IT’S WEDNESDAY NIGHT. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!
Heya folks! I’m back with another riveting (I’m sure) installment of the Pops & Botches for AEW Dynamite! Last week was pretty much a “treading water” episode but it did give us the mana that is Minoru Suzuki vs Samoa Joe for the Ring of Honor World Television Title so it was totally worth sticking around to the end! It also gave us the AEW (and ROH?) debut of Satnam Singh who, honestly, is a big mother fucker. Who knows what this week will bring? It is 4/20 so who knows? Maybe we’ll get a marijuana reference or two…..Bro. Will MJF run from Wardlow again? Probably. He’s a bitch. Speaking of, whatever happened to Val Venis?
POP: The Opener
CM Punk is back in the role of show-opener. It’s like he plays for the Tampa Bay Rays or something! Imagine my surprise when Dustin Rhodes’ music hit and he showed up to fight Punk in the leadoff spot! As I would 100% expect, these two legends start off with a gentlemen’s handshake. It’s funny. The more I watch AEW, the more new matchups I am exposed to. This is a perfect example of that. Never had I thought to myself, “Self, I wish I could watch a CM Punk and Dustin Rhodes match,” but here we are and I’m looking forward to it!
Early on in the match, Dustin hurts his knee when he’s thrown to the outside. CM Punk, the wise old veteran he is (even though he’s still the pup in this match!), targets that knee throughout. Dustin is able to power through using his stubbornness and guile. But mainly his stubbornness. Punk misses a flying knee in the corner so Rhodes hits the Code Red! Dustin was thisclose to getting the victory but it was all for naught. After Dustin connects with the patented Rhodes Family Punches, Punk gets Dustin up for the Go To Sleep. Dustin manages to slide out but Punk sits on his chest for a deep cover and gets the win! These two dudes opened the show with an absolute war. Plus, they closed the match just how they opened it – with great sportsmanship and respect. Well done, gentlemen.
POP: Beat the Shit Out of Someone, Won’t You
Hmm, we have the Blackpool Combat Club against three dudes who have never teamed up together in a trios match before. Naturally, Lee Moriarty and Brock Anderson would team with Dante Martin. Couldn’t Dante pull Darius and Lio Rush out to the ring with him? Yes, I know those dudes may not be available, but it’s just a random pairing, which when you think about it, has really been Dante’s calling card. Ya know what? Disregard that whole paragraph. Let’s get it, boys!
This match goes exactly as I’d envisioned when I saw it was coming up. Dante came in and had some great offense. After that, it was Brock’s turn (no, not that one), and finally, Lee Moriarty came in as a house of fire and took his turn beating the hell out of the Blackpool Combat Club. I want to refer to them as BCC but I’m afraid I’m going to switch that middle letter and, well, you know how it goes.
Anyway, once the kids got their fun in, the Blackpool Combat Club got serious. Dante got cocky in his flips and Moxley caught him on an attempted Nose Dive. My favorite moment (obviously) was Wheeler Yuta elbowing the hell out of Brock Anderson, Moxley ground and pounding Dante to death, and Lee Moriarty getting the shit stomped out of him by Bryan Danielson. ALL AT THE SAME TIME! It’s art, folks. One Paradigm Shift for Dante Martin and the Blackpool Combat Club keep rolling!
Also, this happened:
HOLY SHIT.
BOTCH: Yep – Still Don’t Care
Butch is already in the ring waiting for Wardlow. MJF and Shawn Spears are up in the press box eating popcorn and talking shit. Wardlow comes out in handcuffs (an MJF stipulation from an earlier segment) with a security detail but without any entrance music. Once the guard uncuffs him, these two proceed to have an alright hoss match with a lot of shoulder blocks and power moves. Four powerbombs (one could call it a symphony, perhaps?) later and Wardy wins. The security detail puts him back in cuffs and that’s all she wrote. Wake me up when this shit is over. #FreeWardlow
POP: The Loser Goes Owen-One
Next up, we get Kyle O’Reilly and Jungle Boy Jack Perry in a qualifying match for the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament. I love when Kyle O’Reilly is a singles competitor. I think he’s way more valuable in singles than he is stuck in a tag team. Once he became disputed and out on his own for his last employer, he really shined. He’s good in a tag team. He has the potential to be great individually. Let him shine, Tony! Let him shine!
At one point, Kyle executes a dragon screw on Jungle Boy’s knee and it makes me wonder if Luchasaurus is impervious to the dragon screw or if it’s just a turn-on? Anyway, getting back to this contest, these two dudes absolutely killed it here. They gave everything they had and I wasn’t sure they would finish since both were so gassed, they could barely move. After O’Reilly was able to reach the ropes while locked in the Snare Trap, Jack goes up top to finish O’Reilly off. Kyle knocks him off-balance while on the top rope and hits a Superplex. He rolls Jungle Boy over and drops a knee to the kidneys from the top to enter his name in the Owen Hart Tournament!
POTCH: I Don’t Know How To Feel
I like Hook. I like Danhausen. None of us barely know who Anthony Henry is. All this adds up to Hook’s debut on AEW Dynamite. It’s a squash match. More importantly, it continues on the schtick of Danhausen trying to curse Hook from Rampage. Heretofore, Hook has been unbothered by Danhausen’s curses and it’s getting under Dan’s skin. After Hook easily dispatches Anthony Henry, Danhausen tells Hook they’re going to fight. So I’m willing to let this play out a bit before I judge whether I like it or hate it.
BOTCH: Unfair Comparisons
Speaking of squash matches…..Seriously though, Danielle Kamela is getting a match against Dr. Britt Baker (D.M.D.) in her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA for a chance to star in the first ever Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament. To top that off, Baker came out with current Steelers favorites, Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth. Kamela stands no chance. She gets in a little offense but after a curb stomp, Britt gets her glove from Freiermuth (naturally, a Steelers glove), clamps on the Lock Jaw and boom, she’s in the dance! The match was fine. It got Britt in the tournament but compared to the banger of the men’s qualifier earlier…yeesh.
POP: Wanted: Dead or Alive
To close out the show tonight, we’re getting the culmination of the Darby Allin and Andrade el Idolo feud – a Coffin Match. Right from the jump, we get Marq Quen and The Blade interfering and giving Andrade the upper hand. Not even the skateboard can save Darby now. It definitely hurts Darby though, as Andrade crushes him with it when they spill into the audience. Ya know what else is flittering about in the crowd? THIS GUY! The first half of this match is a 3-on-2 between the Andrade Family Office and Darby Allin/Sting. It culminates with Sting hitting a modified Stinger Splash off the rail onto the AFO down below. You’re too old for this shit, Stinger.
After the commercial break, we have Andrade and Darby in the ring alone. Naturally, they spill right back to the outside to find the coffin has been opened. The top of the lid is covered with thumbtacks, which Darby uses his arm to block Andrade from throwing it in his face. A little while later, Darby crushes Andrade with a Tope’ Suicida, resulting in both competitors landing in the coffin. Before Darby can shut the lid, Jose the Assistant shows up and is immediately back body-dropped onto the open coffin lid. As Andrade tries to crawl out, Darby smashes the lid on him a couple times and closes it for the victory!
I’m going to be honest. I was geeked for this match. And it slapped. It really did. The ending felt quick and forced. I’m not sure if there was a timing issue at all but it ended rather abruptly and relatively anti-climatically. Even the Hardys coming out on the ramp at the end felt a little flat. Like…where were they when it was 3-on-2 against the Andrade Family Office? Either way, the match was awesome, regardless of the ending and Darby is still undefeated in the Coffin Match!
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!
