AEW

Pops & Botches: AEW Dynamite – 09.15.21

 

IT’S WEDNESDAY NIGHT. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!

Heya folks! I still can’t get over the fact that Ruby Soho is All Elite! And Daniel Bryanson! Or Adam Cole (Bay Bay!)! It’s really the best time to be a fan of All Elite Wrestling. At least until next month…and the month after…and the month after that. I think I’m starting to geek out a little bit. In last week’s episode of Dynamite, we got to see all three of the newest additions! And Minoru Suzuki too. Danielson beat up Omega, Moxley returned home and someone thought a Pillman/MJF feud would be a good idea.  You know what though? They were right! I’m telling you guys, it’s quite the time to be a wrestling fan. Say, whatever happened to The Berzerker? HUSSSS!

Dynamite starts out with Cult of Personality hitting and CM Punk stage diving until he ends up on commentary. This already has me hype.

POP: Welcome Home, Bay Bay

Speaking of starting off strong, the first match this week is Adam Cole’s AEW debut against the Elite Hunter Frankie Kazarian?!? Sign me up. Sign me up right now! It’s still crazy to me having watched Adam Cole fight Kyle O’Reilly just a few, short weeks ago and now he’s here on my show, on OUR show. It’s not quite Rick Rude showing up on Raw and Nitro on the same night but same kind of vibe. I do like that Cole’s first match is against the guy who is openly hunting all of his new buddies. I guess Cole should’ve aligned himself with someone that didn’t have a hunter coming after them.

Much to Kazarian’s chagrin, Adam Cole is just the better wrestler on this night. These two have a really good back and forth match, with just enough drama that Kazarian could have easily pulled off an upset. Once Cole hit the Panama Sunrise and the exposed knee to the back of the head, it is over and we have a winner. Adam Cole is 1-0 on Dynamite! Afterward, he grabs a microphone and challenges Jurassic Express and Christian Cage to a six man tag match against him and the Young Bucks on next week’s Rampage! This is about to get fun!

Last week, I mentioned that MJF is an amazing heel. In this week’s interview, he proves me right. This guy is on an entirely different planet when it comes to insulting people. I mean, who goes after someone’s deceased father?!? MJF. MJF does. My god. Just watch this.

BOTCH: Fists vs Flips

I really tried to get into this match. Typically, when I know what the outcome of a match is, I can usually put that aside and enjoy a match. Unfortunately, this is not one of those situations. Yes, I knew FTR would beat a team of two guys who hadn’t been a tag team before tonight. There was something about the fact that Darius Martin and Mike Sydal were MIA that I couldn’t get past. Maybe I just needed Darius’ injury acknowledged or something. I don’t know.

I didn’t hate the match itself. I just couldn’t get it out of my head for some reason. Normally, I’m not like that so for whatever reason that overshadowed this match for me. Hopefully, it didn’t for all of you. I just wanted to know why the better brothers were tagging with each other and not with their own partners. Now, if this somehow leads to a feud between the two families or even better, a Darius/Mike and Dante/Matt feud, I’ll gladly eat crow. The latter would be fun and unexpected. Give it to me, Tony!

POP: Dude, Where’s my Cargill?

The aesthetic of 14 foot tall Jade Cargill going face to chest with 4 foot tall Leyla Hirsch is adorable. Leyla is built like a stick of dynamite and fights like one.  Jade is dressed like a stick of dynamite and hits like one. Is this what they had in mind when they named the TV show? Such forward thinkers there in the AEW boardroom!

Jade Cargill has won 8 straight matches in two minutes or less. I fully expected a squash match in the same vein with Cargill beating Leyla quickly. Not only did Hirsch last more than two minutes, she fought through an entire commercial break too! Ultimately, it wouldn’t matter as Leyla would get Jaded (I honestly don’t know if that’s what they’re naming that move but I liked it haha) and Cargill is continuing to set the bar high.

POP: Kosher Spears

I’ve talked in the past about my overall general indifference for Shawn Spears. While watching this match, I do believe he might be growing on me. I’m cautiously optimistic, as I’m well aware it could be the Darby factor, but I really was impressed with Shawn Spears tonight. Not only that, I watched what he did with greater interest than I did with Darby. I never thought I’d say this about a Shawn Spears and Darby Allin match (or any match for that matter) but I think Shawn Spears carried the contest.

Darby took his customary beating then hit Spears with the vaunted Coffin Drop. This gets the three count and the victory for Darby but we weren’t done yet! Even though I really liked that match and what it was, it became a catalyst to a Sting/Darby feud with FTR. I’m interested to see if they’re going anywhere with the “wiping facepaint off” as both Darby and Sting lost their paint. Is it like taking off a luchador’s mask or is it closer to cutting Samson’s hair? I just want to know!

Bryan Danielson showed up *insert heart eyes emoji*

My favorite part of this entire segment might be JR calling Don Callis an ice water enema and now that’s my new favorite insult. Also, I still feel weird when Bryan Danielson cusses. All I can think of is Brie trying to cover Birdie and Buddy’s little ears. I love AEW, man!

I’m hype for this match. I think Danielson saying it’ll be about the title later but for now, it’s about who is better, makes this a non-title match. Getting to see the Best Bout Machine against the American Dragon? Holy shit, take my money. You can have it.

POP: Unstable Uncles

A couple months ago, I implored Tony Khan to give me Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston – AEW Tag Team Champions. A little while after that, they had their opportunity to make me a happy man (and prove that Tony Khan reads my articles!) but lost to the Young Bucks and didn’t win the titles. Well, they’re back in the main event tonight against *checks notes* 2point0. I think I spelled that right.

Anyway, the Real Best Friends on my TV screen is all I ever want. Especially if we’re able to see them interact backstage, or in a truck, in an alley next to a barrel fire, wherever. I just want it all. They steamroll 2point0 with no problem. Serving to my earlier point (1point0?), they already have a finishing move so that’s a plus. Give them the Lucha Bros!

After the match, a very pissed off Minoru Suzuki shows up to confront the Real Best Friends. Suzuki-Gun comes down with a creepy, psycho smile on his face and now I’m not going to sleep tonight. Cool. Coolcoolcoolcool. By the time the Murderhawk Monster Lance Archer secretly sneaks down and pulls Kingston out of the ring from behind, Moxley and Minoru are fighting in the ring.

Both fights end up spilling outside the ring, which is going to set up this tag team match as a violent, insane affair. I would have loved to have a split screen for this as I was just as invested in the Moxley/Suzuki brawl as I was the Archer/Kingston fight. We get the standard WCW finish where they end the TV show while the homies are still fighting but I guess we need to get to American Sniper for the eighth time this week. Thank you, Chris Kyle.

Like I mentioned earlier, this fight is going to be violent. There will be blood shed and there will be some stiff work. I can almost guarantee it. And Jon Moxley is going to baby flip Suzuki over his head for the three count. Now let’s talk about that finisher. I didn’t get a single reply in my suggestions box last week for a new finisher for Mox. Unfortunately, that means he will keep using the Paradigm Shift as his finisher. Really, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.

That’s a wrap on Dynamite, ladies and gentlemen! A HUGE portion of this show, whether it be the matches, the post-match shenanigans or the interview segments all served to build or create feuds. The glory of this is that it’s going to make the Grand Slams next week feel much bigger than what they are. I know I’m excited to see what happens. If you happen to be lucky enough to attend Dynamite Grand Slam, reach out to me (info below) and we’ll see if we can do something for next week’s article.

I hope you enjoy your week, everyone! Feel free to leave a comment below (good or bad, I’ll answer them all!) and share the column with your friends, family and followers. And seriously, join the Discord for good talk with good people. You can find me on there, Instagram or Twitter (all are @robbywardshow). Please hit me up with what you liked, what you hated, what you think I can change. I’m all ears! Wrestling united!