AEW Dynamite 1/24/2024

AEW Dynamite 1/24/2024

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/01/aew-dynamite-1172024.html 

The audio is messed up and Samoa Joe comes out to talk. Joe says he's the undisputed AEW champ. He said opportunities must be earned, not given. He said every AEW star will battle tooth an nail for a shot at his title. He said it won't be an opportunity at a title, but an opportunity at the worst night of their lives. He said he will do them like Hook last week.

Hook's music hits and we see the Hook signal. Hook comes out. Hook said Joe beat him last week and says he will see him again, but doesn't know when or where. Joe tells him to get to the back of the line and asks security to get him out of the ring. Hook suplexes security guards and leaves.

Joe joins the commentary booth and asks Tazz who raised that animal in there. Tazz says Joe was impressive last week.

Adam Page vs Penta el Zero Miedo

They do their lines/taunts. Penta chops him off the break and they trade chops. Penta superkicks him and takes a face kick. Penta slingblades him and Page fallaway slams him. Page running ssp's him for 2. Page facewash kicks Penta. Penta back rolls into a headscissors then springboard legdrops him off the bottom rope.

They trade corner chops. They do kicks at the same time and lariat each other down. We go to PiP break and return. Penta kicks Page and is face kicked off the apron. Penta tope con hilos Page and they talk about how important this is for the rankings that haven't been revealed yet. Page death valley drivers Penta then hits corner punches. Penta spinning attitude adjustments Page for 2.

Page pop-up sitout powerbombs Penta for 2. They trade forearms on the apron then Penta hits a made in Japan for 2 in the ring. Penta takes a dead eye on the apron and Page top rope moonsaults him outside. Page then hits a buckshot lariat and wins it.

I thought they did too much here and I didn't think it was anything special as a match.

Page tells Joe after that he's taking the title from him.

Orange Cassidy is interviewed. He agrees to face Strong for the International Title at AEW Revolution. He said he will keep wrestling and asked Tony for people to put together a #1 contenders match for him. He then said he has to go as Wardlow and Trent are wrestling. This was a terrible promo, though it was designed to be awkward.

The Young Bucks look at the scripts for the show in the back. Alex Marvez wants to interview them. The Bucks said he needs to show more respect and call them by the right name. They say backstage morale is through the roof and they are here to make sure the show runs smoothly. They should have worked on the audio then. They go up to Top Flight. They ask where their gear and credentials are then say they are kidding. They then tell each other they are killing it. Oh, this is way worse than their old gimmick.

Wardlow vs Trent Beretta

Wardlow shoulders over Trent to start. Wardlow spinning F-5's Trent then Trent small packages him. Trent hits forearms then Wardlow is pulled over the top. Trent dropkicks Wardlow through the ropes and goes for a plancha but is forearmed. Trent is sent into the rails and we go to PiP break.

We return. Trent hits chops and is headbutted. Trent knees his arm on the lariat attempt and knocks him out. Trent topes him outside then chairs him. Trent throws a chair at Wardlow then half-nelson suplexes him. Trent tornado ddt's Wardlow then piledrivers him for 2.

Trent comes off the top then is caught and spinning slammed. Wardlow puts Trent on the top rope then lets him fall, hitting a knee to the face. Wardlow hits a last ride on Trent and wins it.

As expected, Trent went near even with Wardlow being losing. No, really. I called this. AEW has this weird thing with protecting Trent and this is all you need to see if you have doubts about it. This did nothing for either guy.

Best Friends get in the ring to try and stop Wardlow from doing more damage. Wardlow backs off because I guess he's afraid of Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy. This sucked. 

Trent pushes Best Friends away after.  

Bryan Danielson is fighting Yuji Nagata on Collision this week. Why? Who knows.

Deonna Purrazzo and Toni Storm are interviewed by Rene on the stage. The screen is in black and white on one half for Toni. Toni said it's a shame Deonna is bodyshamed because there's so much more to shame about her. She said Deonna can't use their friendship to get a title shot. She said she has many friends and they are all less talented than her. She said he will twist her lips hard if she gets in the ring with her.

Deonna says this is insane. She said she didn't come to AEW to make friends but to become champ. She said the champ used to be her friend but she has no problem earning a title shot. She said she doesn't want to wrestle this Toni Storm, she wants the one who lived in her house. She begs her to find that version at herself and said to look at her ankle as it looks like hers. We then see that they have matching tattoos.

Deonna said Toni might have everyone here fooled but not her. Toni says she can take her tattoo and blow it out of her bumhole. They throw shoes at each other and Deonna goes for a submission. May breaks it up then Deonna pump kicks Luther when May moves. This was not good.

Jon Moxley does a promo. He said he doesn't keep track of how many titles they have won and said they had 0 victory parties. Mox said the parties over in 2024 and said he will torture anyone who can't keep up when he steps in the ring with them.

Taya Valkyrie, who hasn't been on TV is interviewed with Johnny TV, who haven't been seen together on TV before. She said they are the most TV ready couple on TV. Taya says she has a problem with girls trying to cut to the front of the line. She said she knows who Deonna is and is challenging her for a match next week.

Swerve Strickland vs Jeff Hardy

 

Jeff has some different looking face paint on today. Jeff rolls up Swerve and Swerve is surprised. Swerve pushes him then is slapped. Jeff misses a splash then Swerve backbreakers him. Jeff shoulders him over and splashes his back. Swerve boots him in the corner then takes a russian legsweep. Swerve bridging neckbreakers him on the floor.

Jeff is put in a chair and Swerve does Jeff's dance. Swerve is swept on the apron then Jeff jumps off the steps onto him, going over the rails. We go to PiP break and return. They fight up top and Swerve goes down. Jeff gets seated on the top rope then Jeff hits whisper in the wind. Jeff spinning back kicks him then pulls him down backwards, Jeff hits an atomic drop then legdrops him between the legs.

Jeff is pushed off the 2nd rope to the apron then sent into the post. Jeff hits a twist of fate on Swerve on the steps. Jeff misses a swanton off the top then Swerve hits his back kick to the head for 2. Jeff backslides him for 2 then cradles him for 2. Jeff jawbreakers him then Swerve flatliners him. Swerve suplexes him then top rope double stomps him to win it.

It went longer than it needed to but Jeff had a pretty good night here, not looking bad at all. It would have worked better with Swerve getting more of the offense in here and Jeff selling for it.

Adam Page is interviewed by Renee. Renee said the rankings drop at the end of the month and said Page is undefeated. Swerve walks in and asks if Page saw what he did to Jeff. Swerve said he's undefeated in 2024 and asked what happened the last time they fought. Page said he'd bet on him against Swerve. Renee then said they will be in dealer's choice matches, choosing each others matches next week.

Thunder Rosa vs Red Velvet

Rosa takes her down and gator rolls her. Rosa does Red's stirring pose. They trade armdrags and Red is tripped. Rosa's head is banged off the apron then she is pulled down face first on the apron. Red then does her stirring pose. We go to PiP break and return.

Rosa hits back elbows and corner lariats her. Rosa hits a pendulum double knee then dropkicks her on the bottom rope. Rosa northern lights suplexes her. Red hits punches then rolls her into a double stomp. Red knees her on the ropes. Rosa dropkicks her then does a package side slam to win it.

It wasn't good as expected with Red having her usual sloppy moments.

Tony Schiavone interviews Sting and Darby Allin in the ring. Darby said people always ask him what it's like to team with Sting and that he should slow down so that he doesn' retire before Sting. He said he saw Sting's career nearly end in 2015 and wondered what if that was him. He said he flew to Sting's house and they wrestled in the ring in Sting's garage. Darby said after 5 minutes, he told him he still has it. We then see The Young Bucks in the back watching a production monitor. Darby said they are 27-0 and should be in the top spot in the rankings. Darby said they should get a spot at Big Bill and Starks. Darby tells Sting he's still got it.

Darby asks Sting if he wants to end his career as AEW tag champs. Sting said he's All In and we see an ad for All In on the tron. 

Big Bill and Ricky Starks talk. Bill thanks them for having the respect to address them by name and as AEW world tag champs. Bill says they accept the challenge. Starks says Sting will not make it to Revolution and lay down so they can walk right over him.

AEW World Trios Titles - The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn vs The Mogul Embassy

BCG have a new theme. They came out and it played before The Acclaimed and Billy came out. Max goes up and over Cage in the corner. Max dropkicks and armdrags him. Bowens chops Cage then hits a forearm and elbow combo. Cage corner lariats Bowens then Toa corner spears Bowens. Bowens takes stomps in the corner. 

Bowens boots Cage then step up enzugiri's him. Toa knocks Bowens off the apron and we go to PiP break. We return and Bowens 2nd rope blockbusters Cage. Bowens back body drops Kaun then Billy gets the hot tag in. Billy beats up on his opponents then is crossbodied by Toa. Bowens superkicks Toa out then Cage F-5's Bowens. Max hits an attitude adjustment on Cage then Kaun dropkicks him. Kaun pedigree's Billy for 2.

Nana throws a chair in and gets on the apron. Jay White takes the chair from Kaun then Billy cobra clutch slams Kaun. The Gunn's pull Nana off the apron and powerbomb him through the time keepers table. Bowens over the back legdrops Cage over the neck then Toa takes a 3D from The Acclaimed. Billy fameassers Kaun. Bowens hits The Arrival then Max top rope elbow drops Kaun to win it.

It felt rushed. I thought they should have built up to Nana getting put through the table more here and I definitely thought they should have gotten more time than what they got.

We get a video on Serena Deeb.

Adam Copeland vs Minoru Suzuki

Man, this is out of left field. And if this really is some big dream match, why not build up to it instead of throwing it out there randomly?

They tade forearms and Adam goes down after some. They trade chops then Suzuki drops him with another forearm. Adam back body drops him. Suzuki tries to triangle him on the ropes and is forearmed. Adam face kicks him on the apron then is knee'd when he tried to spear him. Suzuki guillotine chokes him on the apron and floor. Adam then runs him through the rails, with them both going through them.

They trade forearms on their knees then get up and trade. They trade slaps and both go down. They trade forearms then Suzuki hits slaps. Adam impaler ddt's him then Suzuki puts on a fujiwara armbar. Adam spears him as we go past the 10pm mark for 2. Suzuki then puts Adam in a choke as Adam catches his breath. Adam ends up hitting a killswitch and wins it.

The endless chops and forearms got a little old here and it was just not that great. It's just a shame this didn't happen 10 years earlier when both guys were younger.

We see Christian Cage watching on the TV after.

Adam says he has never been hit that hard in his life after. Adam says "respect" and offers to help him up. Suzuki then sticks his tongue out at him and leaves. Adam said he would have been disappointed if Suzuki shook his hand. Adam said that was a war that Christian knows nothing about it. Adam says he is still coming for him.

Overall thoughts: It was a heavy in-ring wrestling show and just not that great. The main would have been better 10 years ago and would have been better if there was a storyline reason for Suzuki coming in. The semi-main was rushed. Jeff Hardy had a good night and had an okay match. Trent Beretta had to be protected against Wardlow for some reason, accomplishing nothing and they did too much in the opener.