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, January 20th edition of AEW Dynamite.
Brodie Lee Jr. Birthday Celebration; The Dark Order (Colt Cabana, Alex “3” Reynolds & John “4” Silver) & “Hangman” Adam Page vs. TH2 & Chaos Project
Dynamite kicks off with a cake at the entrance way for Brodie Lee Jr.’s birthday, and all of The Dark Order come out and sing Happy Birthday to him. They are then interrupted by Chaos Project, Luther gets on the mic and says that he takes exception to Brodie Jr. saying he looks stupid, he says his face is symmetrical and The Dark Order are a bunch of goofs. Then he says Chaos Project doesn’t like children and they are going to ruin Brodie Jr’s birthday, which starts a brawl that brings out TH2 and Adam Page as well to start the match after the commercial.
The match for the most part has a lot of back and forth action and a lot of good spots. When Page first tags in he goes wild with clotheslines, a fall away slam, and goes to spring out of the ring but lands on his feet. Silver & Reynolds follow that up with a cannonball dive and springboard dive respectively, then a moonsault by Page.
Back in the ring with Serpentico down Page has Reynolds and Silver jump on his back for a three man splash, which is answered by a springboard 450 by Jack Evans. Page then powerbombs Evans into the crowd and on the stage Brodie Jr. hits Luther with the kendo stick then Luther gets flapjacked into the cake by Colt Cabana. Back in the ring Serpentico receives a big combination offense, an Enzugiri by Silver followed by a Stunner by Silver followed by a German suplex and Buckshot Lariat combination by Silver and Page. Reynolds would follow that up with a jack knife cover for the pin and the win.
After the match the rest of The Dark Order brings Serpentico to the stage and Brodie Jr. hits him with the Kendo Stick and says his birthday was three days ago.
After that John Silver gets on the mic and tells Page how much the Dark Order likes him and appreciates him and like his hair. He gets down on one knee and asks Page if he’ll join The Dark Order. Page says know but confetti drops from the ceiling an it says “He said yes” on the screen. The Dark Order stops the celebration and Page says he thought about it but, he’s done the group thing before and he just got hurt and he apologizes, then grabs a bottle of alcohol from the stage and leaves.
Segment Rating: 6/10
All of this was done for Brodie Jr. and I’m completely okay with it. The segment before and after were silly to and extent as expected but the match in between was pretty good, and they continue the story of Dark Order trying to recruit Page, which we all know is going to lead to Page eventually joining and probably being the new leader, but it’s going to build for a while. I hope he eventually does join, and they get built up as a big face group.
Sting Congratulates Darby Allin
Tony Schiavone is out to do his intro for Sting and also introduce Darby Allin. Sting gets on the mic and explains how he sees so much of himself in Darby Allin (again), and he congratulates him for being TNT Champion, and explains how he didn’t want to interfere last week but he wanted to make sure it was a fair fight. He’s immediately interrupted by Team Taz on the screen backstage, and Taz explains how he was raised on the streets and challenges Darby and Sting to “take it to the streets”, Sting then whispers something to Darby and accepts on the mic.
Segment Rating: 4/10
This wasn’t necessary at all. I really want this to be over I’ve wanted it for a while, there’s other people for Darby to face. I’m ready to move on. So from what I gather from this segment it’s going to lead to a street fight of some kind, whether it’s a tag match or just a singles match I have no idea. I still have no idea what Sting is doing here, why he’s with Darby or anything like that. All I know is this match they are planning better be the last one, and Sting has to give us some real answers.
“Pretty” Peter Avalon vs. Cody Rhodes
The bell rings, and Cody immediately hits a Cross Rhodes, but Jade Cargill comes out, She looks at Cody and points at him. Which distracts the referee and gives Avalon the opportunity to hit a low blow. Avalon works on the leg a little and then they trade strikes. Cody goes to the top and Avalon meets him up there and delivers a superplex. Later in the match Avalon misses a moonsault, and Cody fires back, and Cody misses a leapfrog after not being able to get over completely. Cody then surprises Avalon with a cutter, followed by a powerslam, then Cody locks in the figure four leg-lock and threatens to slap Avalon so Peter taps out giving Cody the submission victory.
Segment Rating: 5.5/10
This was a fine match that didn’t need to be as long as it was, I would have been fine with that Cross Rhodes that started the match actually ended the match, but that’s just me. I hate the Jade Cargill stuff, I’m not looking forward to the inevitable match between Cody and Shaq, I’m assuming they are saving for Revolution. I get it, its a big match on name power alone, but I don’t need it, at all.
Jon Moxley vs. Nick Comoroto
This match convinced me, Comoroto needs to be signed. Early on we see a lot of great counters by Comoroto, he catches Mox early on and slams him down and drives his knee into his head. Then he gives Mox a backbreaker and stretches him across his knee. Mox goes to bite Comoroto but he reverses it into a GTS. Comoroto charges at Mox in the corner but he misses and hits the turnbuckle, which leads to Moxley getting back in it hitting a series of kicks. Mox then tries a suplex but its blocked, he uses the ropes to hit a German suplex and follows that up with a lariat but Comoroto doesn’t budge. Comoroto picks up Mox but he turns it into a sleeper, which Comoroto can’t get out of, Mox brings him down to the floor with the sleeper still locked in for the submission victory.
After the match, Mox gets on the mic. He says he can’t keep track who’s in Bullet Club, who’s in IMPACT or whatever it may be. Kenny brought his frat brothers from Nashville, but all he did was give Mox more bones to break. He says Kenny could bring the whole city of Nashville, Jacksonville, Japan and Mexico, all roads lead through him.
Segment Rating: 5.75/10
This was another example of a sure thing victory (which happened a lot tonight by the way). There was no doubt who was winning here, but it was good showcase for Comoroto who I said should be signed. Moxley gains momentum in his first match back since losing the title, and moves forward to the eventual rematch. Also he had another straight to the point promo that is always good.
Matt Hardy & Private Party vs. Matt Sydal & Top Flight
This was another match that was way too long. This was another match we knew who was winning. There was a lot of back and forth action as there always is in these kinds of matches in AEW. Early on Marq Quen wanted to tag out and Matt Hardy told he had to earn it. So he stayed in, and Isaiah Kassidy comes into help and they get caught in a chain single leg crabs by each member of the opposing team putting them on each of Quen and Kassidy’s legs. There’s a lot of innovative offense by everyone involved but the finish, comes when the referee is distracted Kassidy uses a chair and hits Dante Martin with it, which at first shocks Marq Quen but they smile at each other then Quen hits a shooting star press for the pin and the win.
After the match the opposing teams are arguing and then Private Party attacks the remaining members and Matt Hardy gives them both a twist of a fate.
Segment Rating: 4.75/10
Okay so let me explain the low rating, and why I feel this and the Cody match didn’t need to be as long compared to the Moxley match. Cody faced Avalon, and Hardy and Private Party faced a young team who is signed and a veteran whose only here to put people over. Neither of those matches needed to be as long as they were because we know what this is the people in stories are winning and they don’t need every single match to be over ten minutes to get that over. It’s okay for the Cody match to end right after a Cross Rhodes immediately as mentioned earlier, it’s okay if this match was only three minutes with Private Party winning quick because they are showing a mean streak, which is exactly what should have happened. Now the Moxley match was showcasing a pretty unknown talent who you might not know if you don’t watch AEW Dark who isn’t signed and that’s the main reason I’m okay with that match being a little longer or as long as it was.
Regardless, this match was fine but the rating is solely for it being too long and not needing this much time to put over Private Party as now heels leading to their Impact championship match.
Penelope Ford vs. Leyla Hirsch
This was originally supposed to be Nyla Rose taking on Hirsch but Nyla had to back out due to possibly Covid concerns. So they used this match to get Penelope a win and continue the story with Chuck Taylor being the butler of Miro. There was some good back and forth with Penelope getting the upper hand, early but Leyla begins to fire up and hit a bunch of great moves in succession and jump onto Kip and Chuck. Kip then holds down Leyla’s leg after Penelope manages to get a pin attempt to get the victory for Penelope.
After the match is over Miro, Chuck Taylor (dressed like a butler), and Kip Sabian enter the ring. Miro calls Orange Cassidy a George Michael wannabe, and tells Chuck to tell Orange Cassidy whose sitting ringside, that Miro is his best friend now. Taylor reluctantly does it and Orange Cassidy takes his shades off and walks away.
Segment Rating: 4/10
This was an okay match that really showcased Leyla without getting her a win, which probably only happened because she’s not signed. AEW needs to sign her and push her to the moon one day because she’s really good. It gets Penelope a win for what reason I don’t know since she’s not really doing anything and she’s not getting better in the ring either. No sign of the AEW women’s champion for the second straight week on either Dynamite or Dark which is mind boggling to me. How a company can be so good at focusing on one thing which that is tag team wrestling, only to not even care about their own women’s title at all is unbelievable and that needs to to changed like yesterday.
I wanted to be excited for the Miro/Chuck stuff, but considering they will only be going on until Beach Break which is two weeks from tonight, the bar seems very low on what they are doing there, based on tonight, which is unfortunate.
What Is Happening With The Elite
So I wasn’t sure if I should include any of it but I decided to bunch it all together as one big segment. Early on in the show we see footage of The Young Bucks, supposedly arriving at Kenny Omega’s house, and Alex Marvez is there too for some reason, and they point out that the camera is there. They knock on the door and Michael Nakazawa answers the door. He brings the Young Bucks into a living area where they see a painting. The painting depicts Kenny Omega and Don Callis shirtless with over exaggerated six packs. Callis enters the room, The Young Bucks want to know what the deal was last week, Callis claims a producer told him in his ear that the match was being changed on they fly. The Young Bucks ask why Kenny isn’t returning his calls, Callis said he got a new number about a week ago and Kenny needs to keep from being distracted by stupid calls, and he was surprised The Young Bucks weren’t told.
Callis gets mad that Marvez is here and the camera guy, so he tells them to leave, but keeps the camera. Callis asks how long the bucks know Omega, they say twelve years. He offers them checks as “investments” in Omega. The Young Bucks get offended that that Callis would try to buy them out of their friendship with Kenny and he calls The Young Bucks distractions and “Hanger-ons”. They rip up the checks and say they used to work for Impact and they know their money is no good. He calls the Young Bucks blood suckers and they walk towards him like they are going to attack him.
Later in the show we see Callis backstage as Omega arrives to the building. He has a black eye, and Omega wants to know who did that to him. Callis says he didn’t want him to know cause he didn’t want him to get upset, and tells him that he met with Matt and Nick, which surprised Omega, then when Marvez asked for comment they kicked out him and the camera man again.
Later we see The Good Brothers, and Kenny Omega attacking Penta, and it’s announced that at Beach Break Kenny and The Good Brothers will face Moxley, PAC, and Rey Fenix at Beach Break.
Segment Rating: 6/10
So I bunched all these together because it was a lot but regardless, I like this story. Surely this is leading to a Good Brothers versus Young Bucks match sooner than later, and I’m fine with that and excited to see it. Now we have to see what’s gonna happen with the Young Bucks and Omega. How this adds to the Impact partnership, what this means for The Elite as a whole. It’s all very interesting and keeping me intrigued for sure.
Chris Jericho & MJF vs. Santana & Ortiz vs. Sammy Guevara & Jake Hager
The main event, is a triple threat tag match, between three separate tag teams of Inner Circle to see who the top tag team is and who will go for the Tag Team Championships down the line. This was not a good match, mainly because Chris Jericho didn’t look good in there at all, they showcased Santana, Ortiz, and Guevara a lot which they need to do. Santana & Ortiz especially did a lot more agile offense then we are used to seeing from them. Some other noticeable things about this match was, MJF barely tagged in, which was a mistake. This seemed to have been building for a little while and the likes of Guevara and Hager wanting to get their hands on each other to blow off steam from recent events.
Late in the match when the offense really picks up, MJF has Guevara in an electric chair position but Guevara reverses it into a poisoned rana, which looked beautiful the way Guevara executed it. Then Guevara hits a top rope Spanish Fly on Ortiz. Then Jericho brings in his bat, but Hager hits him hard in the face with a punch. MJF goes to use his ring but Hager does the same to him.
Jericho hits a Lionsault on Sammy for a near fall which didn’t look good at all, might be time for him to retire that one if that happens again. Santana and Ortiz double team Jericho for a near fall. Jericho hits a Codebreaker on Ortiz for another near fall. Ortiz hits a double DDT on Jericho and MJF, Hager hits a powerbomb on MJF, followed by Sammy hitting a splash for a near fall. Sammy hits the GTH on Jericho, then goes for another one on MJF but he sees Wardlow on the apron he rams MJF into Wardlow while on his shoulders, and MJF turns it into a school boy and he grabs the tights to secure the pin and the victory for MJF & Jericho as the show closes on the dot at 10pm.
Segment Rating: 4.75/10
This was not a good match, the team I expected to win did though. I wanted to like this match, but it was not good at all and that’s sad. It felt very choreographed and they need to figure out how to make that work without it looking like it. Jericho was very sloppy tonight, I think this is going to lead to more dissension between all the members. Santana & Ortiz especially have a gripe because what does this mean for their future standing in the tag team rankings as long as they are in the Inner Circle. So I expect the animosity to continue to grow here and it’s gonna continue to lead to the break up and guys like Guevara and Santana & Ortiz finally getting something.
Remarkable Wrestler of the Week
For this episode of AEW Dynamite, the Remarkable Wrestler of the week is Adam Page.
Adam Page gets the RWOW this week not only for his work in the opening match but the story development of his eventual joining Dark Order. I’m super excited for that story to continue to build and I’m excited for the future of this angle and how it goes.
Overall
This might be one of the worst episodes of Dynamite ever. The wrestling was predictable, some of the matches were too long when they didn’t need to be, there was some sloppiness throughout the show, from Penelope, and Jericho being the biggest offenders tonight. Overall this show gets a 5.1 out of 10. The best things were the opener, Moxley’s match and the Elite stuff, but everything else, oh boy.
What are your thoughts on AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @SLTDWrestling.
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