Dynamite – November 29, 2023: It’s Still Working

Dynamite
Date: November 29, 2023
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Bryan Danielson, Excalibur, Taz

It’s the second week of the Continental Classic and that seems to be the focal point of the show again. That went well enough last week, but I’m curious to see how well it holds up week after week. Other than that, Christian Cage has to respond to Adam Copeland’s challenge for a TNT Title match next week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson joins commentary.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jon Moxley vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal takes him down rather fast to start but the figure four doesn’t last long. Instead Lethal knocks Moxley outside for the suicide dive, only to have Moxley come right back with a dive of his own. Moxley comes up favoring his knee so Lethal is right back to go after the knee. Lethal knocks him off the apron and we take a break.

Back with Moxley grabbing a cutter but Lethal pulls him off the top with a super dragon screw legwhip. More shots to the knee have Moxley down but he sends Lethal into the corner. Moxley’s rear naked choke is broken up though and now the Figure Four can go on for a lot longer. The rope is grabbed though and it’s a Paradigm Shift into a pulling piledriver. The rear naked choke goes on though and Lethal is done at 11:20.

Rating: B-. Lethal continues to be one of the most consistent stars in AEW as he can have a nice match against anyone. That was the case here, with Lethal working on the knee, even if Moxley only sold it so much. Moxley feels like a strong candidate to go to the finals, so stacking him up with wins to start makes sense.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Following his loss on Collision, Eddie Kingston says he didn’t deserve to win and now he has to face Bryan Danielson. Time to heal up.

Danielson is all fired up and says he’s coming to win.

Tony Schiavone announces the Revolution will take place on March 3 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Naturally this means a discussion about the Clash Of Champions match between Sting and Ric Flair, who come in to talk about said match. Sting thanks Flair for putting him on the map that night and Flair talks about how awesome Sting was that night. Trivia for you: according to AEW, that was the only match these two have ever had and now they’re legends 35 years later with nothing in between.

Continental Classic Gold League: Rush vs. Mark Briscoe

They go right to the slugout to start with Briscoe knocking him into the corner. Rush switches places with him and takes Briscoe out of the corner before they head outside. An exchange of whips into the barricade has Rush down, setting up the Bang Bang Elbow off the apron. Back in and Rush hits a superkick but Briscoe hits a hard lariat as we take a break.

We come back with Rush holding a leglock, with Briscoe making it over to the ropes. Rush sends him flying into the corner but a spear cuts off the Bull’s Horns for two. They fight to the apron until Briscoe charges into a suplex out to the floor. Back in and Rush gets knocked off the top, setting up the Froggy Bow for two. The Jay Driller is broken up though and the Bull’s Horns finishes for Rush at 11:22.

Rating: B-. This was the fight you would expect from these two and it was a fun brawl. Rush winning does get him on the board, but it’s rather frustrating to see Briscoe lose so often. He has so much charisma and could be a steady hand in the midcard. Instead he seems there to put people over, but maybe things can change in the next few weeks.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Toni Storm is proud of winning the Women’s World Title but she’s a bit tired from celebrating and has some gout.

Here is MJF, on a cane, for a chat. He’s set to defend the World Title against Samoa Joe next month and he respects Joe very much. We hear a story about MJF seeing Joe in TNA and knowing what kind of a monster he saw. Then Joe went to WWE, who didn’t see his talents or make him a World Champion. The road Joe paved brought MJF to wrestling though so thank you…..but MJF has gone down his own road as well. MJF talks about the names he has beaten and now their match is about MJF’s own legacy.

On December 30, MJF doesn’t care about his injuries because it is going to be about how much fight he has in him. If Joe wants the title, he’ll have to put MJF down. Then the lights go out and the Devil minions show up, only to have Joe make the save. Then the screen goes back and a text crawl comes up, with someone challenging Joe and MJF to team together to face the unknown in a tag match. An angry MJF says it’s on and promises to unmask people.

Commentary says their IT security is looking into who keeps taking over.

Wardlow vs. AR Fox

Fox knocks him over the top and out to the floor to start the beating on the floor. They get inside with Wardlow suplexing him over the top to get us to the opening bell. Wardlow takes him back outside to keep up the beating but Fox kicks him down back inside. A 450 gives Fox two but Wardlow calmly powerbombs him. A Swanton crushes Fox and another powerbomb makes the referee stop it at 3:13.

Rating: C+. This was another slow step forward for Ward low as he gets to beat up a slightly bigger nae this week. That is a nice way to keep him moving but it is only going to mean so much if there isn’t some consistency. Wardlow has been higher than this before, only to have everything stop out of nowhere. Keep this up and it should work.

Hardys/Brother Zay vs. Action Andretti/Top Flight

Andretti sunset flips Matt for two to start but the Hardys take Andretti down without much trouble. It’s off to Zay, who gets caught in the wrong corner, allowing Dante to come in for a running corner clothesline. We take a break and come back with Jeff taking Andretti into the corner.

Andretti fights back to take Matt down and the hot tag brings Dante back in. Everything breaks down and Zay takes Dante down for two. Jeff cuts Darius off the apron (the fans do not approve), leaving Dante to get caught in a double electric chair/springboard missile dropkick combination for two. Back up and a dropkick into a German suplex gives Dante the pin on Zay at 9:46.

Rating: C+. This was about getting Dante back in the ring to show that he can still do it. You can see the athleticism there and Top Flight has looked like a potential breakout team for a long time now. What matters though is how long they can stay healthy, as it feels like they have spent years apart due to the injuries destroying them. For now though, I can go with the Hardys putting someone else over, as it’s what they do best at the moment.

Post match, Penta El Zero Miedo, Hijo del Vikingo and Komander seem to want to face Top Flight and Action Andretti.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Emi Sakura

Hart is defending and due to House Rules, the match cannot end by submission. Hart starts fast by knocking her into the corner for a running elbow. Sakura chops her way out of trouble but gets taken down by the arm. They head outside with Sakura hitting a running crossbody against the steps as we take a break.

Back with Sakura hitting the delayed butterfly backbreaker, only to have Hart pull her into a triangle choke. Since that doesn’t work, Hart hits a running forearm to the back, setting up the moonsault to retain at 7:34. Sakura seemed to try to roll away and it looked like Hart almost had to hold her down for the pin.

Rating: C. The match was nothing of note but I’m a bit curious about that ending. I’m not sure if that was a communication issue or something that didn’t work like they were planning. Either way, it’s another win for Hart, who is on a roll at the moment and getting win after win is the right way to go.

Here is Christian Cage, with security, to call out Adam Copeland for a chat. Cue Copeland, so Cage sends security away. Cage talks about their history together and how much success they had on their own and together. We hear about their history, including Cage and Copeland being friends as children. Copeland was raised as Cage’s brother so they should do it one more time. Copeland seem to agree but then catches the low blow. He’s coming for the title next week and says “go f*** yourself”, which is NOT censored on the TNT feed. Good stuff here, as Copeland knew Cage and didn’t fall for his tricks.

Continental Classic Gold League: Swerve Strickland vs. Jay White

Feeling out process to start and they’re quickly out on the floor. Swerve sends him hard into the barricade and fires off some chops back inside. Things head back outside with Swerve dropping him over the barricade, followed by an apron double stomp to the back. White manages a DDT on the way back inside though and we take a break.

Back with White cranking on both arms but Swerve comes up with some chops. White doesn’t seem to mind and suplexes him into the corner, meaning it’s time to yell a lot. Swerve’s rolling Downward Spiral is blocked but so is the swinging Rock Bottom. A quick suplex gives Swerve two but White grabs what looked to be a Downward Spiral.

Swerve hits a quick clothesline though and they slug it out. White goes back to the knee and a swinging Rock Bottom gets two. Back up and White tries the low blow but gets taken down instead. The Swerve Stomp gets two more but White grabs a quick Blade Runner. Swerve rolls to the apron before the cover though and they chop it out with five minutes left…when Swerve grabs a cradle out of nowhere for the pin at 15:26.

Rating: B. These two tore it up here as Swerve continues to FINALLY get the chance to show what he can do. It feels like we’ve been waiting to see it happen for the better part of ever now and at least it seems to finally be going somewhere. Beating White clean is a pretty big deal, so well done on making someone feel like a much bigger deal, which isn’t easy to do.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Overall Rating: B. The tournament is by far the biggest focus for the show and that is good enough, but they also focused on the other important stories on the show. That would include the Cage vs. Copeland title match next week, plus the banged up MJF vs. Samoa Joe. Good show here, though I continue to wonder how long the tournament is going to be able to last at this level.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Jay Lethal – Rear naked choke
Rush b. Mark Briscoe – Bull’s Horns
Wardlow b. AR Fox via referee stoppage
Action Andretti/Top Flight b. Hardys/Brother Zay – German suplex to Zay
Julia Hart b. Emi Sakura – Moonsault
Swerve Strickland b. Jay White – Rollup

 

 

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