Welcome, everyone to the latest edition of #MouthingOff (with MikeJC): Dynamite Weekly, the weekly review feature on AEW Dynamite here on SLTDWrestling.com. I will be giving my thoughts and opinions on all the highlights of the show as well as giving the “Remarkable Wrestler” of the week. So here are the highlights of the Wednesday, December 16th edition of AEW Dynamite.
“Hangman” Adam Page, John Silver, & Alex Reynolds vs. Matt Hardy & Private Party
AEW opens with this six-man tag team match, and it’s a hell of a match. The story here was Adam Page didn’t have tag team partners for this match and Silver & Reynolds offered to be his partners since the Dark Order is still trying to recruit him to join the group. The Dark Order saved him from being eliminated from the battle royal a couple of weeks ago, and then he was eliminated by Matt Hardy which set up this match.
Silver & Reynolds are also dressed exactly like Page, with cowboy hats, bandanas over their mouths and did his hand gesture in the ring as well. On commentary Excalibur, who I don’t talk about enough is the best commentator in wrestling right now in my opinion. Excalibur refers to Page, Silver, and Reynolds, as The Good, The Bad, and The Hungie, which has to be the best group name I’ve heard in wrestling in a very long time. This match didn’t disappoint either. The action here was right out the gate, and it picked up as it went on.
I absolutely loved the closing minutes of this match. Reynolds gets a hot tag from Page, and he’s hitting clotheslines and corkscrew elbows, and a really nice looking cravate style suplex. This is followed by a great sequence of moves, Reynolds sends Marq Quen into the corner, Silver enters hits a gamengiri, followed by a rolling elbow by Reynolds, followed by an enzugiri by Silver, followed by a stunner by Reynolds, followed by a pop-up sit-out powerbomb by Page, followed by a deadlift German suplex by Silver, which Reynolds follows up with a jacknife cover for a two count when Matt Hardy breaks the pin. That was one of the best sequences of moves I’ve seen in any match. Immediately following this Hardy grabs Silver and drapes him over the apron to the floor and hits a twist of fate which looked nasty.
After this takes place Page is disposed of and Private Party hits the Gin and Juice on Reynolds and Matt Hardy tags himself in and steals the pin and the win. As Private Party look confused by Matt tagging himself in just to perform the pinfall.
Segment Rating: 7.25/10
I have been turning around on the Dark Order as whole for a while mostly thanks to Being the Elite, and how they are portrayed on there. This match was so good because it did what it was supposed to do which showcase the talent involved and shine a light on the ones that needed it most, and that was Silver and Reynolds.
My only gripe with the match is the result. I get they are trying to do this slow burn thing with Matt Hardy being a heel and building him up with wins is how you do that but he didn’t need to take the pin, this was the match that made Reynolds and Silver, and one of them absolutely should have gotten the pin. Regardless of that I’m very curious about everyone involved in this match. The Dark Order courtship of Page is going to continue, and whatever they are doing with Matt Hardy and him eventually turning on Private Party is also going to keep going so I’m very intrigued by both stories, but more so about the Dark Order.
Cody Rhodes vs. Angelico
Before this match we see a filmed piece of Cody and Brandi in their house and the doorbell rings, it’s a small box addressed to them with a question mark on the name tag. They open it and small baby shoes are inside. So congrats to Cody and Brandi for expecting their first child.
This is played up on commentary and in Cody’s entrance as Brandi came out with him and Arn, hugged him and you can see the sense of pride on Cody’s face. Brandi didn’t stay out for the match thankfully.
As for this match as expected it’s another good one. Cody and Angelico worked very well together, and there was a lot of back and forth action, and some one-ups-menship in this match. It seemed to me like Cody was trying to challenge Angelico with the mat/submission style wrestling early that Angelico is so good at but Cody was no match for him in that department and that’s what put Angelico in control early.
The closing sequence of this match Angelico once again lock in the Navarro Death Roll, which is still one of my favorite looking submission holds. and Cody was in it for a good amount of time before getting to the ropes. Cody gets back up and goes for the Cross Rhodes, Angelico reverses again into the same position, but Cody gets out of it and jumps to the top rope and springs back into the Cody cutter for the pin and the win.
After the match all of Team Taz interrupts and Taz and Ricky Starks are talking about how it’s beautiful that Cody and Brandi are having a baby, but why isn’t anyone talking about Team Taz? Why aren’t they talking about how Team Taz has beaten Cody and Darby a bunch of times? Taz says they are gonna do it again right now tells Darby who is in the rafters again, to watch out because Cage is coming for the TNT title.
As they are about to go to the ring, the lights go out. Sting appears once again. This time with his trademark bat in hand and he points with it at Team Taz. Powerhouse Hobbs has to be held back by Starks and Hook, and Team Taz retreats again. Cody looks on again as Sting stays on the stage, winks at Cody and leaves. Leaving Cody and Arn confused about what is going on with Sting.
Segment Rating: 6.5/10
I loved this match and the segment that followed. They have really been showcasing Angelico recently and I like it a lot because he is a hell of a talent. I am still very intrigued about where this is going with Sting, Team Taz, Darby and Cody. What is this leading to? What is the endgame? We’ll have to wait and see.
Eddie Kingston Addresses His Enemies
Kingston comes out and says he doesn’t care if the people boo or cheer him because he could care less about any of them. Kingston says that they took out PAC and that he’s never coming back. Then when he goes to turn his attention to Lance Archer, but Archer comes out and starts brawling with Kingston again. The Butcher and The Blade come out and help as well.
As they have Archer backed into the corner, the Lucha Bros. enter and they are followed by PAC right behind them. there’s a stand off by the six as Archer collects himself in the corner, and another brawl breaks out. PAC and Archer both specifically go after Kingston on the outside as the Lucha Bros. and Butcher and Blade face off. The entire time The Bunny is on the ramp watching on in frustration as the team with the advantage takes control. Archer goes to chokeslam Kingston but PAC runs in and kicks Kingston in the head. Archer is pissed PAC intervened as he was going for the chokeslam as Kingston’s group escapes.
Segment Rating: 5/10
This was an unneeded segment. I didn’t need another brawl between these guys. After the six man last week, I guess all this was to remind us it isn’t over that’s all I really have to say about it.
Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, MJF, Santana, Ortiz, Sammy Guevara & Jake Hager) vs. The Best Friends, Top Flight, and The Varsity Blondes
Earlier in the night before this match Jericho and MJF were interviewed about winning the New York Times “Best Performance of 2020” for Le Dinner Debonair. Jericho seemed frustrated because MJF bragged about winning back the diamond ring last week, and now this award. MJF also said he doesn’t agree with the fans who said he’s a better singer then Jericho, and that Jericho is his best friend and his mentor. Jericho and the rest of the Inner Circle didn’t seem pleased.
Originally this was a 7-on-7 match but Wardlow was unable to appear because of a family matter, so Brandon Cutler was removed from the opposite team to make it 6-on-6. I expected a giant cluster of a match but it was actually put together very well and had a lot of action throughout. Everyone got a chance to shine in this match. Sammy Guevara was really the highlight of this match for me he was in control whenever he was in the ring and it was crisp, cocky and just really really good. We also got to see Brian Pillman Jr. face off with Chris Jericho for the first time ever, and that was really cool considering Jericho coming up in Calgary early in his career just like Pillman’s late father.
Things do end up breaking down with everyone brawling, and everyone trading signature moves. The finish came when Jericho hits Griff Garrison with a bat, and it’s followed up by Jake Hager tagging in. Hager looks like he’s gonna go for his variation of the arm triangle choke, but instead he does Wardlow’s finisher the F-10 (badly by the way). MJF then tags in and takes the pin for the win.
Following the match Top Flight chases of Inner Circle members with a couple of dropkicks.
Segment Rating: 6/10
I didn’t hate this match at all, it showcased everyone involved for the most part. As I said earlier I think Sammy Guevara looked better than anyone in this match and I’m excited to see what is in store for him in the future as he just gets better and better. They obviously did this match to prove Inner Circle could still work together but I didn’t like it had a similar finish to the earlier six man with someone tagging in just to pin someone as well as a match we are yet to talk about that ended with a secret weapon being used. Similar finishes in one night shouldn’t happen as frequently.
SCU (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) vs. The Acclaimed
This match was a pretty good match with a very similar ending to the previous match which kind of hurt it for me. The action is back and forth once again and The Acclaimed, Max Caster and Anthony Bowens were the ones who needed the win. This match just wasn’t that great, I didn’t hate it but nothing about it really stuck out.
The finish came after Caster hits Daniels in the face with Bowens’ boombox (Bluetooth Speaker), and Bowens capitalized with a side slam for the pin and the win.
After the match Bowens and Caster (Reminder the 5th Ranked tag team in AEW) challenge the Young Bucks to a tag title match next week on Dynamite, and the Young Bucks accept from their seats at ringside.
Segment Rating: 5/10
I hate that TH2 had to earn a title shot by beating the Young Bucks, but The Acclaimed earned a title shot by cheating to beat SCU, while the Young Bucks were watching. They shouldn’t be getting title shots for the soul reason that they cheated, and they didn’t earn it, they weren’t even facing a top contender, they beat an unranked talent and just asked for a title shot. That doesn’t make any sense. Also as I mentioned before this was the same cause of finish as the 6-on-6 match with a sneak weapon attack, and that is annoying. I feel like TH2 should have a gripe about this for sure. For this to make sense that matters.
Serena Deeb & Big Swole vs. Ivelisse & Diamante
This was the shortest match of the night, and unfortunately the least interesting. AEW has had a problem for a while that nothing they’ve done with their women has really been that good that continues here. Deeb is too good to be involved in whatever this is supposed to be.
It wasn’t a very long match and Deeb and Swole were in control for the majority of the match and they never really lost it and Swole won the match by submission with a cloverleaf to Diamante.
After the match Nyla Rose came out, for some reason and tried to attack Deeb and Swole, but Red Velvet would make the save with a chair.
Segment Rating: 4/10
As soon as they announced Brandi was expecting her first child, this match became pointless and that was further driven home by Jade Cargill not even being in attendance. I don’t think they know what to do with the division still and this match taking place just because Nyla and Jade attacked Red Velvet and Ivelisse and Diamante got involved didn’t make any sense. The match was too short, it was pointless, and why is this on the main show but the champion and her rivalry are on Dark? What is AEW doing with this women’s division?
No DQ World Title Eliminator Number One Contenders Match: Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela
This match was interesting. It wasn’t bad by any means but it wasn’t great. majority of the match Don Callis did his own commentary on the mic because he told Tony Schiavone to leave so he can sit at the commentary table and Schiavone refused. Kenny Omega then started talking during the match on the mic as well. Majority of the match saw Omega use weapons on Janela and Janela just taking a beating like usual. There was cookie sheets, a trash can, a table, and Omega used most of them.
There was a nice spot where Omega did a moonsault while holding the trash can, then he went to the top rope and stomped the trash can over Janela’s mid section. Omega goes for the one winged angel but Janela reversed it into a reversed frankensteiner. Janela puts Omega through a table at ringside with a leg drop. Janela goes for a moonsault and missed and Omega follows it up with two v-triggers and the one winged angel for the pin and the win.
After the match Callis gets on the mic and says all Omega does is silence haters. PAC and the Lucha Bros. come out. PAC says that Rey Fenix never lost in the tournament to determine the number one contender. He is the rightful number one contender.
Callis says PAC can’t tell the World Champion what to do. PAC says he just talked to Tony Khan and the match is official for the December 30th episode of Dynamite. Omega and Callis are not happy as the show goes off the air.
Segment Rating: 6.25/10
So I mentioned this exact thing earlier with the tag match earlier. Why did Joey Janela have to earn a title shot by beating the champion (who he would have lost to in the tournament if he had competed in it)? Then Fenix whose only win in the tournament was against his own brother who lost to the eventual winner, just gets a title shot by asking for it? Also remember again, neither of these guys are ranked at all in singles. I don’t understand that at all. This match was fine as I said before and Omega versus Fenix is always good as we’ve seen in the past, and we have more questions about what is going on with Omega, because what he’s doing is only moving forward in Impact right now.
Remarkable Wrestler of the Week
For this episode of AEW Dynamite, the Remarkable Wrestler or Wrestlers of the Week are, Alex Reynolds & John Silver.
Alex Reynolds & John Silver get the RWOW this week because they were the showcase of the opener which was easily the best match of the night and even though they lost while teaming with Page who also looked good, Reynolds and Silver were the showcase of that match.
Overall
So that’s all the highlights for this special episode of AEW Dynamite on December 16th, overall I give this episode a 5.7 out of 10. This was not a bad episode at all. Some good multi-man matches, a good main event. Still don’t know what they are doing with the women and that’s frustrating.
What are your thoughts on AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @SLTDWrestling.
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