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KELLER’S AEW DYNAMITE REPORT
NOVEMBER 3, 2021
INDEPENDENCE, MO. AT CABLE DAHMER ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON TNT
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
[HOUR ONE]
-The Dynamite opening theme aired. Then they went to the arena as pyro blasted and the camera panned the crowd of nearly 5,000.
(1) KENNY OMEGA vs. ALAN ANGELS
Omega came out with Michael Nakazawa. Schiavone said you can’t start any bigger than with the AEW World Champion. Excalibur said all of their support goes out to Jon Moxley in his recovery. He didn’t specify, and some people who aren’t monitoring websites, podcasts, and AEW social media are going to go scrambling to find out what happened. As Omega went after Angels aggressively at the start, the announcers talked about how close “Hangman” Adam Page is to Angels and the rest of Dark Order. They said this could be a chance for him to send a message to Page. A graphic hyped Cody Rhodes vs. Andrade El Idolo, FTR vs. Samurai Del Sol & Aerostar, a replacement for Jon Moxley against Orange Cassidy in the Eliminator Tournament, a C.M. Punk statement, and more.
Angels eventually side-stepped a charging Omega, who flew through the ropes to the floor. Angels then dove at him. Omega took over again and shoved him into the ring apron and the ringside barricade. Angels rallied and landed a top rope crossbody press in the ring for a near fall. Ross said Omega is breathing heavily through his mouth, a sign he is fatiguing. Angels went for a top rope splash, but Omega lifted his knees. He powerbombed Angels into the corner and then landed a sitout powerbomb for a two count. Omega got frustrated after more attempts to finish Angels. He went for a One-Winged Angel, but Angels blocked it. Angels countered another One-Winged Angel into a roll-up for a near fall. Omega hit a V-Trigger and scored a near fall, just sitting on him with his arms in the air. Schiavone said, “He did it again! Alan Angels is the real deal here!” Excalibur said Omega’s arrogant cover cost him. Omega landed another V-Trigger and made a proper cover with hooked legs for the win.
WINNER: Omega in 15:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: I wouldn’t say Alan Angels is “made” because of that, but he’s certainly elevated and more relevant putting up that kind of fight. The announcers were clearly instructed to talk about him proving himself against Omega and referenced Angels strong performance against him 18 months ago. The match was good, and Angels carried his end of it well.)
-Omega said he can giveth and taketh away. He asked Nakazawa for a chair, then set up a One-Winged Angel on the chair. He stopped, though, when Hangman’s music played. When Omega picked up the chair, Angels took it away. Hangman then went for a Buckshot Lariat, but Omega ducked and fled the ring. Ross hyped Full Gear in Minneapolis, Minn. Hangman picked up the AEW belt and told Omega he forgot something. He dropped it on the edge of the ring and told him hold it tight because he’s only got ten more days.
-Ross hyped Cody vs. Andrade and said it could be a contender for Match of the Year. They announced Miro would replace Jon Moxley against Orange Cassidy.
(Keller’s Analysis: I’m a big fan of Miro’s work on the mic and in the ring lately, so that’s a great replacement. It keeps AEW from accelerating a patiently built long-term storyline with, say, C.M. Punk, Adam Cole, or Cody.)
-Malakai Black said Tony Khan banning him from ringside won’t matter. He said it wasn’t just Marcus who betrayed Julius Caesar when he was assassinated.
(Keller’s Analysis: Hmmm.) [c]
-C.M. Punk made his ring entrance. The graphic said he is 5-0 since making his AEW debut. A loud “C.M. Punk!” chant broke out. He said that’s not the name he wants to hear. He said his thoughts are with Moxley. He said he has some history with him. He said he’s not super tight with him and they’re not the best of friends. He said he got a phone call explaining what’s going on with Moxley. He said he understands what it’s like to go and go and think you have to be so tough and better than everybody else and wrap up injuries and be sick and show up to work and help other people and be super generous. “And eventually get to the point where you have to take yourself off the hamster wheel,” he said. He said he went through that and he got off, and he was criticized for it. He said he doesn’t want anyone to criticize Moxley “because I am god damned proud of him.” A chant of “Moxley!” broke out. He said if anybody watching is in a place where you think you need help, reach out and call or text somebody. He said there’s nothing harder you can do in the world than ask for help but nothing more courageous. He said he wishes he asked for help, but he didn’t “because I thought I was being a tough guy.” He said that brings him to another guy who isn’t there tonight.
He told Kingston that he was embarrassed for him last week. He said he interrupted him and he doesn’t like being interrupted. He said he’s fabricated a beef from years ago. Someone shouted, “Fight him.” Punk said, “I would, but guess what? He’s not here.” (Punk seemed irritated.) He told him he’ll be in St. Louis next week to accept his apology for interrupting him. Punk said he would have been happy to enter the Eliminator Tournament, but it didn’t happen. He said therefore they won’t get Punk vs. Cassidy tonight and thus no Punk vs. Danielson match. Fans booed. Punk said not to boo anyone but Kingston. He said on Friday, he’ll find out exactly who Eddie thinks he is. He dropped the mic and left.
(Keller’s Analysis: I don’t know if Punk being that ruffled and rattled by merely being interrupted is a great babyface gripe to get really hung up on.)
-A soundbite aired with Miro. He said he cursed him, warned him, and threatened him, and then waited patiently. He said he has suddenly been put in the Eliminator Tournament. He called himself “God’s Forsaken Champion.” He asked God if he was trying to help him or toy with him. “When I look up in anger, do you look down in fear, because in this tournament, it is you who needs to prove yourself to me like I need to prove myself to her.” He said the road home will be paved with skulls who dare to stand in front of him. He said he will be champion and he will be loved, “and then you will be forgiven.”
(Keller’s Analysis: Wow. He’s so good right now.) [c]
-Alex Marvez interviewed Adam Cole, The Young Bucks, and Brandon Cutler. Marvez asked what their plans are. Cole said last week was a fluke and that will never happen again. He said they will remind everyone how dangerous they can be. Nick said they aren’t afraid of anyone. Christian Cage walked in. Matt Jackson warned him not to make a move because there’s three of them and one of him (ignoring Cutler, apparently, who doesn’t count). Luchasaurus walked in. Matt said they’re not looking for a fight. They began to walk away, but then turned and attacked Christian and Luchasaurus. They brawled into the arena. Matt gave Luchasaurus a low-blow. Jungle Boy made a running leap off the stage onto the Super Clique on the floor with a flip dive. Christian speared Matt on the stage seconds later. Christian set up a Kill Switch, but Nick superkicked him. Luchasaurus grabbed the Bucks as Jungle Boy gave Cole a running flying head scissors. Luchasaurus chokeslammed Nick onto Cole. JB then put Cole in the Snare Trap. Christian walked off stage, then returned with two chairs. He put a chair under Cole’s head. (It felt excessive at this point.) He then wound up smashing his head with the second chair. Fans chanted “One more time!”
(Keller’s Analysis: This sorta felt like the Super Clique spit on Christian’s car and Christian decided to slash their tires and break their windshield. The retaliation felt a little out of proportion.)
-A vignette aired with soundbites from Ruby Soho and Kris Statlander talking about facing each other in the TBS Tournament. Statlander said she’s already a leader and doesn’t need a title to tell her that, but a little gold can’t hurt. Ruby said she’s nervous, but confident.
(2) FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler w/Tully Blanchard) vs. SAMURAY DEL SOL & AERO STAR – AAA Tag Team Title match
Samuray del Sol (formerly Kalisto in WWE) & Aero Star made their ring entrance first. FTR came out to their “perky remix” of the Midnight Express entrance theme. When Aero Star did some flips in the ring to show off a little before locking up with Dax, Dax gave him a middle finger gesture. Samuray and Aero Star landed flips at ringside. Cash took over in the ring and they cut to a split-screen break. [c/ss]
Back from the break, Aero Star and Samuray made a comeback, including an Aero Star flip dive off the top rope onto Dax at ringside. They showed Darby Allin watching from “somewhere in the arena.” Cash ended up winning with a roll-up and a yank of the tights.
WINNERS: FTR in 9:00.
-A clip aired from last week when Schiavone was going to interview Shida when she was interrupted by Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero. Rose taunted her and said next week will be an easy night. Vickie cackled and asked how her leg is. [c]
-Inner Circle made their way to the ring, led by Chris Jericho. Jake Hager encouraged the crowd to cheer. Jericho touted Sammy Guevara, who held up his TNT Title belt. Santana & Ortiz stood to the side and nodded as Jericho talked about the Minneapolis Street Fight at Full Gear. They were interrupted by Dan Lambert. He said he would like to leave “this shit-stained city as soon as possible.” Lambert came out with Andrei Arlovski, PageVan Zant, Junior Dos Santos, Scorpio Sky, and Ethan Page along with a couple other American Top Team members. Lambert did not like the “Dipshit!” chant Jericho encouraged the crowd to start. Lambert wanted to “respect” put on his name. He said he has a collection of killers. He brought the open contract to the ring. Fans chanted “Shut the f— up!” Lambert told them to pull up a high chair for Guevara. Lambert said they get three selections from the MMA portion of the menu. He touted that Arlovski has more wins than any other UFC heavyweight. He said he knows they’re proud of Hager’s MMA record, but then said he already has a big head. He touted two other lesser-known fighters who are 16-0 combined in MMA. He told Jericho to pick his poison.
Hager said they pick JDS first. He said he looks like Popeye and they will drop him faster than his last fight, which lasted only 71 seconds. Santana then picked Arlovski and made fun of his “silly ass pointy teeth” gimmick. He said he’ll find out what it’s like when there’s no rules and no regulations. He told him to “bite this.” He gestured below the camera’s aim.
[HOUR TWO]
When Lambert mentioned VanZant’s husband, VanZant said she doesn’t need a man to fight for her. She said from the looks of all their tight pants, none of them have the balls to fight her. She said she could take them all on herself. Jericho asked if she just said she wants to take on all five of them by herself. “Well, that certainly writes itself, doesn’t it? Maybe you could put it on your Only Fans page.” The crowd ohhh’d. Ortiz said something in Spanish. She asked what he said. Guevara said, “He said you’re a bitch.” Jericho said they have to pick one more, and he listed their various options, but instead he revealed he’s choosing Lambert. Lambert went bug-eyed and freaked out. He threw a fit. Jericho said he said he was the no. 1 member of American Top Team, so he’s eligible. Lambert said he didn’t say that and he was supposed to pick a fighter. Sky and Page looked distressed over that development. Excalibur said Lambert’s big mouth finally caught up with him.
(Keller’s Analysis: Fun segment. Lambert’s reaction to being picked, even if you could see it coming for a mile, was really good.)
-Schiavone interviewed Lio Rush, Dante Martin, Matt Sydal, and Lee Moriarty. Sydal congratulated Dante and said he still believes in him as he was impressive on Friday. Sydal said if Dante wants to train with Lio, that’s fine. He challenged them to a tag match. Lio said Moriarty is a talented wrestler, but he’s not any more talented than Dante. He accepted the challenge.
(3) ANNA JAY vs. JAMIE HAYTER (w/Britt Baker, Rebel) – TBS Tournament match
They cut to a split-screen break early in the match. [c/ss]
Jay applied a Queen’s Slater, but Hayter escaped. Rebel distracted the ref as Britt Baker grabbed Jay’s leg. Hayter then hit a running lariat on the DISTRACTED Jay for the win.
WINNER: Hayter in 7:00 to advance.
-Baker, Hayter, and Rebel attacked Jay. Tay Conti made the save. The heels eventually overwhelmed her, though. Thunder Rosa ran out next. The heels fled. Rosa is scheduled to face Hayter in the next round.
-Mark Sterling and Jade Cargill talked about the TBS Tournament. Cargill said she’s going to make sure her win is short and sweet, then she’ll rename the belt “That Bitch Show.” Ross quipped, “Oh, that’ll sell.”
-MJF walked out. Schiavone said, “I’ve got another TBS for you – The Big Shithead.” MJF said when the new names came to AEW, everyone else was sweating bullets, but he wasn’t nor was Darby. He said they’re pillars and they know that without them, this company doesn’t work. He said he and Darby have the it-factor, long before AEW ever existed. He talked about how the fans cheer him. He said it’s obvious why. He said he reminds them of their successful boss or ex-lover or brother. “Hell, I am a symbol of everything these people wish they could be but simply can’t.” He said Darby is one of them – a misfit and an outcast. He said he claims to live life with reckless abandonment. It’s not because he’s too cool for school, it’s because he’s not a normal functioning member of society.
He said the people love Darby because he’s just like them: “You’ll never fit in and you’ll never win.” He said Darby loses his patience as soon as he steps in the ring and then he becomes a glorified stunt man. He said he’s weak and at Full Gear he’ll lose. He said Darby will be concerned about bettering him whereas Darby should be worried about beating him. “Because I’m better than you and you know it,” he said. He told booing fans to shut their mouths. He said he’s a better wrestler than him. He said no one has beat him clean in the middle of the ring because he’s just that damn good. He said he’s so much better than Darby inside the ring, he could beat him with a headlock takeover. They cut away to Darby throughout the interview. He then he spoke.
Darby said he is an outcast, and at Full Gear, he’s not going to attack him with his skateboard, he’s going to keep his composure. He said they’ll have a wrestling match then because he’s going to let out his anger tonight. MJF asked the fans if they want to see it. “Too bad,” he said, before retreating. Schiavone called him a coward. “You can see the trail of slime being left behind him,” said Excalibur. Sting cut him off and brought a baseball bat to the ring. Shawn Spears came out with a chair. Wardlow came out too. Darby and MJF, meanwhile, began to brawl in the audience. MJF raked Darby’s eyes and threw him into the hockey boards. He dragged him back toward the ring, but Darby reverse-whipped MJF into the ringside barricade. Darby then ran and charged at MJF, clotheslining him over the barricade. He tossed him into the ring, but MJF fled because Darby was setting up a top rope move. MJF retreated into the crowd. Darby stood tall in the ring as his music played.
(Keller’s Analysis: Really good segment for both MJF and Darby. MJF didn’t go “too far” at all, yet totally explained his character and Darby’s and why they are contrasting figures. He made himself utterly contemptible and put Darby over as a wrestler of the people. Just well done in content and delivery. The post-match brawl was good, too.) [c]
(4) ANDRADE EL IDOLO (w/Jose the Assistant) vs. CODY RHODES
Andrade made his entrance first. Ross said Andrade has been considered one of the greatest wrestlers in the world in recent years. The lights went out and Cody’s music began. Cody was not heavily booed. Maybe some scattered boos, but not prominent. They cut to an early break after Andrade shoved Cody off the top rope. [c/ss]
Cody set up a double-underhook, but Andrade escaped and landed a spinning back elbow for a near fall. Cody reversed an Andrade figure-four, so he released it and rolled to the floor. Jose stood on the ring apron and DISTRACTED Cody as he was about to run the ropes. Arn Anderson yanked him to the floor. Cody flew at Andrade at ringside, but FTR snuck out from under the ring and hit Cody mid-air with their belts. Andrade rolled Cody into the ring and then delivered his finisher for the three count.
WINNER: Andrade in 12:00.
-Tully Blanchard walked out and joined FTR and Andrade in celebrating together. FTR held Cody up as Andrade landed a running kick to his face. Fans booed. Cash then mounted Cody and punched away at him. Arn and Tully faced off in the ring. The Lucha Bros. charged to the ring and got into a brawl with FTR. They stereo superkicked Dax. Cash pulled Dax to ringside.
(Keller’s Analysis: Cody’s got to be relieved because this crowd was not vociferously against him and seemed modestly into him, which is a big win compared to recent live TV appearances.) [c]
-Schiavone interviewed John Silver about facing Adam Cole on Friday. He said he’ll face Budge. He said Budge doesn’t take their advice. The crowd didn’t seem to know what he was talking about. He said this Friday he’s going to kick some Budge ass. He yelled and flexed,
(Keller’s Analysis: It’s good to feature an interview to hype Rampage, but what the hell was he talking about? That promo was juvenile and tone deaf and stupid.)
-A video package aired on Bunny vs. Red Velvet this Friday with soundbites from both.
-Bryan Danielson’s ring entrance music played and joined the announcers on commentary. They replayed Kingston interrupting Punk’s interview on Rampage last Friday. They cut away before Punk (hilariously) told him he’s disappointed in him.
(5) ORANGE CASSIDY vs. MIRO – World Eliminator Tournament match
Orange Cassidy made his ring entrance first. Miro dominated Cassidy for a couple minutes before cutting to a split-screen break. [c/ss]
Back from the break, Cassidy made a comeback and hit a DDT for a near fall. Cassidy leaped off the top rope at Miro at ringside, crashing him through a table below. Excalibur noted that if Cassidy wins by countout, he’ll advance. The ref got right near ten before Miro dove back into the ring. Danielson said that shows how much the title means to Miro. Cassidy landed the Beach Break for a near fall. Cassidy charged at Miro, but Miro backdropped him and then applied Game Over for the frantic tapout win.
WINNER: Miro in 9:00 to advance to finals of the Eliminator Tournament.
-Danielson made his way to the ring to stand in front of Miro. He offered a handshake, but Miro backed away. Schiavone said they’d announce the Dynamite line-up on Friday on Rampage
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