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AEW DYNAMITE REPORT
JUNE 21, 2023
CHICAGO, ILL. AT THE WINTRUST ARENA
AIRED ON TBS
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
[HOUR ONE]
-After the Dynamite opening, Excalibur touted the sellout crowd at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
(1) MATT & JEFF HARDY vs. COLTEN & AUSTIN GUNN
Matt and Austin locked up as fans chanted “Asshole!” at the start. Graphics in the corner of the screen hyped scheduled matches and segments including an Eddie Kingston interview. Taz acknowledged Jeff slipping on the top rope last time due to “ring rust,” but he said he seems to have “worked out the kinks.” Matt hot-tagged in at 4:00 and rallied against both Gunns. Fans cheered and chanted “Delete!” Colten broke up a cover by Hardy on Austin. Hardy grabbed him by his hair, but Colten dropped down and snapped his neck over the top rope. Austin scored a quick two count. Matt went for a Twist of Fate on Austin, but Colten helped block it. Colten then gave Matt a twisting neckbreaker for a two count, broken up by Jeff.
Jeff gave DDTs to both Austin and Colten. He gave Colten a Twist of Fate followed by a top rope Swanton attempt. Juice Robinson distracted the ref at ringside as Jay White shoved Jeff off the top rope. The Gunns then delivered their double-team finisher to Jeff for the win.
WINNERS: The Gunns in 7:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: All action. I’m not sure how well The Gunns fit in to a Bullet Club faction, but it seems like they’re heading that direction. The Gunns, as usual, were great with their bump-taking for the babyfaces and continue to earn their push and TV time.)
-Afterward, White and Juice beat up the Hardys. The Gunns held Matt but Ricky Starks ran out for the save. The crowd popped. The four heels swarmed him quickly, so FTR ran out. Fans chanted “FTR! FTR!” Then a “C.M. Punk” chant rang out. Punk indeed ran out and helped clear the ring of the heels. Punk challenged the heels to a four-on-four match on Collision next Saturday. He added: “I’m a Collision guy. I’m not even supposed to be here! I’ll see you chumps Saturday. Now hit my music!”
(Keller’s Analysis: Punk and FTR showing up here on Dynamite sure softens quickly the “top star roster split” between the two shows, but Punk adding that he’s not even supposed to be there because he’s a Collision guy does make it clear for the first time on AEW TV that there is going to be a bit of a divide amongst top wrestlers between the two shows. This helps promote Collision for sure after they didn’t do anything on Saturday night to hype the second episode of Collision.)
-A video package aired on the Jeff Jarrett-Mark Briscoe saga.
NOTE: If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer contributor to PWTorch, we are taking applications this week including slots for TV reports, editorial features, and other regular articles. Drop me a line at kellerwade@gmail.com if you’re interested in getting you foot in the door at a high-profile, respected pro wrestling website and specify which promotions you follow closely (AEW, WWE, NXT, Impact, ROH, New Japan, MLW, NWA, others) and are most interested in helping us thoroughly cover with your perspective.
(2) JEFF JARRETT vs. MARK BRISCOE – Concession Stand Brawl
They cut to the concourse where Jarrett and Briscoe were squared off with a ref calling for the start to the match. They had fans moved to the side, but they quickly brawled past a crowd of them. They had the obligatory half-baked phony-looking food tables set up in a way they aren’t actually set up these days for the wrestlers to brawl around. They threw hot dogs and popcorn at each other. Briscoe pounded away at Jarrett on a table. Karen Jarrett showed up and squirted ketchup at Briscoe’s face. Fans chanted, “F— you, Karen!” Briscoe climbed a ladder, but a disguised Sonjay Dutt shoved him off and he flipped onto the table below after Jarrett moved. They cut to a split-screen break at 3:00. [c/ss]
Back from the break, they had made their way back to the ring where Jarrett, Dutt, and Jay Lethal stomped away at Briscoe. Fans chanted “Let’s go, Briscoe!” When Jay tried to get a table near the time keeper’s area, a guy wouldn’t move. Jay yelled at him. It was Papa Briscoe, who slammed Jay through the table. He entered the ring and clotheslined a charging Jay and Jarrett consecutively. Karen gave him a low-blow from behind. Briscoe set up a Jay Driller, but Satnum Singh entered the ring and chokeslammed Briscoe hard center-ring. Christopher Daniels, Chuck Taylor, and Trent Beretta ran out and beat up Singh. The Lucha Brothers ran out and joined in the beating on Singh. Amidst the chaos, Briscoe rolled up Jarrett for the win.
WINNER: Briscoe in 8:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: A fun chaotic match, not meant to be taken super seriously. There’s a slap-stick comedic tone to a lot of what happened there, but that’s by design at this point. It was a crowd-pleaser, too. And it gave Taz a forum to say, “You have to wear a condiment.”)
-A backstage promo aired with the Blackpool Combat Club’s Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta. Konosuke Takeshita and Don Callis were there too. Moxley challenged The Elite to a five-on-five match. He said it’ll be a celebration of wrestling and the dream match will become a Nightmare. Danielson said he called out Kazuchika Okada, but he’s not even at Dynamite as best he could tell. He said when he’s done with him, it’ll be clear he’s nothing but an amateur.
-They went to the announcers who threw to a sponsored sports gambling commercial. [c]
-Excalibur threw to a recap of Collision on Saturday ending with images of Punk being cheered. He then said it only gets bigger with episode two on Saturday.
(3) CHRIS JERICHO & SAMMY GUEVARA & MINORU SUZUKI vs. A.R. FOX & ACTION ANDRETTI & DARIUS MARTIN
Jericho and Guevara came out together to “Judas” as the announcers commented on clips of last week’s happenings with Jericho and Sting. Fans cheered for Suzuki when he came out and some sang his song. After some early action with Andretti and Guevara, Guevara tagged in Suzuki. Darius tagged in and chopped Suzuki. Suzuki didn’t budge and then smiled. He threw a forearm, but more no-selling. Suzuki then took Darius down with a hard forearm to the side of Darius’s head. Jericho tagged in. He and Suzuki checked Darius down hard. Jericho then spun on the mat and struck a Guevara-style pose. They cut to a smiling Guevara. As Jericho occupied the ref, Guevara kneed Fox from behind. They cut to a split-screen break at 3:00. [c/ss]
Suzuki put Andretti in a sleeper. Darius broke it up. Suzuki took him down. Guevara then leaped off the top rope and gave stereo cutters to both Andretti and Darius. Jericho then battled Fox one-on-one until Fox springboarded onto Guevara at ringside. Andretti scored a near fall on Jericho back in the ring at 9:00. Jericho put Darius in a Walls of Jericho a minute later center-ring. Suzuki held back Andretti from interfering. Darius tapped out. Taz said there was a clash of styles everywhere, but he loved it.
WINNERS: Jericho & Guevara & Suzuki in 10:00.
-Afterward, Jericho’s song played. Renee Paquette then entered the ring. She asked Jericho what it was like to share the ring with Sting for the first time ever. “What was that moment like for you?” she asked. Jericho took the mic and said it was a monumental moment in pro wrestling history, never seen before. He said everyone was so excited, “except for me.” He said he’s known Sting for a long time and he knows how selfish and egotistical he is despite being a hero to millions. He said Sting just shows up wherever the highest bidder is. “You’re a whore, Sting,” he said. He challenged Sting & Darby and a partner of their choosing to a match against him, Guevara, and Suzuki at Forbidden Door. They cut to Guevara chomping his gum.
Jericho said Sting is a coward and a sanctimonious son of a… at which point Sting’s music played. He and Darby made their way to the ring. “It’s Stiiiiing!” said Schiavone. “What a moment!” Sting stared at Jericho center-ring. Fans chanted “Holy shit!” Sting put his arm around Jericho and asked why he’s so uptight. Sting said Jericho was cussing under his breath. Sting said he needs more than “a moment” with him. He said on Sunday, he will have more time with him. He said he and Darby “accept your lame challenge.” Darby said Jericho has made a lot of enemies in a lot of places, “so we’ve got the guys for Sunday.” Jericho asked who it is. Darby said he’ll find out at Collision. Fans booed briefly, wanting the reveal right away.
(Keller’s Analysis: This seemed like Guevara was back in his role as a heel sidekick for Jericho, but is that the case or were there enough indications with cutaway shots to him that they’re building toward him having a role in costing Jericho this match at Forbidden Door involving Sting. Maybe Guevara turns out to be the mystery partner for Sting and Darby, and perhaps that’s a late substitution because Jericho takes out the real partner earlier in the night. There’s a lot of ways this could go. I think Guevara is better as a heel, but the more tantalizing storyline going into Sunday is Guevara having already decided he might not want to be part of Jericho’s group anymore.)
-Tony Schiavone and R.J. City stood backstage at a tumbler. R.J. pulled out a the first names, assembling a team. Schiavone looked and acted surprised, but didn’t reveal who he drew. He said the brackets would be revealed next week. He hyped what was up next on Dynamite. [c]
(Keller’s Analysis: They didn’t do enough to explain the whole concept to begin with. They just showed up with a tumbler and expected everyone to know what it was for and how it all works.)
-Backstage, Hangman Page, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega talked about the challenge by Moxley earlier. Hangman said there are only four of them, and Omega is already booked against Will Ospreay. Hangman said they have friends all over. Omega said sometimes it feels like the whole world is against them, but a lot of people hate the BCC. He said when the chips were down and they needed a friend, they found someone in an unexpected place. In walked Eddie Kingston. He said he’s not their friend. He talked about their past briefly and said he doesn’t like or respect them, but he hates Claudio more. He said he’d team with them, but the final person has to be someone he picks. He said he’d make the announcement himself.
(Keller’s Analysis: Kingston was a hoot just walking into the camera view and then really effective exchanging some acknowledgments with the The Elite about their past fights.)
-Adam Cole’s music played and he walked out. He asked who was ready for story time. He talked about how he did everything in his power to beat MJF last week, but he didn’t win. “However, MJF didn’t win, either,” he said. He said he understands it was the smart thing for MJF to do not to accept five more minutes, but it was also the cowardly thing to do. He said if he wants to be remembered as the greatest AEW Champion ever, he has to take on and defeat all comers. He said MJF has never defeated him.
[HOUR TWO]
Cole called out MJF to address his request for a rematch. MJF’s music played. Schiavone said he’s surprised MJF is coming out. Taz wasn’t. He said MJF doesn’t run from anyone. MJF said the Midwest mouth-breathers aren’t very bright, but when he’s holding a mic, they should keep their “poor mouths shut.” Fans chanted, “You suck!” He said he brought out the best in Cole, the version of him he studied early in his career. He said Cole won’t give him credit or thank him. Fans chanted, “Asshole! Asshole!” He said Cole has had so many blows to the head, he’s lost track of time. He said he had him beat if time didn’t run out. Schiavone muttered, “For crying out loud.” Fans chanted “Bullshit! Bullshit!” MJF said because he cares about Cole’s health and well-being, as far as his request for a rematch, he’ll have to say no.
Cole said of course he said no. He suggested they just fight right now. Schiavone stood up and asked for their attention. He said he had an announcement. MJF and Cole said together, “Shut up, Schiavone!” He said backstage earlier he just drew the names of Cole and MJF who will have to team in the blind Eliminator Tournament. Cole yelled that he doesn’t want to team with MJF. A red-faced MJF yelled, “You want me to wrestle every week? Are you out of your mind? Are you some sort of sick pervert?” MJF and Cole yelled at each other. Schiavone said he wasn’t supposed to reveal that, but he couldn’t hold back.
Tanahashi showed up on the big screen and challenged MJF again. Cole asked if he’s scared of Tanahashi because he thinks he’s better than him. MJF angrily told Cole that no one on the planet is on his level. Cole started a “Coward!” chant. MJF yelled, “Dammit, Tanahashi, you want me at Forbidden Door? You’re on!” Cole said the match is official. He smiled and wished MJF good luck. Cole’s music played as he left the ring. MJF soaked up what just happened in the ring.
(Keller’s Analysis: Cole and MJF had good chemistry there and it should be fun seeing them as unlikely odd couple tag team. It feels kinda “lite” as a way to build to a match for the World Title, but I’ll give it time to play out because I think there’s real potential. I hope they address why MJF would even participate since he wouldn’t seem to have any interest in winning tag team matches at this point, especially with Cole as his partner. This angle shows why they didn’t reveal the names earlier, but it also is just too much of a stretch to think that Cole and MJF would be the first two names drawn in general, but on top of that it was right before their segment.)
-The screen showed the Owen Hart Memorial Men’s Tournament featuring Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima and Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe in the left bracket in matches taking place this Sunday at Forbidden door and then June 29 in Hamilton, Ont. and Dustin Rhodes vs. Powerhouse Hobbs and Juice Robinson vs. Ricky Starks in right bracket matches also taking place June 29. The women’s brackets were then shown on the screen: Dr. Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho (next Wednesday on Dynamite), Anna Jay vs. Skye Blue this Friday on Rampage, Nyla Rose vs. Willow Nightingale (this Saturday on Collision), and Athena vs. Billie Starkz this Sunday at Forbidden Door on the pre-show).
(Keller’s Analysis: That was an anti-climactic way to announce Punk’s involvement in the tournament. And they’re throwing a lot of information at viewers, much of which I just don’t think will actually make a difference to ticket sales or ratings to hype ahead of time. That all said, they are getting into the tournament this weekend so they kind of had to reveal the full brackets. It’s just a lot for viewers to digest, but I don’t have a perfect alternative, either.)
(4) ORANGE CASSIDY & KATSUYORI SHIBATA vs. DANIEL GARCIA & ZACK SABRE JR.
Cassidy came out first. Then Shibata. Then as ZSJ and Garcia came out together they showed a clip of last week’s set-up for this match. The bell rang 13 minutes into the hour. Fans immediately chanted “Holy shit!” as ZSJ and Shibata locked up. They cut to an early split-screen break. [c/ss]
ZSJ put his hands behind his back after some of Orange’s antics. He took control and then tagged in Garcia. They double-teamed Cassidy as the ref counted. Garcia knocked Shibata off the ring apron when he teased a save. ZSJ gave Cassidy an uppercut at ringside as they cut to another break at 9:00. [c/ss]
Shibata and SZJ battled after the break. Garcia then tagged in. Four-way action broke out at 14:00. Garcia applied a Lion Tamer mid-ring on Shibata. Shibata reversed it. ZSJ broke it up. Shibata no-sold a Garcia clothesline and then applied a sleeper. Shibata kicked a charging ZSJ. Cassidy misfired and hit Shibata with an Orange Punch after Garcia ducked. Fans gasped. Garcia then stack covered Shibata for the win.
WINNERS: Garcia & Shibata in 16:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: The mix of different personalities and styles here was interesting throughout. Seeing Zack interact with Cassidy doing his schtick was fun. Most of the actual action was hard-hidding a crisp.)
-Excalibur announced that Cassidy will defend his title on Sunday at Forbidden Door against all three others involved in that tag match. The four stood in the ring and held onto Cassidy’s title belt for a half minute before Cassidy yanked it away and left with it.
(Keller’s Analysis: I actually wish they announced the four-way first and then had the tag match. It just felt like too sudden a development after the match.)
-They cut backstage to Alex Marvez who said he’s been trying all day to get the biggest scoop for Forbidden Door. He ran over to Will Ospreay who was standing by an SUV. He said he’s used to performing in civilized countries like Japan and England, not places like Canada. Don Callis walked in and said Omega has been inciting his fanbase to violence, so he needs protection from those Canadians. Callis said he has his own military-grade private security and he’ll make them available to him in Toronto. Ospreay asked what’s in it for Callis. Callis said he just wants to see a fair fight.
(Keller’s Analysis: I’m expecting Omega’s ringside security guys to factor into the finish of the Omega-Ospreay match on Sunday. I also am enjoying the idea that these pro-Omega fans from Canada are so riled up they’ve become this dangerous mob.) [c]
-A video package aired on Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale match at Forbidden Door with soundbites from both.
(5) KRIS STATLANDER vs. TAYA VALKYRIE – TBS Title match
The bell ran 39 minutes into the hour. They cut to a split-screen break early. [c/ss]
Back from the break, Statlander rallied and scored a near fall on Valkyrie at 7:00. Valkyrie speared a charging Statlander and then played to the crowd. Valkyrie climbed to the top rope. Statlander met her up there and superplexed Valkyrie to the mat. She followed with a tombstone piledriver for the win.
WINNER: Statlander in 9:00 to retain the TBS Title.
(Keller’s Analysis: This match deserved more framing leading into it tonight. It doesn’t help the TBS Title or the Women’s Division when a title match is so poorly hyped and hardly mentioned before it took place.)
-Excalibur hyped Rampage: MJF making his first-ever Rampage appearance, Chaos vs. United Empire & Swerve Strickland, The Acclaimed in action, Adam Cole speaks, Anna Jay vs. Skye Blue, and Jack Perry vs. Douki. Then Collision: Punk & FTR & Starks vs. White & Juice & The Gunns, Swerve vs. Tanahashi, Christian Cage will address the TNT Title, and Sting & Darby will reveal their partner, Rose vs. Nightingale, and Brody King vs. Andrade El Idolo. Then he hyped the Forbidden Door line-up.
(Keller’s Analysis: I can tend to be a completest in certain aspects of life, so I relate, but they just don’t need to list that many matches on all those shows. I get the PPV line-up, but just pick the top two or three items from Rampage and Collision. Perhaps a graphic can show all the matches, but having Excalibur breathlessly speed plug everything isn’t needed.)
-Eddie Kingston stood in the ring and said he’s there because the Bucks and Omega chose to leave because he said he doesn’t respect them. Fans booed. He said they’re cute and good guys, trying to temper the boos. He said he can’t stand Claudio at all, and that takes precedent over his lack of respect for the Bucks. Moxley walked out. Eddie and Moxley yapped at each other for a minute. Then Eddie revealed Tomohiri Ishii is his partner. Ishii walked out. The entire BCC attacked Kingston mid-ring and then they ganged up on Ishii. Danielson grabbed a mic and asked, “Okada, where are you?” He said he’s not coming out. Okada then came out and faced off with Danielson. Excalibur called it a dream match for the ages. Yuta attacked Okada from behind. Danielson threw a running knee toward Okada, but Okada broke from Wheeler’s grip, so Danielson kneed Wheeler. Fans cheered. Danielson ducked a Rainmaker and slid to ringside. Excalibur said the Rainmaker has made history in New Japan. Okada gave Yuta a Rainmaker instead as Danielson looked on from the ramp.
(Keller’s Analysis: There was a lot going on there, but the right final note for Forbidden Door hype on Dynamite should revolve around the most anticipated match, Danielson vs. Okada. I wish the overall build to this included more backstory on these two being on parallel paths in the pro wresting industry as the best wrestlers in the country/company during their peak years and now crossing paths, and create an overt sense within the hype that this is a battle for establishing a legacy-defining victory.)
NOTE: If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer contributor to PWTorch, we are taking applications this week including slots for TV reports, editorial features, and other regular articles. Drop me a line at kellerwade@gmail.com if you’re interested and specify which promotions you follow closely (AEW, WWE, NXT, Impact, ROH, New Japan, MLW, NWA, others) and are most interested in helping us thoroughly cover with your perspective.
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