AEW Dynamite 2/7/2024

AEW Dynamite 2/7/2024

Last week's show is here:  https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/02/aew-dynamite-1312024.html

Adam Page vs Swerve Strickland

 

They say Page is ranked #2 because of his losses to Swerve. Keep in mind that last year's results aren't supposed to count in the rankings, so we're already off to problems with this system. The crowd is hot but they take a while to lock up. Swerve takes him down and they fight out of the ring. Page is thrown over the rail then Swerve jumps over it and crossbodies him.

They head back in and they cut to the wrong camera. Page stomps Swerve then Swerve face kicks him. Swerve stomps on him then stands on his neck in the corner. Page fallaway slams him then is pulled down off the 2nd rope. Page hits mounted punches and Swerve can't get an octopus on. Swerve ducks a triangle lariat and is lariated in the back of the head.

Swerve is thrown into the rails then Page fallaway slams him on the floor. Page chops him then baseball slides him. Page gets a 2 count on a pin and back body drops him over the top with Swerve hitting his arm off the apron. Swerve avoids a top rope moonsault outside then rolls into a flatliner on him. Swerve fosbury flops on him outside. Swerve 2nd rope euros him in the back of the neck.

Swerve tilt-a-whirl slams him then suplexes him. Swerve hits a house call kick for 2. Page bites him up top then bangs his head off the buckle. Page goes for a sunset bomb, Swerve flips out and lands on his head. Swerve corkscrew kicks him then Page pop-up sitout powerbombs him. Page misses a buckshot then Swerve hits his own buckshot lariat. Swerve top rope double footstomps him for 2.

Swerve kicks him from the apron. They fight on top of the railing and Page ddt's him on it. We go to PiP break and return. They trade face kicks then face kick each other at the same time. They trade punches then Swerve backbreakers him.

Swerve pushes Page while he's up top and Page hangs from the tree of woe outside. Swerve then double stomps him off the top as he hangs. Swerve sets up a table then Page gets his knees up on Swerve's 450. Nana distracts Page. Page is thrown over the top but skins the cat and lariats Swerve. Page buckshot lariats Swerve for 2.

Page hits deadeye on the apron. Swerve barely beats the count in then Page nails Nana with a chair. Swerve face kicks the chair in Page's face then top rope double stomps him. Swerve holds his leg after. Page rolls out of a JML driver and twists Swerve's ankle. Swerve enzugiri's Page on the apron, pushes him into the post then hits his own deadeye off the apron through a table.

Swerve misses a double stomp off the top. Page misses a buckshot lariat then takes a jml driver. The ref counts and the bell rings as the time limit has expired. This is a draw.

Swerve is mad about the draw and gets a microphone. He says he didn't go through all of this for this match to end this way. Swerve said he's not letting Page get away with this that easy. Swerve says he wants 5 more minutes. Page gets the mic and says Swerve has to beat him to be the #1 contender. Page said he didn't do it and said he will not be the world's champion and says it is over. Tony Schiavone gets on the mic and says there are now 2 #1 contenders due to this and said they will fight Joe in a three way #1 contenders match at the PPV.

This made no sense whatsoever. Swerve was already the #1 contender. Page was the #2 contender. We were told the rankings only counted here for the last month or so, yet we were told their 2 prior matches counted here despite happening months before the rankings returned. Swerve like an idiot risked his #1 contendership to fight Page for the 3rd time here. Page didn't win but tied Swerve now in the rankings despite now being 0-2-1 in their series against Swerve. I knew it wouldn't take long but AEW has already messed up their rankings within a week. And even worse is that they announced that Dynamite will be doing an overrun here, so they had the extra 5 minutes to continue the match and opted not  to.

They did too much in the match as usual with Swerve taking backdrops to the floor and Page taking moves through tables yet both being able to keep going. Swerve's ankle was even injured yet he had no issues getting up to the top multiple times. It wasn't boring though and they filled the time well.

Samoa Joe is interviewed. He isn't happy about what just happened. He said the match was a draw and neither one deserves to be in a ring with him. Joe said the powers that be stacked the deck against him again and said he will walk out champ at Revolution. He said Swerve and Page will suffer because of it.

Toni Storm vs Red Velvet

 

For some reason, the screen is black and white when Toni is talking, but when she's wrestling here it is not. Deonna Purrazzo is on commentary. Toni throws Red then arm wringers her. Red kips up and Toni side headlocks her. Toni shoulders her over then Red spinning heel kicks her. Red hits boots in the corner then Toni thesz presses her. Toni hits mounted punches then sitout double arm chokeslams her.

We go to PiP break and return. Toni hits punches then Red hits punches back. Red then leg lariats her and bulldogs her off the casadora. Red double knees her on the ropes and standing moonsaults her. Toni corner hip attacks her then ddt's her.

Red rolls her up then misses a corkscrew kick. Toni ankle locks her and submits her.

Toni's submission win was odd here as it was out of nowhere and not her normal finisher. This wasn't anything special.

The screen cut to black and white for a second and then Toni and Deonna go face to face in the ring.  

Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero are interviewed by Renee. OC is facing Tomohiro Ishii on Collision in an International Title match. OC is also told he'll be wrestling on Friday. They said Chuck Taylor is injured and out. OC said they will check on Chuck who is being checked out. Renee then wants to do the hands in the middle thing. This was designed to not awkward and not good and it was just that.

The Blackpool Combat Club vs Masacara Dorada, Volador Jr. and El Hechicero

Esfinge, Mistico and Star Jr. are seen in the front row watching this. Hech and Bryan start us off. Hech trips him then Bryan trips him back. Hech does a rolling bow and arrow type of submission and he stares down with Bryan. Hech shoulders him over and rolls him around with headscissors.

Dorada and CC get in. Dorada chops him and flips over him. CC trips him. Dorada flips off the ropes and bodyscissors him. Vol and Mox trade forearms. Vol handsprings and flying headscissors Mox. Vol topes him then Bryan and CC stomp Vol outside.

Mox is against the ropes, Vol tries to walk up him and is thrown over the top. Mox topes him then is stomped by Hech and Dorada. We go to PiP break and return. CC hits a wristlock on Vol then giant swings him. Mox hits forearms and crossfaces. Vol kicks him then superkicks him. Dorada botches a flipping double armdrag spot on the ropes then he jumps off of Mox's knee to hurricanrana Bryan.

Dorada corkscrew hurricanrana's CC then Hech and Vol do stereo topes. Dorada 2nd rope SSP's outside on the BCC. Hech rols Bryan into a swinging hammerlock backbreaker. Dorada top rope 450's Bryan for 2.  

Dorada boots Mox out of the corner then does a toyota roll bomb on CC. Vol backcrackers Mox then Bryan busaiku knee's Vol. Hech top rope lariats Bryan. CC and Hech trade shots. Hech trips him into a pin attempt for 2. Hech headscissors him, spins and drops on him and grabs both legs. Hech does a stretch muffler type of hold on Bryan and Mox breaks it up. Dorada is popped up into a dropkick on Bryan then Mox hits a double lariat. Hech step up knees Mox in the corner then CC running euros Hech. Hech does his headscissors legdrop on CC. CC knees Hech in the nuts and puns him to win it.

It was a fun interpromotional match with the two teams mostly working well together. There were some issues but I liked it. Dorada had a couple of nice spots here and Hech's submission spots were too complicated for the BCC to figure out.

Esfine, Star Jr. and Mistico get on the apron and yell at the BCC. 2.0., Sydal and Daniels come out and even the numbers here. The two sides then argue with each other.

We go to the back and Chuck Taylor is down with The Undisputed Kingdom beating him up. Cole tells Chuck to get well soon. Was this supposed to air earlier in the show and they forgot about it? Or did they find out he was injured and jumped him after.

Tony Khan has a major announcement. He said they are going to the TD Garden in Boston on March 13. He said it will be an important night because it will be AEW Big Business live in Boston. He said you won't want to miss it and says it will be one of the most important nights in AEW. He says it will be a night the entire wrestling industry remembers. They spell Boston as "Bo$$ton" and that seems to imply Sasha Banks will be there.

Chris Jericho vs Konosuke Takeshita

CJ and KT shoulder battle early and forearm each other at the same time. CJ lariats him over the top. Don slaps KT outside and Hobbs yells to get him. CJ nails KT from behind then sends him into the rails. KT pounds on him then brainbusters him on the floor. KT top rope sentons him then flying clotheslines him.

CJ lariats him over. KT tries to throw him over but CJ comes off the buckles with a double axe handle. Hobbs trips CJ then KT lariats CJ. Sammy Guevara comes out and chairs Hobbs. Hobbs swats the chair away and Sammy hits an os cutter off the steps. Sammy chairs Hobbs in the head.

KT goes over the top then CJ triangle dropkicks him off the apron. CJ puts on KT's mask and misses a top rope dive. We go to PiP break and return. KT hits doi fives the basement dropkicks him. CJ's his his head off the ropes from that then KT tope con hilos CJ.

KT goes for a top rope senton but CJ gets his knees up. KT gets his knees up on CJ's asai moonsault. CJ is rolled up and they fall over on a move. KT then wheelbarrow germans him. KT goes for a flying clothesline and is countered with a codebreaker. CJ bulldogs him then KT blue thunders CJ when he goes for an asai moonsault.

KT flying knees him. CJ hits punches then hits a top rope blue thunder for 2. CJ puts him in a walls of Jericho. Don throws a chair in then stabs CJ in the head with a screwdriver. KT puts Jericho in a walls of Jericho. Jericho is counted like he's out but of course he wakes up. KT then taps him out.

They did way too much here...and that was before the top rope blue thunder. They had an easy out for Jericho with Don nailing him with the screwdriver, but they complicated it and that still wasn't enough to put him down. 

AEW Tag Titles - Tornado Match -  Big Bill and Ricky Starks (c) vs Sting and Darby Allin

Sting and Darby jump the heels before the bell like true faces would. All 4 go out and Bill throws Darby into the rails. Starks goes into the crowd and Sting hits him. Starks is pushed into the rails then hit with a trash can. Bill chops Darby then Sting jumps off the entrance stand onto Bill and Starks.

We go to PiP break. Sting hits Bill with a trash can. Darby is thrown over the rail back into ringside by Starks. Sting punches Bill then chairs him. Starks backdrops Darby on the apron and Sting chairs Starks. Darby corner charges Starks and Starks gets his knees up. Bill goes into the rails and Sting splashes him. Bill lariats Sting over and makes him slide on the floor.

Darby goes for a tope on Bill but is caught with a black hole slam in mid-air. Bill drops Sting over the rail. Darby slaps Bill. Bill lifts him up and chokes him then bangs his head off the mat. Bill does a crackerjack on Darby.

Bill sets a table up outside. Bill gorilla presses Darby and Sting runs into Starks who runs into Bill. Darby gets dropped. Sting lariats Starks. Bill gets stuck on the ropes and Sting shakes the ropes up and down. Starks reverse ddt's Sting for 2.

Starks boots Darby in the corner then Darby throws Starks out. Sting corner splashes Bill then Darby back splashes Bill. Sting hits another splash then Darby hits a code red on Bill. Darby top rope coffin drops Bill. Sting has Starks in a scorpion deathlock. Darby does a knee press onto Bill off the 2nd rope and both go through the table outside.

Sting misses a splash in the corner with Starks exposing the buckle. Starks doesn't look like he wants to do it but spears Sting for 2. Sting scorpion deathdrops Starks and wins it.

Sting's kids are at ringside and they look a lot like 80's black hair Sting. They then come into the ring.

We knew Sting and Darby were winning here. It only made sense with them being undefeated and doing into Sting's final match. I do feel bad for Bill and Starks though. They were a thrown together team and did well with it though never really got their due together.

The match was a hardcore match and it was fun for what it was. Bill's blackhole slam on Darby off the tope was nuts as was Sting's dive off the entrance.

The Young Bucks come out after. They beat up Sting, Darby and Sting's sons with white baseball bats. Darby's blood gets all on the Buck's white suits and they hit a BTE Trigger on Darby. Sting takes a punt to the head then Darby is pounded on. The Bucks drop the belts on Sting and Darby after.

Overall thoughts: I liked the BCC/CMLL match and I liked the main event. Page/Swerve had a main event style match in the opener but they did too much and the rankings stuff after made no sense. Jericho and Takeshita also did too much in their match. AEW gets a 10/10 for effort here as they really put on a PPV level card but the good and the bad evened each other out here. I think I would give this a 6 out of 10 total for how loaded the card was.