AEW Dynamite: Chris Jericho defeats Wardlow in main event

AEW Dynamite had several big matches tonight, with the biggest being the announced match between Chris Jericho and Wardlow. If Jericho defeats Wardlow, he gets to have a match against MJF, finally setting up his revenge against him for all the Pinnacle has done.

Along with that, we are also going to see the AEW World and Tag Team Champions in action, as they take on The Sydal Brothers and Dante Martin in a six-man tag team match.

AEW Dynamite opened with MJF saying that Jericho has done well to get to where he has in the Labours of Jericho, but when he faces Wardlow later tonight, Jericho’s quest will be over. MJF said that even if Wardlow lost, Jericho wouldn’t be able to beat him. MJF was eating an apple as he said all this. He then handed the apple to Wardlow saying that he hopes he didn’t fail like he did against Cody in the cage match last year. Wardlow crushed the apple with his bare hands. It seems that he wasn’t pleased with MJF at that comment.

The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson) w/ Don Callis, Michael Nakazawa, & Brandon Cutler vs. The Sydal Brothers (Matt & Mike Sydal) & Dante Martin

Matt Sydal started the match with Matt Jackson, and Matt said loudly, “What the hell?” as he got hit with an armdrag, which made me laugh. Mike Sydal came in and continued the offence against Matt Jackson. Dante Martin was launched by both Sydal brothers onto The Elite on the floor, and Martin then hit a high cross on Matt Jackson for a 2-count.

The advantage of the Sydal brothers couldn’t last forever, and before long Kenny Omega helped cut off Mike Sydal from his corner, and drove him back into the corner to start getting the heat on him. Mike Sydal managed to make the corner and tag out to Matt Sydal, who rain wild and hit a brainbuster on Matt Jackson, and a double hurricanrana on Matt and Nick Jackson both.

Mike and Matt Sydal locked on a double submission on Matt Jackson, but Omega hit snap dragon suplexes on both Sydal brothers, then ducked a springboard, and tried to hit one on Dante Martin, but Martin landed on his feet and took Omega out. He was then tagged in by Matt Sydal and he ran wild with a fantastic hot tag, and then he hit a swan diving hurricanrana to the floor on Kenny Omega, bounced up and hit a double spring moonsault into the ring on Matt Jackson.

That was incredible. All 6 men had a car crash spot in the middle of the ring with everyone hitting big moves. Omega hit a fisherman’s neckbreaker across his knee, and then nailed Dante Martin with a V-Trigger. Omega went for the One Winged Angel, but Martin flipped out and landed on his feet and hit a Pele kick, but Omega finally hit another V-Trigger and a One Winged Angel. Omega and the Elite then hit the BTE V-Trigger for the pinfall.

Result: The Elite

Rating: **** (4 stars)

This was an exceptional opening match, and everyone worked very hard to get Dante Martin over as a rookie with a ton of potential. Martin looked absolutely fantastic here, and I expect a lot of great things from him. So to the Elite, apparently.

Don Callis was cutting a promo, but Christian Cage interrupted. Before he could say anything, Callis said he was looking a bad odds with the numbers against him, so he shouldn’t try anything. Christian smiled and The Jurassic Express’ music hit and they came out to back him up.

Tony Schiavone tried to introduce Christian and the Jurassic Express, but Callis grabbed the mic and said that while he liked Cage, Omega is looking forward to kicking out of his finisher. Cage called Callis a “Carny piece of sh*t” and asked if he was finished. The match is official, but it isn’t want Kenny thought, as Tony Khan was in a meeting with Scott D’Amore and they decided that the first match in AEW Rampage history with Christian Cage vs. Kenny Omega for the Impact World Championship!

Jungle Boy then announced that The Jurassic Express would be challenging the Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championship next week on Dynamite.

Malakai Black cut a promo about how Cody Rhodes is gone now, and Black was going to dominate AEW. This was very good.

Miro cut a fantastic promo, saying that he was a humble man, and he was going to give everyone an opportunity to die for AEW by facing him for the TNT Championship on AEW Rampage.

Daniel Garcia w/ 2.0 vs. Darby Allin w/ Sting

Excalibur mentioned the 1 hour draw that Daniel Garcia had with Wheeler Yuta at IWTV 100 and his 5 other matches on the indies this past week, which I loved. Garcia drove Allin back to the corner and lightly slapped him on the face. Garcia is a technical wrestler, so the story of this match will be Darby Allin trying to compete in a style he doesn’t normally use.

Garcia raked the eyes of Allin and Jeff Parker pulled the legs of Allin to knock him to the mat, but Sting ran him off. Garcia worked over the shoulder of Allin by throwing him upside down into the corner, shoulder first. Allin kept blocking a suplex attempt, and hit one of his own. Garcia, however, pulled Allin’s arm over the ropes, and went right back to working on the arm and shoulder.

Garcia continued his submissions on Allin, with ones that would make Zack Sabre Jr. proud, but Allin refused to submit and got to the ropes. Allin came over the top with a stunner and then climbed the ropes and managed to hit a Coffin Drop, and the crowd went nuts as Allin won.

Result: Darby Allin

Rating: ***1/4 (3.25)

Great match here from Allin and Garcia, and Garcia is a good fit for AEW. 2.0 attacked Sting after the match, but Sting made them pay. Sting suplexed Jeff Parker on the ramp, and Darby Allin helped Sting fight them off.

PAC was with Rey Fenix and Pentagon Jr, and he cut an awesome promo on Andrade here, saying that he could come and fight the Death Triangle any time he wants to.

Chuck Taylor, Orange Cassidy, and Wheeler Yuta w/ Kris Statlander vs. The Hardy Family Office (Matt Hardy & Private Party) w/ The Hybrid2, The Bunny, & The Blade

Orange Cassidy and Matt Hardy started the match, and Hardy tried to stop him from putting his hands in his pockets. Cassidy dodged a corner charge, and Matt fell to the mat (Ehhhhhh!). and then Cassidy fell off the first rope onto Hardy in a lazy fashion which was great.

Private Party managed to hit the Silly String on Wheeler Yuta for a 2-count, and then Kassidy tagged out to Marq Quen. Private Party got the heat on Yuta for a bit, and after Nyla Rose ran out to attack Kris Statlander, Yuta was able to tag out to Chuck Taylor. Taylor worked as a big man here on Private Party, which was great, destroying both of Private Party. Matt Hardy broke the pinfall, but OC hit him with a DDT and then hit a dive onto Hardy.

Yuta hit a splash on Marq Queen for a 2-count. Kassidy blind tagged in and hit a Senton Bomb on Yuta after Yuta hit a German suplex on Kassidy. Quen and Kassidy hit the Gin and Juice on Yuta, but OC broke it up and hit an Orange Punch on Kassidy, but Matt Hardy threw Quen into OC then hit the Twist of Fate on Yuta for the win.

Result: The Hardy Family Office

Rating: **3/4 (2.75 stars)

Andrade and Chavo Guerrero responded to PAC, and challenged him to a match at AEW All Out.

Santana and Ortiz cut a promo about FTR, and that they were coming for FTR’s blood, over and over again. This was very good.

Nyla Rose w/ Vickie Guerrero vs. Kris Statlander w/ Orange Cassidy

Despite just losing their match, the Best Friends walked her to the ring, but only Orange Cassidy was staying at ringside. Rose attacked Statlander right away, and hit a pounce on Statlander to immediately start getting the heat. Rose hit a huge German Suplex on Statlander, but Statlander pulled Nyla from the apron and hit a moonsault off the apron to the floor on Rose.

Vickie Guerrero came face to face with Orange Cassidy and shrieked at him, so he was left deaf. Nyla put Statlander on the top rope but Statlander did a handstand and waked out on her hands. Nyla hit a spear on Statlander in the midst of this, and went to punch Statlander in the corner, but Statlander hit a powerbomb. Statlander then climbed the ropes and hit a 451 splash for the victory!

Result: Kris Statlander

Rating: ** (2 stars)

Perfectly acceptable match here, and far better than the first one they had over a year ago on pay-per-view when Rose defended the AEW Women’s Championship. Statlander looked really good here, and the finish was fantastic. The crowd popped huge for the pin and the move, so that is a major win. Commentary talked about how Statlander might be a future champion, so that might be the match at AEW All Out.

The Young Bucks cut a promo about how easily they were going to beat the Jurassic Express, but as they went for the layup to demonstrate their ease of winning, Luchasaurus ran in and blocked the shot, posted up, and Jungle Boy dunked it. This was a great little segment playing off the Elite recently using basketball in their promos and entrances.

A video packaged aired for Britt Baker vs. Red Velvet, which is the main event of the first AEW Rampage, and this was fantastic. Velvet talked about how much the title meant, and how she was going to take it to Baker.

Britt Baker came out for an interview with Tony Schiavone to a massive ovation from the hometown audience in Pittsburg. Everyone had DMD towels and were waving them, while Baker was wearing Pittsburg Penguins colours. AEW embraced Baker being a babyface for this match, while being a heel elsewhere, so that makes this effective.

Baker said that she admired Red Velvet’s fearlessness, and that she wasn’t afraid when her city of Pittsburg need a champion. Baker acknowledge that their sports teams haven’t done well, but she is the hope for this city, as she is their champion. Baker said she might have a chance in any other city, but not in Pittsburg. This was a money promo. Absolutely fantastic work from Baker here.

Red Velvet ran out and started fighting with Baker, and the referees had to pull them apart, and the crowd erupted with DMD chants. This was a simple, but fantastic segment.

Ricky Starks cut a promo about how he was going to do a face to face with Brian Cage next week, and he promised that no one would interfere, but Cage said he didn’t believe him, but he would be fine because he wasn’t a man, he was a machine. This was also very good.

The Dark Order (Stu Grayson & Evil Uno) vs. The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) w/ Brandon Cutler: Impact World Tag Team Championship Match

Scott D’Amore joined the commentary booth for this match, but before the Good Brothers could get to the ring, Stu Grayson hit a huge dive onto both men, and Evil Uno started with Karl Anderson in the ring. The Dark Order hit a series of fantastic tag team moves against Anderson. D’Amore put over The Dark Order on commentary, saying he would be proud if they became Impact Tag Team Champions.

Brandon Cutler got involved, pulling Evil Uno from the apron, but Colt Cabana punched Cutler in his face guard, and sent him back to the ramp, though he sold his hand. Frankie Kazarian made his way out and dragged Cutler to the back. Gallows sent Uno into the guardrail and they started to get the heat on him over the next few minutes.

Uno managed to hit a hurricarana on Anderson and tagged out to Grayson. Grayson hopped on the top rope, ran across the shoulders of Karl Anderson and hit a tornado DDT on Doc Gallows. That was fantastic. Stu Grayson tried to put Gallows in a torture rack, but his back gave out. Uno and Grayson sent Anderson with a belly-to-belly into Gallows in the corner.

Uno low bridged Gallows to the floor, and then threw his own partner at Gallows. Uno setup Anderson for the Fatality, but Gallows threw their tag belts into the ring to distract them, and then shoved Uno from the ring and hit the Magic Killer on Grayson for the pinfall.

Result: The Good Brothers

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Good match here from both tag teams, and just enough hope spots to keep the crowd in it.

A video aired of Kamille, hyping up her match with Layla Hirsch, with lots of highlights from NWA Power. This was also very good. If you haven’t noticed the trend tonight.

Tony Schiavone was in the ring with The Factory for QT Marshall’s apology to Schiavone. Marshall said that Schiavone should have apologized to him for his disrespect, and he was going to because the Factor were going to beat up his son, Chris Schiavone, who wanted to be a wrestler. As they pulled Chris into the ring and beat on him, Paul Wight’s music hit, and QT Marshall threw Aaron Solow to the wolves, as Wight hit a massive chokeslam on him. Looks like we might be seeing Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall soon.

The announcers ran down the card for AEW Rampage on Friday, and the card for next week’s AEW Dynamite, which will feature a match between 2.0 and Sting and Darby Allin. Sting is going to wrestle on TV next week. Amazing.

Chris Jericho (Inner Circle) vs. Wardlow w/ MJF (The Pinnacle): The Fourth Labour of Jericho

Jericho played to the crowd in his entrance, but he was selling his exhaustion very well here. Jericho looked like this was wearing him down, which is exactly the story they are telling, because MJF wants Jericho exhausted when they finally fight. Jericho took it to Wardlow right away, hitting an axe handle off the top rope and then a Code Breaker, but Wardlow kicked out a 1.

Wardlow got right up and shoved Jericho back to the corner before throwing him across the ring. Wardlow sent Jericho to the floor and sent Jericho into the guardrail. Wardlow smashed Jericho’s back into the ring post, and then powerbombed Jericho right in the middle of the ring. Wardlow hit a second powerbomb on Jericho and taunted the crowd.

Wardlow hit a third powerbomb on Jericho, to the delight of MJF. Wardlow hit a 4th powerbomb. This match slowed right down here, but Jericho, sensing he was losing the crowd a little bit, chopped Wardlow a few times before taking yet another powerbomb.

5 in total now. A 6th powerbomb soon followed, but Jericho managed to get to his feet and hit the ropes, but Wardlow caught him in the crossbody before hitting the F10. MJF continued to instruct Wardlow to beat on Jericho. Wardlow went for the Casualty of War, but Jericho caught the knee and locked on the Liontamer, but MJF raked the eyes of Jericho.

MJF tried to give Wardlow his diamond ring, but the ref caught him and ejected him from ringside. As she was sending MJF out, Jericho grabbed Floyd, his baseball bat and nailed Wardlow in the face with it. Jericho hit the Judas Effect and pinned Wardlow. Fantastic finish.

Result: Chris Jericho

Rating: ***1/2 (3.5 stars)

After the match, Shawn Spears ran in and attacked Jericho. Sammy Guevara ran out to make the save, but Wardlow got back up and attacked Sammy. MJF made his way back to the ring and locked on the Salt of the Earth armbar on Jericho’s injured arm. Jake Hager ran down to make the save and chased everyone off.

https://twitter.com/AEWonTNT/status/1425638635915812868

MJF grabbed a mic and announced his stipulation for the 5th Labour. Jericho cannot use the Judas Effect and will not be entering the ring to Judas, his theme song, and if Jericho hits MJF with the Judas Effect, MJF wins the match.

Overall Show Rating: **** (4 stars)

I really enjoyed this episode of AEW Dynamite. A lot of the stories were moved forward, and we have clear cards shaping up for AEW Rampage on Friday and AEW Dynamite next week. AEW All Out is still a bit unclear, but I expect on the new two TV shows for AEW we are going to have a much clearer picture of the entire card for All Out.

This was a very good show from start to finish, with lots of young talent being spotlighted, and some really big matches setup for Rampage. I can’t complain about that. See you all Friday night!