IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!
Heya folks!
Look at us! We’re back for another riveting edition of AEW Saturday Night Dynamite! Rumor has it we will be moving back to Wednesdays starting next week on the 27th. Honestly, I’m not sure how you all keep up with it! We are coming to you live on the heels of last week’s exciting Dynamite. Dante’ Martin got the Jeff Hardy/Undertaker rub from Malakai Black. But what does that mean? Are they going to end up in a triad now with my man, Lio Rush? Yeah, I didn’t think so either. Also from last week, Bobby Fish continued his unparalleled success in AEW by getting his head kicked in by Bobby Fish. Say, whatever happened to Flash Funk?
POP: Naturally.
Whooo boy, we’re starting off with Bryan Danielson and Dustin Rhodes? This Eliminator Tournament already started of hot on Rampage. To kick Saturday Night Dynamite off with this pairing is a beautiful thing. Speaking of things that are beautiful, these two fools start out with a bunch of chain wrestling. What?! I love it! The story here is definitely the age and wisdom of Rhodes against the innate wrestling ability of Daniel Bryanson. I mean, Dustin knows exactly when to throw a diving Senton to the outside. Not many 50 year old dudes willing to do that. Speaking of 50 year old dudes, shoutout to the guy with the “I Love Twinks” sign that was confiscated during this match. I heartily laughed out loud during the whole exchange.
Dustin and Bryan have a banger of a match. I really enjoyed seeing them fight. The key is that Daniel was able to adapt his game and wrestle a little slower. It didn’t help his cause that Dustin used his knowledge to dupe Bryan into doing what he wanted. Unfortunately for Dustin, Danielson is able to use his aforementioned innate wrestling ability and tap Dustin out to advance in the tournament! Also, this guy was keeping an eye on things.
Tony Schiavone introduces Sting, who is promptly interrupted by Maxwell Jacob Friedman. Normally, I wouldn’t write about interview segments but MJF referred to Sting as Darby’s emo daddy. I know you read this column, Max. I appreciate the silent nod. Oh man, Shawn Spears beat the hell out of Sting with that chair.
POP: Runaway Like a Superbad Girl
I am such a huge fan of dueling tournaments. I also appreciate the little nuance in the women’s bracket that gave the top four contenders a first round bye. Rankings mean so much more when there are tangible rewards and consequences. Ruby Soho and Penelope Ford meet in a first round matchup of the TBS Championship tournament. Of course, it didn’t take long for The Bunny to hop her way down to the ring.
As everyone would expect, the brass knuckles come into play but that damned Rick Knox is a bright fella. He sniffs it out quick and kicks the knucks out of the ring, allowing Ruby to capitalize and roll up Penelope for the win and the right to face Kris Statlander in round two. In a rough twist of fate for Ruby, she is left outnumbered by the crazy blonde chicks. However, The Bunny’s first round opponent, Red Velvet, hits the ring to even the odds and her and Ruby chase off Penelope and The Bunny. I’ve been really impressed with Penelope lately. It’s sad to say but now that she is away from Kip Sabian, her wrestling has been her focus and she has been whippin’ ass and looks really good in the ring. Give me more Ford!
BOTCH: Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back
So last week, I bragged on Bobby Fish for his first two Dynamite matches being a TNT title match against the Spanish God Sammy Guevara and a main event burner last week against Bryan Danielson. This week, he continues his stellar opponents with… *checks notes* Anthony Greene? Okay. Well, in a surprise to literally nobody, he beats Greene’s ass quickly and kicks his head off for the win. Apparently, he hates jobbers and jumps Greene after the match. What the fuck, Bobby? That man did nothing to you. I mean, seriously, he barely got any offense in. The hero we all knew we had decided he’d seen enough and scared the Fish away. I guess we get Bobby’s first real feud!
Boner alert:
#LioRush (@TheLionelGreen) already got himself and @lucha_angel1 a match as a tag team…against @MattSydal and @YogaSault – Tune in NOW for Saturday Night #AEWDynamite LIVE on @tntdrama pic.twitter.com/pztOWmPWYh
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) October 24, 2021
I can’t wait for this team. Let’s go!
POP with one major BOTCH: The Mad MurderhawKing Monster
I appreciate Eddie Kingston being smart enough to just attack Lance Archer before either guy even gets to the ring. It’s the best way to get the advantage on a guy as crazy as the man who calls himself a Murderhawk Monster. At the beginning, I thought they would throw the fight out and Bryan Danielson would get a bye week to prepare for Full Gear. Especially when Archer pulled this Baby Naitch wannabe out of the crowd and slammed him onto Eddie…twice!
The Murderhawk Monster @LanceHoyt will use anything and ANYONE to win – Tune in NOW for Saturday Night #AEWDynamite LIVE on @tntdrama pic.twitter.com/IN0tBMrD1e
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) October 24, 2021
I was gladly incorrect. What did not make me glad; however, was Lance Archer missing a moonsault and landing directly on his head. As a true professional, he allowed himself to be rolled up by Kingston to take the loss. It’s a VERY unfortunate situation. I don’t know if Kingston was supposed to win or if the moonsault literally fucked everything up but now we’re getting a Bryan Danielson and Eddie Kingston match in a semifinal. I’m not mad about that. But hey, Murderhawk Monster, get well soon, brother. This company and the product itself is much better with you murder hawking people to death.
Have I mentioned recently how great Dan Lambert is at professional wrestling? This is a picture perfect example of how to rile up a crowd without straight up insulting them. He lightly references to them to not chant but never says anything about chanting. It’s just great. Also, Sammy can’t leave the Inner Circle! He’s an Original! Well, that’s what his vest says anyway. I believe it though.
POP: Mama’s Recipe for Jungle Squash
Jungle Boy Jack Perry comes out for his match with Brandon Cutler and he beats him in about sixty seconds with the Snare Trap. It was a squash, which we all know I hate; however, this squash had a purpose. Jungle Boy calls out the Elite to come out and fight. Nobody comes out so he locks the Snare Trap in again until Adam Cole comes out. Of course, once Jungle Boy attacks him, the Young Bucks jump him from behind. They drag him to the top of the ramp and decide to just murder him:
The @youngbucks and @AdamColePro send @boy_myth_legend flying off the stage through a table! Tune in NOW for Saturday Night #AEWDynamite LIVE on @tntdrama pic.twitter.com/BczQ253nho
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) October 24, 2021
I’m very disturbed here. I understand Luchasaurus was beaten out of commission last week. But what about Christian or Bryan Danielson? Where the hell were they? They’ve been fighting along Jungle Boy recently. I just hate it when good friends let you down.
BOTCH: Win the Match, Still Lost the Series
I don’t know why it bothers me so much that they are making such a big deal about this being the end of the trilogy between Malakai Black and Cody Rhodes. Cody already lost the first two so this is literally a throwaway match for nothing. Win or lose, he’s still going to lose the best-of-three. It’s not a rubber match at all. That being said, I’m always down for a good blood feud, which this definitely turns into.
This match turned into a talent-fest. Besides Black and Rhodes, we also got to see Brock Anderson and his daddy, Arn. Big Shotty Lee Johnson came out as did Andrade el Idolo, his assistant and that Bastard PAC. That’s SIX guys that didn’t need to be involved. Luckily, for the most part, they stayed out of the match and definitely didn’t factor into the conclusion. Cody wins clean with the Crossrhodes followed by a Tiger Driver ’98. BUT (and that’s a bigger butt than your mama’s) he still lost the series so I don’t know. The match was actually really good. I just couldn’t get past all that. Hopefully, they’ll stay away from each other for a little bit and do other things.
All in all, this episode of Dynamite was really good. I just love this company, man. Not everything hits (as evidenced by my Botches above) but the stuff that does hit overshadows those by far. Well, except for Lance Archer trying to paralyze himself. That’s no bueno. We’re back on Wednesday next week so we’ll see you live for our return to normalcy.
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!
