AEW Dynamite 5/22/2024

AEW Dynamite 5/22/2024

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/05/aew-dynamite-5152024.html 

Orange Cassidy and Will Ospreay vs Trent Beretta and Roderick Strong

The four pair off and fight. OC and Trent trade outside. Will plancha's Trent outside, OC dives on Strong then topes Trent. Will top rope diving forearms Strong. Strong uranage backbreakers Will after distractions. Trent and Will trade. Trent running back elbows him. Strong hits mounted punches on Will.

Strong leg lariats Will then chinlocks him. Will does a nice back body drop on Strong. Strong's head is banged off the buckles by OC. Strong gutbusters OC across the top buckle. Strong dropkicks Will through the ropes then backdrops OC on the apron. Trent then spears OC on the floor.

We go to PiP break and return. OC puts his hands in his pockets and dropkicks Strong. He stupidly keeps his hands in his pockets to scoot across the ring. Will gets in and flying forearms Trent. Will handspring double pele kicks Trent and Strong. Strong knees WIll on the ropes then hits running forearms on him.

Will superkicks Strong's head into the top buckle. Will powerbombs Strong the 2nd rope corkscrew moonsaults him. OC top rope elbow drops Strong for 2. OC is seated up top and takes enzugiri's from Strong. Will flips out of a 2nd rope german from Trent. Will facekicks Trent. OC diving ddt's Trent off the top.

Will step up enzugiri's Strong then OC tornado ddt's Strong. Trent goes to take the turnbuckle pad off and is stopped by the ref. Taven and Bennett get on the mat. Don Callis grabs OC's foot. OC and Will cutter Strong. Taven and Bennett are pulled over the top then Will tope con hilos both. Wardlow blindsides Will with a lariat on the ramp and Will goes down hard.

Strong flying knees OC then Strong suplex backbreakers OC to win it.

Thoughts: Aside from OC's BS, it was a fast paced tag with some stiff shots. Not so much selling here though and lots of shenanigans with the heels. Don tripping up OC was interesting.

The fight continues after. Strong hits Will with his title belt. Will is busted open hardway from the bump on the ramp and Trent half-triangles OC on the ramp.

The Elite are in the back. They say Darby Allin is blocked from the building for attacking them last week. They say he's "not allowed in this week". They act goofy as usual.

Sonjay Dutt comes in. He says his indian giant will destroy Bryan Danielson. The Bucks say it's cool if Singh beats Bryan, but it's great if he injures him. Dutt says Singh will break Bryan like a pencil.

Bullet Club Gold comes out. Jay says they are greatest three-man team in the world. They debate over how Pac's name is pronounced. They said they gave Pac what he asked for when he begged them to make them care. Pac is on the tron and says that's what he's talking about. He said they warmed him up and he said he did provoke them. He says 3v1 isn't fair. He then says let me introduce my "amigos" and "hermanos". The Lucha Bros then come out and get a special entrance for it.

Death Triangle comes out and fights with Bullet Club Gold. The heels are naturally taken out. Pac gets on the mic after. He says he wants a trios title match at the PPV. He said they think they are hard and he says we will find out.

FTW #1 Contender's Match - Hook vs Bryan Keith vs Katsuyori Shibata

KS hits chops on BK. Hook hits forearms on BK.Hook is pushed into KS. Hook suplexes BK and we get a double jawbreaker spot when a sleeper and redrum are put in. KS suplexes Hook and BK exploders KS. Hook exploders BK and all 3 men are down.

We go to PiP break and return. BK tiger drivers Hook. KS flying kicks Hook and BK in the corners then htis forearms on BK. KS dropkicks BK in the corner. Hook exploders KS. Hook is seated on the top rope and BK headbutts him. BK hits a diamond dust and KS PK's him.

KS ushigoroshi's BK then figure fours him. KS does a heel hook on top of it then Hook red rum's BK at the same time. BK taps out and we get a double submission. Everyone is confused.

Thoughts: Well, we knew Bryan wasn't winning. Hook and KS both winning was a surprise. It was rushed and there just wasn't enough time for them here. It was so-so.

Chris Jericho gets on the mic and chants "let them fight" with the crowd. He said he wanted to get more camera time because he likes that, right? CJ says he's proud of Hook for everything he picked up under The Learning Tree. CJ says he will walk out of Las Vegas as the winner and will not lose to anyone. We are then told it will be a three way for the FTW title at Double or Nothing.

We get a video on Mercedes Mone vs Willow Nightingale.

The Elite do a commercial for their shoes.

We get a video on Mox vs Takeshita.

Konosuke Takeshita vs Matt Sydal

KT pounds on Matt then eye rakes him. KT brainbusters Matt. KT footslaps him then Matt hurricanrana's him. Matt ddt's him while he's kneeling. KT blue thunder bombs him then hits a big forearm on Matt. KT wins.

Thoughts: It was a quick squash. It would have been good if they let it go longer, but they didn't.

KT release germans Matt after.

Jon Moxley's music hits. Mox grabs the mic then just nails KT with the mic. He says he will see him at Double or Nothing.

The Bucks hand out flyers saying Darby is banned. Swerve then shows up. The Bucks ask him if he saw Darby. Swerve puts his gum on it and crumbles it up. He said he didn't see Darby and tells them to hit his music as he's up next.

Swerve Strickland vs Nick Wayne

Nick throws a shirt at him. Nick goes out to stall then slides back in. Swerve grabs him outside then throws him into the rail. He says something about being a father and whips Nick with the belt. Swerve back body drops him over the top rope and low dropkicks him. Nick springboard dropkicks him off he apron. Nick then PK's him from the apron. Nick 2nd rope moonsaults him outside, is caught and tornado ddt's him on the floor.

We go to PiP break and return. Swerve chops him and is thrown out. Nick gets on the 2nd rope outside and is backdropped on the apron. Swerve double stomps him off the apron to the floor. Swerve comes off the buckles and takes an upkick. Nick rolls him up for 2. Nick rolls and hits a code red for 2.

Swerve backbreakers Nick then flips him into a powerslam. Swerve then house call kicks him and wins it.

Thoughts: It was indy crap with them flipping around and not selling much. Swerve showed a little personality here at least.

Killswitch comes down and nails Swerve from behind. Christian and Mother Wayne come out. Swerve takes some shots then chases Christian up the ramp through the backstage area. Christian then steals a car and drives, but is blocked by Prince Nana in a car. Swerve drags Christian out of the car then throws him into the side of a truck. Christian is thrown into the car and Swerve hits punches on him. Christian climbs the top of the car then Swerve ddt's him on top of the car. Swerve misses a ocnchairto then Christian runs.

Thoughts: I liked this one and thought it was something different and interesting. 

Malakai Black vs Kyle O'Reilly

They each go for leg kicks and trade kicks. They elbow and knee each other at the same time. Black knees him then is kicked on a springboard. Black legsweeps him then jumping knees him.

We go to PiP break and return. Black back elbows him and Kyle hits a strike combo. Kyle arm throws him down. Kyle germans him then spinning forearms him for 2. Kyle hits more kicks and they trade shots. Kyle trips him and goes for the armbar. Kyle ankle locks him. Black hits a jumping knee and suplex for 2.

Black spinning back elbows him. They high kick each other at the same time. Black spinning high kicks him and wins it.

Thoughts: I liked the idea but it went a little longer than it needed to and just needed some more exciting moments to get the strike based match over. The crowd wasn't too into it either.  

The lights turn red then go back to normal. Red liquid pours out from the ceiling that's supposed to be blood. The problem was it missed though and Black ended up slipping it. We then see Adam Copeland walking down steps on the tron. He tells him to be careful what he wishes for and says see you soon.

Thoughts: These angles with people getting stuff spilled on them from the ceiling never really work out that great. I can't really think of a great one and it just made Black look stupid. It didn't help that it missed Black.

Toni Storm and Mariah May vs Saraya and Harley Cameron

Man does this one seem like a bad idea. HC side headlocks May. She rolls over her drop down and boots her. May forearms her. HC high kicks her from the apron then May basement dropkicks her. May spinning side slams HC.

Toni and Saraya trade forearms. Toni thesz presses her and hits mounted punches. Toni slams May on her for 2. May tries to do it to Toni, Toni blocks her then slams May on Saraya again. May snapmares Saraya then running knees her.

HC bangs May's head off the mat then Saraya does jumping jacks. We go to PiP break and return. May hits forearms on HC. HC jawbreakers her then then both facebuster each other in mid-air at the same time.

Toni goes up and over HC then codebreakers her when she's on the 2nd rope. Toni hits punches on Saraya then headbutts HC. Toni trips Saraya into HC's crotch in the corner then sky highs HC for 2. May headbutts Saraya. Saraya and HC hit stereo sunset bombs off the ropes. May and Toni stereo kiss their opponents then do a storm zero and an attitude adjustment. May hits another storm zero on HC and wins it.

Thoughts: It was just your usual average women's match that wasn't memorable or special.

Toni's crew holds up the Deeb's Dojo flag after. Deeb then comes out and chairs Luther and Toni. She headbutts Toni then hits her in the head with her shoe. Deeb its on a chair on Toni's back and half-crabs her. The refs then try to stop it.

Bullet Club Gold do a promo. Jay's not impressed with The Lucha Bros. Colten says Death Triangle need to earn a title shot.

Bryan Danielson vs Satnam Singh

Singh running facekicks him then pulls him into the buckles. Singh hits a big chop. Singh does a high suplex on him then throws him into the steps outside. Dutt takes apart the commentary table. Bryan hits kicks on Singh from the apron then flying knees him off the apron.

Bryan flying dropkicks him against the rails. Singh chokeslams him on the apron. Dutt gets on the apron when they are back in the ring. Bryan low blows Singh. Bryan flying knees him then hits kicks to the chest. Bryan puts the Lebell lock on and Dutt and friends interfere for the DQ.

Thoughts: The size differences between the two here were silly and it was a bit hard to by Bryan could beat Singh and friends. It was just a short match with a lot of smoke and mirrors. I don't think Dutt was supposed to break the commentary table.

Bryan evades a double team and flying knees Jarrett and Lethal. Singh punches through the guitar that Bryan has then corner splashes him. Bryan is beaten up in the corner. The Young Bucks come down. They miss an EVP trigger. Bryan hits kicks on them. Okada comes out and Jack Perry hits Bryan from behind.

Okada rainmakers Bryan. They drag Bryan up the ramp and go to put him through a table. Darby Allin is driven to the show in a car by Tony Khan. He fist bumps him and comes out with a flamethrower. Bryan kicks one of the bumps and throws him off the stage through a table.

Thoughts: Why Mox didn't help Bryan out and hasn't at all for a while is beyond me. That needs explained because Mox loves to get into random fights. Darby coming out with a flamethrower was something different.

Overall thoughts: After the bad ratings the last few weeks, you could definitely tell they were trying to some over the top stunts here with flamethrowers and parking lot brawls. That was very WWF Attitude Era-esque. I thought those things worked though. The blood spilling thing on Black did not work though and made him look stupid. As expected, the stuff with The Elite is running into all sorts of logic holes with them firing Daniels yet not firing Darby or Swerve. They are also running into problems with keeping Mox out of this thing with The Elite as Bryan is getting beaten up and nobody from the BCC wants to help. It was a longer show that did drag at times. I don't expect a good rating out of this one and I don't think it was real effective in getting me hyped for the PPV. I wasn't a big fan of this show.