and having Cage in that much trouble. Taz threw in the towel because Cage is never going to quit no matter what. It’s not how he’s wired, but Moxley will never be able to do it again. Cue Darby Allin but Ricky Starks (who helped Cage and Taz on Dark) jumps him from behind. Cage hits a powerbomb on the ramp and tosses Allin over the top into the ring. The beatdown is on but here’s Jon Moxley with a barbed wire baseball bat to clear the ring.
A women’s tag team tournament is coming. It isn’t for a title, yet.
Chris Jericho is still mad about the jacket being ruined by the orange juice last week and promises to get rid of Jurassic Express for making fun of him for it. Believe it or not, Luchasaurus is NOT a dinosaur. The jacket still smells like orange juice though, and Jericho isn’t happy.
Butcher and Blade vs. Young Bucks
This is falls count anywhere so they start brawling in the kitchen, with Butcher powerbombing Nick onto a cart. Matt gets suplexed onto another cart and it’s time to head to the concourse. The Bucks duck a shot and knock the Butcher onto a picnic table to drive a cookie sheet into his face. Matt is sent inside of a production truck and Matt is sent into the door, which has his own face on it.
A dive out of said truck takes Butcher and Blade down, with Butcher being put onto a cocktail table. Nick picks up another sheet and dives off the bar to crush Butcher again. Blade is superkicked up an escalator and we take a break. Back with the fight having moved to ringside with a running knee to the face knocking Butcher silly. Nick misses a slingshot dive to the floor though and Blade is back with some chair shots. Matt takes Blade down and Nick flip dives off a wall to drop Butcher.
The Bucks put a table up against the barricade and Blade tries a running flip dive, which misses the Bucks and sends him face first into the edge of the table for a scary landing. Butcher splashes Matt through the table and they get inside. Nick throws a chair at Butcher’s head and a running knee in the corner gets two. The Sharpshooter and Crossface combination goes on but Blade comes in for the save.
A powerbomb/neckbreaker combination drops Matt on the ramp but he’s right back up to help send Butcher and Blade into each other. The superkicks put Butcher and Blade down, setting up the BTE Trigger to Blade. There are a pair of tables set up in front of either entrance so the Bucks climb above them, setting up a legdrop from one and a Swanton from the other for the double pin at 15:42.
Rating: B. Entertaining match, though I’m not entirely sure how much these teams have done to set up a match like this. You knew the Bucks weren’t going to lose in something like this either, as the Bucks are the team who get beaten down to a ridiculous degree every time and come back with a bunch of superkicks and flips to win anyway. It was a lot of fun though, and that’s what they were going for here.
Jake Roberts and Lance Archer don’t want to answer questions, so Lance grabs the interviewer and takes him into the locker room, where he beats up three guys, including sending one through a piece of the ceiling. They’re tired of waiting.
Diamante vs. Ivelisse
They go straight to the slugout to start with Diamante getting the better of things, but we need to pause for an inset interview with Big Swole. She isn’t happy with Britt Baker, who will have to face her one day. Back to full screen with Ivelisse hammering away in the corner but getting caught with a dropkick to the ribs.
They head outside with Ivelisse shouting a lot but getting sent into the barricade. They chop it out until Ivelisse hits a kick to the head for two. The sleeper goes on for a bit before they come back up and chop it out. Another kick to the head stops Diamante as JR makes potato references. A German suplex takes Ivelisse down for two but she’s right back with a powerbomb for the same. Diamante catches her off the ropes in a small package for the pin at 6:27.
Rating: D. Diamante’s strikes were quite lacking here and Ivelisse was about as far ahead of her as you can get. She must have some horrible backstage problems after she couldn’t get a chance in TNA and now is being used to put over Diamante, as you would think a unique looking woman who can strike that well would be getting more of a chance. She’s still no Lei’D Tapa though.
Hangman Page vs. 5
They strike it out to start with Page knocking him around without much trouble. A boot tot he face sets up another boot to the face to send 5 outside. Page whips him into the barricade and 5 gets dropped throat first across the steel. Cue the rest of the Dark Order though and we take a break. Back with 5’s middle rope moonsault hitting knees, allowing Page to pop back up with a spinning forearm to the mask. Page hits a heck of a pop up powerbomb for the pin at 8:48.
Rating: C-. Page is someone who can do almost anything in the ring, but e pluribus gads tell me we don’t have to sit through the Dark Order as challengers to the Tag Team Titles. The match was fine for a glorified squash, but what we might be seeing in the future could be downright irritating.
Post match Page isn’t scared by the Order’s numbers so Brody Lee gets in the ring to say Page has impressed him. What doesn’t impress him is the lack of Page’s friends or a tag partner when he is in danger. The Dark Order can protect him and would never leave him alone, in a bar or in the ring. Page appreciates the offer but he isn’t sure if he’s ready to join a cult right now.
Lee says he just made his bed, so enjoy his sleeping. Lee and Colt Cabana leave and the rest of the team beats Page down. Cue FTR with the cooler to hit one of the goons in the head and clear the ring. Kenny Omega comes out after everything is ok and FTR hands Page a beer. Omega gets nothing.
Next week: Omega/Page defends against the Dark Order, Shida vs. Diamante, Moxley/Allin vs. Cage/Starks in a Texas Tornado match.
Jurassic Express vs. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager
It’s Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus, with Marko Stunt, for the team and Jericho, with Santana and Ortiz, still has the orange jacket on. Jericho beats Boy down into the corner to start but it’s quickly off to Hager vs. Luchasaurus for the hoss fight. They slug it out with Hager getting the better of things until they collide. Luchasaurus kicks him in the head but the chokeslam is countered into a failed ankle lock attempt. The second attempt works better than it’s Jericho coming back in to work on the leg.
It’s quickly back to Hager for a chinlock before the leg is wrapped around the rope in the corner. The chop block takes the leg out again but a double clothesline puts both monsters down. Luchasaurus, with his ear bleeding, brings Boy back in to pick up the pace. A hurricanrana gives Boy two on Jericho and there’s a suicide dive onto Santana and Ortiz. Back in and Marko knocks Jericho into a small package for two but Jericho plants Boy face first. Marko gets knocked off the apron and we take a break.
We come back with Boy getting beaten down in the corner before Hager comes in to beat him down again. Jericho busts out Floyd the baseball bat but has it taken away, allowing Boy to get two off a small package. A clothesline drops Jericho but Hager is back in to keep him in trouble. Boy manages a double DDT though the hot tag brings in Luchasaurus. Everything breaks down and Boy forearms Hager to the floor.
Jericho turns Boy inside out with a clothesline but Stunt (of freaking course) comes in with a dropkick to put Jericho down. Luchasaurus gets two off a kick to the head and Boy hurricanranas Santana off the apron onto Ortiz. Cue Serpentico (who rarely leaves Dark) out of the crowd to hit Luchasaurus with a baseball bat though, setting up the Codebreaker to finish at 17:26.
Rating: B. Pretty standard main event tag match here, with Stunt getting involved because he has to be there no matter what happens because of reasons that aren’t entirely clear. It’s good to see the Inner Circle getting a fresh member, assuming that isn’t a certain Spanish deity under the mask. Other than that though, this was a fine enough match, with some near falls that made me believe the upset could happen. Just stop having Stunt in there as this generation’s Hornswoggle.
Post match the beatdown is on and Serpentico unmasks as the returning Sammy Guevara. Hugging ensues but the Best Friends and Orange Cassidy come out to clear the Inner Circle (as in the FIVE people with a baseball bat) away to end the show.
Overall Rating: B. Pretty solid show this week as we get a lot of stuff covered in two hours. The wrestling was mostly good as well, but there were a few things that needed some improvements. They’re starting the build to All Out as well, which should be a heck of a show as they tend to knock those out of the park. You can probably see a lot of the show coming together, but they have a long way to go to get there. Good stuff this week, as Dynamite tends to be mostly awesome.
Results
Cody b. Eddie Kingston – Figure Four
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Griff Garrison – Heatseeker
Young Bucks b. Butcher and Blade – Double pin
Diamante b. Ivelisse – Small package
Hangman Page b. 5 – Pop up powerbomb
Chris Jericho/Jake Hager b. Jurassic Express – Codebreaker to Luchasaurus
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