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AEW DYNAMITE TV REPORT
MAY 18, 2022
HOUSTON, TX AT FERTITTA CENTER
AIRED ON TBS
REPORT BY TYLER SAGE, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur
(1) SAMOA JOE vs. JOHNNY ELITE
Johnny Elite tried a forearm strike, Samoa Joe quickly took control and hit some hard strikes. Johnny rolled like a character in Elden Ring and grabbed the back of Joe’s foot and then hit a kick to the stomach. Joe responded and hit kicks of his own and moved into the corner and laid in hard chops. Joe continued the assault, until Johnny took Joe’s feet out. Johnny was in control briefly, then both men were locked on the mat, until Johnny did a cartwheel lariat and then ent to the top and hit a side spin dive out onto Joe. [c]
Samoa Joe took control as the show returned, Joe hit a chop the knocked Johnny off his feet for a near fall. Joe put Johnny on the top rope to set up the Muscle Buster, Johnny Elite countered and tried for a 450, it missed Joe for a near fall. Johnny got up again and tried for Starship Pain. Joe got his knees up and then hit the muscle buster for the win.
WINNER: Samoa Joe
(Sage’s Analysis: A fun match, between two different styles. Johnny had a few moments that were cool, but Joe had to wait for moves to develop, so that was not ideal. I honestly thought Johnny Gargano was coming out, so no fault to Johnny Elite but that was a disappointment for me personally.)
-Immediately post match Jay Lethal and co. came out and beat up Joe, until Rocky Romero and The Best Friends made the save.
-Jeff Hardy was medically cleared, The Young Bucks came in and asked him not to compete. This segment obviously will lead to a match at Double or Nothing.
-CM Punk came out to join the commentary team.
(2) ADAM PAGE vs. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
Konosuke came in with a big boot, Page fought back and then attacked Takeshita on the apron and then dove out onto the floor. Takeshita then got back in the ring and dove out onto Page. Eventually Page pushed Takeshita off the top rope and he landed on the apron. Page met him out there and gave him a hard chop. Page then tried a suplex, but Konosuke battled out and tried a move, Page caught him and slammed him on the apron. Page then hit a moonsault off the top, onto Takeshita on the outside. [c]
Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb and an intense dive over the top onto Adam Page. Takeshita did what seemed to be an El Generico homage series of moves, then both men ran the ropes and hit lariats at the same time. This left both men laying, Page was the first to get to his feet. The men then traded forearms and chops in the middle of the ring. Page then hit a Pile Driver for a near fall. Takeshita sold his wrist at this point in the match. Page looked over at Punk on commentary and tried for the Buckshot.
Takeshita dodged it and hit a big forearm and then a power bomb and the running knee for two near falls on Page. Takeshita then hit a German and pulled off the cover as he sold his neck area. Page took advantage by blocking a running knee, and hit a rolling elbow strike. Page pulled Takeshita up by his hair and put him on teh top rope. Page joined his opponent and was taken to the mat, but Page hit the Buckshot Lariat and then a GTS on Takeshita for the pinfall win.
WINNER: ADAM PAGE
(Sage’s Analysis: First of all, great match. This felt like a Forbidden Door PPV match. That being said, the psychology of the match was not perfect. I like a champion having a competitive match, but Takeshita is a nobody in the world of AEW, so it is odd for him to have Page beat, but I enjoyed the match still.)
-Punk and Page got in each other’s face on the ramp, the crowd cheered CM Punk as Page walked off. [c]
-Fuego Del Sol had a video calling out House of Black, Evil Uno and 10 joined him to set up the squash match.
(3) SWERVE STRICKLAND & KEITH LEE vs. THE WORKHORSEMAN
Keith Lee and JD Drake started the match, the crowd chanted for Lee as Drake chop him and ended the chants. Lee hit a chop of his own, sending Drake to the mat. Swerve was tagged in, as was Anthony Henry. Swerve hit a jumping back kick to Henry, and then a spinning jumping DDT. Drake entered and Lee was tagged in, Lee jumped off the rope and hit a crossbody on Drake and then tackled Henry in midair. Swerve and Lee then teamed up and got the pinfall win.
WINNER: Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland
(Sage’s Analysis: A great showcase of Lee and Swerve, they have had a lot of time on Rampage. I like this segment to get them over to 400k more people, compared to Rampage’s audience.)
-Keith Lee announced they were a top 5 tag team and would challenge, then Starks and Powerhouse’s music hit. Starks called Keith lee Rex from Toy Story and said that they don’t deserve a tag title shot, he just beat Jungle Boy. Swerve called Starks a bar of soap with a gold chain. Jurassic Express and Christian Cage came out. Cage told Starks to shut up, and they he might be ready for a real championship. Cage said that they were challenging both teams for a Title match at Double or Nothing, he also said that Swerve/Jungle Boy/Starks would have a match next week.
-Tony Schiavone was backstage with Kris Statlander and Red Velvet. Both Women made their case for winning their quarterfinal match on Friday. Jade came in and pulled Velvet away.
-MJF’s music hit and he walked out with Shawn Spears. MJF acted like he was throwing up just saying Houston, he said that everything was bigger in Texas as he said the crowd was fatter than usual. MJF said that if Wardlow retaliates he will not get the match or sign an AEW contract. Wardlow walked in with the local security detail, in handcuffs. MJF hit the first lash, Wardlow no sold. MJF freaked out and laid in lashes 3-7 and Wardlow didn’t move.
Spears grabbed the belt and hit #8 and Wardlow no sold again, #9 happened and Wardlow showed signs of pain. MJF went for #10 and kicked him below the belt. MJF then hit several more lashes and punched Wardlow with the diamond ring. He then commanded Spears hit a C4, Spears obliged and fake pinned Wardlow. [c]
-Rocky Romero and Trent were backstage, they said they were back and that they were coming for the ROH, NJPW and AEW Tag Titles. They challenged FTR for the ROH titles.
(4) REY FENIX vs. KYLE O’REILLY
Kyle O’Reilly took Rey Fenix to the mat and had brief success, Rey then jumped up, ran the ropes and then battled with slaps in chops in the center of the ring. O’Reilly went for the wrist lock, but was fought off. After an exchange Rey hit a high speed dive right into O’Reilly and the barricade on the outside. Back in the ring, O’Reilly got an arm lock and then sent Rey to the outside where he tossed him int a barricade as the break started. [c]
O’Reilly dominated throughout, as the show returned Rey fought back but sold his left knee. Rey hit a power bomb from an electric chair position for a near fall. Rey then hit a hurricanrana for another near fall. O’Reilly tried to sweep the leg, but was thwarted. Soon after Kyle hit a butterfly suplex, but couldn’t get Rey up after. Rey then hit a running strike on O’Reilly in the corner. Rey then ran the ropes and hit a roundhouse kick, after Kyle countered and both were on the mat.
The ref counted as both men were down, O’Reilly got wrist control and locked in a double wrist lock. Rey battled out of teh hold and then the men traded elbows and kicks. O’Reilly was on the apron, Rey the ropes and hit a hurricanrana out onto the floor. Back in the ring, Rey tried another move but O’Reilly caught him and tapped him out. [c]
WINNER: Kyle O’Reilly
(Sage’s Analysis: Wow another fantastic match tonight. This was pretty slow coming out of the break, but that last five minutes were top tier “styles clash,” wrestling. This to me was Rey being great as always and Kyle doing a Dax Harwood impression looking like a top tier singles guy on his own.)
-The Blackpool Combat Club came to the ring; with Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz. The Jericho Appreciation Society came out next. The group announced no sing along and no pyro. Jericho said that the crowd was cheering when they were attacked last week. Jericho said that William Regal organized the attack, he was surprised that he was till alive. He said Regal would have been a ten time champion, but he is just a ten time addict. He said that Regal weaseled his way into AEW and then talked all about his proteges. He tore down Santana & Ortiz, Eddie Kingston, Bryan Danielson and finally Jon Moxley. He referanced Moxley and Regal’s rehab stints.
Regal got on the mic, and said that Jericho’s voice was only better than hearing an orphanage burn down. He said that in the last 21 years he had many moments with him, but every night he put Jericho’s toothbrush up his butt, and he did that to Garcia’s tooth brush last week. Jericho offered a stadium stampede match. Moxley said that they were not doing that shit, Moxley said they would get destroyed live and in front of the fans. Moxley called it pro wrestling vs sports entertainment. Jericho agreed to the no rules match.
Jericho and Magic Daddy reaped the feud of Kingston and Danielson. Kingston got on the mic and said he didn’t care about anything but fighting and said get in the ring and dropped the mic. The JAS walked off, Eddie went for Jericho and Danielson and Kingston got into it.
(5) BRITT BAKER vs. MAKI ITOH
The two hugged as the match started, Itoh laid down to take the pin and did a roll up and got a near fall on Britt Baker. Itoh cried allowed and flipped the bird and shoulder checked Baker, before the break Baker took control. [c]
Baker dominated with strikes and holds throughout, including a strong style segment as the show returned. Itoh was pummeled in the corner as Baker grabbed the black glove and put it on. Itoh laughed as she hit her head on the corner, Itoh then hit her own head to power up and hit Britt with it.
Itoh hit a DDT for a near fall, Britt tried to roll out, but was pulled in and Itoh did her side fall for a near fall. Baker then countered and applied the lock jaw on Itoh for the submission win.
WINNER: BRITT BAKER
(Sage’s Analysis: I love this match, I understand if you didn’t, but man that was fun. The right AEW result happened as well.)
-Tony Schiavone was now in the ring as he talked about the Owen Hart Tournament and that next week is the three year anniversary of AEW. Serena Deeb interrupted Tony and said she was tired of him talking. She confronted Tony for saying she couldn’t beat Thunder Rosa. Deeb called out Dustin Rhodes as well, he walked out to the ring. Deeb talked about how poorly treated she was in WWE as a women years ago and asked why he said she couldn’t beat Rosa.
Thunder Rosa came out and was restrained by Rhodes and then Deeb hit Rosa with the title belt. [c]
(6) ADAM COLE vs. JEFF HARDY
Adam Cole attacked Jeff Hardy as he was doing his entrance dance (its almost like they only had seven minutes left in the show). Hardy got on the top rope and hit a strike on Cole, the match moved to the outside and Jeff was thrown into the steel stairs. Cole threw Jeff back in the ring as the last break started. [c]
Adam Cole dominated the break with rest holds, as the show returned to full screen Jeff made a comeback. This lead to a near fall, the two then traded strikes. Cole hit kick to the head, Jeff then hit a face slam for a near fall. Jeff did a move off the top and was kicked on the way down. Jeff hit a stunner then went for the Swonton Bomb, Cole moved and hit the bomb knee for teh pinfall win.
WINNER: Adam Cole
(Sage’s Analysis: The match was what it was, as always at this point the main event feels rushed. At this point I don’t see that changing, but man it is really a huge unforced error in AEW. This match is barely one in my opinion, but Cole was always gonna win.)
-The Young Bucks came out and Cole hit a cheap shot on The Hardy’s. Darby and Sting came out and made the save. Fish and O’Reilly came out and took out Sting and Darby.
FINAL THOUGHTS: A top tier episode of AEW, as most penultimate Dynamites are before a PPV. The in ring action was almost too good to be on tv, to be honest. With the exception of the Deeb segment, which I like on paper but the execution was clumsy and the crowd killed it, and the lack of main event due to the show running long. everything on this show hit for me.
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