AEW

Pops & Botches: AEW Dynamite – 01.12.22

AEW Dynamite Pops & Botches Recaps & Reviews

 

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

Heya folks! I don’t know about you but I’m excited for this week’s episode of Dynamite! After that banger of a Dynamite last week (yes, even with a Wardlow squash, I completely enjoyed the show), I’m ready for more! Last week, we saw Jade Cargill end the never-ending TBS Title Tournament, Hangman definitively defeat Daniel Bryanson and most disconcerting, Rey Fenix may have suffered an injury. Oh, and speaking of new champions, Jurassic Express are your new AEW tag team champions…which may have had something to do with the aforementioned Rey Fenix injury. Say, whatever happened to Brian Costello?

POP: Promo Parade

I don’t know what to say. This show started off with one of my biggest pet peeves in watching wrestling – the dreaded promo parade. First, Adam Cole hits the ring with Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly (ReDragon). They get interrupted by the Young Bucks and Brandon Cutler. AND THEN, they all get interrupted by the Best Friends. It doesn’t take long for the donnybrook to ensue and when Kris Statlander prevents Cole from kicking Orange Cassidy in the face, Dr. Britt Baker (D.M.D) comes out and attacks her. That my friends, is why I didn’t hate this promo parade. We all know Baker and Cole are a thing but now it’s been solidified on AEW television. Plus, when she blocked the Bucks from kissing Cole? Trés magnifique.

POP: A Wardlow Non-Squash!

You guys, I’m on fire right now. Wardlow is in a match and it’s not going to end in 30 seconds! Holy shit, I can barely function at this point. Wardlow (and MJF, of course) come out first followed by the sweetest crackling speaker in the game. Even better, both men are putting their win streaks on the line tonight. There’s no secret this is a match between a wise, aging veteran and a young, strong bull.  Punk gets Wardlow on the ropes about halfway through the match, but remember the whole “strong bull” thing from earlier? Yeah, that comes into play.

The Wardlow Powerbomb Symphony makes an appearance and Punk eats five straight powerbombs. MJF jumps up and makes Wardlow pull off the pin. He has Wardlow hit two MORE powerbombs and when Punk rolls to the apron…well, there’s tables out there. The eighth powerbomb puts an end to the table’s career. Punk barely beats the count and MJF wants one more powerbomb but remember that whole “wise, aging veteran” thing from earlier? Yeah, that comes into play. Before he can get hit with a ninth powerbomb, CM Punk tries a desperation roll-up AND IT WORKS! Punk ends Wardlow’s winning streak!

MJF immediately gets in Wardlow’s face. After the last few weeks, this definitely does not sit well with the big man. As he’s taking his tongue lashing, MJF puts his finger in Wardlow’s chest and the big man doesn’t take kindly to it. He grabs MJF’s finger but before he can murder MJF, Shawn Spears his the ring running to break it up. I’m all about a Wardlow/MJF feud. I feel like it’s going to culminate with Wardlow costing MJF his match against CM Punk, which will be the perfect transition into the feud. Wardlow is ready, y’all.

POP: Powerhouse Problems

Apparently, contrasting styles is the name of the game tonight, guys! Our next match is Dante Martin (complete with jobber entrance!) against Powerhouse Hobbs. Dante has that Darby Allin ability to use your speed to give you strength. Velocity matters. Just look at how hard he throws his body at Powerhouse’s face when Hobbs is up against the ropes. Of course, they call him Powerhouse for a reason.

These two really do have a good back and forth. A lot more back and forth than I expected, that’s for sure. Martin is feeling froggy so he jumps on Hobbs from the top. When Ricky Starks tries to interfere though, he’s interrupted by Jay Lethal (!)(?), which allows Martin to hit the Nosedive on Hobbs and get the three count! I really enjoyed this match and the Jay Lethal interference wasn’t something I was expecting but how many partners do we have to give Martin? Darius Martin, Matt Sydal, Lio Rush, Team Taz and now Jay Lethal? I just want my shot, that’s all.

Well, this next segment has me feeling alllll sorts of ways:

The thought of a Kingston/Jericho feud?!? I might need to GFM….

Speaking of new feuds that make me feel a certain kinda way….

I don’t know how you can watch AEW and the other organization and not realize the joy of AEW. This shit is unreal. I can’t get enough of it.

POP: One Kneed Clipper

Serena Deeb is a monster. Or she’s a brilliant mastermind. First, she comes out and clips the knee of Hikaru Shida as she makes her way to the ring for their match. For some reason, the ref allows Shida to start the match even without the benefit of two legs. Wisely, Serena focuses in on the injured left knee during the entire match. It only takes a couple of minutes but eventually, Paul Turner decides she’s had enough and calls for the bell. Those single-leg crabs are dangerous!

I loved what they did here. You could argue it was a glorified squash and I wouldn’t do too much to argue against you (even though you’re wrong). These two HATE each other. There’s not enough hate feuds in wrestling these days. Rarely are there women hate feuds either. Hikaru and Serena are quickly working their way toward an awesome payoff. Steel cage match? No holds barred? What about a three stages of hell? The options are endless!

POP: Single Star

How do you handle a tag team star when his partner gets injured? Instantly put him in a high-profile feud. That’s how. Penta el Zero Miedo takes on Matt Hardy. Now, that’s not the banging feud I’m talking about. It was a quick back and forth match but Penta wins pretty easily. Then the fireworks go off! Actually, check that. The lights go off.

Aleister Black is in the middle of the ring when the lights cut back on and he easily dispatches Alex Abrahantes and Penta. The Hollywood Blondes show up to even the odds but in a moment that was completely glossed over by the announce team, Julia Hart makes them stop beating up Black. Uh-oh. Aleister counts down the three of them and the lights go black again! When they cut back on for a second time, this happens. The Kings of the Black Throne are together and the entire AEW company is on notice!

BOTCH: Whatever is the Opposite of Platinum

I do love a good Platinum Max rap!

“Yo. Listen. Yo. Yo. Listen. Listen.
The Acclaimed leave opponents all motionless
Ain’t got a shot like Novak Djokavic.
We got Carolina jumpin’
And Bear Country’s got erectile dysfunction
It’s just what I imagined
You look way worse than your ten year challenge
And this goes out to Darby and Sting
Y’all are too bitch made to even walk in our ring”

Okay, so it wasn’t his best work. Definitely not his most controversial. That’s for sure. This seemed to be a theme for them tonight because this wasn’t their most enjoyable match. It probably wasn’t their most controversial either but I’m not sure of any controversial Acclaimed matches. The big men did their big men things but ultimately, it didn’t matter because The Acclaimed were able to hit the Mic Drop and steal a win from the Bears. Before anything else happens, I just want to put it out there – Anthony Bowens is going to be a star.

Post-match shenanigans alert! As The Acclaimed back up the ramp, the lights go out again. It’s not Aleister Black or Brody King this time, though! It’s The Stinger! He’s brought his best friend, too! His baseball bat, not Darby. Plot twist! Darby comes from the other side of the ring and smashes Caster as Sting eliminates Bowens with the bat! The father/son Emos demolish The Acclaimed in quick succession and send them a very clear message!

POTCH: Whose Title is it Anyway?

This match was ruined for me before it even started. First, it’s announced that TNT Champion Cody Rhodes would be returning next week. Sammy just won the interim title on Saturday night. If Cody’s already returning, why even do an interim title? If you only needed a champ for a week and a half, what would the harm be in giving Dustin a little run? Ugh. To top off my disdain for this match, they show Daniel Garcia’s graphic. Somehow, Daniel Garcia, with his 12-9 record this year, is getting a TNT Title shot at Sammy Guevara. Make it make sense.

As for the match, these two were awesome. Both of them came out guns a-blazin’ but when they were chopping each other, they were chopping each other. They also slapped each other pretty hard and just look how hard Sammy’s feet hit the back of Garcia’s neck.

Obviously, that was unintentional but their moves were CRISP. Sammy kept attempting the GTH but Garcia had him well scouted and kept countering out of it. Speaking of counters, he somehow manages to avoid this springboard coffin drop but Sammy kicks out of the piledriver at two. The 2.0 jerks show up and take out Eddie and Jericho but can’t put away Sammy!

2.0 attack Sammy after the bell but Jericho and Kingston make the save. Jericho beats both of them down with Floyd, which pisses off Eddie because he wants to get some licks in on the scumbags. This damn teasing of Jericho and Eddie has my HYPE. It’s been a while since I’ve pled with Tony Khan to give me what I want so I’m going to burn my first request of the year on this. Tony, PLEASE give me a year long Jericho/Eddie feud! PLEASE!!

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!

     

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