AEW Dynamite 12-30-20 - Celebration of Life for Brodie Lee

 We start off with a sweet 10 bell salute to him with his family on-stage. Mox says that he's been lucky enough to know him for over a decade - from armories to stadiums. He's thinking of Amanda and the kids and this business is a community. Bucks team with Colt to face the the Hardy Party. Man, Colt's got his working boots on and then some tonight! Flip, flop and fly and the flying apple get 2. Hardy snaps Colt's neck and Isaih gets 2 off a crucifix. GIN AND JUICE HITS AND The Twisto before an SSP hits and COLT GETS A LAST-SECOND SAVE! Matt wants a use a chair, but Marq is against it. Skyline and the Indytaker with the Superman pin ends it. THIS RULED!

The Acclaimed comes out to rap before SCU beats them up and sends them into a superkick party. Darby talks about how Brodie had no ego while Kingston says that the Dark Order is nothing without Brodie and he'll show it now. He, Butcher, and Blade face off with Archer dressed as Harper, Uno, and Grayson. Stu hits a Brodie slam. Uno and Kingston land some Kawada slaps before Uno hits a Brodie-esque half and half. WE GET CLUBBERING from Butcher and Lance before a Lance pounce. Archer hits a middle rope frog splash for 2. Toss into a PK before Eddie DDTs Stu for 2. Fatality for Blade ends it. JAKE SHORTARM LARIATS KINGSTON! 

 Silver, Reynolds, and Page are out and Silver has black and grey Brodie gear. MJF and PNP are the opposition tonight with MJF in Puerto Rico-themed gear. JOHNNY HUNGY IS RUNNING WILD! Santana hits a rollthrough into a cutter before MJF arm whip Page into the buckle. Kairopractor-style destroyer on MJF! Heatseeker and a Ligerbomb from Ortiz gets 2 when Reynolds makes a save! Wardlow hits a big lariat and ERICK ROWAN as Jericho calls him beats up Wardlow. MJF pull the mask off -1 and HE CANES MJF! DISCUS LARIAT FROM SILVER WINS IT!

Kingston says that he's going to miss Jonny, he'll miss his stupid Harry Potter jacket and he'll miss Brodie believing in himself when he didn't. Their father isn't gone - as long as they remember him and his teachings, he's never gone. Tay and Anna are out. Tay tosses Ford around a ton after some matwork by Ford and Britt. Tay and Ford KO each other with pump knees. Anna hits an achilles kick and then blockbusters Britt on the mat. Tay hits a back-based Bossman slam before Britt hits a slingblade. Britt gets the fisherman neckbreaker for 2. Ford hits a top rope blockbuster on Britt for 2. Queen Slayer for Ford and she taps! 

Britt is TIRED OF THE CONSPIRACY! THE MATCH WAS RIGGED! Big Rigged. Okay, that was cute. ROSA ATTACKS! Cody, Orange and 10 face Team Taz. Jericho talks about working with Brodie 27 times and one match was in Jeddah. He tells him that the marking in his room was an arrow pointing to Mecca, which he didn't know until Brodie told him. Jericho says that AEW gave him a chance to be a main eventer like he knew he could be. He promises that his family will be taken care of. Hook looks...maybe three years older than Brodie Jr. Cody hugs Bryce and Jericho says they'll be here for Nolan. 

Cody bumps Hobbs off a tackle. 10 lands a big rig boot, but a Starks spear hits and gets 2. Hobbs freight trains him down. Orange punch, Cross rhodes, and the spinebuster from 10 end it. Dark Order gets a clean sweep tonight. HOOK ATTACKS and DARBY IS HERE! AND NOW IT'S STING TIME! What a great moment - and there's still more! Cody says you can judge a man's character by how he treats people who did him no good - and everyone was positively affected by Brodie Lee. Cody says he unified wrestling and was a beautiful family and a great legacy. His family comes down and Tony gives Brodie Jr. the TNT Title and names Brodie as the TNT Champion for life before "Old '55" plays and we get a tremendous video package. This is one of the most touching shows in history and is something that everyone who watched it will remember.

How Saturday Night Dynamite Laid a Foundation for AEW's Future

AEW's inaugural event event was Double or Nothing on May 29, 2019 and they had a lot to accomplish. A new promotion was faced with the challenge of having to live up to being the successor to All In. That show was a one-shot with the best companies in the world outside of WWE uniting for one supercard and it wound up changing the landscape in ways no one could have imagined. The creation of AEW saw the end of the relationship of the Elite and New Japan Pro Wrestling, which led to the latter gorup pivoting and giving Jay White the ball. The show built instant credibility for their World title by having Bret Hart showcase the title belt, and featured Omega vs. Jericho II and Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes in the match they always wanted to have in WWE, but couldn't. In many ways, the story of AEW as a company is intertwined with WWE because of not only what they do differently, but how they present their talent.

WWE is obsessed with the power of their brand, while AEW build up value in its brand by focusing on a blend of star power, workrate, and protecting its stars in ways that wrestling fans haven't been used to seeing in many years. AEW has shown a willingness to provide a platform to talent that always had the talent, but wasn't given the proper showcase in WWE. As a result, the talent lost their star power - and it's something we saw all too often in WCW over 20 years ago. 

In this instance, we didn't have Psychosis coming out and going through the motions because he'd been jobbed out for years and lost all faith in his own abilities. In AEW's case, we saw Jon Moxley come out on night one to kick ass and fittingly hit an FU on Kenny Omega to set the tone for his tenure. Since then, he has embarked on a path of reinvention in both New Japan and AEW while showing a dedication to his craft that hasn't been seen in 30 years by wearing an eye patch to get across how important the AEW World Title-level feud was to him. 

Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes was the battle of two men who wanted to prove their worth in WWE, but weren't given a chance and knocked it out of the park. On the night of the show, it was an absolute classic and stole the show from Omega vs. Jericho because it was a story-heavy match that had you buying into the drama and it built up equity in Cody right away. From the moment "Shoes" hit in the hype video, you had the story of the old gunslinger feeling his own worth was gone and his time was over and he was jealous of his younger, more successful brother. By the end of the match, the veteran Dustin showed he was as good as he ever was - but was toppled on this night. He lost a battle, but won a war by renewing his bond with his brother and forming the Nightmare Family.

The core story of that match wasn't one of good versus evil - it was of two men settling a long-standing issue because while they loved each other, they each had a point to prove and had to do it against one another. They didn't hit each other with cars, they didn't try to run one another off a roof in a monster truck - they just exchanged words and later reuinited in a scene that evoked not only Dusty begging Dustin to team with him in WCW, but also Bret Hart uniting his family against Steve Austin in the WWF. It wasn't just an homage to wrestling history - but it weaved itself into history by tugging at the heartstrings of fans in ways that few storylines do.

In the process, they made you care about Dustin and especially Cody. The young lion won and now had the pressure of the Rhodes family legacy on his back - and he came up short to win the AEW World Title. He sliced his head open in a grisly manner and all he had to show for it was a scar and the knowledge that now, a Rhodes may never be the World Champion. However, AEW used that as a way to plant a seed for the story that Cody needed something to prove his worth. In interviews, he talked about wanting a second, important championship and not a mid-card belt because those do nothing.

On Saturday Night Dynamite, the spritual successor to the NWA World TV Title held by not only his coach Arn Anderson, but his father, was on the line. He faced a man who came into AEW with a chip on his shoulder and a desire to prove anyone who ever doubted him wrong and showed exactly why he was deserving of a main event spotlight to anyone who wondered why on August 22, 2020 when he steamrolled Cody in a washout to win Cody's most prized possession. In making the challenge, Brodie Lee promised that he would let Cody keep his original unfinished TNT Title - but didn't tell him how.

Following a discus lariat, Brodie won the title and Cody was put on a stretcher. The Dark Order surrounded him on the ramp and Arn defended a man who may not be his son, but who his character clearly feels a fatherly bond to. He wants what's best for Cody and as a man that couldn't grasp a water bottle without dropping it 24 years ago and was forced out of the ring, went to war one last time. The man who swore vengeance on Cody's father and turned on his brother in 1994, was not only fighting alongside a Rhodes, but fighting to protect him and slugged two underlings only to fall to a group attack.

In one fell swoop, the Dark Order's leader took out Arn Anderson and laid out QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes. Brandi rushed to cover her husband, and in the single biggest star-making performance you'll see, Anna Jay runs in and chokes her out instantly. Fresh off a loss in the Deadly Draw tournament, Brandi may have been worn down - but she still fell instantly to Anna Jay and that's the part that mattered most. Brodie Lee's promo about proving people wrong who ever doubted him rang true as he held his title high and we see Cody give Brodie Lee the biggest show of confidence he's been given yet on a national stage.

Since minute one of AEW's existance, Cody has been one of the pillars of the promotion. He has used his star power to create among other things, an aburdly long entrance and several new nicknames, but he leveraged every second of air time he's been given to make a new main event star not just for the short term, but for the forseeable future in Brodie Lee. For Brodie Lee, a title win on its own helped erase his one AEW loss to Jon Moxley at Double or Noting - but the post-match scene was two men in Brodie and Cody showing to the entire world that they always had what it took to excel as main event stars. They just needed the platform to showcase their skills, and in a match where Cody got no offense, we wound up with a compelling main event and a post-match scene as chaotic as anything since the debut of Mike Tyson on Dynamite.

This has more ways it can go and it can lead to far more positives for more people. Anna Jay vs. Brandi is a given, and you can get a few good matches out of the Dark Order against the Natural Nightmares. Cody vs. Brodie Lee went from "just another TNT Title match" in its short buildup to something with a sinister edge to it, and the Dark Order group finally feels like a top-notch group with a few flaws to it rooted in the group's iffy pre-Brodie Lee days, but still anchorded by a main event talent in Brodie Lee and one of the most versatile tag teams in the world in Evil Uno and Stu Grayson.

AEW's Saturday Night Dynamite may have been a sly way to pay homage to the history of Jim Crockett Promotions and WCW on Turner networks, but it wound up being a signficant show in the company's history in ways no one could have predicted going in. AEW needed something that felt important with a erratic timeslot change due to the NBA schedule and delivered in spades with a show that laid the groundwork for a new chapter in the company's history with Cody on the shelf and All Out only weeks away. However, if the age-old story of the tourtise and the hare has taught us anything, it's that a hot start isn't enough. AEW needs to follow through and capitalize on the momentum with more solid storytelling. 

The more AEW makes you care about its characters, the stronger their foundation will be in the future. So far, they have done an admirable job at doing so while also making a lot of mistakes and correcting course. Nowhere is that more evident than in the Dark Order itself, which now has the ability to look strong as it sheds its sillier trappings like the masked followers and human thrones. Time will tell the tale for AEW, but in a world with so much darkness, it feels great to have hope that pro wrestling can still tell compelling, multi-faceted stories in North America. It will take more than that to build the show's audience over time, but that will help make capturing new fans a lot easier as you can watch the show and get absorbed in the characters.

WWE TLC 2020

 After 40 minutes of video packages, we get an 8-man tag with Bryan, Big E, Otis, and Gable face Sami, Cesaro, Sami, and Corbin with Blake and Cutler. Corey is great saying that Sami is the champion of all continents! Bunch of not much until E takes out Sami and wins. Sami as a chickenshit heel is great. WWE Title starts things off and it's 12 minutes in before we get action thanks to filler. We get some walking and brawling before chairs and ladders are brought in with tables for the sake of it. Calf slicer with a chair for some reason. Nice spot where AJ runs a table into Drew's knee and goes for a run-up forearm, but Drew catches him for a center-to-corner belly to belly into a ladder in the corner. AJ gets chucked through a table over the top and Miz powerbombs Drew through a table and now it's a triple threat TLC match. Miz gets carried off the ladder like a baby by Omos and Morrison bonks him with a chair, that breaks. AJ and Miz get tossed off the top of a ladder and somehow Miz falls INWARD and can still eat a claymore while AJ bumps to the floor. Unreal. FORTY MINUTES IN and Drew has retained. 

Heyman says there will be carnage and Roman retains. Spoiler and such.I like that Heyman has ALWAYS, even in the Brock feud, LIKED Roman due to his family - so this turn with him being by his side works into all that nice and neatly. Long Sasha-Carmella recap leads to HOLDS and boring shit. Three amigos and a frog splash get 2 for Sasha. Spiking X-Factor gets 2 for Carmella. Avalanche rana into a sunset flip by Sasha gets 2.  Code of Silence turned into the crossface and then a cattle mutilation crossface looks slick - but Sasha gets to the rope. Reginald saves buy SASHA HITS A METEORA. SUPERKICK PARTY ON THE FLOOR gets 2.9. Bank statement wins it. This was good-ish at points. We get a great wacky bit with Billie Kay giving Asuka her resume, but lying on it about knowing Japanese and Asuka tells her the spot's filled. Hurt Business wins it - SHELTON GETS AN ACTUAL TITLE REIGN AGAIN! 

Women's tag title is up and Charlotte returns, having lost some significant implant-related weight. She looks worlds better more natural. Asuka's a face in peril and Charlotte wins it. KO jumps him from the front..as ya do as a babyface. Brawling and garbage. Roman needs to steal Rhino's corner grab to corner-table spear. POWERBOMB ON A LADDER by Roman. Roman wins it. Orton vs. Bray is up and Orton PREVENTS THE MALLET. Bray gets an axe handle and sets it ablaze, but Orton blocks it and draping DDTs him on the floor. RKO INTO THE MANDIBLE CLAW! Bray is set ablaze, but he runs into an RKO. Randy douses him in gas and then gets matches that are on the dasher boards. Then he sets him on fire more and flames shoot up and whatever the fuck.

AEW Dynamite 12-9-20 - Shaq and Sting Speak

We start off strong with the Bucks against the Hybrid 2.  TH2 jumps them and gets an early edge, but the Bucks get a double hiptoss and stereo dropkick. Nick hits Angelico with a run-up armdrag. Acclaimed gets Jack tossed into them off a sunset bomb to the floor. Risky Business hits for 2 and Angelico kicks out to a "this is awesome" chant. DOOMSDAY DEVICE ON THE RAMP BY THE BUCKS! SUPERKICK PARTY TAKES OUT ANGELICO, BUT IT ONLY GETS 2.9! Angelico gets the rolling kneebar! Bucks recover and end it with a BTE trigger, but it was a war. This got TH2 over great. MJF says he'll hurt Orange take out the favorite of many not-so-smart marks. 

We get an ink blot test with Darby building up Cage vs. Darby for the TNT Title. Cody comes out and Tony chats him up before STING RETURNS. We get snow on the camera and Arn gives the mic to Tony, who wants to leave but Sting demands a hug. Sting gives him props for Tony putting him over so big last week. He says that he feels home here and he's come full circle being back on TNT and calls Cody kid. Varsity Blondes get a jobber intro against FTR, whose tron should not be full-screened. FTR runs through Griff for a bit before Air Pillman hits in desperation. Griff lands a giant stinger splash and a spear hits 2. Dax avoids another Air Pillman and Dax brainbusters him. Goodnight Express ends it. Fun match. FTR talks shit to the Jurassic Express. Marvez meets with Page about a six man tag and he has no partners. Reynolds and Silver meet with him at the bar and say he has no one else - so he agrees and it's ONE MATCH. 

Preston Vance/10 is out to face Dustin, who wins after some great punches and a silky-smooth bulldog.  Here, you are the THIRD MOST IMPORTANT RHODES!" Tremendous. "Will you become SEVEN OF THE DARK ORDER!?" Tony - HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE THAT NUMBER! He slaps Uno, but Uno doesn't sic the dogs on him. Good stuff. Tony chats with Shaq and Brandi, WHO IS OFFENDED THAT SHAQ GETS PUT OVER. Shaq is all soma'd up here and sounds bored. Brandi gets all pissed at Shaq for putting Jade over and throws water on him after saying she's sick of his shit and he's an overgrown asshole. So Brandi's the heel, right?

MJF talks shit about Sammy and Jericho says HEY WE WATCH THE SHOW and he knows MJF came down with the towel and MJF says swear to God, he had sweat on his brow... Cash takes the blame for losing the tag titles and Tully says he wasn't there - they're invincible together. Lance and the Lucha Bros battle the Fam, with Butcher and Lance A CLUBBERIN. Double team powerbomb/neckbreaker takes out Fenix, but ARCHER KICKS ASS AFTERWARDS. Jade, Nyla, and Vickie beat up Red Velvet. Abadon comes out to face Tesha Price, who is scared to death of her. Gori neckbreaker/Victoria's finish ends it. Shida defends her with a kendo stick. 

Jericho says they'll join MJF at ringside to ensure that THE SON OF A BITCH ORANGE CASSIDY LOSES. OMEGA AND HIS COPTER ARRIVE. Don says that he was there for Montreal and THE SCREWJOB THEY DID WAS BIGGER. They basically repeat the Impact promo. Callis is so great - and I like that if you want a head canon for all this, Callis leaves the broadcast position right around when Kenny starts turning his back on Page... MJF bum-rushes OC to start but OC gets a flying DDT off the second rope. Butterfly shoulderbreaker hits for MJF. MJF uses the ropes, but the Best Friends point it out. MJF gets the bat, but OC IS TOO LAZY TO USE IT and pockets his hands and bumps for it before MJF gets it. BEACH BREAK HITS FOR 2.9! SALT OF THE EARTH, but OC evades. ORANGE PUNCH! 2.9! A SECOND ONE TAKES HIM OUT FOR 2.9 THANKS TO WARDLOW SAVING HIM! THEY BE CLUBBERIN! Miro takes out OC AND MJF WINS IT! MIRO WHIPS A BUNCH OF ASS. This ruled.

 

AEW Dynamite 12/2/20 - Moxley vs. Omega Winter is Coming

 

The Dynamite Diamond battle royal is up to start - but the winner of the battle royal doesn't get the ring. Instead, the last two men have a match next week - so it's basically like the gauntlet for the gold in Impact. This wasn't done last year, but this fits a Sammy-MJF match nicely. Matt throws out Kassidy as they shill Statefarm. Reynolds and Silver hit a stunner/German combo before Hangman lariats Serpentico out before a tremendous celebration by Silver.

Spears is out, but Tully loads up the glove anyway to likely take out Sky. And boom, he's out! Quen and Hardy take out Silver with Hardy celebrating. Dark Order prevents Hangman's elimination, but MATT TAKES HIM OUT ANYWAY! Miro beats up OC and tosses Joey and Lee around. Inner Circle stands in the corner and Joey takes an AMAZING bump for the spinout uranage. Miro interrupts Silly String and takes out Matt and Quen and Joey! Hoss warfare between Wardlow and Miro before everyone gangs up on Miro and they send him out. Sammy and Jungle Boy have tremendous exchanges on the apron before MJF tosses Jack out but BY GOLLY SAMMY IS OUT TOO! Wardlow, MJF, and OC are remaining. 

Wardlow saves MJF, but MJF is pissed and Wardlow is taken out with an Orange Punch as is MJF. OC takes out Wardlow, so next week is MJF vs. Orange Cassidy, with MJF having to essentially defend his diamond ring as if it's a title. I love it. Kaz is out in a slick SCU black and yellow basketball jersey to face Jericho! Jericho comes out in a tremendous black and gold jacket before they start off with some stalling and a long headlock. Triangle dropkick is avoided by Kaz and he drops him for an over the top legdrop!

Codebreaker hits! DOUBLE BICEP BY JERICHO. Lionsault meets knees and a legdrop gets 2 for Kaz. Flux Capacitor hits for 2.5! Codebreaker countered into a Walls by Kaz and Ortiz tries to madball him, but Hager tells him to stop. Wardlow and MJF ARE OUT WITH A TOWEL! Tremendous callback there to Jericho-Cody and Sammy prevents the towel usage. Judas Effect hits and ends it. Great match and a fantastic story piece for the Inner Circle with MJF framing Sammy for the towel. Jericho tells them to cut the shit because if they can't all get along in a week, they're splitting up forever. 

Bucks are with Marvez and he asks about their match next week with TH2 and Nick asks him if he remembers being superkicked and Matt says that they're going to be fighting champions. If they can beat the champs, they'll get a shot. The Acclaimed come in and bury the book before battle rapping them and saying WORLDSTAR. TH2 jumps the bucks before SCU makes a save. Britt talks shit about Lelyla Hirsch before mocking her height, and getting armbarred right away. Great REBEL NOT REBA graphic.

Hirsch goes for a cross armbar, but Britt grabs a tooth. DDT hits for Britt. Britt piefaces her like Leyla gets a big LEYLA chant. Leyla suicide dives Rebel when Britt pulls her into the shot and Britt slingblades her. They're setting up a nice 1-2-3 Kid vs. Razor finish here. Leyla avoids the lockjaw and gets an armbar and a pump knee! Rebel distracts the ref for a buckle flatliner. Twisting fisherman's and the lockjaw ends it. ROSA JUMPS BRITT! Hirsch tosses Rebel and then Rosa fights with Britt more. This rules! JERRY LYNN is out and gets a big chant. Great stuff all round. Team Taz vs. Darby and Cody is up. WWE-esque 2 seconds of action before a break. 

Starks chases Darby right into a Hobbs bodyblock. Hobbs beats the shit out of Darby and man is he a great babyface in peril. Darby is such a great face in peril. Shame this match is set up to make Cody, WHO DARBY BEAT, into the star instead of focusing on raising Darby's stock. MASSIVE reverse bearhug by Hobbs and then an EARPLEX BY HOBBS! Cody comes in and springboard-sorta dropkick hits Hobbs before a pump kick. He throws out the weight belt and Starks rakes the eyes. Cody cutter and the coffin drop end it. Good stuff. Glad Darby won in the end there. Arn comes in and slugs Starks before getting dropped. Dustin comes to make a save for Arn - which is a nice little callback to 1994 with Dustin being willing to save the man.

STING COMES OUT AND IS AMAZING. We get he and Cody, Darby, and Arn in staredowns. Tremendous stuff. Shida will face Abadon next week and she mocks her for being a cosplayer and then gets spooked and wants to do that over, but Alex can't do it since they're live. Lance teams with the Lucha bros to face Kingston and the Butcher and Blade. Sting speaks next week AND IT MIGHT BE WITH TONY! Mox says it's time to make them go banana. 

Don Callis is here for the main event! Callis feels so special on these shows only being here for Omega matches.  Roberts hypes Omega's winning streak being the longest in AEW and he has just launched a supplement line! Mox is out and we get some amazing shots of them. God, this feels so big.

Kenny and Mox start off with some floatovers and we get more Statefarm plugs. Back and forth shoulderblocks with Mox sending him down. ROPE DRAGON SCREW BY KENNY. He's using Tana's tactics here with an apron dragon screw and the kotaro crusher hits for 2. Kenny rushes in AND EATS A WESTERN LARIAT! OVERHEAD CAM SHOT FOR THE KNEEBAR! Mox gets a pair of Germans! Mox gets an STF in PIP. 

Omega hits the Terminator dive, but Mox recovers and hits the shift! No cover, with Mox getting heelish and bringing chairs in. I like the line they're walking here with Moxley being heelish - but not being a heel.  He sets the chairs up for DUELING SLAPS! PUNCHES. V TRIGGER BY KENNY! Mox gets another shift but it's only good for 2.5! 

SUICIDE DIVE FROM MOX INTO AN OMEGA V TRIGGER! Tremendous! V TRIGGER TO THE NECK IN THE CORNER! Tiger driver '98 hits for 2.9! Kneeling knee and an Okada dropkick set up a RIPCORD V TRIGGER! Electric chair German gets 2 for Kenny! They fight on the floor and Kenny is tossed into a ringside heater off the top by Mox. Callis goes to check on him. Oh this is too good. You can just sense something's up and it's great. Mox tosses him in to slug away. Mox slugs Don and Kenny grabs the mic and slugs him! Mox is bloody. V TRIGGERS HIT! A THIRD! FOURTH IN THE CORNER! ONE WINGED ANGEL HITS AND OMEGA IS THE AEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!

Kenny and Don leave and Tony calls all this bullshit. Tremendous stuff. Don says that THIS TUESDAY ON AXS TV, Don and Kenny will tell everyone about it! Oh man, this is going to be good for Impact - hopefully, they can use the TNT boost to help the show and company out as a whole. This one title change may wind up doing a lot of good for wrestling overall.