Dynamite – November 16, 2022: They Used To Be Better At This

Dynamite
Date: November 16, 2022
Location: Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone, Ian Riccaboni

It’s the go home show for Full Gear and that means the card could still use some work. If nothing else, we need to have some more matches in the Contenders tournament as the finals are still set for Saturday. Other than that, odds are we’ll be hearing from MJF and Jon Moxley. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson/Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara

It’s a brawl to start with the Club elbowing away at Guevara and Jericho, followed by a surfboard to Guevara. Back up and Guevara hits a dropkick to take over, allowing Jericho to come in for the chops in the corner. Danielson fights out and scores with the running dropkicks to Guevara but tries once too often. Jericho gets in a cheap shot from the floor and we take a break.

Back with Danielson getting double suplexed but managing to get over for the hot tag to Castagnoli. House is cleaned and a running clothesline gets two on Jericho. Danielson breaks up the Walls to Castagnoli with a top rope missile dropkick, allowing Castagnoli to make the tag this time.

Everything breaks down again and Danielson reverses the GTH into the LeBell Lock. Jericho comes back in and stereo crossbodies put he and Danielson down. Back up and Jericho goes for the bat, only to have Castagnoli grab him for the Swing. The Sharpshooter makes Jericho tap at 17:30.

Rating: B-. This one got the time that it needed for people this talented, but at the same time it doesn’t give me much hope for Castagnoli’s chances on Saturday. I’m not sure who leaves as champion, but the more I think about it, the more likely Jericho seems. Either way, they had a good one here, with everyone working hard to make it go well.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. MJF.

Video on Darby Allin being pulled out of the grave in a body bag and put in the back of a car. Sting is driving and they’re coming to Full Gear.

Jeff Jarrett and company are ready to end Sting and Darby Allin.

We get the new Acclaimed music video, complete with Paul Wight reprising his role as Captain Insano from the Waterboy. The gist of the song: they don’t like Swerve In Our Glory and no one else does either.

Swerve Strickland vs. Anthony Bowens

Everyone else is ejected so we can start the brawl on the floor, with Swerve being send face first into the steps. They head inside for the opening bell and then fight back to the floor, with Swerve knocking him over the barricade as we take an early break. Back with Bowens sending him into the corner for a kick to the head. A suplex drops Swerve for two more but he’s right back with a snap to the arm. The Swerve Stomp gets two in a bit of a surprise kickout but the JML Driver puts Bowens away at 9:33.

Rating: C. Strickland winning here makes sense as it isn’t like Bowens has any real history as a singles star. I also like the lack of shenanigans at ringside, as it is something that has been done to death in AEW. There’s a little too much going on in a match like this and they went with the simpler version here. Saturday should be a fun match and they did a fine enough job to set things up.

Video on Nyla Rose vs. Jade Cargill, complete with the talking heads.

Here is Samoa Joe for a chat. He was tired of Wardlow overstepping his bounds but here is Powerhouse Hobbs to interrupt. Hobbs says Joe is late to the party because Hobbs is the one who has been beating up Wardlow for the last few weeks. The fight is almost on but here is Wardlow to take Joe down. The big fight is on now with security and wrestlers having to come in to break it up.

Britt Baker talks about how Saraya has stared her down time after time. No, Baker has never wrestled in Madison Square Garden but she wrestled in Daily’s Place for years to keep this place going. The fans say her catchphrases with her and she is happy to walk the roads that Saraya helped pave. She isn’t going to have Saraya talk down to everyone though because she is stuck in the past. This is Baker’s house. And this was a 100% face promo, as they’re looking really close to a double turn.

Trios Titles: Death Triangle vs. Top Flight/AR Fox

Death Triangle is defending and Dante knocks Penta to the floor to start as commentary talks about Fox’s career (as they should, as he might not be known to the audience). Fox comes in and ducks Pac’s clothesline, setting up a jumping enziguri to knock him into the corner. Top Flight launches Pac into a cutter from Fox but stereo dives are cut off by kicks to the face from the champs. The Bros kick all three challengers down and we take a break.

Back with the challengers fighting back and sending Death Triangle outside, setting up a big springboard inverted dive from Fox. Back in and a 450 gives Fox two with Pac having to make a save. The Bros are back up for a spike Fear Factor and the double flip dive onto Top Flight. The Black Arrow finishes Fox at 11:31.

Rating: C+. They went with the insanity here, which tends to be the case with these matches. Fox and Top Flight could be a decent team, but it isn’t like there is anything involving any teams other than Death Triangle and the Elite. Just get us to the title rematch on Saturday, which should be all set up by the end of the night.

Post match Pac asks the fans if they think Death Triangle is stupid. They know some people are coming back, and that trio (who he never names) can come see them at Full Gear. Those three know who they are and we get the Death Triangle vs. Elite graphic for Saturday. Pac is pleased.

Ricky Starks was taken out by Lance Archer last week but now they’ll do it for real on Rampage. This time though: let’s just start backstage so Starks can hurt him all the way to the ring.

Full Gear Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Bandido vs. Ethan Page

Page has Stokely Hathaway with him. Bandido spins around to start and shows him the finger guns. It’s never a good sign when a wrestler is threatening to shoot on you fifteen seconds in. Page knocks him down and takes over as we go to an early break. Back with Page missing a charge into the corner and getting sent face first into the middle buckle.

Bandido kicks him down but the 21 Plex is blocked, allowing Page to hit a springboard cutter for two. Back up and Bandido hits the one armed gorilla press (that’s insane) setting up a frog splash for two. The super fall away slam is broken up and the Ego’s Edge finishes Bandido at 9:05.

Rating: C+. This Page push continues to elude me. He is by no means bad but it would seem that there are several other stars on the roster who would be ready for a push. They are at least trying with someone new though and that is a good thing, even if it means Bandido losing another match.

Video on Luchasaurus vs. Jungle Boy in a cage.

Saraya is tired of talking about Britt Baker and wants to just do this.

Video on Eddie Kingston/Ortiz vs. Jun Akiyama/Konosuke Takeshita on Rampage.

Anna Jay vs. Toni Storm

Non-title. They go to the mat to start for a bit before Storm gets caught in the corner. A Backstabber brings her back out and we take a break. Back with Storm fighting out of trouble and hitting the running hip attack to knock her off the apron. Jay is back with her not so great looking roll into a kick but the Queenslayer is broken up. Storm hits another running hip attack in the corner, setting up the Texas Cloverleaf for the tap at 6:49.

Rating: C. Storm gets a win before Saturday, as I try to get my head around this being a match for Jay to possibly become #1 contender to the Interim title. This whole thing has fallen so far down that they need to reset a lot of pieces to make it work. Not that they will, but Storm losing the title might be the way to go, just for the sake of getting away from this mess.

Post match Jamie Hayter comes out for the staredown with Toni Storm.

Full Gear rundown.

Here is Jon Moxley with William Regal for the big push towards the World Title match. Moxley talks about how he is the champ and talks trash but backs it up. He loves to fight because he is sick in the head but it has gotten him this far today. Last week he asked who MJF is and has found out some things about him. It turns out MJF is a good singer who took a vacation after dealing with Brian Pillman Jr. before coming back as the devil and winning a poker chip in the worst ending to a ladder match he’s ever seen.

Moxley is ready to beat him but here is the Firm to beat Moxley and Jericho down. Cue MJF for the save and he grabs a mic. MJF makes it clear: he did this so Moxley has no excuses on Saturday and gets in Regal’s face as a bonus. After a quick Pipebomb quote, MJF talks about how he needs to win the title because he needs it more than air.

MJF says that yeah he’s the devil, and the greatest trick he ever pulled is convincing the world that he doesn’t exist. Moxley cuts off the catchphrase though and says he never saw the big deal with MJF. At Full Gear, he’ll find out if MJF has it, but if not, on Sunday (Moxley: “Is the show Saturday or Sunday? Saturday.”), the training wheels come off. Not a great promo, but there is no reason for these two to be mad at each other, so Moxley has little more to say besides “yeah I’m going to beat him” over and over.

Overall Rating: C+. For a regular show this was pretty good but it did very little to make me want to see Full Gear. There wasn’t anything overly noteworthy and the stuff that was added to the show did very little for me. AEW is in a pretty solid funk right now and Full Gear isn’t looking like the show that will get them out of it. This week was another instance of the wrestling bailing out weak almost everything else, but that is only going to last so long. Not a great show, especially by Dynamite standards.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli/Bryan Danielson b. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara – Sharpshooter to Jericho
Swerve Strickland b. Anthony Bowens – JML Driver
Death Triangle b. Top Flight/AR Fox – Black Arrow to Fox
Ethan Page b. Bandido – Ego’s Edge
Toni Storm b. Anna Jay – Texas Cloverleaf

 

 

 

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