The road to “Double or Nothing” continued last night, when AEW returned to its home-away-from-home in Chicago at the NOW Arena, for the special “Beach Break” edition of Wednesday Night “Dynamite.”
HIT: Will Ospreay & “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander
At “Double or Nothing,” Will Ospreay and “Hangman” Adam Page will square off in the finale of the Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.
Last week, their first face-to-face encounter was interrupted by the Don Callis Family, setting the stage for this match last night.
The goal here was simple: manufacture tension between Ospreay and Page. To that end, this was quite effective. As a match, it was an exciting opening contest.
Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander have established themselves as a formidable tag team, so this was no easy feat for Ospreay and Page.
Ospreay and Page finished the match with a combination of a Hidden Blade and a Buckshot Lariat, leveling Alexander for the pin. Afterwards, a brawl broke out, which ended after Ospreay accidentally attacked Page.
Rating: ***¼
HIT: Ricochet vs. Zach Gowen
Last Thursday on “Collision,” former WWE and TNA superstar Zach Gowen was ringside with his two sons, for Ricochet’s match with Angelico. After the match, Ricochet antagonized Gowen and his children — prompting him to follow Ricochet into the ring.
For those who are unfamiliar with Gowen, his left leg was amputated when he was 8-years-old, during his battle with pediatric cancer. Gowen rose to prominence in 2003, when he debuted in WWE — as the company’s first and only one-legged competitor.
Unfortunately, Ricochet got the better of his encounter with Gowen — stealing his prosthetic leg and setting the stage for this match.
Ricochet’s development as a heel can’t be understated. Great working heels are few and far between, because so few wrestlers want to show vulnerability in the ring. Ricochet bares all of his insecurities. He seemed afraid to lose this match, not because of the implications it would have on his win-loss record. It’s because it would embarrass him. Ricochet was both apprehensive and bewildered. No one wants to lose an ass-kicking contest to a one-legged man.
Conversely, you must give credit, where credit is due. Zach Gowen was the consummate babyface in this contest, absorbing his fair share of punishment but never compromising. With each kick-out, Ricochet became increasingly more frustrated, and upped the ante.
In the end, Ricochet’s offense finally began to accumulate. Gowen was able to kick-out of a Shooting Star Press. He even kicked out of Ricochet’s Vertigo. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to withstand a vicious Spirit Gun (inverted Hidden Blade).
After the match, Ricochet continued his onslaught — battering a helpless Gowen. Referee Rick Knox tried to reason with Ricochet, but continued his assault until Mark Briscoe half-heartedly intervened.
In the interest of fairness, I was a little disappointed in this post-match angle. This could have been a huge moment for a babyface to save the day and get their proverbial “shine.” Instead, it felt flat.
That aside, this was terrific.
Rating: ***½
HIT: The Hurt Syndicate [c] vs Top Flight
Before the match, MJF joined Renee Paquette backstage to discuss the potential danger that The Hurt Syndicate poses; should he become their fourth horsemen. Paquette asked if Friedman had ever considered what would happen if they declined. Right as the fear began to settle in, MVP appeared behind Friedman — flanked by Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin. MVP told Friedman to join them in the ring after The Hurt Syndicate’s title defense, so they can deliver their final verdict.
As far as their tag team title defense, this was a standard affair for The Hurt Syndicate. Top Flight are frequent flyers in the AEW tag team division, who’ve had their fair share of shots at the AEW world tag team championships. Unfortunately for them, the outcome was no different.
Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin both overwhelmed Top Flight, cutting them off at every pass with their superior strength, speed, and size.
After the match, Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara, who currently possess the ROH World Tag Team Championship as the “Sons of Texas,” intervened — who urged Lashley to release Dante Martin from the Hurt Lock.
Rhodes was interrupted by Lio Rush & Action Andretti, who still want their shot at the AEW world tag team championships.
Rhodes and Rush began to argue, prompting MVP to offer them a proposition: both teams will face off this Saturday on “Collision” and the winner will advance to “Double or Nothing,” and face tag team champions.
Rating: N/A
HIT: MJF gets his answer
After the commercial break, MJF’s music plays, but the self-proclaimed “Devil” is nowhere to be found. So, MVP sent Benjamin to look for him backstage.
Tony Khan, Jerry Lynn, and Sonjay Dutt were sitting at the Go-Position; when Khan revealed that MJF was hiding behind the desk like a scalded-dog. Benjamin ushered MJF to the ring, so The Hurt Syndicate could deliver their final verdict.
Once again, MVP and Shelton Benjamin gave MJF a thumbs up, expressing their approval. The final vote belonged to Lashley, who previously was emphatically opposed to MJF.
Lashley hilariously wrapped his arm around MJF while he was deciding, while Benjamin waited in the background — preparing a thrust kick. However, Lashley shockingly gave MJF a thumbs up.
MJF is officially a member of The Hurt Syndicate. Sort of.
Next week, there’ll be a contract signing to consummate the deal. Will The Hurt Syndicate betray MJF next week?
At this point, I really don’t know. What I do know, is that this angle has been phenomenal thus far.
HIT: Toni Storm vs. Skye Blue vs. AZM vs. Mina Shirakawa
For the third week in a row, “Timeless” Toni Storm competed in a Women’s World Championship Eliminator match. This week, her opponents were AZM, Mina Shirakawa, and Chicago’s own Skye Blue.
For a simple four-way Eliminator match, this had a lot of moving parts:
- Skye Blue has been on the shelf since last July, when she injured her ankle in a match against Hikaru Shida.
- Mina Shirakawa is back and she’s here to stay. The “powerbomb to your heart” signed with AEW in March and has since finished her obligations in Japan. So, this marked her first contest as an official member of AEW’s roster.
- AZM is a 22-year-old phenom from World Wonder Ring STARDOM, who competed in a three-way match against Shirakawa and Mercedes Mone last weekend, at NJPW Resurgence; with Mone’s NJPW Strong Women’s Championship on the line. AZM managed to pin Shirakawa during the match and won Mone’s championship.
With all of that said, Storm entered this match with a pristine 13-0 record in Eliminator matches. Unfortunately, she didn’t leave Chicago with an unblemished record.
To be perfectly honest, Shirakawa has never impressed me in the ring. And, Skye Blue naturally suffered from ring rust. Still, this was an extremely fun contest, bolstered by the champion’s presence and AZM’s undeniable talent.
Excalibur noted that AZM is only 22-years-old, but already has nearly 11 years of in-ring experience. That is both astounding and borderline disturbing.
In the end, Storm tried to pin Shirakawa with her “Big Package,” but Shirakawa reversed her inside cradle and escaped with the pinfall.
So, it’ll be Storm vs. Shirakawa II at “Double or Nothing.”
Eh.
Rating: ***¼
MISS: Nigel McGuinness face-to-face w/ Daniel Garcia
Last Thursday on “Collision,” Dax Harwood faced Daniel Garcia in the main event. During the course of the match, Harwood continued to antagonize the announce team of Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness. Eventually, the latter had enough, intervening in the match on Garcia’s behalf.
While McGuinness did help Garcia gain a decisive advantage over Harwood, Garcia was disqualified. So, McGuinness took the stage last night to issue an apology: both to Schiavone and Garcia.
Garcia met McGuinness in the ring, urging the former ROH world champion to help him finish his war with FTR.
Enter Stokely Hathaway.
Hathaway insisted that McGuinness injured both Harwood and Cash Wheeler’s last week. So, McGuinness can either nip his mid-life crisis in the bud and return to the announce desk, or he can compete as a wrestler. That way, Harwood and Wheeler won’t be penalized for attacking an announcer.
During Hathaway’s diatribe, FTR got the drop on McGuinness and Garcia — quickly gaining the upper hand in the scuffle. FTR leveled Garcia with a Shatter Machine, before attempting to cripple McGuinness with a Spike Piledriver. Their onslaught was interrupted by Matt Menard, who rushed to the ring with a crowbar in hand.
All signs point to Garcia & McGuinness joining forces to face FTR at “Double or Nothing.” Is this the best we can do, with FTR?
MISS: Jon Moxley [c] vs. Samoa Joe
The main event.
Jon Moxley successfully defended his AEW world heavyweight championship against Samoa Joe in a cruel, unforgiving steel cage match.
I know what you’re thinking: “How did that happen?”
Well … you’re not going to like the answer.
After a grueling 10-minute battle, Joe applied the Coquina Clutch to the champion. Moxley was moments away from tapping out, when the Death Riders attempted to interrupt the affair. Fortunately, Joe’s comrades — Willow Nightingale and Powerhouse Hobbs — were able to neutralize Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, & Marina Shafir.
For some reason, Joe released Moxley from his grasp — as opposed to continuing to choke the life out of him. While Moxley was free, a mysterious hooded figure slid the coveted briefcase into the ring, which Moxley used to knock Joe out for the three-count.
The hooded figure proved to be NJPW’s Gabe Kidd, who previously wrestled Kenny Omega at “Wrestle Dynasty.”
From there, all hell broke loose:
- The steel cage was lifted.
- The Young Bucks walked down the aisle with the remote to control the steel cage.
- Kenny Omega came to Joe’s rescue, knocking out Wheeler Yuta with a V-Trigger and then beating Claudio Castagnoli into a heap.
- Before Omega could enter the ring, Kazuchika Okada appeared and leveled him with a punch to the abdomen, then threw his motionless body into the ring.
- Matt Jackson used the remote to close the steel cage, locking Joe and Omega inside with Moxley, Gabe Kidd, the Young Bucks.
- While the cage was lowering, “Speedball” Mike Bailey attacked Okada, forcing the “Rainmaker” to flee the ringside area.
- Finally, Swerve Strickland came out and scaled the cage. Everyone huddled around the corner of the ring, so Strickland could perform a Swerve Stomp on them without killing himself.
- Matt Jackson used the remote to raise the cage, so he could escape before Strickland got ahold of him.
- After The Death Riders and Elite fleed the ring, Strickland issued a familiar challenge: “Anarchy in the Arena.”
This was a cluster f**k.
I really like Gabe Kidd. I think he’s one of the more promising twenty-somethings in professional wrestling. Why did he help The Death Riders defeat Samoa Joe? Did he intervene on behalf of The Young Bucks?
I would’ve preferred if The Young Bucks just came out and used the remote to raise the cage, while Joe was applying the Coquina Clutch. I would’ve preferred to see the Death Riders use Willow Nightingale or Powerhouse Hobbs as a hostage, and force Joe to surrender.
This left a strange taste in my mouth.
Rating: ***
BONUS HIT: Sabu Tribute
Last Sunday, the professional wrestling world lost a true luminary in Terry Brunk, aka Sabu.
AEW paid tribute to the man, his career, and his enduring legacy. However, it was Taz’s eulogy in particular that resonated with me.
Final Verdict
Despite its flaws, this was an extraordinary episode of “Dynamite.” While the post-match angle thoroughly disappointed me, the match itself was good. I thoroughly enjoyed the opening contest, the women’s four-way match, MJF’s segment with The Hurt Syndicate, and Ricochet’s clinic with Zach Gowen.
For a special episode, “Beach Break” delivered in spades.
Rating: ***¼
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