AEW Dynamite 7/5/2023

AEW Dynamite 7/5/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/06/aew-dynamite-6282023.html

Darby Allin and Keith Lee are being interviewed. Darby said if he feels he's been lost in the shuffle, do something about it. He told him to take his head out of his butt or just sit on the apron and cry about it. Keith said he was stupid but ballsy

Blind Eliminator Tournament Quaterfinal - Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland vs Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin

Keith throws Darby across the ring to start. OC does his usual stupid comedy stuff, this time with weak slaps and Keith just stands there and takes it like a moron. Keith then hits him with a double chop and drops him. OC then does the pockets routine and is double chopped. OC pockets dropkicks him and Keith doesn't move. Keith takes multiple shots and won't go down.

Keith knocks Swerve off the apron and Swerve jumps off his back with a kick on OC. Swerve jumping back kicks Darby then comes off the 2nd rope and euros the back of his neck. Darby is thrown hard into the buckles and ends up on the floor.

We go to PiP break and return. We get a stupid tower of doom spot where Keith powerbombs Swerve while Swerve is suplexing Darby. OC comes off the top and is caught in a bearhug by Keith. Darby is sent into the steps by Serve. The steps are put on top of Darby then OC topes Swerve. OC is on Keith's back and he walks up the steps that Darby is under.

OC tries for various tornado ddt and cutter attempts but can't get him over. Darby then code red's Lee while this happens. Swerve tries a 450 to break up a count but just nails Keith. Swerve laughs along with Nana about this. The crowd chants, "you f*cked up". Swerve hits a backbreaker on Darby then accidentally nails Keith with an enzugiri. OC dives off the top with a ddt on Swerve then topes Keith into a ddt on the floor.

I didn't like this due to OC's usual antics. It's also month 8 of the Lee/Swerve feud that just never ends. They really tried to put over Lee here and Darby had very little to do here. The tower of doom spot was also real stupid as Keith powerbombed his own partner. Swerve is mad about losing this, but I really don't get why since he hates Lee anyway. Darby, OC and Keith bump fists after.

Darby Allin is at the Buddy Wayne Wrestling Academy. He talks about his son Nick and then talks about Buddy Wayne dying. Darby said it made him punch the window and he asked, what will Nick Wayne do? He said he will watch over him and then we see clips of him getting an AEW contract. Darby said he was 16 then, but is 18 now and he thinks he's ready for this. I don't, as someone who has seen a lot of his matches. He can do moves, but he's a very indy wrestler and doesn't offer much else right now.

Jungle Boy arrives in an SUV. He's looking around for Hook. He says last week was ridiculous. He says if Hook wants to do something, they will handle it in the ring like professionals. He said he will demand an FTW title match. Hook then jumps him and JB escapes in the car.

We see MJF waiting for Cole at a gym. MJF says he knows this isn't his thing. Cole said he's been here for an hour. MJF goes to bench press and Cole is supposed to spot for him but Cole is playing on his phone. MJF sees the one fat guy that's been on AEW before. MJF makes a joke about him and Cole tells him he can't talk like this anymore and says it's not funny. Cole then said he reminds him of Tony Schiavone. Cole then does the bench press without MJF's help and asks what's next. This was a dumb segment. We know the fat guy because he's been on AEW TV before and we know Cole doesn't spend a lot of time in the gym.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn vs The Bollywood Boyz and Blade

They had some audio issues here as the mic was echoing. Why the Bollywood Boyz are here instead of any of the other 160+ members of the AEW/ROH rosters, is beyond me. 

Billy headlocks Blade and shoulders him over. Billy teases taking off his pants and is rolled up. Blade takes a double back elbow the one of the Boys is slammed and the other is back body dropped. One of the Boys takes a 2nd rope legdrop to the nuts. We go to break and return. Bowens gets a tag in and beats up on The Boys and superkicks Blade. Bowens jumps over one of the Boys from behind and legdrops his neck. BIlly hits a cobra clutch slam then Max hits a top rope elbow drop and wins it.

It was just a squash.

Harley Cameron comes on the tron. She said she is interrupting them because they interrupted her. She said she's going to show that she's the most talented musician on the mic next week. Billy gets the mic and tells her to suck it.

We see clips of Eddie Kingston wrestling for New Japan and they say he accomplished his dream.

We see a video of Mox talking about Eddie. He said they got everything they wanted out of this business and asked what's to complain about? He talks about not living in the past and tells Eddie to answer his phone.

They announce Blood and Guts with The Elite vs the BCC. They say both teams will have a mystery partner as Bryan Danielson's arm is broken and Eddie will be in Japan. Hear me out - how about just making this a 4v4 instead of a 5v5 with mystery partners?

Jeff Jarrett will be Matt Hardy's partner for the blind eliminator.

They show the same promo of Wheeler Yuta talking about how he will beat Kenny Omega. He says he is the favorite because he already beat him. I do not have him as the favorite.

Chris Jericho comes out to talk. He talks about his history in Canada. He said he drove around and reminded himself how much he likes wrestling. He said it's time to become a better Chris Jericho and maybe the best version of Chris Jericho ever.

Don Callis comes out to interrupt. Don says he hears Chris needs a change. He said he called him 6 years and asked him how he would like to wrestle against Kenny Omega in the Tokyo Dome. Don says the ychanged wrestling history with that match. He said none of these people or AEW is here without it. Chris says Don is more powerful than ever before and says if it wasn't for him, Don may not even be here. Don says Kenny turned on him and is done, and now he's building a new family. He says his new family is built on trust. He said when he thinks about trust, he thinks about his friend of 34 years, Chris Jericho. Don asks if he will join him. Chris says he doesn't join factions, he makes factions. He says "maybe" he'll join and leaves.

Punk said his upcoming match is another chapter in their feud. He says Joe will have to stretcher him out to beat him. Joe said Punk has never beat him and Punk said he will beat him for the first time.

Renee is with Roderick Strong in the back, who is in a neck brace. Doc Sampson says he's making progress and they will take their time with him. Adam Cole walks in and asks how he is. Cole tells him he has to be careful. Strong asks what's up with him and MJF. Cole said he has everything under control.

Blind Eliminator Tournament Quarterfinal - MJF and Adam Cole vs Matt Menard and The Butcher

MJF does Cole's "Adam Cole Bay-Bay" pose with him. Cole and MJF get run over by Butcher and Menard. Menard hits forearms on MJF. MJF headflips out of a lariat and decks him. MJF abdominal stretches him  then Cole and MJF argue over whether Cole should help him cheat or not. Cole does then MJF is hiptossed.

Menard hits corner spears on MJF then MJF is beat up in the corner. We go to PiP break and return. Butch and Menard are now cheating with the abdominal stretch. MJF hiptosses out of it. MJF eye pokes Menard and got tags in Cole. Cole knocks Butcher off the apron and lariats Menard. He pump kicks him then neckbreakers him over the knee. MJF calls for a double clothesline then Cole enzugiris both opponents. Cole superkicks both opponents and opts for the boom knee over the double clothesline. Cole then wins it.

It was entertaining mostly for MJF's shenanigans here.

MJF picks up Cole and hugs him after. MJF gets on the mic after. He says, "we're better than you, babay" and says they should have done the double clothesline. MJF says they should have another bro session this weekend and asks if the crowds want to see them hang this weekend. The crowd chants, "yes". MJF then puts his title down and says, "happy birthday". Streamers come out of the post, there's a graphic on the tron and a bunch of people bring balloons, party hats and a cake. MJF puts on a hat then puts one on Cole. Cole says this is a lot and MJF puts a noise maker in his mouth. MJF sings happy birthday to him and Cole interrupts him. Cole says MJF has done more than enough. MJF then chants for Cole to , "make a wish". Cole goes to blow out the candle, MJF tries to put his head into it but Cole does it instead and MJF goes into the cake. Cole says, "good cake" and the crowd chants, "eat some cake". Cole said it was nice of him to do all of this and says, "thank you my friend".

I really liked this segment. This was comedy done right. It didn't stretch your imagination. They didn't interrupt the match to do this and they didn't do anything stupid. Everything here made sense and fit the character. It was very well done. Loved it.

Britt Baker is interviewed. Britt said Ruby lied about taking away everything she cares about. Britt said she can never take away her pride and says she will always be the face of the division. Britt said she's also the first Owen Hart Tournament winner and said she is sorry they have to meet in the first round this time.

Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia are interviewed. Garcia said Chris is supposed to be their family. Chris said they are and he just said, "maybe". He said they can't be under his wing forever and need to branch out and do great things without Chris leading them. Renee said Garcia and Sammy are in the blind eliminator and Chris says this is the perfect time for them to do something on their own. Chris says to show them who can be the leader here and says they can't be with him forever. Garcia and Sammy then fist pound.

Owen Hart Tournament Quarterfinal - Ruby Soho vs Britt Baker

Ruby gets out of the ring early. She tries to armdrag Britt but Britt holds on and hammerlocks her. Britt shoulders her over and slingblades her. They botch something and Ruby rolls out. Ruby pulls her out then Britt argues with Toni and Saraya. Britt takes an STO on the floor and the heels berate her.

We go to break and return. Britt hits clotheslines then neckbreakers her. Ruby forearms her then Britt spinning neckbreakers her. Britt superkicks her while she's on her knees then does it again. Toni trips Britt then Ruby backdrops her. Ruby misses a top rope double stomp then is superkicked. Britt rolls her up and backslides her. Saraya distracts the ref and Britt has her head banged off the title Ruby kicks her in the head for 2. Ruby puts her in the lockjaw. Britt reverses it and puts her in the lockjaw and heels help Ruby get out. The ref does nothing about it then Britt beats up the heels. Toni grabs Britt again and is thwarted. Ruby rolls her up and pins her with help from Britt.

This was bad with the usual botches and sloppiness, horrible reffing and endless heel interference.

Skye Blue pops up behind Ruby on the ramp and stares her down. Ruby backs off.

Kenny Omega vs Wheeler Yuta

Yuta nails Kenny while he poses and hits a bunch of forearms. Kenny then hits corner forearms and mudhole stomps. Kenny backbreakers him for 2. Kenny legdrops his neck from behind. Kenny finlay rolls him and sells his neck, then 2nd rope moonsaults him. Yuta shotgun dropkicks him then top rope dropkicks him. Yuta does his poe then topes him outside into the rail.

Yuta throws him into the rails then neckbreakers him on the floor. Kenny high kicks Yuta from the apron then brings his neck down over the top rope. Yuta stands on his neck on the 2nd rope and we go to PiP break.

We return and Kenny gets his knees up on Yuta's senton. Kenny hits punches then armdrags Yuta. Kenny bangs his head off the mat then hits sledgehammer shots. Kenny spinning forearm and fisherman's busters him for 2. Yuta does an olympic slam variation for 2 then Kenny top rope superplexes him. They a trade forearms and Kenny chops him. Yuta almost falls out but pulls himself back in then germans Kenny.

Yuta hits chops and Kenny push kicks him. Kenny pumping knees him in the back then does a snap dragon suplex. Kenny hits another then Yuta rolls him up. Kenny pumping knees him then Yuta rolls him up into a pin attempt for 2. Yuta jumps up at him and is caught with a powerbomb then takes a running knee for 2. Don Callis then comes down the ramp. Takeshita shows up behind Omega and blue thunder's him. Yuta then hits a top rope splash for 2. Kenny then hits a one winged angel and wins it.

They should have considered putting Yuta over here. They had the excuse with Kenny getting attacked and distracted. You guys know how little I like Kenny, but it wasn't a bad match. Kenny got his neck/shoulders worked on and sold it then picked up the win after interference.

Takeshita and Claudio jump Kenny after. The Bucks and Page make the save with chairs then hit a bte trigger. Claudio is about to get hit with the chair when the Dark Order come out and the show immediately ends.

Overall thoughts: I liked the MJF/Cole birthday celebration and the main was okay. I didn't like the OC match as usual the Cole/MJF segment felt like a way to prove to people that Cole works out. I'd rate this one as average.